No reason for that title,...I was just listening to a song that told me to do that. So I wrote it instead.
Home thing I crave #1: Really inexpensive no-name slices of pizza. All dressed, or Vegetarian minus the olives, ohhh...if someone could fed-ex me a fresh one of those, (I’d realize that they’re likely way too wealthy for their own good) it would hit a spot that I think is staying permanently.
NOW,
I’ve hit my cultural events goal! In fact, I surpassed my 1 cultural thing every 2 weeks quota...to my surprise!
I went to an Uzbekistani resto with some of my co-workers and some friends. It was FABULOUS and not pricey either!! I’m totally going back. It’s really quaint and really close to home too! Whomever is coming to visit me is definitely experiencing it too. By the way; who’s coming to visit me during x-mas??? Anyone? Anyone? Because if you are, you should probably start planning...Invitations, visas,...airplane tickets. AND let me know too...cause otherwise I’m still a flight risk. X-mas and New Years in Moscow is definitely not something to miss (as Elena tells me), and I won’t miss either of those dates, but you never know...a little before, a little after :) hehe
SO; I planned ahead of time my lessons and took my Wednesday afternoon off to go to the Pushkin Art Museum, which incidentally has Michelangelo’s David! (Very cool that it’s in Moscow for now.) So I made my way there, pretty good navigation skills as I easily found my way to a very cool (yet pricy) shoe store. (A little spontaneous shopping never hurt anybody! But no love yet, friends!) Ah, I’m flowing off onto a tangent, because I didn’t actually go in to the museum. I got there, but didn’t go because they had closed the second floor (conveniently where the exhibition was) and I chose not to pay the full fare to see more than half of what you can usually see. Maybe I’ll go next week when my bro’s here. THAT’S RIGHT! The ONE dude that has the most similar set of genes to me is coming to Moscow!! Officially on Friday evening!!! I’m so excited! And mostly shocked that the time has come so quickly! (and aware of how quickly it will pass too, but that’s not imp now!!) Then we’re quickly off to St-Petersburg for the weekend! I’m off on a tangent again, because I ended up walking around the area of the museum and checking out the area, and unknowingly hit the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. One of the many many cathedrals in Moscow, yet arguably one of the nicest. It was grand. I definitely didn’t regret my little stroll around the city...how can one regret any stroll anyway!?
Today, I made my way back to the city center and flashed my McGill student card and got to save 2 bucks on a ticket into St-Basil’s Cathedral. (McGill just never stops giving! Seriously though, they don’t even give the cards a slight glance!)
So far, I have to say, that St-Basil’s inside is the coolest thing I’ve seen so far in Moscow. Alright, granted, I have yet to see all that much, and aside from the view from my window, there isn’t much to wow me, but MAN was I not expecting that. It’s just gorgeous. And when you look up and realize that the really high circular ceiling you’re looking at is likely one of the many colourful domes, you can’t help but smile. Most of it is made of stone, and the color/shape of bricks are painted on. The paint in there is marvelous, and the stone floors are so worn down from wear that the floor is completely uneven in so many places. You’re literally walking on authenticity, through mazes of rooms and small corridors! Welcome to Russia!
Alright.
So things with the roomie are getting better. I’ve breached the subject of the unclean wok and the salt on the floor, and the sneakily eating my food, and using my shampoo and soap and detergent and toilet paper and paper towels and tissues and dish washing soap and cooking oil (sorry, I think I’m done now), and we’ve come to a compromise which makes me happy.
I really shouldn’t be complaining though, cause he’s a nice enough guy...and I never really SAID he couldn’t eat my food. I’ve offered him stuff on many occasions... he just declined my offers and said he’d get his own food, so I didn’t really expect to come home to find stuff half gone. As for the other household products, again, never really said he couldn’t use it...I really didn’t take into account the amount he would use! Stuff is more than half gone! So anyway, he’s pitching in on a few items above the rent he’s paying. So Phew! Again, honesty is the best policy.
Anyway,
Everything’s fine and dandy. I got myself caught up on a few episodes of The Hour online at work, so I’ve got my Strombo fix. ...yay! It definitely made me feel good. I kept breaking out into fits of laughter at the computer whenever there was something hilarious, and my co-worker Nastya (I know!! But only short for Anastasia) told me to stop laughing cause I looked like a crazy person.
SERIOUSLY THOUGH! If you want some good laughs yet serious/informative talks, go to www.cbc.ca/thehour and under previous episodes, or past shows or whatever, click on the “summer events” clip. I think it was the Top 5 list of things you may have missed in the summer. There was an American beauty pageant...and anyway, I’ll let the clip speak for itself. ...It’s never the stupidity of what is shown but the comments that George makes...SIGH. I have to remind myself sometimes that I actually MET him...SOOOO COOL! Hahahahhahahahah
OH the Top 5 list under “Torture” is really funny too...actually, it’s better than the first one : ) I heart George! (you too gee!)
Alright, I’m off!
Hugs and lovelovleovleovlelvoeove
patey:]
Monday, September 24, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
the good and the bad
Dear friends,
Things are fine and dandy…
Few exceptions:
1) I’m sick! …I’ve been sick for the past 5 (possibly 6) weeks! (shh, don’t tell my mom; she’ll get worried/mad at me!) It’s getting ridiculous now, and I’m breaking down and taking medication tomorrow. It’s the new climate…new sets of germs, new air…new CITY air…smoking people everywhere; new everything really, so my body is probably adjusting in a way that makes my nose either clogged or runny. Sigh! : )
2) My poor left toe; the other day, I stubbed it (which blows in general to begin with), then I dropped a big plank of wood (from my closet) horizontally across the front AND THEN cut it a bit on a sharp edge of something near the floor. I spent the evening apologizing to it for not being more careful! No one is more sorry than I am for hurting you, Left Toe!! It’s all bruised, hahahhaa! What a pathetic sight. What a patey thing to do…
3) I’m working so much I can’t find the time to appreciate Moscow the way I really want to. I made a quota for myself; at least ONE cultural thing every 2 weeks. Seeing as how I’m sick, I get home pretty zonked and my weekends are mostly spent either shopping for stuff for the flat, or getting stuff done…(or the past two, at least have been… No more, hopefully, after this!) All of this to say, that I haven’t really done all that much; minus the walks to Red Square (which is nice), but no museums, nothing worth writing home about at least. This WILL change though!
4) I’m dying to talk to people at home…dying to get the internet hooked up at home! E-mail only does so much. I realized yesterday that I haven’t heard my mother’s voice in over 3 weeks. Whenever I e-mail home, it’s my dad that responds since he’s the more internet savvy,…I’ve had almost nothing recognizable from my mother in almost a month. Not cool : ( …I miss my mom…
5) I met my roomie yesterday morning…which was fine; he’s this American dude… and he’s nice enough, but honestly, quite a bit boring…. I tried to stimulate a conversation and spoke American politics and general North American history with him…and it led to him telling me how the States were very much a country that came from wars…then he asked me “Canada hasn’t really been in any wars at all, right?”. My oh my. Not only that, but I came home today (the most tired I’ve been in a long time) and (happier news; treated myself to some salmon! Yum!) found that he had cooked, and 1) didn’t really clean my wok as it should probably be cleaned 2) had spilled salt all over the floor and didn’t really clean it up. AM I MORE ANAL THAN I THOUGHT I WAS?! He hasn’t come home yet, so I’m not sure how I will breach the subject. I don’t want to start nagging after the first day….Arr…thankfully he’s only here for another 20 days. Then it’s a really interesting sounding Swiss dude who’s coming to catch up on his Russian. He just finished defending his thesis on something to do with sustainability in aviation and the Kyoto protocol, so YAY! And he also said that since he’s Swiss, he enjoys cleaning a bit too much. Good times will be had in patey’s flat!
Now to the happier news:
1) On Sunday, Elena took me to this shopping “complex”, as she called it, and friends, I have NEVER…I repeat, NEVER seen so many shoe stores in a row…SHOES SHOES SHOES! I was SOOOOO overwhelmed! Elena was like “Yu donn like?”…and I was like… “Noo, no…I’m just…very…overwhelmed…do you know what that word means?” hahha WOW, was it insanely big. Found these boots…and there was such love for them! But they didn’t have my size which was so disappointing. They were DAMN sexy, and we could have had such a nice life together, but I was a big girl and let it go…it was just a love that wasn’t meant to be. How sad… (Speaking of which, I saw Mouse again this weekend…I was quite happy to see him…he didn’t seem all that interested in me (some take getting dumped SO badly!) but he came around after a few nudges and belly rubs)
2) My fabulous job:
a. I realize that I haven’t really written about the job…really, I think it’s cause the only net connection I have IS at school, so it’s weird to talk about it with people walking around everywhere.
b. It’s a pretty small school, but it’s small in a really quaint way. I love it….
c. The other teachers are fabuloso…the staff makes fun of my work ethic… “ Pahtzee! Kakdilla! So early! You sleep here?” haha …I LOVE how Europe is so laid back. People do what they need to do, but once you hit a level of any kind of stress, they think you’re insane. Relax! Don’t kill yourself! Here’s some vodka! (haha, that hasn’t actually happened)
d. The kiddies are the AWESOMEST little goobers! I have the older ones….which is nice. I could talk about some of them for HOURS, and I look at them and know that I am not meant to be anywhere else in the world other than right here next to them. They are the coolest bunch. There’s this Norwegian/Russian girl, who’s got SO much personality, it kills me! She’s the only kid I teach that hasn’t given me a high five; only because she decided against it! Haha, and she’s SO particular and SO picky and So damn cute…and the first time she looked and me and refused to hold anyone else’s hand except for mine, I figured I was doing something right. Her acceptance means that you’ve TRULY earned a special spot in a special little heart. The craziest thing is that all that zest is in such a little being! She’s really quiet, but you can tell that it’s only because she’s chosen not to speak to you…and once in class (I forget what stupidity I was acting out,) but to my surprise, she started BLABBING away! Blublublahblahblah! ALL in Russian, and I just looked at her and said; “MARIA! I didn’t understand what you said, but I LOVE that you are speaking!! High Five!!! No?? …OKAY! Maybe later!” HAHAHA. I wish you guys could see her….I have a pic, but yah know, privacy laws I’d like to respect, and I’m not about to ask her dad if I could post her pic on my blog. haha
e. One of my favorite things about teaching at Ptit Cref is the wee little Russian goobers…they are so happy to see people…when they see me, they ramble ON and ON in Russian, and they KNOW I don’t understand….but they want to share so much that they really don’t care! Hahah I sometimes get the gist of what they are saying, but anyone that’s worked with kids for more than 20 minutes knows that anything a 6 year old kid tells you with a big smile is something that you can respond “Ohhhh! WOW…that’s GREAT (insert name)!!” to. I LOVE that, and I LOVE them. They are fabulous; They are my little goobers : )
f. It’s SO interesting working in a trilingual setting. Not only do I get to learn Russian from 6 year olds and practice my French, but it’s just SUCH a cool atmosphere. You never know what language will pop out of people’s mouths! And the abilities of these little kids! It’s madness! There’s this kid who’s fluent in Russian and French...and he’s got some skills in English (as his mom spent her childhood in Canada, but speaks to him in French), and his English improves SO drastically every MINUTE he spends with me (it’s actually really shocking!). His name is Benjamin, and he’s SUCH a great kid. He’s got this nerve thing...whenever he gets excited or happy, he has this tick arm thing going on...which freaked a teacher out during the summer, until they asked the mother about it...and she said that it’s just a genetic thing his father has too, and not to worry and try to make him feel normal about it...and EVERY TIME he gets it, I look at him and say “Ben, I am SO happy that you are happy!”. I make it my DUTY to make him happy; it’s really the purest, happiest and most genuine thing I can do during my day.
