untidy exuberances

It is the end of my first week of class, and last night I was exhausted. I think it comes from paying so much attention all the time. A new culture, the Russian language all around me, the public expressionlessness of the people on the sidewalks. I am always alert, always noticing, always filing things away. When I get back to my apartment at day’s end, I feel myself unclench a little. I let my mind wander and sift through what the day brought, put some notes in my journal, download and edit images I shot. And then I usually take an epic bath. I’ve a massive bathtub with what so far is an endless supply of hot water. I lie in the tub and get all drifty and pliant. It’s the best therapy I’ve found for living in another country. When I was emailing Emil, my landlord, I asked if there was a bathtub. It would have been a deal breaker.