Amanda in Japan!

Pavel Andreievich Chekov. Why? Because he makes me squee. And then I'd have 55 of his children while we were on that island and life would be groovy. And I'd get to practice all the Russian I wanted. Yahoo!

Last night was fun. :D And I got two presents out of it. Yaaay!

I've been listening to Russian music pretty much exclusively these days. I hope I find some Russians to hang out with in Japan, I don't know if I can go a year without Slavs in my life, roflroflrofl.

One more full day in Hagerstown!

Хочешь, я тебе спою
Korni

Я подарю тебе стихи
Что так воздушны, так легки
В них о любви и о весне
В них о тебе и обо мне
Я подарю тебе мотив
Что так наивен, так игрив
Мотив из солнца, из огней
Мотив прозрачный, как ручей
Мотив прекрасный как и ты

Хочешь я тебе
Хочешь я тебе спою
Излечу тебя
Излечу тебя от скуки
Хочешь песню
Хочешь песню подарю
О любви
О любви и о разлуке
Так кружится
Так кружится голова
По весне
По весне у малолетки
Я придумаю
Придумаю слова
Запишу их
Запишу их на салфетке

Я подарю тебе семь нот
И день и ночь, огонь и лед
Семь красок ласковой весны
Семь нот волшебной тишины
Я подарю тебе стихи
Что так воздушны, так легки
Я подарю тебе любовь
Свою любовь, что выше слов
Я подарю тебе любовь

My room is really coming along. ^_^ Not much more to do, really. I have another load of laundry to do, but I'll do that the day before I leave the house (The 28th).

I need another bookshelf and another set of shelves on the wall. I'll do that when I come back, I guess, rofl.

I bought my deep conditioner and some boxes and things for my room, to organize stuff before I leave, and my curtain rods, although they're the wrong type.

I'm hoping for a few things. I hope that our new dorms have Japanese style bathtubs, that Meiji Gakuin has a gym and some sort of dance club, rofl.

I do have to say I'm a little unsettled. I don't really know what to expect, it's interesting going back to Japan again. It almost feels like going to a distant relative's house, like a homecoming with a overlying sense of nervousness and dread of screwing up a name or a face.

I e-mailed my homeroom teacher from Nansho. I hope he e-mails me back.

Мне много не нужно.
Мне нужно, чтобы ты просто рядом был.
Мне нужно, чтобы утром меня целовал,когда уходил.
Мне нужны твои руки.
Мне нужно, чтобы не было черных полос
Мне нужно, чтобы рядом со мной всегда звучал твой голос.

One more week, guys! Suffice it to say that I'm crazy nervous.

Today we're headed up to Pittsburgh to visit Spencer and Jessica. ^_^ And tomorrow...?

AUGUSTOBERFEST!!!

Got my glasses, selled my DVD's, and did my laundry!

... I'm watching a UN security council meeting. MAN, I wanna do that!

So, today I'm headed out to the mall to sell my DVD's and some videogames to one of the stores that does that, and also get my glasses, hopefully.

All my laundry is done, so I should put it up and work on my room some more.

10 more days, really. AAAAH!

Ugh, I've been eating horribly lately. And I have so much to do!

sell videogames
put up curtains
clean room
sell old clothes
trim hair
get glasses
finish MGS4

..and pack. one big suitcase and one carry on

Last night a 14 year old boy called me pretty. First thing out of his mouth "You're pretty.". Took me by surprise, lol.

Otakon was fun. :D Going to Hershey Park tomorrow, and then I'm packing!

Some of my family and I at Kuluck, a Persian restaurant in Coral Springs.



:D

So, I am in Florida visiting my family. I love them so much. :D

I look so much like my aunt Farnaz it's crazy! We have the same body and the same face shape. LOL

Tonight we're going to a Persian place in town, and there is gonna be bellydancing! Yay!

Tomorrow night we're going to Farnaz's place and I'll get to see lots of family and my cousin Arash! :D

Less than a month until Japan!

MGS Twin Snakes is really hard. I don't like that the camera angle is fixed.

