Misadventures in Russia

Blogs are very convenient. I don't have to constantly send you emails, and you don't have to feel guilty about letting them sit there in your mailbox only to be apathetically read at some way later date or deleted altogether. Don't be coy, I know that's what you all do. Mea culpa, I do it too.

So, here's the thing. You check it when you want. If you're genuinely interested in knowing when I update, there's something called the RSS Feed (sounds techy, it's not! I swear! Read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_feed). It's the red subscribe button in the upper right hand corner. Click on it and it will send you an email whenever I update the site. Yay technology!

I will be in St. Petersburg from the end of August to mid-December. I'm kind of skeptical that this is actually my reality since my previous efforts to go abroad never came to fruition. However, there's an itty-bitty side of me that I'm allowing to scream in anticipation. I can't wait to get on that plane and explore the place I've been studying for so long.

Below is a short summary of my summer. I'm still getting the feel of blogger (horrible, horrible medium. Not easy AT ALL), so I can't expand/collapse posts. Feel free to skip it to the video at the end.

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• Summer 2008: Starbucks, Family, and Road Trips
  

Things can get a bit chaotic when you don't have your own space. Now, when I say I had no space, I really had none. With family and friends coming in and out of the house as if through a revolving door, rooms and beds were always a hot commodity. I ended up rooming with my grandma for about two months-- something I can truly say college fully prepared me for. Honestly, grandma's snoring is nothing compared to the nonsense that came out of Elyse's mouth during first year. Time with the family was, all in all, pretty great. The video I show below is definitely testament to that.

As soon as I got to Long Island after I left MHC, I went job hunting. I got hired by the Starbucks nearby, which was a perfect fit. I got to socialize with people other than my family and get cash at the same time. All of my coworkers were awesome. I also made friends with some regulars who are probably reading this now: HI JOHN AND MARIA! HI LIZ! Haha.

After way too much time with way too many people, I decided to go on a road trip. Alone, oh-solo-mio and all. I drove from Long Island, NY to Manchester, New Hampshire (after an opening shift at starbucks ..4:45 am...and one hour of sleep! Oh, youth!) to see my dear Katy, aka Katya. New Hampshire is amazingly beautiful and beyond words. Afterwards, I drove to Amherst, MA to spend two days with Alex.

Returning to Amherst during the summer made me really appreciate how wonderful it is there. Now I understand the draw to the place. It's such a great community and has a fair share of good restaurants and things to do. Plus it's BEAUTIFUL. I really need to take advantage of being there more when I get back from Russia. That was honestly my vacation within a vacation, and I got the air I needed to breathe.

I also hung out with Augustine in the city, after not having been able to actually catch up with each other in well, forever. We went to southstreet seaport for some awesome Italian and the best hazelnut/espresso gelato I've ever had. See, Auggo? I mentioned you, albeit belatedly.

Unfortunately, my Starbucks was one of the stores set to close by the end of July out of 50 in the nation. So I said my good-byes and headed down to Florida, where I had my own bed, old friends, and a great nightlife.

• South Florida: Poplife, Preparing, and Hurricane Fay
  

As soon as I returned, I was literally swept up by the ever-debonair Grant and whisked off to South Beach. Art Walk was great, and I even ran into fellow Moho, Grace, on the sidewalk outside of a gallery. We went to some scene club called Poplife, which I now worship ever since they played a Radiohead song you could dance to. A+ in my book.

August just consisted of catching up with old friends, going out, and getting immunized. Hepatitis A shots HURT.

And now there's today. Hurricanes really don't hold the fear they once did here in South Florida. Even with the threat of blindingly harsh sheets of rain and obvious hurricane-force winds, there were still tons of people on the road, including myself.

Was it worth it? Yes. I got to see some great friends from high school, enjoy some authentic Venezuelan cuisine courtesy of Tim's mother, and chat about life, the future, and STA. Tim's leaving for Najing, China on Wednesday, which is pretty crazy. We're both stoked for our respective trips.

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Here's a taste of what's to come. This video is comprised of clips from this past summer and January of 2007. The camera itself went m.i.a. in that interim--don't ask.

Brief Summary of the video:
Who: Family from all sides, friends from everywhere
What: Pure love
Where: LI, moho, FL
When: Summer '08, Jan '07

Song: Tunnels, by the Arcade Fire.


More to come! :)