Back in the USSR

Okay, so not really, but I couldn't resist the song title as the title for this entry. I've been back for a few days now, but strangely, and I think partially because I've had some time for the transition, this has been one of the hardest time changes/culture shocks I've ever had. Well, mostly just the time change. I've been googling jet lag in the am hours when I'd rather be sleeping but my body thinks it's dinner time, and it turns out going west-east is generally more difficult, but I think part of the problem has been that I've had the luxury of staying up until dawn and then sleeping most of the day, because I haven't been working, so as tough as it is to say goodbye to vacation, especially since I'm not expecting another long break until August, I am excited to put some routine and purpose back into my days. 

Anywho, coming back has been weird, mostly because I guess I didn't realize how I've started to think of my apartment and dolgoprudny as home until I left and came back. It feels very much like I travelled half a world away to get home, but then I left home travelled to a foreign land, except it's not really foreign anymore. Like I travelled from home to get home but they're two totally different places. Very confusing, especially in my exhausted-hungry-needing a shower-after-flight state.

What's also weird is that no matter where  in the northern hemisphere I seem to go this winter, the weather has been abnormal. I saw a range of like 60 degrees F while I was in the USA and when it was cold everyone said, "you must be used to the cold in Moscow!" But actually it's been unseasonably warm  here! It feel more like March to me, just above freezing and rainy. And this is supposed to be the coldest month! Nonetheless, in order to keep the city running, there are people working around the clock to fight the ice build-up. Even in the rain men were scraping against the ice. Here's a picture: 

From here on out I'll be getting back into teaching and back into a routine!