Well, I start my grand away-from-home adventure tomorrow. I'll go get my visa from the embassy, and then go to Dad's for a day. Then it's off to New England to see Alster, Florida to see my family, and Annapolis/Baltimore for Otacon and seeing Tiff. Then, the day after Otacon ends, I'll go to Johns Hopkins for a last check-up of the good ol' hip. I'll be gone for over three weeks. Then, once I get back, I'll have about two weeks here to get ready for Japan.

Which, by the way, is going to be epic.

Once regular classes start, I'll probably only have class on Monday and Thursday. I'll be able to work during the week! How cool is that, huh?

I just now remembered that I never posted that I was home! Well, I'm home. Today I'm going to D.C. to get my visa process started. On Friday I leave for Ali's place, yay!!!

So, I danced in Marrakesh today. No, not in Morroco, in Epcot! We had lunch in the Morroco part of Epcot and I danced with the bellydancer. That was really neat because it's in that same restaurant where I had my first real bellydancing experience. Full circle woot!!!

I got myself a cute tanktop. Other than that I didn't buy anything in the park.

We're going to Disney tomorrow! Epcot! Woohoo! I think anyway.

So, here's my schedule:

now-June 18th:condo
18-23: Sanibel?
Start visa process...?
25-31 ALI!!!!!
31-Aug 7th: Florida again, family!
7-10:Otacon!

Weekend of 15th: beach with Colleen?

30th-leave for JAPAN

So, kinda jam-packed! ROFL

Woohoo this place is nice. I get a master suite to myself, with a whirlpool in it. Heeheeheeeee! This place has a sauna too. Bwhahahha.

And, getting free internets off the lobby's hotspot. Tomorrow is a low-key day, perhaps I'll lounge by the pool, sipping a cool beverage.

We ordered in Chinese, I got roasted duck. I've been wanting to eat duck for a while, I'm gonna enjoy it. ^_^

I'm in one of the Carolinas, at a Hampton Inn. We're about half way there.

I ate a lot of junk food today, rofl! Gotta stop that garbage!

Edit: The hotel had a sauna! So, I went and steamed away some of that junk, rofl. Reminded me of the banya in Russia, sans being beaten by Nikolai with a bundle of fragrant birch twigs.

You know those gov't sponsored summer intensives I was considering a while back? Turns out A.A. is involved in those too! She was talking about how she had to go to Siberia for another summer program that she was involved in, and it didn't click until she was like "Amanda, apply for this sometime." and I go check it out andd it's that same program, that Casey is on now actually. Crazy stuff!

So, we're going to Florida tomorrow. Finally, after all that flipflopping I think we're actually going. Angie isn't going to make it easy, but I'm just gonna go and lay by the pool and have a good time.

We didn't end up going gambling, but that's alright, I don't have any money to spend anywho.

I talked with Erin on the 4th, and I think I have my part-time job in Japan in the bag. This is great news, because I'm really gonna have to make a lot of money. I gotta save up for grad school and all that. I'm thinking I can save up at least $15,000. At least. I want that in a high-yield account and sit while I'm at Rochester for the last year there.

I was looking at stuff I want for my house when I grow up, rofl. I want a Finnish-style sauna(found some nice sized ones for like $3000! less than I thought it would be) and a nice Japanese style soaking tub. I love the shape of Japanese tubs, they're deep enough for you to really get in there and soak.

I'm working on my room, my big armoire is gone and I have these two fabric drawer things. They look real sharp. I'm still unpacking kinda and working on getting the stuff off of the floor and where it needs to go. So much of my memorabilia and stuff was shoved in that armoire, so I gotta find a nice place for it.

I also need another DVD rack. It's time.

Being home is weird as always. Feels kinda like some sorta progress purgatory.

Happy Fourth everyone! I spent the day with my family, ate lots of food, and got my sister out of the house for a bit! I wore my Зенит Санкт-Петербург jersey. I appreciated the irony. At least it was blue.

Watching Wimbledon on TV makes me want to play tennis! I'm horrible at racket sports in particular though. Hahaha.

Tomorrow I think we're going to Charlestown Races to play some slots! Yay, gambling!

