My Russian House Guest At The Ringling Museum

The great thing about having out of town company is that they make you go visit things in your community that people travel the world to see, but that you largely ignore because it’s only twenty minutes from your home. So this weekend, I’ve been to the beach twice, where I went swimming (which I haven’t done in nearly a year) and went to the Siesta Key Drum Circle (which I haven’t been to in roughly a year and haven’t participated in many years). Now, it is Monday, and I am writing on my new iPad at The Ringling near the water while my guest explores the museum.

I love The Ringling. The 55 acre property is beautiful, and I was glad to come in April because the rose garden is in full bloom, giving me the opportunity to spend some time sniffing them all to find out which one smells the best. However, roses are not my favorite flowers, and religious iconography is not my favorite type of art. So I let my guest go explore the Renaissance and Baroque relics for herself (since I’ve already seen them, and I’m good) and I meandered my way through the trees to a table by the bay.

My guest is from Russia. Although being a couch surfing host has afforded me the opportunity to host people from Turkmenistan, Spain, Italy, Argentina, and Ukraine, Olga is my first Russian guest. However, I did date a Russian woman named Olga a couple of years ago, but…