the best deal in Russia

I might have taken me almost two weeks but I found the best deal in Russia. It's beauty treatments!!!!!!!!!!! Last night we ran into Lena, our geography professor traveling with us, on her way back from having a massage. She told us she had tanned and gotten a full body massage. The massage was only 200 rubbles or about 6$ in the good ole USA. We said sign us up. The only problem is that Lena told us that Russian massage is really hard to break up fat in stomach. She was already bruising. Manicures are $8. so I'm sign up for all of it.

today we went on another excrusion. we find it interesting that the speakers meet us at the hotel and ride to the place with us. instead of us just meeting them there. We got a good view of the city. we turned down a road that seemed just a trail. we enjoyed this garden tour. again it's a reasearch center for the altai krai region. I took many interesting pictures and will put notes with them. They still seem to use their plants for medical purposes more than we do. Everything seems to be added to tea or vodka to heal something that ails them. there is aplant to make them stop drinking, one for upset stomachs, one that kids eat, one that kids use to make it look like they had burned their skin, so they can get out of work, and there is one called 99 healer. Put it in your tea and it will heal 99 things wrong with you. Beautiful gardens and forrest and the woman would talk and Lena would interpuret for her. We met some masters program university students who were working there. After that we went back to room and Cindy and I went to the store. I haven't told you about my roomate. He picked out a perfect one for me. Her name is cindy derosa, she is in her young 40's, she is married with a 19 and 17 year old girls. In conway she is the esl teacher for 5 schools. She is full of life and fun loving. I feel like I've come on this trip with Missy. We have the best talks everymorning about school and share ideas. It's grat being with all these teachers and just spending time discussing their schools and the way they do things. I bought rasberries on the street for 1.50 us from and old woman and then bought ice cream. Their cream is like frozen cream,,

Wonderful. We went to a regional museum that was interesting and learned about nesting dolls. They really started in Japan, but were an old man, Russian changed them to dolls, they are painted according to the region. I haven't bought any yet but will. We stopped and I bought a platter from Siberia, I won't ever make fun of people who buy things that say Arkansas or Hot Springs again. I had my massage when I returned. Remember how I said they just seem to make things less complicated. I've been lucky to have been given many massages as gifts from friends, so I do have something to compare it to. It was a plain table with a simple sheet. The window was open with street sounds coming in, she got two cell phone calls and someone came in and talked to her, but i got the same effect. total relaxation. Just oil on her hands. No fancy music, no fancy table, no fancy other things. we are headed to the disco and everyone is going, Well not everyone,papa has to stay home. Love to all.