In the cab I leaned back and lit a small cigar I'd bought in the coffee shop. I was feeling better now, warm and sleepy and absolutely free. With the palms zipping past and the big sun burning down on the road ahead, I had a flash of something I hadn't felt since my first months in Europe -- a mixture of ignorance and a loose, "what the hell" kind of confidence that comes to a man when the wind picks up and he begins to move in a hard straight line toward an unknown horizon.

I love Russian culture. I want to visit Russia one day. I am no "Nashi" but i would like if you are.