Back in the USA

Yep, I'm here, alive and well!! I failed miserably in keeping any account of my time in Moscow, but trust me, you're not missing much. We managed to pick a weekend when Red Square was actually closed, if you can believe it. I swear I'll give at least a brief recap in the very near future. In the meantime, now that I'm back to high speed internet (HOORAY!!!!), enjoy these thousand or so photos. :)
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Coupe for four, pazalusta

That’s pretty much a good example of the butchered, mixed Russian/English I’ve been trying to communicate in for the last four weeks. At least I’ve been managing! (Hand signals/charades have helped, too.) The four of us are in one coupe on the train, and Bill is again sharing with some random folks.

The Rotary event wasn’t an official meeting, just a gathering of some of the club members for dinner – one of the best meals we’ve had. All in all, I think Chita was the city where we collectively had the best experiences. After the meeting, we hung out for a while and watched a short dance performance, which was a little… strange. There were about 10 of us left at our table, and one other table of three, and besides that, the restaurant was empty. There was a stage at the front, and we watched about four different dance numbers (separated by a guy singing the equivalent of bad karaoke), first two girls, then three guys, then two mixed dances. Again, Tracy stole the show and the dancers came and pulled her on stage.

We walked to a nearby bowling alley and played pool for about an hour, then headed home around midnight.

We started the next day at a television station. They took us to both studios, the control room, and we got to meet the station director. Five years ago, the station was completely funded by the government. She said now they’re about 30% funded, and have to generate the rest of the revenue. I asked about ad pricing, and they said a ten second, prime time spot was about $100. They’re broadcast by satellite, so technically the audience is limitless, but they estimate about 1.5 million viewers in the Chita region – this was the local affiliate of a national Russian station.

After the TV station, we broke up and Mark and Ora went to speak to a human right’s organization. Tracy and I went to the corporate headquarters of a drugstore company. They have 1,000 locations across Russia and are continuing to expand. It was a very interesting professional discussion for both of us – I asked some questions about their marketing and Tracy asked about the development of their business and construction of new locations. It’s a pretty progressive company – very concerned about consistent branding, using special promotions coinciding with holidays, and a discount card for pensioners and frequent shoppers.

We met back up for lunch and then went out to an orphanage with has received a lot of assistance from the local Rotary club. There were 60 kids there, ranging in age from three to 17. They were grouped into four “families” of 15 each for meals and sleeping areas.

We spent a short time there, then headed back to the city and walked and shopped for a while. Then, back home to pack and get ready for the train ride, which we’re already more than half done with! So, tonight in Irkutsk, then the flight to Moscow, two nights there, and home! I have no idea what my Internet access will be after the hotel in Irkutsk, so if I don’t get any more posts up ‘til I’m back in America, see you soon!!


Now, it’s almost over. Mixed feelings. I’ve had a really good time, and I know that a lot of it has to do with the people I’ve gone on this journey with – both in my team and those that have hosted us. It seems like the month went so fast, but at the same time, I miss the comforts of home, my friends and family.

Last days in Russia

On Saturday, we realized that from that point forward every day would be our last of that day in Russia. For instance, today is my last Monday. We’re doing everything we can to make them count!

Yesterday, we met up for lunch at a really nice restaurant just outside of town. Each table was in its own individual hut. We had posey, fried posey, pilmeni, salad, blini, the works. The food was awesome. Tracy was once again the star – at least three people asked to have their picture taken with her. For many, she is the first black person they’ve ever seen! I don’t think the staring is quite as bad here as it was in Ulan-Ude, though, or maybe they’re just not as obvious about it here.

After lunch, we headed to a local art museum showcasing photographs of the Chita area. On the second floor, there were a number of works by a mother and daughter. The mother is an architect and in fact designed the church on the overlook we went to on Friday. The daughter is art school in St. Petersburg and had some really neat fashion design drawings. The third floor was more traditional works, including some old Soviet Realism paintings.

After that museum, we went to another local museum with exhibits on the indigenous animal life of Chita, as well as more Chita history. We stopped back by the central city cathedral, then headed over to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. After dinner, we walked to a bowling alley at a motel next door. There were six lanes, video games, American pool and an adjoining casino. We headed home a little after midnight.

Today was Mark’s professional day, and we went and met the police chief and had some chai at headquarters. Then we walked down the street to the old firehouse from the early 1900s. It has a tall tower, from which the fireman could watch the city and respond to fires by sight. Now, the downstairs is a car repair shop, and upstairs is a police museum.

After lunch, we headed outside the city to the police gun training site. We are the first foreigners ever allowed to visit this place, so it was a real honor. (Chita used to be a closed city, and foreigners weren’t even allowed in the city, much less at such a militaristic venue.) We put in some Russki earplugs (bullets placed in our ears) and got to fire a variety of weapons, and I did all right. Hit the bull’s eye with my first pistol (all luck, as I only hit the target one other time with that gun), and managed to get about a dozen other hits with the next couple of weapons – another pistol, and an automatic. (this was at 25 meters)

We moved down the range to a 100 meter target and shot another automatic - a kalishnikov (ak-47). Five shots on the target here.

Now, about an hour at home to get cleaned up, then off to our Rotary meeting. Last night in Chita, as we leave tomorrow night on the midnight train and start our long journey home!

Suntanning in Siberia

Of all the things I thought I might bring back from this experience in Siberia, today I got two things that I never would have predicted – about a dozen mosquito bites, and a sunburned nose. (Don’t worry too much mom, I used 30 SPF!!)

