10 Things I'd Tell My 16 Year Old Self
1. Learn to love yourself
2. Take time to build relationships
3. Take time to discover your beliefs and be firm in them
4. Don't say anything you can't take back
5. Always show gratitude
6. Live in the moment
7. Don't give up, even if it's something you hate
8. Love people for what part they play in your life don't try and put them in a category
9. Your life is not going to play out exactly how you think it will and that's ok
10. Take time to listen
It's interesting the timing of filling this out. I have a continued cycle in my life and looking back at my 16 yr old self the advice I would give myself then is the advice in part that I still need to take today. I am on a journey for the next two months in Russia to break the cycle that has consumed my life every few months since I can remember. At some point there has to be something that pulls you out of it and makes you change. I want today to be that day. When is a better time than to be completely alone in Russia?
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
The Best Days
Describe Your Parents and Your Relationship with Them
Where do I start! I have the best parents in the world! I have never been able to figure out what I could have possibly done to have them as parents but I am forever indebted to God for giving me them! Story time...I come from a family with 5 older brothers. My mom got married at 18 and 9 months and 2 days later she had her first child. Within the first 5 years she was married she had 4 little boys shortly after that followed the 5th boy. Needless to say my mother is a saint! I have no idea how she was able to handle that. She had always wanted a little girl and somehow she was willing to risk her sanity and try for one more child. Unfortunately the doctors told her after my brother Joseph was born that she couldn't have any more children. If there is one thing to know about my mother she is the kindest, most loving and tender woman on this earth...but if she has her mind set on something part the sea now because she is going to get it! My family fasted and prayed for a little girl (my brothers often remind me that they were too young to really know what they were praying for;) ) and surprise! :) I came in all my shinning glory!
Immediately I became a daddy's girl! My father is a very strong , seemingly indestructible and logical man. I have been told that when I was born his soft side came out. He is the most incredible man I know! Honest and selfless. There is not a memory that I have of him where he was doing something because it was what was best for him. He constantly is finding ways to use his talents and resources to help his family, friends and even strangers. He has always taken care of me. Growing up no matter what was wrong, if I was scared, upset or even happy the loving embrace of my father made everything 10 times better. We use to sit on his recliner and watch John Wayne and Adam Sandler movies while eating hostess pies and Hershey bars! (shhhh don't tell my mom about the junk food! ;) hahaha) and I loved every second I could spend with him.
I wish I was always the dream child because I feel like I have the dream parents. Growing up I was such a sassy little thing. After everything my parents had sacrificed to have me I should have behaved better than I did. I wish I realized early on so that I could have reflected the type of child my parents deserved. I was constantly giving my parents a run for their money and I'm sure that my dads balding was because of the times I made him pull out his hair! (jokes jokes) but now I can say that as I have gotten older that they are two of my best friends! I love them so incredibly much and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank God for these two incredible blessings. They have taught me how to chase after my dreams, how to make mistakes and pick myself back up again and how to serve and love other people! I can not imagine having a better relationship with my parents. They are fantastic!
Where do I start! I have the best parents in the world! I have never been able to figure out what I could have possibly done to have them as parents but I am forever indebted to God for giving me them! Story time...I come from a family with 5 older brothers. My mom got married at 18 and 9 months and 2 days later she had her first child. Within the first 5 years she was married she had 4 little boys shortly after that followed the 5th boy. Needless to say my mother is a saint! I have no idea how she was able to handle that. She had always wanted a little girl and somehow she was willing to risk her sanity and try for one more child. Unfortunately the doctors told her after my brother Joseph was born that she couldn't have any more children. If there is one thing to know about my mother she is the kindest, most loving and tender woman on this earth...but if she has her mind set on something part the sea now because she is going to get it! My family fasted and prayed for a little girl (my brothers often remind me that they were too young to really know what they were praying for;) ) and surprise! :) I came in all my shinning glory!
Immediately I became a daddy's girl! My father is a very strong , seemingly indestructible and logical man. I have been told that when I was born his soft side came out. He is the most incredible man I know! Honest and selfless. There is not a memory that I have of him where he was doing something because it was what was best for him. He constantly is finding ways to use his talents and resources to help his family, friends and even strangers. He has always taken care of me. Growing up no matter what was wrong, if I was scared, upset or even happy the loving embrace of my father made everything 10 times better. We use to sit on his recliner and watch John Wayne and Adam Sandler movies while eating hostess pies and Hershey bars! (shhhh don't tell my mom about the junk food! ;) hahaha) and I loved every second I could spend with him.
