A thousand miles seems pretty far, but they've got planes and trains and cars. 

I'd walk to you if I had no other way.

Tell the world that I'm coming home

06/21/11 - 06/22/11
Omaha, NE -> Chicago O'Hare, IL -> Washington DC -> Moscow Domodedovo, Russia -> Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

My way back home was tons of fun because of all wonderful FLEX students who were flying with me. I'm too lazy to write anything else about how I made it home, so I will just upload some pictures for you:)

P.S.: as always just follow the link below to see the pictures.

I don't know why you say good bye, I say hello

 I should probably start by saying that I'm terrible at saying good byes.
 Today is the last day in Corning for me; last day of being a FLEX exchange student. I have a bright mix of emotions; I'm sad and happy, depressed and positive, scared and excited and all because of one thing - I'm coming home. You would think that coming home is always a good thing, but all exchange students out there understand the way I feel.

 I haven't been at home for a year. Okay, I haven't been there for ten and a half months, but what's the difference, really? I completely got used to a different country, culture and people. I had to go through a culture shock and then it took me a while to get rid of the feeling of being a stranger here, but I did it. I got used to everything here, to every single house and road in this small town. And now what?
 Now I have to say good bye for who-knows-how-long-time to people who have become my second family and were so nice and supportive, to people who have become my american friends and whom i'm gonna miss a lot, to the house which has always been welcome, to the room where I was laughing and crying when nobody could see it, and to the nice small town which I'll never forget.
 And I'm going back home, back to people whom I haven't seen for a year and who have changed and made new friends. In less than a day I'm going to see people who haven't gone the way I have. And still they're my family and friends, who supported me all the way and who used to know me so well. I can't deny that I've missed them like crazy and very excited to see them again.
 There is a really good old Russian proverb "Старый друг лучше новых двух" ("Old friends and old wine are the best") and boy do I hope it will turn out to be true.

 I know that many exchange students feel the way I do, but not many of them speak up about it. I just hope that this post will help all of you, who are waiting for their friends/family to come back from a long amazing journey, to understand what we feel when we're getting ready to go back home.
 In order to end up on a positive note I should say that I'm almost done with packing and getting ready to go on a night bike ride. The last one.

 I don't know why you say good bye, I say hello.

P.S.: I'm not really in the mood to read it all again, so I'm sorry for my badly organized thoughts.

Day 2 with my party animals

My feet are numb, but 35 crazy party animals (I should probably mention that 33 of them speak Russian) make me so happy! I enjoy every single moment here. We had an awesome day of highlights of Washington DC today and even did some shopping; and of course we had a crazy party in the bus.

 I have to go cuz we're heading to the pool right now, so I hope you're having as much fun as I'm.

 Oh and too bad we had to say good bye to Brazilian boys today in the morning; boy were they hot :)

 See ya later, alligators.

I'm still trying to make my mind up am I free or am I tied up? 

Hey, everyone!

I finally got my itinerary for the trip. I have to be in Omaha's airport by 6 am, and I'll have to leave Corning at 3:30ish (no sleep for this girl tonight). It's always very exciting for me to explore new cities, meet new people, and learn something new, and I'm looking forward to my first trip to Washington DC. I'm sure it's going to be an unforgettable experience + there will be lots of other exchange students (which, as my experience shows me, are always very nice & interesting people to talk to). 

Well I better return to packing all my stuff. Hope you guys are having lots of fun!

Oh, and there are two more great songs for you. They're "Animal" and "Burial" by Miike Snow. Enjoy!

Depeche Mode

I get upset every single time people make surprised faces when I tell them about Depeche Mode. I haven't met anybody in the US who knows about Depeche Mode so far. I know I have a pretty weird taste in music, but come on! Depeche Mode are real electronic music legends! 

So if you're one of those people who have never heard of Depeche Mode, I would recommend you to listen to their music (Enjoy The Silence, Personal Jesus, Walking In My Shoes, World In My Eyes), because it's amazing.

