Pues

I haven’t updated in… let’s see… months? creo que si.

I am back in Colorado now, for Christmas break. It is basically wonderful thus far. I have a friend, Sarah Barton who came with me for a few days. She leaves tonight, so this will be short as I want to spend all the time I can with her.

 Fall Quarter was good. It was long and tiring and exhausting, but I learned a lot. God was so good to me, in so many ways that I did not deserve. I mean, we never deserved anything from him, but this quarter, he just showed continual grace and love to me, in ways I cannot even describe. I ran the whole quarter on his strength, and his endurance.

I made some pretty awesome new friends. MuKappa (a cadre for mk’s) had a bunch of new people this year, and that was good. It was also wonderful to reconnect with the old ones, and get to know some of them better. For instance, Daniel, who had a girlfriend last year, I hardly knew. Well, I knew him, but I knew him in the context of Anna Marie. Now that they aren’t together it has been interesting to get to know them separately, as individuals. One of the newbies: Anna, is from Spain and she is basically wonderful and sarcastic and funny and we get along super well.

Also, I have just learned so  much academically. I got the opportunity to do a big research project on Chechnya/Ingushetyia/Dagestan, and it was amazing. My prof was incredibly helpful, and I cannot have imagined doing the project without his help and encouragement to delve into a subject htat I wanted, rather than my second choice.

And yep. Life was tiring and emotional, but it was good.

selamet,

sara

postscript: I might have forgotten to mention that I am dating someone. so that is good too.

 

The joys of the body

I am still wearing my head scarf as I sit here in front of this screen. It’s sort of a paradox.

We went to a Russian Orthodox Church today. I think my clothes still reek of incense. I stood for a little over 2 hours. My back aches, my shoulders feel vaguely dislocated and my feet burned by the time we left. I had no idea what was being said outside of the Lord’s Prayer that was recited in English as well as an exclamation at the end. He is Risen! I didn’t know when to cross myself or when to bow. I didn’t take communion and I didn’t kiss the crucifix. I knew no one and nothing.

I loved it.

I loved the little boy who stared at us so suspiciously with buggy eyes. I loved the way they held up the scriptures, so gilded and embellished. I loved the little girl crawling up the steps with her grandfather close behind her. I loved the way that same little girl, held by her grandmother, was crossed, had her hand kissed and hten touched an icon of a saint. I loved the way they took communion, submissive and humble. I loved the way they sang throughout the entire liturgy. I loved that all ages were together. I loved that people came in late and no one chastised, they only loved. I loved that, though they knew we were not apart of their body, they did not question us or treat us as strangers. I loved the robes, black and regal and handsome. I loved the altar boys in white with gold crosses, bowing at all times and blessing the food. I loved the garments of archpriest Alexei and the way he tugged his beard and translated at the end. I loved the respect and the awe and the reverence. I loved how it felt that stepping through the door of the cathedral was a time warp to another land, another time. I loved the pain of standing there, because there was a man leaning on his cane who never uttered a word of complaint. I loved covering my head and feeling joined to the saints of old. I loved the incense and the candles and icons and the chants and the shouts and the beauty and the joy.

and I am bursting to go to Chechnya.