Fungus, and Seeing Ourselves with Glory in Every Passing Car

This morning, for the first time, I took part in the great Russian pastime: mushroom hunting. Alyosha took Irina, Joanna, and me about 20 kilometers out of town and we traipsed around the woods for an hour or two. Mushooms themselves are plentiful, but the good ones are not. I had a very low-yield day, but now I know to beware the red and orange ones; shun the white and brown ones; ignore the old, scruffy ones; and seek the yellow and gray ones. Here's a picture of the champion of the day.


In other exciting news, I now know that I'll be teaching the very first semester (ZI) of the English language and also the fourth semester (AII), which is known to be grammar intensive. I am really happy about this placement. It definitely plays to my strengths, which, I suppose, are: speaking Russian, gesturing wildly and speaking slowly to get my point across, nearly-inexhaustible energy, and a dorky infatuation with grammar.

Also, I got my first gig. The world may soon hear my lovely voice-over narration of a short film about the Avtopribor auto parts manufacturer.