Today, for no reason whatsoever, Alla left me a note on the breakfast table. I will do my best at translating it:

"Laurie - my friend,

Heat the blintzes and sausage in the microwave. Drink the tea. Bon appetit. I will be home at 7:30 tonight. Until then, bye!"

I'm not sure why she did this, because we've gone through the morning breakfast ritual every day for the last month and I've done just fine up until this point without the luxury of notes. But her affection for me seems to be increasing. She keeps pressing me to play the guitar for her and I keep saying I'm shy. But then she said I'm like her daughter, and I shouldn't be shy. Also recently, I was going out of the house and had just taken a shower, so my hair was a bit wet. She insisted that I blow dry it and, while I was trying, she took the blow dryer away from me and started doing my hair. Not even drying it, she started curling it up and styling it. She was laughing, I was laughing, it was... such a sweet moment. My dear friend Alla.

Our day trip to Moscow was very easy. The train is fast and comfortable, and we have just enough time to do something of interest in Moscow and be back home for dinner. It's a full day but not nearly as exhausting as the Chinatown bus from DC to NYC. The main event was eating lunch at T.G.I Friday's. I got a chicken sandwich and some lame tropical mixed drink. The buffalo wing appetizer was, in all honesty, probably the best part. But being there, with the American-sized portions, American food, American service, it didn't do much for me. I guess I never liked that aspect of America to begin with so I didn't miss it. But it was amusing and interesting to experience it nonetheless. Russian service with a smile? When one of the employees shouted goodbye (in Russian) on our way out, the first thought to cross my mind was immediately "what the hell? Why is she saying goodbye to me?" It just seemed pointless and strange. Surprisingly, I don't miss that American politeness. It's just not practical. It's not... efficient. Why say something you don't mean? I reserve my smiles for when I'm actually happy. I could talk more about this, but I'll do that later.