Where the Russian kids hang out.

Yesterday I went to Alki Point to sit in a cafe and go over leadership applications. It used to be that Sunday night was a great time to go to Alki; no traffic, plenty of parking...

I'm not sure if it's a new trend or if it's just another sign of spring in Seattle, but Alki was full of Russian kids!

You can tell they were not the regular wonderbread kids because they were dressed warmly. The girls all had ballarina hair and wore puffy jackets, and the dudes wore shirts with collars, sweaters, and leather jackets. On the sidewalk, they showed some immigrant herding behavior that you see exhibited by Filipino kids from out of town, or when the French kids are in town on their exchange.

Inside the cafe, it was as loud as the school cafeteria, with Russian kids flirting, cooing about the lap dog, etc. Due to my policy of eavesdropping, I eavesdropped on them; their conversation reminded me of my that generation of my uncles who immigrated in the 1970s. The girls all sat in the armchairs, but moved when Alpha and came over and said, "Hey, what is this! You are not princesses here," chuckling, sounding very slightly like a wild and crazy guy.

I used to know a lot more Russian kids when I taught community colllege in the south end. Now I hardly know any. There are huge communties of immigrants that my current school just does not serve.

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Those new Dairy Queen ads with soft serve on waffle cones with strawberries and chocolate are making me insane. Where is my 24 hour Dairy Queen?