Sacred faeces! I am departing for St Petersburg tomorrow morning. I'll be leaving my house at 6.30am tomorrow to catch the 9.30am flight from Heathrow direct to Pulkovo Airport. I've done 90% of my packing this evening, having had about 5 hours sleep last night after a banging gig in Ickenham. I am so grateful that I'm getting a lift to Heathrow and that Liden & Denz are providing a free transfer from Pulkovo because I'm really nervous about flying on my own for the first time.
In the end my visa invitation arrived on Wednesday, I submitted it for next-day application on Thursday and had my passport back with me on Friday. That day I booked my flights (Club class being cheaper than economy on the way out, so I'm flying in style tomorrow) and got to packing. I fully intend to publish my 'ultimate packing list' once I feel it lacks the need for further editing, it's a constant work in progress. The idea is that there will be a document you can print, and just delete as appropriate the sections and stuff you don't need until you have a list of everything you might ever need to pack, for any kind of trip.
This has been a ridiculously stressful couple of days, and that's because it takes a month from a company applying for an invitation to sending it out to you, and then one should allow 12-15 working days for standard (non-urgent) visa application. So basically, allow 8 weeks bare minimum to avoid stress. Not 6 weeks from the moment of being accepted on to a course. Consider yourselves warning future year-abroad students ;) Why did I have to leave on the 24th? Because my course dictates I spend two 13-week placements in Russia, and this means I'll be back on May 26th in time for D + A and my boyfriend Rob's birthdays (so many Gemini people!).
Speak to you on the other side of Europe!
x
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Saturday, 2 February 2013
The past, present and the future
Hi again, long time no blog!
The long and short of it is, I didn't post about my last week in Orion once I got back to the UK, and since then I've felt too guilty about that to write. Naughty Lois, slap on the wrist etc.
The past
The last couple days in Orion were bittersweet: we had a last dinner on Saturday 24th November in the dining room where we got officially thanked by everyone in front of everyone, and the kids were encouraged to come to us and say bye, but we knew we had gifts to pass out the next day and that wouldn't be our last chance to talk. We wrapped up all our souvenirs and presents from Blighty and went round all the houses on the Sunday handing them out; it was a shame a few members of the community weren't around to say goodbye to, but we took pictures with the kids and adults who were around. Katya and Yura had us for our last Sunday's meals, and at dinnertime they made a little speech to us about how much we'd changed, come out of our shells, become more grown up and all that, which was really sweet.
On the Monday it was snowing like mad, Vicky took some last pictures before we got in the car. At Domodedovo me and Vicky snuck in a visit to Coffee House for lunch and cheesecake, and raided the duty free for vodka and last-minute souvenirs. The plane home was so fancy! I'd never been on a double-decker plane before, and not one with films in the backs of the seats. I effective drank half a bottle of white wine, half-watched a movie, and then decided to tipsily ramble at Vicky for the rest of the flight.
D + A picked me up at the airport to take me home, which was really lovely of them as I was knackered. I knew I'd be happy to get home, and I expected to be very emotional about it all, but I literally cried with joy when offered a salad. I hadn't seen a lettuce, cucumber, tomato kind of salad for months, I hadn't had a wide choice of tasty food options, and was so overwhelmed by this I burst into tears! So very lame. It took me a matter of days to re-adjust to UK time, quicker than I thought.
The hardest part of coming home was knowing I'd have to leave again. I was distraught at the idea of arranging my next term's internship because I didn't want to leave my family and friends behind having only just arrived home, so it wasn't for a couple of weeks that I got moving with applications.
I looked in to various interesting opportunities, and in the end was offered an excellent position in Liden & Denz doing an internship as their Social Media Content Assistant. Chucked in for free with that I'll be doing a language course in the mornings, while interning in the afternoons. For those of you who thought "Hey wait, I swear Lois said she was going to do that Moscow Times thing", yes, that was one of the potential plans, but in the end Liden & Denz a) got back to me quicker, b) offered a free language course alongside (which will hopefully polish up my Russian where need be) at which c) I will sort of have a ready-made potential social group of fellow students. Also I've already been to St Petersburg so I guess finding my footing will be easier, and due to various links I hope that arranging accomodation will not be too much of a challenge.
