Yesterday was one of those really nice days, where everything seems to go just the way you want it to. I slept really late (well, as late as possible when you have neighbors like mine), then spent the rest of the morning reading and just relaxing. In the afternoon, Aaron (the American down the hall) showed me where the local market is (so that I don't have to go all the way downtown), then introduced me to Cindy. We mostly just walked around and window shopped - didn't really have an aim for the day. When we went to the internet cafe together, that's when I ran into Yannic. I hung out with him yesterday evening, since he is on his way to Mongolia today. I knew he was from Switzerland but it turns out he is from the same town that Chris is living in right now! Sometimes it's hard for me to fathom how small the world really is. Soooo many random things just seem to fit together. It's really cool.
Last night, right before I went to bed, I decided to have a cup of tea out on my porch. I was standing there at 1 in the morning and I couldn't help but relax. It is so different from St. Petersburg. The only sound I could here was a dog barking somewhere far off - no cars, no people, just the one dog. And I could actually see the stars again. Oh boy! I missed the stars. I'm trying to spend as much time outside as possible right now, while the weather is still decent. Yesterday it was really pretty - the rain finally let up and I could take off my jacket. I know I only have a few weeks left for the cold sets in, so I'm making the most of the time I have til then. I guess I should probably buy a winter coat, eh?
I finally got my schedule figured out today. Boo. I have class everyday of the week except Sunday. And the are all morning classes - either 8.00 or 9.30. I miss last semester's three-day weeks. But I'll live. The only thing that really sucks about it is the Saturday class - it's in a different faculty with the Russian students instead of other foreigners, so it's going to be way over my head and I'm going to fail. Miserably. But maybe it'll be interesting. We'll see.
I think the odds of my being able to take a trip to Mongolia or China are getting a bit slim. I don't know if we have any holidays during the semester. But I'm keeping my hopes up. If not, I'll just go snowboarding or something on Sundays...