[Insert obligatory "I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted" statement here.] I've had an extremely busy six weeks. My work schedule has ramped up even past the point where I wanted it to be. I'm teaching/co-teaching anywhere from 12-15 classes a week now, all with different students. It's a great way to stay busy and all of the students are generally excited to learn, but it does mean I spend the first five minutes of every class going over their names again. I'm usually pretty good with names, but when you have 90+ students and exactly seven names (Masha, Dasha, Sasha [girl], Sasha [guy], Pasha, Natasha, and Steve) it gets pretty challenging.
I've continued my involvement in the folk group. We practice twice a week, and I've actually gotten to the point where I rarely mess up in truly noticeable fashion anymore. The only problem I have is that all the names of the dances/songs are Finnish, so they mean nothing to me. I typically don't know what dance we're doing until I hear the song start to play (I only remember them by the melodies). Anyways, I'm more or less an official member now, and will be performing onstage in the city's main theater on the 27th of April. That's right people: this Cinderella story, this unknown, comes out of nowhere to lead the pack, here at the Petrozavodsk Musical Theater. (Karelia or Bust!: come for the Russia stories, stay for the Caddyshack references.)
Headed to St. Petersburg tomorrow night to meet my family on Sunday. My parents and sister are coming in, so it should be a lot of fun. We're spending a few days in the 'Burg before coming back to the PTZ for a few more. And yes, I know I sound like an idiot when I jocularly call things by ridiculous nicknames. In blog-related news, my buddy Pat was kind enough to write a guest post for me, so I'll put that up tomorrow. He's had a very unique Fulbright experience because of where he was stationed, but I'll let him explain things himself. Just thought I'd throw a little teaser at you.
So in summation and in conclusion: bananas.
