Getting Better

The clock is ticking! Only a few days left.....it's quite sad. But I will have you know, I am finally getting better. If you have forgotten, I have been a bit under the weather. For pretty much the entire time I have been here. I have the immune system of an infant. Last week it got pretty bad. I had a high fever. So high that it got to the point of hallucinations. Once you start seeing freaky faces on your laptop, you know it's time to see a doctor. So I went. I, Marci Allen, went to a doctor. Truly ground breaking. From what I could gather (you know, the whole language barrier thing) nothing is too serious. Which is great new. But they gave me this medicine to take. You know....with the technology we have today, you would think it would be possible to create a cough syrup that doesn't want to make me projectile vomit. It tastes awful. Katie has to force me to take it just like my mom. There are few things in this world that taste worse than this medicine. Maybe...bacon, fish, and poop. Other than those things...this cough syrup takes the cake. But hey, at least I am getting better.

Things continue to improve with me and Sieva. Remember I mentioned he is making progress. He sat on my lap, then said I love you. The last time I went to his class he...wait for it....kissed my cheek!! Amazing. Sieva, you have shown tremendous improvement. Bravo. Then there's Vlad....while Sieva is loving me, Vlad is trying to murder me. Every time I walk into that class he attacks. Punching, biting, slapping, throwing objects, twisting, spitting, choking, you name it. My arm almost got broken off by a 6 year old. If I wasn't leaving this week, I believe he would come out victorious in one of his attempts.

Even though I have to fight for my life, I am really going to miss these kids. 

Last week I went to the Hermitage for the last time. Sveta took me and Megan. What an awesome day. The Hermitage has so many amazing exhibits. It would take decades to see everything! I saw some pieces from Da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Those were definitely the high lights. It's so incredible to see the things you learned about as a child. We all learned about these artists in elementary school, but never did I think I would be staring at an actual painting or sculpture by one of them. It was such a moving experience. 

My favorite piece was this sculpture...

It depicts a story of a friendship between a boy and a dolphin. One day the boy was swimming and got stabbed by a shark. The dolphin swam him to shore where they died together. Beautiful.

Saturday was our last day with Sveta :( I wish everyone I know could meet Sveta. She is the sweetest, nicest, most genuine person I have ever met. She has made this experience better than I could have ever hoped. She took care of us and treated us like her own kids. Sveta is very positive and happy. Her smile is contagious. I could go on and on about how awesome she is. Sveta, we love you and you will be greatly missed. 

That's all for me this time. A bit shorter than normal. I apologize if I am becoming less and less interesting. Life is just becoming more and more normal here! It's my home. But for only a few more days...what an adventure this has been! Peace and Love :)

Little Child

The count down begins. My days are numbered in this great country. Tis bitter sweet indeed. I will be sad to leave this place I have come to call my home, but I know I have a home waiting for me back in America. But before I go I've got to catch up on my blogging! And this one is going to be riddled with my ADD brain. So hold on to your butts! Speaking of butts....(I just couldn't think of good segue from talking about cute kids to what I am about to say so this will have to do). Speaking of butts....I saw some. Let me elaborate. As me and Syd were walking home, Syd looked up at one of the windows in the apartment building. "Are those people naked??" I looked. Yes Sydney, yes those people are naked. Fantastic observation. If being naked wasn't shocking enough, it looked like they were in their kitchen. Because everyone eats dinner naked. Russia never ceases to surprise me.

Did I mention Russia is cold? The rumors are true....if you eat ice cream outside it will actually warm you up because the temperature is much colder than the actual ice cream. There you have it Mythbusters. So it's cold. And it has been snowing pretty much every day. What happens when you mix cold and snow?? ICE! Lots of it. Me and Court were walking to the metro early one morning. It was snowing, it was cold, it was slick, do you see where I am going with this? We both slipped at the same time. Courtney chose to do the slip, crouch, catch your self using your hands method. My body, however, had a different routine in mind. Instead of Courtney's not-so-outwardly-clumsy approach, I slipped, my leg went straight up in the air at which point my back was parallel with the sidewalk, and then the inevitable smack on the sidewalk, flat on my back. I swear you could hear a pull whistle just like the cartoons. Then, cue lady and child enter scene. The woman made a noise like "ohhheeww" and rushed her child passed us. Your welcome lady. I just gave you a performance. You should be thanking me for the story! We had a good laugh, after I got caught my breath again. I haven't fallen again, but I can't walk outside with out doing my "slipping-but-playing-off-as-dance-moves."

Last week was bazarro week. Instead of Tyoma loving me as he usually does, he decided to play love games. He is so moody. One day he led the class in mutiny! He started spitting and blowing raspberries at me, which proceeded with the whole class following in his footsteps. What have you done, Tyoma!! It was...unpleasant. I had to win his affection by playing hard to get. He's 4 and he's givin me the rigmarole. Step 1) I had to pay extra attention to the other children so that he would see how loving I could be. Step 2) I wouldn't go to his class so that he would miss me. Step 3 and final step) Win Tyoma back. It works like a charm. Is our relationship dysfunctional? Maybe...but he's just so freakin cute.

