Online Article

First off, sorry for not posting. I have been slacking a little bit lately with the blog - there is a lot to write about, but there is also a lot of excuses why it doesn't happen.... Now to the topic.

One of the more regular online news sources about Russia that I read is The Moscow Times. They are one of the few independent newspapers, are rather objective and are published in English. The only drawback to their online editions is that you cannot access past articles unless there is a subscription. So in today's edition they featured an article about separation of wealth in the country... If you were here (in Russia), you would see examples of that every day and at some point you get so used to it, you stop paying attention (sad, isn't it?). So, just in case you are reading this post past the article's availability online through the newspaper, here is a link to the PDF file I created.

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

The other day mom and I were walking through the shops and something caught my eye - envelopes for making wishes (about that a little later). I forgot how superstitious the Russians are. When I was growing up, we beleived in bad luck brought by black cats, broken or cracked mirrors, having to return home because you forgot something (retracing your steps), spilling salt, celebrating something ahead of its due date, sitting on a corner of a table, and many, many more.

So now I feel like people took it to a new level over the last 10 years - there are a lot of eastern cultures inspired items people buy and gift each other for good luck, such as special envelopes that make your wishes put inside of them come true, little ceramic statues of "7 gods of happiness" that bring you... happiness (see example one of them here), replica of chinese coins which guarantee you'll always have money in your wallet, miniature egyptian pyramids that reduce harmful energy of computer screens and television, etc. I asked mom if people really believe in all of that, which she answered by pulling out three chinese coins tied with a red string from her wallet - apparently the same coins that my sister carries in hers. It will be interesting to see what the next waive will bring.

I'm online!

I am finally hooked up to the internet! Expect to see more posts and updates in the next day or two. Let me tell you, there is plenty to write about and I'll try to post pictures when I can. Glad to be back online, that sure makes the world whole a lot smaller...