I am finally in Belarus. One thing I can certainly say is to not judge a country's people by the reputation of its government. Although there are definitely complications with my job here because of the regulations, it is more than made up for by the wonderfully generous people I have been meeting. In Brest I was fortunate enough to meet up with a former summer student of mine who will be joining the university next year. She and four of her classmates basically babysat me around Brest. This is my first time in Belarus so they educated me in various aspects of Belorussian life. They didn't let me out of their sights until I was safely on the train to Minsk, with a lot of chocolates thrust into my hand!
In Minsk I have met up with two more former summer students of mine who are showing me how to get around Minsk. However, I showed up on a day when there were some student/young people protests going on in the center of town so we will save a tour of the center for another day. They might take me to my first ballet tonight! It is great to see all of these students again and catch up with them. And I am forever grateful for them, I am not exactly sure what I would be doing without them.