:)

Let’s see, what’s new. My phone won’t call Paige right now… IT is confusing but nothing to worry about I am sure. Today I went to both of my classes. Paige didn’t go to the first one. I drew a picture of Cherith and me as my doodle for the day. IT is really hard for me to pay attention in there. I did enjoy the power point about existentialism, though. Yea! My phone is working again. I turned it off and then on again. Then I got online a bit and then Paige met up with me and we went to out next class. That was Literature. I am SOOO glad I took that class with Rutsala. She talked a lot about the books they are talking about. The thing that sucks is the kids are ALWAYS talking and it is yet again really hard to pay attention… and all the names blur in my head. In there was a test today and we BOMBED. BOMBED. BOMBED. IT was horrible. And as we turned it in the teacher talked to us about how we must know more than her kids and stuff because we choose to study it… I tried to say it was so hard in Russian but very interesting. I was trying to sound sophisticated while not getting her hopes up for the test score. I think she is going to be pretty darn disappointed. Oh well, when they read the test score aloud in class next week (and oh, yes, they do that) it might give me the overdose of shame I frequently need to get my butt in gear. Or it might make me cry. Only time will tell. :)
Then Paige and I went to Carls Jr. Good times. Then we wandered around the center of town. It was fun. The sun was out and it was nice weather if you are in the sun but really cold if you were in the shade. We found some benches in the sun and when we got to them we read the sign on them and realized they had wet white paint on them so we sat on the edge of the empty fountain and watched the numerous people approach the benches in hopw only to have them smashed. IT was also fun to watch their stradegies. Some girls sat ont heir purses and then flipped out when the paint got on the purses and spend like 15 minutes pulling out various papers and trying them out. There was a couple where the guy sat down and the gal sat on his lap. HE was shamed as he walked a away with a butt of paint. He couldn’t see it and wanted to see the damage. IT really wasn’t too bad in his case. I saw a bar in the distance called the Korova Bar and I was hoping it was Clockwork Orange themed but it was just cow hide obsessed and swanky. On our walk we ran into Volodya from Church and we were right by his work so he invited us up for tea and coffee. It is this huge real estate place at like the moist prime piece of real estate I think I have ever been in. He said the room we were in when we drank tea was the Tchaikovsky room. I guess it was where he lived. And it had a beautiful view of one of the most well-known bridges in St. Pete. Very nice. We talked all about all sorts of things including the economic crisis, real estate in Russia today, Easter, my future plans, etc. Then he walked us out and we went on our merry way.

Then Paige and I enjoyed the sun for a while longer and window shopped some more and then we went to the metro and parted ways. IT was good times. I headed straight to Ozerki even though I had plenty of time. I went to Okay, the supermarket, and bought some pantyhose to wear for the festival. Then I went to KFC and didn’t get anything but sat down and read revelations and worked more on the little at home section part of the devotional. Then I headed to church. We sing a song, break out into groups and discuss the lesson, then meet back up and sing another song and listen to a sermon. The songs we sang today I liked very much. I don’t remember the name of the first one but the second one was “There is none like you.” This was just about the first week that I contributed to the discussion. Before I was either not prepared or … well, mostly not prepared. The lesson is over Revelations. Not my favorite book of the Bible, in fact it is probably my least favorite. But the entire Bible is Good, Holy, and useful and I should learn it all. Plus there is such comfort just being with believers, and it is where I met Masha, although she hasn’t been around for a while. Anyways it was nice.
Today was Seryozha’s last day at rehab. He had been living there I guess as the leader. I never was quite sure whether he was living there or not until like a week ago, but as of today he doesn’t live there. So, he and I walked/metroed home together like his mom and I do. We talked about food, cooking, things I miss from America, and Psychology and whether it is any good at all. It seems no one is very keen on psychologists here. Seryozha wasn’t antagonistic, just perhaps not completely informed and understandably wary. Plus he does have a good point in saying psychology can’t offer a 100 fail proof way out of drugs and he has never met a single person who became and stayed drug free with psychological help. I think that is the general picture here. I tried to explain my view on psychology and again tried to explain that psychology and Jesus aren’t enemies and they can work beautifully together. It is so strange to me when people can’t seem to imagine a world where there is a God who works through science. We can observe and analyze the way God’s creation works… isn’t that pretty much science, from creationist point of view? Yes I am simplifying matters, but whatever. I’m sleepy.
Okay, Night Night.