Greetings from Smolensk, Russia

Hi all,

I have just arrived in Smolensk, Russia, crossing over from Belarus today.

I am loving this trip, although I am excited that the end is near. On the plus side, I've had the opportunity to meet cool people doing amazing things. Unlike the rest of the run to date, everything is highly organized. All meals are arranged by our tour guide, so the teams are spending lots of time together and I'm getting to know some amazing people. On the minus side, I have been attacked by bed bugs at sub-standard and sometimes scary hotels. I will be very excited to see my bed again.

Here is what my days have been like lately. We wake up and eat breakfast together. Breakfast usually consists of some kind of salty meat, like salami or ham, with vegetables like cucumbers or tomatoes. Then they bring out a larger egg dish. I quite like this baked egg dish they make, which is like an omlette but it has flour and cheese. There is juice and I drink multiple cups of tea. The Russian word for tea is chai.

Then we hit the road. Lately we've been driving 5-8 hours a day. Today we sat at the Russian border for about 3 hours waiting in customs. I am traveling in a van with a photographer and videographer, and they had to declare all of their equipment. There were stray dogs in the parking lot that I played with. I tried to feed them fried cauliflower that were part of a boxed lunch I got, but even the stray dogs wouldn't eat that.

Then we drove some more. Sometimes there are bathrooms, and sometimes there are no bathrooms. I've become very skilled at peeing in the woods and have packed a roll of toilet paper in my bag. We have water in the van, and I always try to have snacks at my disposal. Yesterday at the market in Minsk I bought a salami and have been munching on that.

We arrived at our hotel, which is large but not fancy. Dinner is at 8pm, so I am reading a few emails. I finally seem to have Internet access, so I have been trying to get some stuff done for work.

I'll eat, maybe go to a local bar and do the whole thing over tomorrow.

I am having fun out here but I really miss my little Millie. Yesterday I saw about 10 stray kittens, so I pet them all and took their photo.

The Russians are not very friendly, but I've learned a few Russian words, and it always helps when you try to speak the local language, even if can only say a few words. There are two Russians in my car. One is named Dmitri, or Dima. He's Russian but has lived in Seattle for 11 years. He takes care of us on the road and filled out all the paperwork at customs today. The other is Sergei from Siberia, who is our driver. He doesn't speak a lick of English, but we all manage to communicate and get along nonetheless.

As much as I miss home, I am a bit sad that I am not traveling through Mongolia and Siberia. These places are truly unique and it would have been a great experience.

Sorry for the rambling email. More later!