The Bad and the Good

It would seem that the food situation is now critical. Those you of who know me well, or for that matter, those who know me at all, know that I'm not the most open-minded eater. Actually so far, I've ended up pawning off half of the things I've tried. And ready-made foods are practically non-existent here. Friday night, I attempted to make French toast. While I had never made French toast before, due mostly to my aversion to raw animal products, I courageously gave it a go. An hour and a half later, I was left with the most pathetic looking French toast I had ever seen, (see picture) having been cooked on an oven the probably predated the Soviet occupation. And yet, because I did not want to relive the experience of cooking again I ate that toast not only Friday night, but twice Saturday, and today. I know I could do the co-op thing, gather in the kitchen with some other girls, laughing and talking, the savory smell of spices wafting up from various pots and pans. But that does not appeal to me at all. By the end of the day, having gone to class, talked to so many new people, walked all the way back to the dorm and up five flights of steps, I just need to be alone and immobile for awhile. And if that means disturbing my roommates by eating cold, breaded chicken patties and Nutella for the next three months, so be it.

With the exception of eating, I had a very nice weekend. Yesterday, Jessy and I went to the market and I was stunned by the vast array of goods. To me, market meant about three farmers in a parking lot selling corn out of the back of their pick up trucks. Here, people were selling a multitude of fruits and vegetables, jewelry, underwear, etc. I came away with some apples, peaches, and a pair of shoes. Next I went to Akropolis, the huge shopping mall with a couple of my roommates. The food court (which looks more like a theme park) is set up around an ice skating rink which I can't wait to visit.

Today after church I was faced with a very difficult decison. Do I complete my business finance homework or do I go swim in the Baltic sea on an incredibly beautiful day? Jessy finally convinced me (I get the feeling she's going to be doing a lot of that) to go to the beach. We ran to catch the bus and then were packed in so tightly that an elderly lady was practically sitting on top of me and several random elbows were dangerously close to my face. I was sweating so copiously that it actually wasn't unpleasant, kind of like talking a shower. Once we got to the beach, we charged/tiptoed into the salty, frigid sea. After taking several pictures and making ourselves into human knot and then untangling, we dispersed to do our own thing, whether it was swimming, talking in small groups, searching the seashore for bits of amber, or a reading questionable, semi-historical novel (guess who.) A few hours later, we ran to catch the bus back and sat there contented, toasty, and very much relaxed.