We met about 10 a.m. and headed out to a nearby lake for the day. Ruslan (the Russian team member from Chita who came to Texas, and also Ora’s host for our time here) has a dacha out there. It’s really interesting the varying degrees of dachas. As opposed to the first one we went and saw (Yelena’s), his is more of a “starter” dacha. It’s only one room and a porch, and there is no running water – I’m not even sure if there was electricity. Which, of course, meant another day of outhouses – I’m learning more and more I’m not a camper at heart.

The weather was amazing. We got to the lake about noon, and basically sat around all day. We bumped the volleyball around a little, waded up to our waists – the water was still a bit chilly, but nothing compared to Baikal. Dasha said there was still ice on the top two weeks ago.

While we were down on the beach, we randomly ran into the woman who changed our traveler’s checks for us at the bank yesterday. Her group was just down from us, and she recognized Ora and me. They invited us over for a little bit of vodka and food. I felt bad because we hadn’t spent much time with our hosts, so we didn’t stay with their group long.

We went back up and had some sashleek. No hamburgers or hot dogs at the cook out, but pretty good anyway!

On the way back, Mark and I jumped in with Ora to run by Ruslan’s and take advantage of his high speed internet. The plan was to download Itunes and upload some photos. After that, we were going to head downtown to a discoteque. But, again, I think we had a little lost in translation moment. Instead of heading back to his house (it was about 8:30 at this point), he took us to the other side of the lake where there was to be an “Open Lake” concert – the first concert of the season out at the lake, marking the opening of the season. We got there about 9 p.m., and found out it wasn’t starting until midnight. Thankfully, we decided not to stick around. Ruslan had said all the tickets were sold out anyway, but he was going to try and get us in until he found out when it was starting. It was a big outdoor event, with a large stage set up at the front of a field.

We got back on the road, and after about 15 minutes, he said, “Maybe you are hungry?” Ora was, and we thought Ruslan and his friend might be, too, so we said sure, we can stop. It was about 10 p.m. by now, and I knew there was no way I was going to make it to the club by this point. We had some posey and blini, and got back underway around 10:45. I gave Mark my flash drive to download ITunes, and hope I’ll get a chance later to get some pictures up. It didn’t sound like anyone was going to be going out to the club, as Ora was also tired, and Mark’s host family was very worried about him going out. He was pretty peeved, feeling like they don’t respect his age and experience. I can understand that they feel responsible and don’t want him to get in a bad situation, but being a police officer and speaking Russian, I think he’d be a lot more capable than any of the rest of us. Anyway, Ruslan dropped me off and when I came up, Dasha was getting ready to go back out. She said people don’t really get started until about midnight. She’s 23, and maybe when I was 23 I would have jumped on board and gone out with here, but apparently I’m getting old before my time.

It’s 12:15 a.m. now, and I am ready to spot (sleep). See – another couple words everyday! My other new one is Ya Nyeznayu (I don’t know), another one I really should have learned earlier in the trip… And, I finally got a toast down – Nasdarovia. J

Another long first day

We rolled in at about midnight last night and were given the warmest greeting yet – a whole host of people were waiting at the train station, complete with a sign (in English!) welcoming us to Chita.

A woman named Margarita and a girl named Dasha ushered me to their car. I was under the impression they were mother and daughter, but Rita dropped me off and it turns out I’m staying at Dasha’s with her mother, whose name I’ve yet to catch. Dasha speaks very good English and was in fact an exchange student in Burleson for a year. I’m amazed by how many children here have participated in exchange programs. I’m sure part of it is the fact that I’m staying with Rotarians, and that Rotary is so focused on International relations, and also that the families who are hosting us are better off financially than the norm, but still! I knew a lot of well-to-do families growing up, and don’t remember a lot of international exchanging going on…

When we got to the house, there was a little bit lost in translation, and even though I told Dasha I wasn’t hungry, she didn’t get the message, so her mom fixed me a plate of mashed potatoes and beef stew. I couldn’t convince them I really didn’t want anything to eat at 1 a.m., and she’d already fixed the meal, so I felt guilty and ate a little bit. Then, a shower and off to bed. Their home is beautiful! Again, we’re in one of the apartment buildings that looks almost like a tenement from the outside, but inside – wow. Hardwood floors, large rooms – lots of space! Their bathroom is the nicest I’ve seen in Russia. Very large, with a tub you have to step up to, nice tile flooring and walls. Still, with room for the washer, clotheslines and an ironing board, and plenty of room to move around, even with all of that!

We left this morning a little after nine. Our first stop was a Decembrist museum. That history is so amazing to me. Here are these very cultured, very educated people, being exiled because their ideas differed from the czars. They showed us the map of the original plan of Chita. When the exiles were sent here, many of the wives decided to follow. That’s dedication! And, when you think about the fact that many of those marriages had been arranged, and yet the women still chose to follow a husband to Siberia, rather than take the chance to get out of the marriage…

After the museum, over to a university to see its geology and paleontology exhibits. Not quite as interesting to me, but there was a wide variety of specimens. They claimed on the paleontology side to have a 1.6 billion year old rock – the only one in the world. I don’t know if I’m just too cynical or what, but the fact that something like that would be in a small university in a small city in Siberia, sitting out, not even in a locked cabinet – hard for me to accept as true.