The present
To keep busy until I go to St Peterburg I've been to a few bellydancing classes at a local school, which are a lot of fun, but it's hard to commit to doing something every Thursday evening. I hope to take it up properly in Nottingham, think I'll join BellySoc. Today I had my second shift volunteering in the Nightingale Cancer Support Centre shop. I help sort stock, keep the place tidy and make cups of tea while chatting to the other ladies. All those I've met so far are a very friendly bunch and I enjoy getting out of the house and making myself useful. The rest of my time is spent reading The Hunger Games trilogy (hooked), mucking about on the internet and seeing friends, trying to get visits in around the country and in London. If there's one thing being in Russia for 3 months with unreliable internet makes me appreciate, it's that there's nothing like having friends in front of you that you can hug and talk to, not just instant messaging or hoping they read your blog.
The future
24th February is the date I will once again depart for Russia, provided (fingers crossed) my visa invitation arrives soon, and I get some accomodation and some flights sorted. Eep! So soon I hope my contacts will get back to me with some place I can stay, my visa invitation will arrive, I'll fill out my visa application and take it up to London and get my flights booked. At this point I am very grateful for being in a comfortable monetary situation because otherwise I'd be in a total flap about leaving all these bookings so late. At least my travel insurance is sorted, that was a whole day of banging my head against a desk while reading umpteen policy documents. All going well my visa will last me until May 26th, when I'll come back to England and consider my Third Year Abroad done and dusted.
The even-further-in-the-future
But that's not all! Once I'm back from Russia I plan to come terrorise Nottingham Rocksoc for their Liver & Brain events in mid-June, which is like a holiday in itself because it means getting smashed and/or going out for pretty much 10 days on the trot. Then in mid-July I'll be off to Mighty Sounds festival for a long weekend to soak up some sun and ska. Early September I hope I'll be going to Belgrade in Serbia for 3 weeks for a language course, potentially with a friend from uni, so that'd be lovely. Also considering cheekily going to Moscow to sneak in a Moscow Times internship in summer, if they'd still have me. But possibly I'll have to hold that thought until after 4th year as this might be over-ambitious.
Now you're up to date on about 2 months of my year abroad! Boom! More regular updates will come when I'm back in the land of cabbage and vodka.
Ta ta for now,
Lois
The long and short of it is, I didn't post about my last week in Orion once I got back to the UK, and since then I've felt too guilty about that to write. Naughty Lois, slap on the wrist etc.
The past
The last couple days in Orion were bittersweet: we had a last dinner on Saturday 24th November in the dining room where we got officially thanked by everyone in front of everyone, and the kids were encouraged to come to us and say bye, but we knew we had gifts to pass out the next day and that wouldn't be our last chance to talk. We wrapped up all our souvenirs and presents from Blighty and went round all the houses on the Sunday handing them out; it was a shame a few members of the community weren't around to say goodbye to, but we took pictures with the kids and adults who were around. Katya and Yura had us for our last Sunday's meals, and at dinnertime they made a little speech to us about how much we'd changed, come out of our shells, become more grown up and all that, which was really sweet.
On the Monday it was snowing like mad, Vicky took some last pictures before we got in the car. At Domodedovo me and Vicky snuck in a visit to Coffee House for lunch and cheesecake, and raided the duty free for vodka and last-minute souvenirs. The plane home was so fancy! I'd never been on a double-decker plane before, and not one with films in the backs of the seats. I effective drank half a bottle of white wine, half-watched a movie, and then decided to tipsily ramble at Vicky for the rest of the flight.
D + A picked me up at the airport to take me home, which was really lovely of them as I was knackered. I knew I'd be happy to get home, and I expected to be very emotional about it all, but I literally cried with joy when offered a salad. I hadn't seen a lettuce, cucumber, tomato kind of salad for months, I hadn't had a wide choice of tasty food options, and was so overwhelmed by this I burst into tears! So very lame. It took me a matter of days to re-adjust to UK time, quicker than I thought.
The hardest part of coming home was knowing I'd have to leave again. I was distraught at the idea of arranging my next term's internship because I didn't want to leave my family and friends behind having only just arrived home, so it wasn't for a couple of weeks that I got moving with applications.
