Я люблю Россию Яна (Yana) was just a waitress in a burger café in an underground mall near the Lenin Library (Российская государственная библиотека). But she altered my perception of Russia. I took her photo across the café. She looked at me sternly and said ‘Фото?’ (photo?); I said ‘Нет’ (no); She said ‘Да!’ (yes) I said ‘еще один?’ (another one?). I took several more and we chatted, but it was the warmth, the friendliness and the little smile that made me realise Moscow was not a city to be feared but one to love. The ten days I spent in Russia were the best trip I have ever been on, and that was entirely down to the Russian people. Middle aged men sing to me, they recite poetry and tell me the importance of сказки (fairy tales/folk tales). The women are beautiful, in mind, body and spirit. All of them? Maybe; I haven’t found one yet that isn’t. I have a friend, a Russian woman, who once I caught dancing alone to a piece of classical music. I have never seen anyone dance with such grace, a physical expression of the Russian soul. I was transfixed. Красота спасёт мир Beauty will save the world, said Dostoevsky. I’m going to a concert on Sunday evening, by my favourite Russian singer, Zemfira. I have listened to her every day for the last twelve years, but it won’t just be her music that makes me happy, but also the sound of Russian voices all around me.

Meteor things I accidently became an expert on meteorites when I was asked to fill a two metre by two metre display case in a museum. Sadly, we only had a few thumb sized pieces and a little money to spend. When meteorites land they do so with enormous force and can shatter or melt the rock underneath. The molten rock can be thrown up in the air to form tektites. Rocks at the sites where the meteorite has landed are called 'impact rocks'. These occur in several places, so I decided to fill the case with some examples. My boss went to France to buy wine and collected from the Rochechouart impact site, while I went north to Norway to Gardnos. Fine, except it was in the middle of Norway and the middle of December. I had to climb a mountain and dig through two metres of snow with my hands - but I got my rock. I could tell you many tales about meteors and meteorites, like how I discovered a meteorite impact crater in the wilds of Africa; or how my friend saw the meteor flash through the sky in Chelyabinsk, Russia, this week; or how the next impact rock I collected was part of a cooking fire on a German camp site, but I will just leave you with a picture of Gardnos in the winter.

Love n Stuff Shakespeare: Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And Summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal Summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. The Bible: Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. and Ché Guevara: At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality... We must strive every day so that this love of living humanity will be transformed into actual deeds, into acts that serve as examples, as a moving force The loving rock is a piece of garnet amphibolite from New York State.

Burn's Night My favourite poem in the language Scots, and my favourite photo (by me anyway) A Man's A Man For A' That Is there for honest Poverty That hings his head, an' a' that; The coward slave-we pass him by, We dare be poor for a' that! For a' that, an' a' that. Our toils obscure an' a' that, The rank is but the guinea's stamp, The Man's the gowd for a' that. What though on hamely fare we dine, Wear hoddin grey, an' a that; Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine; A Man's a Man for a' that: For a' that, and a' that, Their tinsel show, an' a' that; The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor, Is king o' men for a' that. Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord, Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that; Tho' hundreds worship at his word, He's but a coof for a' that: For a' that, an' a' that, His ribband, star, an' a' that: The man o' independent mind He looks an' laughs at a' that. A prince can mak a belted knight, A marquis, duke, an' a' that; But an honest man's abon his might, Gude faith, he maunna fa' that! For a' that, an' a' that, Their dignities an' a' that; The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth, Are higher rank than a' that. Then let us pray that come it may, (As come it will for a' that,) That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth, Shall bear the gree, an' a' that. For a' that, an' a' that, It's coming yet for a' that, That Man to Man, the world o'er, Shall brothers be for a' that.

