A Space Day

I don't really have to wonder why there isn't a day to commemmorate the first animals or seeds or moss to make the trip into outer space... there is only a special space day for the first human, Russian Yuri Gagarin, who, on this day in 1961 became the first human to do so. The fact that he was beat to it by a monkey might sound bad, but of course it was a good thing that chimps, dogs and monkeys beat him to the punch - I guess they taught the astronauts a thing or two about safe space travel. (As did the fruit flies, the first "animals in space" - what, do you think they just sent up some rotten bananas?) So, in Russia, today is Cosmonaut's Day, and the day is known around the world as Yuri's Night, which sounds a little more exciting I think... there are events all over the place too, though in Yaroslavl? I'm not sure. But, the Yuri's Night website insists that it's like St. Patricks Day or Cinco de Mayo... but for space! This just brings to mind a picture of a bunch of drunken, bead-laden people cruising around up in the atmosphere - maybe in green space suits? Throw a couple martians in there and the picture is complete.... what a space party. The drunkenness thing would work here... not that people need an excuse to party. Or drink beer. Our excuse is... today is the last home game of the season!!

Yuri Gagarin

p.s. animals et al. launched into space include: fruit flies, monkeys, mice, dogs, chimps, guinea pigs, frogs, rats, cats, wasps, beetles, tortoises, bullfrogs, fish, spiders, a mummichog (!? I know! it's a fish), newts, ants, cockroaches and scorpions... and more... (why scorpions!?)

Ham the Chimp - made the trip to space... maybe not in comfort though

Space dog kennel - for real

This just makes me laugh... poor little guy - ("Baker" went into space in 1958)

The banya...

I am officially relaxed. The banya was amazing... and, according to Margaret, after a visit to the banya, one must retire to their home and sleep, lay around and relax for a few hours. Yes ma'am, I can do that! I'm so glad that I was able to go with Margaret - otherwise I wouldn't have known where to go or what to do ... and the tradition and the routine would have been totally lost on me. It would be so nice to have something like this at home, a traditional bathing thing - but I don't think that it would really catch on - hanging out with your friends in your birthday suit, scrubbing each other's backs? Errr... nope. The fully clothed coffee tradition is fairly entrenched anyways. As are lunch dates. And seawall walks - pretty much anything but with the clothes ON... which is fine by me!

The main room - each bench is a little bathing station, with metal buckets filled with water for washing!

SO... Margaret bought tickets yesterday - they sell 15 tickets for a one and a half hour block (for 73 rubles, $3) - apparently afternoons are the way to go if you want to avoid the crowds - the six o'clock and eight o'clock time slots are usually sold out, and I was happy with the early afternoon slot. Sure! There was a small locker room with small wooden cupboards where we left all of our things, save for a towel, soap and sponge, head covering (cotton scarf) and flip flops. In we go. Margaret explained that most people follow a certain routine: shower, sauna, soap scrub down at individual washing bucket, shower, sauna, tea, sauna, scrub down, shower etc.... so this is what we did. I also opted to take the cold water bucket shower after the sauna... so cold... but so refreshing. After round two, we had some tea and a snack - Margaret pulled out a king-size Snickers bar which totally surprised me.. I thought fruit or nuts or something healthy or natural would have been the number one option for a sauna snack, but ??? whatever! After tea we went for rounds three and four, which were the same as the previous ones except, before the last sauna, we put honey on ourselves. Er, yes, honey. Sounds interesting, no? Margaret explained to me that it is good for the joints and ligaments, as well as for the skin.... so we massaged small amounts into our skin before hitting the sauna. This was followed by a shower sans soap (no cold water dump)... and that was it! We had another cup of tea, and sat around talking until our time was up. Some people also bring in birch branches and (this is what I understood) after soaking them in hot water, "beat" themselves (Margaret's word) with the branches to open their pores, increase circulation and exfoliate. There were only three of us in the banya in our time slot, and no one did any birch-branch self-beating... it sounds a bit masochistic anyways, not sure if that's something I want to see. So... it was an experience, and a very worthwhile one! I feel clean, relaxed but invigorated, and only smell a little bit like honey!

No more snow!!!

Today was the first overcast day we've had in almost two weeks... wild and crazy. I went for a run this afternoon, and saw the park sans snow for the first time... there were lots of park features (trails, benches, lake etc.) that were entirely new to me. Running is a lot easier, and much more comfortable without the snow and ice - no surprise there. We had a pretty mellow day - watched Atonement, which we both really liked, and made a super yummy dinner - stuffed chicken, rice and frozen veggies - fresh not available (other than carrots), salad not available. We're getting excited about our fast approaching departure date (and salads, fresh vegetables, barbeques, barbeque sauce and maple syrup...!!!) - our tickets are booked for April 30th but if the team doesn't advance to playoffs, we might head home earlier. I'm hoping that we'll be able to check out Moscow again, and make it up to St. Petersburg... we'll see! We'll make it happen.


So tomorrow... to the banya! Fodor's guide to Moscow and St. Petersburg - "Most people in Russia believe the excruciating wet heat of the banya makes you shed toxins ultrafast, through heavy sweating, and that it rejuvenates the internal organs." And, "for Russians, the banya experience is the way to nirvana and longevity" - Steve's response to that was, "What, all of 58 years?" Well, maybe they've reached a state of nirvana by then, but I'm not sure it's entirely due to banya visits. I am ready to shed some Russian toxins... and, um, rejuvenate my internal organs. I guess it's time to put down my glass of wine (I mean... finish my glass of wine) and start drinking water... so, cheers!

Morning with a Local

A few weeks ago I met Margaret, a high school English teacher, at the pool - she sort of magically appeared while I was struggling to understand a woman who, as it turns out, was trying to invite me to her apartment, to see the "best view!!" of Yaroslavl. (Even though I kept saying nye panimayu, nye panimayu, I don't understand ... she kept saying the same thing, a little louder and a little more slowly... that does not help.) Anyways, last week Margaret invited me to go on a tour of Yaroslavl with her, and of course I said yes! So we arranged to meet today. She had left me a note that I picked up at the cashier at the pool yesterday that told me, if I was still interested, to meet her at the bus stop at 7:30am. Eek... early.

