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| Well I am in St. Petersburg again. The weather is beautiful and walking around the city is no longer painful. Sorry mom that you couldn't see the city like this. Yesterday night I went to a Rotary meeting, St. Petersburg "Neva". IT was quite an experience. It was very much like American rotary meetings. They seemed to all really like each other and chat up to each other all the time. They shared their trip pictures and experiences. It all seemed very informal. However, when I gave them a banner everyone stands for the actual exchange. This was so strange. They also had a few birthdays to celebrate. They even sang happy birthday in English. That was most likely my favorite part of the meeting. After the meeting officially closed Suddenly there was a parade of cognac, vodka and champagne. I was there for another hour toasting to Russian American friendship with duma members and drinking with professor who want to know everything about why in the heck I like Russia. They were all so nice, some of the old ladies even hugged me. It felt really great to be in such a warm rotary environment again. I wish that this trip would never end. But it is back to Moscow Sunday. Have a great weekend. | | |
| It has become so hot here in moscow and the city has returned to that great smell of body odor and alcohol. It is really horrible. I have been trying to keep busy. I am increasing my russian classes in order to get as much done before I leave. Everyone has begun to leave here already, which means there is a goodbye party every night of the week. It is really sad to see my friends go and to know that I am going to be leaving here soon as well. I am planning a trip to sweden in the next few weeks to see my old roommate emy. I cant wait. I will also be visiting a few clubs while I am there. I welcome the chance to see Swedish rotary in action. Stockholm is in the same district as moscow. Well I have to run, I am going to the American embassy this afternoon to listen to a presentation. | | |
| Well I lived through the russian bbq just barely. It was a lot of fun. Everyone was great. I will not however be drinking with russians for a while. Today we climed over the wall to the military base and Denis, Katya's husband, took us on an illegal tour of the base. They ahve lots of satellite dishes and collect information from the international space station. It was really interesting. However Mark and I were both a bit worried to get caught, the last thing we need is to be arrested for being spies and deported. I am exhausted from the trip and am going to bed. Have a good week everyone. | | |
| Well my mom has notified me that it has almost been a month since my last entry. In reality, this month of April has been quite boring and routine. Well as boring and routine as Moscow can get. However, it is now the May holidays. Victory day is HUGE. It is really great cause the weather is amazing and there is a veteran with all of his medals on every street corner. On Friday, I went to the MGIMO celebration with my Russian teacher. There was a ceremony honoring past professors who had served in the war. The men that still fit into their dress uniform just amaze me. You cant imagine. They also sang lots of songs from the War. Den Pobedy, the most used song at all of the celebrations was actually written by an MGIMO graduate about 25 years ago. On tv you can see nothing but war movies and ceremonies. I do really enjoy this time. The entire city has turned orange, red, and black for the parade that will happen on Monday. However Moscovites are not allowed and they are shutting down the center of town. 64 percent of the city population has gone out of the city for the weekend. it is amazingly quiet. The amount of security here is ridiculous, but I think warranted for once. Thank goodness all of my papers are in order. On Monday I will be going to the outskirts of the city for a Russian BBQ with my friend Katya and her husband and their friends. I am really looking forward to it. | | |
| Well I have finally managed to make it to an english class at MGIMO. Today at 2pm I attended a role play scenario. In this scenario there was a delegation from the United States and Russia as well as an independent journalist and many guests. They considered the question of wether russia is a democracy. It was a very interesting discussion. At the moment it is difficult to include all of what was said, however one of the main question was that of the legality of the revolutions that have taken place in Ukraine, Georgia, and the Kyrgystan. Of course the Russian delegation said that they were illegal. When asked the question of wether such a revolution could take place in Russia, they responded that America did not have enough money to buy off Russia. In all it wwas really fun, however one can not help but notice that the only delegations were Russia and the United States. I think that this was a major mistake and exemplifies the common thinking of most russians that are still thinking within a cold war and geopolitical frame of mind. Now that this is over, I am going to enjoy the rest of the weekend. The weather is great, and I am going to go back to one of the first outdoor cafes I sat in during my first month here. BUT this time with friends. :) | | |
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