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Download now or watch on posterous CIMG0015.AVI (19500 KB) This video was shot at Vinpearl amusement park.

These .are some shots made on the New Year Eve 2010'11 in Vietnam, Vinpearl, Nha Trang See and download the full gallery on posterous

Hey there, I was unable to post any earlier as we had such an awful flight from Moscow that it really took us quite a while to recover. The point is that we were supposed to take off on December 26 but appolling weather conditions prevented us from this. It was a kind of snowy rain or blizzard that resulted in devastating almost all our airports. Domodedovo airport was cut off electricity, Sheremetievo was stopped for the reasons of black ice on runways and the only airport that remained alive was Vnukovo. Our flight landed there, although it was supposed to do so at Domodedovo and this saved our New Year holiday. We were delayed by 15 hours but eventually took off from Vnukovo and 10 hours later arrived to Ho Shi Min city at 11:30pm. There we stayed at the hotel and at 7am left for Nha Trang by the local aircraft. You can imagine how tired we were at the end. But this is nothing compared with the situation in which thousands of Russian passangers got. I mean those who tried to fly t...

Well, the year 2010 is coming to an end and I'd like to send all my nearest and dearest some warm words saying how much I love and remember you. Here is my 'Fotobabble' greetings to all of you I hope to hear from you and receive some nice cards or photos. Leaving for Vietnam (Ho Shi Min city) on Sunday...

It was so nice to see 'Usual Miracle', a musical and beautiful love story at Dubrovka concert hall yesterday. It was on the day of massive public unrest in Moscow with nationalists and milicia conflicts all over the centre of Moscow, so we had to go there on metro. This is a notorious concert hall that was taken control of by Chechen terrorists in October 2004. There were 800 people there at that time and many of them died.The terrorists kept people as hostages for 2 days then a gas attack was undertaken by the army forces and many people were freed. Now there is a memorial for those who died there but the hall itself is still very popular. We were there for the first time and I took some photos of the place. Anyway, I felt a bit uneasy there, but the music and acting were perfect. Got back home only late at night as traffic jams were awful all day and night... Bye for now...

Like this video clip. Sent to me by Dima Curious bear takes a step too far, quick question diffuses the situation. [VIDEO] This is my post

Hey there, It was quite a while since I last was in Saratov, but this city is, probably, written on my life books. So I went there again examining from YLE to FCE. It was pretty cold there but when I was leaving (on December 4) it was raining! The train to and from Saratov is quite comfortable so I did sleep there but had no chance to go to the theatre in Saratov and it's a pity as it's supposed to be very good. We have many leading actors here in Moscow who came from Saratov. The exam girls took me to the exhibition of theatrical decorations and arts. There was an unexpectedly good and rich collection dating back to the late 19th, early 20th century. It came from S-Petersburg's private fund and the exhibits were a real surprise for me. Well, Stanislaw was ill last week after China as he got back on the coldest day with -20C and waited for his chauffeur to pick him up from the airport. Today he has been to work but still weak and coughing. Love to all of you my dearest...

Hi there, This week was somewhat special. First, on November 17 the HSE BI faculty celebrated its 15 year birthday and I took part in this party at a very nice restaurant run by the son of our famous actor Oleg Tabakov. Food was really healthy and delicious there. Some of my Ss danced and played the violin there. It was really interesting to see them do that as I could never expect them to be so resourceful! And on November 20 the first heavy snowfall occured at night so now it's absolutely white here at dacha. In Moscow, I guess, it's not so nice, though. Have to finish now and say goodbye to all of you my dear people...

