Russian Palm Reading...Check.

[Voldanya reading palms]

Had an absolutely incredible weekend in Irkutsk. On Saturday, we met our students outside of our building. About 15 of them showed up to take us around the local sites of the city. Some even brought other friends to translate for them so that they could communicate with Yussef and I! Only about 2.5 of them spoke English...but it worked, somehow! One of our students brought a girl that does tours in Russian around the city – so she was able to translate the significance of all of the churches and buildings that we saw. One of my students, Voldanya, read my palms in Russian. It was better that way because he could only use a few words that I could hear and understand. He told me that I had a strong "travel" line...and that I will keep travelling. To prove the point, he showed me his non-existent travel line, and told me he would never get out of Irkutsk! He also told me I would have many specializations, and that I was strong willed and to keep pursuing my dreams! That's all I need to hear. :)

[our students]

People generally do not speak any English here, and there are hardly ever any tourists. The divide between the rich and the poor is great, and the juxtaposition exists all over the city. You will see a completely dilapidated wooden house with no central water or heat, and then see a beautiful lounge nearby. This is raw Russia though - communism doesn't feel like it was so far away. The state of the streets are deplorable, the pollution is insane, the water randomly shuts down, there is no toilet paper in school bathrooms (ever), and there is no McDonalds. Many students want to get out of Irkutsk and live in the big city of Moscow. Irkutsk is so isolated from so many things, even though it is the center of Siberia. Aside from all of this, it was interesting hearing about the city from the point of view of the students. We had a very pleasant walk along the Angara river...the only river that flows out of Lake Baikal. Took a lot of token pictures that I can't wait to post when I get back!

Unfortunately, it has been very difficult for us to go out at night - it is "us" against "the gate". We are living in a flat on the university campus, and we have a gate outside our building that locks at sometime between 10:00 or 11:00 PM. Because of this, we always have to race home in hopes that the gate won't get closed...almost like Cinderella, but not quite. Yesterday, Susan and Yves found a secret way to get in from one of their students. Yay! This means we can go out with our Russian friends!

Today we met up with our Russian friend Olka - who has been so incredible. First she took us to see a seal show, where the seals from Baikal were playing soccer, basketball, trumpets, and even painting. It was neat to see but also a little sad to observe the captivity and conditions that they live in. Then we saw another wooden house exhibit, but this time it was the house of a family that was very wealthy. Finally, we went shopping!! I was trying to find souvenirs because I haven't seen any yet...but ended up buying beautiful Russian scarves for me and my sister! These scarves are so intricate and interesting, and they all have a different name and story. After our little shopping adventure, we met up with one of Susan and Yves' students who took us to a movie being filmed in English at the school where she learns English. Great weekend and back to teaching tomorrow!