The last few days have been filled with meetings at the university (schedule preparations) topic review, and more Ufa exploration. My course assignments begin Monday so the weekend will likely include a great deal of prep work. All of my lectures will require conversion to Russian and I have been told will be done by an assigned doctoral student. Specifics due at any time...
When not working, we continue to walk and take public transportation to see more of the city. Yesterday, I had a letter to mail (birthday card/October/son). We went to the main post office where there were many people working in cubicles. We waited in line to be told it was the wrong line for stamps. We waited in another line to be told to go downstairs. We creeped through the 3rd line where I pointed to the USA and to the corner of the envelope. "Da", a stamp was attached and off it went into the pouch. The experience wasn't too unlike the postal process at home, if only we could read the language alittle better.
Walking on the sidewalks here is fun. Crossing the street is another issue altogether. There are clear crosswalks and signs indicating when to walk. The trouble begins however, when a car is turning. Cars rule here...and they are BIG cars. They often pull up to the crosswalk and wait, if you hesitate...they move. We try to join packs when crossing the street, thinking that the cars are less likely to take us all out when crossing. There are many new SUVs driving fast through the wide streets. Nice, new and big cars are definitely a status symbol here. We have seen an accident a day since arriving.
Ufa's Indian Summer is a thing of the past. Like a flash it is gone. The past two days have been quite chilly and gray including a heavy fog this morning (I will now use my new tee shirts for sleeping). While out and around, we have discovered several lovely churches and mosques in the area.
Ufa is the capital city (1.2 million people) of the Bashkortostan Republic, home of the Bashkirs, TarTars, and many other ethnic people here in the southern Ural Mountains.
Tonight we have tickets for the ballet. My sponsor has given us the tickets as a gift and she and her mother will be joining us for the evening. I am really looking forward to this (will tell you all about it Meghan!).
Luckily we are going in a car and don't have to cross the street to get there...
When not working, we continue to walk and take public transportation to see more of the city. Yesterday, I had a letter to mail (birthday card/October/son). We went to the main post office where there were many people working in cubicles. We waited in line to be told it was the wrong line for stamps. We waited in another line to be told to go downstairs. We creeped through the 3rd line where I pointed to the USA and to the corner of the envelope. "Da", a stamp was attached and off it went into the pouch. The experience wasn't too unlike the postal process at home, if only we could read the language alittle better.
Walking on the sidewalks here is fun. Crossing the street is another issue altogether. There are clear crosswalks and signs indicating when to walk. The trouble begins however, when a car is turning. Cars rule here...and they are BIG cars. They often pull up to the crosswalk and wait, if you hesitate...they move. We try to join packs when crossing the street, thinking that the cars are less likely to take us all out when crossing. There are many new SUVs driving fast through the wide streets. Nice, new and big cars are definitely a status symbol here. We have seen an accident a day since arriving.
Ufa's Indian Summer is a thing of the past. Like a flash it is gone. The past two days have been quite chilly and gray including a heavy fog this morning (I will now use my new tee shirts for sleeping). While out and around, we have discovered several lovely churches and mosques in the area.
Ufa is the capital city (1.2 million people) of the Bashkortostan Republic, home of the Bashkirs, TarTars, and many other ethnic people here in the southern Ural Mountains.
Tonight we have tickets for the ballet. My sponsor has given us the tickets as a gift and she and her mother will be joining us for the evening. I am really looking forward to this (will tell you all about it Meghan!).
Luckily we are going in a car and don't have to cross the street to get there...
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