Meet Marina

Okay, so everyone, this is Marina.  She is basically Camilla in a Croatian's body.  It is freaky how similar they are with the way they think, the way they act, their humor.  Not only are their personalities identical but their birthdays are only two days apart.  It scares me.  

So needless to say, Marina and I have become very fast and close friends.  I guess the Gods knew this was going to be a tough year, so they sent the only thing that would ensure me coming out of this alive....that being Camilla (is someone else's body).

At least two times a day we frequent the local pub.  First visit usually resulting in about 3 hours worth of latte's and the second, more often then not, results in us closing the place down with a Panna Bianca pizza shared over a couple (dozen) Long Islands and Stellas.  

We have self proclaimed our status as regulars considering we sit at the same table every time (third booth on the left), our latte's and other beverages are ready before we even arrive, the staff changes the channels to either MTV or a volleyball match when we sit down, and they refer to us by our first, middle, and last names.

Yes, I feel special.

But thanks to Marina/Camilla (Marilla/Camirina...it's like there is some sort of avatar thing going on), I am making it through my first year of living in Russia.

There's No Place Like Moscow

I'm not joking when I say I have no idea where I am.  I got on a train and 14 hours later got off in some little town that isn't quite sure if it's still in colonial times or in the middle of the projects in Compton.  I think they refer to this part of Russia as Rossosh?

We have no running water, our meals consist mostly of bones, each room is decorated with it's own flare ranging in style from my great grandmother's home to my unborn 3 year old daughter's princess room.  The doors like to jam shut leaving us locked outside for as little as 25 minutes and I am pleasantly rocked to sleep by the sound of rats scurrying around the room and chewing on whatever crumbs we left behind during snack time a few hours earlier.  

The only three things that have kept me sane is Wi-Fi.....yes miraculously there is Wi-Fi (at least they have their priorities straight picking internet over running water), drawing mustaches on my fingers and playing different roles whether it be Charlie Chaplin, Hitler, or just a girl with a mustache, and third, the thought of going somewhere for New Years.  

Well at least that was keeping me going until I found out all airports in Moscow are closed because for some reason we got rain and then hit hard by a cold front resulting in layers and layers of ice on the ground.  At least I won't have to walk to practice anymore.  I will just trade in my Ugg boots for some ice skates.  I'm so excited to get back to Moscow just for this reason.  I actually miss the place.

YAY! Isn't this fun?!

Very Merry Christmas?

My mental image of a white Christmas definitely did not look like this.

It's Christmas morning and I can't seem to figure out why my heart is not overwhelmed with joy.  It could be the fact that I woke up by myself and had a rush of memories of running down the stairs in the morning to a colorfully lit tree with mountains of lavishly wrapped gifts in a room warmed by a deep orange fire.  My family would be sitting on the sofa taking in the aroma of Christmas morning breakfast and the cinnamon spice candle on the table.

I can't help but laugh when I write this but today is unlike any Christmas I have every experienced.

Today I woke up and looked outside to the freezing cold, colorless, lifeless world everyone knows as......(take a guess).  I'm not kidding you, I opened my window in hopes of hearing some sort of Christmas music or children laughing but instead I got a huge breeze of icy air in my face which was shortly followed by a black crow landing on the frozen branch outside my window and peering at me while letting out his eery

cawwwww

I feel like I am in some horror film

or Ashton Kutcher is punking me.

Hopefully it's the latter because I could really use some American humor right now.

Pieces of Russia

HAPPY DECEMBER!

I can't believe it's the best month of the year already!!  More importantly I can't believe 2010 is quickly coming to a close and 2011 is right around the corner.

Remember when we thought the world was going to blow up when the clock hit midnight to bring in 2000.

Yeah, we'll we are 11 years past that now and it feels like it has only been maybe 5.

To my friends, I am sorry I have been MIA lately.  I have been going through a pretty rough patch lately and I am so used to spilling my feelings all over my blog, and as much as spilling my guts about this on here would make me feel better, I don't think it is in my best interest.  I promise I will be back soon with some stories about life in Russia and hopefully a promising New Years resolution list.

But for now I am in desperate need of a nap in order to sleep off this nasty hangover.  Oh, to be 18 again and be able to wake up ready to run a marathon after a marathon of drinking the night before.  And by 18 I mean 21, the legal age of alcohol consumption.