Take me home, country roads

Remember how I was mugged this summer, which resulted in me no longer having a driver's license or ATM card. Well, in an amazingly painfree process, I got a new driver's license from the state of Georgia. And it's valid for 10 years! I still haven't bothered with BoA to try and get a new ATM card. I'm still mad at them for not sending me a new one after I was mugged - geeze, obviously I hold grudges.

Anyway, it was vital to get the new license as in my on-going traveler insanity, I decided to add a quick trip up to Ohio to see my relatives. To make it easier to see everyone, I rented a car - which necessitates having a license. I'd forgotten how fun it is to drive! And it's so beautiful here right now. All the leaves are gold and red. It's crisp but not freezing (though apparently they had snow 2 days before my arrival). In the drive to Cousin Mark's house, I discovered that a few wineries have opened near by! I'm going to check those out today.

Last night my dad's siblings gathered for dinner so I could see everyone. It was really nice. My Aunt Rose brought some photos of my family she'd discovered in my grandmother's files. It was a great night.

I spent 2 hours chatting with my lone remaining grandparent, my mother's mother. She's still very with it, fiercely independent and well traveled. We talked about her trips to Poland and the UK, about politics (this conversation far less painful than discussions that occur on my father's side) and my favorite topic, food. Tonight, I'll return to her house to help hand out Halloween candy.

Sweet Home right-next-to-Alabama

So I made it on Monday's flight. My sister picked me up and we headed straight to Lohemann's. After spending a fair bit of money, we met up with my parents for sushi at Nagoya, our local sushi place in the suburbs. It was great as always.

Yesterday, I got up at 4:30, this after sleeping only a few hours on the plane and forcing myself to stay awake until 10:30! Stupid jet lag. Watched the South Park movie which was a huge mistake, because the rest of the day I was singing "Kyle's Mom's a ..." well, you know. Finally the rest of the family was awake and I could hang out with them. My sister came to get me around noon and we headed off for yet more shopping. I think I've now bought enough to fill my suitcase.

I helped her out by babysitting for one of her "families" - my sister is a nanny. So she could go to her other job. The yard was littered with cut out black cats and witches. But the scariest part of all was the McCain/Palin sign in the front yard. It was hard for me to even go into the house. But then it got scarier still. There was a "sexual intimacy" phamplet sitting out on a side table that has 6 bible lessons to be used in conjunction with a dvd on how to be sexually intimate with your heterosexual marriage partner. My dad picked me up and I realized to my horror that even after 8 years of the shrub as president, my family is still... don't hate me... republican . Oh the horror.

Somehow I'll survive. I mean I survived sharing my sister's bed with her (fine) and her 80 pound bulldog who farts and snores in his sleep (less fine). Today's plan is... no, not more shopping, but instead to get my haircut and other beauty treatments. Tonight we're going out for steak, yummy, yummy steak.

Tomorrow I head to Ohio to see the relatives. Ooh, that reminds me to go priceline a rental car.

It's nice being home.

When luck runs out

Normally, I have insanely good traveler luck. So, back when my sister was visiting and her friend offered me buddy passes, I canceled the ticket I had bought for October break and took her up on the offer - business class here I come. The catch was that the flight was crowded on Saturday, so it was best to wait until Sunday. Sure, extra day in Moscow, no worries. So today, I went to the airport today optimistic that I would get on the oversold flight to Atlanta even though I was flying stand-by. Really, I should have just used my common sense and not gone out to Sheremyetevo at all - by all that is holy do I hate that airport. However, I went. And then I found out yesterday's flight was canceled (the one I was originally booked on!) I was told to wait until the flight boarded to see if there were seats. So I sat and knit. And tried to restrain myself from kicking the screaming children running laps in front of me.

Finally at departure time, they tell the 7 of us waiting to get on the flight, that we're not getting on, but tomorrow looks good. Let's hope so, I'm only giving it one more shot.

However, I learned that taking the public bus from the airport to the metro, while it only costs a dollar takes an HOUR and 45 MINUTES! Sheer, painful, cold (I didn't bring a jacket since I have one in Atlanta that I want to remember to bring back, however, it's only 6 today) hell.

So here I sit, grading papers, updating my blog on the second day of October break.

I must have more interesting things to say, it's been so long since I've posted. Well, in sheer insanity, even though I hate this city, I love my job so much that I think I'll be staying a third (and final) year. So those of you who thought you couldn't make it out while I'm here, still have a chance. Start looking for tickets now... they're cheap. Bree just got a direct flight to NYC for only $675 round trip!

