Russian is the main language spoken in Omsk, although people also speak Kazakh, English, French, German, Chinese and many others as second languages.
The ruble is the currency in Russia.
A bottle of water is usually about 80 rubles, or a little over $1.00.
This week I went to a restaurant called "Mesto Pro Testo," or "The Place about Dough." They had really delicious pel'meni, or traditional Russian dumplings. I also had an amazing orange and ginger tea that was almost as beautiful as it was tasty.
I am really enjoying discovering Russian pop artists. Right now, I'm loving the song "Ulibaisya" ("Smile") by Iowa.
This week I visited the art museum in Omsk! My friends and I spent three hours perusing the different artworks. I definitely will need to go back to take a closer look at some of my favorite works. One of the most interesting parts of the museum was the exhibit on world-famous microminiaturist Anatoly Konenko. He is from Omsk, but is world-famous for his amazing micro-sized works. He has been in the Guinness Book of World Records several times!
