So our apartment has a scary elevator. I don't really understand how it works, and it's only got a little fence between you and the floors as they go by. The thing would probably have been illegal in the U.S. 50 years ago. It's only big enough for two people, really.

Yesterday I was trying to get off on the first floor when, before I could open the gate, someone else pushed a button and I shot right up to the 8th floor to greet them. A girl got on and asked me what happened. I started to explain, and she blurted out, "you can speak to me in English." They all know I'm American at one glance.

Just now, I was coming back from running, waiting for the elevator, when another guy walked into the lobby. (Now, another thing I don't understand about the elevator is the numbering system. There's an EP and a IP or something, then floors, 1, 2, 3, etc. I just push the EP button and it takes me to the lobby.) So when the light above the elevator said "EP," I tried to open the outer door. I guess I had the system wrong, because the door wouldn't open. For some reason I still don't understand, this also freed the elevator to go back up for someone else on like the 12th floor. That really pissed off the guy who'd just walked up.

I said I was sorry, and he scowled. Then another guy came up and asked if the elevator was working okay. I said I was sorry, it was my fault. The first guy told him that the elevator was working fine, but the neighbors weren't, and that I couldn't understand anything. I smiled, because what else do you do, right? Then we had an awesome three-person ride in a two-person elevator.

Other than that, my day's been great. Today I started classes. I met my classmates. There are two of them. Their names are Alex and Tatiana (I think?). They're an American couple from North Carolina, a rising med II and an entering med I, respectively. We had lunch together, and they're both very friendly. I had a private lesson in the afternoon, and I have homework to do tonight. There's a chance I might learn something useful, no?

In response to the comments on the political rally: you'll notice that I'm zooming in from across a busy street, with the traffic and the cops between us. [It took me so long to find something dangerous and then I just couldn't seem to get any closer! Ah, shucks, maybe next time.]