So, I've been home for a few days now. I'm glad to be home, although I miss the active lifestyle and lots of things to do in St. Petersburg. I'm glad to have hot water and a comfortable house though. Things in Russia are still pretty rough for the average Joe, although not horrible, it's not up to our standard of living. Living there makes me appreciate America and how we live a lot more, but it also showed me how used to comfort we really are. We are pretty spoiled.

I don't think I'll be going back to live, actually. It doesn't click with me the way Japan did.

Countdown to Japan: 57 days! Flying out the 30th of August. I still need to go get my visa.

Most of us at the airport leaving Russia. Note Anna Aleksandrovna Maslennikova, my professor and mentor, and the coolest person ever.



Rachel and I having a little fun in the Museum of Ethnography.(I was like a kid in a candy store)



"Russia is so big!"



Church of the Split Blood



A possibly very illegal candid photo of two guards at the Kremlin.



Goose stepping guards



One of the three cathedrals in the Kremlin, they're OLDOLDOLD, note the old style domes.

I'm back!

Once I get my pictures up on a computer I'll organize them and post the best ones here, and talk about my time in Russia.

I'm still really exhausted, but so glad to be back. I miss some things, like blinchiki and going out with my friends, but I'm glad to be back in a country with clean free bathrooms and free water, and hot water in the house, rofl, among other things. Even with all the bad things, the whole experience was amazing and I learned a lot. I got to spend lots of time with Anna Aleksandrovna, my favorite professor and mentor. And my Russian is better!

I'll be in Hagerstown on Wednesday, methinks. I need a few days of doing nothing just to recharge, I'm all sorts of jet-lagged and just tuckered out.

More later.

Hi, guys!

I'm still alive!

Going to Moscow tomorrow!

Still alive!

Things are great. :D

I don't really have a way to put pictures up or anything, but we're going to a lot of museums and things and I've been taking a lot of pictures.

The food is amazing.

I'm here!

So, I'm off to Russia!

I have a beautiful new camera to take with me, so expect lots of pictures.

Home from Pittsburgh!

I ate wonderfully. Thai red curry is amazing.

Tomorrow is running around, packing, cleaning, dinner, saying goodbye.

One more day until the journey starts, guys!

I'm a dork. I love this song. <3 In Russian it's even better. Hahaha. The boy's part is amazing. :D

---


Идеальный мир,
Он большой такой.
В нём нам все сулят
И радость, и покой.
Но хотим мы мир
Не чужой, а свой.
Пусть не всё пока понятно мне,
Я знаю в сердца глубине,

Всегда у любви свой путь.
Радость и покой с тобой.
На смену темноте ночной
Придёт свет когда-нибудь.
Счастье мы найдем,
Раз уж мы вдвоём.
У любви свой путь.

Может мысль моя вовсе не нова,
Вопреки всему, любовь всегда права.
И твердит твой взгляд, что она жива.

Ведь среди любых земных дорог
Никто как мы любить не мог.

Для нас у любви свой путь.
Радость и покой с тобой.
На смену темноте ночной
Придёт свет когда-нибудь.
Счастье мы найдем,
Раз уж мы вдвоём.
У любви свой путь.
Знаем, у любви свой путь.

As it turns out, I'm still here. I'm just making a day trip down to Johns Hopkins tomorrow, and then coming back up. Tiff came over, I made him pesto pasta, and we played GTA IV.

I hung out a while and started my laundry, and made kasha for Angie and I. It's interesting, very buckwheat-y, understandable because that's all it is. I'm looking forward to having it again, probably in Russia, rofl.

Zane named Dima "pishi". ^_^ It means kitty in Farsi. In Russian it means "Write!", rofl.

I've been looking at shelving to put in my room. I think I might work on some stuff to steep while I'm in Russia, which means I need to order what I need before I go to Pittsburgh.

Today, I'm off to Bel Air, tomorrow I have an appointment at Johns Hopkins for my hip, and I'll be back in H-town Thursday. Saturday, I leave for Pittsburgh for a few days, and then when I get back it's packing like crazy!!!