I looked in to various interesting opportunities, and in the end was offered an excellent position in Liden & Denz doing an internship as their Social Media Content Assistant. Chucked in for free with that I'll be doing a language course in the mornings, while interning in the afternoons. For those of you who thought "Hey wait, I swear Lois said she was going to do that Moscow Times thing", yes, that was one of the potential plans, but in the end Liden & Denz a) got back to me quicker, b) offered a free language course alongside (which will hopefully polish up my Russian where need be) at which c) I will sort of have a ready-made potential social group of fellow students. Also I've already been to St Petersburg so I guess finding my footing will be easier, and due to various links I hope that arranging accomodation will not be too much of a challenge.
The present
To keep busy until I go to St Peterburg I've been to a few bellydancing classes at a local school, which are a lot of fun, but it's hard to commit to doing something every Thursday evening. I hope to take it up properly in Nottingham, think I'll join BellySoc. Today I had my second shift volunteering in the Nightingale Cancer Support Centre shop. I help sort stock, keep the place tidy and make cups of tea while chatting to the other ladies. All those I've met so far are a very friendly bunch and I enjoy getting out of the house and making myself useful. The rest of my time is spent reading The Hunger Games trilogy (hooked), mucking about on the internet and seeing friends, trying to get visits in around the country and in London. If there's one thing being in Russia for 3 months with unreliable internet makes me appreciate, it's that there's nothing like having friends in front of you that you can hug and talk to, not just instant messaging or hoping they read your blog.
The future
24th February is the date I will once again depart for Russia, provided (fingers crossed) my visa invitation arrives soon, and I get some accomodation and some flights sorted. Eep! So soon I hope my contacts will get back to me with some place I can stay, my visa invitation will arrive, I'll fill out my visa application and take it up to London and get my flights booked. At this point I am very grateful for being in a comfortable monetary situation because otherwise I'd be in a total flap about leaving all these bookings so late. At least my travel insurance is sorted, that was a whole day of banging my head against a desk while reading umpteen policy documents. All going well my visa will last me until May 26th, when I'll come back to England and consider my Third Year Abroad done and dusted.
The even-further-in-the-future
But that's not all! Once I'm back from Russia I plan to come terrorise Nottingham Rocksoc for their Liver & Brain events in mid-June, which is like a holiday in itself because it means getting smashed and/or going out for pretty much 10 days on the trot. Then in mid-July I'll be off to Mighty Sounds festival for a long weekend to soak up some sun and ska. Early September I hope I'll be going to Belgrade in Serbia for 3 weeks for a language course, potentially with a friend from uni, so that'd be lovely. Also considering cheekily going to Moscow to sneak in a Moscow Times internship in summer, if they'd still have me. But possibly I'll have to hold that thought until after 4th year as this might be over-ambitious.
Now you're up to date on about 2 months of my year abroad! Boom! More regular updates will come when I'm back in the land of cabbage and vodka.
Ta ta for now,
Lois
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Possibly my last post from Orion!
Hello!
It's been a week, and it's not been spectacularly eventful for Orion, but then I guess still unusual as compared to life back home.
On Tuesday and Wednesday we had classes, which were all right, we had 4th form twice in a row and on Wednesday they metaphorically threw our lesson plan out the window and insisted on playing games. Handily they were pliant enough to be happy playing a matching game with flashcards, then Go Fish with the same flashcards, then flashcard-themed charades (which over here is called krokodil, which I find super-cute).
Vicky and I fell ill again on Thursday. I spent all of Friday sneezing like crazy. We both started to feel a little better on Saturday but then there wasn't much to do as there were lots of visitors from a Moscow school on a day trip here. Apparently they took photos of Vicky while she was ironing toddler Sasha's underwear, I do wonder where those pictures will show up! I avoided such paparazzi and did most of my ironing duty at home listening to Gecko. If you would like you ears to be treated to what they describe as "Acoustic/Reggae/Samba/Indie/Hip Hop/Soul/Afro-beat/Punk/Fruit Juice" then be my guest and follow that link over to their Facebook, you won't regret it.