I wish I was always the dream child because I feel like I have the dream parents. Growing up I was such a sassy little thing. After everything my parents had sacrificed to have me I should have behaved better than I did. I wish I realized early on so that I could have reflected the type of child my parents deserved. I was constantly giving my parents a run for their money and I'm sure that my dads balding was because of the times I made him pull out his hair! (jokes jokes) but now I can say that as I have gotten older that they are two of my best friends! I love them so incredibly much and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank God for these two incredible blessings. They have taught me how to chase after my dreams, how to make mistakes and pick myself back up again and how to serve and love other people! I can not imagine having a better relationship with my parents. They are fantastic!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Round and Round
3 Legitimate Fears and How They Developed
1. I am terrified of heights. Are fears hereditary? Cause my father has a fear of heights as well so that's the only thing I can think of. I turn into a little girl. This paralyzing fear grips me when I step on the second or third level of a ladder let alone anything higher or less sturdy! This last October one of my best friends Emilee and my other friend Nathan decided that it was time to help me conquer one of my fears and help me climb a tree for the first time. I'm pretty sure Nathan lost any and all respect for me that night as it took me probably twenty or so min. to climb in and out of that tree. As they both pointed out to me my feet were probably only three feet off the ground and the worst that would happen is I would fall and break a leaf. I'm a pansy when it comes to heights.
2. Reptiles of any sort but especially Snakes and Lizard type things. Even pictures of these creature terrify me. I was that child in school who would cover up the pictures in school books because it freaked me out so bad. I have always just associated them with evil. They are sneaky, ugly ewww just writing about it is giving me the creeps. I seriously have no idea why it gives me the ebee jeebies. One of my good friends Bekah has a bearded dragon. She loves all sorts of interesting animals and she always found it thoroughly entertaining to chase me around the house with it! Blegh
3. Fear of being Alone. This is more of an older fear that I had when I was younger but every now and then it comes back to me. To save the long and extremely sop story of its origin we will just say I had an interesting childhood. Let me clarify! I love me time! Going to explore, read, make food, long drives, pondering time yada yada yada I LOVE that its one of my favorite things to do!I think it's good for the soul and sometimes I think the only time I get some self time anymore is sleep which doesn't entirely count. (defiantly need to fix that) It's a fear of being alone not by choice. For example moving somewhere entirely new and not being able to make friends or something like that. Or when I'm older never having a significant other and being like 50 and having everyone in my life in that stage of family children maybe even grandchildren and that I've created such a life of independence that I never allowed that part of my life to develope. Silly but yet still rings true for me sometimes.
1. I am terrified of heights. Are fears hereditary? Cause my father has a fear of heights as well so that's the only thing I can think of. I turn into a little girl. This paralyzing fear grips me when I step on the second or third level of a ladder let alone anything higher or less sturdy! This last October one of my best friends Emilee and my other friend Nathan decided that it was time to help me conquer one of my fears and help me climb a tree for the first time. I'm pretty sure Nathan lost any and all respect for me that night as it took me probably twenty or so min. to climb in and out of that tree. As they both pointed out to me my feet were probably only three feet off the ground and the worst that would happen is I would fall and break a leaf. I'm a pansy when it comes to heights.
2. Reptiles of any sort but especially Snakes and Lizard type things. Even pictures of these creature terrify me. I was that child in school who would cover up the pictures in school books because it freaked me out so bad. I have always just associated them with evil. They are sneaky, ugly ewww just writing about it is giving me the creeps. I seriously have no idea why it gives me the ebee jeebies. One of my good friends Bekah has a bearded dragon. She loves all sorts of interesting animals and she always found it thoroughly entertaining to chase me around the house with it! Blegh
3. Fear of being Alone. This is more of an older fear that I had when I was younger but every now and then it comes back to me. To save the long and extremely sop story of its origin we will just say I had an interesting childhood. Let me clarify! I love me time! Going to explore, read, make food, long drives, pondering time yada yada yada I LOVE that its one of my favorite things to do!I think it's good for the soul and sometimes I think the only time I get some self time anymore is sleep which doesn't entirely count. (defiantly need to fix that) It's a fear of being alone not by choice. For example moving somewhere entirely new and not being able to make friends or something like that. Or when I'm older never having a significant other and being like 50 and having everyone in my life in that stage of family children maybe even grandchildren and that I've created such a life of independence that I never allowed that part of my life to develope. Silly but yet still rings true for me sometimes.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
What Makes You Beautiful
20 Random Facts About Me
1- I feel like my generation uses the word random (way too much)to describe things that indeed aren't random at all. Fact.
