Siberian Adventure - February 2005

Day 1
Sunday, 6.2.05

Time to move to the departure lounge at around 1:00 p.m. NZ time. Went through & found that my hand luggage was to be weighed.. Eek, "I’ve loaded it, so back out again to do some creative transferring from my hand luggage to my jacket pockets & jeans. I passed the weigh in, only being a little over the allowed weight. I waved goodbye to my ‘support crew’ & walked off to queue for departure. I made it to the passport lady only to find that my departure tax had not been paid (I thought I’d paid all my taxes in advance). Back out, & off to the BNZ to pay the departure tax. In again, & finally through to the departure lounge, only now I’m running late for my flight, I have yet to collect the things I bought duty free, & have no time to do the additional duty free shopping I planned to do. I collected my duty free & was accosted by a woman from Cathay Pacific who had been looking for me.. I was holding up the flight! Running now!

Onto the plane & into my seat, but only after smacking several fellow passengers on various parts of their bodies with my jacket, toilet bag, & backpack! I’d asked for an aisle seat & was lucky enough to be placed in the central row of seats (4 seats between 2 of us – yippee, room to stretch a little.) Personal TV screens per seat had me feeling very excited, that is until I started surfing the channels. The movies were either spak, old, or in a foreign language. The TV programmes were re-runs that I’ve already seen, or wouldn’t be caught dead watching (Everybody Loves Raymond – blah!) I contented myself with games for a while, some reading of the Lonely Planet Guide, & listening to my trusty i-Pod, though it seems to be stuck on a very limited number of songs. I didn’t get the chance to become bored with the music though because the battery ran out – sigh. No matter; I relaxed, ate, snoozed, walked, & ate, snoozed, walked, & read some more. I even had my first ever pee on a plane..even MY bladder won’t hold out for eleven-odd hours! I also did a fair amount of bouncing out of my seat & rummaging through the overhead locker & my hand luggage. Anything to fill in eleven hours on a plane! I set my watch to Hong Kong time at 3:05 pm their time, & then had a snooze. When I woke up I checked the time, wondering how long I’d slept for. Hello? It’s still 3:05 pm. Bollocks, my watch has pooped itself again. Cursed Walker & Hall will have a fab mid-year do courtesy of me this year, & all I’ve got to show for it is a whole lot of stuff that is either faulty or not quite adjusted as required!

Finally we arrived in Hong Kong. I wandered around looking for a Duty Free shop that I liked, but was unsuccessful. In the end I bit the bullet & bought a new watch (gold, with a diamond at the 12:00 mark) I tried buying i-Pod speakers, but there were none to be had; STINK! Of course I realised later I was looking in the ‘inbound’ duty-free shops. The ‘outbound’ ones would probably be more fruitful!

I went to a smoking room (absolutely disgusting, I won’t be doing that again) Went to check in for the next leg of the trip (Hong Kong to Moscow) to be told the flight was no longer departing at 00:30am, new departure time is 8:30am. Not to worry though, I was issued with a voucher for one night’s accommodation, with breakfast in the airport hotel. Cool! Off I trudged (heavy hand luggage & minimal sleep were beginning to take their toll), & reached the hotel only to find a queue the length of the Trans-Siberian railway. Finally it was my turn, but I apparently had been in the wrong queue, so I was sent to another (though much shorter) one. Once at the counter from this new queue something was up because there was a lot of discussion in Chinese between two desk clerks, as well as an agitated phone call. I was asked to take a seat while something was sorted out. I took advantage of their relaxed smoking policy & had a ciggie in the open smoking area of the foyer/lounge. An hour later one of the clerks came to advise me that Cathay Pacific are not authorised to issue vouchers for accommodation in the hotel, & besides there were no free rooms. I would have to go back to Cathay & get them to make alternative arrangements. (oh no! Am I going to have to sleep on airport chairs tonight?) Back to being a beast of burden, I loaded up with luggage again & started the trek back to the airline desks. Bless him, a sweet porter accosted me, took my luggage & put it on a trolley, then sent me packing. Much easier! I went to a different Cathay desk & found the problem simply was that my flight to Moscow was in fact with Aeroflot, through Cathay. All I needed was a voucher on Aeroflot letterhead, which I was given. Back down the now familiar path to the hotel (& picked up an American ’friend’ on the way). As this was my 2nd trip to the hotel I was able to act as guide for my new friend, & took him past the Trans-Siberian queue & straight to the nice short one! At the counter I was given a much warmer welcome this time, issued with a room key (a second’s thought … “thank goodness they managed to build a new room while I was traipsing back and forth”) & off I trotted to my room. Actually it was a VERY nice suite! Damn shame it was now 12:30 am, & I was out of life. Time for a quick sluice, adjust the air-con temperature (really cold it was), & into bed. I woke an hour later FREEZING cold; my efforts at raising the temperature were a waste of time. I rummaged through the entire place looking for the spare blankets, but there weren’t any. Neither was there an electric blanket. I crawled back into my bed (which was actually a granite slab in disguise), curled up as tight as I could in an effort to generate some heat, & tried sleeping again. I only managed to doze on & off until my wake-up call at 5:00am.

