2nd day in St. Petersburg

People don't really speak English and the USA's influence is not not felt here like in other countries. Of course there is McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Baskin Robbins. When looking to book anything online which requires to mention your country, it is difficult to find the USA in the long list of countries. It is insignificant, purposefully. People seem to think that me being from Miami is the coolest thing in the world. This city has a special charm to it. The river separates it into sections. The food is relatively inexpensive. The people are serene. The city is calm. I didn't notice any fighting on the streets between drivers. Today I noticed 5 'colored' people. As I passed by one guy who was carrying shoulder guards [American Football], we both made eye contact; he nodded. I understood his nod as a salute to a fellow brother. Today I explored another part of the city. An interesting fact is that one of the churches has 'black' saints. Even the portrait of Jesus has dark-skin. I guess that these images never made it to the USA. Perhaps the presence of so many churches promotes the city's serene nature. Today, I walked the other direction from St. Petersburg University [where I presented my work at a conference]. I walked for nearly 2 hours. My dogs started barking. On the way back to the hotel, I heard Salsa music from afar. When I approached the music, I saw people dancing and having fun. It was Salsa and Bachata night. It's amazing how this music culture has permeated Europe. Of course, the Cubans came to Russia during its Communist years. They surely brought Salsa here. I noticed that the people were familiar with Cuban Salsa dancing, as opposed to LA or NY style. There are many Armenians, Uzbeks, and Azeris here. Their cultures give the city of St. Petersburg a more diverse and hip feeling. There are shawarma shops in many areas of the city. I walked into one of them and spoke with the owner with my limited Russian. It's amazing how much I can understand. I mean, I had studied the language when I was 18 years old, thinking to work as an astronaut on the International Space Station. When I gave up that dream, I never thought that I would use it. Tomorrow morning, I will fly to Moscow for the weekend. I am looking forward to see the glory of Russia. Stay tuned...