On the other spectrum, while Tyoma was giving me the cold shoulder, Sieva, the boy who refuses to love me, made some progress. Instead of the usually greeting (spitting on me, licking me, pushing me, suffocating me, attempted murder) Sieva sat on my lap. I looked at Courtney in awe. I had to whisper and not move a muscle because I didn't want to disturb what was happening. It's like when you see a deer in the wild and you don't want to scare it off. "Pssst. Courtney. Looooook. Do see what I'm seeing??" It only lasted a moment but it was enough to make me happy. The following day we made even more progress. He said "I love you." I've waited a long time to hear those words....I feel like I am observing an experiment. "Dairy Log, Day 24: The subject seems to be responding well to the treatments. His once manic uncontrollable behavior has become calm and sweet. I do believe there is hope for the subject to love." You will love me Sieva, I will make sure of it.

In other news (there's no smooth way to introduce this story) my washing machine shocked me. I got out of the shower and felt something stab my leg. Repeatedly. I thought there was a sharp edge on the washer so I ran my finger up the edge. No sharp edge, just an electric shock. The only thing I can compare it to is when me and my friends would taze each other, ergo, it was painful. We should probably get it fixed....instead we duct taped the crap out of it and left a note for the next group that says "Good Luck." That should suffice.

I can't believe my time is almost up....you are going to keep hearing a lot of this but I have had such a great experience over here. Much different from Thailand but a great experience none the less. I feel like I have grown so much and learned more about myself. If you want to do some soul searching, live in another country. It has been truly life changing. I thank all of you for your support and kind words you have given me while abroad. This isn't goodbye yet...but the end is near. A few more short adventures and then on to America (for a moment or so). And now....you know the drill....Peace and Love :)

Please Mister Postman

Sorry I have been terrible at updating my blog. I have been a bit under the weather as per usual. I have been sick probably 3/4 of my time here. It's astounding. Alright, back to business. I realized I failed to mention Thanksgiving in my last post. So let me talk about that for a moment.

This will be a Thanksgiving to remember. Even though I wasn't with my family, I was with a group of amazing teachers. We were each other's family this year. Everyone helped make something for our exquisite feast. Our vegetarian feast that is. I guess that's what happens when your head teacher is a vegetarian. I don't eat meat, NO ONE eats meat!! Haha I actually wouldn't have cared....to each his own! It was so odd making my dishes for dinner. I felt so grown up. I had just a tiny taste of what my mom must go through. Just a bit though. Her work was mine times a thousand. In the morning I made my favorite frozen fruit salad dish (Thank you Angeline!). However, I needed some ingredients. So, just like my mom, I went to the grocery store Thanksgiving morning in a frazzled state. It was cool though. I was at the store, in Russia, it was Thanksgiving, they were playing Christmas music (all be it a dance party remix of We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Russians love their remixes), it was snowing outside, it just felt like the holidays. Nothing picks up your spirit than the holidays! The whole day was fairly chaotic. Everyone trying to squeeze into our small kitchen to make their dish. Our kitchen was a clown car. I don't know how we managed to have all of us cooking in there. A Thanksgiving miracle perhaps. I thought our meal turned out quite nice. No where near our mothers' standards but we made do. We all said what we were grateful for. I spoke about ILP. I really am grateful for ILP and what it had done for me. It changed my life. The greatest thing that happened to me was the day I stumbled on a chance to go to Thailand to teach English. That got the ball rolling and look at me now! ILP is such a great program and provides an opportunity of a lifetime. I am lucky to have found it. So Happy Late Thanksgiving to you all!

Now it's time to talk about the children. I always have to throw in my stories. The other day I walked into the Level 5 classroom. These are the 11 to 14 year olds. I was greeted by Victor who graciously (mind you, he is 11) picked me right up. Nothing boosts your self esteem than being picked up by an 11 year old. Then Bogdon had to top it. He came over, picked me up and twirled me around. All I could say was, "weeee." Best greeting ever.

I haven't talked about Ludmilla much....she is the Vice Principal at the Old Kindergarten. She is very nice to us, but sometimes she can be a bit scary. And by a bit scary I mean she strikes fear into the children's eyes. I never know what she is saying when she is yelling at the kids but I like to think it's something like "Shut your little pie holes! If you keep up this behavior I will cut off each and everyone of your fingers! I will make them into a stew and force it down your throats!" And then the next second she smiles and waves at us. She IS Dr. Jackyl and Mr. Hide. I always see her as this angry, frustrated woman but then she surprised me at times, like when she mimes dancing and singing or stops on her way out from the school to pet a cat and whisper "Dosvidaniya" (goodbye in Russian). When I saw her petting that cat, I saw myself in 40 years....that is my future. Better than the old woman being swarmed by pigeons. They were her minions I am sure of it. Swirling all around her. I was waiting for them to take her up in to the sky and make them her queen. Yup. I will take being the cat lady over Queen of the Pigeons.

It's not a week in Russia if I don't have some kind of wild adventure. This one pertains to Private 1....again. I have had a crazy story on getting to this school before. And I am here to tell you yet another riveting tale of venturing to Private 1. Last week me and Jess set out early in the morning to Private 1. You know it's going to be a good day when you turn on your water first thing in the morning and it's brown. Not just a brown hue. It was poo brown. Like straight up sewage water was coming out of the faucet. Today was going to be a greeeaat day. We were teaching for Syd and Ty. Now last time one of my issues was I got on the wrong bus so this time I made sure it was the right number. Check. Before I continue, know this...this was a frigid morning. This morning made the news because the weather was so bad. Locals talked about this morning the following Monday. It set some records. That's how cold this morning was. Remember that. Because of the weather I just mentioned and because it was still dark outside I could not see out the windows of the bus, ergo, I couldn't tell when to get off. But it was okay because I just had to listen for someone to call out the name of our stop. So I waited. And waited. And waited. And the bus started to turn around. One thing led to another....yadda yadda yadda, and me and Jess wondered around in the storm for an hour. THE storm. The one everyone talked about it. We have to brave that mofo. It. Was. Freezing. The wind was making my eyes water and my tears starting freezing to my face. Me and Jess were laughing the whole time. We had no idea where we were. But alas after many trial and error, we found the school. It was a glorious moment. The chorus of angels sang from the heavens in jubilation. I was raised above the ground by their immortal powers and floated to the door. Or my legs were just numb....no one can be sure. It actually was a fun day. Me and Jess are still laughing about it. And it was worth the trouble because those kids are so stinkin cute. We blew bubbles for my lesson (it's my ace in the hole). I sanitized the straws we were using with hand sanitizer. Liza (she's about 5) put a straw in her mouth, looked at me and said "Vodka." There you have it kids. Hand sanitizer tastes like Vodka. How this 5 year old knows this.....I shall never know.

