A Friend of Mine and Random Pics

This is my friend Natalie. I met her at church just a couple of weeks ago. She's started coming to our Institute class as well, and she speaks very good English so we've gotten along quite nicely. She's a very outgoing and friendly person, with a typical amount of Russian bluntness that is rather endearing. The funny thing is that even though I met her at church, she wasn't actually a member yet.

She is now. I was at her baptism on Saturday, and I can testify of it. That is a rather long story - and one I'd prefer to tell in person. So for now it sufficeth to say that I got to go to a baptism last week, and there should be another one before I leave (Natalie's mother). I feel almost like a missionary!

Now, on to more mundane matters. Nothing particularly exciting has been going on lately. See, the problem is that - with my departure coming up so unbelieveably quickly - all I really care about is the time I spend teaching or with my host family or friends. And that's not really very exciting to you guys, I think. (Although there may be a "A Moment in Miss Jessica's Class" post coming up, should I detect interest from my audience. . . .)

So tonight's post is going to be brief and eclectic. I just pulled a few random photos from my phone, and I'll tell you what they are and what they mean. This is really just a tide-you-over post, anyway. You'll hear from me again soon enough.

The above photograph was taken as I stood on the side of the road, waiting to cross the street. (I was walking home from school after teaching.) Notice the sky is full of clouds and the ground is wet and muddy. Sometimes it's so wet over here that the earth and sky seem to blur together in the misty chill. At least on this day it was fairly warm - once it gets below freezing, the sidewalks are simply coated with ice. You can skate pretty much anywhere you want to go; you hardly have to pick up your feet! And while that might seem fun, it does turn the already-hazardous game of crossing the street into a game of Russian Roulette. (For once, pun unintended.)

Ah . . . . As you can see, Russia has started to deck the halls - or at least the Metro stations. They've got a huge tree set up outside every Metro stop in the city! It's really quite festive.

But, on to the next picture. Because you'll never guess what I found in Russia . . . .

A BOOKMOBILE! (*squeals with delight*) I love bookmobiles! When I was a kid, my nerdy friends and I would always cheer when we saw the bookmobile driving past. I couldn't believe it when I saw this beauty. It completely made my day.

Oh, this was funny. See that big crowd of people in that photo? Well, we were walking along the sidewalk next to them, and we were very curious as to what was going on. It looked like some sort of protest, which made us - as Americans in a foreign land, who are constantly warned to avoid areas of political tension - a bit nervous. We slowed our pace a little as we walked, trying to use our very limited Russian skills to decode the signs and figure out what was going on. Then I froze, staying where I was.

My host dad was holding one of the signs!

No worries - my host dad doesn't secretly hate Americans. It turned out that the protest was against an IT company that wants to bulldoze the playground in my host family's apartment complex to make room for their new building. But still, it was a rather amusing moment for me to spot my host dad at a rally.

See? The store is all set up for Christmas, too. One thing you'll find at a Russian store at Christmastime that you wouldn't find in an American store: costumes. They dress up for Christmas here! It's like a bit of Halloween got displaced or something; I really don't understand it.

Anyway, at the store I was able to find something I saw during my first week in St. Petersburg, but which disappeared mysteriously until today: pumpkin juice! I bought some, and took it home, and tried it. And let me tell you: it's really not very good. They must put something else in it when they sell it on the Hogwarts Express. I was able to finish the whole glass I'd poured, but I think it put hair on my chest. (Yeah, it was one of those drinks.)

And here's a little Russian Christmas angel for you. I know it's not quite December yet, but I allow the holiday spirit to be released as soon as Thanksgiving is over. I've had a million different Christmas songs running through my head, but it's like I said - I'm not all that excited about it at the moment. Because although Christmas means I get to come home, it also means I have to leave everything here behind. And that's not something I'm really looking forward to.

(*sigh*)