Today we teachers celebrated my upcoming birthday at a sauna. It was an excellent way to relax and reinvigorate our spirits. We decided to rent the sauna for three hours--a normal amount of time for some good Russian relaxation. Now, this isn't simply a sauna like you might find in a gym locker room. This place had a big room with a table, chairs, a stereo system, and room to dance; a billiards table (Russian billiards--a much harder version of the game that uses a bigger table with bigger balls and smaller pockets); and a jacuzzi  and a steam room (a Turkish sauna). We rented out the whole suite of rooms, and so it was just us teachers and a few Russian friends there.

Going to saunas or banyas (the traditionally Russian version of a sauna) is very popular here, and so groups of friends will commonly rent out these place for an afternoon and расслабяются (rasslabyatsya--an awesome word that means "to relax"). I was a bit nervous about this particular sauna--the neighborhood is not very attractive, and the building itself looks pretty uninviting. It looked at first like it might be more of a place for "extra services" than for good, clean relaxation, but I was wrong--the place has a good reputation, and all the Russian staff at the American Home said we made a good choice. I'm very glad we decided to celebrate my birthday this way, and we all had a great time! Here are a few pictures; I left out the ones of everyone inside the sauna--although we were wearing our bathing suits, it's probably best to keep it modest.