And to top it all off!! I finally got my package! My dear mother sent it a month ago. I had lost all hope. I was sure that some Russian had jacked all my goods. Chowin down on Poptarts. Enjoying the festive decorations. Putting my thermals on their sweaty, putrid skin, and frolicking around with any other surprises my mom had for me. But Alla took me to the post office to see if she could help me figure out what was going on. First of all, it must be in the job description of a postal worker that you must have the "I hate the world" face on at all times. "You must forget all happiness and merriment. Your life is now a dismal void of tragedy and regret. If someone smiles at you, whatever you do, DO NOT smile back. This is a ruse. All humans are retched miscreants that must pay for their utter existence!" Turns out they sent my slip to the wrong address....so don't give me the poop face. You guys are the ones trying to give my package to Vlaud, the 84 year old retired war veteran who hears voices and thinks televisions are witchcraft. But the important part is I got my package :) Oh sweet sweet victory.

And let me tell you, I am rockin those thermals

There you have it! Apologies for the lack of pictures....hope my story was enough to suffice. Until next time, Peace and Love :)

In My Life

Never a dull week in the land of Russia. My kids know how to make every second entertaining. First, we will start off with a cute story :) And then it takes a turn for the crazy. So the cute story pertains to Ivan, the ginger who I talk about in pretty much every post. I was sitting next to him in class when it was time to read. Each child took a turn reading. While one of them was reading away, Syd looked over at me and Ivan. She says to me, "Are you guys holding hands?" I look over at Ivan. Sure enough, he was in fact holding my hand. I hadn't even noticed. Oh Ivan, why are you so cute. And of course we had to have our staring contests. Each class Ivan likes to engage in these forever long staring contests. You would think with the amount of staring off into the distance I do, I would be good at these things. But alas, Ivan comes out the victor every time. You win, Ivan. You always do.

Now for the crazy. There's always a bit of chaos at the Old KG (kindergarten). But what's teaching kids without a bit of chaos? Courtney teaches the Basic Reading class, or should I say the Screaming-Spitting-Punching-Running-Crying-Flesh Eating-Psychopath Class. Love them. But they're nuts. In the midst of one of the outbursts I was talking to Courtney about this, that, and the other when in my peripheral I see Matvey. Staring at me. Enraged. And what I saw will haunt my dreams forever. He stared at me with his stank face, giant frown, crazy eyes and pointer finger touching the side of his head. He starts miming what I can only imagine is him drilling into my skull. It's the only logical deduction. Matvey, I know you want a piece of paper but please don't drill into my head and harvest my brains for whatever sick purpose you have in mind. Much appreciated.

Then there's Seroja.....he's about 4 years old. I kind of joke around with him about his intelligence....I mean, he doesn't understand me so it's okay right? He's probably saying the same about me but I have no idea what he's saying. So we're even. Seroja, you can call me retarded all you want. Well one day he walked in I I panicked because it looked like he had a bloody nose. "I do NOT want to deal with this." I mean it was all over his nose and a bit on his face. I was surprised he wasn't crying. I thought I had better take a look at him to see if he needs help, but as I approached him I realized something. Was it blood? Nay, it was marker. The kid stuck a marker up his nose. And you wonder why I question his intelligence?






I should also talk about our excursion. Make it sound like I am doing stuff with my life. Being the egomaniac I am, I just love to demand envy from all humans. So if you could fake jealousy for a bit that would be great. On Saturday Sveta took us out on the town as she usually does. This week we first made a traditional Russian dish. The best way to describe it....hash brown pancakes with cottage cheese in it? Even though that's not even close to what it really is. But I'm stickin with that so that's as good as a description as you're gonna get. All you need to know it that it was delicious like all food Sveta makes. Then we went to the Peter Paul Fortress. T'was a day filled with history. We walked on the first bridge in St. Petersburg, walked under the first arch in St. Petersburg, and visited tombs of Russian royalty.

Here we have the first archway 

Tombs of Nikolas and Alexandria

Tombs of the Romanoff Family

After the Fortress we went to a museum. When we walked in there was a huge circle of what appeared to be pirates, Renaissance peasants, and awkward teenage boys performing an organized dance routine. You never know what you'll find in Russia. The museum was actually pretty cool. It had pictures of St. Petersburg when it was first built. For whatever reason, I was in a mood that day. All you need to know is I regressed to the maturity of a 12 year old boy. And I'll leave it at that. Lately I have been thinking that Russia has made me grow up a bit and I that I feel more mature and "adult-like." But.....Saturday pretty much disputed all of that. I'll never grow up!! Try and make me!!! 

