Last day

Last day at work today. Acia and I went on quite the shopping spree at the rinok today--in addition to our pelmeni, salad, and bread, we decided to buy cashews, chocolate covered almonds, dried apricots, and these yummy cookies shaped like mushrooms, filled with carmel condensed milk and covered with green coconut shavings, with the tops covered in chocolate. What a day--it just wouldn't be right any other way!

Andrey came in and gave me a beautiful decorative plate from Turkey. I love it! I have had so much fun working with him--he has been great to give me projects to work on and help me out when I have questions. I will miss laughing with him over random things in the office. Luckily, he makes a trip out to Utah about once/year, so I will hopefully be running into him again.

I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I have really enjoyed this internship and the different things I've been able to learn from it. I have met so many wonderful people here and will miss them so much!! I am going to be stopping into the office while my mom is here so that she can meet everyone, so that has at least put off the goodbyes for a few more days.

I jotted down a list a couple of weeks back on what I feel I've come to know in Moscow. I thought I'd share a couple of them here:

• What seems terrifying might just turn out to be one of the best things you have ever done
• Laughing all day, every day is definitely possible and a whole lot of fun
• People do CRAZY things in foreign countries
• A concert from a street band can be more exciting than one you'd pay for
• Doing country-dance lifts to a street band is better than at a club--plus you get the added benefit of an applause
• I really enjoy Russian food
• I often get cravings for tomatoes and could eat them every day, even though I probably never would have sought one out three months ago
• I don't like caviar
• Sometimes a smile is only as far away as listing off "Vareniki, yabloki, vafly, borscht!"
• Naked+honey+coffee grinds=a really great story
• American food is more than American food--it's culture. And it tastes even better when you haven't seen America for three months
• Mormon-American food in a park in Russia almost makes you feel like you are on your own back porch
• Sometimes you have to wait out the rain and cold showers before you'll see the sun. But it makes it that much sweeter when it comes.
• Strangers can make the best friends
• Nothing beats a good chat with mom on the phone
• You shouldn't give out your phone number to people you don't want to hear from hahaha
• If you wear flip flops on a rainy day, you WILL be covered in mud
• Change can be hard, but that doesn't mean it is bad
• If you are anything less than true to yourself, you cheat not only you, but those with whom you associate
• Sometimes it takes changing--but not lowering--your expectations to be happy
• I really, really, really love where I come from--meaning my family background, cousins, Orem, Southern Utah, etc.
• I love and miss Los Angeles
• I really, really, really like country dancing and country music
• I not only want to, but am justified in going to law school
• Borscht at Grabli's is the best
• I am really interested in studying freedom of thought, conscience, and religion at law school
• LA is really not that far away from Moscow, thanks to skype
• I lose my grip on what is normal after being here too long: like when I think one of the coolest things I've ever seen is the rope/pully system where I hang my clothes to dry and make a mental note to buy one when I get home, only to remember later that I have a dryer. This goes hand-in-hand with being dumb-founded when I found out that the people Eli was staying with owned a dryer.
• I like to cook! A lot!
• Devouring books like they are going out of style is one of my favorite past times
• For the first couple of months immersing myself in Russian, my ability to spell English words decreases significantly--I'd say my abilities are cut in half

I realize this is a way random list, and it is far from complete, but when I look back at my time here, these are a few things that come to mind. I wish I had been making a list of lessons learned all along (I made little mental notes in my head, but you can only store up so many in a three-month period!), but this will have to do. I will hopefully add more to it as they come along.

Added the next day: Some of Eli's comment, which you can read in full below. He had so many of my favorite memories, and I know people don't always read comments, so I thought I'd add them here:

"I cannot tell you how nostalgic reading that list just made me. The borscht at Grably. The banya. The street bands. The dancing in the streets and not caring. Feeling like a celebrity. Going to the "beach" and dressing "differently" than we would in the states. Dropping everything to get soaked in rain in a city 8 hours away for no other reason than just to go. Visiting Russian Orthodox Churches with more regularity and respect than even the most faithful followers. Wondering how we're going to get home every night after the transport stops running around 1:00AM. Shopping in the thousand degree stores downstairs for lunch every day, absolutely determined to not go back to Crap Cafeteria. Worrying more about getting tan than getting our jobs done. Missing the metro stop because we're too busy laughing hysterically at something only we would find even remotely funny. Impromptu dance parties after hours in GA's offices. Overeating on stuff that we probably wouldn't touch if it came with a nutrition facts label. Comparing our styles and looks with everyone we see. Trying desperately to blend in with the narod. Saying words like "narod" and "tisyach" like they're common English. Eating stuff off the street with our bare hands without washing them first and not thinking anything of it. IMing all day with promises of leaving the second our bosses take off to go out and do all the stuff listed above.

And I'm so happy that I was pretty much a part of everything on your list. Sorry, this is a novel now. Miss you!!! Can't wait to meet up with you at some point when you get back to catch up and laugh until we cry:_"

So, there you have it, from Eli's view and mine. It only seems right to end it with his comments, as we often stole info/photos from each other's blogs to make sure we got it all in!

And Ethan's comment is the perfect bridge from my mission to my time in Moscow:

Hey, loved reading your blog (as you know) while you've been in Moscow. Reading about your time in Russia has made me extremely nostalgic for P-Days with my favorite zone in Orenburg, and other times on my mission! I'm going to miss the blog, my mission just feels farther and farther away every day. Thanks to your writing, I got to remember some of the feelings I used to experience daily. I loved the feeling I had when reading your adventures, have a safe trip home!