New Year Night 2007-2008

>> Monday, December 31, 2007


31st of December is always a crazy day. It's when everyone seems to be in a hurry to accomplish all possible things before the New Year comes and hence I never feel my usual way on that day.
Well, this 31st of December was even more crazy because I woke up too late, and it totally seemed like I was not going to have enough time to do everything.
Plans were hence changing on the way. I ended up doing something that I was not originally planning and not doing something that I was planning.
First, I spent some good time with my friends Jesse, Bobbie, Ivor and Gudron; we were doing the fireworks; that was a little dangerous though (we almost hit the car), but much fun.


My camera is not good at night regime, so the pictures of us doing the fireworks are quite blurry.











After that I headed to another party where the other part of my friends was and spent a great night there playing, having fun, eating, drinking and do whatever else you do on the New Year Night.

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Bad sleep...Funny blogs...

>> Friday, December 28, 2007

I have some sort of insomnia I think. Or maybe it's just a wrong regime. I can not sleep till late at night or even early in the morning, and then have few hours of sleep and then feel bad and tired the rest of the day.
So I was just looking through the Internet and found few blogspots that people started once and forgot about them immediately. Some I found to be really funny.
Those blogspots were never meant to be remembered by anyone...but here I am...suffering from insomnia or whatever...and taking the dust from those blogs and kind of reminding others about their existence.

-My Dreams Come True (This one is interesting: someone is repetitiously asking for God's blessings)
-Boys Don't Cry
-I am Me
-This is My Life (some 16-year old guy telling about his love to one girl)
-The world is Mine
-Love and Life (guy from Australia who found his love in Belgium)
-I am Nuts

It's funny that many people start their blogs while being drunk or something and they all use the same introductional words.hmmm...I better go re-check which words I used when I started my own blog. I am afraid it sounded close to all this.
Anyway, it's interesting to read other people' life stories. I start feeling myself a part of some huge community where we all have our issues and try to deal with them.

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Afternoon in the American Embassy

>> Thursday, December 27, 2007


I was nicely surprised last week when they called me from InterExchange office and told me that the American embassy representative is willing to meet 10 best students who participated in Work&Travel program in person, and so they invited me to come.
Today I went there with some other students and we had a meeting with one of the embassy counselors Victoria, ate some food and discussed what were the good things and some disadvantages of our trips and the whole program in general, and she was asking what kind of improvements might be done.
I think it was my first time going to actual offices in the embassy (I was in the different part of the American embassy building before - where non-citizens apply for visas), and it is really outstanding how complicated the structure of the building is. How don't they get lost in it??

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POST #100! Looking back on how it was...

>> Monday, December 24, 2007


It's almost New Year time! I really can't believe it.
I found out that this was going to be my #100 post, so I decided to look back at how I was starting my blog 6 months ago.
Reading it and looking through some of the pictures is really sad. I feel like I had several different lives during last half a year and it is so hard to think that many of those moments will never happen again. I won't have the same emotions I used to during these 6 months.
6 months is only 180 days and still to me it looks like that was someone's else life.
It's great though. It means I got more new experience this year.
I want so much stuff to happen in the nearest future, in this coming new year.Most of all, one thing. And I am not sure if that particular wish of mine will happen - at least it didn't happen last several years (I remember wishing it to myself every other New Year)- or at least it didn't happen exactly how I wanted it to be. Who knows?? Maybe, this year it will.
So this is post #100. This is New Year time. I am looking forward to next 365 days!
And maybe to another 365 posts!

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Christmas Dinner

>> Sunday, December 23, 2007


Christmas is near! So today after church we had a Christmas dinner with friends and some good fellowship.


Sasha, Zhenya and Tanya


Food was good!
I made the vegetable salad and everyone liked it. I just used some of the experience that I got this summer while working in the restaurant in America.


Me and Tanya getting the rewards...(as it is said on the Soviet poster behind us).


Even though I loved the food I didn't have a chance to kiss the cook!


Christmas decorations

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Church Party

>> Saturday, December 15, 2007


Today was our church 15th anniversary. So we had a party at Hinkson Christian Academy. And it was much fun!


