I know some of you have girls you are thinking of visiting / girlfriends in Biisk and Baranul. I have been through both places on two separate occasions, once the end of last May and once this year the first week of March. I stayed in a village on the outskirts of Biisk for two nights in a mink / sabol farmer's house. Baranul is an old Turkish outpost, taken over by the Russians sometime in the many wars between Turkey and Russia over the centuries. I have just been to their medical center and eaten there twice. Both small cities are extremely impoverished, with Biisk being the wealthier of the two, plus the larger of the two. I happened to see one girl when I was in the hospital last year who is an extremely hot brunette, smart, talented who is divorced, on at least one website, but she has a small child, so I did not ever consider pursuing her - but I can tell you that particular girl looks better in person than her picture. Biisk has an excellent market - with excellent Altai cheese, supposedly the best in Russia, and definitely the best I have eaten in the FSU. I also think the Baranul beer is the best in Russia - though while I was there vodka was the only thing we consumed. Some of the girls in the market look good - heck, there are great looking girls all over Russia, the thing is to find ones who like you - and also want to go back to the US. That is a more patriotic region of Russia, and not every girl would jump at the opportunity to go to the USA. Baranul does not have much, even of a center - from the little time I spent in it. However, Biisk has an excellent old church I visited, the market I mentioned, trains go in and out connecting with Novosibirsk, I am sure - though I suggest you have someone drive you down to Biisk or Baranul from Novosibirsk. It is about a five five 1/2 hour, fairly desolate drive if you do it straight. In early March the wind blows the snow everywhere, but the main roads are well cleared. This year the mountains only had 1/2 meter or so of snow when I was there. Usually they have 1 meter the time of the year I went, and sometimes could have as high as two meters. I know great people in the Novosibirsk region who would be happy to take any of you hunting, fishing in Kazan or just drive you to wherever you want to go, help you with translation etc. - help you find a girl - the Russian men I know in that region all have superior women - can not understand why I am single, and have now tried to set me up with the women they know are single - but I am really only into one I know from the laboratory who happens to have a boyfriend. I find the women in the Novosibirsk region to be really outstanding - the best character I have yet met in Russia. It is too bad for me that the girl I am so attracted to at work has a boyfriend like Ivan the terrible - big bearded Russian who beats her, drinks heavy, has her under his thumb - yet has a Svengali hold over her - maybe she will leave him. I have told my friends the second he is gone - I am back - unless I find someone else first. Anyway, the girls in the Novosibirsk region are just as pretty as the rest of Russia - I used to think they were worse, because there are not too many on the websites, but I just had not seen enough of the girls. There are tons of hot chicks around - an advertisement there would probably get some great girls for you guys who are searching. Many are married very young in that part of the FSU. Men are particularly masculine there - and potentially more barbaric by Western standards. For what I do, those guys are great. They can pitch a tent and get a fire going at the snap of a fingers. Anyway, the women have no problem swimming in icy cold streams in the summer morning. Because I do not want to make in my own backyard - since it looks like I will be going back for more projects - I do not have the audacity to advertise there - I know way too many people very well, and I do not need to advertise my problems. Anyway, I just am not the best writer. I can not paint the cities so well. Put it this way, when I stayed in the village there was no running water other than the kitchen sink, it was -30 centigrade out, the toilet was an outhouse ie. hole in a wooden shed that you had to go outside over a short snowy path with a flashlight to get to, and shower was the Bana - cold in the morning. Vodka was the main beverage - and dried meat with white loaves of bread is the main staple. Since it was some Russian holiday - I think the lent period - we had home made blintzes every morning. The farmer had two sons and an excellent wife, who was extremely traditional. I can not say enough good things about the people of the Novosibirsk region. May 7 was a Friday, so at 12:00 everyone in the Laboratory I collaborate with cleared out a room, made a huge spread (salmon, salami, cheeses, ham, black and white bread, pickles, olives, salads, wafers, torts, ice cream, tea, coffee, juices, water) plus of course only the most expensive Estock Blue label for this laboratory - and lots of it to go around). We sang songs, heck even I sang songs in English. We toasted repeatedly - from 12 until 7 when everyone cleared out. Every toast was in honor of women. I toasted in Russian twice. By the way, the Russians in that region respect Bush. They like a strong leader. They understand the need to stop terrorism. When I was in St. Petersburg and Moscow this trip the Russians I ran into were not nearly as supportive.
