Friday, January 29, 2016
I'm back in the U.S., but the internet is still in Russian
I finally made it home this afternoon! I managed to sleep about 8 hours last night, and I stayed awake and semi-sane through the 3 hour car ride with my mom, sister, niece (1 1/2 yrs old), and nephew (4 yrs old). I gave them all their gifts, and realized I still have a lot to get done for this class by midnight (whoops... )
Although it's a pretty easy transition coming back to the U.S. and everything I've known for... well, my entire life, there are still some things that are weird at first. Like people now understanding everything I say when I'm out in public and having to order all of my food in English.
Although communication with others is definitely easier in my native language (and the only language I'm fluent in), I am going to miss being surrounded by native/fluent Russians speakers everywhere I go. I'm also going to miss having rubles in my wallet (they're so much prettier than U.S. money!) and the awesome feeling of being able to buy lunch for about $3 (NOT at McDonald's).
However, I will NOT miss my fear of ingesting tap water or ice potentially made of tap water, and being self-conscious whenever I speak in English (both somewhat irrational, but they happened).
Russia was incredible, and I definitely want to go back someday. But right now, I am very much looking forward to sleeping in my own room tonight!
Although it's a pretty easy transition coming back to the U.S. and everything I've known for... well, my entire life, there are still some things that are weird at first. Like people now understanding everything I say when I'm out in public and having to order all of my food in English.
Although communication with others is definitely easier in my native language (and the only language I'm fluent in), I am going to miss being surrounded by native/fluent Russians speakers everywhere I go. I'm also going to miss having rubles in my wallet (they're so much prettier than U.S. money!) and the awesome feeling of being able to buy lunch for about $3 (NOT at McDonald's).
However, I will NOT miss my fear of ingesting tap water or ice potentially made of tap water, and being self-conscious whenever I speak in English (both somewhat irrational, but they happened).
Russia was incredible, and I definitely want to go back someday. But right now, I am very much looking forward to sleeping in my own room tonight!
Mother Earth Review
This is a review meant more for general consumption. (I couldn't figure out how to imbed it, so here is the link)
https://youtu.be/HrH8WxHBZ0U
https://youtu.be/HrH8WxHBZ0U
Reflections On My First Voyage Abroad
Until this month, I had never left the country. Not even to go to Canada or Mexico. I'd never even been on a trip for more than a week. So for some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to change all this and ship off to Russia for a month. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I saw Russia's two biggest cities, visited four art galleries, marveled at eight churches (and a monastery), saw twenty-one plays, road the metro forty times, and ate, this is a conservative estimate, one hundred and twenty Russian pancakes. It was a busy, busy trip.
I ended up getting a lot more than I bargained for. I really couldn't have anticipated what it means to be with a different culture, or what it's like to not be surrounded by my native language. These experiences ranged from amazing (discovering the Russian passion for culture, be it literature or theater), to charming (discovering how kind most people were, and having fun conversations in my broken Russian), to frustrating (constant difficulty and embarrassment while ordering at restaurants), to terrifying (being taken aside by security at the theater and asked questions/given instructions I couldn't understand). I'd foolishly thought that culture shock wouldn't be so bad, but by the second week of the trip my language skills were shot, my energy was gone, and my frustration with the country had peaked. Thankfully the frustration waned, and writing this from the US all I can think about is how I can't wait to go back to Moscow some day.
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