Thought for the day.

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Minus eight outside this morning. I win for the week again!

Viktor's conversation lessons were uncomfortable. The topic was terrorism, but it was awkward listening to and reading so much Russian ignorance. In Russia people see only extremes: black or white, good or bad, rich or poor, ours or theirs, right or wrong, and to quote the booklet "the civilised world and the Muslim world". It has made us all angry learning how the majority of people do not believe there is ever cause for further thought. How can anyone answer question 6: 'Describe a typical terrorist'?

In my opinion these feelings from the Communist system, when no information was available about culture other than that of the Soviet Union. Russians tend not to question what they read and do not change what they think, and do not appreciate the ideas of others. In contrast, european students have been taught to find weaknesses with the point of view of an author. We view the world differently; it is also not a case of right and wrong.

As ever, Lena was a calming influence on all of us! We topped up our small points of grammar and spoke about what we had done this week.

I had the evening free, so I packed my suitcase ready to leave. It won't get me home any quicker (and I have thousands of miles to travel even before my flight!) but the fewer things there are in the room the less I feel like I'm stuck there. I will jettison my older clothes to make room for the new ones I have bought, and I would like each of my teachers to recommend one novel, one film and one album for me to bring home so I can broaden my horizons during my five weeks in England.

Buying the Russian FHM magazine didn't enlighten me much, but I went to bed laughing at the best joke:

"The European ballroom dancing championship took place this week. The Russian pair finished last, because it took Sergei two hours to find the courage to ask Svetlana to dance."

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