That’s it for Sunday. I hope you’re well & happy. I miss you heaps, but I’m also happy here for now. I’m glad I’m making this trip!

Day 2
Monday 7.2.05
Gidday!
I staggered out of bed & into the shower, where I found hip bruises caused by that lousy granite slab masquerading as a bed. On with my makeup (I found a bruise on my neck too..blowed if I know where that came from..maybe from swinging my luggage around) & clothes (polyprop top that was supposed to be for arrival in Moscow), & running 'commando’.. (I didn’t anticipate flight delays). Breakfast was great; loads of melon, juice, coffee, “ham”, hash brown, juice, more melon, steamboat yummy thingy’s, more melon; it’s time to go. Back to Cathay to check in & straight to boarding.
This plane was bought from Cathay Pacific by Aeroflot, ooooh about 100 years ago!! It’s had non-stop air time, & has been used exclusively to transport ENORMOUS people. I know this because every seat around mine was broken in some way or another. My two seats had the backs strategically broken at kidney & liver level. I think this is a cunning plan to keep your mind off how long the flight is as there’s no in-flight entertainment on this plane. Good grief; the best part of 9-hours on a plane with no TV, movies, games, or charged i-Pod? Thank goodness I’ve had next to no sleep in the last 4 days. Hopefully I’ll pass out. I stayed awake long enough to eat again, then I actually did get some sleep. I woke & decided to throw caution to the wind & take a look out the window, & was rewarded with an incredible sight. I spent the remainder of the flight glued to the window & taking photos.

I’d have loved to take photos of my first sight of Moscow, but decided that, in this instance, it would be a good idea to adhere to the “no digital equipment during descent & landing” rule. I didn’t want to increase the chances of this rumpty craft crashing!
Apparently I wasn’t the only one with concerns. When the plane landed every passenger burst into spontaneous applause! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing/hearing!

Into the airport, & I was faced with another queue. I decided once again to avail myself of a lax smoking policy, & grabbed a quick ciggie right next to the queue. Into the queue, & it took forever! Finally it was my turn, only I hadn’t been given the documentation to do on the plane, so back out & over to a desk where I could complete the forms. Luckily for me, while I was doing this, 2 additional flights landed, so the Trans-Siberian queue had found me again. For the second time I made it to the front of the queue only to encounter difficulties because I no longer look enough like my passport photo to satisfy the young man in the booth. He called a female supervisor over, & she finally decided I could move through. Next I needed to declare my belongings. This was very straight-forward (too much so, I hope I don’t have trouble come time to leave!) Out to the arrival lounge & I had to go in search of my pick up guy. Man, was he in a tizz! Apparently it’s all my fault the flight was delayed 8 hours! He loaded me into his van & we were off like a herd of drunk & angry turtles!

Road travel in Moscow is something else..there are next to no road markings, so although there should be room for 3 lanes each, each side takes liberties with this space, as do the drivers batting for the same directional team! Horns are tooting all over the place, & my driver is getting progressively angrier. I really wanted to stroke his shoulder & tell him all would be ok, but I was a bit afraid of him! He kept tutting & shaking his head at me, & huffing too.