Oh, that reminds me of more exciting news. Natasha is coming to the states with me for x-mas holidays. We're spending a week in the south then heading to Vegas for New Year's and then to California for a few days. Woo hoo.

Oh, and did I mention the unintentional reclaimed viriginity has been taken care of... probably not. But I was tempted to call a future post "Sexing it up" just for The Prettiest Denny's Waitress.

Hostess with the Mostest

Nate, Vero and Petter arrived September 12th. The day after they left, my sister, her friend Schera, Schera's two sons, Dawson and Garrett, arrived. A full day and a half after they left, Mama Pajama arrived. She left today, October 14th, a full 4 and a half weeks later.

Revolving door. You betcha. Am I burnt out, well, yes, I'm a bit crispy around the edges. Those edges have been snapping off rather easily when my students annoy me. However, I was getting really used to having people to come home to. I already miss Mama P.

Obviously, I did no blogging while people were here. I turned my office into a guest bedroom by putting the mattress from the pull out sofa in here. I was only coming in to get to the laundry room.

It's always interesting to look at Moscow through a visitor's eyes. Here's a story from 8 year-old Dawson about their first night, the one I called "Music or Noise":

And here's a great post from Mama P about our banya experience entitled "I just Picked Dried Cottage Cheese off of my Face": (I hope she doesn't mind me reposting it here...)

Sunday, October 12, 2008

I Just Picked Dry Cottage Cheese off of my Face

Even better, I'd put it here on purpose AND I paid good money to do it. :)

Em, her friend Natasha and I were Russians today. Well, Natalie *is* actually Russian, but Em and I got to be honorary Russians. Naked honorary Russians. We went to something called a banya, or a traditional sauna. Or as it kind of seemed at times, a kind of group, DIY day spa.

My first impression of this particular place was of a lobby-like room, with long, high-backed leather benches, high ceilings, wood wainscoting, and brass fixtures. For a moment, it apeared as though we'd stepped back in time to a 19th century hotel. Except that, unlike most hotel lobbies I've been in, this one was hosting nearly a dozen women draped in only towels or birthday suits, having, you know, tea.

Having all of my preconceptions of the day pretty much squelched immediately upon this sight, I knew I was going to spend the rest of the morning following the lead of Em and Norma. Turns outhe lobby was vack where we paid and dropped of our coats. But even with that knowledge and having the lockers hiding in the wainscotting pointed out to me - and keep in mind, not 5 feet from us a woman in only a thong was applying her makeup in a mirror - my brain had decided that this was a hotel lobby and I could barely take off my clothes. As I slowly peeled off my pants, I expected people to start screaming and the police to storm in and haul me away for indecent exposure. I wrapped myself up in my sheet as quicky as I could. So much for my career as a stripper.

Once undressed, we passed through the frosted glass door into a large, high-ceilinged, white tiled room. Naked women of all shapes and sizes were scattered about; some taking showers in open stalls, some clustered around low benches scrubbing themselves vigorously, and some pouring buckets of water over their heads. We hung up our towels, and aimed for the wooden door leading to the sauna. I got to practice my eye contact as we walked in; a woman bobbed vigorously in a barrel-like cold plunge next to the door, making her breasts piston up and down. Even having breasts myself and knowing what silly things they can be at times, I had to bite the inside of my mouth to keep from bursting into laughter. That had not been a particular sight I'd been planning to take in in Moscow.

The sauna room was pretty impressive structurally. I'm used to small-ish enclosures at spas, maybe holding 4-6 people max. Now, I laugh at their puny saunas with derision. Ha! Ha! Ha! Or at least I would, had my lungs not been burned off and sizzled into pork rinds inside my chest. FUCK was that thing hot! Seriously, I walked in, climbed the steps to the sitting area, stood there for about two seconds before I had to cover my face with a towel so I could breathe, and then marched back to the bottom of the steps where the temperature was only on broil, and not char. I'm sure that 20' square floor-to-ceiling oven had nothing to do with it. I had a brief moment of panic; it was too hot and there was no way I was going to be able to do this. Em - who was calmly sitting there, y'know, breathing - assured me it did take some getting used to, and to just ease myself into it.

