High Excitement in Petrozavodsk

Two things to say first of all - the Russian language menu from the Karelian resteraunt doesnt tie in with the English so your guess is as good as mine what Ceps are (one worries they are left overs from the Bear)

Secondly a great many roads in russia resemble Greenhead Park Tennis courts, which for those of you not familiar with Huddersfield they have more pot hole than original surface. So it was a bit strange that a lot of roads in Petrozavodsk were resurfaced in the past fortnight all forming a chain suggesting someone important might be driving through town.

Anyway by Monday everyone in town knew that President Medveded was visiting today and that is why everything was being spruced up. I have also been told by someone who knows someone who lives on the route he took that they had been told not to watch from upstairs windows as they could be shot as a sniper. Anyway he has been and gone and visited my University whilst he was here but the visit was remarkably low key no bunting, no schoolchildren with little flags and they only closed off the street half an hour before hand.

Sorry but their will definately not be any pictures, I asked one of the guards if I was allowed to take them and he very politely said no although the look on his face said "you crazy foreigner do you really think we will let you point things (even a camera) at the president". You might get some coverage in the Bearents observer - the link is on my first post.

Anyway thats it except to say that a second batch of students have left today to go back to Birmingham University - very nice but boy they made me feel old. One by the way was someone I had met 2 years ago in Huddersfield so we were a bit surprised to meet again here. Oh by the way I am doing some studying - I think I have finally got all the cases, reflexive verbs and the weird grammer around russian numbers but am still struggling with perfect and imperfect which as far as I can see have no logical pattern in Russian.