OH MY GOD! I have never seen so many fur coats in all my life all put together as there were on the street on Monday afternoon in Moscow!

‘Angry Driver’ got me to Hotel Rossiya, dumped my bags, did some rapid talking to the check-in clerk & took off. I got checked in, given the directions to my room, & left to it. Sadly, I think my room was in the most isolated part of the hotel, & had the most circuitous route to get to it. I staggered & stumbled, puffed & panted, swore & dragged all my bags to my room & promptly collapsed. Once I caught my breath, I did a little sorting then dressed for the climate & went out. Very brave of me I reckon, venturing out in a strange city with a sense of direction such as mine. I’d discovered though, just from my brief exposure to open air between airport & ‘Angry Driver’s’ van, that a hat was essential immediately. I was out shopping for a couple of hours. I have a love/hate relationship with my hat..sometimes I think it looks ok, then I think it looks like a tea-cosy, depending on how it lands on my head! There was another one that I REALLY wanted, but it was US$450, & not even fur, just felt stuff like my red hat in NZ! As it turns out, it definitely would have been no good in Surgut.

I walked back to the hotel via St Basil’s & Red Square. The sun had set & I was none too keen on stopping to take photos..there were a few dodgy characters around, as well as some police, which I’d read shouldn’t be trusted around Red Square. A real shame because it was absolutely beautiful with snow on the trees, & fairy lights all over the place. I very much regret my caution now!

Back at the hotel, I was stopped by the security guy at the lifts asking for my passport. Of course I didn’t have it because it was taken from me when I checked in. It had to be registered with the police before it could be returned to me. He let me through, but was none too keen on me. From then on, each time I had to go past him he stopped me; tosser! The subsequent security guys for the rest of my stay just smiled & let me through without trouble.

I decided I would go in search of dinner, & then hit the hay early. I settled for a little Sushi Bar in the foyer of the hotel. I had a chicken & rice dish, an ‘interesting’ glass of wine, & the best grapefruit juice I’ve ever tasted! The ladies running the place were really nice & helpful; they even helped me with my Russian pronunciation, but tried talking in English for me as well. A couple of honeys!

Smoking in the Hotel Rossiya can be done pretty much anywhere, so I did! Decadent; & really smelly..& not to be made a habit of.

Day 3
Tuesday, 8.2.05
Yep, I woke up too early, but I did have a great sleep. I lay in bed & tried to read for a while, & of course went back to sleep. Finally got up about 6:30am. Shower & off to breakfast. Getting to breakfast is a bit of a navigational triumph in itself. You have to go to a set of lifts around the corner from reception, & go to Level 2. Then you take 2 right turns (a fib, there are extra lefts & rights they don’t tell you about) down lengthy corridors until you get to a new set of lifts. These are on the North side of the building. Take this lift to Level 21, & there you’ll find the breakfast dining room.

Breakfast: Orange juice, warm yogurt (not heated, just unrefrigerated – disconcerting). Then all sorts of ‘stuff’. There was a thing that was about as thick as a muffin, only bigger. It was kind of sweet..you could spread it with horseradish, or various other pickles & relishes that shouldn’t be eaten so early in the day! There was another thing that looked like it may be a mini hash brown that turned out to be a really sweet bready kind of thing..delicious, give me these every day please! Squares of creamy white stuff that could have been curd or custard..turns out it was egg. Then of course you can have salami, “ham”, beetroot salad, coleslaw, rice, & other stuff that again shouldn’t be eaten before mid day. Coffee is Nescafe sachets & water from an urn.

Breakfast over, I took the time to wander the 21st floor & looking out all the windows at the places I intended to walk to shortly. There are some truly impressive buildings in this city!

Back to my room & time to pull on my thermal undies & bum bag, & body pouch, & camera, & hat & gloves & scarf & jacket (gasp) & socks & boots.

