And today the part of x will be played by…

me. Being an M sure has many interesting facets. Some days, I really get to focus on one thing and I spend the day planning a seminar or a lesson and that evening for two hours I share what I've learned, answer questions, and go home with even more questions. Other days, I run around all day trying to find a bolt that will fix the shelves in the library and because it's Russia - you have to visit 13.7 different stores, shops, open air markets, or kiosks to find what you need. (Or if you're smart you just ask a Russian first and they'll tell you exactly where you should go!

Anyway - today was a very full day and incredibly interesting besides. I started off interpreting for Ehud this morning. Just helping him get a few things taken care of… then I was a student, studying some Russian and trying to grasp a new concept… sometimes I have to think so differently in order to understand. Following my moments as a student, I was a professional driver and drove Larissa around to pick up some supplies for our summer camping program. Then I got to be a muscle man and carry things for her. We even got our cultural center video player for children's programs fixed… we only had to drive over half the city to find the proper location for that work!

I made it back to the cultural center just in time to lead our second session of leadership lessons. We talked about how good leaders need to know themselves and others' impressions of them as well. I shared the Johari window concept with them and we did a really great feedback exercise together (they really loved it, were very interested, and I think it's a great start to our training together)

Then I dashed off to teach English for 3 hours at the University. We're discussing the conversational aspects of art (literature, poetry, film, painting, sculpture, architecture, etc). I'm actually having to study some of the topics myself, just because I don't know much about the topics that we've been assigned.

After teaching, Ehud and I met with a young man (Dennis) for dinner to talk to him and celebrate his birthday… whew - more details to come, but what a day!