Saturday I was in Cheboksary again, this time with the whole group. We drove down in the bus and met a couple of Flex alumni – Flex is a program where Russians come to the US to study. I also met up with Natasha, my future host sister.
We started at McDonald’s, since it’s supposed to be better than in the US. I’m not a great judge, since I don’t eat at McDonald’s in the US, but I’m pretty sure it was better. They had fries that were actual potatoes, and some wraps and stuff that looked really good. I just got a burger, but it was nice to have some American food 🙂
After lunch we spent most of our time walking around Cheboksary, like I had done before. We took a bunch of pictures of the group, on the bridge and steps and stuff. It was cool, windy, and a little rainy, but overall really nice weather. After that we walked around the souvenir shopping area. There are a bunch of little wooden booths set up where people will come and sell their souvenirs – Natasha says they are homemade, which is pretty cool. You can get almost anything there – matroishkas, spoons, ornaments, little toys.
We took the trolley bus up the hill to the park that I went to last time, with the WWII memorial. It has really nice views of Cheboksary. There were at least 4 or 5 wedding groups there, taking pictures in the gardens and by the monument. One couple came up in a horse-drawn carriage, but most people just come in long car caravans with flowers and ribbons on them. I’m sure our group photo-bombed a couple of wedding photos.
After the park we walked around the mall for a bit, and then headed home. It’s about 2 hours back to Kazan, so not too bad. A nice, long, busy day.
Culture Shock 