Next, to lunch. We went to a very nice restaurant and again had way too much to eat. Salad, soup, pork chops and rice. Then, to an art salon souvenir shop. I was running low on rubles, so I didn’t pick anything up, but after that we went to a bank so I could cash in some traveler’s checks. Ora and I both needed to do it, and we both quickly realized we should have stuck to cash. The first bank we went to wouldn’t do it. The next took almost half an hour, took a 3 percent commission, and gave us a mediocre exchange rate. Still, it’s nice to have some rubles in my pocket! :)

Then, over to the Chinese market – appropriate since now we’re very nearly in China! (I learned later in the day that Manchuria is about 600 km away.) I bought a bag embroidered with Russia in Cyrillic letters to go with my New Zealand bag for $12 (300 rubles).

The last stop for the day was at a furniture manufacturing plant. The gentleman who owns the plant told us that 1/6 of all the furniture sold in Russia is made there. He also took us through the shopping area, which reminded me a lot of Ikea… (There’s no Ikea here yet, though there is one in Irkutsk.) We went up to his office for some Cognac and Chai and the invited us to his house for dinner. He has built a private residence with in the city – the first we’ve seen, and probably one of the very, very few around. By the way, he also drives a Hummer…

And, his house was amazing. Three stories above ground, plus a basement with a bana and pool. It’s not permitted to build a single family home within city limits, so technically the house is registered as his office, which means he has to pay business taxes and business rates for water, energy, etc. His electric bill during the summer is about $700. He cooked out sashleek and we hung out for a while, then left to meet our host families. It’s 9:30 p.m. now, and I’m already dead tired. I put in a load of laundry, am going to try and get this uploaded, wash my hair, and hit the sack.

Tomorrow, we’re spending the day at the lake and going to a discoteque that evening. Every day here is going to be nonstop!!!

btw, I'm still on dial up, getting a whopping 16 Kbs/second, so no pictures anytime soon, unless I can get over to Ora's host who has WiFi! :)

Sunny days

We finally got a break in the weather today, and want a treat! We headed out from the resort towards the lake after breakfast. It was in the 70s with a slight breeze and sunny skies. This side of the lake was much less rocky than the Irkutsk side – not exactly white sand, but quite beautiful. It’s also a striking juxtaposition to walk out of the birch and fir forest onto a beach, and look across and see snow topped mountains.

Since Mark had done his duty on Al’hon, we three girls each took a quick dip in Lake Baikal. It was frigid. I don’t think any of us were in longer than 5 seconds, and no one went more that waist deep.

Back to the inn, and they arranged for Ora and I to go ride horses. Unfortunately, Ora’s seemed more interested in eating grass than taking a walk down to the beach, so that excursion was short lived.

We’re on our way back to Ulan Ude now, and hopefully this weather will hold for a few days, at least. Our train leaves tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. I knew that our time in Ulan Ude would pass quickly, and it certainly did. It was nice to have such a relaxed schedule, but it certainly was different that Irkutsk! We didn’t even attend a Rotary club meeting… I guess the timing just wasn’t right.

I’m sure Chita will pass quickly as well, though based on the preliminary schedule they provided us, our days are going to packed full!

Kickin’ back, relaxin’, all cool

I hooked up with the girls yesterday afternoon about three and we walked around town for a while. The city celebration concert was set to start at 8 p.m., and we headed over to the stadium to meet Mark around 7 p.m. Getting into the concert was quite an adventure.

Apparently the seating was limited, and by the time we tried to get in, the doors were all closed and people were pressing up against them trying to get in. Julia took our tickets and went up and talked to a guard and explained we were there with Rotary. We went up the outside, then pressed our way between people and up and over a concrete barrier to get in. There was a lot of yelling and pushing… The concert was in the soccer stadium, and people climbed up the light poles, trees, and sat on the roofs of nearby apartment buildings and warehouses to watch.

We went inside what I would have called the Press Box area in the states to use the toilet, and ran into the mayor. He asked how we were enjoying our stay, and we of course responded ahtleyhcna (wonderful). There was a hospitality room where we had some light appetizers and tea. I asked Julia how they did catering, and she said the mayor’s office takes care of it all – there aren’t any individual caterers for higher, per se. The opening acts were mostly the same performers we saw the evening before.

The main act was a Russian girl band who won a contest similar to American Idol or Making the Band. It was all lip sync, but the crowd had a really good time nonetheless.

We ended up leaving about 10 o’clock, but the fireworks weren’t scheduled to start until 11 p.m., so when I got home Val and Jinya asked if I wanted to go back out with them to see the display. They didn’t live far from the stadium, so we drove over to get a little closer. Once you get off the main roads in Ulan Ude, good luck. I asked Val what it took to get a road repaired, and he said a miracle. He had told me earlier that the only way a road ever got serviced was if a dignitary was in town and that road was on his route…

The fireworks were nice, but fairly short. I’m looking forward to being back in time for the good ol’ Fourth of July!!

Today, Mark, Ora and I went and toured a university with some interesting areas of focus. (Bill took the morning off after a late night with the Rotary club President, and Tracy was visiting a metal working business.) At the university, we saw their internet center – 40 computers, all with high speed access. The center is used to teach both students and professors how to work with computers. Then, we were given a tour of the microbiology area, along with a souvenir of some microbes to take back and drink to heal an upset stomach. The tour ended in the department where students learned to tan and treat fur. Like I said – interesting cross studies…

We headed back to Hotel Geser, piled in the van, and drove out to a resort at En Haluk, and that’s from where I am writing now. It’s very nice, and dinner was excellent. I’m fighting a sore throat and doing my darnedest not to let it turn into more, so I’m taking a break while the other folks bana. Hopefully that, combined with turning in early tonight, will help me stave off a respiratory episode!! Only 11 days left – hardy any time at all!

