Monday was the first day at the “Office” which is actually a suburb of Novosibirsk called the Academagorok…which Nick coined, “Hickory Dickory Dock”. This is about 30 minutes away from our hotel and is the home of Novosibirsk University. Russian driving is very different than in the US. For starters, there are no lines denoting lanes on the road. You kind of make your own general lane as you see fit. The result of this is that most cars proudly bear at least one battle wound from a sideswipe or two. The only two real accidents we saw were a result of skidding on snow. Russia also has a mixture of left-hand and right-hand drive vehicles. Cars in general are an eclectic mix of new and old, European, Asian, and North American.

Russia itself is very modern. Even in Novosibirsk which is in Siberia. Actually, due to their proximity to Europe and Asia, I would argue that Russia has access to more goods than we do. According to our hosts, it is only in the last 2 – 3 years that the middle class has emerged. The economy here is booming and many people are becoming wealthy or at least now have money to spend on luxuries.

I have had the time to walk through many malls, supermarkets, and stores so far and it is interesting to see the mix of the traditional with the modern. The Russian people are very friendly and interested in America. The Russian men do not seem to be very into style overall and for the most part dress the same…or perhaps better described as practical. Russian women on the other hand are VERY fashionable and quite frankly, as a whole, some of the most beautiful women I have seen. No matter the time of day/night or weather, it is unusual to see a Russian woman NOT wearing heels, with makeup and hair done.

Did I mention it is cold here? And snowing? More to come later!