I ::heart:: Ulan Ude

I kindof want to get that written on a tee-shirt "I ::heart:: NY" style, but in Cyrillic. I found one that read "I ::heart:: UU," but figured no one would know what "UU" was, and probably wouldn't bother asking. I tried it on all the same, but it didn't fit. Just as well. For some reason, the shop attendants all think I should wear clothes several sizes smaller than I do. While I appreciate the flattery (they could just offer me the exact same garment in a bigger size and make the same profit margin from sales- choosing not to is a question of fashion, not money), there's a couple of problems with their choices. Yes, literally a couple, if you really want to get specific. I don't say this to brag- it can be a pain when clothes shopping. I also have really broad shoulders, or maybe all the shirts on sale here are made for women with narrow little shoulders. Oh well.
I'd seriously like to stick around here awhile (a few months or a year) if, of course, I could find gainful employment. Ain't that always the case? With the scary-ass loans I'll have to manage, small-time English teaching gigs probably won't suffice as "gainful" anymore :-/ I guess I shouldn't complain; if I wanted to make teaching English my career, I'd be studying TESOL, rather than IEP & business. I may have to stay States-side for a few more years before working my way into a position that brings me back here more. It's too soon to say for now, though. Maybe I'll even apply for Peace Corps in a few years for a personal challenge and escape from whatever American life I'm carrying out at the time.
As for the city, maybe I'm just drawn to it as the 'alternative' to Irkutsk: the smaller, less wealthy, more obscure Jan to Irkutsk's Marsha...okay, that last bit was lame. My bad. Still, though, I'm always drawn to Option Two, Choice B, the runner-up who loses by a hair, and their story is forever lost in favor of winner-worship. Or maybe they do get fame & fortune of their own, but still always known as "second to ___." It's not out of underdog support, but a desire for the road less taken that draws me to the Leon Trotskys & Peter Toshes of the world, as it were.
Or maybe I'm just drawn to the "exotic," "Asian" feel of things here. It's just a vibe and I know I shouldn't exoticize the place or people too much in my attempt to find somewhere "different." Really, I don't feel all that culturally challenged here in the city- so people have Asian features and pray at datsans instead of churches...so what? The village was a challenge for me, culturally and otherwise in ways which the city can't compare to. Perhaps my love is rooted in a feel of newness, simplicity and basic creature-comforts all rolled into one.