Lunch in Kazan

This short post will take you back to one of my favorite places: Kazan!

We had lunch in two cool restaurants in Kazan. The first was at Туган Авылым (that's Tatar for Home Village). Туган Авылым is a large complex that takes up an entire block. Inside its walls, you'll find a day's worth of activities. There's a restaurant, a mosque, a blini cafe, a banya, a second cafe, a souvenir workshop, a toy museum, a petting zoo, a kids' rope park, and a hotel.

Inside the restaurant.

Kazan Family Center

Last weekend, we went to a tulip festival. I still see a thousand acres of neon flowers when I close my eyes, so instead of sharing those photos today, here's something totally different.

Pictures from the Trans-Siberian, 2007

The road out of Yakutsk

Good bathroom! (despite the -30 F weather)

Bad bathroom!
 (Although, come to think of it, this one is rather clean. I'm gonna change my mind and call it a good bathroom. Years ago D's mom told me the secret: just pull your coat over your head, it's what all women do when there's not a door.)

An elementary school offered us work as these two characters- Дед мороз and Снегуречка.

The city of Nerengre.

Talk about close quarters!

In Irkutsk for Christmas.

Happy New Year!

Just chillin' with my crew, yo

Moscow- January

Red Square- January

I love this picture....later got it framed.

This was taken in September, before going to Yakutsk. Спасибо большое, Дима!

Yakutsk (Siberian) Blog, 2006

A typical house in the village

"Main Street"

Lena River

a very young me! : )

In the spirit of things, here's a link to my old blog about life in Yakutsk (Siberia) and traveling the Trans-Siberian with a colorful cast of characters.

The first entry is September 9th, 2006: "I got a pretty good vibe of what this would be like when we picked up a 16 year old sobbing crackhead at the ferry terminal"

The final entry is January 10th, 2007: "I've just posted all the sordid (or not) secrets of the Trans-Siberian trip"

Haha, looking back, I always wondered why everyone in Russia was obsessed with going to clubs and "dance pole".... I was always looking around for a stripper pole- why else would they keep mentioning a pole? It wasn't until later I found out that "поль" (pole) = floor, so people were actually saying "dance floor".

A couple of pictures from the old days....

Watching the traffic on this road was an endless source of amusement!

Early September

View from my window in September

One month later....view from my window in October

The old part of town. Very pretty and a very expensive shopping district. It's probably, uh, about 2 PM in the afternoon in this photo. Note the 2 women in fur coats in the distance!

2 weeks of hard work! See my comment re: winter activities- drive around, drink or visit a museum. Also, Odin, Odin, Odin :p

Yeah! The Permafrost Institute! That brings our total of winter activities up to 4!

Russia cannot be understood with the mind...one must simply stand in line.

"Умом Россию не понять… В Россию можно только верить."
"Russia cannot be understood with the mind... One must simply believe in Russia."
  -Fyodor Tyutchev
 

Here's another example of why I love Russia:

Getting a visa has always been difficult. If you are able to get an invitation (to study or work or visit) there's still a million hoops to go through. That's part of why I choose Ukraine. Anyways, the Russian president Medvedev is a huge fan of technology and modernity, and he's trying to get Russia up to speed. So, what sounds more 21st century then being able to file your visa application online? That's right, straight from the embassy's website, "Pursuant to the directive from the Russian Foreign Ministry, effective July 1, 2011, the Russian Embassy and all Russian Consulates General in the U.S.A. will require that all applications for Russian visas submitted in the United States be prepared using the Electronic Visa Application Form."

Pretty good, right?

But that's not the whole story.

Because then, "After filling the Electronic Visa Application form online, applicants will have to print a copy of their application form, sign and date it, glue the requred size photo to it and submit this printed original form, along with other necessary documentation, to the Russian Consulate personally or through their representative or a visa agency." (Underlining done by me.)

Hahaha! What's the point of filing online if you still have to print out the same form and hand it over in person? Why not just give people a confirmation number?

I love you, Russia, because sometimes you don't make any sense.