2- I'm pretty sure I started a questionnaire thing like this on my blog a few years ago, if so I mentioned the fact that I love earlobes...correction good earlobes which still holds true.
3- I have more shoes than there are weeks in a year
4- I have a difficult time talking about myself (I am already struggling with this list and
I'm only on number 4)
5- I am really bad at verbally expressing my thoughts and feelings but generally speaking if I can write them down I can usually do so with ease
6- I love learning about people and their lives, beliefs, frustrations just figuring out what makes them tick.
7- I am an awful decision maker on unimportant things but usually the most important decisions I've made in my life have been last minute spur of the moment decisions
8- I pocrastinate EVERYTHING
9- People who have met me since I graduated high school usually don't know that I'm a singer (ugly car singing voice doesn't count haha)
10- I love throwing parties
11- Nothing brings me more joy than precious little children. Close second is cheese.
12. I have no shame...my poor mother is still trying to figure out where she went wrong
13. I get along better with men than women
14. I had my first drink of alcohol today thinking it was rootbeer. Note to self: take a translator with you to the grocery store because Russia doesn't separate alcoholic drinks from everything else.
15. This is the longest I have gone without dying my hair for the last three years (4-5 months) it's killing me!
16. I forget to breathe a lot...it's extremely weird
17. I laugh a lot. Most of the time for no apparent reason or when I think someone or something is weird or I'm uncomfortable or when I'm nervous or when something is funny. (each laugh is different) and if something is truly hilarious I laugh so hard I stop breathing and then I can't figure out how to start breathing again so I hit this oh crud phase which in turn is hilarious...it's a vicious cycle.
18. Since we are on the subject of laughs I have some creepy laughs, that who knows where they come from, freak me out! I can only imagine what it's like for other people.
19. I'm loud! I didn't learn how to whisper til my junior year of high school but obviously I don't quite grasp the concept still.
20. I am a firm believer in keeping secrets. Even if we were best friends and I dislike your stinking guts now (not like I'm speaking out of experience or anything) if you told me a secret it's on lock down for forever.
1- I feel like my generation uses the word random (way too much)to describe things that indeed aren't random at all. Fact.
2- I'm pretty sure I started a questionnaire thing like this on my blog a few years ago, if so I mentioned the fact that I love earlobes...correction good earlobes which still holds true.
3- I have more shoes than there are weeks in a year
4- I have a difficult time talking about myself (I am already struggling with this list and
I'm only on number 4)
5- I am really bad at verbally expressing my thoughts and feelings but generally speaking if I can write them down I can usually do so with ease
6- I love learning about people and their lives, beliefs, frustrations just figuring out what makes them tick.
7- I am an awful decision maker on unimportant things but usually the most important decisions I've made in my life have been last minute spur of the moment decisions
8- I pocrastinate EVERYTHING
9- People who have met me since I graduated high school usually don't know that I'm a singer (ugly car singing voice doesn't count haha)
10- I love throwing parties
11- Nothing brings me more joy than precious little children. Close second is cheese.
12. I have no shame...my poor mother is still trying to figure out where she went wrong
13. I get along better with men than women
14. I had my first drink of alcohol today thinking it was rootbeer. Note to self: take a translator with you to the grocery store because Russia doesn't separate alcoholic drinks from everything else.
15. This is the longest I have gone without dying my hair for the last three years (4-5 months) it's killing me!
16. I forget to breathe a lot...it's extremely weird
17. I laugh a lot. Most of the time for no apparent reason or when I think someone or something is weird or I'm uncomfortable or when I'm nervous or when something is funny. (each laugh is different) and if something is truly hilarious I laugh so hard I stop breathing and then I can't figure out how to start breathing again so I hit this oh crud phase which in turn is hilarious...it's a vicious cycle.