I shot off around to the North side of the hotel & that’s the last time I knew where I was for the next 4 hours! I saw some incredible buildings & other sights, but I also saw some beggars, mangy dogs, alcoholics (a whole new image compared to our NZ one’s), & other unsavoury characters. I saw some office workers having smoko on the street at 10:00am, complete with bottles of beer (one was drinking Heineken!)

The shops are really difficult to identify..lots don't have windows for you to see what they’re about, & of course I can’t read what they are. I finally found a chemist shop (like ours but without the pharmacy). I got most of the stuff I was in search of & went to pay, only I didn’t have enough rubles on me & they didn’t take visa. I shot across the road to the bank to exchange some US$. This bank has a very large & intimidating guard, but it also had the best exchange rate I’d seen. Back to the chemist & I paid for my stuff & left. Now here’s where things got very interesting.

I thought I was on a street running parallel to St Basil’s, & so all that was required was to find a road that would take me right to it then it would be a quick hop to the hotel. Sure enough, I found my side street. There was a really neat log building on the street & I was contemplating taking a photo, then changed my mind & moved on. I got to a T intersection, & there was a car-load of guys turning onto the street where I’d just been walking. As I stopped to wait for them to drive on so I could cross the road, the driver & I made eye-contact. Oh my god, my blood ran cold! My mouth dried up. He had the coldest, cruelest, scariest look I’ve ever seen, & he held my eyes. Anyway he was committed to driving on & I hurried on my way, only to find that I was heading to a dead-end. I turned & retraced my steps. As I got to the same intersection where the car had been, the car came back & turned into the road. I nipped across the road behind them & started down that road only to discover it looked like somewhere I SHOULDN’T be. I crossed to the other side of the road & behind a parked truck when “the boys” came back out of the dead-end street & turned the way I had. “F#*K, I’m in trouble!” I thought. I zoomed along until I got back out onto the main street where my chemist was. I was heading back towards the chemist when the boys drove past me again, pulled to the side of the road, & let one of them out. This guy followed me for a long time, but must have tired of me changing direction all the time because finally he was gone. It took me another couple of hours to find my way back to the hotel, & by then I was exhausted, still terrified & bereft of my former confidence & bravery. I bought a stubby of beer & went to my room to paint my nails & hide! I plucked up enough courage to get my hat, gloves & jacket on 3 times during the rest of the day to go out & take some photos, but I found I couldn’t quite make it out the doors. I’ll get the photos on my way through to France etc. in June.

The air in Moscow is full of fumes, & I felt quite spewy a lot of the time. The snow is grubby too. I think the snow must muffle the sounds of the city though, because it was much quieter than Auckland, & yet the population is in excess of 9 million.

Early to bed again..no dinner, no appetite tonight!

Day 4
Wednesday, 9.2.05
Up, showered, dressed & packed. I headed off to have my breaky only to find that the dining room won’t be open until 7:30am, & I’m being collected by ‘Angry Driver’ at 8:00am. God forbid that I hold him up again! Back to my room to collect all my gear & go back down to the foyer to wait until my Sushi Café opens.
I confused the morning girl because I ordered the set breakfast of coffee, croissant, cheese on toast, & fruit…but I also asked for grapefruit juice as well. She kept telling me I could have coffee & fruit OR grapefruit juice. I kept telling her I wanted the lot & was prepared to pay for it. I finally convinced her that the sky wouldn’t fall if she let me have my own way!

Another surprise..the croissant had warm, thick but runny, sweet custard in it. A wee ‘gasm’ to start my day!!! It was just after 7:30am when ‘Angry Driver’ found me in the café. Given the arrangement was that he’d pick me up at 8:00am I didn’t see any reason to leave my breakfast behind. Well, this just set him off all over again. Honestly, some people should be allowed to be put out of their misery! He grabbed my suitcase & shot out the door, leaving me with 2 backpacks, my laptop, & a makeup bag, & still getting my jacket on. By the time I got outside he was nowhere to be seen. I scoured the parking area, then finally saw a van. I walked to it, opened the door then realised this wasn’t my man. I apologised, backed out, & the ‘Angry B#%*#rd Driver’ (he’s earned himself a name upgrade) finally drove up to me, shaking his head the whole time. I wanted to give him a real reason to shake his lousy head; something like a smack in the temple would be a good place to start! We careened out to the airport, & once there he stopped his van, stepped out, told me he couldn’t park, & dumped my bags on the road! If I ever see that man again I AM going to clip him round his bitter b#%*#rd head!

