First snow

The fountain on September 19, 2006

We met Sophia, Annie, and Olga at one of the university buildings and walked to the Trade Center to have coffee at the East-West café there. As we arrived, we could see that the fountain was being tucked in for the winter. It reminded us of the fountain in Loring Park in Minneapolis when it is buttoned up for the Minnesota winter. There was a light drizzle, hardly enough to warrant an umbrella.



Olga, Annie, Bob, and Sophia at the East-West Cafe












Marie joined us a little later. We had a wide-ranging discussion on topics that included our families, educational philosophy, Russian holidays, literature, cell phone service, the beauty of the Altai Mountains. Marie and her family lived in Arcata, California for a year when she was in 5th grade. What an experience for a 10 year old. While we were chattering away in a cozy spot, it started to snow.



Olga, Marie, Sophia, Peggy, and Annie
While the drizzle had turned to snow outside, we couldn’t help but notice that Annie was wearing a sleeveless top. This is the sign of a “strong Siberian woman!”










Olga, Annie, Bob, Marie, and Sophia




Olga, Annie, and Sophia going into the snow. Bob's in the background...














Annie, Olga, and Sophia...it's starting to look like snow.














It snowed all afternoon and into the early evening. It’s very pretty.













This evening I came across an interesting website with views of Akademgorodok's earlier days. You might find them interesting too. Remember that Sputnik I was launched on this day, Oct 4, 1957, just around the founding of Akademgorodok.