Rain, rain go away

Yesterday was another cool and rainy day. We met at 9 a.m. to head out to a Buddhist temple – called a Datsan. We took a short side visit on the way and saw a sculpture of two deer up on a hill. The view was spectacular.

The Datsan, in addition to being a temple, is a huge tourist attraction and also a place of higher learning. It’s apparently a type of university, and there are a lot of little houses where the students live. We started by walking clockwise around the grounds, offering donations and spinning prayer wheels. The wheels have prayers written on them, and you can also say your own prayer, and when you spin it, every time that it goes around, it’s taking your prayers up to the spirits.

At the end of the walk, we waited in line to go inside of the temple – no photos allowed inside, and no chewing game either, I found out when a monk made me spit mine out. There were about a dozen monks chanting inside. Many worshipers had come and left offerings of milk, bread and sweets. There were dozens of representations of different Buddha’s on the front wall. The line that wrapped through the building was for a chance to see the body of a certain Buddha, whose name I sorry that I didn’t get. Apparently, he was born in the 1800’s and died in the mid 1900’s. The exhumed his body like 50 years after he was buried and the story was that it hadn’t decayed at all.

After that, we headed over to a Mongolian restaurant for lunch. We had a beet and apple salad, which was surprisingly good, mashed flour w/ some kind of seasoning, soup with lamp, posey, and sausage. Then, we were supposed to go an Ethnographic museum, but since it was all outdoors and the weather wasn’t cooperating, we instead went to a local history museum. There was a special exhibition going on from some famous Buryat artist. His sculptures were amazing. I left my camera in the car, so I’ll have to get pictures from the other team members…

After the museum, off to a local theater. We hadn’t been told what kind of concert we’d be seeing, and it turns out it was the kick off for the city celebration. It started out promising, with the introduction of Ms. Ulan Ude and some women in gorgeous costumes. Then, for an hour and a half, we listened to speeches in Russian and watched dignitaries, politicians and business men receive awards. Finally, there was a dance performance, which made the long presentation worthwhile. We saw all different kinds of dances, Buryat, historical Russian, Indian, Spanish, and some folk music was also performed.

The mayor was having a private dinner, which the team had been invited to, so we headed that way after the concert. The restaurant was Ulan Ude’s version of Joe T. Garcia’s, with a huge outdoor patio, with a portion covered. We got there about 7 p.m. The tables where set up very grandly, with wine, vodka, juice and water, and meats, tarts, bread, and salmon to start. As everyone enjoyed the appetizers, the entertainment went back and forth between people making toasts, and the performers from the earlier concert taking turns on the stage. There were probably about 100 people at the dinner. Everyone was brought a salmon dish, then chai. It was about 9 o’clock, and Mark, Ora, Tracy and I had planned to try and get a club that night since we never made it out in Irkutsk. We figured the dinner was about to wrap up, so I called Val and he came and picked me up. Of course, right as he got there, they brought out sashleek, and I found out later they also brought pork chops after that!

I seriously didn’t need anything else to eat though, so it was really okay that I left when I did. I came home, changed, and we went back out to Fabrica (means factory in English, and the club used to be a poultry factory). It was a huge place – a multiplex, billiards hall, night club and pizza joint. Tracy and Julia (local girl who had been with us all day – her mom is a Rotarian, and Julia spent some time in Kansas as a nanny. Her English is amazing.) got there right after I did, so we headed up to the club. Val and Jinya came along as well, and Julia’s mom and Sergei, the club president, were also there. It was techno night at the club, so we hung out and danced. About 1:30, I was pretty much done and I could tell Val and Jinya were, too, so we came back home.

I got up this morning, prepared to head out for another full day starting at 10 a.m. After my shower, Val told me he’d got a phone call and the other team members had stayed out until 4 a.m. (clubs here close at 6 a.m.), so we weren’t going to do the city celebration things today, but were getting together tonight for the concert instead. I went back to bed, am catching up here, and then I don’t know what! It’s about 12:30 now, so I don’t know if we’ll go out and about, or just hang here. Val and Jinya have the day off since it’s the city holiday.

I don’t know if I’ll get any more pictures up anytime soon, since I found out the folks here are charged by internet usage based on traffic. I’ll keep downloading them to a flash drive, so that way if I do make it to an internet café I can post them.

Da zaftra! (until tomorrow)

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!!

Long, black train

We’re on the way to Ulan-Ude. Hooray, hooray!! So, now the heavy task of trying to chronicle the last few days… on Wednesday we visited a Russian jail – but apparently not a typical one. It was actually called a colony, and holds mostly criminals who used to be police. It was very open and airy – more like I would imagine a military camp to be. The prisoners slept in barracks with big picture windows. The establishment was self-sufficient – it has its own lumber yard, livestock, blacksmith, bakery, laundry, just about everything. They also manufacture boots for the militia.

After we were done at the prison, we drove down the street to wait on Yelena. Mark saw some special Russian ladies standing on a corner, and decided he needed a picture of them talking to the police (with my camera, no less). The police made a block, then came up behind Mark. At first, I was afraid he was going to get my camera confiscated, but then I was like, it’s Mark – the police will be out and posing with him in a minute. Sure enough…

Then, we went to a telecommunications firm – one of the first in Irkustk. He showed us their server rack, which was a little underwhelming since I’ve been in a server room at Pepsi, but it’s interesting to see a small business starting up over there.

After that, we killed a couple of hours walking around downtown and shopping for souvenirs, and ate pizza at Dominos – not that Dominos, but it was still pretty good.

We had our second Rotary meeting that night, the club where Natasha is President. Another 14 hour day, and I was exhausted.

