Blogs from Moscow, Northwest, Russia, Europe - page 68

One of the first things that our professors told us was to expect the unexpected. I have found this advice quite true. Last weekend we took a bus tour of Moscow. By far the most impressive sight was Moskva river in front of Moscow University. After Russians get married, the whole wedding crowd goes for a tour of the famous sights in Moscow. They often end their journey at the Moskva river. This weekend was quite popular for weddings, so there must have been at least 20 wedding parties going on at the same time. There was a small band playing lively music for one of the parties. All the male friends of the couple danced around in a circle, with the wife and husband in the center. Occasionally all of them would shout "gorko! gorko! ... read more

My first view of Russia was from the airplane. There were vast open grasslands and groves of forests. Clusters of homes and factories were spread out along the road, but most of the land was open and untamed. When we landed it took some time to sort out our baggage and then we all boarded a bus to go to our dorms. On our way we passed these beautiful groves of birch trees where often the only trees you could see were birch. Arriving at our dorm, they assigned all of us roommates and gave us our keys. My roomate and I share a quaint soviet styled room. We have beautiful Russian looking blankets and curtains. The appliances, however, are defintely very soviet. At first we thought that we did not have hot water-then we realized ... read more

After two nights staying at the hostel and seeing Moscow, I took the metro and then a minibus toward the outskirts of the city to meet up with Sigitas, the coach of the Lithuanian National Team, at the field in Moscow where the tournament was to be played. It was Monday evening, and we met there for the first organizational meeting for the tournament with all of the coaches, umpires, Commissioners and organizers of the event. My role on the team was to be the assistant coach, to help Sigitas with player decisions and to be a sounding board during the games about strategic things. And, in his words, to ‘see everything’ and to tell him things I notice. I also kept pitching charts and scorebook for the games, which is something new for the Lithuanians. ... read more

I have not forgotten any of you; I just have not been able to access a computer. Computers and internet are not like they are in the US so it may be a little between postings, but I am keeping up with my journal offline and will post as I get access. I am suppose to get my high speed, which is more like dialup early next week, but attached are my notes and a few pictures. Also, I will post one entry with all of my contact addresses and number as soon as everything is in place, but if you have an emergency, you may contact me at work until I get my home one up and running. My work address is vkramer@elinar-broiler.ru and for all of my Wayne Farms, the WF server is blocking ... read more

Today is definitely the hardest day. I went to breakfast at one of the old hangout, Rabbittown Cafe with my two best friends. We just back and loaded Mark's truck with the suitcases, yes, I did get it all in three suitcases, which I will post as soon as I download the pictures. I then said goodbye to my sister's silly cat that I am babysitting for the next couple of years that now my housemate is catsitting. I had a few minutes so I thought I would write a few words before we head out. By far, this is the hardest day. I had trouble sleeping last night. I kept waking up, not sure if it was nerves, excitment, or the coffee I drank before going to bed, but I would wake up just about ... read more