United Russia Wins Again ...

Hello from Klaipeda, Lithuania! It's been a while since my last post, and a lot has happened, but I don't have many pictures to share.

Last Monday and Tuesday I took the First Level State Russian Exam and got my results on Wednesday. I passed the auditory, reading, and writing portions of the exam and nearly passed the speaking portion. The central office is deliberating on whether or not they will let me pass the entire exam. If not, then I'll just have to retake the speaking portion next term (which I should be able to pass by then). Then I'll be able to study with Russian students in classes taught in Russian at Russian universities! Hooray!

The Russian parliamentary (Duma) elections were held on December 2nd and I did make sure to take pictures of that. It was a lot of fun because my host family invited over some of their extended family to eat before voting. My host mother, Tatiana, prepared a huge spread, with champagne, Malbec wine (my contribution!), a homemade fricassee followed by a broiled beef dish that tasted great, different Russian salads, and dessert included cheesecake, crispy homemade apple pastries, and meringue puffs. Then we walked next-door to the library where my host mother and sister cast their votes.

The sign reads: "Eastern Administrative District [of Moscow], 2nd of December, Votes for Deputies of the Government Duma of the R.F., Electoral site

The vote for our apartment building was held at the local library

Here's the ballot. Lots of choices!

This is my host mother placing her ballot in the ballot box. Can you see the Soviet mural on the wall in the background?

In case voting makes you hungry or thirsty, you can buy snacks.

President Putin's party, United Russia, won the parliamentary elections, which was no surprise. Dmitri Medvedev is set to become the new President of the Russian Federation. As for Putin, well, he'll probably take Medvedev's old job as Prime Minister and maybe chairman of Gazprom. The new movie Hitman speculated a different outcome of the Russian elections. Maybe it's good that there were no surprises during the elections . . .

Well, I flew out of Moscow from Sheremetevo-1 and landed in Vilnius, Lithuania a few days ago. My Aeroflot flight was an hour late, so I missed my hostel appointment and had to find another place to stay at 12pm. My Russian came in mighty handy when I had to explain my situation to the gypsy cab drivers who were hanging around on the street corner. I was pretty mad about that fiasco. But, I found a nice, clean, cheap hotel and had a nice night's rest. After walking around the old town in Vilnius (which seemed like a fairytale kingdom after so much overbearing and clumsy Soviet architecture) and smiling at strangers, who smiled back, I got on a 4 hr bus to Klaipeda and that's where I am now.

Chase and I have discussed it several times now: when a person leaves Russia, they leave behind a whole knot of stress. It's nice to be back in the West again. And things are so cheap here! Beer and wine are subsidized by the government, and the beer is great. The beer is especially nice after tolerating crappy Russian beer. I had quite a few beers on my first day in Klaipeda (catching up) and I walked around downtown with Chase. Klaipeda is a seaport on the Baltic. Nearby on the Curonian Spit (which connects Lithuania with . . . Russia - Kaliningrad) are some of the largest dunes in the world. I'll have to post pictures soon.