I could talk about the kids for hours and hours...there are so many of them too! But I will spare you! I’m at home right now, pre-writing this entry to post tomorrow. I have a clock on my table which I have yet to find the will to change to Moscow time. It says that it’s almost 2 pm now. I think I’ll keep it because every time I look at it, I think; that’s the time in Montreal...I wonder what so-and-so is doing at this time. Or...oh, they must be sleeping, or Oh, they must be finishing their day...It’s a nice reminder of where I am and keeping perspective.
I heart heart and hug
Patey:]
Things are fine and dandy…
Few exceptions:
1) I’m sick! …I’ve been sick for the past 5 (possibly 6) weeks! (shh, don’t tell my mom; she’ll get worried/mad at me!) It’s getting ridiculous now, and I’m breaking down and taking medication tomorrow. It’s the new climate…new sets of germs, new air…new CITY air…smoking people everywhere; new everything really, so my body is probably adjusting in a way that makes my nose either clogged or runny. Sigh! : )
2) My poor left toe; the other day, I stubbed it (which blows in general to begin with), then I dropped a big plank of wood (from my closet) horizontally across the front AND THEN cut it a bit on a sharp edge of something near the floor. I spent the evening apologizing to it for not being more careful! No one is more sorry than I am for hurting you, Left Toe!! It’s all bruised, hahahhaa! What a pathetic sight. What a patey thing to do…
3) I’m working so much I can’t find the time to appreciate Moscow the way I really want to. I made a quota for myself; at least ONE cultural thing every 2 weeks. Seeing as how I’m sick, I get home pretty zonked and my weekends are mostly spent either shopping for stuff for the flat, or getting stuff done…(or the past two, at least have been… No more, hopefully, after this!) All of this to say, that I haven’t really done all that much; minus the walks to Red Square (which is nice), but no museums, nothing worth writing home about at least. This WILL change though!
4) I’m dying to talk to people at home…dying to get the internet hooked up at home! E-mail only does so much. I realized yesterday that I haven’t heard my mother’s voice in over 3 weeks. Whenever I e-mail home, it’s my dad that responds since he’s the more internet savvy,…I’ve had almost nothing recognizable from my mother in almost a month. Not cool : ( …I miss my mom…
5) I met my roomie yesterday morning…which was fine; he’s this American dude… and he’s nice enough, but honestly, quite a bit boring…. I tried to stimulate a conversation and spoke American politics and general North American history with him…and it led to him telling me how the States were very much a country that came from wars…then he asked me “Canada hasn’t really been in any wars at all, right?”. My oh my. Not only that, but I came home today (the most tired I’ve been in a long time) and (happier news; treated myself to some salmon! Yum!) found that he had cooked, and 1) didn’t really clean my wok as it should probably be cleaned 2) had spilled salt all over the floor and didn’t really clean it up. AM I MORE ANAL THAN I THOUGHT I WAS?! He hasn’t come home yet, so I’m not sure how I will breach the subject. I don’t want to start nagging after the first day….Arr…thankfully he’s only here for another 20 days. Then it’s a really interesting sounding Swiss dude who’s coming to catch up on his Russian. He just finished defending his thesis on something to do with sustainability in aviation and the Kyoto protocol, so YAY! And he also said that since he’s Swiss, he enjoys cleaning a bit too much. Good times will be had in patey’s flat!
Now to the happier news:
1) On Sunday, Elena took me to this shopping “complex”, as she called it, and friends, I have NEVER…I repeat, NEVER seen so many shoe stores in a row…SHOES SHOES SHOES! I was SOOOOO overwhelmed! Elena was like “Yu donn like?”…and I was like… “Noo, no…I’m just…very…overwhelmed…do you know what that word means?” hahha WOW, was it insanely big. Found these boots…and there was such love for them! But they didn’t have my size which was so disappointing. They were DAMN sexy, and we could have had such a nice life together, but I was a big girl and let it go…it was just a love that wasn’t meant to be. How sad… (Speaking of which, I saw Mouse again this weekend…I was quite happy to see him…he didn’t seem all that interested in me (some take getting dumped SO badly!) but he came around after a few nudges and belly rubs)
2) My fabulous job:
a. I realize that I haven’t really written about the job…really, I think it’s cause the only net connection I have IS at school, so it’s weird to talk about it with people walking around everywhere.
b. It’s a pretty small school, but it’s small in a really quaint way. I love it….
