Second day

Hi all! This will be a short post, but I'm here in Kamchatka and having a great time. I understand alotmore Russian than I thought I would and my host parents, Oksana and Igor, are amazing! The trip waslong, but straight forward and I mademy heathrow connection with time to spare.

During my 12 hour moscow layover, a girl named Dasha, the daughter of one of the rotarians here, met me and helped me get on my next flight. during the layover, we went into Moscow to see the Kremlin and eat lunch. amazing!

People here are very friendly. I've already received invitations to go places. Our apartment is small, but I love it. It's very homy and comfy!

I start school Mondayand am very excited. Anyway, more later.

Love,

Masha (my Russian nickname)

Goodbye, America

Well, it is early in the morning of my departure and try as I might, I have been unable to sleep all night. I am feeling completely terrified at this point. I guess the reality of what I'm about to do has sunk in now that I'm finally leaving. I am unable to fathom that in just two nights, I'll be sleeping in another bed in a city miles and miles away from my own. I have a feeling that the first few weeks will be rough. I hope my Russian mommy understands that I'll be missing home.

I'll say goodbye now. I'll miss all of you. Please feel free to send me an e-mail when you're up to it.

Mom, Dad, Maddie, Susie, and Bronwen, I miss you already. I'll call you when I get there and will try to be in touch as often as I need to.

Much love to all,

Maria

Itinerary update!

Whew, so I just got back from my trip to Maine (more later, it was great and very relaxing) and a lot has happened in the time since I last posted. First, I went through a very stressful week and a half after my visa came (FINALLY, in early August) but before my itinerary was created. Apparently, it's really hard to find flights to Kamchatka that are a decent price this late in the game (thanks a lot, Russian bureaucratic system! :-p ) However, last Wednesday, my travel agent sent me my itinerary. Take a deep breath, because it's complicated!

Tuesday, August 28th, I leave bright and early (I think around 8:30 am) for London Heathrow

I have a two hour lay-over there before I fly to Moscow at around 11 PM London time. I'm a bit worried about this layover because I heard Heathrow is a complicated airport.

I arrive in Moscow early in the morning there (around 5 am) and wait around for a 12 hour layover. Then I finally get on the 8.5 hour plane ride to Kamchatka. I arrive there at about 11:30 in the morning on August 30th (it's 17 hours ahead of us).

All in all, that's around 35 hours of travel! That makes our drive back from Maine seem short.

As for Maine, it was very nice. I took some great hikes in Acadia National Park, ate some very good seafood and blueberry ice cream, and all and all had a great time enjoying the nature in the area. Plus, I got to see Brandi Carlile open for the Indigo Girls at a free outdoor concert. (For those of you who know me well, you know that this is a big deal, since Brandi is one of my favorite musicians. ) I was really glad I got that chance before I left.

I'm starting to get the pre-departure jitters and it is so hard to believe that in a little over a week I'll be getting used to a new home in a new country. Now I have to get all my last-minute preparations in order before I leave. I'll try to update once more before I leave to let you all know how I'm feeling in my last hours as an outbound. Until then, do svidanya!