My friend Taylor found the clock pictured above at the little market near here. Now that we have a semi-functioning internet connection, she and I are meeting at about 10 each night to watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report. After the election we’ll go back to Russian related activities, but this is the time for political satire, and it helps us feel less left out of all the excitement stateside. We get the benefits of pre-election comedy without the attack ads and robocalls.

The first episode we watched felt almost surreal. It was so strange to hear the familiar theme song and newscaster English and audience applause and laughter that we hadn’t heard in so long. Now after just a few episodes it already seems habitual, an expected part of our life here.