Some of the other teachers and I were talking about how when we come back to America, people are going to think that we are so rude. We have gotten used to the culture here, and back home I would never do act the way I do here sometimes haha. On the metro, I am not shy about pushing through crowds of people anymore. I remember I thought people here were so rude at first. If you're standing in someones way, they won't even say anything to you, they will just push you aside so they can get passed you. Also, I've gotten pretty good at the staring game :). People are always staring at us, especially in the metro, probably because we stand out so much here. I used to feel awkward about it, but now I'll just stare back at them until they stop haha. We've learned to be very blunt and rude to all the guys and drunk people here too-I usually am not like this! lol
I've really adapted to the culture here, and I have to admit, I'm actually starting to like the fashion here! At first I thought the clothing here was so bizarre, but now I have even started wearing SOME of the things that they wear here. I just bought a pair of boots the other day (EVERYONE here wears boots-and all the girls wear those knee-high boots with heels). I also really like some food that I never would have expected to. One of my favorite things to eat here is varenki (which is like tortellini stuffed with cabbage). Cabbage is becoming one of my new favorite foods!
I really wish I had brought more books with me on this trip; that's all I do on the metro and when there isn't anything to do at home. Just the other day I was reading on the metro, and looked up at one of the stops and realized I had no idea where I was. So I got off and realized that I had gone about 3 stops further than I needed to; I guess I lost track of time when I was reading.
When I was at church yesterday, I was thinking about how lucky I am to go to a school and live where there are a lot of members of the church. I could just walk to the church and to the temple any time I wanted to. Here, it takes over an hour to get to church and the closest temple is about a 24-hour train ride to Germany. One of the members was talking about how hard it was for her to be LDS when she joined the church. She told us that shortly after she was baptized, the missionaries were deported from Ukraine and the government had spies questioning the members. She said that they threatened to hurt her and her family and things like that-I can't even imagine what that would be like! I'm really grateful for the opportunities that I have in America.
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