NGOs/Russian-German Exchange

Hello, all! St. Petersburg hasn't seen the sun in at least a week, but we are having a good time despite the weather. We have been very busy, but I will try to post everything in Chronological order --- Earlier this week we went to the NGO center n St. Petersburg, which houses the Russian-German Exchange center. They had the whole place decorated with posters from previous initiatives:

"November 9th: International Day against Fascism and Antisemitism"

"School Exchange with Germany"

We spoke to a representative from the German-Russian exchange program, who coordinates with all the other NGOs. Their main programs focus on helping orphans and special needs children, supporting LGBT rights, and bringing an end to racism and xenophobia in Russia. They use graphic novels as tools to promote tolerance and inter-cultural understanding, including this one published through the Russian-German exchnage and their partner, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam:

"SEARCH"

Our Host, Boris, explains the work at the NGO center

 All work and no play makes Sarah want to go to the theater, so we hit up a musical in the evenng. Our coordinator, Mikhail, joined me for a photo-op when we ran into the wolf from the famous Russian cartoon series "Ну, Погоди!"

Theater events are usually quite formal in Russia, which meant I got to wear my black dress and pearls. I even carried high-heels in my purse and changed into sheer tights when I made it to the theater --- I felt super-classy-Russian. The play itself was a ridiculous musical about a fictional day in which characters could cross between parallel universes until they finally find their one true love (who they painted on a canvas and saw in a magic mirror, respectively). Didn't get any pictures except for this selfie with my wonderful colleague and mentor, Bonnie.

We got our tickets to Samara today, but  I still have so much to do, write, and blog about before we go! Stay tuned for news about GOOGLE GLASS because I am an expert with it and never want to take it off of my face ever.

Sarah