Another week has come to an end. It has had its ups and downs. I did manage to get into a host family on Monday. This has proved to be successful so far. They are an older retired couple and have been taking in students since around the time of the collapse in '91. It is interesting to hear their perspective on life here in post-soviet Russia. It is also interesting to hear about their experiences during WWII. Although they were both too young to serve in the war, they were both directly touched by it. My host mom lived in Moscow and remembers the German bomber attacks. She also told me about going hungry. They would often only have a few potatoes to eat. She said that all of the evacuations and chaos in Texas and Louisiana from the hurricanes reminds her of the mass evacuations to avoid the tide of Nazi soldiers. I can only imagine what life would have been like under such conditions. My host dad also lost his father and his uncle was seriously wounded in combat.
On the local friendship front, I have finally made some local contacts who look like potential long term friends. Yesterday we went to a pro-soccer game; a big sport here like many countries around the world. It was a good experience, but the language barrier that still exists is a bit of a hindrance. I am able to communicate with them fairly well for a little bit, but after a couple of hours it becomes very difficult and my brains feel like they are going to melt out of my ears. This language is just so hard.
I have still not found a local church here. People just do not know where they are other than the ones that are museums. In fact, after telling one guy I met yesterday that I was looking for a church to attend, he told me he did not know where one was located and also added that the last time he went to church was for some museum excursion several years ago. There is certainly a lot of work to be done here.
I finally had one incident with some drunk folks trying to attack me the other night while I was walking home after a late night ballet excursion. It was nothing too scary; just a bunch of drunk college aged girls looking for a guy to make out with. I managed to get away without too much trouble. I simply told them it was too late and I wanted to go home. The one girl who was the most aggressive and insistent was Bulgarian and said her name was Lena. She told me that she had a great pain in her heart and I needed to go with her for about five minutes. When I told her no, she made a pass at me. I managed to pull away, which lead to her calling me a few names and telling me that I was weak and just afraid of women. I must say that this will probably be one of my memorable moments here. It is not everyday that you get jumped for a kiss.
And so, I sign off again. Dodging drunk Bulgarian women, so long from the wild wild east.