I had a brief chat with a friend/sister/inspiration this evening, and her response to my question "How's life?" summed up my feelings at the moment completely.
"Life is grand. Full and good."
I had been wondering how to put into words the satisfaction and contentment I'm feeling this evening, and fortunately (this late-night blogging game is getting to me) she did it for me.
Life in Moscow is far from simple. And frustrations are frequent. But at the end of the day, it's so rewarding.
One of the first difficulties in any new city, regardless of location, is finding your "people." While I am very fond of the internet for maintaining contact with my other life, live people are a necessity. In Moscow, relationships are serious work: trying to project a personality through a foreign language is no easy task. Witty banter in Russian? Let's just say it's a work in progress. But tonight, after another evening of Prokofiev in the theater (this time in Opera Land!), I stopped with two colleagues to grab some food on our way home. And as we sat there chatting, joking, and eating, doing absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, I was struck by the depth of feeling I had for two people who I've known only two months. Life lesson: relationships often reflect the amount of work you put into them. And while relationships in Russia haven't been easy to come by, they're better for the effort they've required. I think I'll try and take this concept home with me.
And luckily the rewards don't stop there. But this post will because it's far past my ideal bedtime of 10 pm. But tonight I'm truly grateful. For this life of mine in Moscow. It's full. It's difficult and it's good. And most especially...it's grand.
"Life is grand. Full and good."
I had been wondering how to put into words the satisfaction and contentment I'm feeling this evening, and fortunately (this late-night blogging game is getting to me) she did it for me.
Life in Moscow is far from simple. And frustrations are frequent. But at the end of the day, it's so rewarding.
One of the first difficulties in any new city, regardless of location, is finding your "people." While I am very fond of the internet for maintaining contact with my other life, live people are a necessity. In Moscow, relationships are serious work: trying to project a personality through a foreign language is no easy task. Witty banter in Russian? Let's just say it's a work in progress. But tonight, after another evening of Prokofiev in the theater (this time in Opera Land!), I stopped with two colleagues to grab some food on our way home. And as we sat there chatting, joking, and eating, doing absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, I was struck by the depth of feeling I had for two people who I've known only two months. Life lesson: relationships often reflect the amount of work you put into them. And while relationships in Russia haven't been easy to come by, they're better for the effort they've required. I think I'll try and take this concept home with me.
And luckily the rewards don't stop there. But this post will because it's far past my ideal bedtime of 10 pm. But tonight I'm truly grateful. For this life of mine in Moscow. It's full. It's difficult and it's good. And most especially...it's grand.
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