And after only a handful of minutes, most women came out and back into the main tiled room, where cold water was applied to the body in one of several fashions. Never before had I been so eager to douse myself with icy water and I jumped into the cold plunge pool (never fear; no pistoning breasts.) And really, once your body is numb, its easier to stand the heat of the sauna, so back and forth we went. (I never could go in without breathing through the towel, though.) The icy cold and the screaming hot eventually start to balance each other out. I joked with Em that it was like vodka and pickles.**

Then comes the DIY part. After you've been sweating yourself clean in the sauna (and possibly beaating yourself with branches of oak leaves at the same time,) its time to scrub down your body with some sort of cleansing agent that you've brought. And by cleansing agent, I of course mean food product. Homemade body scrubs aren't just the thing; they're the norm. Some people use straight coffee grounds, while others mix together paste-like substances. We were a little poor with our preparing; we simply had sea salt and oatmeal, which we just grabbed with our bare hands and started rubbing on our bodies. I think the last time I probably did something like that I was younger than Mags, and I'm betting I probably got a scolding for it. But once you (ok, I) struggled through the fact that the oatmeal was starting to get kind of creamy on your body and is-anyone-else-reminded-of-eating-instant-cereal-on-cold-winter-school-mornings-in-Wisconsin?, it *was* rather pleasant. Then a good rinse***, and back for another round of sauna-ing.

After every 20-30 minutes of spa-ing, we'd head back to the not-lobby. It was during one of these breaks that I was introduced to the cottage cheese (thought I'd forgotten about that, eh?) Nancy had it mixed in with several other ingredients she'd included in her home made facial. We took turns going over to the Thong Mirror and painted the mess onto our faces, and then sat back down and had tea. Obviously cameras were not really something to take to a public spa, but really, the three of us sitting around a marble-topped table having tea and cookies, with egg literally on our faces and sporting a bad case of cottage cheese acne to boot -- damn. Quite a sight to behold, although I'm sure there's some German fetishist group out there somewhere that would've paid good money for those pix.

I got limper and limper every time we took a break. And not surprising; we were there for 3 hours. So. Incredibly. Relaxing. After a while, I didn't really care that lying down on the long leather benches was maybe a bit passe. With every pore in our bodies rinsed out, we all willed our muscles back into life, lotioned up, and struggled back into our clothes.

Good lord. I'm getting relaxed just thinking about it.

Like several new things I've experienced on this trip, I wish I had time to give it a second try. I was lucky in my experience with the St. Petersburg train; it was awkward and uncomfortable not knowing what to do or where to go or how things worked in getting there, but I got to pair that up with a good memory of knowing what to do (and not looking like an idiot) on the ride home. It'd be great to re-do the banya experience, not only to have another drool-inducing morning of relaxation, but again to be able to pair it up with an experience where I felt more like I knew what I was doing. Guess I'll just have to come back then, won't I?

Oh, and appologies to Em's friend Nadine, who's name I could never quite remember and therefore never addressed unless she was looking right at me.

** Vodka consumption in Russia: Shots of vodka are (apparently) often served with a plate of pickled vegetables. After a picked weapon of choice is selected and in hand, a toast is made with the vodka. The you take a sip, raise the pickled [vegertable] to your nose, take a sniff of it, swallow the vodka, and then pop the vegetable into your mouth. Chew. Just sniffing the pickled-ness of the veggie starts to calm down the alcohol in your mouth, and mixed together in your throat, the booze cuts the pickle-ness of the food and the pickle cuts the burn of the booze. They basically completely neutralize each other so that all you are left with is a tasty, tender vegetable. Sounds fairly disgusting at first, but one of my favorite things that I've learned while here. Its like a magic trick with food. :)

*** Note to self: for furture reference, 'a good rinse' includes remembering that all of the oatmeal rubbed onto your body washes down and tends to gather in -ta da! - your pubic hair. For future reference, locking the bathroom stall door before sitting on the toilet and batting at said oatmeal with spread legs is also a good idea. That poor woman.

Music or Noise?

Last night I went to a music performance near my house at one of the churches. It was billed as "Jazz with a big organ and saxophone - negro and other spirituals and improvisations." Sounds cool, right? Well, the first part, this black woman with dreads, playing the organ with barefeet was very cool. Especially when she sang. However, for some reason the organ was really quiet.

