Woke up at noon and had a slow couple of hours breakfasting and some power tea drinking. I then headed over to the bank to play around with the Western Union folks to pick up some much-needed reserve cash (thanks mom and dad!).
We then headed over to Ruslan's temp job site where he and three of his friends are repainting a flat. After watching 20 minutes of sanding, I decided to head to a nearby cafe and, because I have decided to head to Kazakhstan tomorrow, to reflect on what I have learned during my weeks in Russia.My top 10 list is:
10. There are a shocking number of different generations ofRussian/Soviet paving (with sectioned concrete slab being the worst);
9. Strawberries are "good for the heart";
8. The average Russian horse/deerfly cannot go faster than 21km/
h;7. Russian wives usually ride in the back seat of the car, even when the front passenger seat is open (and especially if the car is a Lada);
6. Vodka is (was, and shall always be) evil;
5. Russian highway milage signs can be wrong by as much as 100km;
4. Russians like to carry their personal effects around town in plastic bags;
3. Every city in Russia has the 'prettiest girls'; but some cities have much better back stories explaining why (a big shout to Voronezh);
2. My bicycle computer time aliases at 66.6km/h (Quiz: What's the sampling frequency?); and
1. At times Russian hospitality can be overwhelming, but it is completely honest and runs deep. Thanks Russia!
Headed back to the flat to have dinner, pack up my stuff, and try to get some early sleep for my long day cycling down to Kazakhstan tomorrow!
5 things, i've realized from Jeff about different between Russia and Canada:
ReplyDelete5. In Canada, still think, that Russia - it is Soviet Union.
4. Russian girls are beautiful because they wear nice clothes.
3. If you are going from Canada to Russia on a bicycle - you need a business visa.
2. Winter in Canada is cold, same like in Russia.
1. Some Russian people with whom we met, when Jeff was my guest did not know, that America and Canada - two different countries.
And there is one more thing:
Between Canada and Russia will not be war for oil offshore in the North Pole. Jeff told me about this, and I trust him completely in this. I think, that winner will be Norway :)