To Kalmykia and Beyond...

As the school year winds down in Russia, the summer camp season is starting. Therefore, I'm heading to a camp in Elista, the capital of the Kalmyk Republic, an ethnic republic on the Caspian Sea. If that isn't interesting enough, the head of the republic is crazy. He believes that, based upon the prediction of Vanga, a blind Bulgarian fortuneteller, Kalmykia will strike oil in the Caspian Sea. In addition to his Kalmyk leading duties, he's the president of the FIDE, the international chess federation, and has made chess a mandatory subject in Kalmykia's schools. He also claims that he's been abducted by aliens. The best part is that I know I'll get to meet him. My drawing power may not be quite enough, but he's certainly going to want to meet Michelle Kwan, who is visiting the camp on the last day. The only question is, does Fulbright have interplanetary fellowships?