August 8 - Penza

Up at 5:30. Mom wanted me to get up for some reason but I wanted to keep sleeping.

Up at 6 to use the bathroom

Lyuda on the platform. Crying crying crying.

Lida (Grandma’s sister’s daughter) is also there. The first things she says to me, “You were waiting for Slava, huh?” haha

This is the end of this day's log, but this was actually one of my favorite days of this trip. We went to the cemetery where my grandma was buried and tidied it. 

After cemetery, we went to Lida's dacha. She showed us all her crown jewels and told me how you have to cover the watermelon and not show it off because it might get stolen. Also, you have to harvest on time or your neighbors will think you're sloppy. I was exhausted, but just kinda rolling with it. 

It was nice to chat with Lida and get to get to know her a little bit. It felt like getting to know grandma more. She sent us home with huge bags of vegetables for the week.

And if that wasn't enough of a fucking day, we went to another relative's house for dinner. Their backyard was gorgeous and I definitely fell asleep on the grass for an hour.