Me and my mom










Birthday Cake




Connie Harder speaking


Bobbie and Steven. I thought that Steven was dressed very Christmassy (but I was not sure if that word actually exists, so Bobbie reassured me that it does).


Cliff Harder, who by the way was not cold!


Trying some cake


With baby Steven

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Friends keep leaving...Just for a while though!

>> Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Hmm...my friends keep leaving. 10 days ago Craig left for the States till the middle of February and Kerri is also leaving for 5 weeks in 2 days. Very few of our company are left. It's good though that they are coming back soon and we'll sure have more fun and good fellowship.
I better concentrate on some of my exams, they are so close and that's making me terrified.
And also...I have 3 crazy days in a row, filled with a lot of things, like visiting classes, doing job and meeting some other people. Today I woke up at 6:20 AM and it's now already 11:55 PM, so that was 15! hours in a row and I still have some stuff to finish today. 2 more days like this are coming! oh no...and I am honestly bored and tired of my job.
However...today there was one lady in ZARA, she is in her late 40-s I guess, and she was asking me for advices regarding her dress and scarf, and then after small chat she suddenly told me that I would perfectly fit the business that she is doing. I asked her what kind of business was that, but she only gave me her cell-phone number and we decided to meet for a cup of coffee and discuss it the other day. So, I hope that somehow I will soon find some good well-paid job with interesting people around. If not here, than probably there...
And still it's better when friends are near and not on a different continent.

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English Camp Planning

>> Saturday, December 08, 2007

Today was our camp preparation team first meeting. Even though the English Camp will only be in the end of March we already start planning everything.
So we were brainstorming a little, discussing who fits different types of responsibilities in the best way. I suggested being an MC, and I really hope I will be able to lead camp meetings. I think I am good at performing in front of huge groups and I know how to make it fun.
I am really excited to already think about the coming camp, it is always a great time meeting a lot of kids and American guys. We will have 3 teams of them - from California, Florida and Kentucky. I am really looking forward to meeting some of my American friends from previous years as well. Yay!
Below you will find some pictures of how it was this year (English Camp - April 2007). Meanwhile, it is exams time coming, and I feel a little worried about it. Well, honestly speaking, more than a little. I don't feel being well prepared for that this time.
Also I am still looking for job-opportunities in America for my trip this coming summer. I am thinking seriously about Seattle or some place in Montana, because I am willing to visit Canada and maybe spend vacation there, so it will be more convenient if my job-location will be close to border with Canada. That's my huge plan for this summer. I love HUGE PLANS!!
And it was funny this week in Moscow, because it was warm and at some points I was able to smell the coming spring in the air.













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Spring is Coming Soon! But Winter is Coming First!

>> Friday, November 16, 2007

I was recently talking to my manager in the clothing-store and she told me that we just got some first part of spring-summer clothing collection 2008. It's funny, because it's still November, so not even winter yet, and we will soon start changing decorations in our store for spring clothing little by little.
Fashion-world indeed has its own seasons-system. Well, as for reality, it feels like winter now in Moscow. And what is really cool - New Year and Christmas both coming soon. Yesterday as I was coming back home after work in the middle of night I just all of a sudden got excited about coming New Year Season. Because it was very calm in the street, a lot of snow, not really cold and a lot of lights around, so it was exactly how it should be on New Year Night.
I always feel a little excited about New Year - for me it associates with some new adventures, new people, new experiences and new fun. Plus it's some little break from studies and work.
Well, this year I started feeling excited a little earlier than usual.

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Home-made videos?!

>> Sunday, November 11, 2007

Well, not really videos...rather small video-clips that I made using my favorite pictures and music...and of course one of those fancy programs that I have on my laptop.

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MC-ing and more...

This last Friday I was leading section of New Generation club-meeting with my friend Sasha. It is a lot of fun, especially that I am usually responsible for the game section.









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In Da Class

>> Saturday, November 10, 2007

Sometimes classes at university are boring...And then:


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NERTS! and more fun with friends

>> Friday, November 09, 2007



Me and my friends: Craig, Kerry and Anya.