c. The other teachers are fabuloso…the staff makes fun of my work ethic… “ Pahtzee! Kakdilla! So early! You sleep here?” haha …I LOVE how Europe is so laid back. People do what they need to do, but once you hit a level of any kind of stress, they think you’re insane. Relax! Don’t kill yourself! Here’s some vodka! (haha, that hasn’t actually happened)
d. The kiddies are the AWESOMEST little goobers! I have the older ones….which is nice. I could talk about some of them for HOURS, and I look at them and know that I am not meant to be anywhere else in the world other than right here next to them. They are the coolest bunch. There’s this Norwegian/Russian girl, who’s got SO much personality, it kills me! She’s the only kid I teach that hasn’t given me a high five; only because she decided against it! Haha, and she’s SO particular and SO picky and So damn cute…and the first time she looked and me and refused to hold anyone else’s hand except for mine, I figured I was doing something right. Her acceptance means that you’ve TRULY earned a special spot in a special little heart. The craziest thing is that all that zest is in such a little being! She’s really quiet, but you can tell that it’s only because she’s chosen not to speak to you…and once in class (I forget what stupidity I was acting out,) but to my surprise, she started BLABBING away! Blublublahblahblah! ALL in Russian, and I just looked at her and said; “MARIA! I didn’t understand what you said, but I LOVE that you are speaking!! High Five!!! No?? …OKAY! Maybe later!” HAHAHA. I wish you guys could see her….I have a pic, but yah know, privacy laws I’d like to respect, and I’m not about to ask her dad if I could post her pic on my blog. haha
e. One of my favorite things about teaching at Ptit Cref is the wee little Russian goobers…they are so happy to see people…when they see me, they ramble ON and ON in Russian, and they KNOW I don’t understand….but they want to share so much that they really don’t care! Hahah I sometimes get the gist of what they are saying, but anyone that’s worked with kids for more than 20 minutes knows that anything a 6 year old kid tells you with a big smile is something that you can respond “Ohhhh! WOW…that’s GREAT (insert name)!!” to. I LOVE that, and I LOVE them. They are fabulous; They are my little goobers : )
f. It’s SO interesting working in a trilingual setting. Not only do I get to learn Russian from 6 year olds and practice my French, but it’s just SUCH a cool atmosphere. You never know what language will pop out of people’s mouths! And the abilities of these little kids! It’s madness! There’s this kid who’s fluent in Russian and French...and he’s got some skills in English (as his mom spent her childhood in Canada, but speaks to him in French), and his English improves SO drastically every MINUTE he spends with me (it’s actually really shocking!). His name is Benjamin, and he’s SUCH a great kid. He’s got this nerve thing...whenever he gets excited or happy, he has this tick arm thing going on...which freaked a teacher out during the summer, until they asked the mother about it...and she said that it’s just a genetic thing his father has too, and not to worry and try to make him feel normal about it...and EVERY TIME he gets it, I look at him and say “Ben, I am SO happy that you are happy!”. I make it my DUTY to make him happy; it’s really the purest, happiest and most genuine thing I can do during my day.
I could talk about the kids for hours and hours...there are so many of them too! But I will spare you! I’m at home right now, pre-writing this entry to post tomorrow. I have a clock on my table which I have yet to find the will to change to Moscow time. It says that it’s almost 2 pm now. I think I’ll keep it because every time I look at it, I think; that’s the time in Montreal...I wonder what so-and-so is doing at this time. Or...oh, they must be sleeping, or Oh, they must be finishing their day...It’s a nice reminder of where I am and keeping perspective.
I heart heart and hug
Patey:]
Thursday, September 20, 2007
darn lack of internet!!
hi friends
I wrote a whole great long blog posting at home, and I can't even post it because something's gone wonky with my USB drive. It's not working for some reason, so I can't transfer files! My brain is about to explode and eat itself without the internet at home. I NEEEEED to talk to people. I NEEEEED to hear some voices. I'm starting to have dreams about spontaneously popping into home, going "HI!!! I just came to visit, and I'll be going back soon!"
I guess a dream is kind of like that. Just visiting for a little bit. I'm starting to miss my mom's voice! I've got nothing concrete from my mother in 4 weeks now. It's too much, and my brain's about to disfunction. Maybe I'll break down and buy a calling card.
anyway, this is just a temporary posting until RUSSIAN BEAUROCRACY GETS THEIR ASS IN GEAR!
thanks for all the support and comments and stuff. I completely appreciate it, and although I haven't been posting regularly, I hope people don't stop checking up on it. Will be posting regularly once the internet is up and running!
hugs
patey:]
I wrote a whole great long blog posting at home, and I can't even post it because something's gone wonky with my USB drive. It's not working for some reason, so I can't transfer files! My brain is about to explode and eat itself without the internet at home. I NEEEEED to talk to people. I NEEEEED to hear some voices. I'm starting to have dreams about spontaneously popping into home, going "HI!!! I just came to visit, and I'll be going back soon!"
I guess a dream is kind of like that. Just visiting for a little bit. I'm starting to miss my mom's voice! I've got nothing concrete from my mother in 4 weeks now. It's too much, and my brain's about to disfunction. Maybe I'll break down and buy a calling card.
anyway, this is just a temporary posting until RUSSIAN BEAUROCRACY GETS THEIR ASS IN GEAR!
thanks for all the support and comments and stuff. I completely appreciate it, and although I haven't been posting regularly, I hope people don't stop checking up on it. Will be posting regularly once the internet is up and running!
hugs
patey:]
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Hilow
hi friends
all is good, all is good. Yesterday, I hit my 3 week mark! How quickly time passes!!
School's great...pretty time consuming...the staff is great, and finally all the teachers are here, so we can BOND! YAYYY!
it should be tomorrow when my first flatmate joins me in our lovely apartment...His name is Joe. I hope he's a nice person, although I'm pretty sure he is...anyway, he SOUNDS nice; as much as you can sense niceness through e-mails. He's a Yahoo user though...what is UP with that? hahha...at least the next guy in October is a Gmailer...his name is Alessandro, and he sounds FABULOUS! Will include details later...I'm at school, and I really should be planning versus my current blogging.
