11 Months Later … Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Южно-Сахалинск)

I have obviously neglected this blog for a long time. Life got in the way, and I got out of the habit. My goal is to start posting again somewhat regularly, and, who knows, I may even get a guest post from some fellow travelers for my blog. As far as a life update, while I still have some old stuff I want to post about Kyrgyzstan from my Fulbright days, I have accepted an ex-pat posting in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, a small city in Far East Russia located north of Japan. It is actually located on a large, mostly mountainous island between the Japanese Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. The Okhotsk side continues into the Pacific Ocean.

I have been here for just over three weeks now and am starting to get a feel for the place. Unsurprisingly, there are some cool sites, statues, and the like. Chekhov is a huge deal here because he spent a period of time on the island and hence there are a bunch of monuments and various buildings named after him. Furthermore, there is a clear influence from the 50 years of Japanese rule of the southern half of the island, including my city.

My favorite feature is the ski hill (Горный воздух – Mountain Air) that literally is part of the town. Obviously, no snow right now, but you can still take the tram up for some absolutely beautiful views. I am pretty fired up for winter, as there appear to be some awesome lines available for ripping. I am going back home for a wedding in a couple weeks and will be bringing my skis back with me.

The food has been fine so far. I have found some cool restaurants that may eventually get their own post (Georgian, Indian, and Korean Fried Chicken!!!) and they have places that make an honest to god American style burger and pepperoni pizza. Finally, there are a lot of little joints that sell their own beer. Some of it is very good; some of it is interesting.

While I have been working hard during the week, the weekends have been fun so far. Yuzhno has a fairly large film festival that lasts between two weekends. The highlights for me were watching the band “Несчастный случай” (roughly translates to Accident/Misadventure etc.), whom I am told are moderately famous, and watching the 2018 Palme d’Or winner, Shoplifters, a wonderful, yet melancholy Japanese film (with Russian subtitles). The city also celebrated their birthday with a weekend long street festival (solid, very similar to festivals in the US). Furthermore, I took a trip to the beaches near Okhotskoye (Охотское) on the Sea of Okhotsk (no clue where the sea ends and the Pacific begins to be honest). The sea was beautiful, as were the beaches on the large freshwater lakes nearby. It featured a sunset to die for and my friend brought his golden retriever. Finally, I have found American ex-pats who like college football, which means unlike last year, I am not alone in watching Ann Arbor from afar. Bless up. Go Blue.