Masha introduced me to a close friend from her university.

And the more I learned about Dasha and her background the more I was impressed at her goodness and strength.

She’s about to turn 22 and her family comes from very modest means.   And if you’ve read my earlier post about the life of a typical Russian Girl.. then try to imagine a step below that on the Russian economic standard of living and you might start to understand a few things.   I really don’t want to get into too much detail but lets just say that where she comes from having running water in your home is not taken for granted.

Halloween is starting to gain some traction in Russia.

When I first got here people knew about this holiday but very few folks had any opportunity to participate in it.

Now participating is a relative term because unfortunately you won’t see any kids “Trick or Treating” around town.  Russian cities are simply not structured like American style suburbs so “Trick or Treating” is not really feasible.   But the clubs around town are always looking for events to promote and Halloween as we all know is the perfect venue.