On Thursday, we started out the day at a museum chronicling the history (and pre-history) of Irkutsk. Then, Mark, Bill and I went to the Great Baikal Trail Association and Ora and Tracy went to Marina’s school. The GBT is a really interesting project. Through volunteer work camps, they are building a 1,350 mile long trail around the lake. It’s very important that they create sustainable development, and also help the people living in the areas understand the benefits of the project. By bringing in more tourism, there will be an economic benefit to the residents. If you Google Great Baikal Trail, they have a website (sorry I can’t remember the URL).

The afternoon was spent at a Humanitarian Center and Library. There were a lot programs for children and many different areas in the library – a foreign language room, a research room, and a room dedicated to the benefactor, a gentleman who lives in Utah by the name of Polovoy. He has donated 10,000 books from his personal collection and isn’t done yet. He’s a native Russian and has family ties to Irkustk.

The third Irkustk Rotary club meeting was that evening at the library. We didn’t stay very late there because we were meeting the Warden and a guard from the prison out on his boat. The weather had improved, and we watched the sun set from the Angara. We also drove by a boat called the Angara. It was an ice breaking boat – the hull was strong enough that it would drive up on top of ice, plane out, fall down and break the ice. (It’s no longer in commission, but a local newspaper editorial staff uses it as an office.)

We started off the day with members from the last Rotary club that we’d seen the night before, and they showed us an area where they planned to plant 100 trees. They had planted 10 trees, but a car drove through the area and uprooted one. Lida drove us by an orphanage they support. They recently received a grant to build a new sport/play area. Children from the area who aren’t in the orphanage are even excited about it, as they’ll be able to play there as well.

We took a long drive out to a village and had lunch at a woman’s house. Then, a couple of hours to pack, dinner and off the train!!

I know this has been a pretty cursory explanation of the last three days, but once again it’s nearly midnight. As my friend Dayan pointed out before I even left, I might need a vacation to recover from my vacation!

Ya Ustala

It's 12:37 a.m. here, but see how dedicated I am? This may be the shortest post yet, but I'll do my best... (and rest assured I'll come back and lose you in minutia after the train ride tomorrow...) Yesterday we visited a penal colony, especially for former cops who'd been caught in crimes. Then, we we to a telecommunications firm. After that, a Rotary meeting. Today, up early for a tour of a museum of the history of Irkutsk, follwed by a visit to the Great Baikal Trail Association, then on to the Humanitarian Center and Library, and another Rotary meeting. The evening was capped off by a 4 hour boat ride on the Angara (I finally know the correct English spelling) aboard a police boat. Good times. I'm trying to stay up long enough to get some more photos up, so scroll down and click my flickr link and visit Siberia V to see the latest. G was good enough to upgrade me to Flickr "Pro", so I can post more than 200 pics at a time. Who knew I'd ever need that?!?! On to Ulan Ude tomorrow night, and hopefully I'll get up that "bore you to tears" post then... :)

Missing everyone!!!
Margaret

Happy days are here again

I’ve had a hot shower every day since we’ve left Ol’Hon and it’s been AWESOME. The van driver actually showed up the night before we were set to leave, but we still didn’t leave until 2 p.m. We got back around 7 p.m., and Olga was there to pick me up. She took me over to Natasha’s to get my stuff, and I said goodbye to Il’Ya and Babushka. Natasha and Sasha weren’t there, but I saw Natasha today and hope to see Sasha before I leave. (Natasha’s husband will be away on business until after we leave Russia.)

So, the trip back was pretty uneventful. We stopped at a roadside stand, and one of the woman working there was from Uzbekinstan (sp?) and wanted a picture with us to take back home with her.

After we got to Olga’s, I took a nice, long, hot shower. Then, we had dinner and she started washing my clothes. I only had three pairs of pants, three t-shirts, socks and underwear to wash, but the washing machine is so small it was still at least three loads.

Yesterday was a nice, slow day – much appreciated. I needed to be ready by 1 p.m., so I spent the morning trying to get some pics online and updating my blog (as you already know). It so happened that my being online coordinate with Garett’s Sunday evening, so we got to chat for awhile, which was great. He also figured out what was wrong with my cell phone, so now I can text message and receive incoming calls. It’s still mucho expensive, but it’s nice to have that assurance that it works.

At 1 p.m., Olga came and got me and we walked over to where Bill is staying, just around the way (same complex). The young man in the family he’s staying with (who did a one month internship at an ad agency in Dallas) drove us to Vlad’s studio. We hung out there into the evening, drinking and chatting. Vlad also sketched Mark, which was really neat to watch. He showed us a bunch of his paintings, and some of the works of his father. His dad was an artist during Communism, so he was only allowed to paint Soviet Realism. He got in trouble for a couple of his works that crossed the line (i.e., scantily clad women in the background of a piece, or another piece showing poor Russian children).

That evening, Bill was on a call in talk show. We watched it from the studio, but of course it was all in Russian, so I really have no idea what was going on. Still, we had a great time, and I was completely worn out when we got home.

This morning, I had to be ready by 9 a.m. so we could go to the Linguistic University. There, English, Polish, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French, Russian as a Second Language, and a couple other languages I can’t think of, are all taught. The students start at age 17 and study for 5 years. We spoke to a class and answered their questions about America and our lives.

