Friday's activities

Things have been going pretty well… The representative from IREX came yesterday to see how our project is going. She just finished her masters last year and began working for IREX in Moscow. She’s pretty down to earth. She just needs to show IREX how we did.
The youth volunteers painted all the banners yesterday- 10 of them to hang along the street. But it’s looking a little cold & rainy this morning. I am afraid that the attendance for the event is going to be low… Maybe the sun will come out soon.
I am having a harder time than usual adjusting to the rhythm here. I keep waking up really early in the morning. I think I am just stressed about the race. It’ll be great when it’s over and I can take a break.
I still am not “registered” in the city yet. We missed doing it right when I got here and then things have just been so busy… I hope that it doesn’t make it harder for me to leave the country. In Russia everyone has to register with the city within a few days so that they can keep track of where you live.
We celebrated Yulia’s birthday yesterday. All of the co-workers from the Medical Association dressed up as gypsies and came to sing to her. I will include some pics here. It was great! I love the way Russian folk music sounds… Then they all drank wine, liquer, and cognac,,, no vodka? So people were all pretty happy-go-lucky at the office all day.