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Too Little Too Lazy

>> Friday, November 02, 2007

Well...nothing really interesting is going on in my life these days...not to say more...it's pretty boring... Doing same things day after day - going to classes, working in ZARA and sometimes taking Americans around the city. I am just waiting for something exciting to happen. But who knows when it's gonna happen? hopefully earlier than next summer...I definitely do not mean snow though...they say next week the snowfalls will come and the weather will turn cold. It's not good.
I am a little sick having my cough and headache because of the weather. So tomorrow I'll spend the whole day at home sleeping, getting rest and trying to get rid of cough. And Sunday I am working the whole day, so it's not much of an exciting weekend...well...it's still ok.
The only thing is that I am getting too lazy. Like every day I am making some plans for the day on what I have to do...and then throughout the day I am either getting tired or sleepy or something else. So I don't really do the things I have to...like finding a job-offer for the next summer.
For this next week I will try to be more concentrated and attentive + make a good plan that I will be able to complete and not get too lazy again. But who knows?

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The Story Of A Full Bottle That Became Empty

>> Friday, October 26, 2007

(these days I am quite busy, and when i am busy i sometimes get nervous or too emotional. So when it happens I end up with writing some small stories and put some of my ideas into them...and well...probably other people will get the idea somehow as well...haha...this is one of those)

An old man was living in a huge house. He was living by himself. His wife had died long time before and all 7 children that he had were now spread throughout the world – each of them in a different part of it.
The old man's favorite hobby was wine. He had his own vineyard of a very high quality and he was also buying a lot of different wine from different countries. He was not drinking a lot though, but rather doing all that for the sake of esthetic pleasure.
One day he bought a single bottle of a very expensive and pure-quality wine. So he put the bottle in the underfloor where he usually kept all his collection.
The bottle was standing there and thinking to itself: «The fact of my existence is great, because I contain such a pure and good-quality wine. I am made according to the best standards. I love the liquid that now fills me; this wine is so much a part of me».
But the bottle was worried a little. It had a vague feeling that one day the owner of the house would get back to it and drink all the wine from the bottle. «What would I do then? I can't imagine my life without this particular wine filling me».
One day an old man had guests coming over his place. So he went to his underfloor and took that bottle which contained high-quality pure wine.
By the end of evening the bottle was almost empty. All guests really liked wine.
When the bottle was put down back to its place it felt sad. «I am now almost empty, I only have a little of this wine left. And it is so much a part of my life. Why would I want to exist if all the wine filling me is gone? I understand that wine is serving for other people’ pleasure and satisfaction, but why couldn't things be a little different way? Why couldn't we stay like this forever – me and this wine? »
The bottle knew that it now had very small time left to spend with the wine in it, but at the same time the bottle decided that it would enjoy the rest of the time being filled with wine.
However, several days later the old man took the bottle again and now finished the wine all by himself. He found that the bottle was of a very beautiful shape so he decided to keep it somewhere, because he could still use it for storing other liquids.
The bottle was settled on his kitchen. And the bottle was very sad. It didn't have the wine that was so much a part of its life in it anymore, but moreover, it now didn't have anything at all inside it.
About a week later the old man brought some wine from his own vineyard and he decided to keep it in the beautiful bottle that he previously used. So the bottle, now filled with a different type of wine, was sent back to the underfloor again.
It was a weird feeling. The bottle was sure that it didn't like the new wine that it now had in it. Or at least not as much as it loved the previous one. But the bottle was trying to convince itself that things were still ok and right and that everything was perfect, and that the new wine was a worth substitute of the old first one, the one that the bottled liked so much.
Thus it continued for several months. The old man was putting different liquids into the bottle, and every time the bottle was trying to convince itself that a new liquid was better than the very first wine. But somewhere deep in itself the bottle knew for 100% that there would never be anything else that could be compared to the very first experience. Yes, that first wine was the very important part of bottle' existence.
One day the old man took the bottle and put some wine from it in his glass. He was very surprised to discover that the wine was spoilt.
«Probably, the bottle is old and broken and it is not possible to store anything else in it; my wine will be spoilt».
The bottle was very sad. It indeed didn't feel like it could be filled with any new liquids any more. And it still missed the very first wine that it had in it. Without that first one it felt useless.
The old man thought for a second... then he approached the trash can and threw the bottle into it.
Miriads of tiny little cracks appeared on bottle' surface. A moment later the beautiful bottle broke into thousands of small pieces... And it was never ever able to contain any high-quality liquids in itself. Any liquids at all.