I had no idea what to expect or what we were doing exactly, but I managed to roll myself out of bed, down some coffee and get to the bus/trolley stop on time. The plan was to go to her school and join a group of students on a tour of the town, part of a city project to educate youth about the historical significance of Yaroslavl. (It's the city's 1000th birthday in 2010... 1000 years!!) We took the bus and the tram to get to the other side of town, where she showed me her school and introduced me to some other teachers - the school was pretty bare bones ... but looked nice enough, with some flowers and potted plants lining the halls. There was also a security guard stationed at the front door, keeping an eye on all who enter and exit the school. On the way there, I had expressed my amusement/astonishment at the number of security guards in the grocery store... so we laughed when we were met by more security at the school.

Margaret in her classroom

School hallway

By the time we'd done a mini tour of the school, the bus was waiting outside. She introduced me to a few of her English students who were all pretty shy (15 and 16 years old) ... but eventually opened up and started speaking a little bit. Questions they asked me included: Do you like Russia? What is special about Russia for you? And, how many children do you have? (These were the first questions....) And then, what are your hobbies? Will you come back and speak to our class? Of course I said yes, I like Russia... and to the second question, I really didn't know what to say. After thinking about it for a minute, the special thing about being here (maybe it's not really that special) is that it is so different from everywhere else we've lived and visited - it has really been a unique and different experience to say the least. When they asked how many children I had, my first reaction was to ask, "How old do you think I am?!" But then I remembered... people marry young here, and it's pretty normal to have two kids by the time you're 25.

Me, Margaret and some of her students


The gates of the church are inset with unique, one-of-a-kind tiles...

The bus took us to the Volga embankment where we walked around and visited several churches, many of which were built in the 16th and 17th centuries, when the town was very rich as a result of it's status as a central merchant and trading centre. Margaret translated for me, and a group of three or four girls, giggling, asked me questions about life in Canada... and told me a bit about themselves (provoked by my questions.) None of them did any sports - some liked watching tennis, but other than one girl who said she liked running (how many kilometres? one; how often? once a month...) levels of activity were loooow. After a walk around the centre of town, we boarded the bus to take a look at some monuments and churches not as accessible by foot. Margaret and I got off the bus just outside the centre and decided to stop for some tea and a snack before making our way back home. She took me to a very traditional tea house where we had tea, and pancakes and donuts... all very traditional snacks. Yummy ones too! The little spread cost all of 50 rubles, about $2.

Traditional Russian snacks... yum!

We had some great chats, and by talking with her I feel like I've gained much more insight into Russian life than with the talks I've had with Dasha and Daria - the difference must be age and maturity. She talked about how her and her husband still struggle to adapt to the new capitalist system... after having lived under a socialist system for so much of her life, change is difficult. I asked her what she prefers, or what system she thinks is better... and she couldn't answer. She said that both have their advantages, but bottom line, now they have money to eat what they want and have the freedom to travel.... something relatively new for Russian people. (This is also something that most people can't afford to do - visas are expensive and application and payment doesn't guarantee anything). She made a comment at one point, that there should be government regulation in stores - especially coffee shops and restaurants - so that people can't get away with charging $4 for a coffee, or $20 for an entree... I was sort of surprised at first -the government regulating the cost of a latte at Starbucks? I think not - but like she said, she's had a hard time adjusting her mind to a new political system. I guess it's a sort of clash of ideologies, and her generation has to live with one foot in the socialist system of the past, and the other, stepping forward into capitalism.

We talked about salaries, pensions and an economy that is growing... but growing with direct benefits for very few people. Though her salary has increased over the years, it's still not even close to being enough - she said if something were to happen to her husband (an engineer) she really has no idea what she'd do. The article in the weekly English newspaper that I picked up last week lists teachers' salaries ("among the worst") at 8, 788 rubles, which is about $350. So, the salary of a part-time teacher like Margaret (who has been teaching for 30 years) would be no more than $200 a month (I'm guessing). Even though she'd like to retire some time in the near future (I'd say she's in her mid-50s), with a son finishing his first year of university - it's highly unlikely to happen anytime soon. Pensions are around 4000 rubles a month ($120) which is enough for rent, and that's about it - no further encouragement to retire there! Older people here have to work, and if they're unable to... must be supported by their families. And if there is no family to support them? Margaret had no idea. Scary.

Russia's birth rate is declining too... and it's largely a result of the economic situation of the average Russian family - people simply can't afford to have more than one or two children. Putin tagged this problem as Russia's worst - "the most acute problem of contemporary Russia." The low birth-rate is related to economic hardship - the fertility rate here is 1.3 births per woman, whereas 2.1 is what's needed to maintain a stable population (Canada's fertility rate is 1.7 est. - but the population is still growing - thanks to immigration and a low death rate). Death rates are very high too - 15 deaths per 1000 people per year, as compared with 8 deaths per 1000 people in Canada. As I mentioned in a previous post, alcoholism is rampant here - high rates of alcoholism have contributed to a low life expectency for men - 58 years, while women fare considerably better with an average life expectency of 72 (Canada's life expectency for men is 77, and for women, 84). Margaret talked a bit about this problem too.

So.... it was really interesting to talk to her about some of the realities of life here. I love hanging out with Dasha and Daria, but going out for sushi and coffee all of the time seems like something only the rich can afford to do, and it was nice to hear about life from the point of view of someone that seems more aware of ... I don't know... real life? Arg. I don't know. Anyways! We've made plans to do something again on Friday. There is a Russian banya pretty close to both of our places, and I said something about how I really wanted to experience this typical Russian bath-thing before I left (I don't really know what the deal is with these banyas... the only thing that comes to mind is that scene from Eastern Promises... I'm thinking it's not like that at all...) I'm supposed to bring two towels, a head covering (cotton), sandals, soap and ... that's it I think! I'm also going to go speak to her class on Tuesday - on the bus on the way home one of her students called her cell phone to ask her to ask me again if I'd come to talk to the class! Can you imagine a student in Canada calling his/her teacher on their cell phone!? It would have been great to have met Margaret two months ago - I could have busied myself with helping her and her English class... but... better late than never!!

p.s. When looking for Russian and Canadian statistics - the CIA World Factbook was good... wait, am I writing a paper here? Referencing!?!

