I was allowed a lie-in today, and after my kasha I went back to my room to download yesterday's pictures onto my laptop. I've turned a photo of my first Russian beer into my screen-saver. Tamara Aleksandrovna gave me a shopping list, and told me to go to the Universam supermarket downstairs to buy some fizzy drinks for dinner. The supermarket is part of a chain, and therefore feels surprisingly western, the only differences being that vodka has its' own aisle, and they play pop music. I found bottles of Dyushes, Baikal and Tarkhun, bought them from the checkout without too much fuss, and came back feeling very pleased with myself, to be told by my landlady that I was only supposed to choose one of them. All afternoon she knocked on my door every ten
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