http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Grybaziggy/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Grybaziggy en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:25:23 +0000 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:25:23 +0000 Before I begin all this let me say that all things considered I like the busses here. They arrive a short walk from my door at five minute intervals cost next to nothing and take me anywhere I want. They run late into the night by comparison Lincoln busses were off the streets by 630. And Perm busses have magic tickets. There are six digits on every ticket and if the sum of first thr http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-452898.html Fall has begun and everything is more or less in order. Sveta got her new passport she's now Svetlana Rasmussen. And I visited the Russian proctologist at long last. I was supposed to go in June but I had more pressing things to attend to like sleeping and running the cat around the sofa. The clinic was typical with peeling paint and tiredlooking people crammed in the hallways. Therer http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-435906.html Misha is one of those guys who can always be found in the Perm State University weight room. 8220He was a champion8221 fellow powerlifter Vladimir once told me. 8220Now he is old.8221 Misha8217s not that old but he bears the scars of long lived powerlifter a bum knee and a big belly. For reasons that remain mysterious Misha took a liking to me. He displayed his affection by http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-423452.html Sveta and I spent my second fourth of July in Perm much like we spent the first wandering around town. We found a side road that led to an unknown green valley. It was the usual Perm summer scene industry and village. Ponies razor wire and pipes intermixed amid all that green. The overgrowth was the first thing that really struck on the ride home from the airport last year. Perm was cover http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-415320.html As I prepare for my annual AP ldquoreadingrdquo trip Irsquove been reflect on that question that students in every class Irsquove taught have asked me ldquowhat do Americans think of Russiansrdquo Itrsquos kind of a dumb question and I never know quite how to answer it even though it ALWAYS gets asked. But I certainly had some preconceptions before I came here. Some of them we http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-404682.html A couple weeks ago I revisited Kudimkar the delightful and snowy capital of the formerly autonomous PermKomi region. Some of the PermKomi people still speak Komi but Irsquod bet English is probably more widespread these days. Svetlana of Kudimkar to differentiate her from Sveta my wife invited me to address of conference of English teachers. The twoday trip required the usual 10000 fo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-396472.html Monday was ldquoMenrsquos Day.rdquo This is an important Russian holiday so I didnrsquot work. Leading up to and following my day women would approach me and say ldquoIrsquod like to congratulate you on this Menrsquos Day. They had previously congratulated me on both Thanksgiving and Christmas as if it had been me who had fed the Pilgrims or lay in the manger. Anyway for my f http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-378418.html It was the night of Russian Christmas January 7 and the bathhouse anteroom was freezing. As I disrobed I noticed that the black furry thing hanging on the wall was not a fur hat at all but a severed cow head perfectly preserved. I was too cold to feel surprised. I turned away threw open the door and entered the bathhouse proper.Sveta and I celebrated Christmas in the village of Stashkova http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-362687.html To close out 2008 I lost my wallet. This is the same one that survived a night on a Utah ski slope and an afternoon stranded at the corner of 11th and M streets. Four times I lost and recovered it on the UNL campus. One of those times a couple students of mine found it outside the Union and brought to my office giggling. It was always running away Sveta explained. This time it appears to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-359521.html Perm Stage I Jizzel and ThanksgivingMy connections with the Perm stage began a month and a half ago when Sveta and I accompanied an American attorney to the ballet Jizzel. Permians take great pride in their ballet house and company. I8217ve been told by a number of English teachers including Sveta that the Perm ballet school is the second best in all of Russia. Only the academy in St. Pe http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-358758.html We returned from Moscow yesterday evening and fetched the cat. Rosiersquos grown big she ate well at the Vorontsovrsquos. They fed her milk and tried unsuccessfully to introduce her to pelmeni a Russianstyle ravioli and sausage. I hope the experience has broadened the catrsquos horizons. Maybe shersquoll hiss at strangers less frequently. Before we dropped her off there was lots http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-354643.html Teaching at Perm State University presents unique problems. Because you can never be too secure every classroom at PSU is locked when not in use and when in use many have a camera trained directly on the instructor. And every building has a key guard an old woman in scrubs who sits behind a window and distributes keys. During the first week of class the key guard of building 5 flatly refus http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-345024.html I returned to Perm from Helsinki a month ago on a red eye arriving at 5 am. Sveta was at the airport and together we bussed it back to the apartment. I showered and brushed my teeth and we were on the bus to the University. It was a Tuesday and I hadn8217t been to a class in over two weeks. So I was a bit surprised that any students bothered showing up. But there they were waiting. Lat http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-336018.html Tomorrow I visit the Russian Consulate and if the visa is ready as expected I will board a flight for Perm in the evening. Back when I was at the Stadion hostel which was until Thursday I developed a routine of sorts. I breakfasted on bread and cheese before heading off to the library. I learned a little Finnish history a little Russian history and some grammar. At some point in the a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusimaa/Helsinki/blog-326001.html Three Saturdays ago Sveta and I caught the 550 a.m. bus out of Perm. We were going to visit Vala at her farm. An hour or so later we were dropped off at a village. A dog greeted all the passengers barking happily at each of us glad to see some guests some of whom undoubtedly were carrying food. The Russian village seems cozy. Small wooden houses women leading goats along the paths li http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusimaa/Helsinki/blog-324528.html Sveta emailed me yesterday. The subject line was ldquoreborn.rdquo Early Sunday morning a plane had crashed in Perm while attempting to land. Eightyeight people everyone onboard were killed. I had originally booked a ticket to be one that flight but the weeklong visa delay forced me to make new reservations on Friday. The news of crash was and remains shocking. I donrsquot know h http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusimaa/Helsinki/blog-323695.html The Finns are nice. On my first trip through the Helskinki city center I was approached by three schoolgirls. They were smiling and carrying cardboard signs that read ldquohugs free.rdquo So each in her turn hugged me. I giggled and felt embarrassed but it was a nice gesture. I suspect it was part of a school project of some sort but even so it was indicative to me of the Finns. They http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusimaa/Helsinki/blog-322989.html I titled the last entry gluttony and limbo because I feel like I'm in limbo and have become a glutton. You see one doesn't waste food in Russia one learns to eat up. And so it was that yesterday I wanted to kayak lake Solvalla but the woman at reception said she only had canoes no kayaks. So instead I decided to get lunch. It was close to noon. I had not eaten since 4 orsquoclock th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusimaa/Helsinki/blog-322349.html I recently departed the rustic yet comfortable environs of the Solvalla Hotel. Outside my window stood a forest and beyond that a blue lake with a rocky shore line. The landscape and weather reminded me of Minnesota to say nothing of the people. The bathroom put Stadion Hostel my once and future temporary residence to shame. Therersquos a shower with a working schlong this is what th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusimaa/Helsinki/blog-322311.html We've decided to call our kitten Rosie as in the we can do it Rosie the Riveter instead of Tara. Rosie's easier to say and we orignially chose Tara because it sort of sounds like terror and the kitten was scared of everything. But now she's ok with her new home except the vacuum cleaner and when Sveta collapses the sofa on her paw. I've also changed my hairstyle. Ealier this week http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-310135.html