Dorm Thoughts

Dorm thoughts. Currently, it's 23.33 pm on a Friday night at the Peterhof dorms.

My nose is being heavily assaulted by smells of something burning, which is quite a common phenomenon in this shared building and leads to a daily 'false' (at least what everyone assumes is false) fire alarm. Wait. It smells like acetone. Or shisha. Something along those lines, because I haven’t a clue what it actually is. Hopefully not a fire hazard.

Soon it'll be sauna temperature in this stuffy room. As far as temperature regulation in Russia goes, whether in the shower or in your room, it isn't a thing that exists. In a second, I'll have to open the window and let some -12 degree breeze come in. Mind you, only keep open to the point of slight goosebumps, then close it again, only to wake up in the morning almost suffocating from dustiness and lack of oxygen. Wooooo yay.

I've switched the main room lights off, and am basking in the festive fairy lights, that give this place the only indication that Christmas and New Year's is just around the corner. Time really flies, eh?

The cutest snowfall ever has started outside my window, that overlooks a small house and a white, glistening garden. You can only tell that it's snowing from the subtle, falling circular outlines that are cast from the street lights' orange glow. I'm quite sure all the people living on this side of the hemisphere don’t comprehend my obsession with snow. But to me, it's absolutely fascinating.

White stuff falling from the sky. Falling, and not melting (at least currently in this below freezing -12 degrees outside). Covering everything, and outlining it with a white frosting or laying on top like a fluffy blanket.

It just looks so beautiful and I don't know...

... Frosty, crisp, fresh, clean.

A dusting of flakes.

It truly looks exactly like the words that people describe it with.

And it feels like the perfect, stereotypical portrayal of Christmas. I love it.

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Let me break down what this week has consisted of. Reading 3 books at the same time. I finished one. Listening to music. Watching YouTube videos. Watching Sherlock, the Flash, Crazy Rich Asians, the Big Sick and Ivan Vassilievich Changes Professions. Cooking meals, then eating them. Drinking tea and coffee. Snacking on apples. Avoiding all study. Avoiding all blog work.

Yup.

Oh but wait! Yesterday I went for a short trip in the snow to the supermarket (which, side note, everyone agrees is the only highlight in Staryi Peterhof). So as I'm marvelling at how cute the snowflakes falling on my scarf are, I remember the train tracks crossing ahead and I note to myself 'don’t slip on these icy tracks', as I observed from previous crossing experience. But guess what? I went ahead and did it. I slipped and fell on my butt and yelled 'ow.'

Anyways. The point of this whole story is that I've been outside once this week (well, I also had a class on Monday but we won't count that in my over-exaggeration). And although I've chatted to people here and there, my voice is so croaky from just sitting inside and not engaging in much conversation. I don’t know if it's because of the anticipation of the fam coming in 4 days (yay!), or due to the fact that city life is a little tiring or just because I'm lazy (ding ding ding, most probable answer) that I'm sitting cooped up in my dorm room and doing whatever I feel like to just pass the time. But eh, I guess things have to slow down once in a while, right?

Also, side note, I literally do nothing during the day, but when it's time for bed, I whip out my laptop and pretend to myself that I'm actually being a tad productive. Hilarious.

So more of a rant, less of a constructive post but I hope it was at least worth a quick read? Let me know if you see fit! And see you soon!

All the love, N