Staraya Russia, Starberries, and more.

Hello again!

This past saturday we went to Staraya Russia and visited the home of Dostoevskii (picture's above of his home, which has been turned into a museum of sorts, and a picture from the street out front.  This is where he wrote Brothers Karamzov.)  We had a nice tour and it was very interesting.  The town was gorgeous!  We went out to a resturant afterwards and since we called ahead, they even had food I could eat (yay!).  They also served tea after the meal.  Note especially for Danielle: We must have tea after every meal from now on.

Sveta went to her dacha this weekend and picked 2 large baskets of strawberries.  OOOOOHHHH they are so good!  Not to mention the fresh jam!  I'm never going to be able to eat American food again when I come home.  There really aren't any large grocery stores that I have seen.  Everything seems to be small stores only, and as a result there is a much higher density of locally grown, fresh food.  With some exceptions of course, like things that don't grow in Russia, which are generally more scarce, or of lower quality.

Sveta's husband (Igor) and daughter (Nastya) returned yesterday as well.  They are extremely nice too.  I didn't get to spend a lot of time talking to them, because they got in very late, and then I had to leave early for class this morning, but I like them already.  Igor speaks very good English, and Nastya is learning.  Yesterday was Sveta's birthday as well, so we had a small impromptu celebration. 

We are going to St. Petersburg from Thursday - Sunday.  I am very exciting about that trip, as you might imagine.  I'll be posting one more time this week, and then again next monday when we get back.

-Doug

(In the picture of the house:  Francesca on the left.  From the doorway outwards: Magda (almost all the way through the door), Matt, Jim, and Colin.

Welcome to City 17, its safer here.

Don't worry if you don't get the joke in the post title... its aimed at a limited audience.

(The picture is of a building near the Kremlin.  Its stores on the bottom and apartments above, I think).

Settling in

Sorry this has taken so long to get started.  Its been hard to find internet, but I've found a place that I can get free wi-fi in the city now.  Its a bit of a walk, but I should be able to update every day or every other day if I really want to.

Now, on to the stuff you care about.

The flight over was just fine all told.  One of our group members barely made the flight out of JFK, because his flight from Texas was late, and he literally got to us just as we were boarding.  We were a bit late getting off the ground in JFK, due to high traffic in the area or something, so we barely made our connecting flight to St. Petersberg.  We land

ed in St. Petersburg around noon, and made it to Novgorod by mid afternoon.

My host is extremely nice.  Right now its just her, Sveta, and her husband is away until, I think, next monday.  She barely speaks any english, so its been good for me.  Also, we have tea with every meal, which couldn't really be any better.

Classes have started now, and I've got plenty of things going on every day.  I'm very happy with the trip so far.  We went to the folk art museum yesterday and they taught us some traditional Russian dances and games.  It was pretty goofy, but good times.

Here are some pictures I've taken so far.

Can you tell we've just been traveling for a day?

https://files.getdropbox.com/u/1347322/P7030004.JPG

Here is the Kremlin

https://files.getdropbox.com/u/1347322/P7040010.JPG

Here is a monument called "A thousand years of russia."  Lots of good stories surrounding this one, but I'll save that for another time.

https://files.getdropbox.com/u/1347322/P7040016.JPG

And St. Sophia Cathedral, inside the Kremlin.  It is also, incidentally, where Liza, my Russian teacher, got married.  Its very nice inside.

I'll post again soon!

Departure!

My trip begins today.  I've just woken up and I'll soon be departing to the airport.  By the time I actually get there it'll be friday (local time at least), and I'm not sure when I'll first get to update.  Stay tuned for updates and pictures!

Online

Welcome to Doug in Russia!

I am setting up this blog to chronicle my upcoming trip to Novgorod.  This post is just a test to acquaint myself with Blogger, and get things rolling.  The trip begins officially on July 2, and I hope to update frequently while abroad.

Thanks for tuning in!