Then the next part, a saxophonist with a different organist. It sounded as though they couldn't hear each other and after their "experimentation" I felt like I couldn't hear - or never wanted to hear again - after that. It easily could have been entitled "Improvisational Anarchy" or "Chaos Theory Explored." Definitely not spiritual. And ironically the organ was incredibly loud!

So, that was my sister's first night. "Welcome to Moscow!"

Nate and Vero left Tuesday :( Go read Nate's write up about his trip to Moscow.

165/365

165/365
Originally uploaded by Traveling Em

I know it doesn't happen very often, but when I go out, I go all out. This photo was taken at 4 in the morning after we returned from a night of vodka drinking at Art Garbage. It was super fun, but I think I'm still recovering. Or maybe I'm recovering from being at work until 9 last night!

Where's She Been?

Let me 'splain. No, that'd take too long, let me sum up.

Since my hair cut, I:

• took 4 people out to the Gorbushka Rynok to buy tasty smoked meats
• went and picked up my newly framed art
• got incredibly sick - another sinus infection and it was only September 1st!
• went to a birthday party
• went to Stockholm for a math conference
• ate a lot of INCREDIBLE food
• returned Sunday night at 10:30 pm - realized I'd left behind dirty dishes from being so sick before I left
• cleaned frantically so my apartment no longer smelled disgusting
  
• had a pedicure by two Russian women who came to our apartments for $32!
• got my new camera!!
  
• went out to dinner with friends
• hosted a Grade 11 assembly
• organized my Thai Challenge group so we'd have a bake sale Friday (for which I agreed to make banana bread) and a movie night next Friday
• am organizing travel plans for the 3 friends arriving Friday
• will meet with a potential new house cleaner tomorrow after mine suddenly quit - after I'd paid her for the summer and August even though she only cleaned twice in that period.
• updated this blog for the first and probably only time in September
  

New 'Do

I went and had a hair cut in Moscow today. I paid about what I would pay in the States for a good haircut and thankfully this was also a good haircut. I was a bit concerned when the stylist told me he had come from the (night) club to the salon without sleeping and then even more when he told me he was only 22, but no need to fear, I got a great haircut. ... Now if only my eyebrows would grow back in ;-)

Actually, as you can see from this photo (pre-haircut) taken at dinner with some of my "old lady" friends my eyebrows aren't ~that~ terrible.

The Omnivore's 100

Taken from my friend Kayaksoup, though it appears to have begun over at Very Good Taste

Here’s what to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

Note: I'm adding 4) and 5)
4) Star anything you'd like to try
5) Double Star anything you'd never heard of but after looking up would like to try

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses **
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or Head Cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam Chowder in Soudough Bowl
33. Salted Lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac
37. Clotted Cream Tea
38. Vodka Jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail *
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects *
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. Fugu (AKA pufferfish)*
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal Note: I am such a food snob...
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads *
63. kaolin Note: All I could discover about this is it's a type of clay??
64. Currywurst **
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost or brunost ** I had to look this up, I've actually had it but I know it as "wimp cheese" I love it!!
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu **
77. Hostess Fruit Pie Phew, I'm not that much of a food snob ;)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang Souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom Yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. 3 Michelin Star Tasting Menu *
85. Kobe beef *
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate **
91. Spam I'm loathe to admit this one, but you find it often in Korean fried rice.
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose Harissa **
94. Catfish
95. Mole Poblano
96. Bagel and Lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake *

Wow, out of 100, there are only 17 I haven't tried. I tried to eat bugs, but turns out they don't travel well. You have to eat them fresh. Maybe the next time I'm in Thailand...

So much to say

So little energy to write it up with. First week of school over, check. Like my kids, well most of them, check. Can put faces to names when they're outside of class, err, half check.

Last weekend I went camping and canoeing. It was full of ups and downs, but now writing about it 3 days later, I can say it was great. I had the best night sleep out in the chilly night air all snuggly in my sleeping bag. And I can forget about the SWARMS of mosquitoes and the fact that our "guide" led us about a kilometer past the pick up point which meant about a kilometer of paddling upstream.

We had parent/teacher conferences last night. Last year I had LOADS of parents I think all anxious to meet the new math teacher. Last night I had 16 of about 70 parents show up. It was raining and many of them had been in in the morning for parent coffee, but still, having only 16 makes staying at school for 14 hours that much more painful.