We started a 2000 piece puzzle, which it turns out is too large for our kitchen table, and then continued working on it while sharing a couple of cans of orange- and grapefruit-flavoured beer. As well as European drinking rules, we enforced the rule of drinking every time you match two pieces together, and for saying any version of the verb 'find'. I feel that as students we have an inherent talent for turning even the dullest and most innocuous activities into hilarious drinking games, it's just a shame I get tipsy on only 1 can of 7% beer now. Shocking.
Despite my insistence that I have the creative talent of a slug, I've found I have a bit of a knack for designing and making cute felt hair-clips, brooches and Christmas tree decorations. So far we've had two craft workshops with the school kids, and today we had a session with the kindergarten. I'd forgotten quite how exasperating kindergarten can be, when they're all asking you to cut things out at once, or they're getting fed-up and frustrated because they haven't got the motor skills to make their hands do what their heads want them to. I like seeing what the kids think up to make out of felt - the boys like making decorations that look like the birds and pigs from the Angry Birds game, which is hardly festive but I'm happy to see them getting involved and not casting craft off as 'girly'. I made a charming little owl brooch for Vicky which was so nice I made a copycat one for myself, I'll update this blog with pictures once I'm home.
Home! I'll be home this time next week! I am so excited, I've been enthusing that as soon as I land on British soil I want to take out a Union Jack flag and wave it about while singing Rule Britannia or God Save The Queen or something. Possibly a party hat and one of those party whistles that blow out and make a 'ff-twee!' noise wouldn't go amiss either.
Hence, I think this might be my last post from Orion, unless something truly remarkable happens, or I come up with another silly song parody, or I drink too much beer and get let on the internet.
Farewell!
It's been a week, and it's not been spectacularly eventful for Orion, but then I guess still unusual as compared to life back home.
On Tuesday and Wednesday we had classes, which were all right, we had 4th form twice in a row and on Wednesday they metaphorically threw our lesson plan out the window and insisted on playing games. Handily they were pliant enough to be happy playing a matching game with flashcards, then Go Fish with the same flashcards, then flashcard-themed charades (which over here is called krokodil, which I find super-cute).
Vicky and I fell ill again on Thursday. I spent all of Friday sneezing like crazy. We both started to feel a little better on Saturday but then there wasn't much to do as there were lots of visitors from a Moscow school on a day trip here. Apparently they took photos of Vicky while she was ironing toddler Sasha's underwear, I do wonder where those pictures will show up! I avoided such paparazzi and did most of my ironing duty at home listening to Gecko. If you would like you ears to be treated to what they describe as "Acoustic/Reggae/Samba/Indie/Hip Hop/Soul/Afro-beat/Punk/Fruit Juice" then be my guest and follow that link over to their Facebook, you won't regret it.
We started a 2000 piece puzzle, which it turns out is too large for our kitchen table, and then continued working on it while sharing a couple of cans of orange- and grapefruit-flavoured beer. As well as European drinking rules, we enforced the rule of drinking every time you match two pieces together, and for saying any version of the verb 'find'. I feel that as students we have an inherent talent for turning even the dullest and most innocuous activities into hilarious drinking games, it's just a shame I get tipsy on only 1 can of 7% beer now. Shocking.
Despite my insistence that I have the creative talent of a slug, I've found I have a bit of a knack for designing and making cute felt hair-clips, brooches and Christmas tree decorations. So far we've had two craft workshops with the school kids, and today we had a session with the kindergarten. I'd forgotten quite how exasperating kindergarten can be, when they're all asking you to cut things out at once, or they're getting fed-up and frustrated because they haven't got the motor skills to make their hands do what their heads want them to. I like seeing what the kids think up to make out of felt - the boys like making decorations that look like the birds and pigs from the Angry Birds game, which is hardly festive but I'm happy to see them getting involved and not casting craft off as 'girly'. I made a charming little owl brooch for Vicky which was so nice I made a copycat one for myself, I'll update this blog with pictures once I'm home.
Home! I'll be home this time next week! I am so excited, I've been enthusing that as soon as I land on British soil I want to take out a Union Jack flag and wave it about while singing Rule Britannia or God Save The Queen or something. Possibly a party hat and one of those party whistles that blow out and make a 'ff-twee!' noise wouldn't go amiss either.