Brandon sent me this website full of great Russian music. Here's one song I really like, and found lyrics to.
Listen to it here.(http://dipproject.ru/music/singles/D.I.P_Project_feat_Black_and_White_-_Ya_4ujaya_(Dj_Sprite_Maz.mp3)

---

D.I.P Project ft. Black&White
Ya Chuzhaya

Кто меня помочь опять..что происходит??
Все повторяется вновь
Но ты уходишь
Не знаю больно мне или не больно
Хочу летать Любить не больно

Не моя дрожь тревожит мое тело
И ровным ритмам больше нет предела
Но возвращаюсь назад...пытаюсь снова понять
Хочу не знать не прощать...зачем мне все повторять

Я ничья... я чужая...
я сама не своя... это всё... я другая...
я ничья... я чужая...
я теряю себя...
ничего не слома...

Как разделять эту боль и ненавидить
Как сочинять эту роль и не приблизить
Просто все потерять...не выносимо
Удержаться хочу - но снова мимо

Кидает грусть но я должна решиться
Забыть..не думать..А просто измениться
Стала я искать.. и не найти ответа.
Хочу уйти не знать что ты есть рядом где-то...

Tater Tot Casserole

1 package onion tatertots
one can cheese soup(broccoli and cheese for us)
12 oz ground beef
two packages shredded cheese, one mild, one sharp

Preheat oven to 350.
Prepare soup, brown meat well.
Layer the casserole dish with a little soup, tater tots, mild cheese, meat. Make two layers, then pour all the remaining soup over it all. Bake for 45 minutes at 350, then top with the whole package of sharp cheese and then bake until melty.

Om nom nom.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&geocode=&q=Korablestroiteley+street,&near=Russian+Federation,+Saint+Petersburg&ie=UTF8&ll=59.947167,30.217606&spn=0.003315,0.011287&t=h&z=17

LOOK I'M GOING TO BE THERE IN 11 DAYS!!!! THATS MY APARTMENT BLOCK!

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! SO EXCITED!

Tonight, I am making tater tot ghetto casserole. I originally saw the recipe on 4chan. Should be cheesy goodness. That reminds me, I should get the ground beef out of the freezer.

I woke up late, drove around with Tiff, and had dinner at his house. His bro made tempura. Good stuff.

Last night we all, being Tiff, Brian, Kelso, and I, went out to the local hookah bar, Oasis, and smoked some apple shisha, had some mediocre-to-not-so-good grape leaves, and chatted. After that, and some driving around blasting foreign music, we went to Brian's house, the three of them had some jagermeister while I played GTA IV. I got home and asleep around 3 am. Woke up at 12:45.

Vegan cookies! (with an Amanda-ish twist)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup soy flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp.salt
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
dark chocolate chips
1 cup splenda(not the packets, the type for baking)
1/2 cup light olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup water (added in 1/4 cup increments)

Don't overwork. Makes 16 smallish cookies, 12 bigger ones.
350 degree oven for 15 minutes, maybe two or so more if you want them browner.

They were really really good, and amazing for you(unless splenda bothers you, but I wouldn't be able to tolerate the sugar). The cinnamon keeps one's blood sugar from spiking, and it's a great compliment to the chocolate.

I also made a second batch of the Welsh muffins, no bacon this time, and more cheese, and a capful of Ms. Dash. AMAZING I TELL YOU. Very very good. Everyone loved them.

I think we have two winners with these recipes.

I am a master griller. :D

I grilled turkey wings, lamb steak, two kinds of beef steak, portobellas, tomatoes, zucchinis, and eggplant today! And it was all AMAZING, because I am amazing.

My paperwork is on it's way to Japan.



Me, AK, and Lauren! At a pre-frosh event in April sometime.

Yay, European electronica!!! Thanks, Jason.

So, I made those Welsh cheese and bacon muffins.

* 250g/9oz plain flour (half whole wheat, half soy)
* 1tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp fine sea salt
* 175g/6oz cooked bacon, chopped
* 100g/4oz mature cheese (cheddar)
* 1tsp mustard
* pinch cayenne
* 2eggs lightly beaten
* 80ml/3floz light olive oil
* 125ml/4floz low-fat yogurt

Standard muffin procedure. Bake at 350 20-30 mins, check them every three after 20.

