Good news!

1. My visa, which was supposed to expire promptly on the end of the program I'm working for, is in fact good for almost a whole month after that. I already have a flight home via Tbilisi on August 16th, so my plans probably won't change too much, but this does mean I can swing by home sweet Taganrog and say hi to my friends there. I was thinking Kazan -> Rostov by plane, quick trip to Taganrog from there (it's only ~45 min from Rostov), then Rostov -> Yerevan by train, but my geography skills failed me:

Russia and Armenia don't share a border. Oops. (Going straight to Georgia from Russia won't work; the border is closed.)

2. I get to spend more time in Moscow before heading to Kazan than I thought I would! This means I get to hang out with my good friend Amara, and I have all of Tuesday to explore Moscow and bask in all that liminality. I'm trying to think of things in Moscow I haven't already seen. (The obvious answer: Vladimir Putin. Kremlin trip?)

3. I got a stack of headshots of the Kazan ducklings, leftover passport photos from their Russian visa applications. Ideas so far: glue them to popsicle sticks and roleplay tough Resident Director situations ("Leslie, Svetlana and I are eloping! Will you sign the marriage license?" "Leslie, I think I have gangrene!"); play matchmaker with them and the Ufa ducklings, whose headshots I also have (to pass on to the Ufa RD). The latter is difficult, because almost everyone looks incredibly grim in these pictures. Lighten up, kids! We're going to RUSSIA!