(2-20-2010 Note: Again, here it is, with the day changed, making it look like I'm late! It made sense at the time, but as I'm going back through editing these journals into fully fleshed-out things, it's rather confusing! I've finally had to open my calendar just to make sure when exactly whatever I'm talking about took place!)
2-10-2010 Notes:
Today was a great day for classes! We started with a rousing Music Lecture, where the professor was in great spirits again; Razvitie Rechi was much better today, and quite a bit of fun; and Literature, with Professor Supic [Pron.: Soup-ik] was great, too!
I gave him one of my mini-USBs to copy Dvoe for me -- which is so kind of him to do!! I had originally asked him if there was any place to buy the movie, and he gave me one of those looks, and said, "Ah, no… I'm basically the only one who has it." Ha ha ha.
Before Literature started, I had actually gone in a bit early, because there is a piano in that room (it's the Lecture room), and I had had a song pop into my head that had gotten stuck there, and I wanted to try to figure out the notes, so that I could show it to a few people, and maybe they would know. As it turns out, from the moment I started playing, Anya had started saying, "Tosca," -- but because I was so intent on getting it figured out, I didn't hear her at all! When I finally finished, I went through it all, and asked her if it sounded familiar, and she said, "Yeah, I said "Tosca" like, 5 times!" She, Juan, and I had a good laugh about it all.
We also had Dance today, where Irina Fyodorovna introduced one of those "fancy," "legwork-intensive" traditional-Russian dance moves for the guys. It's very simple -- just a drop down to one's haunches, and then pop back up, angled to one side. Weight is on the opposite leg (slightly bent) from the direction one is facing, and the same leg as direction you are facing is out straight, foot flexed up, heel on the ground. Repeat to other side.
(Simplified: If I drop down, and come up angled R -- I am standing on a slightly bent, L leg, with my R leg straight, heel on the ground, toes up. Drop down, come up angled L -- standing on slightly bent R leg, with L leg straight, heel on the ground toes up.)
Due to the fact that we were short on guys today, I was getting to be a lead, and I got to learn the guy's part! I felt kind of bad for the guys getting thrown into it straight away…. At least I had seen it before! (Also, it's not like most people are wearing dance-appropriate clothes to class… )
The girl's part was next, which I also learned -- and it's no less difficult! They have to do spot turns, wind up for one count, do 360 degrees in one count -- come to a full stop, and re-wind up. So: wind up - spin and stop; wind up - spin and stop; etc., etc., etc.! While the music starts slowly, it picks up speed, so the men's work, and the girls' spins get faster, and faster, and faster!
We worked on Rumba after that, trying to figure out a few things in the choreography. The competition, as I've mentioned before, is coming up this weekend, and I can't help but be slightly worried. I hope that I do get to meet good people, and that something productive will come of it… I am so ready to start dancing again!! It has been two months since my last lesson and/or practice!!!!
After school, I went to go pick up an application for the Student Metro Card (It should be much cheaper than getting the Transportnuyu Card.) and then headed *home!* I was so exhausted, I had been hoping to get a nap, but that didn't happen…
Polina had late lessons today, so I waited for her to get home to eat dinner. I think we ate around 9 PM. Lucky for me, there were new sweets, and I even got to have some Pomegranate seeds tonight!
I've been emailing with Papa back and forth -- it's been really nice to exchange letters that way. I do so love getting letters, and writing them, too! I wish that it were easier to do in actual letter format, because I know how nice it is to receive them -- but unfortunately, mail from here: takes a long time to deliver; I assume would be a little pricier to send out; and I'm already pressed for time, and write so slowly, that I'd never get anything finished, if I wrote letters to everyone I wanted to write to!!! = ToT = So, at least there is e-mail. Email maybe is not quite so nice as seeing something in the physical Mailbox -- but it is still a letter that can be cherished!
I finally got to some of my homework, and I'm doing these notes -- so I am DOG tired, and ready for bed!
Oh, one last thing:
Some of the kids in my group will be going to St. Petersburg, two weeks from now, I think -- but I am going to wait. I'll go in the summer time when some of the professors from Purdue that I know will go, and then I can go meet them there! (Can't go wrong with visiting a city with a Native, with someone who will speak the language much better than I do, and when the weather will be MUCH warmer!)
Love,
Moscow Kitty; 1:29 AM
=^__^=
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