Washington DC?

 I'm supposed to go to Washington DC on this Sunday. I've already started packing my clothes, and everything seems to be fine except for one tiny little thing - I still haven't got my tickets. My placement organization has sent me a check so I can pay for my luggage at an airport, but no information about where the airport is. Bravo! Truly brilliant logic!

 And it has been raining all day long today...

 On the positive side of things, I've finally got my Lacoste sneakers at the post office today.

A Bike Ride

Meet my new best friend

06.08.11, Wednesday

 I got really bored sitting at home, so I decided to go on a bike ride. Since everybody has left me and gone to Spain, I had to take my friends, Canon 60D and an old purple bike. I had to admit it, the bike definitely became one of my best friends lately - he could give me a ride anywhere I wanted, always waited for me and seemed to be happy to see me coming down the driveway (As you can see I was really bored). Back to the story...

 I was riding around Corning, trying to catch every breath this town made. I wanted to capture every building, every person so badly, because I knew I couldn't trust my memory. How soon would I lose this special feeling of living in this town? Five years after I would be gone? A year? A month? Or maybe a week? I knew for sure only one thing - memories grew old faster than I would like them to.

  I went down to the main street, high school, the pool, and the old bridge and took some pictures hoping they would help my memories live longer.

For more photos click on the link

State Exam in July? I think so.

Just thought I should let you I'm crazy enough to decide to take State Exams in July. 

I don't know what subjects I'm gonna take; I only know I'll take exam in English for sure.

The End.

Being silly

May'11

May'11

May'11

Planning again

   I feel like my blog is turning into some kind of music ratings sites, but oh well. Music is a huge and very important part of my life, so I hope you don't mind that I'm sharing it with you.

   I feel much better now because I've finally gained some type of confidence in my future. I think I've found the university of my dreams and I'm going to work hard to get accepted there. I don't know why, but that university just seems to be the right place for me. Since it's too late now for me to apply for the 2011 fall semester I have a pretty strong feeling that I will come back to my russian high school and complete my education there. Many people think that this idea is not brilliant, but to my mind, as in everything else in this world, there are two sides of the coin. One more year in high school will give me more time to understand who I want to be as a person and as a professional in future. One more year in high school means a huge opportunity to further knowledge and be a better prepared student for college. And of course it'll give me more time to spend with my loved once. Besides, aren't two high school diplomas from different countries indicators of a international and multicultural education? I think they are :)

   So, please, wish me luck!

 I hope you all are having a wonderful time! Enjoy your summer :)

Californication'11

I felt bad for not uploading any pictures from my trips, so I decided to share with you some videos instead:)

Hold on to people, they're slipping away

Moby - Slipping Away

This song always stucks in my head for forever.

Music of May'11

Miami Beach. FL

1. Marvin Gaye & Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountains High Enough
2. The Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive
3. Florence & The Machine - Dog Days Are Over
4. Roisin Murphy - Ramalama (Bang Gang)
5. Найк Борзов - Три Слова
6. Pitbull - I'm In Miami
7. Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys - Empire State Of Mind
8. ABBA - Lay All Your Love On Me
9. ABBA - Take Your Chance On Me
10. OST The Phantom Of The Opera Musical - Past The Point Of No Return

Maybe running is the easy way out

Veto - Duck, Hush And Be Still

But we could leave
If that's what it takes
To make us feel good, 
To make us feel safe

But maybe running

Is the easy way out,

We could fight for the right ways,

Fight for our birthplace

Кипелов - Я свободен (Москва 2005)

Великий голос, потрясающая песня.

As my year as a FLEX exchange student comes to its end, I realize that this experience taught me that I can feel at home anywhere, as long as I keep memories of where I come from.

О Боже, я не хочу думать о том что скоро уезжать.
Нннееееееттттт!!!

Любовьвмаленькомгороде

Да здравствуют сплетни в маленьком городе!