In Which Hilarity Ensues

While many would be put off by the thought of living abroad, especially in a country like Russia, I have realized that living abroad is like living in an unreal comedy world. Things that you would never expect to happen in the States happen all the time here. The other day a wild dog hopped on my bus and fell alseep under a seat. A friend of mine was sniffed and smacked by a babushka in a bazaar. As far as I can tell, there are no traffic laws whatsoever. The jungle of identical apartment buildings reminds one of the "sketchy" part of most towns and cities at home, but here it's just where people live. The Russian mindset is that outside of your own apartment does not belong to you and it is not your responsibility to take care of it. The television is always on, which does wonders for improving language skills by the way. Whether it's a dancing drunk at an outdoor concert or the fact that they still allow tire swings, see-saws, and those merry-go round things on playgrounds here, you can always find something to make you giggle. Sure there's the language barrier to deal with, but who doesn't listen to Eminem? Even the misconceptions of America and Americans are funny. I was asked why I'm not fat. Russian students explained American history to me like this: "George Washington was the first president. Then Abraham Lincoln freed all of the rappers from the South." Even on my "off" days, I can find comfort in the small comedies and, if all else fails, the MacDonalds down the street from me.