Life is a challenge, meet it

O.K so this blog is going to be a bit shorter than the last, but I figured since I'm so far behind I'll do another one tonight. It's currently 9:45 p.m here and it's 1:45 in the states so that makes me 8 hours ahead of you guys! I'm still suffering from jetlag, or maybe it's just because our days are so packed and we walk EVERYWHERE! Not that i'm complaining... I've now realized why Russians are so skinny, they eat borscht and walk 5oo miles a day. Unfortunately, as Americans we have been eating Italian food so we are kind of balancing our the walking haha. Anyways I would like to give a big shout out to my little sis CHELSEA FOR GRADUATING!!!!! I really wish I could be there tonight!

Well on Monday we started classes! We have class Monday-Friday for 3 hours a day. Monday wasn't too hard, our teacher was really quiet and really easy on us. Tuesday we had a Russian music class. We learned Russian words for melody, rythm, verse, and that kind of thing and then we sang. I wish I was kidding. My teacher sat at the piano and made us sing a Russian song, and if we didn't sing loud enough she would call us out! The song is called Kalinka, and i'll put a youtube link at the end of this if you want to check it out. There are only three people in my class so it really wasn't bad and it mad the day go by so quickly! We then went to an Italian ballet that night... which was interesting. Very different from the Russian ballet apparently, but were going to see Swan Lake next Wed. and i'm pumped!!!!!

Well today is wednesday and my Russian professor from Tech told me that today we were going to have a very strict teacher. Eeeeeeeeeek! Well she wouldn't let us speak English unless we said "shto ____ and then the word in English) Which means "what ___" and we don't know how to say does this mean, but she got the drift. At first I was like what the heck?! we're only first years... how do you expect us to speak nothing but Russian, but then I LOVED it! I was making so many terrible mistakes but she always kindly corrected me in Russian, and I feel like in that one class alone I learned more than I would have in a couple weeks! It was really awesome. 

Well this afternoon after class we got to tour inside the Kremlin. For those of you who don't know the Kremlin is a huge fortress in which a bunch of famous cathedrals and the president's cabinet reside. Kremlin literally translates "fortress". We went into the Cathedral where the Czars were married, baptized, went to church, and buried... and yes they have a separate one for all. We then got to see the Faberge eggs.. which were incredible! If you don't know what that is google it, because i'm tired and going to bed soon! Miss you guys! Dobre Vecher... aka goodnighthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09Rf2KqA7a4