They're pretty good. :D Very nice crumb on them, moist and light. If you made small ones, they'd make great fancy dinner rolls things. (I'm thinking that trekwriter would like them for some reason...)

Next time, I think I'll skip the bacon and add some garlic powder to make a simulation of Red Lobsters chessey biscuits.

Tomorrow are those vegan cookies, filling out of paper work and expressing it to Japan, and my clothes. Home seems to make everything slower. If I was at school, I would have had all this done the first day I said I'd do it.

Tiff and I went to the buffet place on the Duel and got sushi, and they had some dim sum things. Over all, very nice, I loved the glutinous rice with some sort of very earthy mushroom, wrapped in a leaf and steamed.

Tomorrow:

grocery shopping (VEGGIES and stuff to make stuff)
making cookies and muffins
visa photos
drinking lots of fluids
actually organizing my clothes

I ate too much today, and the day before... Gotta stop now.

I saw Brian and Tiff today! :D And I got to play GTA IV. 'Tis awesome.

Being at home has been pretty nice. The kittens are really sweet. I don't know if we're keeping all of them, Mom keeps saying three is too many.

Today was a lazy day. I need to go to the grocery and get me some energy drinks and veggies(brussel sprouts).

I need to clean my room before I get too comfortable.

I kinda want to make chocolate chip cookies. I think I just might, as soon as I get to grocery store. They'll be vegan, and healthy too!

Me, Diane, and Jose on Thursday.




My schedule:

May 21- JH appointment
May 24-2?-Pittsburgh
May 29-Get ready for RUSSIA
May 30th-July 1st Sankt-Peterburg!!!!
July 11th-18th Vacation with family in Florida
Rest of July-Probably staying with grandmother in Florida to try and learn Farsi

August 30th-Leave for Japan


Russian version of Temptation(ignore blinged out bimbos):



I understand the whole thing!!!! >D!!! YAY LANGUAGE PROGRESS!!

Arash
Восточные сказки

Восточные сказки,
Зачем ты мне строишь глазки,
Манишь, дурманишь,
Зовёшь пойти с тобой.

Эй, девушка-красавица,
Ты мне улыбаешься,
Я тебя уже люблю,
Всё, что хочешь подарю.

Мне подарков не дари,
Жарких слов не говори,
И в любви мне не клянись,
А сначала ты женись.

Восточные сказки,
Зачем ты мне строишь глазки,
Манишь, дурманишь,
Зовёшь пойти с тобой.
Восточные сказки,
А может, расскажешь мне
Какая, такая
Восточная любовь?

Девушка-красавица,
Ты мне очень нравишься,
У меня есть три жены,
А четвёртой будешь ты.

Уважаемый, уже
У меня есть пять мужей,
Я их всех люблю, а ты,
Если хочешь, будь шестым.

Такая восточная любовь.
Такая восточная любовь.

I'm home!!

I have kittenz!!! Misha, Dima, and Pasha.

Me holding Misha


All of them eating:


Yay!!!

Today I'm packing up most of my things, and then running to campus to sell back my textbooks methinks. I won't get much for them, but it would be nice to have some cash(I am so broke). And I still owe Jen $10.

I need to organize stuff in such a way that certain boxes don't ever have to be opened until I get back from Japan. My "decor" box is one such box. It is finished. I think I'll have a bellydance costume/shoes that I don't need box, and a technology box. Technology box will have my tv, ps2's, printer. It'll all come together. Once I get off of here and do it, at least.

The rest is bedding and clothes, methinks.

Time to shower and get going! less than 24 hours left!

I has a visa! :D

Tomorrow, cleaning, packing, fun having.

Today, getting my passport with my visa, scanning it, doing paper work, and then...having fun gosh darnit.

And maybe cleaning my room some/packing. Packing is depressing though, things are kinda nice when you don't have classes to worry about.

And upgrading to SP3 at Brian's suggestion.

I'm finished! Last night I went over to Jenna's(been hanging out with her a lot lately) and we watched two movies, The Prestige and Eastern Promises. I'm not too big on movies, but I sat through them anyway. Eastern Promises was really violent and kinda bad, but it involved Russians and babies like my dream, so that was a little bit of a strange coincidence.

