Crystal in Russia

The Last Supper

Yesterday my mom cooked some of my favorite foods--ribs, sweet potatoes/yams (I can't tell the difference), cornbread, and potato salad. I ate two servings of everything within an hour, and I think it made my blood sugar drop really quickly. I fell asleep on the couch for several hours. That's okay, because then I stayed up late going to the movies. We saw "Thank You for Smoking" for free because the ticket office closed early. It was very good.

One movie that was terrible (I know this doesn't have anything to do with Russia) was Star Wars Episode III. Throughout the whole thing, I thought--couldn't they spend millions of dollars on visual effects and good actors on a good story? We have half a century of great science fiction, but the ones that make it to the screen are either shallow action adventures (War of the Worlds, Minority Report) or unscientific, CGI-driven "blockbusters" by a man named George Lucas. I'm just saying, some of the best stories about good and evil and contemporary society will never make it to Hollywood.

I got information about my host family. They live in a "comfortable" house with a computer and washing machine. My room (probably a living room, with a sofa bed) has a TV and VCR. Their son, Sasha, is 20. The mother works with ACTR a few days a week, and the dad is a navy officer. Their daughter, who is married and lives somewhere else, went to the US with ACTR. The mom is religious and they like to go to the theater. According to the coordinator, they are also very talkative and one of the best families. I'm really happy about the washing machine because I practiced handwashing the other day. They came out okay, but I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and all that kneading was not easy.

Packing has been fun (sarcasm). I have a large suitcase and a small one for carryon. I packed and unpacked three times last week trying to minimize as much as possible. I only have two pairs of jeans, two khakis, and two skirts. Maybe when I get back I won't take as much stuff back to school with me. (Why do we always bring a vanload? It never seems like a lot.)

As far as getting there, I'm only worried about getting my medicine through. I'm taking an anti-inflammatory pill for my CTS and Zyrtec for allergies. They both come in these big orange bottles (3 months supply), and the CTS pills are huge. I have the original prescription for them, and I got my physician to write a letter, but I hope they don't take them.

Tomorrow I fly up to Washington for orientation. On Thursday we'll fly out, and on Friday afternoon arrive in St. Petersburg. We'll stay at the university dorm until Monday, when we move in with our host families.

posted by Crystal @ 5:23 PM