Hey all!  I've been in Russia for the last few months, and wanted to check in to say hi.  feels good to be back, and have learned a lot from my trip, most of which is an even deeper gratitude and love for my country.

Moscow is actually a lot better off than I had expected, but still has a long way to go.  I was taking russian lessons, and my instructor had been a soldier, as all men must in Russia, before becoming a teacher.   He is a gun nut as well, so he fashioned some of the lessons around describing firearms in russian.  Over there, guns are more or less illegal to own, unless you have connections or live in rural areas and can prove that you need it for hunting.  My instructor was fascinated with the idea that in America, we can have all the guns that we want, or so he thought.  He imagined that almost all people in the US owned guns, and was surprised to learn that it was not the case.  He couldn't understand why Americans wouldn't take advantage of the right to own them, and was even more surprised to hear about the growing tide of public opinion against guns.  Why, he wanted to know, would a person NOT want to take every advantage of, at least, the right to defend yourself?  We talked a lot about the situation here, and I had to explain to him about the AWB Sunset, which went through I was thrilled to learn!, and the left's campaign to take our guns away.  He was amazed to hear that  I could take my guns and my ammo and go to a shooting range and shoot, any time I wanted to.  It really brought home to me exactly how important this fight is...I can't imagine living in a country where this right, which many take for granted here, does not exist.  He can't wait to come out and visit and play!

Anyway, just wanted to say hi, it's good to be home!