Long Day

Today, as part of our Wednesday schedule, we went together to Makinzie's Russian lesson near the metro station, about a 15-minute walk. I have to admit that I was overwhelmed with the language for the first time today. As I listened to various Russian conversations along the way to the station and as I sat observing Makinzie's lesson today, I felt the burden of having learned so little so far and having so much further to go. It's frequently frustrating to have so much to "say" to people--from expressing kindness to asking questions--and to not be able to communicate except in short, simple phrases. The experience of being forced to communicate with the language capacity of a three year-old is certainly humbling, whatever else it may be.

For more positive news today, I tried to get ahead of my teaching last night by reading Edmund Spencer's The Faerie Queen, a work which I have somehow avoided until now. Having completed the first "book", I can highly recommend it to any of you who have been in an "epic" drought since the last Lord of the Rings film. I'm sure that if Peter Jackson was around in the 16th century, he would have directed a screen version of the epic (probably completing filming of all six "books" at once).

One other lighter note: after class today we went to the "universam"--Western-style grocery store--and among other things purchased a type of hot breakfast cereal made out of barley. When we arrived home, I decided to try to make a quick batch of it as a snack and also so that I would be familiar enough with the instructions that I could make a batch even at 6:00 am when I groggily step into the kitchen. Anyway, I turned over the back of the box to look at the directions, and was met with this enigmatic picture:

Of course. I thought. The picture obviously indicates the well-known measurement, "four smiley faces equals one jar". After a productive and well-needed period of laughter, I finally figured out the hieroglyph and successfully made my barley porridge. (Actually, I tried to make it without boiling the water for three minutes--only adding already-boiling water instead--so it wasn't very "successful" or, for that matter, good.) Can you figure out what the instructions meant?

OK, off to screen the first two acts of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing before I show them tomorrow in class. And then bed.

--Matt