I finally got out of bed around 12:00 PM when Simeon called to let us know to meet him and the girls in the lobby at 12:30. I was still a bit tired after all of the dancing from the night before, but we had a relaxing day ahead of us! Simeon had reserved a sauna for our group for the entire afternoon, and although I had never been to a sauna, country boy that I am, I had a few ideas about what it might be like. Simeon said that we needed beer, because that is what you drink in a sauna, or at least what Russians drink, so we stopped by the market for food, drinks, and beer for everyone else right after we checked out of the hotel.
Apparantly when you visit friends or family in Russia, it is a custom to buy all kinds of alcohol, party food, etc., and spend the day in the sauna or a banya, more traditionally, before you head with them to their house for a relaxing evening and meal. The sauna was N-I-C-E…we had it all to ourselves, a pool room, a kitchen, the wet sauna of course, and a pool, shower and bathroom. I thought it would be a bit girly at first, but, I really enjoyed myself, and definitely got more comfortable wearing hardly any clothes and changing around everyone. I guess Russians are just more comfortable with it than Americans are. The sauna was nice, and us guys pumped it up as high as we could stand it, but then the girls would come in and complain. Leann, Simeon's girfriend, prepared a nice picnic-style lunch for us with kolbasa, cheese, fresh bread, chips, fruit, and chocolate to go around.
I cannot tell you how much fun this day was! Time spent just relaxing and having a good time. Anton and Anastasia, two of Simeon's friends, whom I had met at his birthday party, joined us after about an hour. Anton and I shot two games of pool before heading back to the sauna with the rest of the crew. We were having such a good time that we paid to stay for another hour. From chicken fights in the pool, to sweatin' it off in the sauna, to good times watching people fall when coming out of the kitchen, I will never forget my first taste of the "good life".
Javier, Curt, Halsey, and Andrew, disappointedly, decided to head back to Moscow right after we left the sauna at around 5:00. Zoya took them to the bus station, while Katia, Weston, and I went with Leann and Simeon back to her dorm. Leann cooked a delicious dinner for us while the guys crashed for a while. She eventually woke us up, and we ate pasta and kolbasa with a cucumber, tomato, and onion salad. We all kind of just chilled around the hostel until we finally headed out to a club around 11:00 PM. This one was much calmer than the one last night, and cheaper! They even took a break form the techno music and played some pop, which works…as long as it is not techno! Anton came along, and he made for a good time, as his dancing is very, very Russian.
For some reason, Weston, Simeon, and I could not stay in Leann's hostel that night, so we went to Anton's hostel. Now, I have learned to appreciate what we have in America, because the living conditions for us are not all that great, and sometimes not even too good for the Russians, especially college students. But, this hostel was horrible! The hallways smelled like the bathroom, and the bathroom consisted of a large cinderblock room with showerheads around the outside, like in high school, and one toilet, no stall or anything, smack in the middle of the room! And when Weston and I went to check it out, we didn't get a very good view, because there was a guy using it at the time. Needless to say, we didn't go to the bathroom, nor shower. We met Anton's roommate Yevgeniy, who is from Moldova. Anton and Simeon advised us earlier that he is gay, but nonetheless, he speaks very good English, and even offered us some sheep cheese. Ehhh…not the best, very salty…won't try it again. It was already 3:00 AM, but we were all wired, and not very tired, so we put on a movie until everyone got sleepy enough to head to bed. Weston and I slept in Anton and Yuveguiney's room on beds, which consisted of a wooden frame with blanket's folded over each other to serve as a matress.
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