Me and Ty went on a little jaunt about town. Remember how I mentioned you never know what you will see? We were standing on a street corner waiting for the light to turn green. On the opposite side of the street there was this huge group of military men. Always a bit intimidating. As they walked by me I hear right in my ear, "Watchya Baaabyy!" in a high falsetto. I turned in alarm and in a moment he had vanished. I was crackin up. Well done, Russian soldier, well done. Then we went to Teremok (of course). Teremok is the best thing that has ever happened to me. This is where we get blini. I have talked about blini previously. To give you a refresher...it's the best fraggin thing I have ever eaten. We eat it....frequently. So naturally me and Ty got lunch there. This wasn't our regular location but we are no strangers none the less. I walked to the front of the counter and asked for an English menu as per usual. Typically they laugh and hand it to us. This girl was different. She slapped her hand over her eyes and shook her head in exasperation. Look lady. We can get through this. It's going to be okay. Cool your jets. So through this whole process she is sighing and griping and shaking her head. All I did was point to the Russian word of what I wanted. Simple as that. She ended up charging me more than she was supposed to. Hey, I may not speak a ton of Russian, but this ain't my first rodeo. I know my Teremok backwards and forwards so don't try and jip me woman!! She didn't like me correcting her. I thought lasers were going to shoot out of her eyes and disintegrate me. Luckily I got out of there before she had a chance. Take that Satan's Mistress!

Lastly, I just want to mention how awesome life is. I love these moments where I can contemplate where I am right now and what I am doing. The other day I was waiting for the metro train to come, Jason Schwartzman was serenading me with his relaxing tunes. He is such a tease. Stop leading me on Jason, you are a married man! Sheesh! Anyways. I was listening to my music, thinking about life, Herman Munster was chillin next to me, and everything seemed to stop. I slowed down for a sec to think about how lucky I am to be in Russia, be surrounded with the people here, and be teaching some pretty amazing kids. I love it. I wouldn't change a thing (except for the fact that I now have to re evaluate my life because Ty's class called me a hipster....IMBECILES!!!) I apologize to those back home who may feel like I don't talk to them as much as I should. I haven't forgotten you!! I still care about and miss everyone from my "previous life," as I call it. I am looking forward to seeing you all in three weeks, but for now I am holding on to every second I have here in Russia. So in the mean time...please remember...Peace and Love :) 

You Never Give Me Your Money

It's been a great first week back from vacation! Man, I missed those kids. I didn't realize it until I walked into Basic Reading and they all yelled "Mr. Flesh!!!!" And showered me with hugs. Love those kids.

I started off the week with a bit of chaos. We got home from our trip on Sunday. And of course I didn't go to bed til the wee hours of the night. Normally I go to class at 10:00 on Monday mornings. At 7:30 I hear a little knock on my door. Syd was sick so I needed  to go teach for her at her school. No problem. I will just hurry to the metro. I knew I needed to meet Ty there at 8:15 or she would go on with out me. I knew what metro stop to get off at but I didn't know when to get off of the shuttle so I wanted to make sure to go with Ty. So this is how it went:

7:30- Get out of bed
8:05- Run out the door
8:09- Not at metro yet!!
8:17- Arrive to the metro station. Frantically looking for Ty. Not there. Crap! I thought well I am only a few minutes late. If I hurry maybe I can catch up.
8:19- Put in token and get to escalators. It normally takes three minutes standing to get down the escalators. But there is an isle for people who want to run down them instead of stand. Til this point I had never dared to run down the escalators. But I was in dire need. Challenge. Accepted. So in my puffy coat, scarf hat, and heavy rain boots, I start bookin it down the escalator. Because of my scarf that is also a hat (pretty nifty) I have no peripherals. Which means I can barely see the steps. I was pretty much guessing whether I was going to land on the correct step or not. And my boots....oh my big, heavy rain boots. They restrict my ankles so that I can't bend them. Well, if you didn't know, running down stairs involves bending your ankles. Not today!! The best I could do was just kind of flop down the stairs. Arms and legs flailing, scarf hat coming undone, bad flip flopping everywhere, missing some of the steps. I am really good at blending in.

8:20- Arrive to train. Still no Ty. No matter. She must have been on the train that just left. I will catch up with her at the transfer station. By the time I got onto the metro, I was sweating all over the place, my legs were like jelly from the Olympic trot I just performed, and I felt like I was going to pass out any moment. Two coats, one being my puffy marshmallow coat that should never been seen by the public because of it's hideousness, were a bad idea. But never fear! I had a quest ahead of me!

8:45- Transfer station. No Ty. I hauled some serious butt to the next metro car to see if she was there. Still no Ty. No worries. She will probably be on the shuttle when I get there.

9:00- Arrive to the metro station. Find shuttle. When I go with Syd and Ty to their school it seems like we just get on the first shuttle we see. So what do I do, I see a shuttle, I board. No Ty. Crap. Now I must figure out when to get off. I felt confident I could find it. That was BEFORE the shuttle started driving in the opposite direction than it normally does. That's when I lost all hope. I figured if I couldn't find it, Ty could handle the kids on her own.

9:25- I decided to just get off at this point because everyone else was getting off. And fate would have it that there before my eyes...was the school!!!! A miracle from the Gods. And I was on time! Praise the heavens!!

I could now relax. I walked into the school saw all the cute kids that I have missed so much. No Ty....

