Hmmm, tired of looking at the old one, so I suppose I'll make a new one. Start with an update, I suppose. I'm still an International Studies/Russian double major, entering my third year. Classes are going well so far, and most are interesting, with the glaring exception of Geography 102, which so far as I can see, is simply a recap of Geography 101. Boring as hell. But I do have a Russian class every day this semester, which has led to some interesting side effects. Both classes rely heavily on spoken conversation, so I find myself either thinking in Russian, or inadvertantly speaking in Russian outside of the classroom on occasion. It's irritating sometimes, but overall rather helpful. Hopefully I won't be a total loss when I study in Moscow this summer. As always, the language fascinates me, and I learn something new every day. For those of you who read this and are lucky enough to be able to read cyrillic, I offer the following for your consideration:

In Russian, there is a verb that, if you were to look it up in the dictionary, translates as "to smell." This verb is пахнуть. However, do not be fooled into thinking that it is the verb you want, if you want to say "I smell tea." For this verb is used to say that something smells *of* something. i.e. "The room smelled of roses."

In order to say that you are actively smelling something, you would use the verb phrase \"слышать запах." That is, "to hear with one's nose." Why? I haven't a clue. But it is truly frustrating, let me assure you.

And with that said, I will leave you with this. Want a good name for your Russian choir? How about \"Смелый Русский Хор"? Courageous Russian Choir sounds good, doesn't it? Until you pronounce it in front of anyone who speaks English, and all they hear is "Smelly Russki Whore." XD