Indian Summer

We've had nearly a week of beautiful Indian Summer weather here (and the forecast shows yet another week in the 60s!), so have been spending most of our waking moments outdoors. On Saturday we explored some hikes through a beautiful birch forest; it's amazing how much a few hours in the forest recharges our batteries! It's hard not to miss Minnesota this time of year, but we continue to be so grateful for our little square where we can escape the noise and stink of the city and walk in crunchy leaves until dusk. We are still tentatively planning to move home early next summer, which oddly enough makes it feel like our time here is getting short; when six out of eight or nine months are winter, opportunity for adventure will be scarce!
Finn has had a few weeks of going to school everyday now and I'm just amazed

at how much he is learning! His Russian is coming along at lightning speed and he is even figuring out the really complicated grammar rules that make my head spin. It's wild. Last night I was trying to read the Russian translation of "Go Dog, Go!" to him and he ended up "reading" it (describing each picture, in Russian) to me! Seriously, verbs have to be conjugated (of which there are five forms) and nouns and adjectives have to be declined (three genders and six cases), and he was getting most of it right!! Mind blown. Of course, behaviorally he still makes us pull our hair out, but what can we expect from a boy genius? :-p Oh, and he is finally learning his alphabet and numbers in English (with a Russian accent), because of course he would hate to learn something from his parents.

Lev is fully weaned, fully potty trained, and nearly sleeping through the night in his own bed. He jabbers away whenever Finn isn't and constantly asks "Why?"

"Mama! Why mine having black shoes?"
"Because you wanted to wear them."
"Why mine wanted to wear them?"

And on and on it goes. He is still mostly easy-going and happy, although he is learning the art of voicing his opinion, particularly when it comes time to sleep. He has very nearly spent half of his life in Russia now, and it shows! He likes to drink tea, eat pickles and won't let us unzip his coat or take off his hat when we are on stifling public transportation.

English Club has turned into a rather lively event, with mostly young parents (and their children) attending. It is challenging to keep 6-8 little Russian kids ages four and under somewhat calm and quiet for an hour, but we try. So far the brothers don't seem to mind the demographic we have attracted to the club. We are really impressed with our generation of Russians; they seem to be breaking the mold of "typical Russians." Unlike Russian families of old, our generation generally has very loving, present and involved husbands and fathers, without the usual drinking problems. Many of them are appalled to hear about our registration issues and expect laws to be fair and without ambiguity, something the older generation doesn't seem to be bothered

about. The culture is changing.

When we first shared our plans of moving here many people expressed concern that I would be lonely, but surprisingly, I feel like I have really thrived in this environment! I have never felt such a sense of community before, having never lived on campus in college (which I think would be the closest thing to what it's like in our neighborhood here, but without the extreme immaturity part). Everyone knows everyone, and while it's true that Russians are very stoic in public, once they get to know you they are very kind and caring. It certainly helps that Finn knows no stranger, but we rarely go outside without crossing paths with a half a dozen familiar, friendly faces.