Burning down the house!

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As I’m sure some of you have noticed, the past few weeks have been relatively dry blog entries, not much going on. Seems most of the time is sucked up by homework and grad apps. However, fate has smiled upon us and given me something to write about. So the other day, I was in my room working and smell food burning. I think nothing of it, our floor has some great cooks, but also those that are not so great (read: toaster challenged). The smell keeps getting stronger, so I stick my head out the door and lo and behold, the hallway is filling with smoke. Something caught fire in the kitchen at the other end of our hall, out in the boonies. It filled the hall with smoke and was apparently posted on Facebook within 5 minutes. Nothin’ like a little fire to liven up the night. Other crazy happenings also include a huge noxious cloud hovering over Moscow that is apparently attributed to some gas leak. The US government sent me some message saying that there will be particularly bad pollution for the next few days (not the greatest thing to hear, as an asthmatic). Kind of reminds me of California when we would have smog days.

On Wednesday, a few of us went to see Interstellar at the local movie theater. The first time we tried to see it, Tuesday, the tickets were sold out. I’ve never had this happen for a movie. Then we went to buy tickets online for the next day, and there were only 5 available. I had no idea that buying tickets in advance was such a big thing. Not sure if this is a Russia thing or not, but they assign you seats when you buy the ticket. It doesn’t work in practice however, as when we went in to the theater there were people already sitting there. Anyway, the movie is great and I definitely recommend it. And it has John Lithgow!

Apart from that, classes are moving along as usual. Topology keeps getting more interesting and I like algebra the more we go on. The main thing now is grad apps. With about half of my applications due in exactly one month, the pressure is on to finish these statements of purpose.

Harrison LeFrois

Hi! My name is Harrison LeFrois and I am a senior mathematics major and nontraditional student at the University of Nebraska Omaha. After graduating from high school, my life had little director or purpose. Eventually I took some college courses because that was what was expected of me, however, I drifted away from school and dropped out after two uninspiring years. I was one of the nameless, faceless, rabble going from one low paying job to another. At the age of 26 I discovered my talent for math and returned to school with a fervent passion to finish my degree. Despite all the hardships attending college as a nontraditional student, my life experiences and maturity have helped me make the most of every opportunity that has come my way. Studying abroad is an experience I never even considered until this past semester because I did not think it would be financially feasible. At the prompting and encouragement of my professors, I looked into study abroad programs and decided to go to Russia because I had taken Russian language classes before and dreamed of experiencing Russian culture firsthand. Miraculously, I was accepted into the Math in Moscow (MiM) program in Moscow, Russia for the Fall 2014 semester. The intense mathematical environment at MiM will prepare me for graduate school where I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics. I love math and the Russian language and this will be a wonderful opportunity to learn advanced mathematics and continue my progress towards fluency in Russian. I am immensely grateful for this opportunity to learn and to serve.