St. Petersburg, Russia - Day #1 of "Russian Business" Conference, and there are a number of Finns, Austrians, Germans and Americans. We went for a quick coffee and pastry, then to a welcoming session - finally! A proper welcome to Russia! I was so very excited to see the mix of people at the conference is academic and business-minded, as well as a very interesting panel. I very much look forward to the rest of the conference. After seeing the intinerary, it seems...

Moscow, Russia - Quite adventurous indeed! I went to a salsa club last night and learned how the Russians get dooowwwn to this famous South American stuff. It was heart pounding, mind numbing fun! A dance instructor started things off, then dancers with a Carnivale kind of Brazilian flare (massive wings and brightly colored costumes), then came a drinking contest! Two teams of four people each took their turns at a bottle of vodka, one pouring, the next person dr...

Moscow, Russia - Lovely weather in Moscow now. The Moscow Times yesterday reported its now the most expensive city in the world. Yay. Honestly, if you *only* eat off the seemingly millions of street vendors, you'd be O.K. Nevermind the numerous bread, meat, cheese, and fried anything-you-want vendors don't carry a license on hand -- or gloves. Nevertheless, the tasty bread and meats are cheap and filling. I prefer the sushi to be honest-- and it's plentiful. I'v...

Moscow, Russia - Stick a fork in me, I'm done! I've seen the Red Square, and even from afar, I felt like leaving Moscow. What else needs to be seen? The Kremlin? The Basilica? The former KGB Headquarters? Alright, so maybe I'm just overwhelmed by the beauty and grandier of the square. Mind you, the church itself is only a few hundred feet wide, but its stature is serious. And after a healthy night of fun, I woke up with a small headache. An interesting danc...

St. Petersburg, Russia - Went to the Hermitage yesterday, and to my surprise I saw some DePaul U. students! Half way around the world and I'm attracted to DePaul like a magnet! Well, low-and-behold we had to part ways (they paid big money to get a study abroad trip, I'm just bummin' it). I also had a meeting with the Executive Director of AmCham Russia, which was very interesting and extremely informative. Much construction is going on in St. Petersburg prep...