On the other side of the world

I'm here! In Moscow!! It's truly unreal. It feels kind of like New York to me because everyone knows just by looking at me that I am definitely not from here. I smile a lot, I say thank you and please as much as possible (in Russian of course) but it doesn't matter, they know I'm not one of them. :) We flew from Detroit to Paris and had a mini layover (there was a piano in the Paris airport, you know, just in case you felt like playin'). The flight from Paris to Moscow will stand out as an all time favorite memory of this trip. We flew with a bunch of kids from the Internatinal Academy in Moscow. They came from all over the world and had more stams on their passports than most peeps get in a lifetime! Of course, I fell in love with them instantly. My seat mates were Guido, Lotte, and Igor. They gave me the real low down on Moscow and their burning question for me was-"who did I vote for?". These adorable 12 year olds who spoke perfect English with their beautiful accents were envious of our choice in choosing our president. They told me they don't get a choice and wish they did...I tried to express that we barely had a choice ourselves, but they corrected my ignorance and insisted we have the better deal. It was fascinating to have such an engaging conversatuon about politics, life, school, business, siblings, etc. with 12 year old Russian children! And on top of it all we played Star Wars with their Legos they brought with them. At the very end of the flight they made me look out the window to watch the landing (I hate to fly and am usually a nervous wreck) but because I was with such pros, they taught me how to enjoy myself during, what I thought was going to be, the scary part. .... After unpackingand getting settled in my beautiful dorm room...I feel right at home. And then, I went grocery shopping. Haha!! That was something else! Watch me, trying to be vegan (ish) at a Russian grocery store. Hilarious. I had a tomato sandwich for lunch. And it was tasty because I was starving! But ya, not easy figuring out what doesn't have meat or cheese... Or milk... Or you know, anything. Really should have learned Russian... But no matter! It's still doable! (meaning: there is a cafeteria in the school, so I'll just eat there). Speaking of! We visited our school today! It's beautiful. I can't wait to start on Monday. Today, we had a mini session about class and how to conduct ourselves and what to expect. They refer to the 'American way' of acting to be more focused on the self rather than the ensemble. Hearing that made my gut hurt. How true and how ugly. I'm so looking forward to getting to know my ensemble or 'familia' as they call it. So naturally, we all went out to the bar to get to know each other more. We all got dressed up in our cute outfits (the bits too, all three if them) and walked in the pouring rain, having a ball. We had a round of our first official Russian vodka shots that tasted like nectar of the Gods and the madness ensued. The good kind of madness. Best part: our bartender's face when I tried to pronounce "I'm a vegetarian." He was a champ though! If I could spell his name I would! Poor guy...he was so not happy with serving 12 Americans, but by the end, we grew on him....I think... There is a lot of convenience in America that I take for granted. I'll spare the deets on it, but it has made a strong impression on me to make some new choices. Though, it is day one. And I am pretty buzzed and happy with vodka in me so everything is sunny right now.