Kazan — summer 2014

• I made sure my auto insurance was paid up past my return date to the US
• Let my bank know my travel dates so that they don't block my debit/credit cards while I'm abroad
• Signed up for the STEP program

so freakin’ excited to be traveling soon!

I always take gifts when I go to Russia. First off, I like to take gifts for the teachers who have previously worked for us and are working with us again. Then there are some other random gifts. So what am I taking this year?

First off, I'm stopping in Bulgaria on the way, so I think for many of the women I will get Bulgarian rose oil. Bulgaria doesn't have much in the way of interesting souvenirs, but the rose oil is a standard, and they package it in amusing wooden bottles.

Next, there is a couple I know that are Harry Potter fanatics, so for them I'm bringing Dumbledore's wand. I had seen the wand previously in Skymall magazine, but they wanted $35 for it, which seemed excessive. I found it on meritline.com for $15. That much I can afford.

For our Kazan director I'm bringing a couple of kids books. Her second child is due, and she likes books in multiple languages. This time I'm bringing a soft book, plus a local AZ book “Lizards for Lunch.”

Last summer paraglider instructor Radik hosted me at his dacha, so for him I'm bringing a book on plane-spotting.

Last summer the son of one of our host families sat for a considerable time in the hospital with an ailing student of ours. I was very grateful for his kindess, so I'm bringing him a Skagen watch. I *love* Skagen.

The Osipov family has been quite kind to me, so I'm bringing them some gifts. Father Oleg gets an electronic guitar tuner. Mother Flyura, the heart of family hospitality, gets a lovely peach white tea recommended by a student of mine this year, along with some candy cuz she has a sweet tooth. Sons Sasha and Danila get t-shirts because I couldn't think of anything better, and daughter Dasha gets rose oil.

For my old Bulgarian teacher in Plovdiv I think I will take a Whitman Sampler.

kinda sucks. Inadequate air conditioning. No free wifi. Adequate Italian beef sandwiches. People watching is okay, though.

I have to read on the plane. Just can't listen to music on a headset. Not much into the movies. So what have I brought to read? On my Nook I have “Leviathan” by James Corey, which is essentially brainless fantasy. I also have a Bulgarian textbook. I keep going back and forth between those two so that when I get to Sofia I can say to the taxi driver, “Central bus terminal, please.”

In hard copy I bought Ricky Martin's autobiography “Yo.” Yes, I'm reading it in Spanish. This will be the first time I've read an entire book in Spanish since, oh, idunno, ’81 or ’82? Sheesh, the book has two introductions, and both are excruciatingly me-me-me. Of course, it's an autobiography, so that's not an entire surprise, but still, Ricky...

Once I get through those, I have “Crucial conversations: tools for talking when stakes are high.”