Hotel Bon Ami Kazan

... our spirits to a level of joy far exceeding any Russians we've met so far. To our eyes Russia appears as a strange planet inhabited by miserable aliens, I do hope the next 5000 miles shows us another side the country and it's inhabitants. . We hit the Moscow ring road at rush hours just as the heavens opened. Having survived that we stopped,found a coffee and sought to find the nearest accomodation, this seeking went ...

... crisis that Russia itself is going through although it was obvious that  it is going through a hard time. The prices of things have gone up dramatically and the rouble value has fallen swiftly against the US dollar. I think that the people are optimistic, however, this isn't anything that they haven't gone through before.  That night we were going to go to a hockey game.  It would be our first.  We had devoted most of our time to volleyball and ...

... I am, stuck in Russia and leaving for Moscow on Fri. the 12th and I have NO money or a way to get any.  But still I don't freak.  (Isn't this so unlike me?)             I call them back and ask them to send it to my dad instead and they agree to do that.  So I call dad.  "Dad," I say," my new debit card is coming.  As soon as you get it FedEx it overnight.  I'll pay you back when I get home." No ...

... which") Genitive Plural and Aspect/Pairs.  The first words out of my mouth were "eta koshmar" with pouted lips and eyes that I hoped didn't show my fear.  And what does the teacher do? She laughs at me!  Crazy Russian!  "Of course it is easy for you." I mumble, "you've spoken Russian all your life and I need all my life to understand Russian."             --Getting on a bus with 200 people on it (I'm not kidding) and being felt ...

... in our hands.  (Quickly, I just want to say that it took a least an hour to walk there.  In the ice and snow.  Now I have a story to tell MY children, "When I was YOUR age, I had to walk three miles in the ice and snow...." But I digress.)               Anyway, we go to the store and quickly discover that this is Russia.  I had forgotten that they have no idea of spices or anything flavorful. So most of our plans have already begun to go a little ...

... and then offered to take us home, but Kristen and I live so close that we just decided to walk.  Anyway, we wanted to enjoy the snow and talk about the amazing night we just had.  We stopped in Tykai Park and took some pictures, marveled at how beautiful Kazan is at night covered in snow and then felt sad because of the short time that we have left.              I wonder after we finally get settled and understand (at ...

... box seats in the house.  The orchestra was perfect and the ballet itself was better than I could have imagined it to be.  Literally, this ranks the top 10 best things that have ever happened to me and for those of you that are wondering:  Number 1 is choosing to go UNCG and taking Russian Studies because never ever in my life would I have thought that this would be possible for me.  Hellllooo.... I'm in Russia!  Or am I dreaming?  Don't wake me up if I am.  I may murder you.  

So I have decided that traveling by train is the way to go.  We did it several times through Ukraine and Hungary but most of those were overnight so it was impossible to see the landscape.  It was a benefit to travel through the night because you pretty much slept (except for a few hours) though.  This train trip to St. Petersburg from Kazan, was to be a 24 hour train ride and it began at 11 am so you could see the Russian landscape as it went by through our ...

... of his journey is on main roads so it really isn't all that dangerious but there is a stretch that is dark and out of the busy section of the street. So he is walking when suddenly two guys grab him and push him into a courtyard where the preceded to hit and kick him. Liam tried his best to fight them off but they were too fast for him. Then they finally hit him so many times, he blacked out and he found himself in a big puddle of mud and covered ...

... her dacha (summer home). On occasion she will give us keilbasa or pelmini, which I love. I should mention that we have to get up way earlier because of the Russian way of breakfast, but once you get used to it, it isn't that bad. It is a time of relaxation and contemplation, not a time to rush about and do in a hurry. It generally lasts around 45 minutes to an hour and consists of leisurely drinking hot tea and eating slowly. After breakfast, Kristen and I wash our ...