Hence, I think this might be my last post from Orion, unless something truly remarkable happens, or I come up with another silly song parody, or I drink too much beer and get let on the internet.
Farewell!
Monday, 12 November 2012
The 9 Days of Ironing
To the tune of Ode to Joy. Obviously.
*
On the first day of ironing Orion gave to me a towel that was completely flat
On the second day of ironing Orion gave to me two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the third day of ironing Orion gave to me three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the fourth day of ironing Orion gave to me four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the fifth day of ironing Orion gave to me FIVE TEA TOWELS
Four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the sixth day of ironing Orion gave to me six frilly school shirts
FIVE TEA TOWELS
Four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the seventh day of ironing Orion gave to me seven waterproof anoraks
Six frilly school shirts
FIVE TEA TOWELS
Four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the eighth day of ironing Orion gave to me eight sheets still soggy
Seven waterproof anoraks
Six frilly school shirts
FIVE TEA TOWELS
Four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the ninth day of ironing Orion gave to me nine plastic tablecloths
Eight sheets still soggy
Seven waterproof anoraks
Six frilly school shirts
FIVE TEA TOWELS
Four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
*
Why only nine days? I've run out of examples of ridiculous things we've had to iron. Warning, quantities may be inaccurate (I've ironed far more of all these things, apart from the tablecloths, but they definitely do get ironed, even though they're made of splash-proof plastic-coated fabric).
More verses may be added on request from any of the people who set us ironing here.
Hope you enjoyed the musical interlude, ta ta for now.
*
On the first day of ironing Orion gave to me a towel that was completely flat
On the second day of ironing Orion gave to me two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the third day of ironing Orion gave to me three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the fourth day of ironing Orion gave to me four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the fifth day of ironing Orion gave to me FIVE TEA TOWELS
Four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the sixth day of ironing Orion gave to me six frilly school shirts
FIVE TEA TOWELS
Four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the seventh day of ironing Orion gave to me seven waterproof anoraks
Six frilly school shirts
FIVE TEA TOWELS
Four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the eighth day of ironing Orion gave to me eight sheets still soggy
Seven waterproof anoraks
Six frilly school shirts
FIVE TEA TOWELS
Four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
On the ninth day of ironing Orion gave to me nine plastic tablecloths
Eight sheets still soggy
Seven waterproof anoraks
Six frilly school shirts
FIVE TEA TOWELS
Four duvet covers
Three pillowcases
Two fitted sheets
And a towel that was completely flat
*
Why only nine days? I've run out of examples of ridiculous things we've had to iron. Warning, quantities may be inaccurate (I've ironed far more of all these things, apart from the tablecloths, but they definitely do get ironed, even though they're made of splash-proof plastic-coated fabric).
More verses may be added on request from any of the people who set us ironing here.
Hope you enjoyed the musical interlude, ta ta for now.
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Volunteering in Orion... but on a really good day!
I didn't want to write this article before because I wanted to write about a really good day, when I took advantage of the opportunities given me as a volunteer to make a day especially rewarding and fun. Yesterday was really ace though, one of my best here, so it warrants a post.
08.30 Alarm went off, grumbled and slept in while it continued to go off every 5 minutes.
08.40 Got up, got ready for the day, put on my favourite shirt and denim shorts (I think that was a good omen).
09.45 Breakfast - skipped oat porridge and went straight for cheese on toast a la microwave, and hot cocoa to drink.
10.15 Washed the dishes, but there were barely any to do (the program kids are away, and unfortunately lots of people are ill)
11.00 Helped Max with a tiger puzzle. He was being grumpy about us giggling and joking, so we've given him the nickname of The Fun Police. The Fun Police is there to make sure that when you have fun you do it in a quiet, orderly fashion.
12.00 Went to work in Katya's house where I cleaned out the fridge while Vicky polished the mirrors, but that didn't seem dull because it was different work, and we got it done quickly. Plus afterwards Katya made us her really nice tea (I think it's Redbush, but I've never tasted Redbush like it in England), and we ate mandarins and coconut macaroons while watching a documentary about great architectural wonders of the world which included Tsarskoye Selo.
