Novgorod?

Hey!

So, lots of people have been confused about where I will be in Russia --- It's not a small country, you know (it spans over 11 time zones). So I had a crazy great idea: I'll post a map of where I'll be! First stop: Veliky Novgorod (Великий Новгород)



Novgorod's population is about 200,000, and it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. Lots of history there, and about a bajillion monuments. As you can see, it's a ways above Moscow (You can travel back and forth on an overnight train, about a 12 hour trip). St Petersburg, labeled on the map below, is a 3-hour bus ride to the North. I'll be arriving in St. Petersburg next Tuesday, and going to Novgorod by van from there. Also notice, I will be nowhere near Siberia.



For those of you that are concerned about the Wildfires: Those are happening South of Moscow, in the provinces of Vladimir and Nizhniy Novgorod (Nizhniy means "Lower" while Veliky means "Great" or "Large." Both are called Novgorod, but they are very far from each other). Anyway, I should be out of the way of any smoke. For photos and more info on the fires, you can click here.

That's all for now! 9 days left!

-Saaarrraaaahhhh

Anticipation, Anxiety, etc...

Hello again!

No, I'm not in Russia yet... but I leave in 17 days! I still haven't bought my plane ticket home, because I honestly have NO idea where I am going to end up in February. Any suggestions? Please comment!

Until then, I have a few things to distract me: This week I am taking a trip to the Boundary Waters (sooo good) and when I get back, I am going to a Russian Rock Concert! The band Мумий Тролль (Mumiy Troll) is coming to Minneapolis from Vladivostok! My internship at Zerkalo (the Russian publishing company) is paying off --- My coworkers and I got free tickets. So, I will bring my new camera and my new haircut and take plenty of pictures! Look Forward to it! That's an order!

Love and such,
Sarah

Tickets! Blog! General Excitement!

Hello, all!

I made a blog so that you can all keep track of my wild n' crazy adventures abroad, and live vicariously through them. Isn't that swell? I'm still in the US of A, but I do have some great news: I bought a plane ticket to Russia! ...And another one to Italy! ...And one more, to France! So, I have at least three solid dates in my itinerary, and that is WAY exciting for me. Now, I just need to make sure I budget enough money for a plane ticket back to Minnesota...

Sincerely, sincerely, I love you all dearly,
Sarah Chao