Dear Adri,
Again, sorry to be out of touch. I've had to rely on the WWF offices here in Arkhangelesk when they are available.
I've been putting out fires right and left with e-mail, so this is the first time I've had to write.
Things here in the Arctic, are well.... HOT!!! Honestly, it has been in the upper 80's and 90's since we've been here. The sun won't friggin' go down (hence the "White Nights") which is not especially conducive to sleeping. So I'm hot, tired and mildly irritable. But I'm having fun...
Still, things are going well actually. We have had good meetings every day since we've been here, the company is fun (Anatoly the Anglophilic Russian and Vitaly, the sweet gentleman scientist from the Soviet days who is remarkably hale at 67 or so.)
We've spent a lot of time wandering this strange city. It's a port city in the North Pole, that Peter The Great closed down because he wanted all port traffic to come into St. Petersburg when he built it. I guess when you are a Tsar you get to do those sorts of things.
Unfortunately we haven't gotten out to see much of the wild life - but the mosquitoes have offered to carry me off a few times...Still, no hope of icebvergs or polar bears. I doubt there are really any left. Even the locals say it is unusually hot.
Well we are off to another meeting shortly. I am taking some great pictures I'll hopefully share once in Baku. Tomorrow we fly to Moscow, and then I switch air ports and go to Baku tomorrow night. It will be good to be there to be someplace where it gets dark at night. (Assuming, INSHALLAH! everything is in order with my ticket etc.) I'm hoping to have better internet connection there. I haven't been to Azerbaijan in a year and I've missed it.
It will be extremely busy there, but familiar and manageable. and I'll get to watch the World Cup 16ths Matches!! SWEET!!!
Okay, I need to run. I hope everyone is well.
Fingers crossed, more soon!
Kissy Kissy
Friday, June 23, 2006
(I wrote this a while back. Never found the friggin' internet cafe, wandered around Red Square, called Dad for Father's Day and staggered back to the hotel... pictures forth coming, when I have a more reliable internet connection. Probably some time next week....)
Dear Adri,
Sorry for being out of touch for so long. It has been hectic to say the least. I am sure you understand. Things got rather crazy as I was trying to get out of Athens. I even forgot my asthma medication and Bill had to be SUPERMAN!!! I bolted from the shuttle at the last stop in Athens, he grabbed my meds and made it to the airport in Atlanta in 1:20. (Normally GOOD time, without traffic is 1:45!!) I don’t know how he manages to fold time, but I was ever so thankful to him for it.
In the meantime, I am now in Moscow. The flights were fine, and nothing too exciting to report there. Yes, I was accompanied by a US military contractor, thanks for asking. He was lovely and we had a nice journey.
Here in Moscow things are good too. Or as good as can be expected. The national identity of Russians, it may seem to not to expect to be happy with life. That being said, it isn’t really that grim. The culture seems to be in flux and searching for a new identity. There are all sorts of reminders of the Soviet Legacy throughout Moscow, as is to be expected. Monuments, striking mosaics in the subway (Moscow has one of the most efficient subway systems and the stations are really quite beautiful.) Of course it is all to be expected from what was the center of a major Super Power for most of the 20th Century.
Moscow has a bit of a wild west feel to it. Not overtly, in that it’s not out of control, but everything moves very quickly and yet control is very tightly held by the government. The lines of authority are clear, but there is still this sense of creating a sense of self for the population. It is almost as if they look at what is on TV imported from the US, and they modify it, and become it.
My cab driver in from the airport was a lovely young woman (YES!! REALLY!!) who was two steps away from being a Gang Banger. She had corn rows, driving gloves, long nails, tight clothes, bling, and the attitude to boot. She told me she would like to own a pit bull. The only difference was that she was this white Russian chick. But it was more interesting and more fun than the typical grumpy leather clad chain smoking drivers I get from time to time. So I won’t complain.
Work is going well. I’ve spent time with Anatoly at the office and in meetings. We head to the Arctic tomorrow. That’s fine. It will be fun to be there with him and Vitaly. I’ll post on that later.
Since I’ve been in meetings, etc. so much I haven’t had time to play tourist much. I’ll head down to Red Square now, and hopefully find the internet café that Tim told me about. If so, I’ll send this with the photos from and of my room.
The room is a bit small, but the location is quite good. The view is nice. I can see MGU – Moscow State University, the Kievskaya train station, the River, another of the 7 sisters buildings – these large Stalinesque towers from the Soviet Times. They make for good artsy photos.
Don’t worry, I am being safe, and taking care. I’ll call Dad in a bit to wish him Happy Father’s Day!! I’ll go ahead and do it for you too, in case you can’t.
Anyway, I hope everyone is well.
Do skoro!!
And Kissy kissy!!
Dear Adri,
Sorry for being out of touch for so long. It has been hectic to say the least. I am sure you understand. Things got rather crazy as I was trying to get out of Athens. I even forgot my asthma medication and Bill had to be SUPERMAN!!! I bolted from the shuttle at the last stop in Athens, he grabbed my meds and made it to the airport in Atlanta in 1:20. (Normally GOOD time, without traffic is 1:45!!) I don’t know how he manages to fold time, but I was ever so thankful to him for it.
In the meantime, I am now in Moscow. The flights were fine, and nothing too exciting to report there. Yes, I was accompanied by a US military contractor, thanks for asking. He was lovely and we had a nice journey.
