As Ryan and I were walking home from รโรยพรยผ รลกรยฝรยธรยณรยธ, the big bookstore on Arbat, we realized how quickly the semester is passing. The panic is setting in, but for the few I talked to about it in Math in Moscow, our individual panics are different. A friend of mine has the same panic as me, the academic panic. The closer to December we get, the heavier the weight of finals and grad school apps weighs. For others, its a cultural panic, “But I’ve hardly seen any of Mocow!”. Fortunately, or unfortunately, participation in Math in Moscow seems much less like being a tourist in Moscow or being a visiting student than it feels like we live here. You have the everyday things like grocery shopping, the morning commute, paying your rent and renewing your monthly metro pass. I see the same guy standing on the corner handing out flyers for รยกรฦรหรยธ-รโรยพรยบ (Sushi-Wok) every single day. Its amazing how quickly we get used to our surroundings and the everyday life. I’ve grown to be quite comfortable here, something I never expected.
This past week, I haven’t done much besides grad school apps and a little studying. One of my fellow Russian-2 classmates and I were sent for “remedial” Russian back to Russian-1, which for whatever reason I found hilarious. The time spent in class was great, though. Wonderful practice. I’ve finally started writing my “statement of purpose” for various schools as well. I’m very grateful for having picked math over some of the humanities as a major. The sheer amount of effort and time it takes me to write even one paragraph is something to behold. I’d never survive in a class where 15 page papers are the norm. Starting these personal statments has really affirmed how exciting this next year will be. I haven’t really given it much thought, but there was a certain thrill as I responded to the various prompts asking me about why I want to do my PhD at school X. Other than that, I’ve picked up a few gifts for people back home and that’s it.
Next week, we’ll be visiting Moscow State University! I’m very excited to see this, supposedly it is one of the talled education buildings in the world and has over 40,000 undergrad students. Its almost like a little city.