LIfe is good...eternal life better!

Hey...it been a while, sorry. I try to write or use a computer when my roomies aren't. I have been mainly exploring the city and understanding how things work. My biggest frustration here is the food. Its the fear of the unknown. I know its a hotdog...but why is THIS one 50 rubles, and that one 200 rubles. Scary when you don't know what it really is! haha. Be thankful that you know how to read the lables! jeez. I almost bought liver the other day. And I saved up some money, to buy a beer...haha. I need to read carefully. I wanted a true Russian beer. Of all the choices...and believe me, there are lots!....I picked the non-alcoholic beer! JEEZ. I was pissed. I found out when I came home. lol. I took lots of pictures yesterday. I walked all the way down to Nevesky Prospekt and up and down that for a few hours. My feet were sore after that. Its really windy also. The temperature is about 52 degrees F. I am already starting to bundle up. Almost everyday it rains. For food, I eat 2 bananas a day. 2 large carrots a day. A bowl of oatmeal in the morning/cereal. Maybe toast and eggs for dinner with a hotdog. Everybody laughs at me, when I eat my carrots. Who the heck skins a carrot? I never have...why should I start? lol. Today, I ventured north to find myself a white board. Fun times. I jump on this metro, and get to this spot. Oh, by the way. Everything here, is rarely connected. Everything is blurps in my memory. This remote islands of existence that are not connected, and I seem to just appear in them. They are worlds unto themselves. This little pieces of city that are rarely connected. Sometimes I dare to walk from one to another as the map beckons...and start realizing that this is another island/miniature city that I have found. It's like alice in wonderland - I am a rabbit popping out of all this holes. Anyway, I come to this new island, and am looking for this BUS. "Gdea autobus ekea?" Where is the Ikea bus? They have an Ikea here. Some big furniture store people say. Hmmm. I am standing there staring at about 40 buses. What the heck! After much street crossing and crowd following. I became a sheeple and followed about 150 people onto a 40 person bus. Now, a word of advice....NEVER be the last person on a bus like that. It was so packed, I didn't think the bus would move. I jump on, hanging out the door....wondering how these doors are going to close....yes, there was no more room! hahaha. Needless to say, after the doors hit me in the face and body a few times, a pushed hard, and endured the trip - hunched over with my face in some guys back....I didn't see light for about 10 min. lol. I walk through the mall and go exploring. I really wish I had looked up the word for white board. grrrrr. Try explaining that with charades! I carry a back pack on, with food, sweater, umbrella, carrots, and papers. Needless to say...I try to be stopped by the police....since....I still don't have everything in order...i.e. legal registration and such! hahaha. But, I walked through a line...not buying anything, and walked past a police officer. Me with a back pack on...would be the perfect shoplifter! I got stopped yelled at. I kinda shrugged my shoulders, having no idea what he said, and said what I could. Well, to make a long story short, after more cops, and security guards, they decided to hand me over to these two guys. Who then escorted me through a door, down a long hall way, and into a small interrogation room with a little light, table and chair...that little one way mirror and all. haha. Anyway, they searched everything I had, and let me go. Fun times! haha. Ok, something else now. This made my day. I am walking along to the bus stop, and I see this huge rat crawling around 50 yards in front of me. This is in the parking lot of Ikea! I walking that direction, wonder how close I can get. I stop wondering when I stop walking, and I am 1 yard from the stupid rat. I stop and stare. This rat now faces me, stands up and starts twitching. He suddenly charges me, and grabs my foot and tries to run up my leg. THIS IS A RAT! yuck! I am standing next to a large concrete pole, and I swing my foot with the rat on it against the pole as hard as I can. I shriek back in horror, as the rat limps away...only about 12 feet. I stare at him. But he is still in the way of my destination...I slowly creep forward, and he charges again. I am prepared this time. I was quickly brought back to my soccer days of making a goal, and swung my foot back, ready to swing it hard. My foot made perfect contact! That little rat squealed its last as I punted it 60+ feet across the parking lot. Yes, cruel, but so satisfying. The rat, I can say with confidence, was dead as a door nail as it lay motionless in the parking lot. I can now say, that I have taken a little bit of evil out of this world. hehehehe. Anyway, I came home safely, and am now going to go study some Russian. Pacaa! (see ya later)
I'll post some pics soon!

peoter samovich husmann