World Health Day

Yesterday's temperature of 19.2 degrees in Moscow was record-setting - the warmest day ever recorded for April 6th. Almost 20 degrees!!! Temperature records are being shattered here - March last year was the warmest in 125 years, and January 2008 was the mildest since records began 130 years ago. This evidence of global warming isn't being felt by some at home in Canada - what was the temp the other day in Vancover? Close to zero??? What, warmer here in Russia than on the west coast of Canada?! Not to rub it in but... Well, it is an apt day to talk of global warming, seeing as how today is World Health Day... and the theme for 2008 is "Protecting health from climate change." Not many specific or immediate health risks come to mind when thinking about climate change, and I suppose this is because climate change is a gradual process... more often than not, without any immediate visual impacts. The first thing that came to my mind was water, and the eventual exacerbation of the shortages of water supplies felt in so many places around the world - which in turn affects food supplies and eventual crop failures, aridity, etc. The WHO has a list of 10 facts on climate change and human health, which was interesting - take a look if you have a few minutes...


Doesn't it seem like there is a day for everything? I googled international days... or something like that, and one of the first things that came up was a list of Health Canada's Health Promotions Days: April is celebrated as no less than seven "months" (including Dental Health Month, Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness Month and Earth Month), four "weeks," and five "days," and that's just with regard to Canadian Health. Eeeegadzooks. Well, I like World Health Day. I mean, I like them all... but I do care to know about World Health Day - can't I incorporate all of the other health days into this one? Wikipedia also has today listed as Easy-E Day in Compton, California and Women's Day in Mozambique. I'm sure there are a multitude of other special events/causes pegged to April 7th... but this is enough for me. For now. For today.

The recent flooding in Uganda is a disaster of great dimensions. It destroyed 40% of the country's road network and caused widespread crop failure. In a country where 40% of the population is not using proper water sources, flooding increases the risk of diseases such as malaria and cholera.

This large area of banana plantation was wiped out in Honduras when Hurricane Mitch struck the region in 1998. The hurricane - which also hit Nicaragua - killed more than 17 000 people and left three million homeless. The damages were estimated at US$ 3000 million.

(From the World Health Org's website)

Russian News

For the past week I've been wanting to blog about a few stories that we've seen in the news - we picked up an English newspaper on our way home from Athens last weekend, and there have been some interesting stories on the English news channels Russia Today. Prior to our trip here, I really knew nothing about what life was like in Russia - only a couple of typical stereotypes came to mind: it's cold, people drink a lot of vodka... and ??? I knew that the economy had recovered (somewhat) and that life had improved for the average Russian... but had no context in which to place the news, and no numbers. So here are some numbers... I looked for this graphic online but couldn't find it, so I took a photo of the newspaper.


I'm not sure how clear this picture is but 1992's average monthly wage was $22! The average monthly wage increased to $303 in 2005, $395 in 2006 and $575 in 2007. I asked Dasha about last year's all time (low) high wages, and wondered (aloud) how people afford to buy things... and do stuff! (Remember an hour of skating cost $20, and a meal at a mid-class restaurant costs no less than $70 for the two of us... and that's sans alcohol) Dasha didn't have an answer... but said that many of the smaller towns are still very, very poor... I'm just guessing that only the rich can afford to skate, swim and eat out, big city or small.

The news here has been inundated with talk of NATO expansion and with both Russia's objections and America's enthusiasm for the entry of Georgia and the Ukraine into the organization. Since that summit has ended, there have been further stories regarding relations between the two countries, as Putin and Bush have apparently spent the weekend at Putin's summer home in the resort town of Sochi. The two talked about their not seeing eye to eye on America's missile defense shield in the Czech Republic and Poland, and on Russia's objections to the entry of Georgia and the Ukraine into NATO... and Bush's rhetoric just makes me see red: "One areas where we've agreed to work together its the missile defense system. We've got more work to do to convince the Russian side that the system is not aimed at Russia." Yes, he said areas, and yes, he said "convince". This language does not exude the attitude of mutual cooperation that both parties are meant to be extolling. And, he just sounds like the biggest blockhead - I assume that this is not news to anyone.

Another piece o' news - at first I thought this was a joke, but apparently, the Moscow City Council has plans to import natural spring water from the French Alps... to every Moscow resident. This includes a two week hiatus of water supply... hot or cold, from Moscow to France. Question - who is paying for this? And... are you kidding?! There was no mention of how much this crazy venture might cost, but, in response to the objections of French citizens ("But why should millions of Europeans have to go without water for two weeks - in the summer?"), a Moscow city spokeswoman suggested that the French were jealous - "Not all French have natural spring water from the French Alps pouring out of their taps." Right.

Okay, one more thing. I had no idea that Russia has one of the highest rates of HIV and AIDS in the world, and the largest in Europe; the registered number of cases is 300,000, and the estimated number is between 1 and 3 million. This accounts for two-thirds of all HIV cases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. People that have been diagnosed suffer huge discrimination (as everywhere else) but a story that Russia Today ran this week talked about repercussions on family members and friends of individuals diagnosed with the disease; many were fired and some told that they must undergo an HIV test, only because he/she was related (brother, sister, cousin) to the affected person. We haven't seen any ads or information anywhere about this apparent problem - according to several different sources, people still think that this is a disease of drug users and prostitutes. I suppose this is the problem. While we had to take HIV tests to get into the country (visa requirement), most Russians will never even think about taking a test; unfortunately this disease might be a lot closer to home than they think.

Six Days of Sun...

I had a super productive day today - won't bore anyone with the details BUT! it involved getting up early to talk to friends on skype which was AWESOME! I love skype! And I love my friends! I also made the trip downtown a few times - to go running, to find broccoli and then finally, to meet up with Dasha. The run was good (got lots of crazy looks, as per usual), the broccoli hunt was fruitless (or vegetable-less - but I did buy some yummy fruit) and it was super fun hanging out with Dasha, who leaves for Moscow this week to start a new job... exciting. It was another beautiful day, and the city is slowly transforming itself - coming out of ugly hibernation and transitioning to la-la-la lovely spring. Really, the difference is huge. Sun, almost-green grass, blue sky - lots of people out... and smiles! People are smiling now, hurray.

Some women at the indoor market selling some sort of homemade soft cheese...

This is right at the mouth of the Kotorosl River along the Volga - it was such a nice day!!

and finally ... Happy Birthday Dad!! I love you!!

russia... a land of drink, but not of broccoli

This afternoon I made the trek to the big grocery store at the mall - the walk is so much more enjoyable in the sun than in the snow! I needed to buy some dental floss and I wanted to buy some broccoli, and the Real is the only place where I've seen either of these things (I haven't been able to find either at any of the grocery stores or fruit and veggie stands around our house). I've been wanting to make a delicious looking salad that I found the recipe for on everybody likes sandwiches, a wonderful blog that will definitely appeal to you if you love food. YUM. Unfortunately, there was NO broccoli... I'll have to bus downtown to the market - I will persevere though! I want to make this salad!! Dental floss, on the other hand (way less exciting than broccoli and a chance to make a yum-salad) I found... so exciting. This is my life in Russia.

