Blogs from Volga, Russia, Europe - page 5

Two drunkards in one day. How can things get more exciting? I recall at home once trying to define what 'being drunk' meant. Some of us thought that being drunk was simply having a buzz. I firmly disagreed then, and I still stick with my definition. Drunk, is being on a russian bus and getting your butt thrown off of it. Literally. So the night was young. Our plan was to hit up the banya, basically the Russian version of really hot, steamy room with naked men everywhere. And we have birch branches to hit each other with. Well, it turns out that we couldn't get into the banya due to it being ladies night only. Disappointing? Nah, we took Debbie's 2,000 ruples and went out for dinner. So our local guide was Andrew, who wasn't ... read more

Hey everyone. Lots have been going on and plenty to talk about. The internet here is wack so I am beginning to figure out a system of when to use it. So expect some amazing posts tomorrow or the next day. In the mean time I hope everyone is well. ... read more

Well I have officially been in Russia for 2 days and 3 nights now. We arrived around supper time on Wednesday and were promptly told that we were in the most beautiful city in Russia then stuffed into a bus for a ride to our hotel. At first the city was really butt ugly. It wasn't until you got downtown that you could really appreciate it's beauty, especially when the sun comes out. Which happens only 60 days out of the year. The first night was rather uneventful. We met our director Harley and he is a short, quiet man, balding and very friendly. He isn't married and has only a goddaughter which I believe he loves dearly. He has spent the past 15 years here in Russia but goes home during the summers. He is ... read more

It is August 25, 2008. I leave for Russia tomorrow. I am starting this blog for a number of reasons. Most important I think is it will hopefully be an easy way for everyone back home to keep up on what I am doing and quite frankly I fully plan on embarassing myself and enjoying every moment of foreign international travel that I possibly can. So if nothing else this should be an entertaining read I hope. Tonight the guys in the house threw me one last little party before I left. Jeremiah made some wonderful fondue stuff and everyone came by. It was good to see everyone before I left and I really appreciated the overall attitude that everyone had tonight. Really could not have gone any better. My truck is taken care of thanks ... read more

Hello All! Sorry for taking so long to write anything! I stopped writing after the car accident. For those of you who do not know, I was in an accident with my friends while coming home from a weekend trip in Nizhny Kamsk. One friend was in the hospital for a month, and I was in bed with a compressed spine. All is ok though, and everyone lived thankfully. Thanks, mom, for always making me wear my seatbelt. I did it without thinking and it is probably the only reason I am here. So thanks to mom and God for that one. For a quick update before more detailed ones come, I am finishing up my last few weeks here and have had the time of my life and really do not want to leave. I ... read more