I battled my way into the airport, located the airline desk for me (with a bit of help from some lovely shrink-wrap men) & attempted to check in. Unfortunately I was an hour & a half early & so I couldn’t! All I wanted to do was get rid of my bags & have a look around! No matter, I made friends with a couple of men sitting next to me, although they didn’t speak English, & my Russian is still a joke! Finally I was allowed to check in, but then I was overweight, so had to go to another counter & pay the excess, except this counter doesn’t accept anything but cash, so I had to go to another counter to exchange US$, back to the excess counter & pay, back to the check in counter & now I’m running late for the flight! Off I run again! Next I had to go through security gates again, where not only do they scan your luggage etc., but you have to take your shoes off as well to be scanned separately. You get to put plastic bags on your feet while they’re checking your shoes for nuclear warheads. My laptop posed a problem here. They wanted me to turn it on so they could check files, but the battery was flat. They had to be content with waving some tissues over it. By way of reprisal, my passport proved a problem again! Finally I got through to the departure lounge about 15 minutes late, only to have time for a fag & a bottle of water. I made a new friend, a girl from Moscow who was going to Surgut for a few days. Her English was fantastic!

I was feeling very nervous about this flight to Surgut in light of the Hong Kong to Moscow experience. I boarded this new plane & it was a beauty! Clean, new, & with friendly passengers. One man taught me how to lift my seat to stow my pack under it. Another man put my laptop onto the overhead shelf for me. This 2nd man also tried helping me throughout the flight with translations..though the flight crew spoke better English than he did. Actually, he didn’t speak English at all, but was a champion at charades! He caught me copying words from his newspaper & trying to translate them..so then he started helping me with pronunciation. The food came out, & what a meal it was! I’ve never seen so much food on a flight! And damn, those Russians eat fast. I was just finishing my 2nd dish, with 4 more to go, when they were all finished & packing up their own debris ready for collection.

Flying into Surgut, I could see gas-rigs (?) with flames shooting out of them. So cool! Again, I wished I could get photos, but I didn’t have a window seat. One of my students works for the gas company & goes up in helicopters, so I’m going to ask him if he can get an aerial shot for me.

The plane landed, & I was all loaded up & ready to get off the plane when I looked out the door & found that I was stepping out onto the tarmac & into the snow! I had to back up & get my scarf, hat, coat, & gloves on. I got off the plane & had to leap on to a loaded bus that then took us all to the terminal. Crikey! Being the last on the bus, I was first off, so Vasily just about launched himself at me as I came through the doors. He’s brought the son of the Institute’s Director to help with my stuff, & also because Dmitri has a car. We collected my bags (the boys couldn’t believe such a small person could carry so many & such heavy bags all the way from NZ!) My bags had to be re-checked by some other guard-like woman to make sure my luggage receipts matched the luggage I was taking. This achieved, we were out to the car. It was snowing! Real snow flakes falling on ME! Really beautiful, all sparkly in the moonlight, it was like a fairy tale scene! Vasily told me I was very lucky because the weather was abnormally warm, only -5C, it should be 20C colder!

Vasily & Dmitri dumped me & my stuff in my room & left. So much for the ‘hotel style’ accommodation Vasily promised me. The arrangement of the furniture definitely didn’t meet with my idea of how to lay out a room, so I got stuck into dragging things around to suit me. Then I unpacked.

Day 5
Thursday, 10.2.2005
Are you sick of me yet? A fairly uneventful day, & I’m flagging!
Read for a while & dozed of course (mandatory it seems when there’s a book in my hands!) Up, showered & dressed by 7:30am. That’s good because now it’s a reasonable time to start dragging more stuff around..the bathroom is the target this morning. A funny ancient washing machine that doesn’t look like it’s worked for 10 years just had to go! I hung hooks & shelves & racks & all the things we girls need to store our 350 basic bathroom essentials!

