Well I drank away the cold. Or, as a Russian would put it ‘I lost my problems in vodka’, an excellent solution! Firmin, my neighbour, came round and we had a few bevies and watched some English TV which I brought with me on my laptop. Excellent cure. Today we had a test (no, I wasn’t hung-over) and I think I did OK. After school we took a mashrutka to Nevsky Prospekt, the main street in Piter. I was in the money seat on the mashrutka which is the seat behind the driver. Whoever sits here has to collect the money [View Full Entry]

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It was freezing last night, and I think I’m coming down with a cold although it has yet to show itself fully. I was also in a bit of a post drinking bad mood today. Anyway, it was very productive. I stayed after lessons for an extra lesson by ‘laughing Tatiana’ our speaking teacher about Russian geography. Afterwards we (Nathan, Leanne and I) were invited by the school to apply for TEFL (teaching English) at another of the Benedict Schools in Peter as we had TEFL qualifications. (As I write a very odd Russian lyric version of an old English dance [View Full Entry]

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This morning was foggy and rainy and the metro was more rammed than usual. Luckily I was squashed between two fitties which made for cheap thrills. Not sure if they saw it the same way. Still, everyone was in the same boat. Or train, so to speak. Another horrific queue for the mashrutka has put me in mind to arrive ten minutes earlier and walk tomorrow, weather and organisation depending. Today we had phonetics with Nina. As usual, she was very enthusiastic, but I can’t help feeling that focusing on nuances of the language for 2 out of 10 lessons a [View Full Entry]

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This morning was just not going right. Despite getting up on time and having had a decent night’s sleep, my head just wasn’t on straight today. I left the flat ten minutes late and got to the metro. My oyster card equivalent was empty and I queued to get a new one. I had been told it was cheaper to buy a month’s card as opposed to the week’s I have been buying. I spent a good few minutes getting more and more frustrated with the woman behind the kiosk, who just didn’t care or try to help, trying to explain [View Full Entry]

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Once again, up at 8! It has certainly dropped a few degrees. Even the locals are wearing thicker coats now and my breath was steaming this morning. Today was the first day of our new timetable, which meant that we had different teachers for different subjects and were given our syllabi. They have certainly cranked the pressure up a bit now - the lessons today were much harder! After school we went for lunch in a café that Leanne, Debs and Nathan had discovered yesterday on Vasilievskiy Island, which was very nice. Afterwards half of the group went home while Leanne, [View Full Entry]

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Today was our mission to Peterhof (or 'Petergof', as it's called in Russian). This was Peter the Great's summer residence. Here are some pics for now, I'll upload my thoughts soon! BTW, there are loads more pics on Facebook. [View Full Entry]

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Ekatarina goes away at the weekend to her Dacha, or summer-house, where her husband, Volodya, is currently working / chilling out. This does give me the run of the flat for the weekend which is very welcome indeed. Russian babushkii insist upon a made bed and an absolutely pristine room - everything in its place. So this weekend I wandered around the flat in my boxers, left everything all over the place, didn’t make my bed and farted in the kitchen. Aaah. I’m easily pleased. I met up with Nathan and Tom (both students from my course in Manc) at Baltiskaya [View Full Entry]

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Today I had to make the trip to school with Firmin but without Ekaterina which we accomplished perfectly successfully. I am beginning to perfect my “Russian frown” for the metro. Everyone frowns here. Apparently they’re not pissed off, just feeling indifferent. To a Russian we all look a bit mad, smiling to ourselves the whole time. Maybe they have a point! I’m also feeling the need to buy black trainers and a denim jacket to go with my jeans… Resist! My reason for going to school today was for the pleasant prospect of an HIV test, required for a multi entry [View Full Entry]

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This morning I was up at 8 to get ready for a meeting at the school. I had a really good shower and a shave while Ekatarina made blini, sort of small pancakes. These ones looked like spring rolls but weren’t as crunchy and had a ground meat inside. Suited me fine. She insisted that I also eat a yoghurt and drink copious amounts of tea while she chatted with me about students who had stayed in the past. One guy, called Will, I already don’t like: “Will never went to bars and spent his free time studying”, “Will was always [View Full Entry]

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Tallinn central bus station (or busjammi, which is the very cool Estonian name for a bus station) is becoming a familiar sight! The bus left really early, and I managed to get myself two seats upstairs. The coach was a Eurolines’ one and as such was relatively modern, although it appeared to have had a few years service in France under its belt! The bus made its way through Tallinn and out onto the long, straight road to the border crossing at Narva on the Estonian side, Ivangorod on the Russian. Before I allowed myself to sleep I had the interesting [View Full Entry]

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