Negative 26 kopeks

Well folks, this is just about it for the TAWL blog. Here is how I see its future. In about a week I'll post my initial impressions upon reentry into the US stratosphere. Then a month or so later will follow what I think I've learned about the world, God, and, most importantly, myself. Unless I have big document problems when I attempt to leave this fine place in about 8 hours, this is my last post from within Russia.

All good thing do not have to come to an end. They just need to change shape a little bit. Before this year finishes, it is my goal to finish approximately five additional entries that are either partially finished, or completely planned and unwritten. Coincidentally, all five could come from the past two and a half weeks, but I'll try to spread them out a bit more. Gazing farther down the road of time, this blog has been about my trip to Russia. A large reason for that country was the language spoken there. Therefore, this blog should ideally be bilingual. That requires that I know Russian. Realistically, if I spend some quality time daily practicing my Russian language, within five years I think I could attempt to translate this epistle without losing all of the biting humor.

The youth camp that I attended from August 4-8 was absolutely fabulous. For many reasons. One of them was the beach. As a wee lad I loved to wake up early in the morning and just walk for as long as I could. I was able to resurrect this pastime of mine and do some quality thinking. It was on one such walk on Friday, August 4, that I finally realized my time in Kaliningrad was almost over. Sure people back home had told me that repeatedly, but it only sunk in then. Walking, deep in thought, I came to the conclusion that whether I liked it or not I'd soon be leaving. It is difficult to describe emotions, so I'll forge on; realize that this afternoon stroll was incredibly useful for me.

Before I left for the camp, I chucked a few Russian songs onto my mp3 player. Ten to be exact. So far I've translated three of them I think. One in particular will always be associated with my weekend walks on this particular Kaliningrad shore. I'm not exactly sure where my notebook is with my translation, so for now I'll just paste a link to the song. Enjoy it for its beauty now. Later, when I post the English equivalent, possibly you may enjoy it for its words also. Without further ado, Mir bez liobimogo (A world without a love).

Upon arrival back in the city, rain came. Not just a little rain - a flood. I renamed Moskovskii Prospekt, the River Moskva because of the amount of water. I had a great chuckle at this. Not 3 months ago this road was redone and guaranteed for ten years. Already in two stretches the road was not visible. The sidewalk a good foot above the road was not visible. Only trees and the top halves of some unfortunate cars were visible. On Tuesday alone, over 500 large trees fell down in the city. Not very nice weather.

Most of that week I spent in the office trying to finish up the beginnings of a database for the center. I did not meet with success unfortunately and they still have nothing usable.

The evening of August 12 found me participating in yet another wedding. I still don't quite understand all the details, but the final details were only decided on a short time before the shindig kicked off. Most of the program therefore was a quick re-adaptation of the wedding two weeks ago. When you start a long program at 4ish in the afternoon, that is okay. When it starts at 9:30 in the evening, that can be problematic. I was home a little after 2, so that isn't too late, but it seemed much longer.

Possibly as a result of this late evening, possibly as a result of my mood, and possibly because of sunspots, I was a bit lethargic on Saturday. I haven't figured it out exactly, but I'd say that maybe my new rate is slightly less than a dollar a picture. Yes, somehow, somewhere, I lost the camera loaned to me by Ira. Most likely it happened on the busride back from church to school. As I sat there with a plastic bag on my lap wide open, I slept. Seeing a nice looking camera and a dead asleep dude may have been too much for some bargain shopper. Or maybe I just dropped it someplace. In any event, I realized it was gone, kicked myself in the head a couple of times, and continued on with life. (One note is in order here. I opted not to tell Ira, the accountant, that I lost her camera. Not entirely the most honest thing to do, but I did it. I was able to find an exact replacement for everything so she shouldn't be able to find out.)

My first trip to the Russian banya followed on Saturday evening. It was a private banya and the guy who we visited had some German WWII relics. Sasha, Kostya, and I played dress up for a few minutes before making our ways to the banya. I have to say that it is indeed nice. But I don't think that I love it with quite the same fervor as a real Russian. Maybe it is something that comes with time and much alcoholic consumption. We left somewhere around 2 and before long the driver wasn't able to stay awake so we pulled over for a quick nap. Maybe two hours later a crazy driver almost hit our parked car and this provided enough of a wake up call that we were able to proceed home without further incident.

to be continued....
I need to go meet a friend in Moscow and further details will have to wait.