Ralph at Ben & Jerrys
April 7, 1996 I met Joe at his room at the Northern Hotel. He had stayed with his host for one night, before moving into a hotel. We went to the Ben & Jerry's store. There was a long line of people waiting to buy ice cream. The pint containers being sold were imported from Vermont and were the same as what we buy in the US. The ice cream and waffle cones were made locally. Both were really excellent and at 50 cents (2500 rubles) for two dips in a waffle cone, a great deal.
We took pictures of some of the sights, then had lunch at the Petrovsky Restaurant. A young woman at another table, who spoke French and English, helped us with the Cyrillic menu.
Photo: Karelia staff
April 8, 1996 After a discussion with Valery, I gave an inspirational talk to the agents. The agents all come in on Monday mornings to turn in money and discuss issues. Later, I went to the Sprintnet office downtown to find out why I could not hook up to CompuServe. Of course, I was able to logon to CompuServe with no problem. After this, every few days I would use Valery's phone to send and receive E-Mail.
That evening Alexander had me attend a Lions Club meeting. There was a visiting American from Duluth, Minnesota, a sister city, Much drinking and singing.
Photo: Crowd around kiosks at tram stop
April 9, 1996 Konstantin was sick today. The Company found two teenagers, Anna and Olga, to interpret for me. Each of them had been in the US as part of an exchange program. They did very well as I met with Yuri and Yelena.
It snowed that evening. The weather for most every day was similar. I don't think the temperature ever got much warmer than 40 and the high temperature for most days was close to freezing. The apartment was probably close to 55 degrees most of the time.
Photo: Ralph, Marx & Engels
