Russia
From my myspace blog.. as i tend to write there more often and neglect my LJ.. it's a shame because the people i talk to on here i quite like and miss.
... I figured it was just about time for me to post a blog as I'm so hungover I can't think properly. Ahhh. It's much better than presenting coherant thoughts. White night is interesting.. my body can't adjust to 4 hours of darkness.. a beautiful sunset to a light dusk at midnight puts my bedtime back a bit.
My ramble on the G8.. So, yeah, Russia. Is it an industrialized nation on the level of the other G8 countries? no. I like it more than I did when I first arrived. The un-airconditioned chaos of St. Petersburg airport set my expectations for the management of the summit pretty low. I will give it to them, they put a lot of effort and money into the planning and execution of the event. However, you could not hide the definite reminders that we were roped off from the rest of the population. When we were able to sneak out of the bubble of chartered flights, hotel service, smiling embassy personnel and credential badges was the only time we were able to get the real feel of the city.
Now, everything had the element of Russia... the buffet of cabbage dishes, fishy fish, potatoes, and various little salads left me queasy and that paired with the hydrofoils to the island with the presidential palace didn't help that. Of course, the freeflowing alcohol may also be a bit ot blame. My favorite
"sasuga russia" moment was a going to one of the many snackbars to get a few drinks. I wasn't in the mood for a soda.. nor one of the many juices and salty-tasting waters. In the next case was some local beers that I can't read the name of but the unfiltered was quite good, but, it was only noon so probably not beer time yet. So, I moved down to the next case. It was stocked with bottles of vodka. Now, these were not individual size or any smaller than a full fifth. So, I grabbed one and a fanta and headed back to my desk. Maybe it wasn't too early after all.
There are definite signs of progress and development but, there is lacking the certain elements that you come to expect. A dependable and fair system of prices and human rights would be nice.
But a couple hours at a downtown stripclub and many of those vodka shots later, it all seemed perfectly normal.
... I figured it was just about time for me to post a blog as I'm so hungover I can't think properly. Ahhh. It's much better than presenting coherant thoughts. White night is interesting.. my body can't adjust to 4 hours of darkness.. a beautiful sunset to a light dusk at midnight puts my bedtime back a bit.
My ramble on the G8.. So, yeah, Russia. Is it an industrialized nation on the level of the other G8 countries? no. I like it more than I did when I first arrived. The un-airconditioned chaos of St. Petersburg airport set my expectations for the management of the summit pretty low. I will give it to them, they put a lot of effort and money into the planning and execution of the event. However, you could not hide the definite reminders that we were roped off from the rest of the population. When we were able to sneak out of the bubble of chartered flights, hotel service, smiling embassy personnel and credential badges was the only time we were able to get the real feel of the city.
Now, everything had the element of Russia... the buffet of cabbage dishes, fishy fish, potatoes, and various little salads left me queasy and that paired with the hydrofoils to the island with the presidential palace didn't help that. Of course, the freeflowing alcohol may also be a bit ot blame. My favorite
"sasuga russia" moment was a going to one of the many snackbars to get a few drinks. I wasn't in the mood for a soda.. nor one of the many juices and salty-tasting waters. In the next case was some local beers that I can't read the name of but the unfiltered was quite good, but, it was only noon so probably not beer time yet. So, I moved down to the next case. It was stocked with bottles of vodka. Now, these were not individual size or any smaller than a full fifth. So, I grabbed one and a fanta and headed back to my desk. Maybe it wasn't too early after all.
There are definite signs of progress and development but, there is lacking the certain elements that you come to expect. A dependable and fair system of prices and human rights would be nice.
But a couple hours at a downtown stripclub and many of those vodka shots later, it all seemed perfectly normal.