4-25-07

4-25-07

A worker came today to begin repairing the damage that the burst pipes caused back in March. She’ll return again tomorrow to finish the job, so right now the apartment just smells a lot like a building under construction. It’s weird and not really comforting. The apartment itself doesn’t really have a smell of its own that makes a huge impression. It’s not like our apartment in Moldova that reeked of the gigantic barrels of cabbage in brine on the balcony. Instead, it’s just a subtle combination of whatever Marina made for dinner, orange, tea, and sometimes a hint of car exhaust from the street. So now my nose is reeling from the introduction of this new smell.

Yesterday I went to Papa John’s after classes with Brandon, Ryan, Nohemi, and Hannah. The crowd would’ve probably been larger but the area studies program had an excursion. We pigged out on pizzas and cheese sticks and lingered over our empty plates for a while. Eventually we paid the bill and split up. Last week, Hannah got a package slip. Cadence showed it to her, it had been in the “Unclaimed” box, even though it clearly had her name on it. The package the slip referred to was sent in January, and may have gotten here in a (relatively) timely fashion, but we have no idea how long the slip was in that box.

So she wanted to go to the post office. Specifically, the post office where her package would be, which was south of Smolny. Ryan knew how to get there, and Ryan and I are both interested in buying cardboard boxes to ship stuff home. I’ve accumulated things since I’ve gotten here, so I’d like to make some space in my suitcase, both size- and weight-wise. I figure shipping home things like my bulky winter coat, the boots I bought while here, and the books that I’m not leaving here should do the trick. Problem is, it’s not like there’s Mailboxes Etc. or Kinko’s here. Nathan told us that you can buy shipping boxes at the post office.

So we walked there from Papa John’s and it was a walk through a more industrial area that was interesting but made my eyes burn from the pollution. Eventually we got there, and Hannah got her package—books her father sent her so she wouldn’t run out of things to read back in January. A little late now, but it’s all good, Ryan and I both went ahead and borrowed ones from her as we walked home. The woman at the post office indicated that they had no boxes. This would seem to imply that at others there ARE boxes, but that remains to be seen. At the very least, we can always go to a grocery store or something and try to get one free from them.

Today was a short day, and then Hannah, Mattison, and I went to the Subway close to school. My original plan for today was to go to the UFO Museum, but Mattison really wants to go and he had to go try to sort out his tickets home at the SAS office and couldn’t come. So instead Hannah and I went to Gostiny Dvor to finish up our souvenir shopping. Lo and behold, everyone but one person is completely taken care of. That one person knows who she is and she’s well aware it’s not because she’s a person void of personality, such that nothing makes me think of her. Instead, I’m just being too picky. I’m a member of the “I’ll know the right present when I see it” school of thought. It’s worked for everyone else. So I have faith. Maybe tomorrow’ll be the day, who knows?

That said--it’s really comforting to not have to worry about that anymore. Now any stupid purchases I make will be for me and me alone. Actually, I only see one stupid purchase on my horizon, and it’s not even that stupid—I really want a Zenit scarf. I wanted to go to their match on May 6th, but it’s really looking like that’s the day that Mattison, Hannah, and I are going to go to Peterhoff. However, when I buy the scarf, I will not be a poser—I’ve watched many of their matches on TV. So there.

We got our final exam schedule today, and it’s lame. I guess I’m just used to the American-style finals week, when you don’t have classes, just the finals scattered on the days of the week. Nope, we’re still going to classes and then having our finals during the time that the class meets for the last time. Yeah, I know, it’s lame. Whatever, I’m very much taking it all in stride. Including the fact that on Saturday, the 5th, we have classes, and our Civilization papers are due this day. Because both May 1st and May 9th are state holidays, all of Russia works on the Saturday in between them to make up for the missed work. And you know, when in Rome…

So I’ve got the topic for my Civilization paper figured out, I’m not stressing about it. As for the rest of the finals themselves, I guess I’m not really too stressed. That’ll probably change, but I really don’t mind. It’s weird that right now back at IU it’s Dead Week, and tomorrow’s finals week, and then everyone’s going home. I’m just one week behind. While I’m looking forward to the rest that Pskov will provide, I’m well aware that when I return, it’ll be time to buckle down and make the final push. It’s not really a push to leave, more just a push to make sure every loose end is tied and all the hatches are battened down and whatnot. I know I’ll be wistful when it’s time to actually leave, but I’d much rather be dealing with that emotion than with the panic of knowing that I’ve left loose ends. I’m just like that, I guess.