Alfred 5 (July 5th..ish)

Dear Blog,
Today I had an interesting breakfast. We had kasha, a Russian grit-like dish, and fried fish. I had no idea why we were eating fish for breakfast (not to mention it was fish that was not skinned and was cooked with its head so it was looking at me!), so I asked. Their son had caught it, so they made it right away. We had it with tea later, and more for dinner. Waste-not, want-not, as mama always says!
We were having slight communication problems, but as I am remembering my Russian its getting better. They asked me about my family, which was easy to respond to, but my host father was talking to me about politics in America because I study international politics and therefore understand how Russian politics work. He told me that he likes Obama and “Heelaree Klinton” and did not like either Bush, but the older one was better than the younger one. I now know that we are both for capital punishment also, although we are democrats (or the Russian equivalent).
I also saw the town where I am living. I was taken on a tour by the two Russian girls I am working with, Anna and Dasha. They are both 23, but Russian girls look a lot older. We went to the “Zoo” (i.e. a horse, donkey, yak, rabbit, and duck in cages), the different stores, and the schools we are going to teach at.
I also tried 2 Russian drinks for the first time today. Russian Kvass is a nasty drink I don’t know what to make of. It’s made of bread… I don’t know how or why, but it is. The other, which name I am blanking on, is a thick purple liquid made with the starch from dried potatoes. It doesn’t really have a flavor, so it wasn’t exactly nasty, just different… and thick. I decided to go to the productoy (little market) and buy some sok (juice) and vanilla coke (boy does life taste good!) just to have something I knew I liked.
I took another shower again today, but it was more windy. I felt like Maralin Monroe as the curtains flew open as the wind gusted and I was standing there naked screaming like a little girl in the middle of the yard. It would have been hysterical to see, but I thank God no one was around.
Speaking of God, my host family is Christian, but they don’t go to church. My host father tried to give me a cross, but I wouldn’t take it. He said that religion teaches good morals, and I agreed. But I still wouldn’t take his cross. In fact, there’s a creepy saint above my bed with a creepy child saint in his arm, and I don’t know what to make of it.
I’m tired now, so I’m going to read a little and then turn in for the night, but first I’m going to brush my teeth in the rusty smelling water. It’s funny, because usually I think that would bother me, but after 3 days on a stuffy train with no running water and lots of mosquitoes, I’m thankful for everything here. Oh, btw, I also saw some movies today that I’m going to buy for my classes to watch once my check clears. They’re American movies on DVDs in both Russian and English, and they only cost 90-120 rubles each (~$3-$4USD), so I’ll use them for class and then bring them home to watch!

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