Year abroad project.

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Chiara squared the series this morning by guessing closest to plus 6 degrees. It seems that the real Russian winter won't come until after Christmas, which is a shame because I would rather walk through snow on the main streets than slippery mud.

Viktor's class was 'only ok'. I read three texts last night preparing for a discussion on one of them (well, it is a conversation class) but for two hours all we did was grammar. That is what Lena's course is for and I learn most by talking. His classes should be helping me to get rid of the paranoia about my accent, which in fairness I think is good.

In Olga's lessons we translated sentences using the passive voice. It is her birthday so her celebration with the other teachers in the staff room ran into most of the first half, and in the second she was especially giggly.

After school I stayed behind with Ellie, Michael, Clare and Chiara to finalise the essay title for my year abroad project. It's a 3000 piece to be written in Russian next semester. I have really been struggling to find something that has caught my imagination enough to make me want to cover it in depth.

I have decided on:

"Какие изменения произошли в отношении русских к деньгам, с тех пор как Михайл Горбачев пришел к власти в 1985ом году?"

"Since Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1985, what changes have occurred in the attitudes of the Russian people towards money?"

It is an aspect of life that - having lived here for three months and spoken to a lot of people - I realise are very different now to how it was under Communism. And the reasons interest me. My research will cover Economics, Media and Sociology.

We have bought the tickets back from Moscow, now all we have to plan is which DVDs will go best with Moldovan red wine!

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