Interesting Weekend

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Here is the update. On Friday I went to see MOngol (about Ginghis Kahn) in the theaters with Aygul, Ildar, Mike, and Nathan. It was dubbed in Russian, and I understood it (well, most of it). We went to the late show, so it was past 2:30 in the morning before we got back to their apartment.

The buses don't run past 10pm, and I didn't want to hitchike home alone that late at night, so I stayed there. Mike said he would sleep on the floor so I could have one of the beds in the room (there are 2 in his room). However, after we got to the apartment he decided that he didn't feel like it. So he, nathan and I crammed in together. I smashed myself against the wall so I wouldn't be touching them, and it was one of the most uncomfortable nights of my life (not like awkward, but physically painful because the edge of the bed hurt). But it's Russia, so you do what you have to do. Anyways, I got up and left as soon as the buses were running again in the morning. Then I went home and got cleaned up and met Chris, Di (a friend from Sierra Leonne), and Albina. Albina works as a reporter at the Tatar television station and had offered to give us a tour. She took us to the station, showed us around, and we even got pictures taken of use sitting at the news desk (it looks like I'm a real reporter- except I'm wearing camoflage).

After that, Di went home, and Chris and I caught a bus to Aygul and Ildar's apartment. We met up with Nathan, Mike, Ildar, and a couple of Ildar's friends and went across the street to the Akbars hockey game. Akbars is the local team of Kazan (it means snow leopard in Tatar). Anyways, our tickets cost 200 rubles (8 dollars), and we were actually really close. Akbars got spanked by St. Petersburg 1 to 4, but it was still a fun game to watch. After the game, we went back to the apartment where Aygul and Dilyara were cooking dinner. We ate and hung out for a while, and then Chris and I caught the last Mashrutka (van/bus) across the bridge back to the center of town. I went home and slept, but only for a while because I had to get up really early the next morning. I met up with the other foreign students at the university and we went on an excursion to a local monastary. We got a private tour from one of the monks, and got to go into the church there and hear all the interesting stories. I had to cover my head, of course, but that is typical in an orthodox church and they have scarves you may borrow while there. After the tour ended, we had about an hour and a half to walk around the grounds and see the lake. The lake is what makes the monastary famous. Apparently the water is magic and will heal you. So, many of the students had brought big water bottles to fill while they were there. I had a drink, but the water smelled bad, no matter how magical it was, so I didn't drink anymore.

Upon our return we went out to eat with a few of the German and Swiss students at a kid's restaurant. It was very much the Russian idea of what a child's restaurant should be. It had nonsensical murals along the wall with many different animals which were not size proportional to each other. And of course, mounted along the wall and throughout the restaurant were multiple stuffed birds, owls, and animals. Kid friendly, right? Oh, and I cannot forget the full-service bar. Interesting to say the least. But Russia is Russia, and as Mike says, "race or die". It really has become our theme. You have to lose a lot of inihibitions here while acquiring others. Nonetheless, I'm having fun. I will add the "My First Day in Russia" entry soon, but I forgot to upload it onto my flash drive. So for now, the stories will be out of order, but have fun reading anyways.

Meagan

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