In other news, I had 11 students hand in essays about why they want to travel to Thailand to do community service over February break. I spent all day on the phone confirming that their parents knew about their intentions. Part of the conversation went like this:

Me: "The trip costs $1850..."

All but two parents: "Oh, no problem"...

Me: "Your child is supposed to fund raise a minimum of $850 but we'd like a deposit of $1000 by Friday"

Parents, all but two again, "No problem."

In some ways it's nice, in others, well it feels like I've sold out. But here's a photo from last years "Pie in the Face" fundraiser:

First Day of 08/09 School Year

And I am super-pooper. One of the Russian teachers says that, though I think when she says it she means super-duper, but I am pooped! We saw all of our classes for 25 minutes each. Normally students go to half of their classes one day, the other half the next for 90 minute blocks.

25 minutes was too short for a lesson, too long for chit chat, but I didn't feel like doing any "get to know you" stuff. So we muddled along. I heard a few times today "I've heard you're really nice" and "My son is so excited to have you; he's heard nothing but good things." I hope I can live up to everyone's expectations.

Also, already as grade level leader for the 11th grade class I've had 2 students approach me for help.

Yep, all in all, it was a good first day.

Bring on the math tomorrow!

So hot!

I am such a heat wuss! It was 31 C here today (roughly 88 F) and I'm roasting. There's no a/c, no breeze, my fan is just blowing around hot air. I'm such a wuss. No way I'm moving to SE Asia or back to Houston or Atlanta. Ugh.

I've had a great weekend. Went to a Russian (as opposed to Georgian) farmers market and bought loads of cheap, in-season produce. Today I made a plum/sour cherry sauce in my crockpot out of the goodies. Last night I went to an expat party of people I'd never met and we got to know each other over vodka and fresh caviar - fresh caviar is sooo good, by the way. Today I had my art from Thailand framed. I payed more than I wanted to, but that's because I picked the most expensive frame... of course. But it was no more than I would have payed in the states.

And then I've worked a bit too. But really it's too hot to do anything but take another shower. Meh.

When will I learn

not to wax my own eyebrows??? Seriously. I did the under part just fine and then decided to take "just a little" off the top. That never works. Now I have airplane landing strips for eyebrows. I hope they grow back fast...

I hope this isn't real

Go watch this horrible online dating videa/plea for an ex-girlfriend to return:

Randy's Message

I think my favorite line is "I'm living with Corey and Janice and it f*ckin' sucks. Will you please bring my truck and our house back?" Or when he offers that they use her sister as a surrogate so that she doesn't get any fatter. Whoa.

Not going to keep me down

I decided to try and keep up the photo of the day project. Hopefully a friend from Laos will be sending me photos which will account for a few missing days. Friday night when I returned to Moscow Tyler took a photo of me with my new art:


However, I wasn't in any (that I know of) from Saturday - Wednesday of this week. So I can go back and find some images depicting what I did those days:

Saturday 129/365 Took the new hires to Mega Mall
Sunday 130/365 Went to the rynok, cooked a ton
Monday 131/365 Went into school with many of my library books (didn't need to be there)
Tuesday 132/365 Business Lunch at Goodman's
Wednesday 133/365 First day of work, dinner with vodka and pickles with bree and deem

I decided to pick up the project again today. I shouldn't let the mugger ruin my year of photos. So Carol took one of me this evening:



The t-shirt makes me look like I've added 20 pounds since Friday's picture, but that's not true (thank goodness!), it's just the shirt. Though I should move away from Carol's delicious cookies ASAP!

In which Lonely Planet responds

I sent an email to Lonely Planet about all the crime in Vang Vieng. They mention pickpocketing in their guides as an "annoyance happening by other tourists." So I wrote that it has escalated to way more than an annoyance and that I was definitely mugged by a Laos man, not another tourist. The response amused me, especially the part I put in bold:

Hi Emily

Thanks for taking the time to contact us and I'm sorry to ehar of your experience in Vang Vieng. It certainly sounds like it's changed since I was last there around five years ago.

I've forwarded your comments on to the commissioning editor of the guidebook so that they can be taken on board when it's next updated. They'll also ensure that your email is forwarded to the authors before they begin their research and between them they'll try and work out how better to highlight this issue in the next edition.

Readers' feedback is a great help to us in keeping our books relevant and up-to-date, which in turn helps out other travellers [sic] who use our guidebooks.

Thanks again Andrea.

