http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Russia , Volga en-us Thu, 10 Dec 09 11:28:03 +0000 Thu, 10 Dec 09 11:28:03 +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 Who Wants to Russia I organize a trip to Russia to middle Volga. Cheboksary. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/blog-433597.html When the Soviet empire collapsed in the early nineties it was heralded in the west. The thought of centrally mandated collectivism makes a capitalist's blood run cold and many if not most Americans view or were taught to view this shift as a great victory in the name of the human spirit. The communists doubtlesssly had innumerable failings but as western popular media triumphed through kill http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Ufa/blog-425792.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 Vacations are the only time to enjoy and have fun from your busy schedule. There are many popular tourist destinations across the world but sometimes it become difficult to decide where to go If you are planning for your international vacation you can plan for Harare. Harare is the capital and the largest city of Zimbabwe. It has a pleasant and healthy humid subtropical climate. It is home to so http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Samara/blog-421677.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 Moscow Volgograd 21hours... Train journey seem to be a lot of fun thought the heat at day reaching 36 to 38c can be a little overwhelming. People are friendly and gladly share they portions between one another. Speaking no russian makes it only that much more fun and entertaining... it is really travelling with the odrinary average russian across trully amazing time speared regions.Volgograd ex http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/blog-413291.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 March 27th 2009 2201 hrs Irsquom sitting at a twoperson table in a rusty boxcar on the way to Kazan. Outside my window I see couples and families embrace in the cold Russian night. For this country it is a common sight wherever you go but tonight these hugs have an added intensity. Therersquos a small scent of iron in the air that carries through the terminal and before the doorway to you http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Kazan/blog-386494.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 105510881080107410771090 10801079 105610861089108910801080 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Kazan/blog-364123.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 On the train I am in a Cabin with 4 beds there is just me and a French girl in there she is living in French Guiana South America working as a social worker although she is originally from Paris.In my Wagon there is me my French roommate 1 American 2 French 2 Swedish 1 from Norway and 8 Chinese Girls. The train is not very full and most people have space in their cabins this is probably du http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Volga/Perm/blog-346454.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