Ok guys, it took me a while, but I finally got all of the pictures uploaded and commented. Some of them are re-posts, as they are what I used for this blog, so you wouldn't have to wait 2 months to see what I was doing on the other side of the world, but there are upward of 400 pictures there, so there's bound to be some new ones! Here's the first one- the comments are underneath, and the next/ previous buttons are on the top right. I tried to make it a pretty slideshow, but there were too many pictures, and you wouldn't have gotten the trademark Lyssa comments. Go check 'em out!
On a slightly different topic: my post-travel thoughts. Looking back from the vantage point of having slept and eaten well for a week, I think I can take a more rational look at the trip overall, instead of being mired in the feelings of it. To start with: Yes, I am very, very glad I went. The things that I learned instinctively are invaluable- there is no way I could have memorized or studied the sensations and reactions to everyday Russian life in a classroom. For example, I will never be able to use the word for "next" (следующая), without remembering being in the metro on the way to/from school, and hearing "Next stop, Chkolovskaya" (следующая станция, Чкловская) - the station where school was. Nor will I ever forget sitting in the kitchen of an old apartment with ridiculously high ceilings, and having a German guy and his Russian girlfriend insisting I eat a billion blini and a bowl full of strawberries while we fumble and mime our way through three languages to explain how our days went. In terms of experience and keeping your mind open and flexible, I couldn't ask for more.