Hi there, I've just got back from Saratov where I was running seminars on ICT at Saratov IRBIS University on November 11 and 12. It was pretty hard as I was welcomed to take part in the series of seminars for the teachers of Saratov and the Saratov region by Vyacheslav Stepanovich Potapchouk (my ex-boss at CenterCom). However, when I arrived, I found myself all alone as all other lecturers had gone to Penza, Samara and Volgograd to keep lecturing. This was a big surprise for me as I expected to be speaking along with other lecturers, but it was not so. I had to give talks by myself. First day I was speaking from 10:30am to 5:00 pm. Second day it was from 9:00am to 12:30pm. But thanks God, the audience was very friendly and welcoming and it encouraged me to do my best. The feedback from teachers seemed to be positive and the last day proved this as many more people than on the first day arrived. I'm very grateful to the IRBIS girls - Anna, Elena and others who were very supporti...

This week was short (three working days only) as we have a long period of public holidays now (from November 4 to November 7). This holiday replaced the day of Great October Revolution, which used to be on November 7 all over the USSR but now it's called differently, nobody knows the real name of it. Probably it's 'All Russia Unity Day' or sth else. We are staying at dacha and enjoying good films and programmes on TV. My new 1st year groups at HSE I saw only once. They seem to be fine but too many Ss in each - 16/17. My previous 3d year groups were smaller and the Ss were more mature than these teens aged 16-17. Well, I'll try to teach them IELTS but not sure the book HSE administrators chose (Foundation) is the right one for them as many of them have already passed FCE (it equals to IELTS 6-6,5). Remains to be seen... Another bad news is that Goulia's (my close friend from Cypros) Mom died in her Moscow's apartment. She was with a helper around who did ever...

I've just got back from SF CA and already posted to Facebook. Shortly, everything has been perfect including weather, arrangements, services, food etc. Andy was on his crutches but it was a kind of special thing on their Big Day. It was a pity Michael and others were unable to come. There were 18 of us at the church and slightly more at the 'Skool' restaurant. Choir was singing very beautifully and the Father Yaroslav Belikov who ran the service was really good and helpful. So have a look at some photos and get the impression...God bless the couple...

It was a risky and dangerous drive to Napa Valley affter Olia's wedding.day We went there on the following day. Just after the Bay Bridge on the freeway to Oakland our car Kia Rio started making a strange and loud noise and becam unmanageable. It was really scary as Olia as a driver was scared too and she could hardly stop the car which was moving 75m/h on the very left emergency spot. Thanks God, the Freeway Patrol arrived in 5 mins after we called 911 as we were unable to get out of the car and find out what happened. Eventually we wery slowly moved to the right side of the highway under patrol of the PoliceCar. It was a completely flat and blown up tire. We had to call the rental office and got a new CHEVI car at the Oakland airport. For this drive we used a small spare tire. After all this ordeal we arrived at Napa Valley at 4pm instead of 12pm. But the place itself turned out to be so gorgeous and welcoming. It's worth visiting not only because of...

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Hi, Several days have passed since our arrival, but we've just started recovering after the long and tiring flight to LA and the night spent at the hotel as our late (11pm)connection flight to SF was cancelled. So we arrived on the following day and spent the whole day either sleepping and doing nothing. LA airport is not the best one I experienced in America. So we probably will not use it again. Well, Olia and Andy are looking forward to their Big Day and still making arrangements. Although there will be only family and close friends, it is going to be 18 people there. Olia's wedding dress looks gorgeous and Andy is on the crunches but still smiling and positive. We've been around the city and on the beach in the place called the 'Pacific', 22 miles south of SF. The weather is very hot and sunny - about 80F.So we really enjoy it. Brody the dog is in a Pet Camp as Dad suffers from astma so we went to see him there. Love and hugs to all of you...However, from this t...

Hey there, Tomorrow we're flying to LA CA USA from Moscow Sheremetievo. Olia&Andy's wedding day is coming so we'll be staying there for 2 weeks around the Big Day. The only downside of the event is that Andy's just undertaken a serious medical surgery after the road accident he got in. God Bless him and all of us let's pray for his speedy recovery and the newlyweds. Late autumn in Moscow is so sunny and gentle...Unlike an awful heatwave that set up for so long in the summer. Weather in SF is going to be good at this time of year. Wish us a good flight to LA and SF, which will last for some 14 hours altogether...

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