Green Eye and Purple Skates

We went ice skating at Mega Mall tonight (which is just what it sounds like, a giant mall). My host family attempted to take me swimming, but there was an accident on the back road we take to get there. So, after hailing the militsia-van that drove by (my host dad jumped out of our car and walked right up to it as it was speeding past- I was shocked but they actually stopped and talked to him), my host dad decided to try a back road off the back road, since "3 cars had driven down there." We soon found out, after sailing over the snowy, bumpy road (I now know why I was born with abnormally poofy hair: to cushion my head as it repeatedly hit the ceiling in this very occasion), that these 3 cars had only made it so far, and were now attempting to turn around and come back. There wasn't enough room the turn around on the narrow 1-lane road (with high snowbanks on either side), so my host dad drove in reverse most of the way back, until he somehow did a crazy K-turn and righted the car (then we were facing another car who had decided to try this road, and was now reversing). What a mess. But once again, I must reiterate my awe of Russian drivers- in America, we crawl in 2 inches of snow- here, they fly through it like it's a dry road (ok, so, hence the accident, but they occur relatively rarely). 

My ice skating is improving, and I even made a new friend, a girl around Nastya's age who skated up to me and asked me my name and where I was from (Nastya told me I should have said a Russian name- that I'll scare her). The girl has studied English some, and apparently really wanted a new friend, much to Nastya's dislike.

(Sidenote: By the sounds of the pounding, slamming, yelling, and laughing upstairs, I think someone is either being initiated into a secret society or murdered. Dormlife is the best.)

I think the girl just wanted to practice her English, and I'm probably the first American she's met. Nastya just thought she was strange. 

After skating, my host parents gave us donuts and juice boxes (don't judge, Detskee Juice is delicious and 100% natural), and drove me to the bus stop. I managed to make it back to the dorm before curfew at 11pm, although I considered curling up and dying on the walk home (it's currently -14.8°F). Another day, another layer.