"Tomorrow will probably be better than the day after..."

(That's how Mr. Ambassador described a Russian optimist by the way) When I walked into class this morning, I had a message from Adam (one of the other Americans) - "The Ambassador is going to be here this afternoon - want to come to the meeting?"
Apparently, the American Ambassador to Russia is visiting Irkutsk this week and decided to stop by the university for a little chat with the American Studies students. The faculty decided it would be cool to invite the few American students as well.
He was a pretty cool guy. After a little intro to himself and his work, he turned to floor over to us for questions and comments. I kind of wish the group had been a bit smaller, but you can't have everything in life, can you? Cindy is actually going to be working in his office next month (super-cool internship), so she'll get to see him again.
Other than that, it's been a pretty good 24 hours. After dinner last night, I had a surprise visit from Natalya Alexandrovna (the dean) and a few other ladies. They were apparently inspecting the dormitories, since ours are the nice new ones and they want to keep them that way. My bed was made, my dishes were done, and my side of the room was all nice and organized. I can't say the same for Lies' side or for the neighbors' room and dishes. It felt good for someone to comfirm my suspicions that I'm living with a complete slob. Unfortunately, Lies wasn't there to get a lecture from the dean. All that happened was I was told to tell her to clean up. But how does one go about telling someone that they're dirty? I mean, I hardly know the girl. Yes, her messiness is annoying me, but I think it might be crossing the line for me to tell her to clean her room. Honestly, back home I don't usually make my bed. But no one sees my room on a regular basis - it doesn't double as a common area. I feel like it's just plain courtesy to clean up after yourself when you're living that close to someone else - especially if you don't know that person very well.
And the refridgerator smells of dead fish. Grrr.
Okay, that may have sounded rantish too, but believe me, it's been a good day.