Super-Duper Wacky n' Tacky Euro Adventure

why don't you just call me?

06-77-27-07-07

I can also send and recieve texts! oooh. Looks like the French are civilized after all!

Just because I'm not with the fam doesn't mean I can't have a great Christmas! I just visited the Notre Dame and found out that they will be having Christmas masses and events all day tomorrow and Sunday. It should be gorgeous!

A few things I had forgotten about Paris but I realize I love:
*Middle class shopping: I love C&A!
*Black people. Man there are a lot of them here.
*People dressing in way more clothes than they have to just because it's fashionable. (Most people have more clothes on here than they do in Moscow right now (it's about 7 degrees outside right now) but they love to show off what they have.
*Wi-fi everywhere. I even got it last night in my 4th floor hostile chambre.
*Places to escape the tourists.
*The fact that I am living about a ten minute walk from the Stanford center next quarter. I know, I did the walk today.
*General Christmas cheer!

The link below has a pic of the church I used to go to in Moscow. I'm jealous that these professional photographers can get such a good pic when I had tried so many times.

Happy Holidays (eat that O'Reilly!)

http://www.moscowtimes.ru/indexes/01.html

...I love this city.

Things done so efficiently...

So many pleases and thank yous...

Beautiful Christmas environment...

le tour eiffel...

It's good to be back.

...about not posting in forever so I guess I had to put in a quick entry.

My last days in Moscow were very fun and very snowy. Below are some pics from some of the fun. Getting to the airport on the last day meant trudging through half a foot of fresh snow with my entire life on my back and being dragged behind me. Not such a fun day. Finally got to my hotile last night about 1am. Ugh!

I'm currently in Paris and finally dropped off the gigantic baggage that has been following me for the past week. Praise the Stanford program for renting a storage unit!

So I have a terrible confession to make: Mc Donalds has free wi-fi. Ok that's not so much a confession as a fact, but that means I am right now in McD's using the wif-fi. And yes I had McD's in France. But I was so hungry and this was so convenient! But the cheapness factor wears off in Paris. I worked it out in my mind and a lunch here is a little over twice what it cost me anywhere in Moscow. And this stupid place seems just as crowded as the one on Tverskaya!

I'm kinda close to my host-apartment right now so I might check that out. Check back soon because I want to have my French SIM card soon, so hopefully I will have a number. Je voudrais souhaiter un joyeux noel!

Tried to do another and almost fell over. Thus the arm in the middle of the pic for balance.
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Got this pic sniper-style behind my back!
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This is a tribute to some kind of cosmic acheivement that the USSR had some time ago. Can't remember what it was, though.
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The beginning of a lot of fun or a lot of hurt.
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A pic of my host parents Iosef and Marina just before I leave. In classic fashion Iosef is trying to be funny by holding up alcoholic candies and Marina is getting upset.
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Ash that cigarette man!
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I found this guy on my way home. He's huge!
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A group of drunken Russian bloggers decided to crash our table at Pirogi. They were a bit sketchy but a lot of fun.
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Mrs. Markuze has me doing some uber-Russian shopping for her. Vot Krasnii Korral.
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As you might be able to tell, Iris and I spent some (not so sober) last moments in red square. It took us about ten minutes to get a good pic of us with St. Basil's in the background. As you can tell it didn't go so well.
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Here is another attempt.
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This is a freaky shadow that appears at 3am in red square.
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This is me in the center of Moscow.
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This is Iris in the center of Moscow.
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I'm testing out this movie thing. If it works, this is a wonderfully hilarious example of some fine Russian dancing.
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Even at national games, the sketchy cheerleaders are at the hockey games. Here they are wearing jerseys. And that's it. Cool.
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