13.00 Went home and did some ironing. Having had 20 guests over we figured we'll be doing a load of washing and ironing sheets each day for about 12 days O.o
14.00 Lunch - Borscht (not what you'd think Borscht should be, but a broth with cabbage, peppers, potato and other veg with some bits of unidentifiable meat in. It's actually a decent soup as far as Galya's soups go).
14.30 Went back to the White House to chill out for a bit, read and chat.
15.30 Little Katya showed up and told us everyone was waiting for us to start the workshop, so we quickly threw craft stuff in a bag. We planned to have many options: friendship bracelets, Olympic torches, something with felt like finger puppets or board games. We got the idea because we'd heard the kids complaining that they were finding half-term boring. We put something together so they could have some creative fun, and get out the house away from their poorly parents and siblings.
15.40 Once inside the school I had the idea of using the felt to make customised hairclips, so legged it back to the house to get the hairclips I bought from England and haven't used.
15.45 Actually started the workshop. It was great fun - Vicky and Vanya made Olympic torches with gold card and fire-coloured tissue paper, I showed Katya how to make customised hairclips with felt, Lera and Ira showed up and made friendship bracelets, and Petya hung out and chatted.
17.15 The workshop having lasted longer than we'd anticipated, we tidied up and went back to the White House to finish the ironing, and then relax before dinner.
18.30 Dinner was surprisingly barbecue food. I think they'd imagined 30 people would be there but due to illness there were far fewer. Still, we had chicken legs, pork kebabs, nice flatbread, and a really delicious dish of chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms and topped with cheese. Shame about the plain pasta as a side, but nothing really gets a 10/10 here. Apart from maybe the sushi at Katya's, that was amazing. We even had Pepsi to drink which seemed really rather novel.
19.00 Leaving the school after dinner Max ran up to us and asked us to come to his house and play Game of Thrones, and I'm glad we acquiesced because his 'Godfather' Steve was there. It was very nice to just hear an English voice, but also he had a great (British!) sense of humour and so we shared lots of laughs as we tried to explain the incredibly complicated rules of the board game. Not that Max wasn't trying, but merely that words like 'mustering armies' and 'cavalry' don't fit into what most people learn in their Russian lessons.
21.15 Left Tamara's house, popped in to Katya's to ask about breakfast, and then home to the cost forest room.
21.20 Felt at a loss for what to do as we've watched all the English films Katya lent us and those on my computer. Vicky had the idea of making badges as she has many safety pins. I made her a cute little owl. She made me a heart with '1D' in the middle. We have a sort of running joke that we love One Direction (which we don't, really). We have a shrine to them in the corner of our room made out of magazine references and have declared them the patron saints of our room. I can't even remember more than about 4 lines of their songs in total, so we looked up the lyrics of a few of their hits and Vicky tried to teach me the tunes. Ended up reading some amusing articles on cracked.com, after which it was time to brush our teeth.
11.45 Bed time -.- zzzzzz
08.30 Alarm went off, grumbled and slept in while it continued to go off every 5 minutes.
08.40 Got up, got ready for the day, put on my favourite shirt and denim shorts (I think that was a good omen).
09.45 Breakfast - skipped oat porridge and went straight for cheese on toast a la microwave, and hot cocoa to drink.
10.15 Washed the dishes, but there were barely any to do (the program kids are away, and unfortunately lots of people are ill)
11.00 Helped Max with a tiger puzzle. He was being grumpy about us giggling and joking, so we've given him the nickname of The Fun Police. The Fun Police is there to make sure that when you have fun you do it in a quiet, orderly fashion.
12.00 Went to work in Katya's house where I cleaned out the fridge while Vicky polished the mirrors, but that didn't seem dull because it was different work, and we got it done quickly. Plus afterwards Katya made us her really nice tea (I think it's Redbush, but I've never tasted Redbush like it in England), and we ate mandarins and coconut macaroons while watching a documentary about great architectural wonders of the world which included Tsarskoye Selo.
