No sleep ‘til Brooklyn

Or at least, very little sleep until Ulan Ude. I don’t know what I was thinking not packing ear plugs. I’m such a light sleeper, but it had been getting better lately, so it just didn’t occur to me. While apparently the rocking of the train lulled my cabin mates to sleep, the constant clack, clack, clack, made it nearly impossible for me.

We rolled in to Ulan Ude at 6:30 a.m. and members of the Rotary club where there to meet and transport us. It was quickly decided that Bill and I should switch host families, as the one he was scheduled to be with had fallen ill, the replacement family spoke English, and the family I was slotted to be with did not. The gentleman who helped us coordinate all this is named Gardner, and is from the Pacific Northwest. He’s here doing missionary work, sort of. He’s not technically a missionary, because missionaries won’t be granted Visas. So, he’s here working at a sort of community center to help teach children they need to learn more than just academics – that physical exercise, social interaction, spiritual and emotional development are all important. In addition, he also works and a church and helps teach English.

The replacement family (the one I ended up with) are actually not Rotarians, but members of Gardner’s church. Val is Buryat and has spent a year and a half in the states, in New England (three 6-month trips). His wife, Jinya (Russian), actually doesn’t speak any English.

Gardner, Bill, Sergei (Rotary club president) and I stopped to have some blini and posey (similar to dim sung) for breakfast. Gardner stopped by his house on the way to drop me off, so I got to meet his three kids. Adorable!! Then, he brought me over to my new home and I crashed until about noon. The hot water was turned back on while I was resting, so I also got a nice hot shower.

We met at 2 p.m. at Lenin’s Head (the largest Lenin’s Head in the world), but it was pouring down rain, so the canceled the planned sightseeing. Instead, we all headed over to Gardner’s and looked at some pics from a couple of excursions up the in Siberian Mountains that he’d taken students on. So much snow!!!!!

Then, off to dinner at a Mongolian restaurant, which was fabulous. We had a variety of different calats (salads), Mongolian fried dumplings w/ beef and mutton, and some fabulous steak.

Now, I’m back home and Val and Jinya have run out see her mom, so I have a couple of hours to kick back.

Ulan Ude is smaller than Irkutsk. The first has about 400,000 residents, the second about 650,000. It is about to celebrate its 340 year celebration. (Day after tomorrow, as a matter of fact.) It has a number of the old houses similar to those in Irkustk, but they seem to be better repair. I’ve only been here one day, so it may be too soon to comment, but the city as a whole just seems a little more laid back and comfortable. Think Ft. Worth versus Dallas – though, of course, Irkutsk and Ulan Ude are hundreds of miles apart, with very different ethnic demographics. Irkutsk is almost all Russians, and the Russian Orthodox Church is prominent. In Ulan Ude, by contrast, there are many Buryat, and Buryat Buddhism and Shamanism are the prevalent religions.

Not so much to talk about today, so I’ll sign off for now. I can’t believe the trip is already halfway over!!