Kelly's Quotidian

For those of you getting tired of the Russia thing, there will be one more entry and then it’s done:-)
The following is from my journal, day 3 at camp (day 8 in Russia).
1.06.06
Today was an outstanding day. Last night we didn’t go to sleep till 2:30. I was so tired and irritated-I knew that I had 3 sessions with the kids the next day and was worried about being wiped out. I woke up and decided that I would try to feel positive and thankful in my attitude rather than bitching about and focussing on being tired. It worked. The little ones were maniacs! Many clearly havn’t been given a lot of boundries and some already have a sense of “status”. Some fo the 10 year olds treat the group leaders like servants, but the bulk of the kids are incredible. They are loving and curious. Ironically, I feel they might have more to teach me than I them:-) Tomrrow I think I will share Tejas with them. At lunch Nastia gave me a ring from the museum/church we went to on our “excursion”. The trip was wonderful. We drove for about 45 minutes through the wilderness/countryside to Rouza. I think it and our camp are south and east of Moscow. I got some wonderful pics. I was very happy.
Jason, Noel, and I went to the store again on our regular 6 o’clock sojourn to get beer in the villiage. I love seeing the village. My last group got cancelled today so I went for a run. I went alone down the road into the village. I followed a road to a frozen river that is actually a little above the villiage. It was an increadible view to look out over the church, village, and frozen river. I got a lot of strange looks from the village folk-one for running, two cause I was a woman running, and three cause I was clearly a foreigner-the village apparently doesn’t get too many international visiters. I got about 20 minutes out when I realized I didn’t have my “papers” on me-Masha had just talked to me that afternoon about the police shaking people down and getting money off them cause their “papers aren’t in order”. So I turned around and started chugging it back;-) It was a sublime feeling to get out on my own and adventure a bit. I felt like I was sneaking out , but at the same time felt a little freaked at the fact that my little sojourn had some component of danger to it! Katia has mentioned a couple of times that the older folks don’t really trust international folks.
Today was a good day.
This evening we walked to the store again. I had just gotten back from my run and had taken a shower. On our walk out to the villiage the sky was making its transition into night. There was still a blue light with hints of color still playing in the clouds. My first Russian sunset. The moon was already out and crisp. A star or two was accompanyment. The dashas were starkly gorgeous with their color slowly fading into their nestled snowiness. When we were walking back the moon had become encircled with a creamy, yellowish haze set against a midnight blue sky. The tall snow tipped trees looked soft and brown reaching up to the moon. It was a lovely walk back-talking with Noel and Jason about love, sex and the difference between the two. I am living deeply here. The warmth and simple love of the kids is pure. I hope that these feelings leave an indelible stain on my heart.