Today, I go to pick up my passport with my visa in it, and photo copy it, and then fill out paper work for Meiji Gakuin. Then it's just hanging out for the day. I'm gonna start packing tomorrow, because I have something I want to do the 8th(some sort of Socialist thing at RIT), and I think on the 9th(Victory Day), teh Russianz are all gonna get together and hang out one last time(without Julie though, :C.

I need to work out really badly, I haven't danced in forever and feel all gross. I'm out of vitamins too.

I think I might be getting a kitten, at least, our house will be getting a kitten. I get to name it this time, methinks. You have NO clue how excited this makes me. I've pretty much decided it's going to be a Russian boys name, but I'm not sure on the specific name.

"Utomlennoe Solntse".

Utomlennoe solntse nezhno s morem proshchalos', v etot chas ty priznalas chto net lyubvi.
Mne nemnogo vzgrustilos', bez toski, bez pechali, v etot chas prozvuchali slova tvoi.
Rasstaemsya, ya ne budu zlit'sya. V etom vinovaty, i ty i ya.

Amanda's translation:

The weary sun tenderly said farewell to the sea, and at that hour your let me know that love had gone.
I was a little sad, at that hour your words resounded without melancholy, without grief.
Let us part, I wont be angry. We're both to blame, both you and I.

---
I've seen the movie of the same title for my film class, and it was the first time I heard it. But, Jenna and I were watching Russian cartoons and it shows up, I hear the first three words and start singing along "Utomlennoe solntse....something something chto net lyubvi." I felt really connected and...getting-Russian-culture-y when I was able to do that! Jenna was surprised I recognized it after three notes(she hadn't heard the song before).

Yay!

Today is Russian film final paper and perfecting my CS project. I slept in late, and was having a dream about Russians and a baby crying and me cheering him up, and his smile was so beautiful. A phone call from my Daddy woke me up. LOL

So, I said goodbye to Julie today. People took a few pictures from that, so when I get them I'll post them. I finished my CS project, all I have to do tomorrow is extra credit stuff. I have to do my film final tomorrow, too. So, that's what I'll be doing. The evening, though, I am free, it seems.

After tomorrow evening, I'll have finished all my school work. Then it's just packing, and having fun until it's time to leave.

Leaving will be bittersweet.

Me jumping on Andrew B. This was better when he didn't have to hold me up, but still.


Today I went to the Public Market with Jenna, sampled some wine and bought flatbread and cheese. We had a little picnic on campus. :D

I also got pretty far on my project. Yay!

Tomorrow I'm getting together with Julie et al. and after that doing work in ITS.

So, some more detail on yesterday. It was our final orientation, where we go over what to pack, and all that stuff. Anna Masslennikova(picture here), the coolest person in the whole freaking world, FLEW FROM RUSSIA JUST TO TALK TO US. For 2 days. Not kidding. I love this woman.

When I first saw her walk in I gave her the biggest hug imaginable, and then after the meeting we talked a little about academic things(about my extra 2 credit independent study thing), and then just how life was going. She asked me what classes I was going to take with her next semester, and I reminded her that I was going to Japan. She then said that she would leave the big play on hold until I came back. She was like "I can't do a big play without you!" Yay! I told her that I was taking everything she offers in Fall 09(because I am, lol).

Sasha P. also invited us all out to his family dacha(s, seems he's wealthy) so we could go to a banya. I really want to, so I'm gonna ask him if he was serious about it and take him up on it.

Oh, Jensen got into Meiji Gakuin. :D I was worried for a while, but it seems it all worked out. He's going for the year, too. Yay! I'm getting more and more excited about going to Japan. It's going to be an amazing time.

I've been listening to Janne Da Arc almost exclusively the last couple of days. I really like their Joker album.

I have the Sihir picnic this early afternoon, and then I think I'll be in ITS doing my project. I only have three more days to finish...

We had out last going to Russia meeting and I got to see the coolest person in the world, Prof Anna! I love her. Seriously.

I totally am getting 8 credits for this summer program. Bwhahahaha.

Beltane was nice. So was hanging out with Jenna and Jose. :D

Tomorrow is Sihir picnic and working on homeworks.