9:30- Start class. No Ty
9:45- No Ty. I proceeding teaching the rest of the day alone. It wasn't a big deal because these kids are angels. My lesson was one of those where everything seems to go wrong. "Look kids, it's a parrot! Here, it's on your shoulder. Say Hi parr----what no, don't punch the parrot. Matvea! Don't throw the parrot. He doesn't like thaaat! Okay no parrot." At one point Misha and Dasha came up behind me and started smelling me and laughing. "Why are you laughing?! I swear I showered!!" *Cue hysteric sobbing* (just kidding, we all know I don't cry because I have no soul). The day went on like this, things going wrong left and right. "Look kids, I have a hook for a hand! Who wants to try it on? Here you go Misha. Look Misha doesn't have a ha----Misha, no, stop. Don't claw at Dasha's neck." Man I love my job :)  I taught til 11 and then went on a walk with the kids, ate alone, then went home! Turns out Ty couldn't make it either (obviously). A interesting morning indeed.

That night I got to see one of my favorite students, Ivan!!! He greeted me with a tickle fight. Tickling...the worst kind of torture. Why does it make you laugh?? There's nothing humorous about it! It's pure evil, I say, puuuuure eviiiiiiillll! But I really missed Ivan. What a jolly child.








Then There's Tyoma......oh how I love Tyoma. He is the cutest little kid. He gets away with murder. Literally. One day I walked in and he totally slit this kids throat. There's blood everywhere. But all I could say was "Ohhh Tyoma, you murdered someone? You are so stinkin cute!!" (Ya I hope you know that didn't really happen). When I saw Tyoma for the first time since before the break, he looked up at the door, saw me, gasped and started reaching for me. I picked him up in a huge embrace. Sooo cute. We were together again! That kid is a little stinker. He knows I am wrapped around his finger and that he can get away with anything. He was looking in my purse (instead of listening to Teacher Jessica. I am really good at distracting the kids) when I realize he is grabbing handfuls of rubles and shoving them into his pockets. That little thief! And he would not give them back to me. No matter what I did. He was under the impression that my money was his to keep. I was being robbed by a 3 year old. I had to bribe him with my Kopeks (basically worthless. They are worth less than a penny I think) "See Tyoma, look. Look at all of theeeeseee. These are cool. Look how many there are. I will give you these if you give me my money back." This kid knows what he is doing. I got most of it back, other than my Kopeks. It's a great life when you have to negotiate money with a toddler.

I was so excited to see my cute little Sieva. Instead of showering me with hugs like I had hoped, he showered me with spit while making farting noises in my face. Thank you Sieva, thhhank you.

Friday we went to this adorable model of miniature St. Petersburg. Everything was so small! Finn had a hay day. I was posing him in front of all the buildings and taking his picture. Let me tell you, Finn gets a lot of attention. He is very good at making friends. Everyone who passed stopped in their tracks and just watched me at work, looking confused and amused. One guy came up and asked me, in Russian, who it was. "Ummm....Finn...from Adventure Time." He just walked away. I don't think I gave him the answer he wanted haha. One lady took a picture of Finn while I was taking his picture. He had a little paparazzi moment. Then she had her son pose next to him and took their picture together. Geez Finn. Why are you so charming? Why can't I make friends as easy as you? However, he did get scolded in Russian for touching the statue. Except the security guard had it wrong. He was looking at ME like I was the one touching it. Had I known better I would have thought the reprimand was directed at me. But Finn was clearly the one touching the statue. Finn the Rebel. Tisk tisk. T'was a fun day indeed.

On Saturday we walked the streets of St. Petersburg with Sveta (who I also greatly missed), took in the air, the sites, the people, the conversations. A superb way to spend a Saturday. I leave in a beautiful city with wonderful people. It's a good life and I wouldn't have it any different. Peace and Love :)

Here, There, and Everywhere

Okay here I am with part deux of my vacation. I went over Latvia and Lithuania and now we are on to Sweden, Finland and Estonia!!! Are you excited? I know you are sitting in your seat riddled with suspense, just biting your time, waiting to hear the next tales of my adventure. That's what I like to think. When all reality you are probably mindlessly scrolling your news feed and you happened to stumble upon my link. You're watching Seinfeld reruns and glancing at my blog, looking mostly for pictures. But I will pretend that's not true.

So first up.....SWEDEN!!! Stockholm is amazing. That town has such a great energy. I highly recommend all of you to go there some day. It's my kind of town for one major reason...it was pitch black by 4:00. If you know me well, you know that I love the dark and night time. There's not enough night time. I wish I could be awake when it's dark and sleep when it's day (oh wait, I already do that). Another great thing about Sweden is the people. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Probably because it's dark all the time. Everyone knows night time kicks day time's trash! Stockholm also has a plethora of team mates which always the most important thing. What's a team mate? Most of you know, but those who are a little out of the loop, a team mate is some one who is....."unfortunate" looking and then you put them on some one's team. For example, Sydney has a team of mole people and hairy men. I have a team of creepy children and gingers. Sweden added some serious gems to our teams. Thank you Sweden, thank you, for the old guy whose fat was spilling out of every crevice of his body and scooting himself across the floor inch by inch in his rolley chair. You will make a great addition to my team. Your contributions will be valuable to our success in society.

The sites were ones to behold. I will never forget strolling the streets of Stockholm at night. It was truly magical. We spent a lot of our time here just roaming the streets.

My new friend

One of the highlights of Sweden was the Vasa Museum. Ready for a history lesson? In 1628 a new ship set sail but because it was built poorly it sunk after 1,000 meters. 333 years later some dudes found it under water. It had skeletons and clothes and what have you. Pretty cool right? So the museum is this giant ship. And 95% of it is the original materials. Me being the history buff I am, soaked it all up. And afterwards I had the most expensive cab ride in the history of cab rides. Sweden can be such a douche. 

