The ending so Near

Been a while since the last update, but things in general are going well. I've been rather homesick lately, even though the weather's quite nice. There's been a major hoard of mosquitoes in town, but I successfully prayed to the rain gods to drown them out for a few days. It's cooler with the rain and winds, so it no longer feels like summertime. School for the most part has finished, and I went to watch the Last Bell for the graduating class. They have exams arriving in June, and unfortunately so do I.

There's approximately one month left in Russia. This is both wonderful and bittersweet at the same time. I would really love to travel around the country, but there's no chance of obtaining permission from the authorities.. On the brighter note, we finally have news about the TRKI test. This is after four months of persistently asking...btw. Students MIGHT be able to take the test in Moscow sometimes in June; I have no other information other than that sadly.

Plans were vague at first. We didn't know if it was a possibly to sit this exam or not. I used to be so passionate for studying for this test, by preparing the best I could, but through May, I've lost a bit of self-motivation to perform well anymore. I can't blame it on the weather; it's sometimes else. I lost value in certificates and fancy pieces of paper which recognize academic achievement.

Sometimes I still feel like my "real life" is in pause. I took a year off, when most of my peers have started their freshman year of university. This feels so strange to come back, and yet at the same time, I'm looking forward to returning home so much. It's going to be a bit difficult re-learning college level mathematiques, but it's all part of a long process. I have no reason to slack off. I really need to focus on my education.

And yesterday night, I watched Eurovision on television, this was absolutely awesome. One of my life goals has been achieved. Oh, and I suppose it was cool to see Russia regain the World Hockey Champion title earlier in the month too. So all in all, I hope June will be a great month. See you guys soon!

Coming Soon to Theaters

On Tuesday, we went to the film Avengers in the nearest cinema. It was
a fabulous opening night. Noticeably, the boys significantly
outnumbered the girls in attendance, but my girl friends and I helped
even out the number just....a tiny bit. I believe none of the humor
was lost in translation, because there were so many memorable laughs
from Iron Man's impenetrable "kamen" (stone) heart, Hulk smashing the
overconfident demi-god Loki and so on. I really enjoyed the movie,
although I thought the buildup dragged on too long. It took the team
of superheros forever to build trust in each other and develop
teamwork, but nevertheless the movie clicked. Later that night, walked
around with my host sister in our lovely neighborhood overlooking the
"zalif" (bay, riverside). I don't know why I never mentioned this
earlier, but we also have a place called "Belii Allei" (White Alley)
with three glass pyramids that resemble mini-Louvre museums. There
really is no purpose for these displays, but White Alley is a really
nice place to be.

Earlier this week, my sister led me down a steep path to the bay. It
was literally behind the apartment, but I was scared out of my wits
going down the path. It looked so darn dangerous. Plus, the sun was
setting, so I poorly saw where we were going. However, as we reached
the end, there stood the gorgeous Volga river right in front of us.
The water shined, looking so serene and clean. My sister joked that
this place would be a great place for a date, because there's even a
beach down the road, but I know that's not happening anytime soon. We
were nearly out of breath when we went up the path home. And so, we
agreed that we should exercise more once exams ended and summer
started. I'm sure I'll go back to the bay once more to photograph, but
I'm not much of a "nature-person".

And what else is new? I went to the Finnish-Russian sauna with my host
mother, sister and host mother's friends. There was a pleasant small
swimming pool, where all these women and I swam "golie", and this term
I'll leave for you to translate yourselves. It's a decent time in
Russia. Lessons are more interesting in this last quarter, then
compared to of the other 3/4th of the year. I've settled into a good
crowd of friends. Then, I realize that school will finish at the end
of May, the Petersburg trip will arrive after, and soon I'll be home.
I seriously am ecstatic to return to America. Certainly, I will miss my
year in Russia, and I'll miss the novelty of Russian culture, but I
am so ready to leave. I still dream about travelling the world, and
learning several world languages. Although, there will be some dull
moments this summer at home; it will all be okay. I have time to catch
up with friends and family.

Also, I'm already planning my whole exciting adventure for university!