3 weeks. 21 days. Daaamn.

I'm really looking forward to going home, for a number of reasons. The weather, surprisingly, isn't really one of them. I'm just tired of spending nearly every hour of every day with the same group of 25. There are people who I've grown quite fond of in the group, namely my roommate Ashley, and my friends Amy, Andy, Chris, Ryan, and Will. And then there are a few others who I absolutely can't stand, but I've gone on enough about the main offender. I can't stand the petty dramas, or the absolute lack of privacy. It's just so many little things from what the pillows do to my neck to having to always travel so far to use reliable internet to the rotting food in the fridge that make me so glad to be coming home soon. I guess all of my dorm frustration is really coming to a head now that it's that time of year where everyone is staying indoors all day. Aside from all of this, I really miss the hell out of America. There are push-pull factors abounds, to use Geography jargon. Moscow, I love you, but I gotta go home.

Stuff I miss most about the USA/NY/FL: My friends, family, and cat. Mexican food, Indian food, Israeli food, good pizza, pad thai, ketchup and tomato sauces in general that aren't sugary, and healthful salads. Sharing my shower and kitchen with only one other person. The Internet at home. A cell phone with a contract. The efficient heating of my room. Access to new music and movies and TV shows. (I have so much Office to catch up on!). The simplicity of food-shopping and doctor appointments. The low low cost of clothes. Animal control. A police force that doesn't scare the living daylights out of me.

Stuff I'll miss most about Moscow: My Russian friends, of course. The efficiency of the Metro and the brilliance of its layout compared to NY's, as well as its cleanliness. The cheapness of caviar, and the ability to go out and see shows and have fun without being age-restricted. The music scene, and all of the fabulous local bands. Blini! Goulash! Borscht! Pelmeni! Tea tea tea. Black bread. Underpasses beneath busy streets so you get momentary warmth and there's no fear of getting run over. The lack of high-fructose corn syrup in foods and drinks -- have you tasted European chocolate? Oh my god.

But aw, the 3 weeks will go by fast, I'll have a nice reunion (at Two Boots pizza the day I return -- I already sent out the Facebook invitation, and I don't care about the jetlag -- I NEED NEW YORK PIZZA) and I'll be happy to be home and snuggled with everyone and everything I've missed. It'll be nice. And when I return to Moscow to study more in the summer, it'll be warm and gorgeous, and everything will work out fine!

Oh, here's a brief story: Last Friday, I was on the Metro en route to The Zebra's show, and some Dostoyevsky-looking senior citizen was reaching his hand out for a pole. It was in sort of a fist, and when the train jarred, his fist went right into my nose! It hurt, but it happened in such a way that the two of us looked at each other and started cracking up. Of course, he had no way of knowing my nationality since I had a Russian pin on my jacket, didn't speak at all, and wasn't reading anything in English. So I remarked in Russian, "Oh, it's because I'm American, right?" All of the sudden, he stopped laughing, and looked very ashamed. That in itself was pretty funny to me. Because of the older generation's lingering anti-American sentiments, I think maybe he felt bad for unintentionally acting upon his dream of punching one of us? I have no idea, but it was silly.

I'm taking the TORFL (Test of Russian as a Foreign Language) soon, at the elementary level. It doesn't count for anything, but if I can work my way up to Basic and then Level 1, 2, etc. in the coming years, the certification will look damn good on my resume. I'm a little nervous about it though, to say the least. Gotta start cracking down!

Lastly, PICTURES! For the first time in a month! I'm too harried right now to make a whole picture post, but please visit my Flickr!