Sunday, March 16, 2014

The waiting game

Saw this sign while out for a walk this morning-
Who stole what and where have they hidden it? Be in the know! News Radio 100.5

These days it's all a waiting game.

What happened?

What's happening?

On the surface things look normal here most of the time. If you were to look into people's hearts, though, I'm not sure what you'd see. Fear? Panic? Worry? Resignation?

According to the news, Armageddon is undoubtedly on the way but local conversations are mainly about normal things. Although it's the #1 topic on everyone's minds right now, possible invasions are mentioned almost like an afterthought. "I have a great idea- let's go on a picnic when it's warm!" said my student this morning. "Oh, that sounds fantastic", I told her, "but I'm not sure we'll be here then." She paused. "Yeah", she said, looking off into the distance, "I guess it depends on what's going on in the country too." Later this afternoon, after getting a belated Women's Day present (a massage!) from D, the masseuse asked for my phone number. "I have a young daughter", she told me, "and next year I'd like to get English lessons for her".

But what else can you do? You have to live both in the present moment and plan for the future, even if it's an absolutely unpredictable future.

We stay close to home these days. No more long walks downtown. Not much hanging out going on right now. Heavy hearts but trying to look for the bright spots among the clouds of unease.
Flowers for Women's Day : ) Muchas gracias, Armando!
Driving around town with a friend.
Тучки (little clouds): honest-to-God real marshmallows dipped in chocolate.... so good!
The best find so far of 2014: black/green/herbal tea variety pack. Makes the mornings a little nicer : )
After lugging it around for 7 years, I've almost finished a cover-to-cover reading of this 1996 Russian textbook. Not always super-relevant material, not very exciting, but I got some useful new vocab out of it and a pleasant sense of accomplishment.

Like everyone else, we're trying to make plans for a very uncertain future. One thing's for sure: I'm working on another new post to share in the next few days, so stay tuned!

4 comments:

  1. This must been an incredibly stressful and uncertain time right now--chin up!! I am thinking of you guys and hope that everything works out ok!!

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    1. Thanks, Cassandra! I keep thinking- it's about time for some positivity and certainty, any day now!

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  2. Replies
    1. Oh, Benjamin, there's nothing to envy these days... unless you mean my awesome tea and marshmallow stash :p

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