A Question I Am Frequently Asked Upon Discovering I Will Be In Russia For Three Months:

"What the heck are you going to DO over there all day while Tim is working his little buns off at his internship??"

(Okay, so maybe they don't phrase it EXACTLY like that.)

Good question, friend/family member/coworker/random-stranger-who-is-concerned-for-my-mental-and-physical-well-being!  I have listed below, in no particular order, things that I am planning on doing to occupy my time in Russia:

• Blog. Duh.
• Paint. And draw.  I am so excited to just sit in front of a church all day and paint.  I feel like it's been forever since I've actually been able to just sit and sketch.
• See the sights (this one will happen after I feel comfortable using the Metro on my own in a foreign country...so not right away, obvs).
• Study Russian.  Also, practice my Russian with actual Russians.  
• Write my life history.  (You may think this is a joke, but it is not.  I have the world's worst memory OF ALL TIME EVER so I thought that now would be a good time to do it.)
• Figure out my goals in life. I feel like life up to this point, and especially right now, has been me just keeping up with things as they happen--but not stopping long enough to plan ahead or think forward.  I'm really just looking forward to taking a break--I don't have to work, I don't have to take care of most day to day things, I just have time to sit and clear out my soul so I can figure out what my life should be like.  Fun times.

So, as you can see, I will probably have plenty of things to occupy my little brain. Also: if you're not following me on Instagram, you probably should. You can find me at @dani_stratford.