Little Update

Life has started to get busier here, with the ironic effect of giving me more things to write about, but less time to write! I shall try not to blabber on for too long, but give some snippets of what I have been up to and things I have been discovering about my new home for the next few months.

WORK

Classes continue to be interesting, and the teachers great fun. I spend most of my academic hours in the philological faculty, where I have my Russian classes. One of my teachers there is a master at facial expressions and the stage whisper which she uses to correct grammar mistakes, in order (I guess) to try and soften the blow. There have been some great moments, like when one of my classmates (and now friend) tried to ask the teacher what the word for “heretical” was. The teacher look confused and repeated back the word “erotic”. The smallest of errors can make a big difference.

I have also recently been employed by a tutoring company which has been fun putting on a teacher hat a few times a week. It has also had the affect of getting me into town more often, which is hard to motivate myself to do when it is very much possible to adopt a hermit existence at the uni. I mean that in all seriousness. Which other campus has not only cafeterias and cafes but bank machines, phone top-up machines, a flower shop, a clothes shop, a stationery shop, a tea shop, pharmacy and more besides??

 

View from the 11th floor of the philological faculty

FUN

Since I last wrote, I have been to two concerts, which couldn’t really have been more different. I have already mentioned my lovely neighbour from the Republic of Tuva (its part of Russia- look it up on Wikipedia!). She invited me to a New Years celebration (!) as Tuva follows the Lunar Calendar, meaning New Years was sometime in February (I think). The concert was a celebration of Tuvan culture, with everything being translated into both “Tuvan” and Russian. Some famous Tuvan celebrities made an appearance, including a young guy who has become relatively famous on YouTube for his “throat-singing” covers of popular songs. Watch the video below to discover what throat singing is… 

The other concert I went to was last Saturday, and took place in a tiny but beautiful concert hall in the Museum of the Contemporary History of Russia. The music was from Schubert and Beethoven and was played by a really high standard piano trio. The museum itself also looked really interesting and I hope to go back for a visit soon. There are just so many museums, theatres and concert halls here. Tomorrow I am heading off to the Tretyakov Gallery, probably the most famous art gallery here.

CULTURE SHOCK

The past weekend and this week have been particularly positive, as I start to settle in more and get to see a bit more of the city. Yet there are still things that continue to baffle me here, and I am sure will do so until I leave. Something I have particularly noticed recently is the number of people employed for jobs that, quite frankly, I don’t understand the need for. For example, printing/photocopying documents is something that most people can work out how to do themselves, albeit with some help the first time. But here I have to pass over my memory stick and pay a man to do it for me. Likewise the washing machines, almost identical to the ones I had back at Cambridge, which even have a slot to put money in, are supervised by a woman at all times who, after you have waited in a queue for an available machine, places washing powder in the machine for you and after you have paid her 100 roubles, give you a 5 rouble coin to put into the machine. The most baffling are the women who sit outside SELF-SERVICE photo booths in the metro. I mean… there is a clue in the name! Sorry for the rant, clearly I have some issues to work through here!

MAKING IT UP AS I GO ALONG

One of the great things about living in a new place with few contacts and quite a lot of leisure time is the freedom to do lots of random things. On Tuesday night, for example, after going to a Bible study, it was suggested that we go outside to listen to the students playing music outside the uni building. Thus I spent a very surreal but pleasant half an hour being serenaded on the accordion and guitar, before I got a bit chilly and left. To that end, the weather here is somewhat bizarre at the moment, in that there is no snow and it seems spring is here. The Russians say it is very unusual- but there are no complaints from me. I wanted to attach a picture here of my walk home from the metro station, but, alas I am unable to. I can't wait for May, when the botanic gardens here at the Uni will be in full bloom. :)