From Russia, Pt. 1

Location: Pushkin, Russia (just south of St. Petersburg)

Time: 11 hours ahead of Arizona...

Some observations

1. It is 10:15 pm. The sun is currently shining brightly in the sky. Around midnight, the sun briefly goes past the horizon, although it never gets very dark. This is weird, but less weird than I thought it would be. I kind of forgot what its like when it is really dark out.

2. We are staying in dormitories at a local university. The Russian government is flush with cash right now, but little of it seems to go to the upkeep of their dorms. The place is a bit of a wreck. There is hot water on Tuesday and Friday, although hot is a bit strong. The rest of the time it feels roughly like jumping into the North Atlantic.

3. We start teaching school tomorrow. Our schedule is basically all day at that point...a bit intense. But we have already made some good friends, and I am excited for school to start. Getting a bit of a handle on Russian culture, which seems similar on the surface, but has some deep differences.

More to follow, possibly later rather than sooner...