So I've been thinking about this alot. And after I say this I am going to stop discussing politics on this blog. I don't know what I'm supposed to think about politics in Russia. I mean you can read the earlier blog posts where I fairly soundly express my general support for Putin and what he is doing in the country. But I can't seem to reconcile that with the fact that well, lots of people keep telling me that I am wrong. Like smart people that I respect. Maybe the Russian media is not free, and is controlled by Putin, and that is bad. Maybe he really is as bad as he is portrayed in American media and I have been brainstormed by первый канал новости (Channel 1 News) into thinking that Putin is awesome. Maybe there is some sort of inbetween conclusion that needs to be reached where he won't be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but also won't be the worst thing since ... Well you get the analogy.
So mainly I suppose I don't really know what to think. Maybe that's the point. That studying abroad is supposed to challenge your perceptions of the world and how you see both your own country and other countries. Oh man. I am such a great study abroad student.
Also classes end on Friday. And so for all of those interested, these are my not very planned travel plans.
Monday, December 17: Leave Yaroslavl (tear- as in I will cry, not I will rip a piece of paper.)
Meet Susanna in Moscow!!!
Then we are in Moscow until Sunday the 23rd when we take a train to Yaroslavl. And Susanna meets Margarita.
Then we leave Yaroslavl on the 26th and go to Piter. Then we are in Piter/ maybe go to Novgorod for a day or two until January 3.
January 3 we go meet Laurel in Helsinki.
January 7 we return from Helsinki
January 9 board train from Piter to Kazan.
Then we ночевать (sleep over) in Kazan (I think) and some other town along the Trans Siberian.
Then we get to Irkutsk on the 14. I think we're taking the Circumnavigational Train or something like that around Baikal. Well around part of Baikal.
Then I think we're going the rest of the way all the way to Vladivostok.
Then the planned-ness sort of ends and at some point I purchase plane ticket/train ticket back to Moscow and fly back to the U.S.
Arrival in N.Y is (I think) January 28.
1 comment:
We aren't spending the night in Kazan. That was the cause of some of the confused yelling through the glass at the information desk at the train station. We will be there for 6 hours, so if we run maybe we can go see the Kazan kremlin. With our baggage. Actually maybe there's a left luggage place. Where we are spending the night is Novosibirsk. That involved considerably more yelling through the glass. We get there in the evening, I believe, leave the next evening.
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