Grand Hotel Kazan

... out the door for realisies this time. 5. Walk to bus stop-avoid old woman trying to tell you about Bog. She thinks you are heathen. 6. Plan pagan rite to do in her presence-just for kicks. 7. There is NO step seven. 8. Wait for bus or trolleybus- standing room only. 9. Scowl deeply to blend in. 10. Stare back. 11. Plant your feet. 12. Square your shoulders. 13. Bend your knees slightly. 14. Think ...

... of Communism but at some point we all must admit we miss working.  When you get done with classes and realize that a cold evening of losing to Kristen at Skip-Bo is staring you in the face suddenly an eight hour shift of imprinting names on Bonded Leather Burgundy Teen Study NSRV Bibles looks almost appealing.  In two weeks the almost will disappear from that sentence. This would be all well and good without ...

So for the last few weeks we have become obsessed with volleyball.  I know it sounds kind of crazy for a truly Americanized sports lover like myself. I mean for goodness sake, I TAPE football games and swear everyone to secrecy when it comes to my one true love like football.... However, volleyball, oddly enough has been ever so slowly penetrating my truly (until now) faithful heart.              Today we went to a game like no other.  They were ...

So it is now November and the darkness has come.  Never in my life have I been anywhere where it gets dark at around 3pm.  I hate it.  I feel moody and out of sorts and very tired.  True, it could be culture shock, at least that is what everyone is saying anyway, but weather has always affected my moods and I think that perhaps that is the problem more so than culture shock.  Everyone is affected by this new turn of events.  Darkness is not our friend.  Our bodies can't adjust ...

... Are we so snooty that the only games that we care about are football, baseball and basketball?  Don't get me wrong, mess with my football and there will be a huge brew-ha-ha, but really, isn't there room for more?  Here Chess is considered a sport.  Did you read me right?  That's right, I said Chess.  So maybe it is something to think about.              Anyway, we enter the stadium and the militiamen/women feel you up and look through your ...

... the car should pass and I don't wait long until I see a very new and very black car come down the street with militia cars in front and back of it.  I have no idea who it was or where they were going but they had to be of extreme importance.  It was pretty neat.   I knew then though, that this was not a day to just go out and explore.  So I finally made it home and went right back to bed and took a nap, then I watched some movies on my computer and read some ...

... but we both have kind of a mean streak.  Do you really think that we were going to tell him??  Heck no! He was going to find out for himself and he walks into the kitchen (where the tv is) and sees his mother on tv.  You should have seen his face.  His eyes were as large as saucers and his mouth hit the ground.  Darn!!  I wish I had my camera trained on his face instead of that blasted tv screen!!  I will regret that for the rest of my life.  Honestly.  It ...

So last Sat. Kristen and I decided to explore the city because it was a beautiful day.  We invited Liz to come as well as our new friend from Minnesota, Rowan to come along.  At first we thought that we would just hop on a bus and see where it ended up but we just started walking and ended up at the Kremlin.  Both Liz and Rowan had been inside before but Kristen and I hadn't yet mainly because we wanted to wait for a ...

... we were there.  He then preceeded to tell us that that style only existed here but there was one place outside of Russia that had the stye and that was in Kiev!  Cool, huh?  It was magnificent and we got there when the bells started to ring.  We went up the steps to look inside of the church and all of the women had to cover their heads before they entered.  We were lucky because a wedding was going on and the ceremony was beautiful.  What got me though ...

... in your hands, or you were smart and thought of bringing a bag. (This is the hardest thing to remember.) Whichever way you choose, you have to go to another cashier to buy the rest of your things and it is awkward and more often then not it is better to have you receipt out for the non-food stuff, just in case. I leave it in my hands so they see it. In another store, they have everything together and you don't have to pay separately AND they provide bags (they are the ...