Today was awesome. I did the usual in the morning and went to class. After Russian history class we all walked to a local university to meet some students who are learning English. On our way there we were greeted by a group of students who walked with us back to the school. We went to a very nice classroom with several computers and some amazing LCD monitors. In the middle was a sort of oval-ish table where we all sat. We introduced ourselves and separated into smaller groups to talk.
All the students were very nice, their English was great, especially since some had never spoken to a native speaker before. After two hours or so, they told us it was great that we were talking and practicing, but if we wanted to continue, we had to do it somewhere else. Once we left the university, most students went their way. Three girls came with some of us and decided to go get some pizza. As usual, we didn’t take the right bus, walked, got on the right one, but didn’t get off on time, and later walked back. One of them stayed on the bus and went home, but the rest came to the pizza place. I really enjoyed the pizza. We talked and took pictures while we waited. Once we were done, we wasted about 10 minutes figuring out who paid for what. The waitress returned our change, but I wanted to leave a tip. We argued about that for another 10 minutes and decided not to leave it on the table because someone else might take it. So I took it to the waitress myself. She gave me one of the weirdest looks I have gotten in a while. Apparently it is not customary to leave tip in that restaurant. It was very embarrassing, but at least I don’t feel bad by not leaving any tip.
The way back was also fun, the bus took about half an hour to get to the stop, so I got more time to practice my Russian. We continued talking throughout the bus ride and got off at the same station, apparently they live close by. Now I’m back at home and I need to do my homework for tomorrow…. FUN! (not)