I've had a lot of comments about the ghetto-ness of a picture I posted on facebook of an apartment block around here, so I thought I'd take some more pics - the buildings do not seem to get better with the weather. So, voila.




I've also been meaning to post this picture of the vodka aisle in the grocery store - the alley devoted to beer is also pretty extensive, but this is just the vodka.... crazy. I think the cheapest bottle is around $2? It's pretty small - maybe 500ml. I guess that's why it's so cheap. Right... High class vodka like Absolut is mega-cher, and we've found a pretty good bottle (for about $8)that we call Imitation Grey Goose because the bottle is a designed in the same way Grey Goose is - a knock off that is indiscernable (at least to me) from the original. I'll just claim that I can't remember what Grey Goose tastes like, or if I've ever had it (or had too much.)

This is ALL vodka...

I know that Russia is known as a country of hard drinkers... but I didn't really know anything about alcoholism here - there is SO much information about alcohol consumption, but here is a brief run down. Alcoholism is tabbed as the reason why life expectency for men here has dropped to 58, and maybe this is why: "Many Russians labour under the misapprehension that beer is a soft drink, and that’s the way it’s marketed. To compound the problem, vodka is cheaper than most soft drinks..." I wouldn't disagree about the seeing beer as a soft drink thing, and the cheapest vodka is similar in price to a two litre bottle of Coke. I saw a lady drinking a beer in the parking lot today, waiting with her cart of groceries.... and there are always people in the park, at all times of the day, drinking beer... young and old, male and female, stroller-pushers and non-stroller pushers alike. Annual alcohol consumption, in litres (of pure alcohol) per head here is 15; the article didn't cite any statistics for Canada, but to put this number into perspective, Australia's measures in at 9.8 and number of litres per head in the U.S. is 8.4. In another article I found this statistic (last one, I promise) - in 2006, 12 billion litres of alcohol were sold in Russia, 75 per cent of which was beer! Vodka accounted for 16 per cent of sales, hard liquor and wine eight per cent and cognac one per cent. So! Even though I don't think that Russia will ever shake it's vodka-touting image... beer has made it's way in there too - maybe a vodka in one hand and a beer in the other? I'll just take the beer thanks...

Five days of Sun!!

We are on our fifth consecutive day of sun and I am amazed... this is a first! TWO days of sun in a row was a first! So Spring is definitely here - though I wouldn't be surprised if it snowed once more before the month is out, it's still pretty chilly at night. I've been able to spend a lot more time outside, though the park by our house has become mud-city, unlike the walkway along the Volga downtown, which is free from the remnants of winter AND free of garbage, making it a much more pleasant walk.

A main walkway of the mud-city park....

Along the Volga

Yesterday afternoon Daria and I met downtown and went for a walk, and then out for coffee. We talked about all sorts of things - our trip to Athens, shopping and weather, but the main topic of our conversation was BOYS. Daria is 21, and her mother is desperate for her to get married (don't ask me why...) and has even consulted a fortune teller with regard to potential future partners for her daughter. When I kind of gawked at this and choked back a laugh, she told me that it was perfectly normal and "of course! I've gone before many times!" ... right. She asked me if I wanted to go and I politely declined - I've found my mate and furthermore, fortune tellers kind of creep me out; if they tell you your future, will you act to make it happen? Or believe it? I don't know. Anyways, her mother's visit included bringing some photos of guys that she knows and kind of likes (one of them is married), so that Madame Fortune Teller could make her predictions more, er, accurately? I don't know. Anyways, nothing much came of the visit - no startling revelations except that the day after her mother's visit, the married guy didn't call her and hasn't called her since... apparently that is over.

I've heard quite a bit about quite a bit of infidelity here - and several of the guys Daria has mentioned are either married, or she doesn't know if they're married because they haven't said that they are (or that they aren't). My next question was, "So is there anyone that doesn't cheat on their wife/husband when they're married?" And she said, rather frankly... no. She admitted that, okay, maybe there are some people that don't cheat but then said wait, no, everyone does. (I'm sure that not everyone cheats... I mean, that's what I want to believe... but ???) So, my final question was this: "So, you want to get married, but are completely aware that once you do, your husband will probably cheat on you, and you might cheat on him?" And her answer was yes. She didn't seem to like it but then again, she's dated married men. So ??? Blech.

Steve left for Moscow today - they only have three games left! I had a great swim this morning - though I wish I could stay in there for more than 45 minutes - I suppose I could, but $8 for an hour and a half in the pool? Errrr... nope. Alright, I must get outside and enjoy the sun!

Spring is finally here!!

Spring is here! Over the past few weeks Winter and Spring have been teeter-tottering back and forth and finally, while we were away, Winter fell off and Spring planted it's feet firmly in the ground. Yesterday the temperature got up to around 15! Amazingly, there is still quite a bit of snow in the park (and ice) but most of the roads and sidewalks are all clear... though in many places the snow has been substituted by mud and, like I said before, the underlying garbage has been revealed. It's not everywhere but empty lots, bus stops, sidewalks, and most open areas that don't seem privately owned are littered with garbage... it's gross. I'm wondering, who cleans this up?! Someone has to... right? I also wonder how long it would take for all of the collected garbage to replace itself - probably pretty quickly. Anyways, we had such a great time in Athens seeing friends, being busy with full days and being back in a positive, vibrant culture, that the weekend high was followed by a mini-low. It only lasted for a day... finally the weather here is better and with the daylight savings time change, it is light until around 8 AND we only have one month left! And two weeks left in season! Crazy. We're still not sure what we're going to do after volleyball is done, but we have to wait until we know that they won't make playoffs to plan anything.

I had run out of books by the time we made it to Athens, so picked up a few from Carla (thank you!!) and also visited a fantastic English bookstore there where I bought Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It was amazing... it was one of those books that made me want to forego sleeping and read until I could read no more, until I had finished the book. I'd definitely reccommend it, and I'll be sure to check out her other novel when I get home.

