General musings in list form.

1. I feel like all the Russian tutors are so much older than I am, even though I know they are all my age or younger. This might have to do with the fact that I feel like Russians generally dress older than they actually are. This also might have to do with the fact I sound like a mentally disabled six year old when I speak Russian.

2. Also, I feel like all of the students I have met who were abroad here in the spring are so much older than I am, even after I find out we're the same age. I guess living in Russia for a year will do that.

3. A toast I learned in Conversation class that I thought was funny..... it might not come across exactly the same in English, but here it goes: "A turtle is swimming across a river, on her back stands a poisonous snake. The snake thinks: I bite -- the turtle throws me off. The turtle thinks: I throw the snake off -- she bites. So we drink to female friendship, which is able to overcome any obstacles!"

4. I saw what I thought was a dead bird crumpled on the sidewalk this morning while walking to school and as I walked by its mouth slowly opened and closed in the most pathetic, tragic heartbreaking way.

5. Speaking of animals, I forgot to mention the amazing dog I saw after I was at Stolle on Thursday. I was walking from the 1st line to the metro and on the corner of the 1st line and Sredni Prospekt was sitting this big fluffy black dog that looked vaguely like a Labradoodle but less goofy. It was sitting on the corner not exactly serious but almost thoughtful. There appeared to be no nearby human associated with this dog. He didn't look like all the other mangy strays I see, but he also didn't look like he belonged to anyone. He seemed like his own dog. He was just sitting on the corner with no intentions of moving -- he looked like he'd already been there a while -- not tied to anything, no collar, nothing. Just sitting and watching traffic. This dog made such a majestic impression on me that I felt like he could be the reincarnation of Dostoevsky. Yeah, I don't know, that was what immediately came into my head. Maybe not Dostoevsky, but someone human and equally thoughtful -- maybe Turgenev. I wish I had taken a picture, but I was too in awe to stop, too afraid I'd break the moment. I didn't want to disturb him.

6. Theories on wearing headphones while commuting on the metro: I haven't done it yet because I like to be able to hear what is going on around me, in general I like this even in familiar places because I like to eavesdrop and such, but here it's kind of an always-on-guard thing. But then again, most of the Russians aged 10 - 40 who are on the metro every morning listen to their headphones, sometimes so loudly I can hear the music 5+ feet away. This makes me feel that wearing headphones isn't so much a sign of not paying attention and being distracted and an easy target, but of confidence. If you wear headphones while commuting, it means you are so confident in what you are doing, you are so experienced and comfortable, you are willing to limit your hearing. So maybe I should start wearing my headphones, though maybe just without music playing, you know, to have the best of both strategies. Ha. It was a long commute this morning when I was considering all this.

7. I finished When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris today. So good. Go read it, right now. I'd loan you my copy but Emma has it right now and, well, it's in Russia.

8. Pictures are up! SO MANY pictures are up. Be thankful for all the work I just put into that. (Why am I complaining, clearly I like doing it or I wouldn't do it at all.)

9. Jeez, how often do you people check my photo site? Before I even added titles to the photos they each had one hit.

10. I watched part of "The Forgotten" in Russian tonight. Of course.