II.

Don´t worry, I´m still alive! This place is too beautiful and exiting to spend too much time with my computer – so I´m sorry for the big gaps in my blog!

The last month I spent mainly with tourists and the construction of a new house for the inspector at the Kardon. But of course I also used my spare time for some walks in the nearby surrounding.

There are mainly groups of European Tourists and Russian Families visiting here but very less individual adventurists. Groups are quite easy to handle, because they come with a guide, but the people who come alone are usually not able to do anything on their own. Either because they don´t speak Russian or they come with wrong expectations. It´s not possible to do some easy trekking within some days like in the Alps. Either you need a lot of time and good equipment from home( I don´t think you can adapt to Russian/indigene survival style within 2 weeks of your holidays if you haven’t experienced before…) to go further into the wild, a lot of money to hire a helicopter or you like horseback riding, hunting or fishing and join a guided tour.

Fortunately there are from time to time also for me possibilities to go with some guys from here out into this great scenery. I could already learn so much from them.

August and early September are probably part of the best season to visit Kamtchatka. As soon as temperature drops below zero in the nights, the tundra turns into red, yellow and orange; a great natural spectacle. Days are sunny and warm, mosquitoes have disappeared.

But as much as I´m enjoying all this natural beauty, I´m still suffering kind of a cultural shock. I cannot get used the way women are treated here. Russians are real gentlemen, but when I try to get into a collegial relationship to guy, they hardly can understand this behavior the right way. I hope it´s just a question of time and exchange of our different ways of interpretation. Both parts are getting used and adapt to each other. So far my theory, but let´s see – at the end I´ll come back as a very devote woman ;-)

Another thing I don´t get used to is the way information is handled between different parties. It´s just something you can change the way it fits best your means. And when you once know how afraid Russians are to lose their proud, than you better make yourself a picture of the situation. But therefore you first have to understand what Russian proud is – I still have to learn a lot!

As soon as I found out about it I´ll tell you here!

All the other little but of course also very important and mostly funny experiences I had till now would probably already now fill books, but as you know pictures tell more than words and so just enjoy them.

Till the next blog, hug you all my dear friends!