Calm After the Storm

Natasha and Zhenya playing with static electricity.

     We did it. We finally made it to the end of the week. Just like any massive undertaking, it took doing each step one thing at a time. And now here we are. In the calm after the storm. Time to rest for a bit before the sightseeing on Sunday afternoon. As they say, "it's all over but the crying."

      I need to go back a bit since I didn't get to write about what happened after the closing ceremony. It was a busy night. Even by the time the ceremony was done, it was well after 10PM. While the disco was in full swing (graced by Giulio's dance moves including The Worm) I was doing other things. As the title of the last post says, I can't dance. So instead, I played Uno and Risk (getting wiped off the board by some tenacious Ukrainians) and finished up yesterday's blog post. For Risk and the post, I retreated to the relative quiet and cool of the lecture hall. Once we heard the thumping bass stop, the crowd piled into the hall to tell us it was time to move on to the bonfire.
     It wasn't so much a bonfire as two grills loaded with logs and us standing around them to cook sausages, bread, and marshmallows. Unfortunately, by that time, the rain had started and was coming down pretty hard. So the cooking involved getting wet a bit. It was still fun.
     That time last year, I was wishing for more time and more activities. I had just come out of being sick and was finally feeling better. But last night I was able to enjoy myself and think that I didn't wish for more time. It's a weird feeling. There I was having a lot of fun but also feeling OK that it's finished. I guess I'm weird like that. I enjoy sad stories as long as they have a purpose or meaning. So it follows that'd I'd enjoy the melancholy of finality.
     I capped off my night with a mini Foosball tournament with some of the staff. I did do well enough to be a good challenge. I even one two or three games. I was just glad to spend time with friends.
     Now, Saturday morning. Since I stayed up until the unearthly hour of 2:30, I didn't feel like making the trudge to breakfast. I knew however the food would help wake me up. So I made the last walk to meal time for the week. I didn't have much, just a half-sandwich and yogurt. But it was good to spend those few moments there for the last time this week.
     I could have titled this post as "The Final Countdown." It felt like a lot of finalities during Saturday. The last meal, the last team time, the last photos, the final goodbyes. But as the cliche goes, "All good things....blah, blah, blah." Not yet. We still have some things yet for tomorrow. During team time the students were invited to come to church and to go sightseeing with us afterwards. Not everyone will show up for the service. But usually there are quite a few who come with us to see the city.
    We made the trip back to the city safely and with much conversation, singing, and, yes, laughing. I see that's now a theme of what we've been doing here. And for good reason too, I guess. It's one of the most basic shared experiences. Sharing in humor and enjoyment is a great way of bringing people together.
     I had planned on coming back to the room to relax, possibly nap and then get ready for the debrief in the evening. Instead, we decided to eat lunch at the hotel restaurant and then embark on a journey to the famed Novus. It was my favorite grocery store while I was living here. However, they didn't have them when Kristen lived here. So she needed to see it. We ended up taking most of the team. I was only planning on two or three. But the pied piper led his cohort through the city to the green grocery store. We ended up picking out a bunch of little things we wanted to eat, take home or share at the meeting. Speaking of the meeting, it was a good chance to sit down and share a meal and our thoughts with each other. It was Domino's pizza by the way.

Three-cheese, pepperoni, sausage and barbecue sauce

     I think it was Joan who, earlier in the week, mentioned how she likes listening to students talk back and forth in Russian without a translator. I too have forgotten how much I enjoy it. Especially if you know they are having fun and joking around. The students have such an easy comradery by the middle of the week. It's infectious in that it makes you want to joke and laugh with them as well.
     I'm gonna finish this here with some photos from Saturday's photo gallery. Inna and Dima the photographers did a fantastic job during the week capturing many of the great memories from camp. I hope you enjoy their work. We all certainly did.

Joan getting a little help from her friends.

Sliding "like a boss."

The MVP's from Wednesday's tournament

     I wanted to add this one too. We were walking to Novus and saw a Jeep drive by. I think it was a turbo diesel. I saw a Cherokee after getting off the bus too. I always find the Jeeps.