No News on the Home Front

Health:
I went to the doctor again today. This trip was even more fun than the previous foray into the mysteries of Russian health care. Today I had no fewer than 5 doctors look at me, and I was interrogated (via the translation efforts of Tim, our group leader) about the duration, appearance, etc.

However, they have now determined that I DO NOT have an allergy. (I bought a bar of chocolate as soon as I got back to school.) Tomorrow at 9:30 I am going to a dermatologist. In Russia, you have to make doctor appointments through other doctors. I saw a lot of people just waiting at the clinic today.

My cream seems to be doing its best, so I am going to keep using it. I have one Zyrtec left, so I'll probably take that tomorrow. I was given no instructions upon leaving the hospital today, so I guess I will just wing it as I see fit.

Classes:
They have changed two of our classes. Lecture is now a lecture series by a professor from the history department, A.O. Tyurin. He is very interesting, but they have unfortunately limited his lectures to topics about Astrakhan'. By the time we leave, I will be one of 22 experts in the world on the City of Astrakhan' in all of its tiniest details. Seriously, a change of pace from the topic of "Astrakhan'" would be greatly appreciated.

The addition of Choir didn't really change any other classes, but I am enjoying it greatly. I love to sing Russian songs...and the sadder they are, the better the song. This is not my opinion; it's fact. The choir leader is also our Phonetics instructor, so we have to sing everytime we see her. They try to vary the sad songs with happy ones, but these are generally so fast that my American tongue can't negotiate the sounds fast enough. I hope they give us the melodies before we leave. I will rock out singing my Russian dirges in the Jetta.

People:
For the most part, I really enjoy my fellow students here in Astrakhan'. There are still a few I haven't really hung out with, but I am okay with that. My group (Chamomile...seriously) is a great group of people, and I really enjoy spending time with them. Ross, Sara, Laura, and Jennifer are great fun, and will actually make an effort to adhere to the language pledge.

I need to be more diligent in my adherence to the pledge. I would say that, with other students, I am at 50%, and there are times that I say things in English that I could have said in Russian, with a little effort and disregard for perfection of grammar. There are somethings I just can't say, especially if I am in my "translate-from-English-thoughts" mode. More and more, I am using Russian words in my thoughts. Maybe in 5 weeks I will completely switch over. I hope so.

I can't say "black bread." That sentence was actually very hard to type. It is always "чёрный хлеб."

There are people on this trip who I have never heard try to speak Russian. More than a few have brushed aside comments (or when recounting adventures in bars) with "I can't speak Russian." This is incredibly annoying. When Tim delivers his weekly lecture about the pledge (which for our group--chamomiles--has become less harsh), he tells us that we have to be our own language police. I would rather be able to chose my own lunch table and sit with people I know will speak Russian.

Oh, I love how Drusia speaks Russian. She speaks very well, but she is from California. She inserts "like" into her Russian sentences. It is great, because I know my Russian teacher is wondering what the strange sound she is making is. Drusia says "like" everywhere you would expect it in an English sentence, but she is speaking Russian sentences. Drusia also speaks Italian, and I wonder if she does the same thing in that language.

David has the most awesome Russian accent. He and Ross get praised all the time in Phonetics. I do not. Poor Sara can't even fake a rolled 'r', and our phonetics teacher is forever making pitying noises at her. I think I can fake the Russian 'r' pretty well, but today we had to reproduce isolated hard and soft 'r's; it was very difficult. Today's phonetics lesson was all about hard and soft consonents--my jaw got very tired from the "smile" that supposedly helps you soften the consonents.

Another light day--but I have massive amounts of homework to do. I'll write again soon.

I do miss you all...and thanks so much for the comments, Facebook messages, and emails. It helps so much!

Love, Shelley