I know, I know. I'm a horrible person...

Sorry I haven't updated in a while.

Russia has definitely changed me in the last couple months. I didn't really notice it, though, until people started pointing it out to me. This is the best example I can give:

The pound. Poor, defenseless animals are rounded up and held captive until they (for the vast majority, I'm sure) are brutally murdered. Is this a grotesque, barbaric tradition that should be done away with all together? (I mean, who do those people think they are going around killing innocent puppies and kittens???) I think not. Kill them. Kill them all. Moscow has over 100,000 stray dogs alone. And they're not cute, cuddly english terriers; they're German shepherds, or rottweilers or some combination of several big, scary breeds. And it's certainly not fun when one of them starts following you. Not having stray, essentially-wild animals roaming the streets was just one of those things I took for granted in the US. I definitely was one of the "but why do the puppies have to die?" people, but I have seen the light and changed my ways.

I also think it's perfectly fine for someone to live with their parents until they get married. In Russia if you don't live with your parents until you're married, it would mean that you have a horrible relationship and probably don't speak to them that often, if at all. Don't worry, though, this doesn't change my personal habitation preferences, or my preference that any guy I date not live with his parents. It's just not surprising anymore. What's still surprising, though, is when a family of 4 will be living in a one-room apartment. And especially when the children are high school age. Common, but not comfortable for me to think about.

I also think it's going to be hard to break the habit of carrying toilet paper with me everywhere I go. Even in bathrooms in restaurants there might not be any.

The most surprising change I've seen in myself has been in regards to cleanliness. I'm really not a germ freak anymore. Really, what's the worst that could happen if I don't wash my hands before I eat a sandwich (or anything else rather touch-intensive)? Bathrooms not having hot water or soap or towels/hand dryers will make you realize that it's probably not all that important anyway. Or if that doesn't do it for you, standing in a PACKED metro car being able to feel people breathing on you might do it. Or maybe even just hanging onto the bar on the metro while standing, because then you'll touch your iPod and your bag and your glasses and your nose and then your pen and your planner and your pack of gum. Really, the germs all just everywhere all the time. And yet I'm still alive. I guess my mom was right all those times she said, "It's not going to kill you!" when I complained something was dirty.

I bought some flat boots about a month ago. They're supposed to be rain boots, I think, but I wear them in the snow. Then, about two weeks ago I started feeling really funny when I was wearing them, and it stopped snowing for a while, so I wore my sneakers. But I felt funny in those too. Last Friday I bought some boots with heels. I've worn them pretty much every day since then. For some reason they just feel right. I also feel awkward when I don't have makeup on. I mean, both of these could be explained by the fact that everyone else is in high heels and makeup and I just feel pressure to conform, so make of it what you will.

I feel like I can now really appreciate some of the things we have in the US, such as safety regulations, or free public bathrooms, or freedom of movement. However, I also am kind of disgusted with America at the same time. We're supposed to be politically correct and unbiased, but we're just as brainwashed as anyone else. Maybe not in horrible hate-crime-y ways like in some countries, but certainly in embarrassing and culturally-insensitive ways