18. Since we are on the subject of laughs I have some creepy laughs, that who knows where they come from, freak me out! I can only imagine what it's like for other people.
19. I'm loud! I didn't learn how to whisper til my junior year of high school but obviously I don't quite grasp the concept still.
20. I am a firm believer in keeping secrets. Even if we were best friends and I dislike your stinking guts now (not like I'm speaking out of experience or anything) if you told me a secret it's on lock down for forever.
Say
Ahhhhhh blogging! I hate these things but I always enjoy looking back on them to see where I was at a certain point and time in my life. (funny kinda sounds like a journal...oh wait that's what this thing has kinda been minus angry rampages) oops! What a cheeser I am! Anyways I'm going to be one of those people who posts questions and answers them through her blog as if people wanted to know! ...you're welcome! Jokes jokes! Ok so here it is:
1. Twenty random facts about yourself
2. List 3 legitimate fears you have and how they developed
3. Describe your relationship with your parents
4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year old self
5. What are the five things that make you most happy right now
6. What is the hardest thing you have ever had to experience
7. What is your dream job and why
8. What are 5 passions you have
9. List10 people who have influenced you and why
10. Describe your most embarrassing moment
11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have
12. Describe a typical day in your life right now
13. Describe 5 weaknesses you have
14. Describe 5 strengths you have
15. If you could be any animal what animal would you be and why
16. Describe 5 of your greatest accomplishments
17. What is the thing that you wish you were most great at
18. What has been the most difficult thing that you have had to forgive
19. If you could live anywhere where would it be and why
20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood
21. If you could have one superpower what would it be and what would you do with it first
22. Where do you see yourself in 5,10,15 years
23. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong
24. What is your favorite part of your body and why
25. What is your love language
26. What do you think people misunderstand about you most
27. List 10 things you would like to be remembered for
1. Twenty random facts about yourself
2. List 3 legitimate fears you have and how they developed
3. Describe your relationship with your parents
4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year old self
5. What are the five things that make you most happy right now
6. What is the hardest thing you have ever had to experience
7. What is your dream job and why
8. What are 5 passions you have
9. List10 people who have influenced you and why
10. Describe your most embarrassing moment
11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have
12. Describe a typical day in your life right now
13. Describe 5 weaknesses you have
14. Describe 5 strengths you have
15. If you could be any animal what animal would you be and why
16. Describe 5 of your greatest accomplishments
17. What is the thing that you wish you were most great at
18. What has been the most difficult thing that you have had to forgive
19. If you could live anywhere where would it be and why
20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood
21. If you could have one superpower what would it be and what would you do with it first
22. Where do you see yourself in 5,10,15 years
23. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong
24. What is your favorite part of your body and why
25. What is your love language
26. What do you think people misunderstand about you most
27. List 10 things you would like to be remembered for
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Stronger (What doesn't kill you)
Wow! What an adventure I have been on. My life has taken some very interesting twists and turns in the past two years and how grateful I am that it has placed me here in Russia!
So much has happened in the last month it blows my mind! I have met some incredible life changing people. When I met the group of teachers that I would be working with I immediately knew my life wouldn't be the same and as I started to get to know them each I was convinced that we had all been placed in this exact situation for a reason. I wish I could explain it better than some cheesy cliche phrase but it is so true. There are two people here that I have become close with and I am so grateful to have them here.
First is Suzy fricken Andrews! Her nickname is the worst but we mean it in the absolutely best way because being a 100% honest she is the best! Where to begin about this girl! My sister from another mister! An outstanding human being extremely hard working and so intelligent! I absolutely adore her! She is such a strong beautiful and incredible woman! A great missionary who is not afraid of her beliefs. She has a heart of gold always concerned about other people. She is going to do so many marvelous and great things in her life. A truly impressive person. She is HILARIOUS!!! The type of person everyone loves to be around! A natural leader and light to other people! I am currently trying to convince her to move down to California to live with me and have an anazing Californian summer experience! I love her tons!
