Getting settled

The first week mostly has been about settling in at my new school and home. My host family includes my host mother and her daughter, Natalia, who is a year older than me. Natalia studied the history of England during World War I as an undergraduate at Moscow State University and now works at the State Historical Museum on Red Square. I hope that she isn't frustrated with me for leaving the cheese out of the refrigerator on Tuesday. It didn't know what it was, but it didn't look like food, so I just left it on the table to spoil. I haven't met my host mother yet, because she is out of town on consulting business. She works at Moscow State University.

I have way too much stuff to carry now; my pockets are bulging. I have a magnetic pass to enter my apartment building, three keys to get into my apartment, a magnetic pass to get onto campus, my passport, my Russian immigration registration card, my student identification card, and my cafeteria card. People here mind their own business, but are friendly if you engage them. For example, my friend Chase and I went on a cruise on the Moscow River yesterday (I'll post pictures soon) and met a very nice Russian guy and we had a pleasant conversation, mostly in English.

I'll have more to write later, but now I must share the only computer at the university with another student!

Drop me a line and let me know how you're doing, if you have time!