Something I’ve already mentioned is that I stay in touch with people all over the world. This includes a bunch of new friends from my most recent trip to Russia. Today, two of the friends I exchanged WhatsApp messages with are in Crimea. One lives there with her daughter and the other is visiting with her family. I checked in with them, to see how they are doing, what with the recent attacks on Crimea. I was happy to know they are fine.

Diana responded that life is good, with lots of swimming in the sea with her 11 year old daughter and doing all the regular fun summer things. These are a couple of the photos she sent, of herself and her daughter:

   

Olga and her family are now visiting Crime from Tiksi. That’s the northernmost place I visited in Russia, in March, when it was -42°F outside. She’s an English teacher and acted as my interpreter when the police questioned me in Tiksi. You might remember this photo of me holding a frozen omul fish, given to me by one of the policemen after the first round of questioning, which Olga and I later ate with her family, in their home:

Olga wrote to say they drove across the Kerch Bridge just two days before it was bombed! They were happy to have no problems and are enjoying a month renting a house on the beach in Yevpatoriya. It’s funny to think of her walking on the frozen sea up north just a few months ago and now swimming in the warm sea in the south. These are some of the photos she sent me, of herself and two of her four kids: