Hello there, it's Thursday and I'm feeling a little fed-up.
Someone once told me if you share your nightmares they won't come true, so consider this me telling loads of people so they definitely, definitely don't come true. I've been plagued by horrid nightmares the past two nights, one involving my house burning down and another involving coming home to find my motorbike ripped apart so it was nothing but a pair of wheels, some bent chrome and handlebars, that made a spluttering sound but wouldn't start. Poor Waspie :( I do miss riding loads, and due to my broken finger over summer I didn't feel confident that I could control my bike, so didn't ride at all.
Someone once told me if you share your nightmares they won't come true, so consider this me telling loads of people so they definitely, definitely don't come true. I've been plagued by horrid nightmares the past two nights, one involving my house burning down and another involving coming home to find my motorbike ripped apart so it was nothing but a pair of wheels, some bent chrome and handlebars, that made a spluttering sound but wouldn't start. Poor Waspie :( I do miss riding loads, and due to my broken finger over summer I didn't feel confident that I could control my bike, so didn't ride at all.
I also got fed-up with having my hair in my eyes, so I cut my own fringe! I've done what I'm sure is a terrible job, and it's a little too short, but I can see again so the outcome on the whole is good. Anyway, by the time I come home it'll have grown out again, and frankly, these people gave a 6-year-old a mullet. A mullet! Poor girl. I rest my case against hairstyling finesse here.
Friday edit: I got fed-up with the disgusting way Galya the cook leaves things out in the dining room after breakfast: the lemon was covered with fruit flies, and the cheese and butter had also been left on the side, so I tried to nicely explain to her that was unhygienic and that it'll make everyone ill. She said I was being angry, but I wasn't, I was just horrified. I corrected her when she said there was no room in the fridge, as I'd just cleaned and reorganised them the day before yesterday. Then we covered all the things in clingfilm and put them in the nice clean organised fridge. I left with a smug sense of victory. Seriously though, if a health inspector had clapped eyes on that kitchen before we had our mass clean up he would have instantly shut it down. Now, he'd probably just close it for a few days. I can't believe I eat anything that cook prepares. The way she's missing fingers tells me she shouldn't even be trusted with a sharp knife.
Another observation of the strange ways of life in Orion: apparently the best way to catch mice is to cover a piece of cheese in glue and leave it on the floor. When Galya linked the conversation about seeing a cat catch a mouse in our house to the tube of glue that she was holding, my and Vicky's first reaction was to call her mad. However, upon taking this up with Katya, she informed us that this is in fact the best way to catch mice, and that the alternatives are a) Cats, who make a big mess of the mice and leave blood everywhere, or b) Traps, which don't work. I don't think my worries about the inhumane nature of disposing of mice by gluing them to cheese even factored in Katya's mind. As far as they're concerned these mice are as revolting and as unfeeling as dirt. I've kept pet mice, and I can't help but think they're cute.
Friday edit: I got fed-up with the disgusting way Galya the cook leaves things out in the dining room after breakfast: the lemon was covered with fruit flies, and the cheese and butter had also been left on the side, so I tried to nicely explain to her that was unhygienic and that it'll make everyone ill. She said I was being angry, but I wasn't, I was just horrified. I corrected her when she said there was no room in the fridge, as I'd just cleaned and reorganised them the day before yesterday. Then we covered all the things in clingfilm and put them in the nice clean organised fridge. I left with a smug sense of victory. Seriously though, if a health inspector had clapped eyes on that kitchen before we had our mass clean up he would have instantly shut it down. Now, he'd probably just close it for a few days. I can't believe I eat anything that cook prepares. The way she's missing fingers tells me she shouldn't even be trusted with a sharp knife.
Another observation of the strange ways of life in Orion: apparently the best way to catch mice is to cover a piece of cheese in glue and leave it on the floor. When Galya linked the conversation about seeing a cat catch a mouse in our house to the tube of glue that she was holding, my and Vicky's first reaction was to call her mad. However, upon taking this up with Katya, she informed us that this is in fact the best way to catch mice, and that the alternatives are a) Cats, who make a big mess of the mice and leave blood everywhere, or b) Traps, which don't work. I don't think my worries about the inhumane nature of disposing of mice by gluing them to cheese even factored in Katya's mind. As far as they're concerned these mice are as revolting and as unfeeling as dirt. I've kept pet mice, and I can't help but think they're cute.
Though not fed-up with Russian food entirely, I really miss a lot of British food. Until I came here I didn't appreciate the wide variety of cuisines I usually consume on a weekly basis, or the selection of herbs and spices that are used to flavour some of my favourite dishes. Here we eat seasonal vegetables, and I haven't seen a floret of broccoli nor a leaf of spinach since I arrived; I'll even admit I've previously failed to appreciate the year-round availability of fruit and veg of all types in the city. So together Vicky and I compiled a list of all the food we miss, with a view to appreciating the abundance of delicious food available in jolly old England when we get back. Additions marked with an L are entirely my cravings, while a V corresponds to Vicky's own hungers.
Lois and Vicky's pig-out on return to England:
Lois and Vicky's pig-out on return to England:
- A whole tin of Ambrosia custard, with a spoon
- Roast dinner - peas, gravy and roast potatoes, mashed swede + carrot
- Indian food - mango chutney + poppadoms
- Chinese food
- Dominoes
- Cheddar
- Cauliflower cheese
- Proper sausages - V - leek and cheese veggie sausages, L - Linda McCartney veggie sausages
- L - My lentil, spinach and coriander soup
- Chocolate buttons
- Baked beans on toast with cheese
- Jacket potato
- Jaffa cakes
- V - egg, fried, boiled, and with soldiers, scrambled or poached
- Chocolate biscuit cake
- scones with jam and clotted cream
- crumpets - with golden syrup
- hot chocolate - white
- Starbucks chai lattes
- Mexican food! - Doritos, nachos, enchilladas, fajitas, salsa, gaucamole
- Spaghetti - L - carbonara, bolognese, V - her own pasta sauce
- Cereal - Shreddies, L - Choco Flakers, V - Frosties
- V - Chicken caesar wrap from Frankie & Benny's
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Cocktails
- Toasted sandwiches including panini
- Mango juice
- L - Fish and Chips, proper chippy style with lots of salt and vinegar.
Comments people! Which foods do you think you'd miss most if you were away from home for 3 months?
In a bit,
In a bit,
Your fringe-y author x
In Petersburg and missing a) mint ice cream b) salt and vinegar crisps c) roast dinners. The worst part is I can't even explain to these barbarians what a Yorkshire pudding is or should be (Americans and Russians alike).
ReplyDeleteI did find some nice Doritos knock-offs and a Chinese here recently, though, so I can't really complain. And the Americans are delighted to have McDonalds everywhere.
PS. The list has made me really, really hungry, but I need to be able to finish the shchi for tea or my landlady gets angry... Second World Problems...
Yorkshire pudding must seem like a bizarre idea to Russians: "What, you put pancake batter in the oven and roast it?" I can imagine would be the reaction. I'd put money on roast dinner being the most-missed dish of British year-abroad students.
DeleteWhy would anyone be delighted at McDonalds everywhere when they have Teremok? Best fast-fast food chain in Russia imho. The only Russian opinion I've heard of McDonalds was one of the boys here talking disapprovingly about his meal out in Moscow - he honestly did not know that a 'kotlet' between two buns is called a hamburger, bless him!
Definitely year-abroad problems, being force-fed things with cabbage in. Or worse, thinking something's a tasty sweet pastry and then biting in to find it full of cabbage!