Mid April.

All of the snow has pretty much melted away, and the days are mostly sunny. The temps are getting up to around 45 degrees F, which is nice. No more need to wear 2 pairs of long underwear underneath my pants accompanied by layer upon layer of thermal shirts and scarves. But now the puddles of muddy water are vast, at least on the work site and in various spots around town. The rest of the city is just covered in dried dirt dust, covering the buses and cars all with the same color scheme, fading from any color of paint to deep brownish dirt color at the bottom.

Work is the same. Not much going on there. I've been going to the main site more to sit with the mechanic, electrician, and laborer that work on small repairs, but nothing ever seems to happen, except for the random headlight replacement or flat tire repair. Most of the major repairs are done at a different location, where I'll sometimes go just to check out what crane or forklift is under repair at any given time. But still, no work for me to actually perform. I just work on excel worksheets, and when that's done, try to study my Russian vocabulary or help someone else with their work.

I did get to go out with some co-workers last Tuesday, yeah Tuesday for some reason. It was a pretty good time. It was a dinner with drinks and then everyone went dancing in the downstairs bar. But I'm quite averse to dancing, and stayed with two others at the table eating and drinking.

I'm going to try and make it to a ballet or opera one of these days, as I've been told the opera house is very beautiful and the ballet house is brand new. Also working on planning a trip to Spain in July with my sister. We're just in the theoretical stages right now, but I've been looking into trains and destinations. It will be a nice change of pace from work, and my first visit to Europe. I think we'll end up in Portugal, after visiting maybe Barcelona, Madrid, and possibly this coastal town called San Sebastian. We're only gonna have a week so I'm not trying to pack too much into each day and get burnt out just travelling all the time. I'll have an update as soon as the plans solidify. Until then, here's more random pictures for ya!

-Nick

Not sure what this place it, but I approve.

Some roasted chicken, veggies, and quinoa I made at home. Yum

Saw this at the bar. Beer-connecting people, my kind of networking.

Shot of the city at night. I was actually trying to find a couchsurfing meet-up, but never did...

Lil'big ben.

Always on the menu, coffee. This cafe, "Espresso Bar" was very good.

Horses that used to stand out front of a mall, displaying different countries' flags, sorta.

Banana bread before...

...After.

Panoramic view of the city from atop one of the job site buildings. Not sure how this one is gonna turn out on the blog. 

The old "What were you born in a barn?" saying gets translated to this I guess?

The following are a few pictures I took from the top of the work site. The weather is usually clear and sunny like this, but the wind can still be brutally cold!