Just a quick note to say the English tour was wonderful; I loved the Watermill, a crisp clear day where we saw swans and other waterbirds. The venue itself was beautiful. Everywhere I went I found an interesting place and people, but I’ll write more when I’m back in Chicago. Right now I’m in Crimea, with my cousin who’s a Peace Corps volunteer. We spent the day hiking in an old cave city that dates back 1400 years, used successively by Mongol invaders, Jews, and Crimean Tatars. I’ll write more when I get home, and post pictures then as well. The people are lovely but there’s no money here for infrastructure; everyone builds their own houses out of local rock, so it looks as the American West must have done in the 1850’s–mud roads, everything in partial construction. It’s wonderful to see my cousin, who’s working in a library with Crimean Tatars–and learning Russian–a daunting language.
