As great as the sum of its parts.

---

Natasha was in a very good mood today. I don't mind being made fun of when it is done so intelligently! We watched a different news broadcast then discussed the stories which we had understood. In Viktor's lesson we looked at the average wages in Moscow, Ankara, New York, Riga and Paris compared with the cost of living. His example was how many bottles of wine you could buy every month.

It was the last day at the language school for those on the 13 week course. There were no classes in the afternoon and the students got together with the teachers around the main table for a buffet of tea and chocolates. Olga and Viktor made speeches then presented Emma, Jamie, Bhav, Dawn, Sara, Precious and Sarah with their grades and certificates.

I bought my winter overcoat in the afternoon from a suit shop on ulitsa Pobedy. It's charcoal grey and almost goes down to my knees, with a thick lining so it feels like walking around in a sleeping bag. My old jacket was too 'British' so I always felt like an outsider on the street, now I could be a genuine Soviet tovarisch, with my collar turned up to protect myself from the cold wind.

In the evening we had our last party together at Yartek. Sara and Precious hosted an awards ceremony, for which they dressed up as 'BBC News meets Eurovision' in Jamie's smart shirts and ties with mini-skirts. Their first job was to introduce their assisstants - which was Emma and Bhavina's cue to burst out of the cupboard (which they had been hiding in for an hour, waiting for Chris J to show up!) with purple and blue tinsel wigs and necklaces.

First Laura, Louise and Tom the lawyer and Michael from Oxford were given honorary life memberships to the Yartek group, then each person was called up to accept a paper plate trophy. Every time the girls needed a minute to remember their lines Bhav and Emma took the stage, and did adverts for the evening's main sponsors - Yarpivo and Russkii Mayonez.

Jamie had gone to visit a friend in Perm so we recorded his acceptance speech for "most celebrated pouter" in the morning break using my digital camera and played it through my lap-top on the night. Everything was done with such a unique sense of humour - especially Precious and Sara's introductions to the awards - that no-one was too upset at the idea of leaving.

---

Photos

Glamorous assistants.
Emma and Bhav at the awards ceremony.