OH I finally have my address!
it's
10 Smolenskaya ul., apt. 248, 121099 Moscow, Russia
BUT!!!
when in Russia, do as the Russians do right? Or at least, when WRITING to Russia, write the address like the Russians do....therefore:
121099 Moscow, Russia
10 Smolenskaya Ulitsa, Apt. 248
MY NAME. (teehee)
(Ulitsa means street...should be specified, cause there's a Smolenskaya embankment, Smolenskaya square etc...)
I huuuuuuug you all!
lovelovelovleovleo
patey:]
all is good, all is good. Yesterday, I hit my 3 week mark! How quickly time passes!!
School's great...pretty time consuming...the staff is great, and finally all the teachers are here, so we can BOND! YAYYY!
it should be tomorrow when my first flatmate joins me in our lovely apartment...His name is Joe. I hope he's a nice person, although I'm pretty sure he is...anyway, he SOUNDS nice; as much as you can sense niceness through e-mails. He's a Yahoo user though...what is UP with that? hahha...at least the next guy in October is a Gmailer...his name is Alessandro, and he sounds FABULOUS! Will include details later...I'm at school, and I really should be planning versus my current blogging.
OH I finally have my address!
it's
10 Smolenskaya ul., apt. 248, 121099 Moscow, Russia
BUT!!!
when in Russia, do as the Russians do right? Or at least, when WRITING to Russia, write the address like the Russians do....therefore:
121099 Moscow, Russia
10 Smolenskaya Ulitsa, Apt. 248
MY NAME. (teehee)
(Ulitsa means street...should be specified, cause there's a Smolenskaya embankment, Smolenskaya square etc...)
I huuuuuuug you all!
lovelovelovleovleo
patey:]
Monday, September 10, 2007
From the land of 10-15 Rouble port-o-potties and tacky female pant-suit sets.
Dearest friends
Life in Moscow is proving to be quite good. I have to say…no, I’m happy to say, that I am more than quite happy :) In retrospect, (like everything in life) everything works itself out, even when it doesn’t really look like it will. I’m glad that the David dude from the first apartment dropped me, because otherwise, I’d be further from work, and minus a gorgeous view and plus 4 roommates!
I’m not sure what I expected before coming…I thought that if I hated it, I would try to make the best of it when I got her and rough it for 11 months…I'd be better because of it…filled with battle scars and all …but really, it’s not bad! It’s actually GREAT, I daresay! BUT as my co-worker Genia (a guy) and the French teacher Eric says, Moscow isn’t really Russia… I will definitely venture out of the city as soon as the opportunity arises. It’s only been over 2 weeks, and it’s begun…the intimacy; the closeness; the affectedness forevermore. It’s shocking how fast it can grow…I had a moment, when I was downloading my pictures onto zoe, and looking at the ones of the Kremlin and felt the feeling that I get when I look at the picture files of Australia…mix of nostalgia, comfort and care. It came quickly and left as quickly since I snapped out of it when I looked out my window and told myself that I’m still here. Now. It’s good :)
I took a day today to sleep in until I felt like getting up (11:30am!! Shocking for me!), clean my floors, (yay clean now!) plan my lessons for the week and do some yoga finally! (didn’t want to lay my mat down till the floors were clean…)
Lovelovleovleove,
Pawh-tzii. (This is how Elena and Andrei pronounce my name; I LOVE it!)
Life in Moscow is proving to be quite good. I have to say…no, I’m happy to say, that I am more than quite happy :) In retrospect, (like everything in life) everything works itself out, even when it doesn’t really look like it will. I’m glad that the David dude from the first apartment dropped me, because otherwise, I’d be further from work, and minus a gorgeous view and plus 4 roommates!
I’m not sure what I expected before coming…I thought that if I hated it, I would try to make the best of it when I got her and rough it for 11 months…I'd be better because of it…filled with battle scars and all …but really, it’s not bad! It’s actually GREAT, I daresay! BUT as my co-worker Genia (a guy) and the French teacher Eric says, Moscow isn’t really Russia… I will definitely venture out of the city as soon as the opportunity arises. It’s only been over 2 weeks, and it’s begun…the intimacy; the closeness; the affectedness forevermore. It’s shocking how fast it can grow…I had a moment, when I was downloading my pictures onto zoe, and looking at the ones of the Kremlin and felt the feeling that I get when I look at the picture files of Australia…mix of nostalgia, comfort and care. It came quickly and left as quickly since I snapped out of it when I looked out my window and told myself that I’m still here. Now. It’s good :)
I took a day today to sleep in until I felt like getting up (11:30am!! Shocking for me!), clean my floors, (yay clean now!) plan my lessons for the week and do some yoga finally! (didn’t want to lay my mat down till the floors were clean…)
Lovelovleovleove,
Pawh-tzii. (This is how Elena and Andrei pronounce my name; I LOVE it!)
Sunday, September 9, 2007
From the land of police bribes; Sept 1st; Happy 860th birthday Moscow!
En bref; in the past week or so…. (Again in organized point form format; too many things are happening for it not to be so!)
- Got crapped on by an unseen bird! (details later!)
- Got into a small car accident with Andrei and Elena which ALMOST led to my first cop bribe! (but didn’t; details later…actually there isn’t much to say here…tiny bump from behind; the cop who stopped to check things out said a whole bunch of things and a couple of hours of paperwork later (welcome to Russia), Elena told me that thankfully they didn’t have to pay him because of “complications”…freakin’ police. Cool part; I got to talk to the Insurance dude; guy named Viktor…who spoke really good English I discovered….told me interesting stuff regarding being a car insurance dude in Moscow; basically he’s on foot; gets called to car accident sites and goes! Anyway, this is good for a conversation if you’re interested; too much for blog)
- Well into my first week in Moscow, and I’ve already been to sushi restos 4 times! (It would have been 5 had we not gotten into that accident!) …needless to say, sushi is quite big here…which I incidentally read about before getting here…ah comfort food (even tho I don’t eat rolls…bbq eel thingies are bbq eel thingies even in Moscow…yuuuuum!) I do have to say, that only ONE place that we went to really beats Kanda. (I tell Andrei about Kanda’s all you can eat for as little as 600 Roubles, and he looks at me with these eyes..hahaha…and I promise to take him when he visits me at homeJ I have such good friends here already; SUCH good friends!)
- FINALLY found a good flat! I want to yell that from the rooftops! (sorry, everyone says flat here, so when in Rome…well you know…) AND when I say good flat, it’s seriously the flat that I was begging the Gods for…something smack in between la vie de luxe and a dingy pothole. I’ve taken this weekend to move around the furniture, and I have to say that it now officially has enough Patey in for it to be homeyJ. It’s a mix between new and old…new beds, new cupboards, old table, old sofas. The old-ish windows…the wooden panels; such antique-ey charm! The best part of the place is the balcony, which I conveniently have access to since I made the living room MY room. J its a GORGEOUS view… of a really cool diplomatic building that looks like a castle, a hotel that has lights on every night (incidentally of the Russian Federation flag), and to the right, a perfect view of the Moscow river. There’s also a cool breeze that you can only get from being on the 9th floor of a building. It is the view from my dreams. It is the flat from my revised dreams; hehe, but a dream nonetheless. It is a few notches up from dinge, and that is ALL that I want and need. I can’t stress how happy I am about having found it. Now all I need is a good flatmate! Anyone interested in moving in with me?
I’m in a building on Smolenskaya street…which is not even 5 mins from the Smolenskaya metro (which I will be staying away from; haha metro details later…I’ll just say the word “cattle” for now…and if we did what happens to people in the Moscow metro to animals in North America, people would uproar).
OH yah, the bird crap story; We (being Andrei, Elena, their friend (and now mine, I guess) Eugene (which we pronounce Genia in Ruski) and myself) had gone to an exposition of photographs (much like the ones down McGill College every year) of an American dude named Steve Bloom; they were beautiful pictures of animals in nature and we had stalled cause I was telling my friends about how sharks were more scared of us than us of them when I heard a clunk, and we all paused for a good 5 seconds trying to register what happened, and lo and behold. It was bird poop on the side of my glasses (the clunk!) and my face.
Embarrassing story Note #1: at least it wasn’t in my hair. Note #2: (you’re gonna eww at this one) it was…kind of chunky! …wasn’t quite as liquid as it was chunky…so thankfully it was easier to wipe off…(eww, I know, but it didn’t smell at least!) Note #3: I changed purses, and prayed that I had some kind of tissue or napkin in that purse, and thankfully (as good teachers are) I was prepared. Worry not friends, as another perk about my apartment is that there is water pressure J
Dodged close calls for over 2 weeks now and the Moscow saga continues….
I lovelovelovleovleovleovleove,
Patey:]
- Got crapped on by an unseen bird! (details later!)
- Got into a small car accident with Andrei and Elena which ALMOST led to my first cop bribe! (but didn’t; details later…actually there isn’t much to say here…tiny bump from behind; the cop who stopped to check things out said a whole bunch of things and a couple of hours of paperwork later (welcome to Russia), Elena told me that thankfully they didn’t have to pay him because of “complications”…freakin’ police. Cool part; I got to talk to the Insurance dude; guy named Viktor…who spoke really good English I discovered….told me interesting stuff regarding being a car insurance dude in Moscow; basically he’s on foot; gets called to car accident sites and goes! Anyway, this is good for a conversation if you’re interested; too much for blog)
- Well into my first week in Moscow, and I’ve already been to sushi restos 4 times! (It would have been 5 had we not gotten into that accident!) …needless to say, sushi is quite big here…which I incidentally read about before getting here…ah comfort food (even tho I don’t eat rolls…bbq eel thingies are bbq eel thingies even in Moscow…yuuuuum!) I do have to say, that only ONE place that we went to really beats Kanda. (I tell Andrei about Kanda’s all you can eat for as little as 600 Roubles, and he looks at me with these eyes..hahaha…and I promise to take him when he visits me at homeJ I have such good friends here already; SUCH good friends!)
- FINALLY found a good flat! I want to yell that from the rooftops! (sorry, everyone says flat here, so when in Rome…well you know…) AND when I say good flat, it’s seriously the flat that I was begging the Gods for…something smack in between la vie de luxe and a dingy pothole. I’ve taken this weekend to move around the furniture, and I have to say that it now officially has enough Patey in for it to be homeyJ. It’s a mix between new and old…new beds, new cupboards, old table, old sofas. The old-ish windows…the wooden panels; such antique-ey charm! The best part of the place is the balcony, which I conveniently have access to since I made the living room MY room. J its a GORGEOUS view… of a really cool diplomatic building that looks like a castle, a hotel that has lights on every night (incidentally of the Russian Federation flag), and to the right, a perfect view of the Moscow river. There’s also a cool breeze that you can only get from being on the 9th floor of a building. It is the view from my dreams. It is the flat from my revised dreams; hehe, but a dream nonetheless. It is a few notches up from dinge, and that is ALL that I want and need. I can’t stress how happy I am about having found it. Now all I need is a good flatmate! Anyone interested in moving in with me?
