Fun with iPhoto

I went to a wedding...

...and took pictures of everyone except the newlyweds! (At the request of the bride, every single person at the wedding party was wearing pink. It was the first and hopefully last time I will ever wear a pink tie in my life.)

L: Sveta and Shurik. Sveta I've known for a long time. Shurik has been my roommate for the last 4 months and will be until April when he marries...
L:...Polina. They're getting married on April 16th. I'm going to be one of the "witnesses" at the wedding. At Russian weddings, there are two witnesses (one male, one female) who sign the wedding certificate as part of the official government-approved ceremony which takes place at a government-approved "wedding palace." R: Me.
L-Me. R-Olya. Olya and I are currently recruiting people to go to Sweden on a ferry with us for a week at the end of July. So far there are four people on board. All interested parties can contact me for more information. :)

L: Me again. R: Kostya. Despite being a red-headed Siberian, he's still a good person. And as of two weeks ago he is a new father of a baby boy. Unfortunately they did not name the baby after me.

After the Bleak Midwinter

I'm sure it was ruling headlines around the world, but just in case you weren't aware, there was more snow this year in St. Petersburg than there had been for the last 140 years. It's now the end of March and the temperatures have just started rising above zero (Celsius, that is) and the mountains of snow are just now beginning to melt. The days of lethal icicles falling from the sky, sidewalks transforming into ice rinks, and thoughts about buying a dogsled and a team of huskies seem to be a part of the past...at least until November.

Hopefully these pictures (all taken near my work) will give you a good idea of the "winter wonderland" which has been St. Petersburg for the last 5 months.

Lives of the SPb Rich and Famous

Here's a partial list of the professions of some of my English students:

-the CEO of the St. Petersburg sea port. I also teach the main financial director of the sea port. (St. Pete is a HUGE port city, by the way.)

-a managing director of Baltika, the largest beer manufacturing company in Russia

-the director of a company which transports large amounts of radioactive materials (uranium) throughout the world. I also teach his wife.

-the director of a very large dessert manufacturing company which specializes in middle-eastern desserts. I will soon be teaching his children as well.

-the 3-year old son of a VERY wealthy member of the board of directors of a major banking chain

I am currently working very hard to be included in all of their wills.