Back in the UK.

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Well I made it to London OK after a rather major fuck up. I had tickets to London that left from the Polish city of Wroclaw, now I had made a terrible assumption that Wroclaw = Warsaw. Achem. Wrong. So I turned up at Warsaw airport wondering why the hell I couldn't see my flight on the board and sure enough I was in the wrong city entirely. Long story short I managed to buy an EasyJet flight which left only 1 hour later than the one I thought I was supposed to be on.
I'm staying with my cousin Sarah for a couple of nights here and then will probably try to get a flat somewhere and get a job.
I really enjoyed my time in Belarus, what an amazing place. It was great to be able to visit such a very different place. I felt perfectly safe in Minsk the whole time I was there, I never had any trouble with the local police or even felt that I would have a problem. The people are all very friendly and very interested when they find out I'm from NZ. I become an instant celebrity in a supermarket when some young guys overheard me speaking english and asked where I was from. I had similar surprise in Mogilov when I gave the bouncer at a club my passport. It's really fun to be in a country where tourism is almost non-existant and foreigners are rarely seen.
Seeing another city in Mogilov was good, although the place is very poor. Alot of businesses are shut and it doesn't feel as safe as Minsk. In fact it felt a bit uncomfortable out at night after Marina's friend suggested that for safety we don't speak loudly in english. He did six years at a university and yet makes not much more than US$2k a year.
On the Friday before I left Marina's her Aunty and Uncle took us out to the only tourist place I ever saw, which was a farm designed to show how things were done in the old days. It was really cool, we tried homemade vodka (pretty harsh, but not bad), homemade honey, bread, cheese and butter. Saw a blacksmith at work, a potter, some old cars etc. It was a great thing to see, we had our own private tour guide, in Russian though of course! I even got to have a quick blat on a horse. Good fun.
It was pretty tough leaving after 3 great weeks in Belarus. It was a brilliant experience to be there and I wouldn't rule out a return one day. If time and money were no problem it would be wonderful to spend 6 months or so there and study the language.
Well after all that the bubble has burst and I'm back in London, now finding work is priority numero uno.

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Photos

Soviet train
On the train to Mogelov. This is Ruslan who we played cards with the whole journey. Like all Belarussians he looks alot older than he is. He is 24.

Afgan Memorial
A memorial to the Belarussians killed in the Afgan wars.

Friends
We had a great party at my flat. This is Marina with her friend Katya.

Mogelov
Loesha and Sveta who are married. He is 23 and her 24. People tend to marry quite young here.

Farm1
Your classic farm building.

Farm2
The distillery. It's illegal in Belarus to make homemade booze, but the farm has special permission.

Farm3
Drinking vodka! Marina's Aunty, Uncle and cousin. The obligatory toast before downing a shot.

Farm4
Having a go at being a blacksmith. I even got to hit the hot metal a few times. Very manly.

Farm5
Riding a horse. Haha, she wasn't very cooperative and spent alot of the time trying to eat instead of running.

Farm6
Traditional food. Pancakes filled with various things, this one is cavier. Pretty nice.

Mill it up
Cool old mill, 100 years old and was in use untill the 70s.