I’m in a building on Smolenskaya street…which is not even 5 mins from the Smolenskaya metro (which I will be staying away from; haha metro details later…I’ll just say the word “cattle” for now…and if we did what happens to people in the Moscow metro to animals in North America, people would uproar).
OH yah, the bird crap story; We (being Andrei, Elena, their friend (and now mine, I guess) Eugene (which we pronounce Genia in Ruski) and myself) had gone to an exposition of photographs (much like the ones down McGill College every year) of an American dude named Steve Bloom; they were beautiful pictures of animals in nature and we had stalled cause I was telling my friends about how sharks were more scared of us than us of them when I heard a clunk, and we all paused for a good 5 seconds trying to register what happened, and lo and behold. It was bird poop on the side of my glasses (the clunk!) and my face.
Embarrassing story Note #1: at least it wasn’t in my hair. Note #2: (you’re gonna eww at this one) it was…kind of chunky! …wasn’t quite as liquid as it was chunky…so thankfully it was easier to wipe off…(eww, I know, but it didn’t smell at least!) Note #3: I changed purses, and prayed that I had some kind of tissue or napkin in that purse, and thankfully (as good teachers are) I was prepared. Worry not friends, as another perk about my apartment is that there is water pressure J
Dodged close calls for over 2 weeks now and the Moscow saga continues….
I lovelovelovleovleovleovleove,
Patey:]
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Colette and Julie
Hi friends!
It's saturday morning (and incidentally, Special K's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! EAT CAKE!)
so I'm giving myself a break. BREAK!!!!
I bought the following things within the last half hour:
-A wok (!! WHOOHO! and it was way cheaper than I thought...AND that I would have payed for!)
-eggs (I always forget how innexpensive eggs really are)
-Milk (Which, incidentally in one grammatical way is called "Malaka" in Russian...HAHHAH the greeks are laughing right now I bet; for the non-greek knowers, I'll spare you the innapropriate translation)
-Chocolate spread (I kept looking between the Nutella and the Russian version with a Squirrel smiling at a bunch of chestnuts; I bought the Russian one)
Right...chocolate spread; necessities! hahaha
Today was my first real alone venture to the Kremlin/Red Square on my own...I made it 1/3 of the way since I stopped in the grocery store and couldn't leave without my new girls, so I had to go home.
Ah, yes, I failed to mention: I bought myself 2 plants; spent almost 40$ on them, but they were SOOOO worth it! That's right, one is Colette and the other is Julie (Jubie for short, of course). I'm looking at them right now, and I just LOVE them. I know I spent more money on plants today than I have this week on food, but DAMN! They're gorgeous! I've always wanted my own plants...and now I have my own windowsill to put them on! SO HAPPY! Will post pictures soon...SOOOOON!!! arrg!
I spent yesterday night moving all the furniture around in my flat...it went well! surprisingly well...Andrei was supposed to come help me, but I only need him now for one closet which is shockingly heavy. Trying to plan a room around a yoga mat is pretty hard...BUT I DID IT!
sigh...I wish you guys could see it...! pics soon I promise
hugs a million times over!
lovelovleove
patey:]
It's saturday morning (and incidentally, Special K's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! EAT CAKE!)
so I'm giving myself a break. BREAK!!!!
I bought the following things within the last half hour:
-A wok (!! WHOOHO! and it was way cheaper than I thought...AND that I would have payed for!)
-eggs (I always forget how innexpensive eggs really are)
-Milk (Which, incidentally in one grammatical way is called "Malaka" in Russian...HAHHAH the greeks are laughing right now I bet; for the non-greek knowers, I'll spare you the innapropriate translation)
-Chocolate spread (I kept looking between the Nutella and the Russian version with a Squirrel smiling at a bunch of chestnuts; I bought the Russian one)
Right...chocolate spread; necessities! hahaha
Today was my first real alone venture to the Kremlin/Red Square on my own...I made it 1/3 of the way since I stopped in the grocery store and couldn't leave without my new girls, so I had to go home.
Ah, yes, I failed to mention: I bought myself 2 plants; spent almost 40$ on them, but they were SOOOO worth it! That's right, one is Colette and the other is Julie (Jubie for short, of course). I'm looking at them right now, and I just LOVE them. I know I spent more money on plants today than I have this week on food, but DAMN! They're gorgeous! I've always wanted my own plants...and now I have my own windowsill to put them on! SO HAPPY! Will post pictures soon...SOOOOON!!! arrg!
I spent yesterday night moving all the furniture around in my flat...it went well! surprisingly well...Andrei was supposed to come help me, but I only need him now for one closet which is shockingly heavy. Trying to plan a room around a yoga mat is pretty hard...BUT I DID IT!
sigh...I wish you guys could see it...! pics soon I promise
hugs a million times over!
lovelovleove
patey:]
Friday, September 7, 2007
I'm fine found a flat; so busy it hurts
hi..
I know I haven't written in a long time...this is just a quick posting (and while I make my co-workers wait) to let you know that I'm fine...and ridiculously happy when I'm not swamped with work... (which is mostly after 10pm when I let myself stop)
AHR! between work; which is going REALLY well by the way..the kids are fab, and they listen to me so it's all great,
so between work, and moving flats! and grocery shopping and trying to get the internet in order, I'm freakin' ...busy (for lack of better word)
I miss you guys, and my flat is fabulous; well it's not fabulous completely...it's got a lot of issues, but it's great compared to what I've seen already. trust me! and my favorite thing about it is:
1) I feel TOTALLY at home....safe and comfortable...