Then there is Mark, hahaha oh Markus! We have been placed together as sort of a teaching team. He is the only boy in our group needless to say he is one brave man. Man do I adore this kid! He is like my brother that treats me well haha. Most definitely a classy gentleman. The girls in our group just love having him around but idk how it is the other way around (jokes). Due to the fact that we spend a great amount of time together I have had the pleasure of getting to know him quite well in such a short amount of time and I can't say enough wonderful things about him. He is a marvelous example of what a friend should be. He is extremly talented. I have learned so much about trust, understanding, support, compassion and acceptance from his example. One thing I really appreciate about him is his desire to know, understand, learn and discover. He makes people want to learn more about the world, other peoples thought processes and belief systems. I love his views and opinions on things and the fact that he has those views and opinions because he studied it out and formed it for himself and he inspires other people to do the same. He has such an easy personality to get along with! (and he has to marry my best friend) Love the kid!
My natural inclination when I start getting too close to people is to push back and not let people get too close. One of my biggest fears is to be suspended into the unknown with such great vulnerability and not knowing if I am going to make it to the other side safely or if I'm going to have miscalculated and hit disappointment. Obviously to most it sounds obsurd but it is something I promise myself I will change work on and get over but everytime I get to this point I struggle to stay in it. How easy is it to just keep making new friends? Always having new adventures, keeping yourself safe and happy. I feel as though now more than ever is the time to change. The fact that I am in Russia and making friends and being social is ten times more difficult but also the people that are here that I have started creating friendships with are incredible people. I feel like I have already learned and grown so much since being here. As I evaluate my life I truly feel blessed for the opportunities and experiences that I have had. I love being in St.Petersburg. It is more than I could have imagined and I hope that I can make the most out of what God has given me. I know that as I overcome the things that hold me back from progressing I will be able to become a far greater person and that I will be able to help people along the way.
So much has happened in the last month it blows my mind! I have met some incredible life changing people. When I met the group of teachers that I would be working with I immediately knew my life wouldn't be the same and as I started to get to know them each I was convinced that we had all been placed in this exact situation for a reason. I wish I could explain it better than some cheesy cliche phrase but it is so true. There are two people here that I have become close with and I am so grateful to have them here.
First is Suzy fricken Andrews! Her nickname is the worst but we mean it in the absolutely best way because being a 100% honest she is the best! Where to begin about this girl! My sister from another mister! An outstanding human being extremely hard working and so intelligent! I absolutely adore her! She is such a strong beautiful and incredible woman! A great missionary who is not afraid of her beliefs. She has a heart of gold always concerned about other people. She is going to do so many marvelous and great things in her life. A truly impressive person. She is HILARIOUS!!! The type of person everyone loves to be around! A natural leader and light to other people! I am currently trying to convince her to move down to California to live with me and have an anazing Californian summer experience! I love her tons!
Then there is Mark, hahaha oh Markus! We have been placed together as sort of a teaching team. He is the only boy in our group needless to say he is one brave man. Man do I adore this kid! He is like my brother that treats me well haha. Most definitely a classy gentleman. The girls in our group just love having him around but idk how it is the other way around (jokes). Due to the fact that we spend a great amount of time together I have had the pleasure of getting to know him quite well in such a short amount of time and I can't say enough wonderful things about him. He is a marvelous example of what a friend should be. He is extremly talented. I have learned so much about trust, understanding, support, compassion and acceptance from his example. One thing I really appreciate about him is his desire to know, understand, learn and discover. He makes people want to learn more about the world, other peoples thought processes and belief systems. I love his views and opinions on things and the fact that he has those views and opinions because he studied it out and formed it for himself and he inspires other people to do the same. He has such an easy personality to get along with! (and he has to marry my best friend) Love the kid!
