The Great Grechka Crisis

The New York Times (which has had an increase of not-as-serious Russia coverage) details the "Great Grechka Crisis of 2010"  HERE. 

Grechka (buckwheat) is one of my favorite foods.  Thus, this is really affecting me personally.  It's been the weirdest thing to watch:  without warning, grechka just disappeared.  In fact it's been gone/doubled in price for a week or two now.  It was only today that the news (both in Russia and the US) started reporting on the phenomena that locals have been gossiping about for at least a week.

All news reports are appropriately vague as to the cause, because there really isn't one.  I'm guessing some major distributor is just profiting from withholding it.

In the meantime, I'm worried about getting my fill before moving back to the US (I have found US grechka to be of an inferior texture, or at least when I find it). 

Wow, I saw the link for the buckwheat festival and my heart skipped a beat in excitement.  However, it's really only buckwheat pancakes and I enjoy mine in the grain-form.... sigh.

Bugging me

I've been reading a book about re-entry to the US, and I'm just about ready to NOT come home now.

The first chapter seriously freaked me out. 

So instead I'm focusing on other things.  Like how I'm rolling into my busy season at work (I have some great trips lined up -- JUST YOU WAIT!), and that the new staff at work are still amazed by the fax machine (their generation went right to internet). 

And I then I saw this beauty parked near my apartment and all the things that were bugging me, well, it didn't seem so important any more:

I officially and publicly LOVE IT.  Thus, some would argue that it's time for me to return to the US.  Remember when this series started out mocking the cars? 

Now I'll probably miss them. 

Big changes are afoot

I haven't been writing lately, because I've been involved in debating some big decisions.

And I made those big decisions.

And end-of-October-ish, I am moving back to The States.

I'm a lot excited, but not without being nervous.  There's a lot that I haven't had to deal with in the US for years (cable packages and cell phone plans) that will seem as foreign to me, as negotiating one's way out of a bribe might be to you.  To that end as well, I'm sure that I'll experience frustrations that cause me to exclaim, "ARGH! Can't I just pay someone and consider this done?" 

But that's all part of navigating a new culture, or I suppose part of returning to an old one.  Something like 60% of people who have spent time abroad experience reverse culture shock. I'm hedging my bets that I'll be part of the 60%.

I am doing a few Siberian and Ural jaunts this year (I almost went to Tuva, but it got cancelled), and I am going to continue posting for the next month or so.  Then I'll close this blog.

Thank you for reading, it's been fun, and I'm back, at least for now, to inform you of my adventures for the next month or so.

From paradise to Hell

While the situation in Moscow is best-described as annoying and dirty, outside of Moscow the situation is rather grim. 

I want you to picture other fire-catastrophe events.  For instance, Californian wild fires.  Picture, please, the photographs you see of the fires -- the firemen courageously fighting in full get-up (including face masks), the helicopters spraying swaths of land to protect it or control the fires. 

Then look back to the photos that you've seen and definitely read the article HERE.

Russia is not a third-world country.  It is not without resources -- indeed, there are now promises to rebuild residents' houses that have burned (but how does that replace what is lost?).  However, people are only starting to wonder why this happened in the first place.  My landlord has not been able to come into the city to collect the rent since June.  He's protecting his dacha (summer house) that is located outside of the city.  I wish him luck. 

I wish them all luck, because it seems that's all that left to them.