Anti-Flag

Ok, so last night was the Anti-Flag concert in Moscow. This is actually the second time I have seen them here in Russia. The crowd was crazy and the band played for an hour and a half. It is always interesting to see a group of people singing along, knowing all the words, but not fully understanding what they mean.

After the show it was cool, the singer came out to sign autographs. We got an autograph and was telling him that we were from America. He was delightfully surprised and we talked a bit and we told him how we would be at the Area 4 concert in Germany.

On a side note, they have a new album and apparently it is being released in Russia before anywhere else in the world.

On the downside, I hurt my shoulder again. Not too bad, but its a bit sore today.

Opening Day

Ok, so the softball season in Moscow, Russia officially started today. It was cloudy and a little cold, but still an ok day for softball. Will and I play for the Tigers and we had a very successful first day. Both of us went 4 for 4. I had 2 singles, a double, and a triple, with 2 RBIs, and 2 runs. Oh yeah, and we won 23-4. I played a variety of positions including first base, left field, and center field. It was fun and look forward to more games.

The league has an interesting assortment of players. There are Americans, Russians, Candadian, Indians, Cubans, English and Japanese. It was fun to meet many different people from many different countries and get together to play a fun game of softball. The Cubans brought 3 kegs of beer and many drinks were shared after the game.

Russian IKEA

Ok, sorry it has been awhile since I have made a post. The other day I went to an IKEA here in Moscow. It was very similar to the ones back home in the States, however, the food menu was a bit different, and no Swedish Fish, seriously how can you have a Swedish Mega Store and no Swedish Fish, I was disappointed to say the least.

Concert in Novgorod

Ok, so we got back this morning from our adventure to Velykie Novgorod, Russia at 4:00 am Moscow time. It was an interesting experience. The concert venue was an abandoned garage basically with a dirt covered asphalt floor. Also the hotel was not of a 5 star standard, but overall it was a fun trip to a small Russian town.

Going to Novgorod

Ok, so tonight I will be going to a city in Russia called Velikie Novgorod, basically translates to Great New City. I think it was founded in the 13th century, so yeah, not to new, but I digress. Going to see a concert. Will be back on Monday to update the blog. Talk to you then.

Softball

Ok, so I decided to join a summer softball league here. The season starts soon, May 16th and it is a 20 game season. Looking forward to getting some fresh air and some exercise.

Sauna Sunday

Ok, so Sunday after skating we decided to go back to the banya or suana. For those of you who don't know, the suana is a great Russian tradition. There are two types, public and private suanas. The public ones, are very cheap but are filled with many people. Private ones, are seperate places, that have rooms that are rentable by you and your friends. Yesterday four of us went to a private suana for 2 hours. The experiences in fun and cleanses your body of toxins and clears the skin. The basic premise is you alternate going from a steam room to sweat and then jump in a cold pool, or in winter in the snow. Its a fun time, and a good way to get some of those dead layers of skin off and sweat out some toxins.

After the suana we went to this great Ethiopian restaraunt. If you get a chance in Russia or anywhere else, it is very delicious and different from other cuisine.