Blini, bad hair, and snow (oh no!)

Greetings from Russia, Land of the Flailing Mullet! Yes indeed, Russia truly is something of a "lost world" when it comes to hair fashion; here the mullet, the rat-tail, and numerous other bad haircuts of the 80s and 90s live on long after they have mercifully passed into extinction in most parts of the world. Mullets seem especially in style for young men, a fact I find exceedingly worrisome as I really need a haircut but my Russian is still so poor I fear I'll totally flub it when I try explaining what I want and I'll end up with a mullet too! It's such a hideous fate that I just can't face up to going to the barber yet, although my hair's gotten to the length I really can't put off getting it cut much longer!

Mabye I should just give in, get a mullet and truly embrace the culture. I thought it might be fun to make a Russian disguise - buy myself a leather jacket, grow a more substantial Uncle Joe-style moustache, and pick up an ushanka or one of those faded, battered caps that all the old Russian guys wear that make them look like stereotypical Soviet factory workers. Then I could really blend in... mabye I just want to dress up in a costume because it should be time for Hallowe'en, but they don't have it here, which is so very disappointing.

Today I was supposed to go with some friends to a big market/flea market in Southern Petersburg where I hoped to buy some Soviet kitsch and mabye a big Red Army greatcoat or something substantial to replace my flimsy ski jacket, but the weather was not cooperating. Actually today was the worst I've seen - screaming wind and near-horizontal icy sleet, that perfect combination for total misery! At one point it was even snowing, the first Russian snow I've seen, but certainly not the last... the West wind was so strong that it had blown the Smolenka river (that I walk over everyday on my way to the Metro) back on itself, raising the water level by a several feet overnight so that it completely covered the riverside walkway and looked not that far from flooding. Sanity prevailed and we decided not to go to an outdoor market today (though I'm sure it was still on - if the Russian merchants packed up for a little bit of bad weather, they'd never survive!) but instead opted to go downtown for tea and blini, one of the few really fabulous Russian culinary creations! Blini are usually translated as pancakes but really they're more like crepes, thin and light and filled with all sorts of delicious things like cheese, ham, and mushrooms or smoked salmon or even black caviar. There are also lots of dessert blini, with berries and whipped cream or bananas and lots of chocolate sauce. Just the sort of thing you need on a ridiculously cold day when they come hot off the grill!