My natural inclination when I start getting too close to people is to push back and not let people get too close. One of my biggest fears is to be suspended into the unknown with such great vulnerability and not knowing if I am going to make it to the other side safely or if I'm going to have miscalculated and hit disappointment. Obviously to most it sounds obsurd but it is something I promise myself I will change work on and get over but everytime I get to this point I struggle to stay in it. How easy is it to just keep making new friends? Always having new adventures, keeping yourself safe and happy. I feel as though now more than ever is the time to change. The fact that I am in Russia and making friends and being social is ten times more difficult but also the people that are here that I have started creating friendships with are incredible people. I feel like I have already learned and grown so much since being here. As I evaluate my life I truly feel blessed for the opportunities and experiences that I have had. I love being in St.Petersburg. It is more than I could have imagined and I hope that I can make the most out of what God has given me. I know that as I overcome the things that hold me back from progressing I will be able to become a far greater person and that I will be able to help people along the way.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Eye of the Tiger
привет, (privet, it is an informal hello)
I am going to try and document everything! The time difference is exactly 12 hours so it's 6:00 am Friday morning here and 6:00 Thursday night there in California! You might ask Jessica! Why are you up so early?! Well this is where my story begins...
I left my house at 3 am Wednesday morning. Jaquie, Kenzie, and Gary were over that night and I had decided to stay up all night so that I would just sleep the whole time on the plane. Good plan...in my head at least. I got on the plane headed to Chicago and passed out as soon as I sat down...literally! And side note I scored window seats the whole way! Score!!! Ok so then I wake up when we land and the guy sitting next to me asked me if I was ok. He basically said I looked dead the whole time hahaha nbd thanks for making sure I was ok after I woke up! ;)
Now I'm in Chicago and I have a 3 hour layover so I have to entertain myself. So I'm thinking stuff I go into the restroom to brush my teeth and yada yada and then...I see the toilets! Self changing seat covers with the wave of of hand! It was amazing! I guess you could say I found some entertainment! (hey cut me some slack! I was super tired and trying not to fall asleep!) ok so skip a few hours, with about 30 min to board I just lay my head down for a sec and before I knew what happened I woke up and they were just finishing boarding my plane! It was a close call I would have been so sad if I missed my plane and had to wait for who know how long...no bueno! When I got on the plane there were the other teachers I would be teaching with. I knew some of them from my training so I was glad that we were able to meet up! We landed in Germany got some German chocolate and then tried to figure out how to make it to our actual plane. We took a few train rides and a bus and they drove us directly up to our plane! Skip a few parts and....
WE ARE IN RUSSIA!!! Flying in it looked really brown! Honestly kind of like when you fly into California! Customs was super easy and quick all are bags were there and when we walked out there was a huge group to greet us! We found out our housing assignments right there and the host families were there ready to take their person. I am living in an apartment with 3 other girls and I really like them all! I am really excited! So we get our bags and walk out to the cars and although I had a jacket on I was dressed for California weather and it wasn't too bad. My hands were cold but it was good! We settled in and went to the grocery store! Normally our host families would feed us but since we are in an apartment we cook for ourselves and then they give us 4000 rubles a month to help with the cost! Shopping for food when you can't read the labels and don't know what the heck it is is awesome! It's all about the adventure! For now I'm gonna stay away from the meats cause idk what is what. It's kinda fun cause I saw stuff like activa and danimals yogurt packaging but the wording was in Russian! Their fruit and veggies here are legit! Not the waxy stuff we get in the states like the carrots and stuff still have the dirt on it. Freshly picked! My mom would be in heaven they have a whole aisle of the store of just cheese! All sorts of types and you get its cut in all different sizes. Bread and pastries and pies are big here and they bake them fresh! It's really neat!
Ok! So Russia is a definite walking country at least st. Petersburg and its cold but not bad I just need to wear gloves and get some scarves cause your face and hands are what feel it. There is tons of ice! It's only a matter of time before I slip and fall idk how the women here wear stilettos all the time! They are amazing and stunning! Generally speaking the women here are beautiful and the men I have seen so far are scary! But all the russians have been so nice! They are very warm hearted and willing to help!
We came home from the grocery store which by the way you pay for grocery bags here I thought that was interesting put the groceries away and we were so tired but they told us not to go to sleep til 9! We had about two hours to go and we were just sitting there talking and laughing historically...ok so maybe I was laughing at them laughing at me! We were all tired anyways I ended up going to be about 8:30 and I passed out but then I woke up at 3:00 and haven't been able to sleep since! Same with my roommate so yeah we have officially been jet lagged!
