Sightseeing in Barnaul today

Balloons, dancing, and music is the beginning of school starting today.  The boys wore black suits and the girls black and white uniforms. The little girls have big white bows in their hair.  They all bring fresh flowers to their teachers.

There isn't enough room for all the children to attend school at the same time, so they have school for elementary from 8-11:30, then high-school from 1-6:00.  School ends at 11th grade, then they go to college for 2 years, then to university if they are able to.

This weekend they are celebrating Barnaul's 280th birthday.  That is older than the U.S. There is even some log homes in the middle of town that have been there over a century.

I posted a picture of the heat plant yesterday.  Here's the story behind that.  One month out of the summer they have no hot water because the plants supply the heat for the whole city and they have to shut down the plants to work on them. The heat plants pipe in hot water to every home both for hot water and for their radiators for heat.  The ground freezes to 10 feet deep in the winter so the pipes have to be buried very deep and be well insulated.  Dark plumes of smoke billow into the air continually from the smoke stacks you see in the picture.

The average winter time temperature is 10 below but it drops to 50 below.  Birds will freeze in flight at times.  Right now the temperature is 98 degrees F.

We are going to a botanical gardens tomorrow and eat at the missionary's home for dinner. 

любовь из России (Love from Russia)