Spring Break and NYC Preparation

Finally! Spring Break is here, and with it Snow...again.I think I jinxed myself with this whole spring thing, there's a good 4-6 of snow on the ground outside. I hope and pray it's the last of it! I'm kind of finished with winter, especially my experience with Russia's.

 I went again to the 3 book stores that I have knowledge of, and searched through the insurmountable amount of events, people and stories. Fed my mind and soul with its unending fantasies, books. I purchased with what little money I had, The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. The English language is such a comfort to me, and seeing it anywhere excites me, a bit of familiarity. And of course, Middle Earth is such an in depth story, so I will be returning soon to purchase The Lord of the Rings.

 I'm hard at work preparing for NYC, checking my flight information, packing, scheduling, checking and stressing. Of course, a bit of stress is good before a competition! It will be a lot easier this year, as I have gone before and know how to do everything. I'm also much more comfortable with international traveling and public transportation, although, believe it or not I personally think that the Moscow Metro is more organized and clean then the NYC Metro. Just Putining it out there! (Pun intended.)

 I'm all alone in my dorm room for the next few days, Kaito has returned to Japan and Janos is out and about with his parents. At least I'm not in the snow! Ah, I love spring break.

Kaito

Kaito's last day.

Kaito, my good friend and ex-roommate has just left for Japan. We have the high scores on all of our video games thanks to him. It was nice to meet him, and if I ever go to Japan he'll be the first person I contact. Bye Kaito! さようなら！

Just Kidding

Spring is a miraculous experience. The whole world comes alive after the winter in which it seemed that everything was dead. The world comes filled with color and the scent of delicious greenery. The world that seemed so dull and cold has come alive once again. Little did we know that beneath the cold hard ground the plants and trees were preparing for rebirth. Spring gives us hope for rejuvenation in our own lives as well. Spring is a time to renew the excitement and zest for life that lives inside.

...Funny Joke Russia...

Dorm Happenings

With spring here, we decided it was time for some change. We wiped every surface in the room down, washed the laundry and sheets, opened the window for some fresh air and mopped the floor. Following deep cleaning everything, we started moving the furniture. The room is very small however we still wanted some change. We started moving things around and all of the sudden one of the closets fell apart and crumbled to the ground. With some bent nails we found from the closet and a character shoe, we were able to put it back together.

Janos hard at work.

After some bruised fingers and a long evening, we had everything perfect the way we wanted it. Just another day in Russia.

Spring Coming

This month spring has been coming to Moscow, it's very nice to have the warmth and light of the sun back in this cold city. As I was going about the city, I realized what a great life I had in Moscow. Yes, things have been extremely difficult but I also have so much freedom. I've learned to speak another language, use the public transportation system, shop for my needs etc. We've also had a bit of fun this month :)

Janos and I in the park, we decided it was time to play.

Kaito with statues.

Me with statues.

 I've found some book stores that have english books, my Russian friend took me and we had a fun time looking at all of the books. He speaks fairly good English and I was able to recommend some good books for him to read. You wouldn't believe the price of all of the classic books! $2-4 For almost any classic you could think of, The Secret Garden, Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, etc.  To my shame, classics haven't really been a strong part of my reading repertoire, so I bought a few since they were so much cheaper then you can get anywhere in the USA.

Since the weather has been so nice, my friends and I decided we would go for a walk. We walked 2 blocks and found the Moscow River and a bridge with a better view

We went with some japanese friends so as you can imagine, us speaking japanese and english we looked like such tourists, Janos wasn't helping that image.

 Thank you everyone for your donations, support and friendship. I know that none of this would be possible without you so THANK YOU!

Giselle

Last weekend after La Fille Mal Gardee, I had the opportunity to watch Giselle. Oh my gosh...so beautiful.

Got the ticket after 4 hours of waiting. Much better then 12!

Traditional Hot Dog dinner.

Bolshoi Theatre looking spectacular as usual.

Yours truly just before Act I.

No words can describe how it felt. Beautifully performed.

We enjoyed it so much! David Hallberg and Svetlana Zakhorva are very well paired together.

Afterwards we had the opportunity to meet them. So awesome!

Signing autographs.

Wonderful inspiring people. I hope we can someday be something like them!

La Fille Mal Gardee

Last weekend was the school's production of La Fille Mal Gardee. It was quite a wonderful performance and everyone did a fantastic job! It was amazing to be in the theatre and experience the performance.

Before the performance.

Just before the curtain opens...

Everyone did a wonderful job! Tomorrow, Giselle from the audience at the Bolshoi.