Masha in the Motherland: Olympics with the Host Family-End of Week 2

I would equate week 2 to the week before finals in terms of energy level... Simple, everyday tasks suck out all the energy I have, so by the time Friday comes, I'm ready to drop dead. And it doesn't help that on Friday's I have 3 hours of straight grammar, and then and hour and a half of phonetics... and this Friday came with a twist! 2 out of the FOUR people in my class didn't show! I'm not exaggerating when I say it was an interrogation...

Teacher : "Masha, what is ......(grammar question)?"

Me: "....(wrong answer)"

Teacher: Rolls eyes, looks at me like I just killed her first-born, keeps looking at me like I don't deserve to live, and then proceeds to the next question. Repeat cycle for three hours. And add in a lecture or two about how I need to study my vocabulary more and how I'm not a prepared student. Ужас.

Plus side: Learned a lot, and realized that Russian has WAY TOO MANY PREPOSITIONS. In grade school I always learned that a preposition was anywhere a mouse could go... in Russian, its anywhere a mouse can go... times 1000.

By the end of class her reaction was to just laugh at me.

...Needless to say I was happy when 315 rolled around.

On to more exciting things: I got up this morning and asked my host mom if we could watch the Olympics. We all watched the opening ceremony, where each country walks out, etc. etc. She enthusiastically pointed out to me each country that was in the former Soviet Union. And went on and on about how weird the president of North Korea is ( apparently he rode the train from Vladivostok to Moscow and then St. Petersburg and the news tracked where he was everyday until he and Putin finally got together...). She also laughed at the countries that only had 3 or four people walking.

Then it was Russia's turn to walk. She said something along the lines of "Our Russia, our comrades!" with a slight laugh.

....

I nervously chuckled and merely commented on their cool winter gear. Then MURRICA's turn came and I said "Horrah!" And she looked at me and said "Masha, look, there are your comrades!"

I think that's the first time I've heard "Comrade" since I've been here. I was a little taken aback, but slightly amused as well.

To increase the awkwardness, my host mom's sister came over. She attempted at small talk with me (which is actually more like FAST TALK) and my babushka said: "Inga. You have to speak veeeeerrrrrryyyyyyyy slooooooooowwwwwwwllllllllllly around Masha. She doesn't understand."

I laughed out loud while the speed at which my self- esteem plummeted could easily rival Lindsey Vonn's fastest down-hill ski race time.

Alas, this language will not defeat me! Thank you Inga, for the motivation!

To end off the week on a fun note, I went out with some friends to an actual cool Russian-hangout that is NOT McDonalds :) Our other friends were already there and when we walked in our sassy Russian waiter said : "The American table is over there." ...Sweet. Anyway, It was full of rambunctious Russian hipsters listening to American pop songs. (Keisha's catchy but semi-annoying song "Tik Tok" seems to be a Russian favorite, as I hear it pretty much everywhere).

And of course, can't go a day without a creepy metro experience! After leaving said newly found Russian- hangout, my friend was overheard speaking English on the escalator and was asked by a young Russian lad where in the US she was from and where she lives in St. Pete.... awkward! And random crowds of (drunk) Russian teenage boys were wrestling on the platform next to a homeless woman singing opera. And couples with flowers and tacky heart-shaped balloons. And dogs riding on the metro like they have important places to go and other dogs to see. My friend Cornelia says the metro is like "Being in a bad 70s music video". Couldn't have said it better myself! I wish I could take pictures...

And speaking of picutres, here are a couple of my host family.