On the subject of books... today is Internation Children's Book Day... and I loooove children's books. This section of the library or bookstore is potentially as dangerous as the fiction section (or the cookbooks section or wait.... as all of the other sections) ... I could do a lot of damage... and I don't even have kids! April 2nd is Hans Christian Anderson's birthday, and because of his indelible contribution to the world of reading and stories, this specific day was chosen to celebrate and inspire a love of reading, and children's books in particular. I found out about this special day on Wikipedia, where there was a link to a Children's Books page... where there is a list of of "Popular Contributions to Children's Literature" - it makes me want to go back and read some of my favourites - Jane Yolen, E.E Nesbitt, Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume... and so many more. Yum, books.

An Amazing Weekend...

Notice the contrast... lush, green Athens, and the view from our place the day before we left...

We're back! We had the most amazing weekend... it was so great to get out of here and see friends, feel and see the sun and colour and plant life and happy people, and eat good - wait - GREAT food!! It was a genuine escape. The first day we were there I honestly couldn't stop taking pictures of flowers and plants and trees - there is none of that colour here at ALL. I'm sure we'll see some when spring arrives... (I hope!) but I've obviously really missed seeing colour. And sunshine. And happy people. Can you blame me? It was one of those weekends that seemed like it lasted a week, even though our departure was a complete whirlwind - I'm not sure if I conveyed the flurry of activity that occurred between Wednesday night and Thursday morning - it was sooooo worth it!

Freddy, Reid and Lindsay Priddy, Hector "Piki" Soto, and me and Steve after the game

Like I said in my previous post, the guys won a point (by losing 3-2) and guaranteed the team a spot in the league for next year, so the management was really happy. There was an American and a Puerto Rican player on the other team, and Steve, Freddy and I know Reid Priddy and Hector "Piki" Soto, so it was good to see them. The American's wife comes along on all road trips so she was there too, which was great. We had met in Moscow at the all-star game last month, so it was fun to see her and share stories about life and people in Russia - like the way people stare at you when you wear running shoes, or how some taxi drivers watch movies, while driving.

So anyways, there was a major flurry of activity when we got back here after the game, with four days off we knew we had to go somewhere - and Steve and Freddy wanted out of Russia. They scoured the internet and found a good deal for a weekend in Athens, and by around midnight our trip was booked, including the 3am taxi from Yaroslavl to Moscow. So we had a few hours to pack and clean up etc.: by 7am we were at the airport ready to go, and by 1pm we were in sunny Athens!! The package that we booked on Expedia put us in a nice hotel just outside of the centre of the city, with a view of the Acropolis... it was awesome. We dropped our stuff and took a shuttle downtown to find a place to eat... no problem. We went to a famous souvlakeria restaurant just off of Monastiraki square where we had a few cold beers (it was sunny! and warm!) and some amazing food. The greek salad was out of this world - fresh tomatoes and a huge chunk of feta (SO GOOD!) and so was the souvlaki, tzatziki and pita bread. It was almost like we were experiencing a bit of a culture shock - seeing happy people, fresh, colourful (and cheap) food, music, sunshine, bustling activity, smiles, plants... a stark contrast to what we've gotten used to in Yaroslavl. So we had lunch, walked around a bit and came back to the hotel where we enjoyed the executive lounge and it's free food (and beer)... and then caught a movie at the cinema next door. (All movies and TV shows are dubbed here, and are in the original language with subtitles in Greece.)



After a fantastic sleep in a bed that makes our mattress here seem like a mangled spring box, we were all rested and ready for Day 2. A few friends were due to arrive sometime after lunch - Carla was flying in from Alexandroupoli (her husband Chris - Canadian National team player, is playing there...) and our buddy Nik that we met last year in Patras was making his way from Kavasila - so I spent the morning downtown (walking around in the rain - no problem!) while Steve and Freddy treated themselves to a morning at the spa... yes the spa. I chose shopping over the spa... but didn't have much success... though the long walk was super enjoyable - as was the coffee, the Greek pastry (I wanted to buy everything at the bakery... I also wanted to take pictures - remember, no bakeries or amazing goodies here) and the gyro I ate for lunch. Yum.

That afternoon, the whole group met up at the hotel and it was SO good to see Carla and Nik... and we went for coffee... and then out for dinner at a small taverna in the suburbs (definitely not on the tourist track) where we stuffed ourselves silly. I feel like I can't stop talking about how amazing the food was... but it's true. It was so so so good.. and we ate so so so much. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves - it was super delicious and super cheap. We would have paid two or three times more to eat this kind of a meal (I'm thinking quality and quantity) in Russia. The meal put us out of commission for the night - we were all too full to do anything else - not to mention that it was after midnight by the time we were done.... so we caught a cab back to the hotel. It was an interesting ride - as Carla said, she hoped the beer breath was ours and not the drivers... but he was friendly, funny and chatted us up - again, the polar opposite of a cab driver here in Russia - quiet, cold and stoic.

Steve, Nik and Freddy - before the feast

How good does that look?! An unforgettable salad...



Saturday was another great day. We met up with Chris and a few of his Canadian teammates at the Acropolis - it was a bit of a Team Canada Volleyball Reunion up there. The place was crawling with kids (spring break) and Steve and Gavin, whose combined height is over four metres, also proved to be a bit of an attraction. It was a gorgeous day, and super fun to meet up with a group of Canadian friends. Carla and I went on to check out Ancient Agora, the Temple of Zeus and the Olympic Stadium while the rest of the guys had lunch and found a cafe to watch a European cup volleyball game. Carla and I had an awesome time walking around the city, talking, catching up and enjoying the weather - we both got a bit of a sunburn - my skin hadn't seen the sun since January. So, the plan for the rest of the day was to watch a Euro cup game on TV (volleyball), and then find the gym where the Alexandroupoli team (stacked with Canadian players) was playing... and watch that game. The first part of the plan worked out... but the second part, not so much. We found the gym, and settled in to catch the last few points of the first set. The teams were maybe five points into the second set when, from the midst of the home team's unruly, chanting, thuggish fan club, comes a full beer - thrown onto the court, spraying beer everywhere, and dousing a few players in the process. Apparently this kind of a thing isn't uncommon... and the rule is that if it happens twice (we werent' sure if that meant twice in a season or twice in a game), the other team wins by default. Of course it isn't always enforced... but there has to be some kind of a process or punishment for the team that is associated with the out-of-control fans (fanatics). So.... after loooong wait... we found out that the game was called.. and that Alexandroupoli would leave by police escort. Nik suggested that we get out of there pronto.... and we did. It was exciting and a bit scary and nutso and crazy. We found out later that it took two hours for the police escort to arrive, during which time the Canadians, along with the rest of their team, were stuck in their locker room, guarded/protected by police. Seriously!?

