You know, at this point, it’s pretty hard to say something new about being abroad for seven actual years. However, I think that with this pandemic affecting things, there still are a few more things to squeeze out. As I type this, it still hasn’t hit me that I’ve spent about a fourth of my life abroad in Russia’s capital city. I mean, that doesn’t seem…real, you know? Seems like yesterday that I touched down from the (now-defunct) Transaero flight.

Out of everything that happened since the last anniversary, the main thing was that I landed on my feet with an amazing company that’s been incredibly welcoming! I just feel blessed to be with a language school that not only actively courted me, but has been transparent and has that lovely atmosphere! Overall though, nothing has majorly changed much other than the fact that I’ve been gleefully embracing the introvert life, thanks to working from home most of the time. However, I’ve done a few new things this year that I’ve partly written about, and I guess that I’ve been trying to be as adventurous as I can given the state of the world. This past month, for example, I took the time to go and check out the Beach Soccer World Cup here, which was a fun experience that I’d recommend! Even back in the spring, I’d also gone to a small art gallery a few minutes’ walk from the Kremlin with a friend (and I’ll try to post pics from that afternoon), and I don’t think it would have ever crossed my mind to visit that. Health wise I’ve been cutting back on beer, which if you know me, might come as a minor surprise; I do love my craft beer, after all. It’s been more like I haven’t been in the mood to drink, and there hasn’t been an occasion where I feel as if I need to crack open a cold one. Aside from that, I’ve been keeping up with the same sports, and this past weekend my hockey team kicked off our preseason tournament. That’s it, really. So, to summarize things, the status quo has kinda changed, but nothing too radical. Will next year bring something newer and more exciting? I honestly can’t wait to see.