2) the view I have from my closed balcony; is FABULOUS. It's breathtaking. Will post pictures...(once again) WHEN I'm CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET AT HOME! Zoe's starting to miss the internet; I only turn her on for music and I think she's feeling the uselessness....
anyway, hopefully soon...but likely only next weekend!
I gotta go, but I do send my love
patey:]
I know I haven't written in a long time...this is just a quick posting (and while I make my co-workers wait) to let you know that I'm fine...and ridiculously happy when I'm not swamped with work... (which is mostly after 10pm when I let myself stop)
AHR! between work; which is going REALLY well by the way..the kids are fab, and they listen to me so it's all great,
so between work, and moving flats! and grocery shopping and trying to get the internet in order, I'm freakin' ...busy (for lack of better word)
I miss you guys, and my flat is fabulous; well it's not fabulous completely...it's got a lot of issues, but it's great compared to what I've seen already. trust me! and my favorite thing about it is:
1) I feel TOTALLY at home....safe and comfortable...
2) the view I have from my closed balcony; is FABULOUS. It's breathtaking. Will post pictures...(once again) WHEN I'm CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET AT HOME! Zoe's starting to miss the internet; I only turn her on for music and I think she's feeling the uselessness....
anyway, hopefully soon...but likely only next weekend!
I gotta go, but I do send my love
patey:]
Monday, September 3, 2007
Many thousands of dollars cash transaction!
OHHHH MMYYYY....
yep, I'm 10 minutes past my first (non-shady actually) under the table Russian cash transaction.....and all that I can think of as I watch the lady put 9 thousand dollars worth of Roubles in her purse, is:
WELCOME TO RUSSIA PATEY!
The good news about the non-shady transaction was the fact that I now officially have a place to live....and I freakin' LOVE it...
it is the perfect cross between dingy and nice. Exactly what I realistically asked for. The best part, is the gorgeous balcony. I have a view that makes my heart bang with everything that I've ever wanted with living in a city. It my have taken months of searching...a week or REAL searching...many talks with many agents on my boss' end....one non-shady transaction, but I'm here. I move in on thursday :)
************************************************
I love and miss you all...and I wish so much from the bottom of my soles (and my soul) that I could share this with you more than just through this blog. SO much that I just cried a little.
lovelovelovelovelovleoelvooe
patey:]
yep, I'm 10 minutes past my first (non-shady actually) under the table Russian cash transaction.....and all that I can think of as I watch the lady put 9 thousand dollars worth of Roubles in her purse, is:
WELCOME TO RUSSIA PATEY!
The good news about the non-shady transaction was the fact that I now officially have a place to live....and I freakin' LOVE it...
it is the perfect cross between dingy and nice. Exactly what I realistically asked for. The best part, is the gorgeous balcony. I have a view that makes my heart bang with everything that I've ever wanted with living in a city. It my have taken months of searching...a week or REAL searching...many talks with many agents on my boss' end....one non-shady transaction, but I'm here. I move in on thursday :)
************************************************
I love and miss you all...and I wish so much from the bottom of my soles (and my soul) that I could share this with you more than just through this blog. SO much that I just cried a little.
lovelovelovelovelovleoelvooe
patey:]
Sunday, September 2, 2007
From the land of unwanted kopeks! (Written August 31st, 2007)
(Kopeks are like pennies for us…except they are worth essentially less than pennies…I guess people don’t think they’re worth anything, so you constantly walk around seeing them on the floor, in grocery stores…people drop coins and don’t even bother to look down. I think if I picked up all the kopeks I’ve ever seen, I would have a total of maybe…50-75 kopeks …which is really worth only about 2-3 cents….haha I still feel weird about it…seeing coins everywhere..)
Okay. So I’ve come to terms with a possible renegotiation with myself. Renegotiating what I want regarding an apartment, with what I thought I would have and what is a reality for me in Moscow. They say it’s all about location, location, location right? Right. That’s the conclusion I’ve made. All of the apartment arrangements I’ve made with countless other expats on that expat website have all sort of fallen through…I’ve decided to give up the choice of super nice/comfortable apartment for a dingier yet closer to center/work one. I thought when I got here, that I wanted to be comfortable; I offered myself that luxury. I’m away from home, away from emotional comforts of loved ones. I thought if I’m living my dream, I’ll live it the way I want to and I’ll let myself afford it….
The past couple of days have been a struggle between standing by what I really wanted with what my lack of time and resources is hitting me on the head with. (Not nice apartments (downright dingy actually), rents varying between 700 and up; one perk being CLOSE to work)
Meh, it’s okay….everyone’s supposed to have at least ONE crappy apartment in their life right? Lets choose to see it as a right of passage!
Lovelvoelvoelloveovoeove
Patey:]
Okay. So I’ve come to terms with a possible renegotiation with myself. Renegotiating what I want regarding an apartment, with what I thought I would have and what is a reality for me in Moscow. They say it’s all about location, location, location right? Right. That’s the conclusion I’ve made. All of the apartment arrangements I’ve made with countless other expats on that expat website have all sort of fallen through…I’ve decided to give up the choice of super nice/comfortable apartment for a dingier yet closer to center/work one. I thought when I got here, that I wanted to be comfortable; I offered myself that luxury. I’m away from home, away from emotional comforts of loved ones. I thought if I’m living my dream, I’ll live it the way I want to and I’ll let myself afford it….
The past couple of days have been a struggle between standing by what I really wanted with what my lack of time and resources is hitting me on the head with. (Not nice apartments (downright dingy actually), rents varying between 700 and up; one perk being CLOSE to work)
Meh, it’s okay….everyone’s supposed to have at least ONE crappy apartment in their life right? Lets choose to see it as a right of passage!
Lovelvoelvoelloveovoeove
Patey:]
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