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My new job

>> Sunday, October 21, 2007


It has now been 1,5 weeks since I am working in a new place which is GUM - huge department store just 2 steps from the Red Square! Nice location.
I am actually helping as a cashier in ZARA which is a Spanish clothing-store, and it is a good position. But not very well-paid...haha...


Actually first 2 days after I started the new job, I was thinking about quitting, but then I decided to stay. Not sure for how long though...But it's mostly that I like my co-workers. They are the same type of people I am. Plus both of my managers are young and nice people - guy and girl actually. So we'll see.

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No Global Warming This Year...

>> Monday, October 15, 2007



Yesterday night there was a huge snowstorm here in Moscow. I was working in the downtown so I didn't really witness it, but that's how it looked today in the morning near my house. Some broken trees and some real snow.




It's not cold yet though, but still it seems to be too early for snow now - only mid-October, and last year we hardly had any snow till late December. I would definitely prefer to find myself somewhere in California these days.

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I Am In The Game Again!

>> Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Yesterday was a very good day for me as I went to the InterExchange Office and signed the contract + paid first tuition for the next summer program in America. So far my new American trip dates are June 18 - September 29, 2008! That is very exciting.
Just in about 2 weeks I will start searching for a next summer job via Internet. And hopefully I will find something really sweet!! haha...that's great!

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My Week

>> Sunday, October 07, 2007

Well, Moscow routine is right here. It is a little weird to be back into this after balanced rhythm of life that I had in America. And my life is getting really busy again. Classes in university, looking for a new job, and meeting with friends – all this requires some good time. I don't even have enough time now for checking Internet and updating blog, facebook and other things that I do on the Internet. I am not doing as many pictures now as I used to and probably won't post as often as I used to. But I will post. I like it, it feels like doing a personal diary even though I know some people except me can also read this.

This week was very long and really full of events.


Yesterday and Friday I was guiding some American guys around Moscow, showing them the Kremlin, Red Square and helping with buying souvenirs. This is type of job I do from time to time to get some cash, but it is unfortunately not on a permanent basis. Because it is something I really enjoy doing.


Thursday I was visiting my friends Jesse and Bobbie (and little Stephen as well). It is interesting that after I arrived back to Moscow I had this feeling that nothing really changed here while I was traveling. And really nothing changed except for some things about people around. For example, Jesse has made a really huge progress in his Russian language studies. I was amazed to listen to his good and fast speaking in Russian.


Wednesday I was doing some paper-work for tax-return (taxes that I was paying in the States)-hopefully I am going to get 80% of it back this coming April - and getting details about entering next summer program. Yes, yes, I am coming again! I hope to visit California finally...But it depends on where I will get a job-offer from. Then in the evening we had our small home-group with friends. It was good relaxation time.


Tuesday, I went to IKEA to buy some stuff for home. But unfortunately the wardrobe I was hunting for was not available so I only bought some small things.


Monday I had good time with friends. We had some good dinner and spent time playing my favorite card-game – NERTS! It is great and I usually play well, but not this time. It was hard for me to be concentrated.





So that's how it was this week. I feel tired, probably the first time after a while. Now I fully realize how balanced and well-constructed my life regime was back in USA.

Ok... now I think I will go write some e-mails to friends and also update my facebook!

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Retreat Pix

>> Saturday, September 29, 2007



With Natasha... posing, posing...


Joni, one of our American guests




David Broersma, leading our small group


We had a group of American guests from Richmond, Virginia on the retreat. And that was great. Because I am already so used to speaking English and seeing smiling faces around.






Promoting retreat shirts...haha...posing is what we all do well...


Our huge team-game. We had to accomplish different interesting tasks in it and it was all about having fun which is my favorite thing to do!




EVIL girls!




Fall Season'07 session






Aziza, my ex-classmate

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