So anyways, we made it back to the hotel and met up with the other Canadian players a few hours later. We had a few drinks and then made our way to Dekko, a club downtown where Nik and a few of his friends had made reservations for a big par-tay! We had an awesome time... even with the smoke and mega-blasting tunes. So.. that's it! Our journey home was long - the flight wasn't that bad, but the four hour drive from Moscow to Yaroslavl was - with all of the trucks and slow traffic, 40km/h was our average speed for a good portion of the trip. We arrived safely to what seems like a new season here - it was mildly warm here... not Athens warm but spring weather warm.... so hopefully that lasts. There is still some snow here and there... but the sun is shining today and we both feel refreshed and rejuvenated after an incredible weekend with great friends... and great weather and amazing food!
Me and Carla at the Acropolis

Me and Steve - amazing weather, amazing view!



Me, Steve and Nik out on the town on Saturday night...

To Athens... why not!?

So the guys had a game tonight and didn't win, but lost in five - and by winning two sets they gained a much needed point to guarantee a spot in the top 10 teams... this means no relegation! So, everyone was very happy after they won the fourth set and after losing the fifth... well, we were disappointed but not terribly. They don't play until next Saturday and ... get four days off! We came home after the game and the guys got online right away, searching for cheap flights/packages out of Moscow... which wasn't too easy. Expedia proved to be the best bet and we found a pretty good deal on flights and hotel for three days... so we are going to Athens!! We're meeting some friends that are already in Greece there, so it will be great to meet up with some familiar faces - yay! We leave in the middle of the night for Moscow - this will be a bit of a trek... but it will be worth it - warm weather! And friends! And shopping! And a break from some of the gloom and doom that is plaguing the transition from winter to spring... so, I'll write again on Sunday or Monday when we get back - have a great weekend!

Grim statistics... grey weather...

A few days ago we saw some more grim statistics of the war in Iraq: entering its sixth year, the U.S. death toll has passed the mark of 4,000. This number seems very high and very sad and definitely news that gets our attention. I keep referring to CBC since it's my number one go-to source for news... that is, besides Russia Today, our English news channel which we love - we get great news about Russia and the world... but the point that I want to make is that the fact that between 80,000 and 90,000 Iraqis have been killed is mentioned only in passing, at the end of the news reports and articles. Why? Why this focus on American military death and not the toll the war has taken on Iraqi civilians? I came across the grimly named Iraq Body Count website, that has some good (sad) articles about the loss of civilian life in Iraq - I had no idea that the U.S. army compensated families with condolence payments for "accidental" deaths or incidents. I feel like this is a very depressing thing to blog about so I'll stop. You can follow the links if you're interested...

ANYWAYS! Yesterday I had an interesting afternoon.... I went to the volleyball office to scan some ahem, documents, and on my way out I ran into the president, who invited me into his office for five minutes. Well, the five minutes turned out to be 60 minutes.... wow. At first he wanted to talk about Steve and the team and contracts and sponsors and blah blah blah, and then he started going on about the league, and the sneaky back-handedness of Russian volleyball was revealed. He told me about conversations he's had with the confederation regarding whether or not the refs would be fair, and of the six teams in the league that are, as he put it, "confederation teams, mafia teams." Now I don't really know what that's supposed to mean, but he implied that these teams, with their connections with the federation and the help of their healthy bank accounts, will avoid relegation, even if it means fixing games and paying off officials. I just smiled and nodded and put in two cents every now and then smiled and nodded some more... until someone came in and he abruptly ended our impromptu meeting by stopping almost mid-sentence and saying "Okay bye thank you." So that was it then! Very interesting. When I talked to Steve about our (one-sided) conversation... he wasn't really sure if the league was as corrupt as the president made it out to be.. and just laughed at me for being stuck in there listening to him for an hour. So yup. I had a great swim this morning and feel drained of energy... it's slush-city to the max today, and very very foggy... it is one grey day. But at least it's not snowing!!

Memories of last year's Greek Easter...

Steve made this slide show after Easter last year, which we spent with the Mixalopoulos family in Kavasila, Ilia, Greece. It was an experience... LOTS of meat and so much food... an awesome time with an awesome family!!!

Happy Easter!

I'm a day late again... sort of! Even though we didn't celebrate Easter here, we had a great weekend. The Russians don't celebrate Easter for several more weeks, as the Russian Orthodox Church (along with the majority of Eastern Orthodox Churches) follows the Julian calendar in determining religious holidays. (Christmas is celebrated on January 7th, and Easter, this year, on April 27th.) Anyways! Over the past few days we've been able to talk to some friends and family and that has been awesome.... we love skype. What else... okay, on Saturday night, we were all feeling pretty mellow; usually Saturday night involves a game, vodka and a smoky nightclub, but we were up for none of the above. SO! We had a sushi party! Freddy and I went and picked up Dasha and went to the airplane sushi restaurant to order the goods while Steve chilled out here. We all came back to our place, and after about an hour there was a delivery of the most delicious sushi spread.... it was SO GOOD! We are definitely going to do this more often, we had no idea that they delivered AND you can order online! That part might be problematic though, seeing as how their site is in Russian. We had a great night eating sushi, doing the puzzle, watching TV (movies are dubbed but you can kind of still hear the English if you really focus... ) and ??? Steve, Freddy and I are all hooked on The Office... and the two of them love quoting the show. After a while Dasha was convinced that she had to see it.... to see if it was really that funny. And it wasn't - it was lost in translation.


Easter Sunday was a pretty mellow day - there was no Easter bunny and we didn't do anything special for dinner (and we didn't go to church)... but! We did go ice skating! It was super fun!! We just recently found out that the ice rink where the local hockey team plays (that is a five minute walk from our place) is open to the public every now and then (we were unable to get a schedule....), so we went! We were unsure of where to go, and at the entrance to the bowling alley (part of the ice-rink-complex) met a very nice security guard who escorted us to the correct entrance and helped us throughout the entire process of procuring skates (they had Steve's size! We asked for the biggest ones...) to actually getting on the ice - he didn't hold our hands, but didn't disappear until we were skating. SO! The process was different than it is at home - there were lots of stations to visit to get skates, drop off your coat, and then your shoes, and at each station you're given a tag for your stuff, and tags indicating how long you can be on the ice. You can pay for half an hour or an hour: for the two of us, including skate rentals, an hour long skate cost 490 roubles, about $20. There are women that write your number down on a white board, and then call it out once your time is up. Vraiment interessant. It seems a bit expensive, no? It's strange... people don't seem to make that much money here, but most activities cost more here than they do at home. There were quite a few people there though.... not so many that Steve couldn't rip around - I felt a little shaky on my hockey skates.. I'm used to that pick... at least that's my excuse - we hadn't been skating in yeeeeears. Then, when our time was up, the security guard appeared and gave us each a present... a hockey puck! He was, without a doubt, the kindest stranger we've met here... it was so refreshing to be treated nicely when we've kind of gotten used to a rude, indifferent attitude from people that we don't know. It made our skating experience that much better... yay! So we had a great weekend.... and hopefully you did too! Happy Easter!

