Moscow, Moscow, Moscow...

I've arrived...

Since showing up in Moscow with my U-haul trailer packed full of accumulated odds and ends, I've experienced the great hospitality of the local folk. Betty, my sweet overtly religious piano instructing neighbor, showed up on my doorstep Saturday in 100 degree heat with a plate of veggies. "I would've baked cookies" she said "but, its just too hot, so welcome to the neighborhood. Here's some veggies from the farmers market."
Sweet huh? I had just come back from the farmer's market myself. Nugget and I tromped down there in the heat of the morning and got there just before closing. I scurried over to buy a few tomatoes and the guy behind the counter said to me, "Grab as much as you can for a dollar. It's gotta go." So there I was fiendishly filling this box with a bunch of produce: Cantaloupe, blueberries, cucumbers, zucchinis, squash, and tomatoes. "Five bucks." he said when I finished. The thing was, I had to lug that full box all the way back home, which entails going up one very steep hill. Since I have no upper arm strength I balanced that damn box on my head the whole way. About a mile and a half. I thought about the women in the Sahara who carry water on their heads or backs for many more miles regularly. Although I felt like the town weirdo with that box on my head, it made me consider why us Americans don't carry more on our heads. Is it a pride thing. Or am I just behind the times and don't have my rolling-cart.
Anyway, my landlords and next door neighbors on the other side are quite the opposite of Betty but just as friendly. They have loaned me their bike for the week so I can get to and from campus until I get my own ride. They invited me over for ice cream on one of these oh so exhausting days. They are dropping off a box of my things at Goodwill today and they have sent me links to god-knows-how-many resources in town. From local veterinarians to the Lentil Festival (happening this week), I've got plenty of local digs to check out.
And this week, I am in Comp. Camp with about twenty other TA's. We are essentially learning how to deal with incoming freshman. Now, I've taught women transitioning out of prison classes on Life Skills, Communication, Healthy Relationships, and Self Identity. But I am terrified of teaching incoming freshman. How does an instructor contend with the age of IPODs and Myspace?