After that, off to the countryside to see a Shaman give a ceremony. We stopped at the future site of a museum being planned by a Rotary member. The Shaman was to meet us there. I was expecting an old, weather Buryat man, and instead we were greeted by a middle-aged Russian woman in a track suit and sunglasses. Since she came in like that, it was a little hard to take her seriously… but, she obviously knew what she was doing. She prepared an offering to the spirits of cookies, candy and cigarettes. She donned her regalia, and we stood in a circle as she said her prayers and gave the offering and vodka on the fire. Each of the men stepped up and also gave an offering of vodka. Then, we all lined up and she spewed vodka on our face, down our shirt back and on our head. Yeah – spit it out of her mouth on to us. Weird. Perhaps if I got the whole symbolism thing it wouldn’t seem so odd, but she spit on us.

Anyway, after that, we headed back to town. We killed some time at Vlad’s and then walked over to the Decembrist Museum. Uri (Ora’s host) plays piano there. First, we stopped in at a horse stable – right there in the middle of the city! – where they used the horses to help with invalids and children with mental retardation. Their pupils even compete in the Special Olympics on the horses.

At the museum, there was a concert of some of the music from some famous Russian Opera that I of course am (again) completely clueless about. But, the music was beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves anyway. The concert was over about 8, and Olga brought me home, then we went to a Supermarket where she bought me (among other things) beer and frozen pizza. Yay, America!! :) It’s not as bad as it seems - it was Russian beer and Russian frozen pizza. And, I also had cucumbers and mineral water (a Pepsi product, btw), so that made the dinner even more Russian.

Then another hot shower (woo hoo), some catch up here, it’s 11 p.m., and I’m beat.
I’m going to try to get this online and my new pics, and off to bed. Tomorrow, a Russian prison and another Rotary meeting. If you noticed some weirdness with my pics, apparently unless you have a Pro account, you can only have 200 online at a time with Flickr. Garett graciously upgraded me, so now I have to go in and try and organize all the stuff that is up haphazardly. Perhaps tomorrow… (Seems like I say that a lot, but after all, tomorrow is another day – my nod to Margaret Mitchell). Spakonay Nochi!

A picture is worth

well, the saying goes a thousand words, but since I had to downsize these so small, each may only communicate a couple dozen words at best... At least I got some up!!
Pics

Live! From Irkutsk!!

I just put up three posts covering the last few days. I haven't actually been rereading the posts after I write them in Word, so please forgive any grammar, spelling or repetition issues. I'm at a new host home, but still on dial up, so probably no pictures for a while. But, she put the computer in my room, so maybe after we hit the sack I can sneak on and let flickr take as long as it needs... *fingers crossed* I know it's not nearly as interesting w/o pics to compliment my outstanding story telling. ;)

Here is the website for the place we stayed on Ol'hon:
www.nabaimar.boom.ru

It's in Russian, but there are a few pictures.

Just another day in paradise

Up this morning and off on more explorations. We drove down to the south side of the island and saw (from afar) a Buddhist temple that the locals built on a small island that a Shaman had named as a sacred place. We also saw a Turkish wall from the fourth or fifth century. Most of the wall was pulled down in the 20s so the stones could be used to build the fish plant/wharf. In its time, the wall was used to divide classes and different groups of people. If you crossed the wall without being worthy, it was curtains for you. Next to the wall there were two circles of stones, one large one (representing the sun) for human sacrifices, and one small one (representing the moon) for animal sacrifices.

We also saw a small cove still covered in slushy ice. So, flowers blooming on the hillside, early part of June, and still frozen portions of the lake. Crazy.

We drove through an area that was a village until about 20 years ago. All the buildings have been pulled down to the foundation now. Vlad said the Shaman’s house was still standing when he was here two years ago (aside – Vlad’s been coming to the island with his father since he was two, and brought his daughter, Zlata, out with us this trip), but it’s been pulled down now. People still go and leave gifts there, though. Vlad found an old wheel used to mill grain and a 100+ year old pot. He also found a heavenly rock. People believed when they found these pieces of marble, they were rocks of fortune. They would place it under the foundation for 48 hours, and if something good happened, it was a good fortune rock. If something bad happened, it was bad fortune, and they’d chuck it. Hopefully we found a good one!!

We drove through a small Buryat village and stopped at a nearby cemetery. Then, after a slightly harrowing drive through the woods and stop at another spirit place, we arrived at a small lake in a clearing. It was quite lovely – but the weather was starting to turn, so we headed back to our cabin. We were planning on picnicking, but with the rain, that wasn’t working out. So, the folks at the cabin set about fixing us lunch, and we went off to visit a woman named Simona down the way. She is from Germany and retired here with her husband. They have lived here for 10 years, and are now fixing up the area were they live. They’ve done some really beautiful things to their home – very artistic.

At 4:30 p.m., with very hungry bellies, we headed back for some lunch. Omul, potatoes, bread, cucumber, tomatoes – very typical Baikal fare.

After that, we headed over to the Tourist Center to pick up some souvenirs. I purchased a stack of photo cards with info about Ol’hon, so all the things that Vlad has taught us that I’ve forgot I can still share. I also got a neat little pocket address book.

Mark wanted to go climb Mois Burkhan (the Shaman Rock), so I took a little hike and got some pics of him up there.

Now, we’re just chillin’ for a while until it’s time to eat again. We leave sometime tomorrow between after breakfast and after lunch, depending on when the van arrives to pick us up. Everything is pretty much by the seat of your pants here. Hopefully we’ll stop by an Internet Café on our way back into town so I can get all this (and photos!!) online.

