Russia is Thawing

Lately it has been hanging right around 0 Celsius (32 F) and the sun is usually out for a few hours in the morning before clouds and smog set in. No one has been certain if it is winter or spring, as one day it will be slushy and the next it will be black ice again or fresh snow. However, today I finally really felt spring. It wasn’t sunny but the minute I stepped outside I heard melting, everywhere, for the first time in months. The sidewalks were mostly puddles and slush, with very little ice left, but the snow was still deep, dirty, and piled over cars and on the tops of buildings. I’m guessing it got up to about 3 or 4 degrees Celsius. The fog was thick and it wasn’t really raining but drizzle and slop was everywhere. Cars and buses along the road were covered in mud and slinging it successfully all over pedestrians. I finally saw Russian ground, although only in few patches and covered in litter. 
People have begun wearing their spring coats now, and women are wearing even more absurdly high heels and short skirts. Huge chunks of melting snow and ice occasionally crash off of a building’s eve and into the street. The other day Harley told us that this kills dozens of people every year and I can see how. However, a few kind and concerned babushkas have already warned me to walk away from the eves. 
Anyway, all of this to say that I have a horrible case of spring fever. I realized today that this weather means I can be active again, after months of hibernating and gaining weight I long to ride my bike or play catch in the backyard. I tried to play in this little broken down playground near Harley's apartment building but there is still about a foot of slush and it didn't work out. Oh well. Or as my host mom always says: taaak, no lahdnah. (well, but okay).
Lately I have been rather pensive, looking back over the last couple months and considering the next few. I will be leaving Nizhni in 3 weeks for St. Petersburg and as much as I try to, I cannot decide how I feel about this. I am not homesick really but I know I will be ready to be home and I am not already planning my next trip to Russia but I know there are things I will miss. I think, though, that more than anything this semester has made me want to travel more. I have already been scheming up ways to study abroad again next year or at least to pay a visit to my aunt and uncle in Ecuador or friend in Switzerland... 
But, for now, thinking about going back to Idaho and spending a few months with the parents, the pets, and the trees sounds like an excellent re-entry into the country. (After the nephews' birthday party of course). I wish you all the best, thanks for following! I suppose I'll post once or twice more, of course, but thanks.