A Week at Home

Surprisingly enough, the airports were not crowded at all. I took the train right into Ronald Reagan Airport and flew right to Logan without any problems, and since I didn’t have to wait very long for any trains, the ride from Grosvenor took no more than 35 minutes (Grosvenor is where I live). As I flew into Boston, I saw shipyards, old houses, rusted water towers, and pouring rain. It was nice to be home.

Over the week my parents had me get all my visa application stuff ready for Russia, and kept me busy with chores around the house and helping with Thanksgiving preparations. I was ready to get back to Washington and my “lazy” apartment routines after four errands. Once we all sat down for dinner and I met up with some friends later for drinks and dinner for a birthday celebration, I began to relax and moved back into the very familiar settings that I had left behind for a few months. I don’t know how close you are with your friends at home, but when I see mine it doesn’t feel like much time has passed, and yet we quickly accept the changes we have all undergone while being separated.

The mall was packed full of people, and it took 10 minutes to find a parking space, but we ended up getting some good deals on some warm clothes for Russia. My favorite present this year is one of those hats with the furry sides that cover your ears. I wore it all around until my mom finally took it away and wrapped it. For some reason she still puts “To: Tim From: Santa” on all the presents, though it isn’t even December. Some traditions are hard to break.

Tragically, terrorists attacked several hotels in India and killed close to 200 people and injured hundreds more. My parents had actually traveled to India and stayed in many of those hotels. They quickly cancelled their travel plans for January which took them right to Mumbai. India is one of my mother’s favorite countries to visit, but she said it just isn’t safe right now to travel there.

Other travel plans include them visiting me in Moscow and St. Petersburg over my Spring Break, which will be pretty exciting since my mom will finally be able to see the Ballet and all the massive palaces and museums.

My dog Lincoln really missed me and bothered me the entire week, and got really excited when a full grown deer (a doe?) was walking around our front yard and then went into our neighbor’s backyard to eat out of their garden. I took about 30 pictures, but most of them were blurry. Matt, my brother, threw an apple out for it, but it just ran away instead of eating it.

All in all, Thanksgiving was a success. I ate until I couldn’t move and realized how much I missed homemade food. Now I have two weeks to finish all of my papers and spend time with my friends. Hopefully it goes by slowly so I can enjoy it!

Until next time…

Timmy V.