Blogs from Yaroslavl, Centre, Russia, Europe - page 4

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 ... read more

Today was especially lonely. The girls have gone to Moscow for a holiday until wednesday, my computer is still at Yartek after the party and I blocked my sim-card by mistake so sending 'sms-ki' was out of the question too. I went for a long walk in what was left of the snow. Sunday should be a time to relax but it didn't prove to be very good for my self-esteem. I wanted to buy ingredients to make my own dinner, which was to be a sausage roll of sorts. In the street outside the shop where I bought the bread and sausage two men stopped me and asked me "Where's Lenin?". Assuming they meant Prospekt Lenina and not Vladimir Ilych I directed them to the end of ulitsa Nekrasova and then left at the House ... read more

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 ... read more

I was the first get back yesterday evening so I kept the lights off and went to my room. About ten minutes later there was a bang on the door. I didn't want to answer it but the knocking didn't stop. When I opened the door there was a man asking for Marina Ivanovna. He took a horse-shoe out of his pocket for me to give to her then left without an explanation. She would know what it means, he said. Getting up was even more of a struggle today. I always set my alarm an hour early for six priceless snoozes, but there is no chance of a lie-in because of the loud clattering of the trams outside on the street. I slept on the sofa instead because it's further from the tracks, but there ... read more

I am not trying to dislike Marina Ivanovna, but the little annoyances that made me uncomfortable with Tamara Aleksandrovna are already appearing with her too. She knocked on my door to wake me up fifteen minutes early this morning when had I told her there was an alarm on my phone, and she gave me a huge plate of lumpy hot mashed potato for breakfast when I said I never had an appetite in the morning. Are people ignoring me just because I'm not Russian? It didn't snow again overnight but most of it has remained where no-one has walked or driven over. I found my way to Yartek from my new starting point this morning, with some help from Chiara. Yulia's analytical reading class was good. I understood the short story we read, about a ... read more