Here in Moscow things are good too. Or as good as can be expected. The national identity of Russians, it may seem to not to expect to be happy with life. That being said, it isn’t really that grim. The culture seems to be in flux and searching for a new identity. There are all sorts of reminders of the Soviet Legacy throughout Moscow, as is to be expected. Monuments, striking mosaics in the subway (Moscow has one of the most efficient subway systems and the stations are really quite beautiful.) Of course it is all to be expected from what was the center of a major Super Power for most of the 20th Century.
Moscow has a bit of a wild west feel to it. Not overtly, in that it’s not out of control, but everything moves very quickly and yet control is very tightly held by the government. The lines of authority are clear, but there is still this sense of creating a sense of self for the population. It is almost as if they look at what is on TV imported from the US, and they modify it, and become it.
My cab driver in from the airport was a lovely young woman (YES!! REALLY!!) who was two steps away from being a Gang Banger. She had corn rows, driving gloves, long nails, tight clothes, bling, and the attitude to boot. She told me she would like to own a pit bull. The only difference was that she was this white Russian chick. But it was more interesting and more fun than the typical grumpy leather clad chain smoking drivers I get from time to time. So I won’t complain.
Work is going well. I’ve spent time with Anatoly at the office and in meetings. We head to the Arctic tomorrow. That’s fine. It will be fun to be there with him and Vitaly. I’ll post on that later.
Since I’ve been in meetings, etc. so much I haven’t had time to play tourist much. I’ll head down to Red Square now, and hopefully find the internet café that Tim told me about. If so, I’ll send this with the photos from and of my room.
The room is a bit small, but the location is quite good. The view is nice. I can see MGU – Moscow State University, the Kievskaya train station, the River, another of the 7 sisters buildings – these large Stalinesque towers from the Soviet Times. They make for good artsy photos.
Don’t worry, I am being safe, and taking care. I’ll call Dad in a bit to wish him Happy Father’s Day!! I’ll go ahead and do it for you too, in case you can’t.
Anyway, I hope everyone is well.
Do skoro!!
And Kissy kissy!!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Good Morning A!
I guess writing to you earlier than later makes sense, since I'm guessing you're not sleeping in as much. But if you are, you'll read this when you get up.
Anyway, I have called you every year on this day for as long as I can remember. Margie's birthday and she would have been 39 this year? I'm not sure. Anyway, I guess you two get to celebrate it together, which is probably good fun for both of you.
I remember Margie used to always say she wished she'd been born a year earlier so her birthday would have been 6-6-66. But alas, it just wasn't in the cards. Still I used to think that was funny, if not a bit odd. Of course, as a teenager she was a rebel, so what else would we expect? Do people grow up more once they die or do they stay the same age? Or do we all even out to our real age? Or do we cease to exist over all? I know, I'm not getting any answers here, but they are still questions.
It's funny, we'd always talk on this day, and sometimes about Margie, and sometimes not. It was your call.
On to my stuff... still getting ready for the trip. There are a zillion niggling details and the countries aren't cooperating as much as I would like. I'm sort of dreading going to Russia. Moscow is huge and impersonal. It's a big big city with a strong Soviet feel to it, and the government influence feel ubiquitous. Of course, the people there are very nice and I do like getting to hang out with them. Anatoly and Vitaly are great and the office manager Tatyana is an absolute dear. So it will be nice to see them. I'm hoping to get to see a glacier up in the Arctic. You know, while there are a few left.
Then I'm down in the Caucasus, and that is always great. It will be warm and the food is so GOOD, and the people are wonderful. And so on and so on.
Anyway, I've got projects to work on and progress to make.
Maybe I'll write more later.
Missing you today.
Kissy kissy
Mary
I guess writing to you earlier than later makes sense, since I'm guessing you're not sleeping in as much. But if you are, you'll read this when you get up.
Anyway, I have called you every year on this day for as long as I can remember. Margie's birthday and she would have been 39 this year? I'm not sure. Anyway, I guess you two get to celebrate it together, which is probably good fun for both of you.
I remember Margie used to always say she wished she'd been born a year earlier so her birthday would have been 6-6-66. But alas, it just wasn't in the cards. Still I used to think that was funny, if not a bit odd. Of course, as a teenager she was a rebel, so what else would we expect? Do people grow up more once they die or do they stay the same age? Or do we all even out to our real age? Or do we cease to exist over all? I know, I'm not getting any answers here, but they are still questions.
It's funny, we'd always talk on this day, and sometimes about Margie, and sometimes not. It was your call.
On to my stuff... still getting ready for the trip. There are a zillion niggling details and the countries aren't cooperating as much as I would like. I'm sort of dreading going to Russia. Moscow is huge and impersonal. It's a big big city with a strong Soviet feel to it, and the government influence feel ubiquitous. Of course, the people there are very nice and I do like getting to hang out with them. Anatoly and Vitaly are great and the office manager Tatyana is an absolute dear. So it will be nice to see them. I'm hoping to get to see a glacier up in the Arctic. You know, while there are a few left.
Then I'm down in the Caucasus, and that is always great. It will be warm and the food is so GOOD, and the people are wonderful. And so on and so on.
Anyway, I've got projects to work on and progress to make.
Maybe I'll write more later.
Missing you today.
Kissy kissy
Mary
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