a dollar goes a long way

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I should add that one of the criteria of a good place to travel to is that your money takes you further than it would if you were home. Of course this is impossible if you live in the so-called third world, but it is important, when on vacation, that you do not have to worry about how you will ever pay back your loans once you get back. I always have a budget, and only on several occasions have I needed the services of western union. Moreover, you will enjoy eating out every meal and going out every night while only spending what you would make at home in an hour. Maybe I am a "bad" tourist, but at least I'm contributing to their economy.

Circumstances again brought me to an interesting country, that of late, I have grown to love (at the expense of my own). I lived in Krasnodar, Russia for 8 months, and returned the next year for a month. There would be no way I could do this had it not been for the wonderful Irina and her family, to whom I am ashamed to not be able to repay in kind.

Krasnodar is a city of maybe a million in the southern part of Russia, north of the Caucus Mtns, I think, and near the resort town of Sochi. It is perhaps several hours away from Grozny, but a world away. The city itself is composed of single family homes that are separated by a fence, apartment buildings (so-called Khrushovka - after the former leader of the CCCP), and higher office buildings in the business district. It was in a "Khrushovka" that I lived for some time, and then in a larger apartment complex with the family.

At the time, I was still a starving artist (now I'm just not an artist, but still starving) who was interested in painting landscapes and the female form. The stately streets of the city were attractive, and more so in the winter when the snow covered all the dirt that blew around in this semi arid grassland terrain. My favorite food there was something home cooked, or smoked lamb sausage, with chunks of garlic. We ate this often at the dacha, just outside the main city, where, despite the need of repair, it maintained a sense of the rustic and an escape from the city. We would all pile into the Lada, and, with the dog, drive past old women selling everything from cucumbers to t-shirts on that lonely country road. Vodka was never purchased on the street, as it would only be drunk at the risk of your vision, if not your life. But the mood was merry, always, and I found it enjoyable to gather sticks for the fire that would cook shashlik, or smoked meat. We would have fresh vegtables from the garden, and it seemed that everyone kept bees for honey. In Russia, however, anything can be stolen, including the gas in your car or your stock of bees, both of which we experienced.

On Stavropolskya Ulitsa I studied Russian at the main University, Kuban State University. My first lesson there was more about Russian culture than the language. Lesson #1: bring your own toilet paper - there is none in the bathrooms. I made it a habit to carry a folded wad in my back pocket after that. Lesson #2: don't use the bathroom unless you absolutely have to. The "stalls" in that bathroom were about waist high, with no doors and a hole in the ground. Commonly found in Asia, but always with doors, at least. Oh well, big deal, what's the big secret anyway. In some public toilets, there is an old woman who sits outside, and if you ask her for paper, she will give you a dirty rag. Now what am I supposed to do with that?

Russia is a land of extremes; hot, cold, rich, poor. I never found Soviet architecture to be ugly, as some say, but functional. There are no elevators in buildings with less than 5 floors, in Krasnodar. If people in my country would get up off their fat asses and walk a flight of steps, maybe we wouldn't have such an obesity problem. but then there is beauty: the beauty of woman. I have not seen, in my travels, neither on the beaches of the Riviera, nor the streets of Seoul, the proportion, gait, form, or beauty that is exemplified in a Russian woman. I am talking about that age before too many children, or before indifference sets in. There is no need to describe this any further - one must see it to believe it.

There is something about the Russian mindset that is facinating; it is base, no doubt, but at the same time there is a generosity, a kindness (but not to strangers), and a striving to always be something greater. From the moment I arrived I knew that they were much smarter than I was, despite my material advantages. almost everyone is well-mannered and highly educated. Even the mafia goons have PhDs'!

There are those who do not think that the Soviet era was entirely bad; for example, children had a place to go after school, they participated in state funded sports programs, (producing Olympic athletes) and they helped the community. The transition to a capitalist economy, however, has left the majority struggling to survive. They have no business sense whatsoever - they still think in the old Soviet way that the customer doesn't matter. In comparison, China had transitioned to capitalism only in the past few decades, and it is poised to become the next big thing (you can hear the American companies shaking).

How far does the dollar go in Krasnodar? a beer on the street is 8 rubles, about 30 rubles to the dollar (when I was there). In a fancy night club, maybe three times that price.

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