So one thing I never expected to be in Russia was too hot but here the government regulates when the heat gets turned on and off and so in our apartment it's boiling! Crazy huh? We finally opened our balcony window to get some airflow in here! Well I have an hour and a half before I have to get up so I'm hoping all this writing will have tired me out a bit! I can't promise that I will talk this much every time but if you made it to the end of this congrats! Hahaha love you
Джессика
I am going to try and document everything! The time difference is exactly 12 hours so it's 6:00 am Friday morning here and 6:00 Thursday night there in California! You might ask Jessica! Why are you up so early?! Well this is where my story begins...
I left my house at 3 am Wednesday morning. Jaquie, Kenzie, and Gary were over that night and I had decided to stay up all night so that I would just sleep the whole time on the plane. Good plan...in my head at least. I got on the plane headed to Chicago and passed out as soon as I sat down...literally! And side note I scored window seats the whole way! Score!!! Ok so then I wake up when we land and the guy sitting next to me asked me if I was ok. He basically said I looked dead the whole time hahaha nbd thanks for making sure I was ok after I woke up! ;)
Now I'm in Chicago and I have a 3 hour layover so I have to entertain myself. So I'm thinking stuff I go into the restroom to brush my teeth and yada yada and then...I see the toilets! Self changing seat covers with the wave of of hand! It was amazing! I guess you could say I found some entertainment! (hey cut me some slack! I was super tired and trying not to fall asleep!) ok so skip a few hours, with about 30 min to board I just lay my head down for a sec and before I knew what happened I woke up and they were just finishing boarding my plane! It was a close call I would have been so sad if I missed my plane and had to wait for who know how long...no bueno! When I got on the plane there were the other teachers I would be teaching with. I knew some of them from my training so I was glad that we were able to meet up! We landed in Germany got some German chocolate and then tried to figure out how to make it to our actual plane. We took a few train rides and a bus and they drove us directly up to our plane! Skip a few parts and....
WE ARE IN RUSSIA!!! Flying in it looked really brown! Honestly kind of like when you fly into California! Customs was super easy and quick all are bags were there and when we walked out there was a huge group to greet us! We found out our housing assignments right there and the host families were there ready to take their person. I am living in an apartment with 3 other girls and I really like them all! I am really excited! So we get our bags and walk out to the cars and although I had a jacket on I was dressed for California weather and it wasn't too bad. My hands were cold but it was good! We settled in and went to the grocery store! Normally our host families would feed us but since we are in an apartment we cook for ourselves and then they give us 4000 rubles a month to help with the cost! Shopping for food when you can't read the labels and don't know what the heck it is is awesome! It's all about the adventure! For now I'm gonna stay away from the meats cause idk what is what. It's kinda fun cause I saw stuff like activa and danimals yogurt packaging but the wording was in Russian! Their fruit and veggies here are legit! Not the waxy stuff we get in the states like the carrots and stuff still have the dirt on it. Freshly picked! My mom would be in heaven they have a whole aisle of the store of just cheese! All sorts of types and you get its cut in all different sizes. Bread and pastries and pies are big here and they bake them fresh! It's really neat!
Ok! So Russia is a definite walking country at least st. Petersburg and its cold but not bad I just need to wear gloves and get some scarves cause your face and hands are what feel it. There is tons of ice! It's only a matter of time before I slip and fall idk how the women here wear stilettos all the time! They are amazing and stunning! Generally speaking the women here are beautiful and the men I have seen so far are scary! But all the russians have been so nice! They are very warm hearted and willing to help!
We came home from the grocery store which by the way you pay for grocery bags here I thought that was interesting put the groceries away and we were so tired but they told us not to go to sleep til 9! We had about two hours to go and we were just sitting there talking and laughing historically...ok so maybe I was laughing at them laughing at me! We were all tired anyways I ended up going to be about 8:30 and I passed out but then I woke up at 3:00 and haven't been able to sleep since! Same with my roommate so yeah we have officially been jet lagged!
So one thing I never expected to be in Russia was too hot but here the government regulates when the heat gets turned on and off and so in our apartment it's boiling! Crazy huh? We finally opened our balcony window to get some airflow in here! Well I have an hour and a half before I have to get up so I'm hoping all this writing will have tired me out a bit! I can't promise that I will talk this much every time but if you made it to the end of this congrats! Hahaha love you
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