So Today I uploaded some pictures from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk that I took on the first two days of my stay in Russia. On the next post I will upload pictures from Tymovsk and the orphanage. At that time I will attempt to describe my experience there. I think that I am still tying to process it all. So here is a look at the largest city in Sakhalin, Russia. I really only ventured out a few miles from my hotel in those first few days-- I was still a bit scared at that point... :)
My Room At The Sapporo HotelOn the outside, the hotel is a simple white block building--not very attractive, but the rooms were very comfortable, and much cleaner than any hotel I have ever stayed at in the U.S. I have to admit one of my favorite things about the hotel was that they provide you with disposable slippers to wear while in the room. It is a Russian custom to remove your shoes upon entering a home. Anyone who knows me, also knows that I also have that same rule--no shoes in the house!! I really like that about the Russians!! :)
The View Outside Of My Hotel Window(It is hard to see, but in the distance are beautiful mountain ranges)
(You can click on the photos to enlarge them)
A Street By The HotelEvery where you look in Yuzhno, people are walking. Many of the residents do not own cars, so the streets are always filled with people walking to work, school, shop, etc. No matter how cold it is, the streets are filled with people walking. The other thing that I immediately noticed is that there are very few overweight people--maybe because they walk everywhere, or maybe because there are no fast food restaraunts on the island. Imagine that not McDonalds, KFC, etc.
The other intersting thing is that even though most of the residents are extremely poor, the women are are ALWAYS very dressed up. They wear fur coats, fur hats, fur-lined boots, nice clothes, perfect makeup, etc. They always look like they are about to go out to a fancy dinner, bar, party, or something. They really take a lot of pride in thier appearence. They also wear rose colored gold--very pretty...
A Mosaic Across From Lenin Square--I Don't Know What It Means, But I ThoughtIt was Cool
Feeding Pigeons At Lenin Square
A Resident Holding The Pigeons By The Ice SculpturesThere were many very beautiful ice sculptures in front of Lenin Square. Svetlana told me that they were placed there to celebrate the New Year. They were very intricately carved and I tried to get some pictures of them... But a lot of the detail did not come through in the photos.
A Mermaid Ice Sculpture
A Ship...
A Turtle In The Foreground, And A Maze Of Ice Behind ItThe Children Loved It
(I really wished that the girls could have seen it they would have loved it too.)
More Ice Sculptures
A Walk Through Lenin Square
A Statue In Lenin Square Park
The Train Station
A Cool Old Steam Train
A Typical Apartment Building In Yuzhno
View Down A Street Near My Hotel
More Apartments
Still More Apartments...
The Statue Of Lenin... Hence The Name, Lenin Square
This Is The View When Standing By Lenin's Statue....
The Chekhov Theater-(Famous Author, Anton Chekhov was from Sakhalin)
Orthodox Cathedral(Another Famous Point Of Interest In Yuzhno)
While I was photographing this Cathedral, a wedding party emerged from the church, and the church bells began ringing... it was very touching. And the bells sounded beautiful....
Another Apartment Building- With Very Large Icecicles
Side View Of Orthodox Cathedral
Just A Cool Fence
Another Walk Through A Park
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