After the “French expedition” we were given three days off — our “vacation,” as we called it. But what kind of rest, when there’s so much work? We’re replacing the tap in the water heater. Did the “Biogravistat” experiment.

Lots of time and effort went into preparing for tomorrow’s work — 5 zones of geophysical and applied experiments, plus a mass of smaller tasks.

Tolya and I keep an even keel with each other. The station is quiet. After the crew left, we’ve barely been talking. Somehow it’s become calmer for us. Now a month of flying as a twosome.

Talked with Zhenya Kobzev. A conversation with him and the soul feels lighter. Zhenya says the ground can tell when complications arise in the crew. Yes, when there’s a family quarrel, we hide it. Others don’t pay much attention. Everything dissolves in the world of everyone’s concerns. But here, TsUP lives through us, and the moment they spot a deviation, everyone starts empathizing, and some just find it interesting to see how we’ll behave — whether we’ll crack or not. They try to distract the crew and help find ways to get back in the groove, though if we do crack, they’ll immediately lash us for weakness, for inability to control ourselves. Yet it’s not crew relations that are truly frightening — you can find an acceptable line of behavior there — but rather the ground, which influences the crew with its intense attention and care. Such care doesn’t always help, and so you have to understand everything soberly and keep yourself in hand, though that’s sometimes hard. By the tone of voice on comm with the ground specialists, you hear and sense each of them keenly. In a long flight, the ability to manage yourself plays a huge role.

Also talked with Sasha Mashinsky; he says the visiting crew delivered the plants in good condition. Tomorrow they’ll be met in Star City.

I signed a few envelopes for myself and floated off to sleep. I hung in the air above the table where Tolya was, and I think: this should seem unusual — hanging above a person, above a table, in the air. But you get so accustomed to this new world of sensations and possibilities that it seems natural. As if you were born in weightlessness, and your consciousness doesn’t register the unusualness of the state, the movements, and doesn’t compare with life on Earth. Just as we don’t think about our chest rising when we breathe.

Last night at midnight, flying on the descending part of the orbit over the Mediterranean and Red Seas, we listened to a World Cup match. Our team versus Poland. Score: 0-0. The session lasted about 20 minutes; it was pleasant to listen up here. You sit at station post one, arms crossed on your chest, gaze fixed on the transfer compartment, and listen — while flying over the globe. That’s football for you.