So much to learn....

Yesterday two Russian journalists were killed, one in Moscow and one in Makhachkala, the capital of the Republic of Dagestan. Both were from Dagestan, a semi-autonomous republic in southwest Russia, and both were blacklisted from a popular newspaper after apparently protesting or making public the fact that they (among others I'm sure) were being forced to produce negative reports about the government and president of the republic. The investigation is treating the murders as two separate, unconnected cases. CBC ran a small story on the matter, and I find it interesting that, within the first two sentences it is mentioned that Dagestan is a Muslim province; this wasn't mentioned at all on the news here. In any case, there are a lot of issues surrounding media, media restrictions and censorship here, and Russia has come under fire for tightening these freedoms here over the past several years. I don't know much about the issue but a question that immediately came to mind after hearing about fate of these Dagestani journalists was how the relationship between the government and leadership of a semi-autonomous republic and that of Russia works. How autonomous are these republics? How can censorship and media and political freedoms can be monitored, regulated, assessed etc., by both the government of the republic and by the central Russian government? I knew nothing about the administration of Russia so looked into it... and briefly, this is what I learned.

Russia has 21 republics - each nominally autonomous, with their own constitution, president and parliament, and is represented internationally by the central Russian government; these republics are home to ethnic groups and ethnic minorities. There are also 46 provinces, nine territories, one autonomous province (the Jewish Autonomous Province), four autonomous districts and two federal cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. Last week Steve's team travelled to Ufa, which is part of the republic of Bashkortostan; before the game two anthems were played - first, that of Bashkortostan, and second, the Russian anthem. He also said that there was a smallish section fans that sang the first anthem more rigorously than the other spectators; they were dressed in what looked like traditional garb - white robes... and had darker skin and Asian features.

All of these republics are populated by several different ethnic groups, all with their own history, customs, language and even government... but are still part of Russia - almost like a country within a country. Russia has been very clear that it will maintain territorial integrity at all costs; after Kosovo's declaration of independence (which Russia has not and will not recognize), there were fears that some of these republics might try to do the same, but nothing to that effect has happened. I'm guessing that memories of the Chechen conflict and the heavy hand that the Russian military dealt rebels and separatists there still send a pretty clear message to dissuade serious separatist movement elsewhere. There was another show on the news the other night though, with presidents of a few republics stating their allegiance to Russia and the desire of their people to remain part of Russia; this connection gives these republics many economic advantages that otherwise they wouldn't enjoy. Theoretically, it seems like a pretty good set up, that ethnic groups can be self-governing in their own republics, preserving their language, culture, history etc. in their own mini-country. But again, what happens when their interests conflict with those of their neighbor? Or those of Russia? And, how autonomous are they really? So many questions!

On a totally unrelated subject, I wanted to say something about the amazing databases that I've been accessing through the University of Manitoba... there are SO many online journals, magazines, newspapers, and databases that can be accessed through the library, it is so cool! I think that many of these mega-collections of information can be accessed through public libraries as well - I know that in Winnipeg I could get at them with my library card number and a pass code; maybe this news just to me but ... maybe not! Anyways, it's almost impossible to stay on track because there are so many neat magazines and articles that lead you to other neat magazines and articles... okay, yup. Point made, the internet is awesome.

There are no games this weekend, and we're not really sure why - I don't think it has anything to do with Easter (Eastern Orthodox Easter isn't celebrated for another month) because there are hockey games, soccer games and basketball games this weekend... so ??? This is a good thing for Steve's team - the setter is still in the hospital, and the nature of his illness is still unknown - we were told that it has something to do with his saliva. Riiiight. After that we were told that it is untranslatable. Okay! So hopefully he's better for Wednesday's game. Hopefully his saliva is better. Ew. Okay... it's sunny today but I imagine that it's cold - it's been very wintery and blustery for the past few days.... spring where are you!?

Vernal Equinox

The unofficial Earth Day Flag

Spring? I am not in the least convinced that it is spring. Steve got home in the middle of the night and was chilled to the bone - winter returned in the middle of the night and was in full force today: blustery high winds (arrrr) and a new coat of paint - snow snow snow everywhere. Blah. But, equinox has come and gone nonetheless... Apparently today was also International Earth Day (or International Equinoctial Earth Day - what a mouthful) even though Earth Day is celebrated/recognized in Canada on April 22nd... I'm not too savvy on Earth Day days, EVERY day should should be earth day! Okay, enough. It was also World Storytelling Day - I've never heard of this one but I like it... I love stories. Here is the official flag, which I also like.


I read on Wikipedia that there was the first officially organized storytelling "concert" last year in Newfoundland, and the theme was The Wanderer (this year's theme was Dreams). I'm sure it was really neat - probably a little weird in an nice, eclectic way, with lots of characters... and not just from books and stories! I have so many great memories of reading and stories and being read to ... yay. There is a Storytellers of Canada site with links to events, and I'm sure there are many events at local libraries... though I'm not sure if anything happened here. The only library that I've seen here was housed in a very old, grey building (it looked like an old dead monster-building) and showed no signs of life... sad. Anyways, Earth Day, Storytelling Day and Equinox - a notable day overall.

The only thing of note from our day today was the semi feast we enjoyed for dinner: roast chicken, mashed potatoes, candied carrots and a yummy salad - with chocolate pudding cake for dessert. It was SO good and now I am SO full and I'm going to try to heave myself off of the couch and finish my book. I hope. This might be our Easter dinner, as Easter isn't celebrated here for another month or so... will the Easter bunny know about this change of date? We'll have to wait and see....

A Productive Day....

