My medical staff has switched out every day; tomorrow will make 6 nights in the hospital and I've had a different nurse every day. Today's variant seemed very shy but very sweet, and she grinned when she came in and saw me sitting on the windowsill and playing my guitar.
Russians, by the way, are very particular about sitting. Who sits, how, and where are all potential cultural battlegrounds. For one thing, women are always offered a seat before men. Old women before mothers, mothers with children before young women, and pretty women before...all the rest. On a crowded bus or Metro car, young men can almost certainly count on standing. By the time they hit their 20's it's practically an instinct--they don't even try to take a seat if there's a crowd. At first it seems polite, but after awhile the underlying chauvinism peeks through the curtain of what looks like a very respectful gesture. That's not to say that if a young man offers me his seat on the bus I'll turn it down, shake my fist and grumble about sexism and equal rights. No, I'll probably thank him and take the seat, because it's better than standing and it will only cause a scene if I don't. Still, though, being treated daily as though I'm less capable of standing than some бездельник who stinks of vodka has become one of the everyday burrs of nostalgia for my homeland.
It's also very rude to sit with your legs crossed in what is known as "American-style", with one ankle propped up on the other knee and the legs apart. And the list of places you aren't allowed to sit is long and extensive: any floor, the curb, the 6-story escalators in the Metro, anywhere cold, the windowsill--essentially, anywhere that's not specifically designated as "chair", "bench", or "sofa".
But I digress.
The doctor told me today that, unless I redevelop a fever, I'll be free to go tomorrow morning, provided I stay home from class until Thursday (ha) and come back in a week for follow-up. I'm beside myself with excitement at the prospect of re-entering The Outside World. I just want to get out of here!
But, as I'm not sure how soon I'll once again have free time, internet, and inclination all at once, I'm taking advantage of my last night in the hospital to reveal my plans for the next few weeks. They're actually looking pretty busy.
--Next weekend, November 19th-23rd...is the program trip to Moscow! We're leaving Thursday night and coming back Monday morning, and I don't know what our specific itinerary is, but there's bound to be some free time in which I will embark on adventures.
--November 26th...Thanksgiving! Which is so quintessentially American that of course the program coordinators have planned a group Thanksgiving dinner, which is bound to be a fiasco. Our hostess has invited us all to the apartment where she lives alone, which I'm sure is plenty comfortable for her but less so for 30+ people and a Thanksgiving spread. But it will be cozy and we will eat, drink, and be merry, and hopefully the chaos will be the good kind. I'm also looking forward to cooking something for it.
--November 28th...My mommy is coming to visit! I know it's only been a few months since I said goodbye in Spokane, but I'm far more excited than I should be to see her. She'll be here until December 7th and I'm jazzed about showing her around my city.
--November 29th...I'm going to the ballet! The Smolny-Bard program is treating its American students & guests to a performance of Don Quixote at the Mariinsky Theatre.
--December 1st...Gogol Bordello is playing at GlavKlub in St. Petersburg and IIIIIII've got tickets!
--December 10th-13th...Skipping town for the weekend to visit Gordon in Helsinki, see the city, and celebrate the Finnish release of his new book.
...And then it's already mid-December and time to start thinking about my final exams and papers and how to fit my semester back into the suitcase from whence it came!
But now isn't the time for that. All I need to worry about for the time being is how to carry all my stuff back to the dorm tomorrow morning. And what to do with all these persimmons...
That is awesome that your mommy is going to visit! It will do her good to get out. Did Rainbow get her kids back?
ReplyDeleteI want to see Gogol Bordello!!! I am envious of you.
It seems not so long ago that you had Thanksgiving with us. I miss that. Crystal and Nate are coming again. It will be nice. We have done a lot with this little house, it is MUCH better than when you were here. I still feel bad about our last visit, I didn't mean to make your visit with us so unhappy. We must correct that next time by having an exceptional visit.
Regardless of how your Russian Thanksgiving is Hope, remember that I am thankful for you. (((hug)))
By the way, my current painting is going really well and nearly complete! It is exciting to create good things.
Take care of yourself Hope, really, be well.