#ilovesnowden

[shootandchop]

The funnny random t-shirts you can find in Macau #ilovesnowden #tshirt #engrish #funnytshirt #streetstyle #

[shaleewa-blog]

Russia

October 2016

Sprinkled between Moscow and St. Petersburg are shanti towns tucked into the trees, only partially visible to the passing high-speed trains transporting businessmen, screaming children and tourists. Homes built of corrugated iron or splintering wood that would quantify as sheds where I'm from and dilapidated, but functioning factories whose purposes were not translated loomed next door. Sitting in some sort of diner with not a blip of my language to be found, the best English speaker in town was called and presumably told to come meet me.

The now-familiar, boxy 1980-something Lada pulled up about 10 minutes later. With her pin straight hair and lipstick on her teeth, she told me I was the first American to visit their town, which I can't pronounce or spell on this keyboard, since the Cold War. There was an eerie sense of being an unwanted, but interesting spectacle.. she said I was "like a picture in your sleep." The borscht, with its side of sour cream, was free.

I called her Liz and she insisted on taking me somewhere I couldn't interpret. It was their local cemetery, which had a putrid scent, shallow graves and fresh cut flowers littered carelessly about. I did not take any photos and I cried when I got on the next train out.

The hospitality shown to me, the historical enemy, was captivating.