I feel pretty...

Since none of you lovely kids are here to see me, and since this stuff isn't seasonal very often at Baylor, I feel the need to share that I look cute today (or at least I think so). I'm wearing a white tank under a cobalt blue v-neck with my brown linen skirt and my cowboy boots. At least one woman has actaully ogled my boots today (as in she stared at my feet with her jaw dropped when she walked by). It's actually kind of funny - at least one of my companions rolled her eyes at my boots initially, but it turns out that I'm the height of fashion here - cowboy boots are very "in" right now. Of course, most of theirs are metallic with about a four-inch heel, but that just makes mine that much cooler, right?

Fun facts about Russia:
-Russian door knobs don't turn. They're like cabinet handles or something - a flat disk on a stem.
-Russian women love love love high heels. (Ashley would fit right in) They are not detered by such minor hazards as lack of sidewalk, puddles resembling small lakes, and portions of the pavement that were probably nice and smooth when people still used the term "comrade".
-Don't drink the water. When buying bottled water, make sure it's still (that would be the light blue cap for my beloved Bon Aqua).
-You can buy American hot chocolate at street stands for under a buck, but it isn't available at the swanky places. What they call "hot chocolate" is actual, molten chocolate. What we call "hot chocolate" they designate as "hot chocolate milk" (which is actually kind of accuate, but whatever.)

I got stopped and asked for directions today. I understood most of the question, but I didn't actually know the answer, so I just told her I was sorry, but I didn't know. That was kind of cool, though. It probably helps that I do have Russian coloration, and today's get-up is kind of Russian (the usual jeans and a long sleeve t and sneakers is not so Russian).

I went to the gym again today, even though I didn't really want to. I got another correction in Russian-English. I understood him (plus I already knew what he was telling me - I shouldn't get lazy about my form when people are watching), but when I tried to fill in blanks in English (this trainer has been learning new English from us), he thought I didn't understand, so the explanation got longer and longer. Fun times. I also stopped at the chocolate factory and bought a 100 grams of a new kind of candy. I think I'm just going to work my way through in little bits, so I'll have an idea of what the really good stuff is, and I'll bring that back.

Can someone on campus tell me what happened that resulted in my getting an e-mail about not inviting political folks on campus? I checked the Lariat online, but it didn't have anything useful to offer.

A very happy birthday to Miss Hannah Madera today. Be sure and make her dance lots tonight. We're hoping to find somewhere to dance (at least one WP boy has agreed to it), but I'm not holding out a lot of hope. Then again, there was definitely a dance routine (jazz) to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's "Big Time Operator" on Day of the City earlier this month.

Sometimes I can't believe I've already been here a month, and other times Christmas can't come fast enough. I miss you all, and I look forward to seeing you.