July 9, 2007

Our schedule was a little screwy today.  We had a quick lesson on Russian proverbs.  We also had informal discussions with Ron and Alexei.

At lunch at the Golden Gates Restaurant- our group had eaten here before.  The food was OK.

Had a panel discussion on the role of women in Russia.  Three women were on the panel:  Yelena Potapova, Dmitri Petrosyan, and Olga Usov.  Yelena spoke for most of the time so it really wasn’t a true panel discussion.

I took my host family out dinner tonight to thank them for everything they did for me while I was visiting Vladimir.  I asked them to pick a restaurant and they picked a Japanese restaurant.  The food was fantastic! Funny story – Yana, Natalia, and I ordered sushi for our meal but poor Andrei ordered cooked fish that took FOREVER to be served!  He waited and waited.  At one point, the waitress brings out – get this – a bottle of tobasco sauce that is made in Louisiana USA!  So, we had American tobasco sauce in a Japanese restuarant in Russia!  My host family thought it was so funny! 

My host family gave me a going away gift – a beautiful lacquer box with a Russian winter scene handpainted on it.  Yana noticed that I kept my jewelry on the dresser in her bedroom so she thought I would like a nice box to store my jewelry.  VERY thoughtful gift!  And, I received two Russian flags!  I’m going to hang them in my classroom.

I was so blessed to have such a wonderful host family during my stay in Vladimir – I will always remember my time here.  I hope to return for another visit someday.  I also hope that my host family will get the opportunity to travel to the United States and visit me too. 🙂

We went back to the flat for dessert – Yana made a wonderful berry pie with those berries she picked at the dacha over the weekend.  She also made kvas – a drink with berries in it.

We stayed up late and chatted about Russia and America.  Time to sleep – Dobroi nochi (Good night)!