This post is a bit late, but for a couple of reasons. I had a pretty kick-ace if, not belated Valentine's Day, but that's no one's fault save for slow mail going around the world.
Ana and I exchanged gifts for Valentine's Day. I sent her a bouquet of white roses (her favorite) and a canvas of photos from our trip to the Dominican North Coast, courtesy of Shutterfly, which she tells me loved, which makes me ecstatic!
For my gift Ana mailed me a pretty awesome care package. In reality, it should have arrived just after Valentine's Day, but judging by the state of the box when it arrived, I'd be will to bet it spent a considerable amount of time in hands of a Russian customs agent. Oh well, I don't care! It arrived and it was SPLENDID!
Here's what she sent me:
3 Boxes of White Cheddar Cheese-Its, which she knows I absolutely love and are a serious snack food weakness of mine! (I'm trying to go through them slowly to savor them and truly enjoy them, but that plan isn't going as well as I was hoping)
A pack of new socks. Now this doesn't seem like much, especially if you were to consider the sheer amount of socks I originally brought with me to Russia (why I brought so many, I've no idea!), but Ana also knows I LOVE new socks and I wish I could wear a new pair everyday of my life! They feel amazing! Anyways, she got me a pack of six, part of which are specifically for me to wear when I leave Russia so I can stay fresh, which is incredibly sweet and why I've saved 3 pairs for exactly that reason.
Some books to read: Including her favorite poet (Poe) and some books in Spanish so that I can continue to practice and study Spanish on my own! I'm stoked about this! I'm currently using livemocha (check it out - it's like Rosetta stone, but free!), but that will run out long before I leave Russia so this is awesome!
She also got me a Guinness t-shirt, which is hands down my favorite beer and for all you beer drinkers out there, you should know it's hands down the best beer in the world, even if you do think it's a meal in a glass. Anyways, the shirt is great and is a perfect fit! I love it!
Finally, the best thing she sent was a picture of us and a picture of her as well as a series of letters from her, which were very thoughtfully written and really made me smile! Also, there were some quotes from young kids (4-8) about what they thought love was. Here are a few of my favorites:
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." - Girl, 8.
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Boy, 5
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Girl, 8
Even though, I'm quite a long ways away from her, it was far and away the best Valentine's Day I've ever had! Thank you Ana! I love you!
But also, I spoke about Valentine's Day with my students and had them write letters to friends telling them why they're glad they are friends, what they mean to them, one thing they'd always wanted to tell them, etc. For my higher speaking class, I left the idea more open and got one very interesting response! Here it is (and pardon her English):
You are the best friend I’ve ever had. I’ll always remember every moment, every day, when we ride a bicycle, watched Gossip Girl, read Cecilia Ahern’s books.
Ana and I exchanged gifts for Valentine's Day. I sent her a bouquet of white roses (her favorite) and a canvas of photos from our trip to the Dominican North Coast, courtesy of Shutterfly, which she tells me loved, which makes me ecstatic!
For my gift Ana mailed me a pretty awesome care package. In reality, it should have arrived just after Valentine's Day, but judging by the state of the box when it arrived, I'd be will to bet it spent a considerable amount of time in hands of a Russian customs agent. Oh well, I don't care! It arrived and it was SPLENDID!
Here's what she sent me:
3 Boxes of White Cheddar Cheese-Its, which she knows I absolutely love and are a serious snack food weakness of mine! (I'm trying to go through them slowly to savor them and truly enjoy them, but that plan isn't going as well as I was hoping)
A pack of new socks. Now this doesn't seem like much, especially if you were to consider the sheer amount of socks I originally brought with me to Russia (why I brought so many, I've no idea!), but Ana also knows I LOVE new socks and I wish I could wear a new pair everyday of my life! They feel amazing! Anyways, she got me a pack of six, part of which are specifically for me to wear when I leave Russia so I can stay fresh, which is incredibly sweet and why I've saved 3 pairs for exactly that reason.
Some books to read: Including her favorite poet (Poe) and some books in Spanish so that I can continue to practice and study Spanish on my own! I'm stoked about this! I'm currently using livemocha (check it out - it's like Rosetta stone, but free!), but that will run out long before I leave Russia so this is awesome!
She also got me a Guinness t-shirt, which is hands down my favorite beer and for all you beer drinkers out there, you should know it's hands down the best beer in the world, even if you do think it's a meal in a glass. Anyways, the shirt is great and is a perfect fit! I love it!
Finally, the best thing she sent was a picture of us and a picture of her as well as a series of letters from her, which were very thoughtfully written and really made me smile! Also, there were some quotes from young kids (4-8) about what they thought love was. Here are a few of my favorites:
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." - Girl, 8.
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Boy, 5
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Girl, 8
Even though, I'm quite a long ways away from her, it was far and away the best Valentine's Day I've ever had! Thank you Ana! I love you!
But also, I spoke about Valentine's Day with my students and had them write letters to friends telling them why they're glad they are friends, what they mean to them, one thing they'd always wanted to tell them, etc. For my higher speaking class, I left the idea more open and got one very interesting response! Here it is (and pardon her English):
You are the best friend I’ve ever had. I’ll always remember every moment, every day, when we ride a bicycle, watched Gossip Girl, read Cecilia Ahern’s books.
I appreciate you in absolutely all thing.
You’re the Serena to my Blair, you are the Shiloh to my swei (fwei? I couldn't read this), you are the Kenzie to my Blondeau, you are the smile to my face, you are the Vob Populi (?) to my 30 Seconds to Mars, you are the “Look At Me” to my “P.S. I Love You”; you are the godmother to my child, you are the flash memory card to my 16mb, you are the South Korea to my China, you are the pain to my head and you are the rainbow to my life.
I'm not sure what a lot of those things are, but I loved the the bit about the flash memory/16mb and South Korea/China. Brilliant and hilarious at the same time!
Anyways, Dear Readers, here's to hoping your Valentine's Days were as amazing as mine!
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