Advisor meeting while abroad.

That's right. Major advisor meeting while in Russia.

Well, not quite. We mostly just ate and talked about things completely not related to academics or Wellesley.

I told the Hodge clan to meet me on the bridge of the four horsemen at 1pm and they rolled up in a silver car exactly on time (how un-Russian of them), all three of them waving and smiling (also how un-Russian) at me through the windows. It was another one of those strange, surreal, wait, where am I again? am I in Wellesley, MA? moments. When I got in the car though, Professor Hodge said that I, on the other hand, looked quite Russian leaning against the railing of the bridge, reading ever-so-casually in my tweed blazer. Ha.

The car was driven by the Hodges' guide/man who is helping faciliate their adoption, Andrei, and the five of us parked and ate lunch at a Georgian restaurant not too far from the Georgian restaurant Erin D took me too back in the day back in.... June. Wow that feels long ago. The food was really good though. We all had the business lunch which was salad and soup and a main course plus some of PJ's khachapuri -- best thing in the world. I was so full that at 9pm after class I still wasn't really hungry but Olga fed me anyway.

Anyway, they all looked great and PJ was tired but talkative and told me about the projects he has to do because he is missing a week of school -- bringing in an object from Russia and explaining it to his 3rd grade class and daily journal writing. He only needs to do it for 20 minutes every other day but he is already on volume #2 and writes for 30 minutes every day. I knew I loved that kid.

It was great hearing about how well everything is going for them. The little girl is very sweet apparently and two and a half so she already has a personality and everything. Look at that jump start. This is the first of three trips they need to do though to complete the adoption, so they'll be back in December twice more before they can take their new daughter home. Hopefully I will see them again then. Also, as she is already speaking and speaking Russian, they are going to try to have her keep up her Russian, so when I babysit for them next year they are hoping I can read her Russian children's stories and such and we can chat. I also told them about our neighbors and their adopted children who are speaking Russian and thought maybe they should get in contact with them...... I am actually just writing this on here because I forgot to email Mom and Dad about this and am tired and know they will read this so they'll see this on here instead. Ha. So, yeah, maybe they should get in touch.

I walked with them for a bit after lunch while they did some errands and then we parted ways so they could go back to the orphanage to visit more with the girl and so I could get to Vasilevskii Ostrov for class. BUT, but, BUT -- not before we formed PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF THE EVENT:


There. I remembered this time!

Speaking of photographs, I picked up the first roll shot with the Kiev on my way to film class (ha, interesting, anyway) and, miracle of miracles, IT WORKS. Beautiful. I had a slight spacing issue in terms of I just didn't advance the film far enough initially before I started shooting and stopped shooting when I still had a chunk of film left. But the pictures look pretty good. Except for Ilana and Emma always going and closing their eyes, assholes. I'll "scan" them and get them up here eventually, though probably not until next week when I'll be sorting through all the photos I am bound to take this weekend in Pskov as well.

And then tonight in film class we finished watching Solaris, directed by Tarkovsky, not the one with George Clooney. I really liked it in its philosphical sci-fi way. I recommend it.

Anyhoo. Tomorrow is Friday, so you know that means a hellish amount of classes, followed by sleeping because I have to wake up obscenely early (read: 6am) on Saturday (ужас!) to get on a bus for six hours (кошмар!) to journey to Pskov. But it should be fun once I get there.

Moral of the story: Nunni, you might just have to wait until Sunday night (afternoon your time -- unless we get stuck in horribly horrendous traffic which is entirely possible though fewer people will be coming home from the dachas on Sunday afternoon now.... dacha traffic is the Petersburg answer to Cape traffic) at the earliest for another update.