As promised, here are pictures of the dirty Moscow snow.
This is on the path I take to school everyday...
cigarettes and vodka
Green grass! And sunshine! The other day I was talking to Jeff, the principal, in his office, and the sun was streaming through his windows straight on me. He said, "You can move to this chair to get out of the sun if you want," and I told him I didn't want to. I have been craving sunlight, and I am so thankful that it is finally here. In fact, the sun rises around 6:30ish every morning right now. It will keep rising earlier and earlier as we approach the summer...(as early as 4 a.m.)
The end of the quarter brought lots of cleaning and disposing of old projects and posters. I love these windows. You can look out in this little park where mothers are walking with their strollers and men in fur hats and long coats walk with their black bags. Sometimes the Russian school next door lets the kids wander out in that direction too for recess. It's a great view.
Well, I bought the tickets for St. Petersburg. Nellie, our Russian secretary, is superwoman and does so much for us pathetic Americans. She called the travel agency and found the times and prices of train tickets for me. Christiana and I went to the travel agency after school, and she helped me get the tickets. We had to answer a million questions about what my preferences were, and then she made our tickets for us. However, the whole process was done in the old Soviet way. You are given your receipt first before you buy anything. Then, you take your receipt to the kassa, or cashier, and you pay there. Then you take a DIFFERENT receipt back to the lady, and you get your ticket.
A round-trip ticket is around $50. On the way there we have bottom bunks, but on the way back we have top bunks. I don't care for the top bunks, but such is life. Andrea and I will be there for four days. We're going to stay at St. Petersburg Christian University. They have an apartment that you can rent for about $50 a night, but it's per room, not per person. So, not too bad...$25 a night. I've been emailing the lodging coordinator for the past couple of days. Her English is okay, but you can tell she is not a native English speaker. For example, her questions for me were sentences with question marks like, "You will be comfortable apartment with a shower (1500) or a simple room with shower (1000)?" or "This is convenient for you?"
According to Svetlana, my Russian teacher, that is a very Russian way of asking questions. She told me that to ask a question Russian, you say it just like a sentence, but change the tone at certain parts. Usually at the end, but not always. I need to tell you more about Sveta. She is absolutely awesome.
Mom & Dad sent me a Valentine's Day package, and it finally got here today. Haha. It takes ages for things to get here. Anyhoo, they sent me some P.G. Tips (which smells so good!) and a beautiful necklace. It made my hectic day better.
Well, I have a pretty bad headache right now, so I think I'm going to go to bed early. I'm so tired.
Goodnight!
Much Love,
Meredith
A round-trip ticket is around $50. On the way there we have bottom bunks, but on the way back we have top bunks. I don't care for the top bunks, but such is life. Andrea and I will be there for four days. We're going to stay at St. Petersburg Christian University. They have an apartment that you can rent for about $50 a night, but it's per room, not per person. So, not too bad...$25 a night. I've been emailing the lodging coordinator for the past couple of days. Her English is okay, but you can tell she is not a native English speaker. For example, her questions for me were sentences with question marks like, "You will be comfortable apartment with a shower (1500) or a simple room with shower (1000)?" or "This is convenient for you?"
According to Svetlana, my Russian teacher, that is a very Russian way of asking questions. She told me that to ask a question Russian, you say it just like a sentence, but change the tone at certain parts. Usually at the end, but not always. I need to tell you more about Sveta. She is absolutely awesome.
Mom & Dad sent me a Valentine's Day package, and it finally got here today. Haha. It takes ages for things to get here. Anyhoo, they sent me some P.G. Tips (which smells so good!) and a beautiful necklace. It made my hectic day better.
Well, I have a pretty bad headache right now, so I think I'm going to go to bed early. I'm so tired.
Goodnight!
Much Love,
Meredith
3 comments:
I'm so glad you got the package! I was beginning to think it was lost forever.
Growing up in Cleveland, I remember seeing similar "black snow." I don't recall seeing Vodka bottles, though. I've been enjoying the sunshine here, too! So welcome after the long cold-for-Georgians winter.
Love you!
I bet that small patch of green grass made your day!!! The sunshine is amazing. IT's been so beautiful here the past two days so I have tried to get out and enjoy it!
Sounds like you are planning a fun trip with Christiana! Wish I could come along! I am really glad you are getting to do some sightseeing. I know you were concerned about not having time for that before you left!!!
I hope you feel better!!!
Mere, is Svetlana a common name? When we taught English in Atlanta, one of those reoccurring characters in our curriculum was Svetlana.
You know, the usual culture-shock cycle is maybe a month or so or less of wonder/excitement, when everything is new and delightful or interesting. Then the expat starts to feel a little frustrated, withdrawn, or even depressed. And then she levels off. I suppose you are probably experiencing something like this, although I'm sure its different for every person! Thanks for sharing about that.
love
Rach
p.s. Thanks for your concern for Titus! I could publish your comment on our blog if it was worded as "I'm thinking of Titus" or "I'm uplifting Titus".
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