13.00 Went home and did some ironing. Having had 20 guests over we figured we'll be doing a load of washing and ironing sheets each day for about 12 days O.o
14.00 Lunch - Borscht (not what you'd think Borscht should be, but a broth with cabbage, peppers, potato and other veg with some bits of unidentifiable meat in. It's actually a decent soup as far as Galya's soups go).
14.30 Went back to the White House to chill out for a bit, read and chat.
15.30 Little Katya showed up and told us everyone was waiting for us to start the workshop, so we quickly threw craft stuff in a bag. We planned to have many options: friendship bracelets, Olympic torches, something with felt like finger puppets or board games. We got the idea because we'd heard the kids complaining that they were finding half-term boring. We put something together so they could have some creative fun, and get out the house away from their poorly parents and siblings.
15.40 Once inside the school I had the idea of using the felt to make customised hairclips, so legged it back to the house to get the hairclips I bought from England and haven't used.
15.45 Actually started the workshop. It was great fun - Vicky and Vanya made Olympic torches with gold card and fire-coloured tissue paper, I showed Katya how to make customised hairclips with felt, Lera and Ira showed up and made friendship bracelets, and Petya hung out and chatted.
17.15 The workshop having lasted longer than we'd anticipated, we tidied up and went back to the White House to finish the ironing, and then relax before dinner.
18.30 Dinner was surprisingly barbecue food. I think they'd imagined 30 people would be there but due to illness there were far fewer. Still, we had chicken legs, pork kebabs, nice flatbread, and a really delicious dish of chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms and topped with cheese. Shame about the plain pasta as a side, but nothing really gets a 10/10 here. Apart from maybe the sushi at Katya's, that was amazing. We even had Pepsi to drink which seemed really rather novel.
19.00 Leaving the school after dinner Max ran up to us and asked us to come to his house and play Game of Thrones, and I'm glad we acquiesced because his 'Godfather' Steve was there. It was very nice to just hear an English voice, but also he had a great (British!) sense of humour and so we shared lots of laughs as we tried to explain the incredibly complicated rules of the board game. Not that Max wasn't trying, but merely that words like 'mustering armies' and 'cavalry' don't fit into what most people learn in their Russian lessons.
21.15 Left Tamara's house, popped in to Katya's to ask about breakfast, and then home to the cost forest room.
21.20 Felt at a loss for what to do as we've watched all the English films Katya lent us and those on my computer. Vicky had the idea of making badges as she has many safety pins. I made her a cute little owl. She made me a heart with '1D' in the middle. We have a sort of running joke that we love One Direction (which we don't, really). We have a shrine to them in the corner of our room made out of magazine references and have declared them the patron saints of our room. I can't even remember more than about 4 lines of their songs in total, so we looked up the lyrics of a few of their hits and Vicky tried to teach me the tunes. Ended up reading some amusing articles on cracked.com, after which it was time to brush our teeth.
11.45 Bed time -.- zzzzzz
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Tradition!
Just a quick one to say: WOW! 2000 pageviews! Either my family check this a severely worrying amount, or I have a lot of sweet friends and strangers who drop by to see what's up in this humble blog.
Today we had 'Sunday' on Tuesday, and we were invited to dinner at Masha's. Dinner was lovely: chicken in a tomato, pepper and olive sauce with mash in a pseudo-Italian style, accompanied by beer, followed by offcuts from 'Day & Night' cake. Plain sponge is day, chocolate sponge is night - om nom nom.
Then Tamara's son/Masha's older brother showed up with a bottle of 'The Source of Life' That's a mineral water. But soon we found out that it was much less innocent, home-brewed vodka, of a greenish tint in colour. Lena egged us on, I suppose this being the 'cultural education' part of our Russian lessons with her. So we did a shot, and frankly it wasn't half bad. Much nicer than Jagermeister or such herbal spirits, or any vodka I've previously tried. Masha's bro took what looked like a tea-cupful which was what I should have expected but didn't believe would be a reality. We had a nibble of black bread after, but learned that you're not supposed to leave long between the first and second glassful, so found our glasses filled again. Oh dear. We chatted and had a good laugh with those around the table. Then after a while the guy insisted we have a third glassful. Needless to say, Nottingham Rocksoc has provided me with much in the way of useful training for such instances. However, after three glasses I felt rather red in the face and quite tired. Despite many protests, invitations for tea, it being insisted upon that we look at baby photos, and being told that we must have one for the road, we managed to get away unscathed having had a very merry evening.
