A long ride, a chemodan, and a new life with excellent vittles

So I am finally here! Everything is ochen harasho, very good, and I am really enjoying myself. But let's start with the trip here. I got to MSP flew with Sarah to Chicago, no problem! Other than being pulled aside for my water bottle which the security at MSP found VERY SUSPICIOUS even though NO other airport stopped me for it.... Anyways, then I took a LONG flight from Chicago to Stockholm, after reuniting with Lindsay, Lydia, Andrew, and Sarah obviously and eating the most expensive sandwich ever.

So the flight wasn't that bad, the last three hours were definitely the hardest. I watched Valentines Day, and maybe it was because I was stuck on a plane, but I actually liked it? I mean, I cried TWICE, which might speak more for my excessively emotive state rather than the quality of the film. Then I started watching the Swedish movie available and had to stop immediately because I realized that Ma:n Something Something Kvinnor means Girl with the Dragon Tattoo! And that is the book my lovely momma and I have chosen as our international book club reading. Fortunately it being in Swedish with teeeeeny tiny subtitles helps me not really know anything that happened. I sat next to Lindsay thank god, and a nice Swedish girl who said nada for 8 hrs. Got woken up by the lovely Linsday and her new friend the head flight attendant telling me, my luggage was in Chicago... SUPER. We get to Arlanda and just hang out, it was so cool there, seriously the prettiest airport I have EVER seen. I got a Latte mmm, and Svenska Lant Chips, Potato Chips, aand my first legal beverage with alcohol! Of course, not carded because Sweden and Europe are cool and the US is not. It was a tasty Czech beer as well. Celebrating my heritage.

So we get to Russia, on this little plane, and literally Lindsay and I sat down on the plane and passed out from exhaustion all of a sudden we woke up and we were over the sea and it was so weird. Then we went in Pulkovo, St Petersburg airport which was kinda sketchy, but had Free WiFi unlike every other airport ever. And I had to fill out this crazzzy form thing about my luggage. and it took forEVER. My suitcase, chemodan, is still AWOL. Then changed money, got supa stressed, and we finally took the 'bus' aka van, which was really nice and so was the driver.
We got to the University, and my host sister, and her boyfriend? Husband? picked me up, they were realllllyyy nice, and we got home where I met my family Lena and Sergey. I basically just went to bed I was so tired.

This morning I got up at 9, had these little tvorog pastry fried things YUM some chai, tea, and compote my new fav thing in the world. Its like tasty tart juice. My host mom, actually makes it! And she totes made a WHOLE other batch because I said I loooove it. Its made from sliva, plums, which are a lot smaller than ours. And for dinner I had fish, which was DELISH, and rice, she asked me about rees and I was like I dont know what that is, and then she showed me and I was like HAHA I should have known that rees is rice. Silly. Lots of silly language moments right now, but in a day, I feel better, so imagine what I will have under my belt in one month or at the end of four!

I met my teachers today and they all seem great, one talked SO fast. But I think I can handle this, I gotchyou  Russia! Everyone seems content, happy, a little awkward, and mostly tired in the group. At this point, I am happy, so happy, but life is overwhelming so I make sure I am calming myself down a lot. Preventative care :) When I get my suitcase, and all of my things, I will definitely feel more comfortable, I feel a wee bit displaced right now. Then again, I am in Russia, so a little displacement is nothing compared to my euphoria.

Anwyays, its 1130, and I want to study a bit before bed. But I am here, safe, and sound, and blissful.
Thank you, whoever is reading, for taking the time and I can't wait to have more of my dreams come true! (Cheesy, but accurate)

ChmokChmok,
TaanTaan