All's well!

Peggy on Morskoy Avenue.
Bob in front of our apartment building at 22 Pirogova Street in Akademgorodok on Friday, Sep 15.

We arrived in Novosibirsk in the wee hours of Thursday, September 14. Since then we have been getting settled in our apartment in Akademgorodok. (Thanks, Susie, for the Akademgorodok link!) Though we have been able to receive email when we are on campus, we have not been online in our apartment. With a 12 hour time difference between central Siberia and MN, coordinating our communication has been tricky. This morning Bob met with the university computing guru. He has assured us that now that we have paid the fee (capitalism is thriving here!) and secured the appropriate pass words and codes, we will be online this evening. That's Monday day time for you across the Atlantic and Pacific. If this works, I will start updating the blog. I have been keeping notes so that I might be able to do updates should we get the necessary broadband internet connection. Phew! I'll pick up in St Petersburg and continue through to Moscow, the train ride east from there, and our first days here in Siberia.

We are in good hands here: Ian and Almira are wonderfully supportive and helpful in our living and academic needs, respectively. The weather has been good. Fall is beginning and the birch forest is taking on fall tints. We are going for a long walk this afternoon to explore some new spots on the campus.