Anyway, after my time in the Novosibirsk region I went to St. Petersburg and then Moscow. Jack's people were super - met me at the airport, took me to the train etc. Jack helped me craft a letter to write, helped deliver my letters, kept me in the right direction. I met one excellent girl in St. Petersburg who I went out with every night for the three nights I was there. She was 27 with long blond hair, blue eyes, perfect skin with a body easily in a playboy centerfold. I would not have met her unless Jack urged me to write more girls etc. We are still corresponding after my trip. Believe it or not, she may be too racist to be able to handle NYC. She even told me that. Some of the first words out of her mouth were "How do you handle living in NY with all those N@@@@@@." She does not know about African American / Black etc - it is only the N word for her. That is one of my biggest fears of her right now - I am going to have to keep her from A. starting a riot and B. able to adjust to a multi-cultural society, in one of the craziest multi-cultural cities on the planet if she ever gets here. We are in correspondence, and I'll see how things progress. I'll see her my next trip to Russia, or on a subsequent trip I am sure. We talk on the phone every week and write often. She works hard - I learned her life - it is tough. She is also a fairly slick city girl, who knows English fluently. Although some of you may not think it, I really am not a racist - I just have my own particular views on what is best for the USA that may be extreme to some of you. I judge each man / women on their own merit and have no prejudice. I had not need to meet any other women in St. Petersburg, so I did not. However, I had already set up to meet an excellent girl from Samara Jack's people helped me train her in, get her a hotel, met me on the train, found out when she was coming. She was excellent - too simple a girl for me, beautiful as well, bright blue eyes, thin and lithe with some meat up top as well; a ballet dancer turned variety show dancer and now at 26 a dance teacher / still professionally dancing when she can - in Samara. She has previously danced with a tour group throughout Europe and also on a six month stay in Greece. Her English was poor, so all communication had to be through my Russian, which is only passable. I ahve studied the language three years and still feel like a beginner. I study every day, and have a teacher once a week, but still have a long way to go. Superfical talking is ok for me etc.at this point. Anyway, I really only could think about the St. Pete girl, but had to meet this girl, had a good few days in Moscow, was polite, we enjoyed each others company. Shortly after I returned to the US, she wanted to break off correspondence with me anyway - her excuse being she is going back dancing Internationally. She had previously danced internationally on a tour, so perhaps it is happening again - though I doubt it. Right now I am only thinking about my St. Petersburg girl - besides unfortunately starting / participating in off-purpose conversations on this board. Now, I know, I have messed up in many ways over the years with RW, so I am taking this girl casually at this point. Only time will tell. I know the process will have to be fairly lengthy for me to know things are right. In my own mind, I really thought it is virtually impossible to find a good girl in St. Pete or Moscow, so I am very wary - but so far things are good..........considering I am here and she is there.
Have fun chewing me up yet again. I'll try to answer questions if I can. Oh, if any of you are in the South Siberian region I have asked my best friend there if he would be happy to make some extra money helping you guys out with some of his other buddies. He has said yes to being the point man. They really want to be hunting / fishing guides and know the region has alot to offer - but they will help the single guy out if he has a girl to meet as well. The deal is I would give you his email address, and then it is up to you and he to figure out what he could do and at what price etc. He is a complete amateur at this, so my advice to him was to take what it would cost him, double it and add a bit more for aggravation - so your guess is as good as mine what he would come up with etc. to help you guys get around.
