#9 ~ My College Years

You might think that I will tell some crazy, wild stories about my life in College. Sorry to disappoint everyone: it was pretty boring. Since I had very high scores during the entry exams, I was awarded a stipend and a dormitory. Well, it sounds great, but the stipend was $50.00 rubles a month and dormitory was a depressing, tiny room that I shared with a girl from Belarus (Tatyana). The rules of the dormitory could be compared to the one in prison: no drinking, smoking, no boys in or near the building, front doors are locked, at 22:00 (10pm)... You got the point. The worst part of being in the dormitory was noise and total lack of privacy. Anyone could come into you room, take anything they wanted, including clothes, shoes, books, personal items, etc. I could only endure it for 3 or 4 weeks and along with my new friend we decided that we will be better off renting an apartment somewhere near the College.
Well, that was a rush decision based on our inexperience, immature and naive  we were. During our first year in College we had to move 6 or 7 times from a bad place to the worse one. It gives me shivers just remembering some places we had to stay... Few times we were lucky to rent a bed!!! So in about 2 months our dorm rooms seemed like a palace. But it was too late, since we gave it up.
But  despite of harsh leaving conditions and constantly being hungry I enjoyed classes, practice, new sites and new experiences.
I was dating Felix who was older, wiser and more knowledgeable. We would meet at night after my classes and gymnastics practice. He would always bring something to eat: sandwich, sweet cheese, candies. We would go to the movies, or just spent time walking the streets of Kiev. I was always looking forward to our dates. One night after the practice I was running late and coming down from the staircase I did not realise that one side of the huge glass door was closed. I just ran through it. I stopped on the other side of it,  turned around and saw the huge piece of glass just crashing behind me. It was a miracle, but I did not have a scratch on me. I saw all the people staring at me with horror and amazement and pointing at a pile of class on the floor... I guess, I was in a big hurry for my date :-).
My favorite subjects in College were anatomy and biology. I also enjoyed our training, competitions, performances and trips around the country. I was also beginning to practice how to be a judge and enjoyed it very much.

Marina Davidovich judging State Championships at Kiev State University