Short walk after dinner

J's friend Joe from the States is visiting her this week, so after American Lunch we took him for a walk. We discovered a playground and some nice views....

Me and Y on the see-saw, B on the swing


J and B on the see-saw


Y, Vova, B, J, me


Back: Vova, J, B
Front: me and Y
In front of the Golden Gates (built 1164)


J and Joe in front of the Golden Gates


Svyato-Nikolo-Galeiskaya Church (built 1732)


In the fore: Svyato-Nikolo-Galeiskaya Church (built 1732)
In the rear: Khristo-Voznesenskaya Church (built 1724)

Okay, so I'm going to blog about food again.

Today we had another "American Lunch" - this time, barbecued chicken. We had planned the thing to be an outside barbecue, but the weather wasn't particularly cooperative. Due to the steady drizzle, the eating was done inside, and the chicken was cooked in a makeshift tent erected by Alexei and Male B. Many pix:

We made four LARGE jars of sangria, using 10 bottles of wine


Male B and Alexei in the makeshift barbecue hut


One of the many pitchers of sangria, topped with fresh mint


We might have had to scrape the burnt stuff off the chicken...


We also might have had an accident with the cornbread...


B, Y and J


G, me and M


Potato salad and baked beans - YUM!

Countdown and Korean Food

Wow. Today is May 29th. I'm leaving Russia in exactly one month, which is somewhat incomprehensible to me. When I first arrived late June seemed so far in my future that it was difficult to imagine, and now it's right around the corner. I have so many good friends here... I can't imagine not seeing all of them every day, but in 31 days that's exactly what's going to happen. It's scary. I'm also sad about leaving Russia, especially not knowing when I'll be back. I'm sure I *will* be back to this country at some point, but I know that at the very least it's not going to be for a few years (unless I make it from Daegu to Vladivostok sometime, but Vladivostok is so vastly different from Vladimir that even that wouldn't be the same!). I am very excited about returning home, seeing my friends and family and cats again... not to mention seeing my new house for the first time :-) I'm planning to spend the bulk of July cleaning, painting, gardening and scavenging for thrift store furniture, which sounds like tons of fun to me. But it's just weird to think about living somewhere other than Vladimir, hanging out with people other than the AH crowd. And of course, I'll only be in the States for approximately one month before taking off again, this time to Daegu, South Korea.

I'm really excited about returning to Korea... and today made that excitement even more intense. Y, goddess that she is, made us a fabulous Korean dinner. She made Bibimpap (a dish of rice mixed with yummy meat and veggies and hot red pepper paste) and those delicious Korean-pancake things that I can never remember the name of... It was delicious. As the ingredients were all purchased here in Russia, it didn't look exactly like bibimpap does in Korea, but it certainly tasted just right. And the fact that the red pepper paste was genuine (horded from previous Korean Air flights, no less!) gave it that extra kick that is so sorely lacking in Russian foods. For dessert, Brooke had the foresight to purchase apricots, strawberries and icecream at the market this morning, so the whole feast ended splendidly.

The master chef at work

Bibimpap, prior to being topped with fried egg

Red pepper from Korean Air

The master chef and her creation

Our group at dinner

B prepares dessert

Dessert

Y and me

B and L

Male B and Alyona

M, Vanya and J

M and Vanya

Bein' Girly

Yesterday afternoon, L took me and B to the gym for *real* belly dancing lessons with her coach. It was awesome. I'm really glad that we did so many lessons with L first, though, because otherwise we would have been totally lost. As it was, we were able to pretty much follow along, and we weren't (always) the worst dancers. It was a lot of fun, although today all muscles remotely connected to my abdomen are rather sore. I'm going to try and go back as many times as I can before I leave, although given my plans/schedule, I may not get to go as often as I would like.

After we left the gym, we rode over to Dobryak, and I managed to get in and out without spending any money. Of course, this is mainly because I'm low on funds and payday isn't until Wednesday. I did assist B in the purchase of two really fantastic jackets, and I'm kinda jealous. Afterwards, the three of us went to a thrift store (I had no idea there was one in Vladimir - much less so close to my house!) and I acquired many new shirts, a dress and a skirt for under 200 rubles (so less than $7), which made me feel pretty good.

Then we went to the AH and collected Y and M and went to Shesh-Besh (our favorite restaurant in Vladimir) for hachipuri and Azerbaijani wine. After splitting three pitchers of wine among the five of us, it was time to staggger home. Fun Day. I'm going to miss these guys!

Me, L, M, Y


B and me in our new thrift-store shirts


L and M:
The Nature of Man


Because Gosha's always so sexy.

Last night's sunset

Vladimir gets some spectacular sunsets at times. Unfortunately, downtown Vladimir isn't really the best place to capture stunning vistas... But I do the best I can. Enjoy!

Reflection in the windows of the Vladimir Drama Theater

For your viewing pleasure

Gosha didn't seem to realize that the box was too small.

Then he curled up in the paper cutter.
It looks like we chopped his head off, but I promise we didn't.

The sign reads Малая Сцена,
which means small stage or small hall.
(Theater Square, Vladimir)

Vladimir's Trinity Church at sunset

Entering the Assumption Monastery in Murom

The monastery's cupolas

Crazy mushrooms in Murom

Weekend in Murom

This weekend five of us (Joanna, Kelli, Brooke, Youngmee and I) went to Murom, an ancient town in the Vladimir region which dates back to the ninth century. We went for the purpose of meeting with students from the Murom Institute of Vladimir State University. We had a long round-table session with a large group of students, during which we talked about a wide variety of topics. We were treated to several delicious meals, put up with wonderful host families for the evening, and treated to a tour of the city's historic sites in the morning.

Round-table discussion


Round-table close-up


We were each interviewed for Murom TV


The group...


We had these lovely pirogi shaped like pigs...


Cupolas of the Trinity Convent


Trinity Convent


Annunciation Monastery


St. Nicholas Church

Cupolas of the St. Nicholas Church


Epic hero Ilya Muromets


Rural life within the city limits


Anna (my host), me, and Natalia (director of the program)