Little Cabin in the Woods

When we got here yesterday, there was some confusion about where we’d be staying. Apparently, they don’t work on reservations out here, and a Dutch group had beat us to the cabin Vlad was planning on renting. They found another place close by, though, and it’s quite nice. There is electricity, and a wood burning oven in the central room that provides heat. It’s been really nice to have my laptop here. We plugged by MP3 player into it last night and listened to music while we hung out. Ora and Mark have used it to charge their Ipods (unfortunately I don’t have Itunes installed, so we can’t listen to their music), and Bill downloaded 300 meg of pictures so he could have an empty card.

Anyway, when we got here, since they weren’t expecting us and it’s a little before the season, they needed three hours to get the place cleaned up. We walked down to the beach and killed some time sitting around a campfire.

It’s been a pretty lazy day. Ora, Vlad and Bill walked up to a cave, but Mark, Tracy and I just stayed back here and laid around. I listened to some of my book on tape and napped. In the afternoon, we walked over to a local museum, down to a wharf that pretty much went inactive after the fall of Communism, and to a small store. At the museum, they told us that based on some of the artifacts they found, it appears that the American Indians migrated from Siberia. It looks like there are some very similar rituals. Tomorrow, we’re going to visit a small village close by and hopefully see the home of a woman who lives here.

There is no running water here, which means we have to take care of our business in outhouses. That’s been interesting… I also forgot to mention we haven’t gotten back hot water at the apartment since it went out, so the only shower I’ve had since the first day was that night at Yelena’s. They’re building a new bana here, and hopefully it will be done tomorrow. It will still mean taking hot water from the stove, mixing it with cold water, and pouring it over my head to wash my hair, but clean is clean.

I’m also going to have to try and communicate that I need to do some laundry when I get back. They have washers (well, my family does, Ora’s doesn’t), but no dryers, so I’ll have to be sure and leave plenty of time for my jeans to dry.

On the road again

We are underway to Ol’han – according to Yelena, it’s actually more like a 3 hour tour, so that won’t be so bad.

The hardest part about keeping this journal is not being able to write anything down until well after it’s happened. It’s not just that I don’t remember everything, it’s that so much has happened it would take me a week to write everything that’s happened in the last two days. A daunting task when you realize we still have three weeks to go!

So, let me try to hit the highpoints. A few notable differences between our home and Irkutsk. Everybody in the city lives in apartments; there are no houses. I guess that’s one reason the dachas are so important. Also, in the city, there aren’t really lanes marked on each side of the street. There is one central line, then just a big, wide space on each side. If the cars can force into three or four across, they will. There’s a serious shortage of stop lights, and I’m surprised we haven’t seen more accidents – especially when you consider that both right hand and left hand drive cars are in use.

Getting around is a bit of challenge. We headed down to the central market yesterday afternoon on the autobus, but the traffic jam on the bridge was so bad we got out and walked across, and then got on another bus on the other side. After we got to the market, I bought a “Dior” bag for about $30. I also had to get a new curling iron since I fried my other one at the hotel. Katyea (Katy), Il’ya’s sister, helped me find the right stores, so I bought a hair clip for her. She is 27 years old and absolutely breathtaking. When we got back to the apt. last night, she had given Il’ya a journal to give to me, which is nice because if there turns out not to be electricity on Ol’han, I can at least journal the old way. J

*break*
We just stopped at a site on the side of the road to leave a gift for the spirits so we’ll have a safe and happy journey. A kind of shrine is built as the spirits are said to inhabit this spot. Apparently, there are many out here and in Buryat country. You must leave a small gift – a piece of cloth, a coin, bread, candy – so the spirits will watch over you
*end break*

Yesterday morning we visited a surgical hospital. I was actually quite impressed. I had heard stories about how patients had to bring their own blankets, food, and in some cases, medical instruments. This was definitely not the case here. The hospital had 150 beds and had just been privatized six months ago. The railroad company owns it now, and they treat mostly railway workers. They have accreditation for all surgery except vascular. They have top of the line diagnostic equipment including a CT Scan. It was very clean and bright, and they have private and semi-private rooms and suites. The surgical side is obviously better funded. The equipment for rehab, however, is well below the standard we would be used to. They use magnetic therapy, and have an old stationary bike for use in a stress test. Another difference I really noticed was there are plants everywhere – even in areas that would be considered sterile in the States. Speaking of which, the sterilization area included a stove and pot… The physician who spoke to us was the head of the surgical medical education at the hospital. There are 3 to 5 surgeons on staff, and they perform surgery 6 days a week. We had lunch at the old children’s hospital, which is soon to be closed. There are only a few children still there. We ate there because it was lunch time at the main hospital, and the patients are brought down to the dining area to eat together, so there wouldn’t have been room for us there. The surgeon gave our group a box of chocolates and a set of pins commemorating the Soviet space program – very old and very rare.

Back to Monday (sorry for the free form timeline). The first thing we did was meet at the statue of Alexander by the Ongara (There are about 350 rivers connected to Lake Baikal, and the Ongara is the only one that comes out – all the others feed in.) for a TV interview. Bill and Vlad were interviewed about why were here and Vlad’s group’s time in Texas. Some footage that Marina had recorded of Sundance Square and Dallas were cut in, too. (Mark and I saw the broadcast that evening at Natasha’s. There were some pans of the group, so I’ve been on Russian TV!!!!) After that, we went over to a radio station for another interview.

Next, over to the art studio of Tatyiana. She works in oils and sketches. Her parents were from Mongolia, so a lot of her art is influenced by that. She said she has always been an artist; even when she was a little girl and would go out in the snow, she would draw in the drifts with a stick. She has sketched pictures to go with a lot of her father’s stories and would like to publish a children’s book. She has already had an art history book published with plates from a lot of art from artists who had been banished by the Soviet state.

