Well, I'm back here at home. I've been home for 5 weeks and I'm going back to Russia in about a week! Home has been wonderful, my family and I began the break with a two week cruise to the Caribbean and let me just say...it was incredible. We left the night before the ship was supposed to leave (out of New Jersey) and it's a good thing we did because a huge snow storm hit and we ended up traveling through that slowly and carefully almost all night. But we were able to make it to the ship on time so that was what was important. The ship itself was beautiful and my sister and I made so many friends around our age group.
It was so funny too, there were so many Russians on the ship that, literally, no matter where I went, I heard Russian spoken, whether it was in the elevator, at the pool, in the hallways, etc. I even spoke Russian at dinner because our waitress, named Yulia, was born in Ukraine so we spoke only in Russian with eachother. It was so great, especially since we left for the cruise only two or three days after I had gotten back from Russia. (Just enough time to get over the jetlag!) My brain was just getting used to hearing English all the time but it was SO NICE to hear the Russian and kind of ease back into the swing of things in the US.
We went to Puerto Rico, Antigua, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Dominica, Barbados and St. Kitts. We shopped, relaxed on the beaches, ziplined through the rainforest in Barbados, took a difficult (but amazing) hike through the rainforest in Dominica to see waterfalls, saw so many awesome shows, and learned so much about the history and culture of each of the islands on our tours. It was so much fun and I was finally able to catch up on the Vitamin D that I had been lacking in the dark and cold Russia. haha. My body definitely welcomed the warm weather and it was such a nice break from the harsh temperatures I was so used to back in St. Pete.
A picture taken in Barbados:
Back in Connecticut, things have been great. It is such a blessing that I was able to spend Christmas and New Years with my family and I have been able to visit with many family members and friends here. I've (of course) also missed my two dogs and cat so much, so it has been so nice to spend time with them. This has been a terrific break and it has been good to refuel for the next semester abroad. I'm excited to go back and I'm happy to see again my babushka and her daughter Ira, the two wonderful women I live with. I've heard only good things about St. Pete in the spring time and I know that this semester will be fantastic, I can't wait for it to begin! :)
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