I want to take a moment to write an ode to the best brownie I have ever eaten...

Oh Brownie, you exquisite delicacy 

Our paths crossed in a cafe near the Swedish ferry

I spotted you in the glass case with your coconut shavings

I knew immediately you were the one to fix my cravings

You looked so poise, so moist, so luring 

The thought of you getting into my digestive system made me start purring

I looked at the Swede and said "One brownie please"

She handed the dessert to me and I whispered "Oh Brownie, you're such a tease"

I payed the women the toll I owed 

And unwrapped my brownie that was tightly stowed

I caressed the sweet with my delicate hands

To find you I had to travel across many lands

You will be down my gullet soon, oh sweet love of mine

I took my first bite and shouted to the heavens, "Holy crap, this is divine!!"

Not too moist, not too dry with just the right amount of coco

A hint of coffee was detected, I uttered a little "OH HO!"

This brownie was the best thing that's ever happened to me so of course my face I started shoving

Brownie you little devil you, I will give you all my loving

Each bite was better than the last, but dwindling far too quickly

And before I knew it, the God sent dessert was gone, my heart became sickly

I shall never forget you, Brownie, you magnificent beast

You will forever be in my memory (and probably my fat pockets) even though you are now deceased

It was a really good brownie....

The last thing I want to talk about in Sweden was our awesome ferry. We took a cruise ship to get to Finland. It was actually pretty nice! Did I mention we have a knack of surrounding ourselves with old people? This ferry was no exception. At first we thought we had a chance of being around some people our age. How silly of us. We should know by now that my natural musk yields old people from near and far, from the open and from the shadows, from the now and from the great beyond. All of them. We saw that there was a karaoke bar so we figured.....heyyyy why not. This could be fun. When else will we be singing on a cruise ship in Sweden? We might meet some young people! Well we walked in and too our dismay there weren't any young people. In fact there were hardly any people. You had that one chick who takes karaoke a little serious. Like maybe this is where she will catch her next big break! Then you had the old man singing in Russian. And it's not karaoke without the group of "we-are-trying-to-act-younger-than-we-actually-are-so-that-our-kids-will-think-we-are-cool-forty-somethings." Don't forget the women who just dances to every song by herself. And then you have us. Four young girls singing our hearts out to Bohemian Rhapsody. Three words. Fan. Freaking. Tastic. We had a blast. Even though we were fools, we were fools having fun. And that's all that matters! I do have a video....but I can pretty much say with certainty none of you will see it. You are really missing out. 

Next up...FINLAND! (said like Patrick Star) We were in Helsinki, Finland for a very short time. We didn't get to see a whole lot. I liked Helsinki though. It was a cute little fisherman's town. It was sunny, which was nice for a change and it wasn't terribly cold. Congratulations Finland!

We took another ferry to Tallinn, Estonia. I loooooove Estonia. Definitely my favorite place we saw. The town was quaint and historical and just straight up awesome. We arrived pretty late and we were all exhausted so we checked into our hostel and pretty much just went to bed. Of course I had to play my bejeweled before falling asleep. It's my nightly ritual. But I must have been pretty tired because I fell asleep while playing. HOWEVER, when I woke up I looked at the screen and I was moving and deleting jewels. Ya. I can play bejeweled. WHILE SLEEPING. Life accomplishment? I think so. I was so excited to have a deep slumber....I should never expect that in a hostel. A couple of mofo's were shouting outside my window. It sounded like they were in my bunk that's how close and loud they were. This was around 2 or 3. I thought it would subside soon. Oh no. They jibber jabbered til at least 8 in the morning. They are lucky I was comfy in my bed! Because I'm not gonna say the idea of going out side and slitting their throats didn't cross my mind. Imbeciles. But t'was all good because nothing could get my mood down in this amazing place, even though it was freezing. No amount of bundling could warm me up. 

We took a tour of the town. Our tour guide was delightful, funny, and informative! What more could you ask for! 

Below is a picture of a prison that was for prostitutes. There is a legend about a woman who becomes the most beautiful woman in the world and becomes a prostitute to steal all the men's souls. And then she died in this prison. That is the super abridged version haha. 

Next we have this cathedral. Soviet Russia and Israel were in a bit of a skirmish with each other. Basically they hated each other. So the Soviets had this idea to make the crosses on top of their cathedrals like what you see below. It symbolized Soviet Russia crushing Israel. Most churches said "No that's crazy!" But this one in Estonia is like one of twelve that thought it would be a great idea. To quote our awesome tour guide, "This just goes to show what kind of douche bags we are." Couldn't have said it any more eloquent. 

Unfortunately that was the end of our amazing vacation. I had a great time. I learned things about life, people, and myself. And it's good to be back in St. Pete! I hope you feel educated after all my historical lessons and not disturbed...if you are disturbed...well...it's been nice knowin you. The rest of you (meaning probably just my mom, hi mom!) hope you enjoyed and until next time....Peace and Love :)

Ticket to Ride

Hey hey hey! Miss me? Don't answer that. I am sure you have enjoyed the break from my pestering to read my blog. Well I am back! With a vengeance! I have a lot to cover. So I will split it up in a couple of posts. We just got back from our 10 day vacation. We managed to go to Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia. As you can imagine, it was very busy. And most of our transportation was at night so we didn't get a lot of sleep. But it was totally worth it. Today I will talk about Latvia and Lithuania. 

