Ha. I can't figure out how to purchase things in Russia.

Today Sonya and I were in the аптека. She was looking for…I don’t remember, but I was looking for lotion. If you think this is an easy process, you are sorely mistaken (last time we were in Бонус trying to find detergent we bought liquid fabric softener). Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are easy enough to find. But evidently there are many different kinds of lotions. They have lotion-tonic (I think it’s a mixture between lotion and toner). It’s also hard to tell what is lotion and what is one of 10 products in some sort of skin care line. I can’t really figure out cosmetics in English, I have no idea why I thought I would be able to handle this in Russian. The closest thing I could find was “elbow butter”, and while I was sure what that was, I really just wanted normal average lotion. So I saw this small bottle of something that was creamy and made with aloe and green tea. Are there things other than lotion made with aloe and green tea? It also didn’t say anything about washing on the bottle, which was a plus. Anyway, after about 20 minutes of trying to figure out what it was, I bought it. I just used some on my hands and it smells very good. But I asked my host sister whether or not it was lotion, and evidently it isn’t. She tried to explain to me what it was (this is a very complicated product, obviously) and all I got out of it was maybe it’s makeup remover (she said the word “makeup” a lot, but it has a fairly strong scent, which makes me think it would hurt A LOT if you got it in your eye, which is likely if you’re removing makeup), you use it on your face, and it is not lotion. After about 3 minutes of this I pretended that I understood and walked away. I’ll just go for the elbow butter next time, at least I know it’s some sort of moisturizer. In the meantime, I think I’ll just pretend that this product is lotion.

Also I ate dinner alone tonight because Nadya had some sort of shaping class and wasn’t going to be home until 8. I could have waited until 8 to eat but she INSISTED that I eat as soon as I get home. This was nice, as I could eat a normal sized dinner. After this I went to Café Fiesta and had some hot chocolate. I was only planning on being there for a half hour, but they gave me an hour of free internet, so I felt that I had to use it. When I was walking back it was dusk (not even dark), and I was somewhere in the range of slightly neurotic to moderately uneasy. This makes me think that being out of the apartment after dark is a very bad idea. Also Sonya’s host mother’s sister asked her why she never goes clubbing. Another Russian girl last week also asked us if we had gone clubbing yet. Evidently this is the thing to do in Russia.

Sorry, I got off track. I was talking about food, which is naturally a popular topic of conversation, both in this blog and in my daily life. Anyway, so I was leaving Café Fiesta and feeling not stuffed full of food, just satisfied, which is A WONDERFUL FEELING. So then I got home and Nadya asked me if I was going to have tea (yes, obviously). I don’t know why every single time I assume that I can just have tea, because food ALWAYS accompanies tea (in fact, once when my host mother came home and asked if I had tea and I said yes, she asked what I had tea with. I was confused, saying that I just had tea, and she was confused, because I just drank tea). Anyway, one would think that I would have caught on by now.

Nadya: Do you want a сырок?
Natasha: No, thank you.
Nadya: (lays the сырок in front of me) Eat.

Nadya: This stuff that I left out for you for breakfast, do you like it? Did you eat it?
Natasha: Yes, I thought it was very good. It reminds me of пасха.
Nadya: Yes! It’s really similar. And very good on white bread. (She lays it in front of me, and proceeds to slice 3 pieces of bread). Eat.

(There is a silence as we watch TV)
Nadya: (looks at the plate of пырок. Then points to it) Eat.

Nadya: Are you hungry? I can fry up some chicken for you.
Natasha: No, thank you.
Nadya: Or pilmeni.
Natasha: That’s okay, thanks anyway though.

(Natasha has a small piece of cookie and puts a little bit of jam on it. Nadya then proceeds to push the jam bowl next to my plate.) (This is actually just what Eddie was talking about. I guess whenever he eats, and his host family members walk by, they always push the other plates of food closer to his own until all of the plates of food on the table are right next to his own.) I almost laughed out loud when Nadya did that.

(Natasha thanks Nadya for the tea, gets up from the table, and goes to do homework.)
Nadya: Natasha. There are apples and bananas in the living room. Eat.

And so on, and so forth.

Yogurt in Russia has an expiration date of like, December. This worries me a bit. It tastes okay, but our yogurt tastes okay too and it expires like 2 weeks after you buy it. Does Russian yogurt also go bad that early, and they just lie about it? What is it about Russian yogurt that makes it last so long? This worries me. My head must be completely empty, as this is what I think about while I’m walking down the street. Eddie has these thoughts about music, or life, or the world. Sarah writes about all kinds of important things (being in Div school, and all). I think about the expiration date of yogurt. And my thinning eyelashes.