December 2011
16 posts
Randomness from this week
Tomorrow, I am leaving my place at 1 pm to head to the airport for my 5:40 flight. It SHOULD take less than an hour and a half to get there, but check in starts 2 hours before (3:40) and we all know how well I get around new places. I have to walk to the metro, change trains, find the right exit, get on the right bus, and get out at the right airport (Pulkovo 1 as opposed to Pulkovo 2)....
A Foreign Christmas
Well, as I sit here watching “Jingle All the Way” by the light of a Christmas tree, Christmas in America is over. Luckily for me and my love of the Christmas Spirit, Russians celebrate New Year just as we celebrate Christmas, Christmas tree and presents included. That week of coming down off the month-long-Christmas-preparation high is far far away. After American Christmas is New...
Elise needs help for her kiddies in Ukraine!
So, EliseS, who generously let me crash at her place when I was homeless in Ukraine, is working on a grant through the Peace Corp. Her school needs new books and so if you have $15 and you want to save a kid from falling through the cracks of the system in to a meaningless oblivion, READ ON:
“One of the things that I’ve been working on is a Partnership Grant. I wrote it, with the help...
:)):
The most curious thing just happened to me.
I was walking home with the bedding that I just bought and an old man came up to me and said, “what a beautiful pillow!” I was immediately taken aback…hmmm, says the now Russian smidgen of my brain, is this a ploy? My Americanness took over and I decided that it was just some nice old man who wanted to chat, whatever.
So, we are...
this is the correct photoblog link →
buses, birthdays, выборы, and babushki-are-bossy
This past Saturday was my birthday part, but that wasn’t the only big event happening on the block. On Sunday December 04, the Russian Parliamentary elections took place. The following day, a vkontakte (thing facebook - russian style) group was formed in protest and a “meeteeng” (the Russian pronunciation of meeting, meaning rally) was organized. Outside of the 200 year old...
“Finish each day and be done. You’ve done all you could. Some blunders and...”
Hilarity in the Classroom (PG-13 - some material...
1) I went to a home for a private lesson. The eight-year-old got out her agenda from school and in it was written:
Анг: стр 76 DICK.
Apparently it meant dictation.
2) Friday evening, I was in speaking club, having prepared the topic of gift giving, and planning on touching on the topiс of Black Friday and hoping it would be interesting and fun. There were three girls, a woman, and a man. I...
Ой Мороз, Мороз
I am STILL waiting for snow. It rains and freezes; there is ice everywhere; and it sleets often. I think that EliseS said it best, “If it looks slippery - it is. If it doesn’t look slippery - IT IS. You. WILL. Fall.”
I love, Love, LoVe, LOVE to people-watch in the metro. The man on teh loudspeaker reminds you of the stations, and tells you when the doors are closing, and demands...
A Side Note on Sharing
I went for a walk the other day while I was waiting for my picture to get developed (one-hour photos!! yay!) I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, just checking out some architecture and enjoying some Christmas music. Then I saw a hole in the wall store selling linens and, since I needed some bedclothes, I decided to stop in. There was a friendly older guy behind the couter and he...
