Knock-knock Jokes

Anybody know any good knock-knock jokes? I was trying to explain knock-knock jokes to Pastor Victor the other day, while we were walking one morning. I couldn't remember very many, it's been a while since I told any (5th grade, probably). So, anyone got any good ones?

Return to Russia

I flew out of Boston Thursday evening and got maybe 4 hours sleep on the way to Munich. I was feeling a little rugged when I arrived but decided to keep with my plan to not stay at the airport for the next 14 hours. I ditched my backpack at storage and then hopped on the S-bahn into the city, armed with a list of places in the old city. I arrived at the Marienplatz, site of the famed Glockenspiel, shortly before noon. The Marienplatz is beautiful. You walk up the steps out of the S-bahn into the middle of a stone plaza, surrounded by gothic buildings and clocktowers. The Glockenspiel is pretty cool. It's a big mechanical clock with a bunch of mideviel wooden figures that dance and march around, accompanied by bells and chimes. The show lasts almost 10 minutes.

After the Glockenspiel I caught lunch at a German restaurant. I had pork medallions and mashed potatoes with a really good German beer. Yum. It was a beautiful sunny day, so I grabbed a latte at Starbucks and walked around for a while. Near the Residenz (former home of the Wittleberg princes) is Englischer park, a gorgeous area. While walking around, I noticed several people sleeping on benches in the sun. I took the hint and claimed a bench for myself and slept for 30 min next to a fountain while a man was playing a cello nearby. It was nice. After my nap, I got another latte and walked around some more. I dropped into an Ancient Egypt exibit for a little while. Most of the plaques were in German, but it was still interesting. In the early evening I passed by a biergarten near a market and dropped in to investigate. I grabbed a whopper on the way out and made my way back to the airport.

When I checked in at the Aeroflot desk, I learned that when Luftansa transferred my baggage to Aeroflot they had written down the wrong flight number on the baggage tags. Fortunately, my bags ended up being loaded on the same flight as me to Moscow. That would have been a real mess to sort out in Moscow... God was looking out for me there. I think I got 3 hours sleep on the overnight flight to Moscow and was feeling even more rugged when I landed at 4:30 am. I made the transfer to Sheremetevo terminal 1 OK and caught the 9:05 am flight to Anapa. My friend Roman from church picked me up at the airport. ~36 hours later, I made it back to the house in Anapa and finally got some sleep.

Happy Birthday, Russian Guy!

I was walking into Anapa to visit my favorite English speaking ATM when I spotted this billboard. The caption says Happy Birthday, in Russian. Obviously, somebodies friends are helping him celebrate his special day by taking out a 15'x20' (I think that's 80m by 150m) billboard ad. I think it's funny. I wonder if his friends told him, first? Probably not, I wouldn't. Happy birthday, Russian Guy!
As I've mentioned before, the road between Anapa and Su-Pseh is never boring. I got chased a little ways by two German shepherds from a car lot not too long ago. Weddings are pretty common events on the weekend. The friends and family of the bride and groom will often decorate their own cars with ribbons and flags and follow the couples car, forming a carvavan on the road. I was walking home from the ATM when I saw one such caravan. The bride and groom were in a heavily decorated stretch limo accompanied by 5 other decorated cars, one of which was flying a huge Russian flag. All the cars were flashing their lights and honking their horns. As they passed me, the limo was flanked by two other cars. On a two lane road, they had formed a line 3 cars abreast. The two outer cars were half driving on the dirt shoulder and they were all moving fast. A little ways on, the car in the left lane hit the brakes and pulled behind the limo to let oncoming traffic by. He didn't leave much room for error. Never a dull moment on this road. I should memorize a few emergency related phrases in Russian. I spend a lot of time on this road and see some crazy stuff. Some day I may have to call for an ambulance. I usually pray for the drivers as I walk into town.

Ask the American, he knows...

While walking around several people have stopped me to ask questions. I must stick out somehow (probably the running shoes). Several weeks ago a driver pulled off the road onto the sidewalk (almost hitting me) to ask me directions to somewhere. I think he was asking directions, I couldn't understand a word he said. I wasn't much help. Judging by the look on his face, he seemed both annoyed and amused that of the hundreds of people walking around he had picked the ignorant American to ask directions of. I had another biker looking guy (I didn't know Russia had bikers) ask me for a cigarette or a light or something smoking related. Again, this guy seemed to think it funny that he had found an American. Just two days ago another man stopped me to ask the time. This time I both understood the question and was able to answer in Russian. The fellow went on his way none the wiser. Less the wiser, perhaps, since I gave him a very inexact time. I rounded up 17 minutes to the next hour because 3 pm is easier to say than 2:43 pm (don't tell my Russian teacher). No biggie, both of us walked away happy. Ryan-1, Inquisitive Russian People-2.

The Road to Anapa

My house is 4 or 5 kilometers (how far is that in miles?) from the church in Anapa. I don't have a car, so I often end up wallking or taking the marshutka (small buses). It's a 50 minute walk, depending on snow and dogs. It's a good walk, I enjoy it. Between Anapa and Su-Pseh there is a 2km section of flat, straight road that runs across a grassy field and past some vineyards. This stretch of road is pretty dangerous. I see people speeding all the time and passing 2 sometimes 3 cars at a time (the tractors and old military trucks can cause a real backup) and zipping back into their lane just in the nick of time. Sadly, not every driver is as skillful as they would like to believe. There are several memorials along the way. The sidewalk isn't completely safe, either, though is separated from the road. I almost got pegged by a guy riding a motorcyle on the sidewalk one day. I can appreciate his not wanting to drive on the road, but he could have slowed down a little... In these pictures, Su-Pseh is the town with the radar domes on the hill and Anapa is the city with the red/white smokestack.