Monday, September 17, 2007

foreigners on foreign territory in a foreign land

I photographed a little kid from Nigeria, playing the piano on American territory in the country of Belarus. All those overlaps in culture make me smile. My fellowship here was invited to the ambassador’s house for a picnic. It was a windy, rainy, cold picnic. We also got a tour of the downstairs of the house. Apparently, the residence is considered American soil. So. Lots of Belarusians that day got to visit America visa-free. We had lots of fun jokes about that.

There is this really good melon here that comes from Kazakhstan. Sort of like a cantaloupe, except more elongated/larger, and white inside. It is really yummy. I’ve been munching on some the past two days.

Last night I was sleeping in my bed with at least 5 or 6 coverings (sheets and blankets.) I was wearing flannel pants and socks. I was still cold. Something is wrong with this picture. (Granted, the heat isn’t turned on in my building yet, and my windows leak cold air very badly from the chilly balcony, where it takes clothes at least 24 hours to dry.)

I don’t want to, but I think I will be starting Russian classes tomorrow. I don’t want to only because I have this weird new kid complex. I hate being the new kid. I always hated when school started back. The first week was the one I looked the most forward to being over. You’d think I’d be done with the new kid complex now, but no, I’m 25 and feel like I’m perpetually the new kid, and I don’t like it.

Still digging Stavesacre. Also been listening to Sinatra and The Fray.

2 comments:

Jackson said...

Five or six blankets? Now that's cold.

It's started to get cold at night here in Ohio, such that I've been waking up chilly. But that's easily rectified by adding a long-sleeve shirt to my sleepwear ensemble and switching over the thermostat from "cool" to "heat." Your post serves as an excellent reminder that while it gets cold here in Ohio, Ohio cold ain't nothin' compared to Russian cold.

As regards The Fray, my friend Ash can't stand their song "How to Save a Life" anymore. He readily admits it's a good song. It's just that they've played it to death on every single radio station, Christian and secular, across the FM spectrum. As I never listen to the radio, it's still pretty fresh to me.

Anonymous said...

Our building here in Denmark hasn't got the heating on yet either. Our duvet has been sufficient thus far though. Its usually about low 50s or high 40s for lows right now.

I wanted to mention that I'll probably be applying for a job at St. John's (Annapolis campus). Their faculty system seems strange, but it looks like an intriguing job.

-Michael T.