Travels: February 2006

I took this picture over winter break and really liked how it came out, but forgot to post it until now.

My week has improved slightly since my last post, don't worry!

...And now back to working on my Russian paper.

Depressing things about my life...
-I live in a cavelike room that only gets natural light from about 11 AM to 2 PM
-People disappoint me. So much.
-I can't seem to get the smell of cigarette smoke of myself, my clothes, my books, etc.
-Some bastard keeps stealing my food in the fridge
-My roommate is never in the room and no one comes to visit me
-Yesterday I sat in my room for 12 hours straight doing homework without seeing or talking to anyone
-Its freezing cold outside
-I miss Chile
-I have too much homework to do something fun but not enough to not be bored
-I look forward to weekends, but then all my friends do is sit around in someone's room drinking too much
- Oh, and worst of all. My russian translation story for the next month is about a starving little dog:
"But the dog stayed in the doorway. His scalded flank was so painful
that he pressed himself against the cold wall, gasping for breath, and
decided not to move from the spot. He would die in the doorway. Despair
overcame him. He was so bitter and sick at heart, so lonely and terrified
that little dog's tears, like pimples, trickled down from his eyes, and at
once dried up. " (Bukgakov, "Heart of a Dog")

Back

Well I got back last night. Whenever I leave Grinnell, even if its just for a few days, when I come back it feels like years that I've been gone, its really weird.

The funeral mass was beautiful. It was at my grandparent's (Slovakian) Byzantine Church. I'd never been there, or to any Catholic church for that matter, so I had no idea what to expect. The front of the church was covered with gold pictures and gold ornaments, which were gorgeous. There was lots of singing/chanting and sitting down/standing up/kneeling (which I was always afraid I would do at the wrong time!) The words to the songs sounded beautiful and mysterious, and I'm sure they're even more so in their original form (Church Slavonic). The mass had lots of interesting little details, like how at some point the priest kissed the bible once, other times twice, or how he would very purposefully walk out one set of gold doors and in another, or how he would swing the incense in certain directions. I wished I knew the meaning or the history behind a lot of these things.

After the mass the priest came up and we talked for a while about Slavic languages and Eastern Europe. Apparently, though Grandpa spoke Slovak, he's actually Carpatho-Rusyn (an Eastern European Byzantine ethnicity without a state) not Slovak. The priest let me try to read some things in Church Slavonic, but with the old-fashioned type and the extra letters, I could only pick out a few words.

The whole weekend I was worried for Grandpa, who was having a really hard time. Basically the only good thing about the trip was being there for the mass, and seeing him. Other than that, it was just ugly, depressing Detroit, endless family meals, and talk about cars. Urgh.

The flight back was fine and I studied Russian the whole time. Russ and Eric picked me up from the airport shortly after I got in and we had a little adventure getting lost in Des Moines. Eric brought along our favorite quiz book (a collection of bad quizzes from girly magazines) so we amused ourselves finding out what flavor of icrecream we would be, which is our greek goddess, and best of all, what is our fighting style. Delightfully tacky. All of us went and got dinner and then I went over to French House to see Jaime and LA. Luckily I don't have class today so I can try to catch up on everything.

Sad News, Quiet Saturday

Yesterday afternoon I got the news that my Grandma (dad's mom) died. She was 92 and had been in poor health, so it shouldn't really have been a suprise...it always is though, you know? I feel terrible, not for her exactly, because she died peacefully and at home, which was what she wanted, but for Grandpa, who will be all alone now, for Auntie Elaine, who did such a great job of taking care of and spending time with Grandma, and for Daddy, who's lost his mom. It doesn't get any sadder than that. It is so hard to lose people. Its just awful.

I always thought that my grandparents had pretty interesting lives. Grandpa grew up in a coal mining town, worked there for a while and then realized he wanted something better for himself. He was (and still is) smart and hardworking, and he moved to Detroit and got a good job in the auto factories, where he worked until he retired. He met my Grandma in Detroit. She was a pretty Polish girl with an 8th grade education who had grown up in Hamtramck, a Polish enclave in the center of Detroit. They had three kids and bought hook, line, and sinker into the American dream. Grandma took being a house wife very seriously, because even when she got older and forgetful, her top interests were making sure that everyone was comfortable, happy, and well-fed.

I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for the funeral and getting back Wednesday night. I'm really glad I have friends (Akili and Russ) who are willing to help me get to the airport. Its not always an easy thing to get to Des Moines at strange hours in the midst of classes.

Well I'm just sitting around in my cozy little room listening to music, thinking about things, and wishing I could stay in bed all day. I have lots to do to get ready to go, but no motivation to do anything useful. I should probably go start packing. I guess at least I updated this thing. Its been a while since I actually wrote anything.

Our room. The beds are behind and to the right. My desk is the one on the left hand side and Robyn's is on the right. French house is out the window and a little down the street.

My desk area. The poster is Robyn's, not mine ; )

You know you're in Grinnell when...
You're late to class because of the corn-syrup train that runs through campus
Three bags of groceries come out to less than 20 dollars
The people at the bank let you withdraw money without checking your ID.
You get told to "have a nice day" about 10 times a day.

Jaime's 21st!!!!!!

Since Jaime is a wonderful and very quirky person, instead of having her 21st birthday at the pub in Grinnell like everyone else, she decided she wanted to have it at a little bar in New Sharon (population, no one, location, in the middle of the corn fields) called the "Blue Moon." Anyways a bunch of us drove down there tonight. It was basically us and some old farmers, which Jaime loved. We got there and all filed into a room in the back while everyone in the bar turned their heads and curiously watched us...a bunch of city hippies plus several minorities isn't something you see every day! When we arrived everyone had their chairs turned to watch tv, but pretty soon everyone had gathered around to watch us : ) The best part was when a a local country western fan dedicated a song (something about a horse and beer) to Jaime for her birthday...he actually had a great voice, and it was so nice of him!!! All of the old guys were really nice and cute (they thought it was hilarious that Jaime wanted to celebrate her 21st birthday there), and we had a fantastic time...now if only I didn't have 2 papers and an oral presentation tomorrow!