Peachy Scented Russian Toilet Paper

Russians and toilet paper have a very special relationship. During Perestroika, for example, Russians didn’t have toilet paper at all. I think Perestroika hit Kaliningraders especially hard, because their toilet paper habits are quite strange. To begin with, all toilet paper in this city is colored. At school, for example we have blue toilet paper. [...]

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36.6°C is Normal? And Bats are Healthy

The metric system and I have always had a shaky relationship. The metric system has teased and taunted me all my life, especially rubbing it in my face by my love of the sciences (if you don’t understand this sentence, well then, get smarter).
However, my relationship hit a particularly rough part about a week and [...]

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Beware of Swine Flu

The last few days have been a bit “stressful” to say the least. Many times I said to myself, “oh crap. What have I done now?” “Russia is going to deport me?”
Deport me? I know. I must be like the world’s most badass spy or something. Got to come back to Russia, at my young [...]

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ZOO time

Kaliningrad has a zoo. I don’t go to zoos on principle, except for the San Diego Zoo. (ask me about this later if you want to know why) Animals are often kept in too small of cages, and yadda yadda yadda, you get the idea. Anyway, the zoo here is particularly bad. It was built [...]

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American Edumacation Bad

Of course in the beginning of any homestay there are many getting to know you type of questions. And being from the US there are many ‘how the US is worse than Russia questions.’ The most important of this line of questioning is education. For those of you who don’t know, Russians are very proud [...]

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Impressions Thusly

I have been in Kaliningrad now for a weekend and already Russia has taken its toll. My lungs and throat ache. Every time I breathe deeply the sudden and painful urge to cough overwhelms me. This is most likely due to the smoking and the pollution. However, if you were to ask my host mother, [...]

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Hodgepodge

My experience last time in Russia was unique to say the least. This time around I am coming with a more open mind. I know what to expect. I am just looking forward to this time around learning Russian.
So I am in Kaliningrad. This is a very nice city. But not very Russian, at least [...]

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