First up....Riga, Latvia. We took a 14 hour train ride to get there At night. Now this ain't my first rodeo. I am accustomed to the sleeper trains. I know what to expect. There isn't much that would surprise me. Some one could get murdered and I would just say "welp, we ARE on a sleeper train." And roll over and go back to sleep. I felt bad this time around. Normally I get a really noisy bunk mate. A snorer, a chomper, a pooper, a crier, something of the sort. But this time I was the loud one. I got really sick before we left so all night I was coughing and breathing really heavily and sniffling and sneezing. My apologies to my compartment mates. I'm glad you didn't murder me. I'm talking to you, guy with the gold chain and hairy chest. 

Throughout the night on the train they wake you up to get your passports sorted out, being that we are crossing the border. They took our passports and documents and a couple of hours later brought them all back. Except for mine. The lady looked at me and gestured "one moment" (because no body speaks English in Russia). So I waited. And waited. And waited some more. Until she came back with three other government official looking fellows. They had my passport and they kept looking at my picture then at me. Back and forth. I should mention my passport picture was taken a year and a half ago. When I had long dark hair and bangs. Apparently it doesn't look at all like me. Because I had this problem in Asia as well. But I never had to have three face specialists caucus together to determine whether or not the person lounging in the bunk is the same on the passport. That was a first. Finally one said it was me and they all agreed. Dodged a bullet there. Little did they now I actually tortured and left for dead that person in the picture and stole their identity. MUHUWAHAHAHAHAHHHH!

We arrived in Latvia early in the morning. I mentioned I was ill. The night before and all throughout Latvia I was slipping in and out of consciousness. I was soo sick and just in a daze. I have impeccable timing when it comes to getting sick. It always has to be right before a vacation. But no matter. I still made the most of it. 

We saw some truly amazing things in Riga. Here we have St. Peter's Cathedral and the view from it's tower. It's the tallest cathedral in Riga. 

Our hostel was awesome. The people there were so friendly. We went on a walking tour as hostel. Loved it. And it wouldn't be a Marci experience if some random person in the group didn't make fun of me. Our tour guide mentioned something about Christmas so I uttered an "Aw!" because who doesn't love Christmas. This woman turned around and was crackin up. She kind of smacked my arm and then mimicked me. Thanks lady. I know I am retarded. Step off! I love Christmas okay? Even just roaming the streets we saw incredible structures. Breath taking. 

Jealous? You should be. That night we went back to our hostel to crash. The good and bad thing about hostels is you typically have roommates. This can either be a great way to meet people or you could get stuck with the roommate that stumbles in the room at 3 AM, wasted out of his mind, speaking at full volume, knocking against the lockers, freaking out because he can't find his...."personal items." Or his pants. He's a winner. This went on for a full two hours. That guy knows how to make friends. No matter. That's what my best friend is for....my ipod touch. What better way to spend your time laying awake while there is a psycho drunk Australian in your room then to crush Glen's high score on bejeweled. Take that Glen. 

The next day we did one of my favorite things on the whole vacation. We went to the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum. It was so cool! It was in the middle of the woods, and it was this little village, houses from the olden day. All the workers were dressed in the clothing from that time period. I love me some history. Plus being in nature is my most favorite thing in the world. Once again, it wouldn't be a Marci experience if I didn't break some kind of social norm. We were strolling about and I spotted a tree perfect for climbing. So of course I took the opportunity to hop in it. I think that's the normal thing to do. I am not just going to pass up a perfectly good climbing tree. T'would be idiotic! So I got in the tree and one thing led to another and me and Courtney engaged in a battle between me, the tree nymph, and her, the brave warrior on the ground. 

We were having a jolly good time when we hear some babbling in the distance. It was really distracting my defense moves. Turns out it was a Latvian worker. She was yelling. At me. Cool it lady. Can't you see I am in the middle of defending my tree from this warrior? Some people just can't enjoy a good battle when they see one. So what did we do? We ran away without looking back. We could still hear her yelling when we were down the road a bit. Woops. 

Also on that day, Syd, Court, Katie and I "locked our love" on a bridge. A common trend over here is for married couples to engrave their names on a lock, lock it on a bridge, and throw the key in the water. So we did just that. I precious moment indeed. Don't think I am into that girly business. Because I am not. Not once not never. 

That night we had the pleasure of meeting some people from our hostel. Here you have Szymon from Poland (pronounced Simon like Simon Says!)

We love Szymon!! He is such an awesome guy :) Next, on the left we've got Stephan and on the right Nick, both from Germany. 

Both very nice gentlemen. Next we've got Courtney's faaaaavoorite. They will get married some day. 

Okay not really. This guy was Weirdo McCreepgee. He's from France. We just call him Christopher Lloyd. Doesn't he look like him?? It's uncanny. Okay first of all, this guy is from France and doesn't know what a freakin poodle is. There's a red flag right there. Idiot. Second, he was way too obsessed with my hair. Hands off bro. This hair is far too glorious for your bony fingers. Thirdly, leave Courtney alone! Sheesh! He's got a sweet spirit (that line is for you Justine) but man, he was weird. 

The best part of all of Latvia was Szymon took us on a little tour of Old Town at night. We walked the streets to important monuments and such. There wasn't a soul out. It was like we were the only people on the planet. Magical. That moment will forever be in my memory. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our new friends and the great town of Riga. You will all be missed. But it wasn't too sad because we were onto our next adventure......LITHUANIA!!