Cheers

Simon

I totally appreciate that they wrote back and hope that they do warn people not to go to Vang Vieng with anything valuable. And maybe I shouldn't point out that the guy called me Andrea and misspelled travelers, but I wouldn't be TravelingEm if I didn't support the correct spelling!

And speaking of the name Andrea, that's one of my cousins names. She pronounces it "Ann-dree-ah." However, when she got married in the church she's been attending since childhood in small town Ohio, you know the kind of place where everyone knows your name, the priest called her "Ahn-dray-ah" throughout the whole wedding. Does this mean she's not actually married?

Back in my Kitchen

I've returned to 20 degree (C) temperatures in Moscow. It's cool and perfect, except it's already gray rather than sunny. But I've been super inspired to cook since it's been so long. I busted out the crockpot and made a yummy mixed bean chili. Yes, I had success with beans! I just threw all these various types of beans - kidney, baby lima, green lentils, garbonzos, black-eyed - all dried, into the crockpot and let it go. After a few hours on high I added a chopped onion, some garlic, fajita seasoning, oregano, smoked paprika, salt and soy sauce. It's so good!

I was also in the mood to stuff peppers, so I tried that this morning in the crock pot as well. However, that didn't work so well. They ended up way too mushy. And even though I'd added loads of spices, fresh and dried, they just had very little flavor. Oh well, live and learn. They're not bad enough to throw away, just not necessarily good enough to look forward to.

Back and Busy

I made it back ok last night with 100 baht (~$3) to spare. And just in time! Claire reported to me that she interuppted someone ransacking our room. A new arrival to the farm lost almost $1,000!!

Also, I got word from my insurance company that the travel insurance covers costs regarding bodily injury, or so it seems. Looks like I'll be forking out the dough for a new camera. Le sigh.

In other news, I'm 61% Texan:

You are 61% REAL Texan!!

You're mostly texan. You know your Mexican food, state heritage and are probably slightly politically aware. You can probably pronounce Kukendall, Manchaca and Boerne correctly. Go you.

How Texan Are You?

On the way home

I leave tomorrow morning for Nong Khai in Thailand. From there I'll catch the overnight train to Bangkok and then I fly out of there at 11 a.m. back to Moscow via Helsinki.

I'm in a better mood today aided by the fact that I slept for 10 hours having not been able to sleep at all the night of the mugging. I've bicycled into town and saw the police. It appeared that they have done nothing but watched TV since the last time I saw them. They gave me a copy of the report I filled out which I will try to file with the insurance company when I return.

So last update until I make it back to Moscow.

You know what sucks the most, I think this pretty much ruined my picture of the day until I'm 30 project.

Sigh.

Laos Tourist Police

This morning Mr. T, the owner of the organic farm took me on a drive. I was hoping that maybe the theifs had thrown out my math books and I would find them on the side of the road. Slim chance I know, but worth looking I thought.

So we drove all the way down to town and then he took me to the tourist police office. There were about 3 police officers sitting on the couch watching HBO, 1 was behind a desk. He motioned me to sit down on a chair designed for a 5 year old, so that I was lower then he was - good thing I'm taller than most Laos people.

He hardly asked what happened, mostly wanted to know what was taken. Finally I was given a form to fill out, name, DOB, passport number and then on the second page a list of what was taken. It was then that I started crying, just barely. And he asks "Where are you from?" I'm choked up so I don't respond, so he repeats the question slower, "Where ... are ... you ... from?"

"America, but I live in Russia."

Once I've listed everything that was taken and convince him that I actually was mugged, he then asks me, "What do you want us to do?"

"Umm, catch the robber. Get me back my math books. I'd really like my memory cards from my cameras, oh and the cameras would be nice too."

I hear from him, "There are 5 witnesses."

"What???"

Mr. T translates, "They would like to FIND witnesses."

Then he goes to talk to his boss to determine if my story is worth investigating. Then I get to talk to the boss. Mr. T who was with me and had been translating a bit, didn't get to come. Small room, very smoky. Man behind the desk and another sitting on a platform made of wood, seems to be where they'd nap. But this man actually asks me details about what happened.

Then he tells me they're going to call the heads of the villages to see if they know who took my things. I'm supposed to go back tomorrow morning, where they'll either give me my stuff or give me a report for the insurance. Maybe this will teach me to start getting travel insurance... Off to check to see if my credit card company does provide insurance for travel purchased as I'd assumed before I left. Finger's crossed.