We finally got internet at our apartment! It only took a week for the technician to show up, but I guess I should be used to the less-than-urgent pace of Russian customer service. On an unrelated note, here's a shot of a distinctly un-Russian dinner. Not a drop of mayonnaise or a speck of dill to be found in this masterpiece of bachelor cooking. Sometimes it's nice to indulge my American culinary sensibilities, after all.

I love Italian food, but Russia does it differently than we do in the good, old US of A. For example, macaroni is used as a catch-all term for all types of pasta, ignoring the fact that macaroni is its own distinctive pasta variety. Also, Russians eat bread at every possible occasion (I don't want to eat three pieces of white bread with my pile of cheese-covered potatoes!), but they think it's strange to eat bread with pasta. That makes me wonder what the Italians do. I won't have to wonder for too long, though, because I'm going to Rome for Christmas, so I imagine I'll get a chance to find out how pasta really tastes. Until then, this will have to do.