We left for Lithuania early early early in the morning. By bus. A very nice bus. Better than the train actually. When we got to Vilnius, it was raining. Hard. And it stayed that way for the majority of the time there. But a little rain hasn't stopped me before. There is too much to see, so little time! Once again, while roaming the streets you see so many amazing things. 

While walking around the planets a lined and we bumped into some of our roommates from Latvia! What are the odds. We stopped at chatted for a bit, but while we were walking away we realized their story didn't match up...they had said that they arrived in Lithuania last night and had just woken up.....but that they were on their way to check into their hostel.....it doesn't make sense I tell you! The only logical explanation is that they murdered someone. We're onto you Sasha and Roan!! You can't hide from me!! I know everythiiiiiing! 

My favorite thing that I saw in Lithuania was the Hill of Castles (suggested by Szymon. Thank you sir). It was very Shutter-Island-Esq. It was raining...there were hundreds of crows lurking about....it was old spooky castles, perfect setting for a horror movie. WHICH we filmed a bit of. We're going to make millions. I will say this. I am not the killer. Not this time....not this time...

One last thing. We found a poster for a Missing Person. I guess we shouldn't be making a joke of this but here I go. It was describing this man, but it wasn't quite translated correctly. Or maybe it was and they really meant what they wrote. One of the defining characteristics was and I quote "He hasn't got one tooth." Now does this mean, he doesn't have any teeth, he's all gums? Or he is missing one tooth? What does this mean?? Then it goes on "Probably he doesn't have any documents." Like probably....we're not totally sure...this guy is kind of an idiot so he probably wouldn't have any of his documents. And then it said something like "He may not have him memory." He has amnesia? Or is memory something that belongs to him, like a pet, or a prostitute? So many questions!!! We got a pretty good laugh at that poster. Hope you get found dude!

And thus concludes the first part of our adventure. Stay tuned for Sweden, Finland, and Estonia. Peace and Love :)

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

Greetings from the Mother Land. Every week is a gem here, and this one has been no exception. High lights of the week...I once again got mauled by a mob of kindergarteners, a class of 12 year olds drew pictures of what I apparently look like to them (it's a good thing I have a decent self esteem or that could have been earth shattering), we had Russian class, we payed a visit to the Circus, and one of our students took us to a futbol game. All in all, a successful week!

First off, the circus was stupendous. I felt like a kid again (oh wait I feel like that 90% of the time). It also felt like I had traveled back in time about 70 years. I am pretty sure that place hasn't changed since then. The decor, the acts, the Ring Master (who I am sure I would get along with splendidly). It was all very old fashioned, ergo, I loved every second. There was one act, however, that was most unsettling. The act with......poodles...they brought out about a dozen poodles to do tricks. It was disturbing how human like they were. With their hairless bottom halves, and their dead eyes, and their sickening shimmies. I wanted to look away, yet, I just couldn't muster up the strength. It was so alluring and terrifying at the same time.

But the rest was magical. An excellent evening indeed.

Next is the futbol game. Syd's student, Victor, got us VIP front row seats. Ya, he's da man. St. Petersburg's futbol team is the best in their league right now. So ya....you could say it was an awesome game. The fans were nuts. The whole audience was yelling this chant. And me being the ignorant American I am, had no idea what they were saying. Victor had to translate for me. The basic gist of this chant was (keep in mind EVERYONE was in unison) the other team is crazy and they drink lots of beer and vodka and drive really crazy. Can you imagine that cheer at a Jazz game. The whole crowd together, "Hey Lakers. You psychotic miscreants. Your alcohol intake exceeds that of athlete regulations. And don't even get me started on your parking tickets! You are all menaces to society!" When I get home I am definitely going to make that a thing. Another one I had Victor sum of for me was basically making fun of the other teams Governor. If that's not a burn I don't know what is. The game was so much fun. We won, obviously, because St. Petersburg kicks trash.

All I am going to say about Russian class is that it if you didn't think that I was dumber than the average person, just see me in action in our classes. I think my Russian is getting worse with each class, which I am not entirely sure how that's possible being that I didn't know any Russian to begin with. Essentially, I am breaking new ground. I am giving "incompetence" a new meaning. Now I remember why I never pursued any of the languages that were required in middle school.

In other news...we had mid semester visits. Steve, an ILP director, flew out here to see how things are running. You really don't realize how much of a freak you are until an outsider comes to town. Steve, I swear I am normal. You may not THINK I am normal based on my little friend I carry around in my purse and sometimes shower with, or my dance moves, or my songs I like to make up about blini, or my various characters that make appearances throughout the day, but it's all a ruse to feign my normality. I am actually a sophisticated, intelligent lady who doesn't care for nonsense and tom foolery. It was a lot of fun having Steve visit. He is probably the nicest human being on this planet. I think it's impossible not to adore this man. Thanks Steve for all your help. You are great :)

Russia is certainly treating me well. Except my shower. It likes to do this fun thing where the temperature gets  cold so you have to gradually turn up the heat. Just when you think you have found the perfect temperature it turns into to boiling lava and incinerates all my skin right off. It's pretty much like the scene in Indiana Jones when the Nazi's face gets melted off. This pretty much does is justice.

Other than my scalding showers, I have no complaints. Life is good. To everyone out there who is reading this (so all three of you, my mom, my dad, and that stalker who creeps on random blogs because they have nothing better to do) I hope that you can find the same magnitude of happiness I have been able to find in my life. I can't imagine a life without it. So here's to all of you...peace and love :)