So I'm back in Kaunas again, but only for a little while. On wednesday we take the bus to St. Petersburg (20hrs!!) where Aura will perform as part of the "white nights" festival. Then immediately after our return to LT we will head back to germany for another festival there. I was a bit worried about getting a russian visa because of all the horror stories I've heard from other travellers. But I spent last tuesday morning at the russian embassy in Vilnius and they were actually quite nice to us, letting me go with a minimum of fuss. Of course I didn't understand most of it, since it was all in lithuanian and russian, and merely followed orders from the people in the cultural department. But they did tell me that a friend of the russian consulate had been denied a US visa and so he wanted to get revenge on the next american, but since I was a part of AURA he said he would wait for somebody else. :) I am very excited to be going to St.Petersburg with the dance company, and especially during the famous "white nights." It is supposed to be a very interesting city. Of course, I will be working while I am there and so will not have the freedom to visit all the sites that I would on my own.... But because I will be part of a large arts festival, I will probably have more of a chance to meet Russian artists, which is much more interesting! I just finished Anna Karenina last night, in preparation for my trip. Many people told me that it gets a bit verbose towards the end, but I found it incredibly captivating. Tolstoy's characters are more richly human than any other writer I can think of. I even spent some nights reading instead of sleeping. ;) Of course, now I have to restrain from reading a new novel for a couple of days to let it sink in. After being completely submerged in Tolstoy's writing, anything else would seem sparse and weak. :) It would be nice to read "war and peace" on the bus to St. Petersburg, but I don't think that I'll be able to get an english version in time for our trip. They only have russian and lithuanian translations here, and Amazon will not be able to deliver by wednesday. But I'll survive. I still have "The god of small things" to keep me company. :)