After lunch at the studio, we went on to some more Russian Orthodox churches, including one that was being refurbished. We met the artist who was doing all of the frescoes, Nicolae. He has been working for six years, and I’m not even sure that it’s half done. Mark got to go up on the scaffolding for a close up view, but the women were not allowed. At one of the churches we went to, Ora and I were buying candles to light, and the nun asked us our names and gave us prayer card’s with our Saints’ on them. Mine was Margarita (had no idea that form of my name existed outside of Mexico!)

That night, we had our first Rotary club meeting. We gave our speeches (in Russian – I had to read it, but still!) and we presented the flags from our respective clubs. Vlad presented each of us with a Russian pin. The one he picked for me had a little character in a car, because he remembered meeting Garett in Arlington and how much Garett liked cars. J

Back to last night (again, apologies, just trying to report as it comes to me). After the afternoon at Il’ya’s and the Central Market, we headed over to the theater for a concert by Igor Butman with Jann Parker singing. Amazing jazz band. Jann Parker sang in English (she’s from Manhattan). After the concert, Vlad went up to the stage with Tracy. They told him no one could come back, and he said that he had Jann’s sister to see her. They saw Tracy and went and got Jann. Apparently when she saw Tracy she said, “Where’d that black girl come from?!” She was very nice and signed autographs for all of us. Since we hadn’t been home, Mark and I hadn’t eaten since lunch. Yelena stopped at a Supermarket for us at about 10:50, and they were already shutting down. She had a somewhat heated exchange, and they let us in. We grabbed some supplies for Ol’Han, and headed back to the house. We had planned on going over to Karils and making pizza, but it was so late, I bowed out. I told Babushka “Ya golodnya” (I’m hungry), and she heated up some excellent beef and rice. I was also “olchin ustala” (very tired), so I ate quickly and packed up for Ol’Han. Il’ya helped me get the household items I needed to take with me (spoon, knife, cup, napkins, toilet paper). Sasha is gone for two days to get her Visa, as she leaves later this month for six years at the university in Germany, so Il’ya is getting some good practice in on his English!!

A quick note about the weather – it’s turned out much colder than we expected. High 30s and low 40s the last few days, overcast and rainy. The sun is trying to break out, though, so hopefully we’ll get a break on the island.

Well, I think that brings us about up to date. There have been some amazing vistas along this drive. We’re in the area where Ghangis Khan used to reign. Rolling steppes, birch forests, former Communist collectives. So, I’m going to sign off for now. Dasvidanya!

Interlude

**Still on dial up, so just throwing up a couple of posts w/o trying to take the two hours it would require to load the 246 photos I've snapped in the last two days. Hoping to have high speed access this afternoon, and if so, I'll get some pics linked!!***

It’s 10:40 a.m. at home – 12:40 a.m. here. We just got back from Yelena’s dascha (country home). So, really didn’t have much time to write earlier, and nearly wiped out now. This trip is definitely go, go, go. Tomorrow morning we’re off to a local hospital – one of the surgeons there is a Rotarian. After that, we have some free time in the afternoon, and Mark and I are going over to Elea’s house. Elea is Natasha’s nephew.

The bana (at Yelena’s dascha) was amazing. First, we all went in the sauna and Yelena’s husband poured water on the stones. After I was nearly to the point of having to excuse myself, I followed Natasha out and we doused ourselves with ice cold water. We all came out and sat in the outer room for a while. The boys took a turn, Then, the women went back in and Natasha used three different kinds of branches to beat on my back, then front. There is a ritual to the order of the branches and rhythm you are hit with. After that, she and I ran out to the ICE COLD river. (btw, it’s been in the 40s the last couple of days, cooler at night)

The boys took a second turn, then the women went back in and Yelena used the branches on Natasha. While we waited, Yelena’s husband had brought beer and shrimp. After all of that, we went into the house and ate and drank some more.

There is so much more to tell – this has been an amazing day, including a tour of 300+ year old village, smoked fish and Russian vodka on the shore of the largest fresh water source in the world (the world’s well – if all the other water in the world disappeared, Baikal could supply water to all the world’s residents for 40 years), and an evening in a Russian bana. Wow. Just wow.

I’ll fill you in on Monday and some more details about today after I get back from Ol’han. (This assumes that I’ll be able to get this post up before we go, and that I won’t have the time to write again until we embark on our 7 hour journey…)

Quick Note

We leave for the bana (sauna/bath house) in 10 minutes, so I’m going to have to make this quick. I know there is no way I can do justice right now to all the amazing, breath taking, varying sites I have seen in the last two days – more than many will see in a lifetime. I hope we get back early enough tonight that I can try and get more down. If not, I’m going to go ahead and take the computer with me to Ol’han so I can spend some real journaling time. I’m going to start now with today while it is still fresh in my memory. I just learned on the way back here that Irkutsk is 345 years old on June 4. That means the city was founded in 1661. That is crazy to think about.

I’m picking up a few more Russian words every day, but I still wish I could learn more and faster. My host family is so nice – and I’m so fortunate that Sasha’s English is so good, but I wish I could speak better with Natasha and Babushka. Today, I learned da zaftra (until tomorrow), and kolodnya (cold). There was no hot water this morning – so that was an important on to learn. Also, it was ochin kolodnya (very cold) today, so it was used frequently. We bundled up and headed out to Lystvitanya. After visiting Tultsi (outdoor museum of a village from the mid-1700s), we went to a museum of Lake Baikal. They had a live aquarium, too, with Omul and nyerpa (seals – the only fresh water seals in the world, according to Itkutsk natives).