I'm feeling as though I am losing the amazing efficiency that has governed my day today... noooo! Yesterday I was productive for approximately four hours, and that's including my swim (and working on my paper.) For the rest of the day I did some stuff online... but entirely without focus, and it wasn't until my eyes started burning that I realized I had been on the computer for WAY too long and in the apartment for WAY too long. I had to get out... and so I did. It was dark, but I went for a walk in the park anyways where I was wondering... is this safe? But there were other women walking, albeit in pairs... I just figure that since I'm twice the size of most women here (in more ways than one - they are skinny skinny skinny! here) potential assailants would go for the two for one grab. No, it's entirely safe. At least it feels that way. The day's malleable slush had frozen into dangerous mini peaks and valleys which makes a walk in the park... uh, something somewhat more difficult that what that expression usually implies. It was fresh air though, and I forbade myself from any more computer use and decided to be more productive. So, I came home, studied... puzzled... read... and went to bed. It was more productive than the afternoon's internet vortex - my eyes and my brain felt better.

SO! My goal for the day today was to be efficient! That sounds SO nerdy... but it was.. and mission accomplished. I did some productive stuff online, finished the rought draft of my paper (yay!) and cleaned! You know when you start cleaning... and realize that over the recent weeks you've had some sort of myopia when it comes to thoroughness?! Or maybe I was just overcome with hyper-excessive attention to detail and ... a sort of over-reactive cleaning mania! Well, it hit me today. So, I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and even though I think the vacuum cleaner is broken... I did the best I could. So yay, we have a clean apartment.

This afternoon I took the bus downtown to go shopping... even though the shopping here isn't that great. I tried on a pair of shorts that I saw a girl wearing on Saturday night... they're super cute but just didn't fit me at ALL, boo. I was also tempted to ask about boots... to see if any stores had my size but all of the shoe stores I went in were full of frenzied women and I just didn't feel like dealing with the language issues and the no-we-don't-have-your-huge-size looks. So once again all I came home with was a bag full of groceries... but, oh well. Oh! And I also came across the Maison d'Amitie de Poitiers et Yaroslavl... or something like that - a friendship house between the sister cities of Poitiers and Yaroslavl! Crazy! So I went in and spoke with the two women who were working there (en francais)... there's a small library and they offer french language courses mostly to kids... but to adults as well. I've never seen anything like that before! A joint sister city friendship house... chouette!


I just heard from Steve and they lost their game - game seven did not prove to be so lucky - their winning streak has been broken. Apparently their setter didn't travel because he was in the hospital, but it wasn't really explained what was wrong with him... translation difficulties I guess. Strange. So anyways, they are on their way back here tonight, yay! There is only one month left in the season, and time is flying by... as usual.

I walked home from downtown this afternoon, and here are a few random pictures from along the way:

One of the main chuches downtown: the main part was closed, with only a small area with several different icons and statues open for visitors.

People ice-fishing on the Kotorosl - this is close to the mouth of the river, where it meets the Volga...


The grocery store... not very exciting!!

Another Tuesday...

So, yesterday was a beautiful day, with the temperature getting as high as five degrees! It was really a lovely, spring day even with the wet snow melting everywhere, revealing winter's buried garbage. This doesn't paint a very pretty picture - there is quite a bit of garbage everywhere - mostly beer bottles, cigarette butts and remains of bags of potato chips - but it's not SO bad. You just can't ignore it - it's an instant observation. Anyways, so I was really surprised to wake up this morning to a blizzard! In all of my winter naivite (remember, this is the first year Steve and I have experienced a winter in six years) I thought, maybe it's over! Maybe this is Spring! Hurray! No. False. So I made pancakes, wishing away the winter and welcoming the big round yellow golden pancake. I mean sun. Yum.


Okay, I admit that this looks bad... maybe people think that the storm drain is a garbage chute? And missing? By a lot....!? I don't know!

Last night I went out for sushi! It was SO GOOD! Daria and I went to the Airplane Sushi restaurant (as named by me) - the interior was as if you were on a super-sized airplane! It was really neat... the decor was great and so was the food. We just grabbed whatever plates we wanted off of a revolving sushi belt and enjoyed... so so so good. We took one of those minivan buses back home - it was a very cramped ride, and a little too close for comfort with grumpy fur-clad Russian women. Weird.

I'm just back from a great swim and scarfed down some lunch; and now it's time to do some school work. I'm taking an Urban Geography course online and have a paper to write on the relationship between urban growth and improvements in transport technology. It's actually pretty interesting, and has made me think a lot about the challenges a city like Vancouver is facing with it's rapid growth and geographic constrictions. Hmmm... and global warming. Okay, I better get to it.

I had to balance out the ugly stormdrain-garbage picture with something nice... so here it is. Just after we got engaged this past August in Lighthouse Park. ")

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I think that this day was supposed to be celebrated on Saturday... and was changed because of the conflict between Holy Monday and the likely tom-foolery that accompanies this day of celebration and feasting/drinking.... but Happy St. Pat's day anyways!!

Despite a bad case of lazies yesterday, we had a great weekend! The guys won AGAIN! Making it six in a row - they were 1-10 in the first half of the season and are 6-0 in the second half... amazin' amazin' amazin'. They quickly did away with the other team 3-0; the game couldn't have lasted much longer than an hour. After the game we went to a small Italian place where the waiter dumped an entire beer on Steve... right in the crotch. DOH! It was kind of funny.... okay it was really funny, but not so much for poor Steve who had to sit through dinner with wet jeans. We came back to our apartment and did the usual Saturday night routine - we watched the game (again!) on tv, had a few beverages and then made our way to the Summit club around one. It was a good night but again, yesterday was mega lazy - I worked on a 1500 piece puzzle that we bought last week and went for a walk in the slushy park - these were my main activities. Sounds a bit boring, and it was... but I was okay with it.

The other day I talked a bit about the relationship between Russia and the USA and ranted a bit about USA's admonishment of democracy and human rights here. A few days ago the people at Russia Today had a great interview with Dan Rather - well, it's not so much that the interview was great... but what Dan Rather said was great - very illuminating and informative. He spoke so well and had some really intelligent things to say about the relationship between the two countries, and between this great Eastern giant and the new, all-powerful West. If you have ten minutes and are at all interested... it's definitely worth watching.




Steve left this morning for Ufa, for Wednesday's game against a team that is just ahead of them in standings... should be a good game. It's a gorgeous day here so I've got to get outside!

My paint skills are minimal - Yaroslavl is the red dot above Moscow and Ufa is underlined...