Friendship italki style I write this in response to Alexandra and Olga's comments this morning on their sadness at the apathy and meanness and ingratitude on this site. I have been verbally attacked and ignored too, and I even spent over an hour answering someone's difficult problem and didn't get a word of thanks. But I'm going to tell you about the other side - what I have got out of it. And I will name names :) Firstly Sasha and Olya (to use short forms!): I came here looking for language partners in three languages which may be useful if I succeed in my ambition to work in south-east Asia, but Olga I re-ignited my passion for Russia and Русский язык, and Alexandra reminded me of the warmth and friendliness of the Russian people. It is the new friends I have found on here that make me love this site, despite all its faults. Some chat on here; of these Arwa has impressed me most with her beautifully-written and moving stories of Gaza; others I have met on here but chat on Skype or Facebook. Three women from Kazakhstan (Molya, Maral and Elmira) chat to me in a mixture of Russian and English and I even dare to speak in a little Russian to them. Sri from Indonesia often chats to me on Facebook and I am able to help her with her studies. I have made friends from countries I never thought I would, such as Marie from South Korea, Tatsiana from Belarus and Aruhi from Saudi Arabia. Marie was kind enough to send me a card and little подарки for Christmas. Then there are people like Seda, Joa and Afsane who are always a pleasure to read and to talk to. And two Vietnamese pharmacy students, Quinni and Bluesky, that I often talk to on Skype and even sang to at 2 am one morning. I will also add Jeff, Yuri, Yoga and Aria while knowing there are many I have not mentioned. Thank you all. A site like this can only be successful if it gets beyond the formal and the abusers are ignored; and if it uses languages to build friendships and mutual understanding and respect. Those are the things give people incentive to learn.

Thoughts on winter (by other people) 良言一句三冬暖,恶语伤人六月寒 A kind word warms for three winter months, while vile talk wounds like bitter cold in June. (Chinese saying) The fate of the poor shepherd, who, blinded and lost in the snow-storm, perishes in a drift within a few feet of his cottage door, is an emblem of the state of man. On the brink of the waters of life and truth, we are miserably dying. Ralph Waldo Emerson Я вижу тебя Слышу тебя Скажи мне свои тайны И где тебя искать Когда снег начнётся Снег начнётся Zemfira Razmanova The sweeping blast, the sky o’ercast, The joyless winter day Let others fear, to me more dear Than all the pride of May: The tempest’s howl, it soothes my soul, My griefs it seems to join; The leafless trees my fancy please, Their fate resembles mine! Robert Burns The room was suddenly rich and the great bay-window was Spawning snow and pink roses against it Soundlessly collateral and incompatible: World is suddener than we fancy it. World is crazier and more of it than we think, Incorrigibly plural. I peel and portion A tangerine and spit the pips and feel The drunkenness of things being various. And the fire flames with a bubbling sound for world Is more spiteful and gay than one supposes– On the tongue on the eyes on the ears in the palms of your hands– There is more than glass between the snow and the huge roses. Louis Macneice

Edinburgh For Olga, who wanted me to write about a famous city in Scotland. Edinburgh is the city I would most recommend a foreigner to visit, although I slightly prefer Glasgow myself. In Scotland I usually have a camera around my neck, and have lots of photos of highland cattle 'muckle coos', of mountains and islands, of wildlife and food but to my horror I have none of the two main cities. This shot by Paula Funnell from Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/75235741@N00/5340486264/in/photostream/ is of Edinburgh Castle, an essential place to visit, from where you get excellent views of the city below. Edinburgh is lovely on a bright summer's day, but holds a major international festival in September and a large party to celebrate on New Years Eve (called Hogmanay there). It is pronounced Edinbr, and I remember a Russian lady mispronoucing it as I danced with her one night in Miass. It was the highlight of her trip to Britain.

194th State Welcome to the UN, Palestine. May peace prevail. I think these series of maps (from Avaaz) tell a story.

Happy Eid al-Adha Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha !! to my Indonesian Muslim friends. The occasion is the annual celebration to commemorate prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God. Traditionally animals are sacrificed, as Allah allowed Abraham to sacrifice a sheep instead of his son.