Sorry about not blogging yesterday. My computer time was limited and there were more pressing issues to attend to. Lets see, so Wednesday we went 'shopping' but the whole situation was literally 'lost in translation'. It gets frustrating going in circles, but that is over as of today, Friday. This is our last day in Krasondar. I'm afraid i didn't get enough pictures! i'll be using my camera like crazy in the next cities to make up for it. Thursday we went ice skating... it was amazing. haha I have never ice skated in my life, but they talked me in to it and i was actually pretty good. The only times i ever hit the ice it was Nathan's fault. He's an ambitious one and decided we needed to try some stunts.. yeah right! My first time ever on ice skates and he wants to do 'stunts'... well we did, sort of. We actually were able to get be lifted off the ground... straight up like i was standing, nothing fancy, but we did it several times and only fell a fraction of those. There is actually a video so hopefully it will be posted online somewhere so I can show it off! We decided to start working on it professionally when we get back to Angelo so we could be at the winter Olympics here in Russia 2014, but then we realized there is no such thing as a big pond of ice in West Texas... so that kind of burst our bubble. The ice skating rink is in that same modern complex that we found the Subway and the Karoke bar, so we took everyone upstairs to the Subway. They were pretty much as excited as we were when we first found it. The smell, that was the most amazing. It was a really good familiar smell.
Smell, that is not something I have really talked to you people about. How i have missed out on that important detail of Russia i do not know. The smell. We first encountered it on the flight from DFW to Frankfort during dinner. At the time we just thought it was airplane food smell, wrong. We have smelled that smell atleast once everday since then. Sometimes it is so overwhelming its nauseating. It is the unmistakeable stench of Dill. I have shared the Russian love for dill in their food, but i never really told you about the stench it leaves. This stench is probably part of the reason we just can't stand dill anymore. It is everywhere this time of year, and we haven't been able to find a decent dill pickle. Anyone want to explain that one for me? I have an undieing love of pickles and i'm in the Pickle capital of the world and can't find a decent pickle! Now THAT is frustrating. most of their pickles have just been salt pickles with very little vinegar or anything, they just taste like soggy cucumbers.
Anyway, that smell, it radiates throughout the dorm because of the kitchen we have. It hasn't been as distinct lately because the people who usually cooked with Dill have moved on for the summer, but it was bad. The other smell is the men. They don't seem to bathe frequently and have obviously never made the mistake i have in buying deodorant instead of shaving cream. if they did, they never figured out how to use it. Not to add to the already wonderful image you have of Russian men, but its been interesting to be on crowded trams and things.
The transportation, most people in the city use the Tramway to get to distant places in the city.It is pretty much an electric train that is in the middle of city streets. They also have electric Trolley buses that go to several places the large Trams don't make it. Trolley bus is really the only way to get downtown because they put the trams in the middle of 'main street' or around the historical buildings, which actually makes it really nice.
It is really a strange contrast here at times because you can be walking through a complex of apartment buildings that are covered in graffitti (Everything is coverd in graffiti, it would seem so much cleaner is it was all gone) and on the other side of you is a very nicely paved walkway around a small 'lake' with beautiful flowers and landscaping. The things the city seems to be in charge of are in beautiful condition, but the properties that are a responsibility of the citizens aren't in good shape at all. I believe it has something to do with the fact that no one here owns land. You may own your house, but the government owns the land, you may own a business but the government owns the land, so they don't take as good of care and spend money on something that in reality does not really belong to them.
i was informed last night, after a conversation about returning to this place, that they didn't believe i would ever come back because i hated it this whole time. If that is the way any of you feel too, please don't. I have enjoyed the country and i have enjoyed my time, and i would like to come back again in 10-20 years to see the changes. Maybe as a professor myself. My frustration that the others on the trip with me have seen has not been with the country or the people necessarily. It has been with myself and those in charge of the trip for not preparing me better. I take partial responsibility and i know that if i was to ever come back I would atleast be able to read russian even if i couldn't speak it well. It comes to me quickly after i've learned something, but i just didn't learn enough before i came.
This post was really really long! I guess i just got out of my slump and found something to say! I have no idea when i will be back online. We leave Krasondar at 6:30am and fly to St. Petersburg. We have no idea what the internet capabilities will be or phone calls. Momma will keep you updated as she hears from me if i can't get online myself, so don't worry about me too much ;). I'll update you as soon as i have the chance -kait