Another quick post, this time, about the Russian banya and the movie theater.

First of all, I hadn't gone to a Russian banya until last week, even though everyone's told me how popular they are and how it was imperative that I find one and experience it. So finally, Jessica and I visited the spa room of the gym at which we work out. It was amazing, and it struck me yet again how rich I felt just being able to walk into a room like that. It was as if I were looking at one of those expensive spa places you see on TV for hundreds of dollars or something, and that you would never actually go to because, well, it's more important to eat and pay bills than pay for a luxury like that. Anyway, we walked in and they had chairs with towels draped over them and tray tables set up in case we wanted tea, juice, or whatever, which they brought to us immediately. Then we looked around and saw what appeared to be a hot tub (but we later found out it had cool water with even colder jets...interesting), multiple showers so you could rinse off after sitting in the banya, and the banyas themselves. There were three rooms, each large enough to fit a few people comfortably, one was the typical Russian banya, one Turkish, and one Finnish. So, being American tourists who wanted to know everything, Jessica and I proceeded to try everything, beginning with the Finnish banya, which was all wood inside, with dry heat. I couldn't breathe, but it was neat.

We left there after about 20 minutes and sat on the chairs for a few minutes to cool off before trying the Turkish banya, which was my favorite one. The room was tile, and the air was wet. Immediately upon walking in, my skin was dripping, not from sweat, but from the water in the air. And it smelled minty. I could have stayed in there for hours (but then I'd probably have passed out), but we left, again, after about 20 minutes.

Finally, we went into the Russian banya, which was exactly like the Finnish one, except that you could pour water over the rocks on one side of the room to create steam and a more humid atmosphere. It was easier to breathe in there than the Finnish one because of the humidity, and it was really fun to try it all out.

After we left the Russian banya, we decided it was about time to get going back home, since we'd already worked out and had been at the gym for over two hours as it was, so we tried the "cool" tub for a couple minutes and then went back to the locker room to take showers and get changed to go back outside into the cold and walk home. It was the neatest thing ever, and I felt rich. All I could wonder was who here can afford that? Apparently some people, because there were other people in there with us, but it was crazy.

Last story now--the movie theater. About a week ago, Jessica and I decided we wanted to see a movie, but there weren't really any we were too interested in. Plus, we didn't really want to have to go out late at night and walk to the theater (we stopped by earlier in the day on our way home for dinner). So yesterday, we decided to go back and we watched a new movie here in Russia called "Paragraph 78." It was just the first half, but it was really good. However, it is not the movie itself that I am interested in describing. It is the theater.

We accidentally paid for "VIP" tickets, which were, well, really expensive, and said to each other, "This better be the best movie experience I've ever had..." We bought popcorn and soda for a little over two dollars (something you can't do in the states...) and went into the theater. The seats were reclining chairs with the whole foot rest thing and everything! Not only that, but the chairs were soft leather, and the whole place was extremely nice. I immediately felt underdressed in my jeans and sweatshirt. It was insane.

When we left the theater, Jessica and I asked each other what kind of people did stuff like that here and tried to compare it to America. We pretty much decided that Americans are insanely rich and would live like kings or really really really rich people here in Russia because all the nice and expensive stuff here is nothing like how expensive it would be in America. I'd never dream of doing the things I've been able to do here. The crazy thing is that I'm not going broke to do it either--I still haven't spent last month's paycheck completely.

So yeah, I'm kind of in awe now regarding certain aspects of life here. And I'm going to be in good shape when I get home, because I love the gym.