So last Friday our group made a trek out to the small village of Gorkavetz( I have no idea how to write it in English, that's as good as I could do). It was a nice little town, not much to do though. We looked at the scenery and a couple of churches and museums, then headed home. It definately didn't warrant getting up at 6 in the morning for, but it was a pleasant day nonetheless. Rounded out the weekend with a trip to some bars and clubs here in Vladimir. Good times were had by all. I saw a fight break out at the night club that left one guy laying in a pool of blood from his face, another wailing on the ground from kicks to the gut, women screaming, and bouncers standing around looking tough...after having kicked the crap out of the two guys, and their girlfriends, who had been brawling inside. The pool of blood was later washed away with a bucket of water, no one seemed to think anything was out of the ordinary. I've got some scenic pictures from the Friday trip though, I'll toss some up here. It's refreshing to see that there is at least some beautiful countryside to be found here, you just have to get out of the city:

A quaint little hamlet:
Who has two thumbs and is rockin' the Stowe pride in Russia? This guy:
A lovely view:
I think This is one of those, "Light of God," pictures:
Through here you'll find the potato and beet farm of this monastery. People eat too many beets and potatoes here (and cabbage too):

Dan In Russia:
This thing is not overrated, its probably the coolest thing I've ever seen:
Red Square...not too red, but an interesting place to stroll:
There's a dead man in a glass box in there. He looks like plastic

MAJESTIC HORSE!!!!1111:

Spent the weekend in Moscow, crazy place. While things are half as expensive in Vladimir than in the states, in Moscow they're twice as much. I saw Lenin's dead body in a glass box...it was unsettling to say the least. Also watched the Russian circus. If you're wondering what a bear and two dogs riding a three-wheeled motor bike looks like, I have video. Pretty much the sweetest thing I've ever seen. Of course my memory of the circus has been scrambled by the fact that I drank half a bottle of vodka afterwords. That's all for now, I will post pictures soon, it just takes for god-damned-ever with the shitty Russian dial-up I'm on.

The View of Vladimir from my classroom:

Another view, this time from the top of the Old Vladimir tower:

Same place, nicer picture:

Daniel with Russian ladies, my Tutor (Left) made me do it, I swear:

Russian clowns are super sketchy, I don't know if you can see the look on my face, but it is one of pure discomfort. My tutor made me do this one too:

This monstrocity personifies what Americans refer to as Indian Summer. Look at those gigantic Russian breasts:
A lot of this pictures were from the city festival that took place on Saturday. It was Vladimir's 1600th anniversary, or somewhere around there. It was a crazy day.

Last night was a complete shit show.
We started drinking after school, I only had a couple shots of vodka. I then came home for dinner, before going back downtown to meet everyone else. Eight of us went first to a bar to pregame: 1 bottle of vodka was consumed between us, about two shots each. We then proceeded to the nightclub where two more bottles of vodka were consumed, this time by about 6 of us. Total count of drinks got lost in the haze, but probably 7 or so shots were taken by each of us. Things got a little harder to remember after that. I remember dancing...a lot. I remember falling down with Lily and almost getting kicked out because we were too drunk. I do not remember half of our party getting kicked out for the same reason. I do remember Matt hitting on the waitress from the bar we had gone to after school, who happened to be there that night. Pretty much, the night ended when Lily got sick and started puking. We managed to split a cab home between she, Matt, and Myself. I have now idea what happened to everyone else, but I saw (almost) all of them this morning, so everyone survived. Having the kind of hangover that ensued and having to walk around a museum all morning was not pleasant, but it could have been worse. I capped off my morning by going to МакГинг which is a play on BigMac and Burger King. It was decent, the grease was helpful.

Andrew is pensive while viewing the church-



First day of school-

Day 5 in Russia has come to a close. It feels like I've been here for a month. A lot has happened already, but mostly just new cultural experiences. Classes have started, they're difficult, but rewarding nonetheless. My speaking skills are gradually getting better, but my reading needs work. Yesterday I busted my finger playing some Russian children's game and had to go to the local "Polyklinika (поликлиника)." It's only a bruised bone, but it hurts like a bitch and my finger is ginormous.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to point out a few "cultural differences" between home and here. Now let's see...

-Don't whistle. Ever. People will glare at you; you're bringing them bad luck....obviously.
-My Russian host mother won't let me outside with wet hair. "This isn't Africa," she says. I'm not really sure what that means.
- Russians LOVE the mullet. Everyone has one: men, women, and children. I'm talking mullets that would make Joe Dirt go, "Dang."
-Don't smile at people you don't know. They'll think you're crazy.
-If you go into a store you damned well better have exact change, or close to it. I'm not exactly sure what they say to me when I don't, but I know it isn't pleasant.
-Don't worry about that guy (Those guys) on the bus grinding up against you more than is necessary or decent. It's crowded...right?
-Eating food takes place whether you want it to or not. If it's time to eat, you're going to eat, come Hell or high water.
-It's totally cool for Russians to drink beer on the streets. In the morning on the way to work, or just strolling about town, they love it. This also goes for public urination.
-Shots of (decent) vodka are 30 rubles each, this is about $1.05. Just because it costs less does not mean you should have three shots after school....believe me. The Russians you are living with will know immediately that you've been drinking, and much hilarity will ensue.

That's it for now.

Russia at last.

Man things are strange here. It's like being in a first world contry that's been stagnating for a bout a century...oh wait, that's exactly what it is. It's actually quite nice. Though the streets may be littered with garbage, the people are friendly, and the countryside is stunning. In old Vladimir, the orthodox churches are all very impressive, though seem to be falling into disrepair every ay. Everywhere else in the city is old Soviet Style apartment complexes. I am in a big pink one. It looks like a demilitarized zone outside, but inside the apartment is warm, modern, and inviting. My host mother, Vera S. is very personable, and has been fairly patient with my shitty Russian. Her son, Petya, is pretty cool too. He's eighteen, plays drums in a ridiculous emo-core band, and is rocking the sickest mullet I've seen this side of 1987. Mad props Petya, mad props.

I actually bought a Russian cell phone topday as well. The phone plus the plan was about 50 bucks, but it's pay as you go. That'll be cool though. Also, a lot of stuff here is mad cheap. I saw a pack of cigarettes today that were selling for SEVEN rubles. For those of you who don't know, there are about 26.8 rubles to ONE dollar. You do the math. Of course those are probably the most filthy cigarettes on Earth, I'm not touching them.

Let's see, what else...
Oh, here are some pictures...

My Room:

The Kitchen:

One of the two cats:

That's all for now kids, more to come in a couple of days. Classes start on Monday. Wish me luck.