I'm here!

I am in St. Petersburg now and I can't believe it. I was expecting a new wave of homesickness and culture shock, but so far I'm doing just fine. It's like picking up a game of monopoly after leaving it for a week or two. I might be a little unfamiliar with what's going on, but after a few times around the board, everything makes sense again and I feel right at home. Even though my previous experience was in Kiev, Russia feels very simiar. I've seen places that almost register in my memory; they look so similar to places I've been before. I truly love being in eastern Europe. It's a different lifestyle, but the change is welcome. Things do take longer, but I enjoy all the little glitches here. I find them endearing instead of annoying. Towards the end of my mission, there were definitely things that I was annoyed with, mainly the post office or the copy store, but I don't think that will kick in for a while. For right now I am enjoying the Russian life. Last night I took a cold shower because they turned off the hot water, and I just thought to myself, yep, I'm back. I hope I don't have to do that again.