3-5-07

3-5-07

Not much exciting has happened, but I feel the need to begin this blog post with a letter.

Dear Russia,

You’re on notice. Seriously. I’ve dealt with the mean babushkas, the creepy smelly guys on the Metro, getting pushed and prodded in giant crowds, eating foods that do horrible things to my body, crappy weather, inconsiderate waiters and cashiers, and probably a million other things. But today just crossed the line. You stole candy.
Today I received two pieces of mail. One was a postcard from Emily, sent a month ago. The other was a thick, padded envelope from Maggie, also sent a month ago. I can deal with the amount of time it’s taking mail to get here. It sucks, but I’m dealing. When I picked up Maggie’s envelope, I noticed that one side of it had been ripped open. Where inside there was supposed to be bar of Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate, as Maggie had promised me in January, there was only the letter, which began, “Behold! American chocolate!”
My chocolate was taken from me. Now, I’m not certain where in the system this happened, but I’m more than willing to bet it was your guys instead of mine. Who does that?!? As much as it sucks for me, now I have to email Maggie and say, “Hey, you know how you put so much effort into sending me that chocolate? Yeah, I didn’t get it.”
You’re lucky I’m leaving for a while. When we get back, we’re starting anew, got it? After travel week, the amount of time remaining is a few days more than the amount of time I’ve been here before travel week. So it’s a chance to make a whole new impression on me. Spring’s coming, isn’t it? Let’s work on this. Just know that you’re on notice.

Sincerely,
Sally


Well, that letter explains the mood I was in this afternoon. I’ve got a cold, the weather’s crappy, and some Russian ate my Hershey’s Special Dark. Luckily, it’s almost travel week. In my mind, I think I’m picturing as some sort of sunny, happy land of smiling blond people who want nothing more than to make you feel comfortable. Of course, the weather there isn’t much different than it is here, but I’m hoping people’s attitudes will be better. Maybe because of the public health care system.

Today after classes, Becky, Hillary, and I went to Kofe Haus to go over the last couple things about our trip. We also discussed that while in Stockholm we need to find some kind of decent Mexican restaurant. Even a freaking Taco Bell at this point. I had a brainstorm and we realized that, should we become desperate, we could use Armenian lavash as a tortilla and make ourselves some kind of TexMex dish. We’ll see.

Sunday was pretty much a waste, compared to Saturday, at least. I went to Kofe Haus in the morning and had the same waitress who always seems to ignore me even when I’M THE ONLY PERSON IN THE RESTAURANT AT 10 IN THE MORNING. After that I had lunch at Subway and intended to go to the Russian Museum, but it was closed for a while for some kind of private party. Whatever. Then I went to Café Max and wandered Nevsky. I was hoping to see if a movie I wanted to see was playing, but movie times here always seem to be as inconvenient as possible. The weather’s been gloomy and alternating between rain and snow but things haven’t frozen yet so everything’s muddy or slushy.

If it wasn’t for this head cold, I’d probably be taking everything in stride, but it’s really just pushed me over the edge. It’s stressful enough to have a cold; it’s more stressful to have to hide it from Marina. I’m not going to take my chances with any of her home remedies—I’ll treat it just like I’d treat it at school, I’ll pass on the mustard paste, thank you very much.

The next two days before Moscow look incredibly bland, but Moscow should be fun. Red Square! Rotting Lenin! Cheap souvenirs! And then, after that, our Scandinavian Adventure! Here goes nothing!