Winter has pretty much set in for the long haul I think. It is about 32 F outside with snow. It is still not quite as cold as I thought it would be during this time, but it is definitely not what I am used to during this time of the year.
The trip to the far Western Oblast of Bryansk was a good experience. Things are harder out there. Unemployment is very high. The city I went to is still experiencing the fallout of the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is as if it is still 1991 out there.
Despite these hardships, you will never meet more hospitable people. Folks here open up their homes to you and everything in them without any questions. I also must say that people there are a lot warmer. This is contrary to what I have generally experienced here in Moscow. Right now I am strongly considering doing ESL work here in Russia for a little bit after college. If that option opens up, I will most certainly try to work in a smaller city outside of Moscow so I do not blow my top.
In other news, I am very busy and almost out of gas. We are getting ready for the state exam. I don't know if I will pass the level I am trying to pass, but I am going to give it a shot anyways. I am still not happy with my language skills, but if I do pass the level one exam it would technically mean that I could enter a university here if I wanted to. Although there are still lots of struggles, it is said that this would not be bad progress for the amount of time I have been studying the language.
With this I sign off. Cramming for exams in the Wild Wild East, see ya