Things get cool

so its been a few weeks since I last talked about my Russian life. so here I go hoping I can remember everything. I passed my first month in Russia last week, and i felt so proud of myself that Ive made it past the toughest month of my life. i have been enrolled at the local library, and recently they have asked me to give a presentation in english for their english club. apparently people in Russia getting experience with native speakers is rare. the presentation went well, and I even met some really interesting people. becuase I couldnt think of a topic, I used my Rotary Presentation I did in the US and switched some parts out with more American stuff.
"So I wanted to go abroad to give people like you, the ability to meet and conversate with a native english speaker. It is really hard to find americans in the middle of the Russian Siberia" then out of nowhere I hear "there's a few of us :)" "omg.... talk to me after this! (watch what I say) It turns out that he was an American working on Sakhalin 2. the oil and gas project that is endorsed and run by english speaking countries like Shell and Exxon Mobil. after the presentation, questions were opened up, and deep cultural conversation between Russia, the US, and Great Britain opened up. Russian: "so what is difference between Russia and the US minds" me: "well I think that because of our seperate histories, Americans have a more independent mentality then the Russians" other american: "yes, that can be easily seen in our history differences, the Russian I work with arent as upgoing as their American collegues, theyre more conservative with standing up than the Americans" English Teacher: "that may be, but we as Russians have a better understanding of a state, Americans are unreliable. Russians can work together better then Americans". it went on for a while, and after words I was asked to write a short article about it. I will soon have that, and pictures :). so something else thats been bothering me about Russia I want to get out there, is that all the thoughts of no American gum and products are false. Russia has opened up greatly since the fall of communism, I walk through a store and I see power drinks like "Monster". american gum "5" "Dirol Senses", american food "Pringles" and of course, Hot dogs and hamburgers (:
another thing about Russia that surprised me was the television, I was told to expect the Russian Siberia to be a place where finding american programing would be hard. yet I turn on the TV and I end up watching Russian Dubbed Alladin and Dark Wing Duck (when theres trouble you call DW). also more surprising about Russia is its balance between public transportation and private sectors. my city is struck in the middle of Russian-Japanese car competition. Japanese and Russian car companies both try to run the island, eventhough the Russians drive on the right and its hard to drive a car on the wrong side like you do in a japanese car (point one Russia). but the Russian public transportation industry is really effective and good. even though 1 of every 2 people has a car. the public transportation has not takes much hits here. it is really surprising. something more interesting ive heard about Russia is how people think of the new democracy. my host father told me a story in the Banya about how they think of the new democrary "better then the Soviets. but we refer to the democrary as что будет завтра. (what will happen tomorrow) then he tells me the story about when he wanted to buy a Japanese car that would of costed him $1,000. yet at the customs the government added on $8,000 in taxes. he then gets really upset. but because hes a good worker, he got bonuses at his work after a few years he had enough to buy his car. then at the customs, they told him "ahh forget about it". bow was he mad and glad i bet.
my Host dad is probably the coolest man in all of Russia, he lets me help out on construction projects in the house, and on Tuesdays we somethimes go to play volleyball with his work friends. the kids love him and he plays Guitar. along with the host dad being the ticket to fun, the host mom is the ticket to survival.. oh how thats true.
at the last club meeting, my club said they were looking into buying a device that filters out alcohol in the blood or something. the first ever device of its kind on sakhalin. and are looking for grants to help reach the goal. and after my story of Greg Miller. they want me to ask my club in the US if they would want to help. but as always, Ill see what I can do.
Russian language is betting better :) I can understand basic speach. every day I tell meself. "I can do this, 3 months for basics, no english, dont think its bad to talk slow". and its working greatly :)