Just inside the walls of the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour.
So there were no deep, profound moments today, save for my enjoyment of and appreciation for layered cheesecake. I had a slow morning - I stayed up really late thinking of random things like some of my favourite memories from the places we've lived - I'll have to blog about some of those for sure. Anyways, this morning I went jogging in the snow/rain (got some crazy looks, but earned at least half of my cheesecake), did some reading for a course I'm taking (Urban Geography) and cleaned up a bit around the apartment. Daria and I planned to meet up again and this time... I was on my own with the bus. SO! I get on the bus, there is no lady taking the tickets... and no one makes any sort of move to go to pay the driver, so I'm thinking that maybe you don't have to pay if there is no lady? Whatever. So I met up with Daria downtown, and we went for coffee and cheesecake at a new, very cute cafe.
It's been great meeting her, and I'm learning about what life in Russia is like for Russians, and not just passersby like myself. We get along really well and have talked about everything from politics (a little bit...) to work/jobs/salaries (a little bit more) and... guys! No, not just googly girl talk about guys but about gender relations and relationships... all very interesting. Apparently people get married quite young here, and the divorce rate is mounting, leaving many young mothers with two or three kids. A friend of hers that called during coffee has two kids (three and seven), is newly divorced... and 27 years old. Yikes. As far as work and salaries go, things seem abysmal. Well, costs are fairly relative to salaries... but still - she said that the average health care worker might make between $200 and $400 a month... USD. There's a saying here - "Dollars are for saving, and roubles are for spending" - because of the relative volatility of the currency. (Many jobs pay in USD, and many Russians have USD savings accounts.) Rent is, on average, between $100 and $150 a month, and though salaries are rising (At this point in the conversation I asked, hopefully, "Aren't things improving though??"), so are costs. I also learned that if there isn't a lady taking tickets on the bus, one must pay the driver... or risk a fine of 50 roubles - two dollars.
The most important thing that I learned today is that there are SEVERAL sushi restaurants in town! YAY! One of which is in the shape of a plane... interesting! I am SO excited about sushi! What else... Daria's on her way to Italy this weekend, for a week-long snowboarding vacation with her dad - she's graduating from university and starts work the day after she gets back. Fun. Apparently there is a mountain pretty close to Yaroslavl, so who knows, maybe we'll go. It was pretty warm here today though, (two degrees) and I'm secretly hoping for spring, even though skiing in Russia would be a very fun activity. Steve and Freddy won their game tonight (three in a row!) and are on their way back to Yaroslavl... expected arrival time is 4am. blech. Some pics were posted on the teams site so here are a few from their last win against Fokel.
p.s. I'm glad people enjoyed yesterdays blog - I still have a lot to say about that book!
p.p.s Here's a great article and picture of Steve and Putin (and a few others...) at the all star game in Moscow a few weeks ago!
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