You haven’t lived in St. Petersburg until you’ve moshed with a Babushka.

I haven’t written in a long time and I really don’t feel like playing this serious a game of catch up. The title of this post is something I said long ago but I don’t thing I ever typed to you all. The metro gets crazy crowded during rush hour (go figure). And everyone lining up at the doors near Petrogradskaya make a decent mosh pit as I like to call it. You all get slammed up against each other and have little say in which direction you would like to go, so if you want to get into that door, and I mean really want it you need to either push or brace yourself against the crowd trying to reach that same goal. IT is delightful. I always feel sorry of the very young and the very old who are in the crowd and I hate being slammed against them because then I feel I must try to protect them from the surge and must for the most part give up my selfish goal of getting in the metro asap. I usually go to rehab during rush hour.
Today (Monday) there was no school because yesterday was women’s day. That would be exciting except I don’t have class on Monday and the place I wanted to go was closed for women’s day. But for women’s day I got Apple soap from Nonna and Elena, a candy bar from Nicolai, a magnetic bookmark from Lubov (I forgot her ochestva), and a dolphin-shaped banana-scented soap from Sergey. I think I made out pretty well, although I didn’t get any flowers, which is kinda surprising because everyone and there dog had flowers all week. I did give flowers though to Nonna and Elena. Good times.
Let’s see. Thursday I sang in Big church with Sergey (just so everyone knows this is the guy in the pics and he will be called seryozha, sergey, and/or seryoga). There were like 60 people there and we sang in microphones and stuff. I sang the solo of “My Jesus, My Savior” in English and then Seryozha and I sang it together in Russian and he played guitar throughout. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it and on Friday Seryozha told me that they want me to sing more and that everyone loved me… and that no one complemented him. Aw, poor guy. I told him that the next time I sing in English he has to too. He tried to talk his way out of if but I told him I am a good teacher. Then he asked which song and I said whichever he wanted and he said “Ti omoy Menya” (which is one of my favorites EVER) and I said there is no English translation for it and he said I better translate it. …So I did. I gave it to him on Sunday and we practiced it today. I told him we better sing it on Sunday and he said “Maybe” in English.
Friday day I really don’t remember what I did… hmm… oh, I had Russian class and then Paige and I hung out and I used the internet a lot and began a preliminary job search, then Paige and I ate at Nyamburg which is a yummy and pretty cheap café near Chkalovskaya. :) OH, today when I went for a walk I found a Chinese play on Chakolovskaya! I pass it everyday but the sign is really high up and I guess I never saw it. I am sure I’ll go some time soon. …Friday… Then I went to rehab and we worked and hung out and I went home. Then on Saturday I slept in and then Met up with Paige and we trekked over to the Okkervil River. IT is way close to where she lives and exactly between where she lives and the metro I go to for church. so we headed that way from her metro. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day. Then we went shopping… but more like window shopping except going in. Then we ate at McDonalds and couldn’t find a seat for like 8 minutes so a worker came over and asked if we needed a seat and when we said yes she walked over to some girls and asked if we could sit with them and we did… It was awkward. I wasn’t in the mood for McyD’s anyways but we didn’t want to trek to some unknown location looking for decent grub. Then I went to our little Church Bible study. Then I went home. Then on Sunday I was late for church. I mean like 20-30 minutes late and I figured since it was big church nobody would notice but as I was entering the gate from the woods to the street by the church Sergey was leaving and greeted me and told me I should sit in the balcony. A)what are the odds of being there exactly when he is. B) caught. Then later that day another guy told me he say me in church that morning too. Oh, speaking of getting caught. I am always really early or really late. For rehab and church I would say I am usually really early. On Saturday I was like 30 minutes early so I snuck in the building as usual and then was like “I don’t wanna wait in this shady stairway again” so I left the building and went for a walk jovially listening to hard rock and traversing through rickety Russian open air markets. When I returned I stood a ways off and at a candy bar, then I say the van of rehabbers pull up so I sauntered over making it to the door right when they did. On Friday Sergey told me I am like a clock, and I told him he was way wrong, but when we came up at the same time it was as if his statement had been confirmed. Ha, and when I went inside one of the mothers said “You came here a lot earlier didn’t you? I tried to run to you but you left already.” I thought it was funny.
And then on Sunday night I came early to practice the songs we were gonna sing. I let some people in (we have a weird security door) and Sergey was one of them and he was like “Deah is EVERYWHERE” which was kinda what I was thinking that day about him… al catching me being late and all.
Oh, I talked to OU and I got my loan stuff sorted out they said. They said I should get the money that has been sitting in my OU account to my bank this week. Yea Jesus!!
Today I went shopping alone with Jesus and we bought a spring coat since it has been warming up and I’ve been sweltering in my winter coats. I like it a bunch. I tested it out today because I wasn’t sure if it was too light. I think it did pretty well, but the Russian were appalled. Sergey in particular talked to me for like 7 minutes about how I should wear more layers despite my “Warm Oklahoman blood.” But the babushkas had a similar reaction. They all love me. Now when I enter a room they all greet me so warming and today as I left it was like a chorus of “Go with God” and on guy called my sestrichka which is diminutive and I like to think of it as “darling sister.” It all makes me very happy. IT saddens me to think I don’t know if anything is going on there tomorrow for me to do… grrr. I shall have to wait until Wednesday! Well. That is pretty much the show. Peace players!