It just wouldn't have been a trip to Russia without vodka, right?
Night folks! x
Today we had 'Sunday' on Tuesday, and we were invited to dinner at Masha's. Dinner was lovely: chicken in a tomato, pepper and olive sauce with mash in a pseudo-Italian style, accompanied by beer, followed by offcuts from 'Day & Night' cake. Plain sponge is day, chocolate sponge is night - om nom nom.
Then Tamara's son/Masha's older brother showed up with a bottle of 'The Source of Life' That's a mineral water. But soon we found out that it was much less innocent, home-brewed vodka, of a greenish tint in colour. Lena egged us on, I suppose this being the 'cultural education' part of our Russian lessons with her. So we did a shot, and frankly it wasn't half bad. Much nicer than Jagermeister or such herbal spirits, or any vodka I've previously tried. Masha's bro took what looked like a tea-cupful which was what I should have expected but didn't believe would be a reality. We had a nibble of black bread after, but learned that you're not supposed to leave long between the first and second glassful, so found our glasses filled again. Oh dear. We chatted and had a good laugh with those around the table. Then after a while the guy insisted we have a third glassful. Needless to say, Nottingham Rocksoc has provided me with much in the way of useful training for such instances. However, after three glasses I felt rather red in the face and quite tired. Despite many protests, invitations for tea, it being insisted upon that we look at baby photos, and being told that we must have one for the road, we managed to get away unscathed having had a very merry evening.
It just wouldn't have been a trip to Russia without vodka, right?
Night folks! x
Monday, 5 November 2012
Lol, 69
It's my 69th day here! It's been 5 days since I've actually had a proper day of work. I took 2 days off sick with the worst sore throat I've possibly ever had, and then the last 3 days I haven't really had set work - today Vicky and I have done the washing up twice and peeled potatoes, but that's really not a lot, and certainly 0 mental effort. We've had about 20 people living in our house this weekend rather than the usual three, so it's been quite noisy and hectic, especially at mealtimes. Today I'm happy to go back to the routine 30-odd who I've got to know the names of!
I've mostly been reading Anna Karenina - it got a tad dull for a few chapters with all the rambling about agriculture, but I suppose that part was all very relevant and interesting at the time, and now it's just history. It's picked up a bit now, and after all everyone makes empty promises to themselves to finish great classics of literature, and a year abroad is the perfect time to actually fulfil those promises.
Yesterday we went to see what was going on with part of this weekend-long game. The big round hall on the ground floor of the school had been turned into a fair, with sort-of Russian national stall themes: there was a fortune teller, a matchstick game (vs the 'babushka', the person who picks up the last match wins), a hit-the-nail-in-the-wood game (vs Yura and his hammer), darts, pillow duelling(victor beats their opponent off the bench and onto the crash-mat , a very easy version of basketball with a bin and lots of tennis balls, something involving skipping, and a dancing fool. It was all very jolly and cute, especially to see the kids running the 'stalls' and welcoming the visiting children to have a go at their games. Winning games earned little wooden tokens which could be exchanged for sweets or, if you got 5, a toy at the end. I overcame my initial shyness and tried my hand at darts, the matchstick game, 'guess how many hammers it will take you to get the nail in the wood', and 'basketball'. I also demonstrated the fact that I've never learned to skip, cue plenty of embarrassment and laughter.
By this time in 3 weeks I'll have landed at Heathrow. I'm really looking forward to it, I guess absence really does makes the heart grow fonder. Also I'm looking forward to all the exciting parcels I'll have in the post.
I've spent very little money while here: I've got over £60 of the £200 I brought with me left, and I've spent probably about £175 online. Not all on myself! Some of it is Christmas presents and music pre-orders and Kindle books, so not all selfish, materialistic purchases, and pretty much all the cash here has gone on souvenirs. One doesn't spend much living in a village in the middle of nowhere with only a single shop that sells very little worth buying.
That's all for now :)
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