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Where to begin...

So yesterday was our excursion to the banya. Everyone had pretty high expectations for this one because of the crazy stories we'd all heard about past semesters' trips to the banya. For those who may not know, a Russian banya is similar to a spa, but the main feature is the sauna. Typically when you go to the banya everyone sits in this unbelievably hot sauna and then after you have had a sufficient sweat (it doesn't take long!) you jump into a pool of cold water (which, in actuality, is a fairly pleasurable experience). Then you go back and do it all over again. In short, heat, rinse, and repeat.

There's also this weird tradition at the banya called париться веником, which involves being beaten with birch branches while you're in the sauna and is supposed to be pleasurable? Or maybe just good for your health in some way? I had it done to me, and I don't know if I would want it done all the time, but I guess it wasn't really uncomfortable either...

Anyhow, there may have been an assortment of напитки there. And I may have slightly overdone it. In fact, the title of this blog post may have been the soundtrack of my evening last night. But despite a slight headache and a hearty feeling of embarrassment in the morning, I felt normal again in class today.

Yesterday was also the first day of our lenten pact, пост, not to speak English until 6 pm every day. I was actually surprised at how difficult it was for my brain to switch back into English when it got to be 6 o clock. All of my sentences were really fragmented and Russian phrases kept popping into my head - it was kind of bizarre...

When I got home today, my host mother's sister was visiting so I briefly got to meet her while I was eating my dinner. Then later after we had all had some чай, my host father uttered the phrase, "мы поидём go lay down." It made my night.

Oh! I almost forgot to write about Leila's judo competition! It reminded me a lot of my brother's old wrestling matches, but it was surreal to see such young children competing! And Leila was the only girl in her division! She won her first match, but ended up losing her second two. Nadya told me later that this was the first time that she didn't win anything, so she was pretty bummed, but I was still really impressed! It lasted a pretty long time, but it was interesting for me, since I'd never seen a judo competition before. And I think Alina appreciated my iPhone games when we were passing time there, because she got me up to level 9 on Fling - she assured me that I could tell all my friends at home that I did it myself ;-)

Tomorrow is Friday, but it doesn't really feel like it because we have a regular class day on Saturday - in Russia, you apparently have to pay for your holidays. Это жизнь...