Journal 122

Journal 122

5-18-10

Today we had the last of our testing for the RLASP program -- the listening conversation. There was *so* much of it!!! It wasn't terrible, just tedious. I was certainly happy to be through with it!!

We had a last meeting about how things would be going for the next few days, detailing moving back to the dorm the night before we'd be leaving, and a few other things. We also learned that Jon, our RD, was going to surprise Juan with McDonalds on the plane. (As I've never mentioned it before, Juan, a boy from my group, is almost obsessed with McD's here. He's really, really fond of it.)

After the meeting was over, we were off for one last dance practice, and then, the Gauntlet -- I mean, the Recital…

It wasn't actually so bad, and I'm sure that everyone had a really good time. I did the solo that Irina had asked me to do -- twice even, because we did an "encore," of the Russian Waltz number. I finally just looked at the situation as, thanks to the fact that no one in the audience was going to be a serious connoisseur of dance, no one, except for me, would be critical in any real fashion.

After all the dancing was finished, it was time for the part all of us were truly wanting to get to -- dinner!! It was our Goodbye Dinner, which they have in order for all the students and teachers, who have spent so much time together, to have one last get-together. It's also a chance for the students to give their teachers gifts. Gift-giving is actually a very important custom here in Russia, and especially so in the arena of schooling and education. Mostly, chocolates and flowers are always good bets for women, but we were also encouraged to be original, if we could be! For the lecture teachers, we all pitched in and bought gifts together -- notably, the bottle of whisky for our Geography and Economics teacher. (He's famously fond of the stuff -- not in a bad way though!)

We had an absolutely fantastic time, I must say. The spread was excellent, and we spent quite a bit of the time sharing stories, singing along to our favorite songs we'd been singing all semester in Phonetics, and making toasts! Here are some highlights from dinner:

** Vladimir Supik's favorite Toast:

"Pick three things that people want in life -- [this is typically Happiness, Love, Health, etc.]. Okay -- one day, Happiness, Love, and Health were walking along together. As the day went on, they became tired, and began to look for a place to stop for the night. They came to a little house, but there was only one place available, so Love went in to stay there. Happiness and Health continued on their way, and soon enough, came to a second house. Unfortunately, as with the first, there was only one space, and Happiness went in. Eventually, Health found a place to stay, too. But here is hoping that you will always have three places in your home, for Love, Health, and Happiness!"

(Obviously, this can be adapted to whatever your guests pick, when giving this toast.)

** I learned that, without he proper application of liquor, your 50+ year old music teacher can pick you up and put you on his shoulder, out of nowhere!!!! (There are pictures. This really *did* happen!!)

** We danced some ourselves to a few of the songs that were playing, and eventually had a mini-encore of the recital, for a few teachers who had to come late. (I wasn't thrilled to do the solo again, but it made them happy, and that was what was important.)

** My teachers have apparently taken it to heart, learning how much I love sweets, because two of the professors gave me their ice cream from dessert! (Seriously, not, "Does anybody want this?" -- it was, "Here, Katya, you take this!") So, they either know how much I love sweets, or they thought I was too skinny. Ha ha, who knows?

** Irina, our dance teacher, took me aside toward the end of dinner, and told me that she had a present she wanted to give to me. She pulled out a little packet, with earrings inside, that matched *exactly* with the necklace she almost always wears. The earrings, and the necklace, are two people/dancers in an embrace. She told me how much she had loved having me in class, and watching me dance, and that she hoped we would continue to stay in touch, and see each other, and that she could follow my dancing.

** For some of the professors, I had wanted to get them a present, but had gotten rained out yesterday -- and when I apologized to them, and told them that I would have presents for them when I returned from the US, they told me, "You coming back is enough of a present!!!"

Awwww……… I seriously felt *so* incredibly loved at that dinner, by all my teachers. I am so blessed that I found a program with such amazing, talented, knowledgable teachers, with such big hearts! And I am humbled that my efforts to get to know them, and show them that I was excited to be here, and to be learning from them, paid off with such dividends, as shown by the love, and kindness, and affections that they have bestowed upon me!

**********

Eventually, I left to go home and drop my stuff off (and to grab my things for hustle); afterwards, I stopped by the Embassy to hang out until it was time to leave for dance. I was so cross with myself once I'd arrived: I realized that I had forgotten to bring back Mulzoff's Hoodie!!!!

It didn't matter though; Mulzoff said he had no need of it, and we sat down in the bar area, just talking and relaxing. Not too much later, Lawson and Williams joined us, and as the group got bigger, we migrated to one of the couches in the center of the room -- where we all just flat-out Puppy-Piled. It was *so* nice. I think all of us had been stressed out about something or other as of late, and we all just needed a good dose of, "sit down, chat, and relax with people you love" time. [For anyone who is unfamiliar with the term, when I say, "Puppy Pile," it's like when puppies all glom together and cuddle. So, if you think about a group of friends who are just sitting/laying all over each other -- that was us. Ha ha. =^__^= ]

Of course, when hanging out with Lawson, Williams, and Mulzoff, I'm pretty sure that it's a law of Nature that Hilarity must ensue at one point or another.

Lawson took care of fulfilling this law, when he extricated himself from the pile to go get a soda. As he came back, and nestled in again, he looked around for a place to put his soda down, that he could still reach, when snugly fit into our group. He looked down, and there I was, back on his lap, and he said, "Don't. Move." -- I, of course, saw the cold soda, and realized my chest was starting to look like the perfect table, immediately started to move, saying, "Don't you *dare!* That's cold!!!!" A few, "Shhh!!!" s later, however, Lawson had turned me into a Soda Stand, and I was playfully grousing, "Great -- just because I'm not well-endowed, that means I'm only good for being a *Soda Stand*!?!?"

I was having so much fun with My Boys, and enjoying just sitting there and relaxing with them that I realized I definitely wasn't going to Hustle anymore. I was sad about it, and I hoped that no one there would be mad (especially because that meant I wasn't saying goodbye before I left for another three weeks!) -- but, on the other hand, I knew that the puppy pile with my friends was something I really needed. I had been so stressed out from the end of the semester going-ons, and trying to think about what to take home, etc.

Eventually, I left the Embassy, and at 2 AM, it's time for bed!!!!

I am SO excited for tomorrow, however! Not because it's the day before I leave Russia (Boo!), but because I'm going to breakfast in the morning with Lawson and Mulzoff, at Starlite!!! (Starlite Diner is the American, authentic Diner restaurant [chain] here in Moscow).

Also, I'll be running around like a chicken with my head cut off, doing my final gift buying run all around town, and trying to pack, and move to the University Dorms (as we are required to do, in order to leave with the group).

Yay, Breakfast!! =^___^=