Today I discovered that the person I sit next to at work, who is a software architecht, is a bona fide Russian language geek, like me!

He too had taken it up as " a hobby" and got drawn in, lol!!! There is something very addictive about Russian language and culture, and he had the same view as me, of Russia as a fascinating country, and Russian as a cool and useful language. He had visited St Petersburg and Moscow on holiday and said that he wanted to visit cities in Siberia, but unfortunately his wife was not interested in travelling there, so it had not yet happened. I suggested that he bring his wife to the Black Sea instead, for a Russian speaking holiday in the sun! He was impressed that I had travelled through the Russian speaking countries alone, and laughed at my visa fiasco (I did not get a visa for Russia and had to change my plans en-route)

He is actually studying Russian language at university at half speed - both economic (since it's free) and motvational since it finishes with an exam. I had planned to take a course at an evening school in spring, but he was suggesting the university as a more sensible option.