Gobbledygook is a real word. Huh.

Here's a crazy observation that I'd like to share with you all: Russia makes me MOODY! I don't know what it is, but I have some insane bi-polar tendencies goin' on (DISCLAIMER: If you don't want to read about my emotions, just skip the rest of this paragraph). So it's like this: One minute I am on top of the world, loving Russia, and feeling at home in this foreign city. Then, all of a sudden, I realize that I'm NOT on top of the world... I'm LOST! I'm lost in the middle of this MONSTROUS country, and no one understands me: in Russian or English or Gobbledygook, I just can't seem to communicate. And then I think about my classes, and how terribly SIMPLE they are, and how I feel like they are teaching us all the wrong things, and it's FRUSTRATING! Which makes me miss St. Olaf, and the amazing professors, and all of my fantastic friends, and having all of my own things (instead of the hodge-podge selection that I brought in my tiny suitcase)...

Needless to say, I have spent many a Novgorod night pining for something/someplace/someone in Minnesota... But I've found a way to fix everything, and get back to that top-of-the-world feeling: What works best for me is to give myself a simple task, that I know I can accomplish, and just tackling the BEJEEZUS out of it! So today, after one of our professors gave us all a very harsh and unnecessary lecture about what terrible students we were, I decided to buy ...TOOTHPASTE. You can't mess that up, because Colgate and Crest are Universal! So, what did I do today? I bought TOOTHPASTE, in RUSSIAN, and I ROCKED it. Other things I have accomplished in Russia, in order to achieve the same effect:

-Trimmed my own hair
-Translated a Russian pop-song
-Chosen my classes for next semester
-Done my laundry
-Given myself a manicure
-Made a color-coded calendar of the next four months
-Sliced 5 apples, and then ate them ALL.

I am Victorious!
Sarah