Vasily arrived around 9:00am & was shocked by what I’d done to the place.

It’s -20C today.

I was taken to meet the Director, & while waiting I met the Institute’s resident doctor. He gave me a blasting for being in jeans & polyprop top..he told me “this is garbage” & that I should be dressing to inspire my students to look like me. I told him that while I was working I would be gorgeous, but on my own time I would dress as I pleased. This all came from a man dressed in cream linen baggy pants, scuffs, a yellow jerkin with mirrors sewn all over it, & a matching yellow & mirrored hat! For HEAVEN'S sake!!!

Off to my room, & into bed by 10:00pm. Major crash.

Day 6
Friday, 11.2.2005

Life is obviously settling in for me because the messages are getting shorter, & perhaps a bit boring. I won’t continue to torture you with daily breakdowns for much longer.

Whew! A great sleep!!!

Roman (Ramaan) the sparky arrived this morning with adapter plugs. I now have a hairdryer, straightening irons, an epilady, a laptop, an i-Pod, a battery charger! Yeah Baby!; the tools of deception & some entertainment, are fully restored! Yehaaa!!!

It’s -32C today.

I helped the café girl (Marianna) blow up balloons this morning. She was having trouble with them popping in her face. She hadn’t seen balloons knotted before, so she was well pleased with this new trick.

I was having lunch when Vasily told me I’d been invited to attend the celebration being thrown by the Director’s wife in honour of the birth of her granddaughter. I shot up to my room, threw on some tidy clothes, straightened my hair & presented myself. Vasily told me I was like a magician being able to change my look so dramatically & so quickly (hmmmm, should I be offended? Do I really look THAT bad with curly hair?)

The doctor was there, still in his yellow & mirrored outfit. He made no acknowledgement of my presence, let alone the improvement in my personal presentation. I think we’ve agreed we don’t like each other!

My first lesson tonight went off like a rocket..I got the seal of approval from both the students & Vasily. Hoowaaaaah!

There was a wedding reception held at the Institute tonight..a Tatar wedding. A rowdy affair. No PC BS here; if the party wants to go at full volume until 3:00am, then it shall, & to hell with the residents. I don’t begrudge them their knees up, but it did foul up my sleep & spoiled the good from last night’s ‘coma’.

Day 7
Saturday, 12.2.2005

TIRED! Can’t sleep! Groan!!

Vasily came to take me to an internet café. He left me to it, & so I had to find my own way back to the institute. I did damn well too!

It’s -27C today.

I went to the supermarket. Bought some yogurt, milk (which turned out to be not quite yogurt, not quite sour cream, definitely not milk), juice, soda, goats feta (cheaper than cows & sheep – yay!), crackers & a bottle of wine. This will be my first alcoholic drink since my medicinal beer on Tuesday afternoon.

By the way, all I heard (& passed on to you guys) about the queuing system for shopping here is not true (or at least I haven’t been anywhere where this is the case). You just grab a basket, load it with what you need, go to the check-out & pay. Easy peasy, exactly like home! Much to my relief, a lot of the same brands as home are here, so shopping is not as stressful as I’d been expecting. Fresh fruit & veg are readily available..mangoes, avocado, oranges, mandarins, grapes, apples (though these look terrible), lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage (of course), amongst other things.

I took a look at some fur coats while I was at it..I think I need one..my jacket is pretty good, but not quite good enough, + it takes forever to get on & off, unlike coats that just go on & wrap with a belt. Also, the standard of dress here is very high, & I’m obviously expected to maintain the same level. I think the one I’m pretty keen on will set me back about $1,000. A lot of money, so I’m going to think about it some more, & look around at some other shops. The women here are immaculately presented..slim, long-legged, gorgeous hair, perfect makeup, fab & very fashionable clothes, & of course disgusting pointy toed stiletto shoes & boots. I AM NOT GOING TO WEAR THOSE THINGS! I’m the only female I’ve seen that wears flat shoes or practical boots. I don’t get it given the treacherous state of the streets (a thick layer of ice, which in some places has been worn completely smooth & is almost guaranteed to set you on your butt or chin!) The blokes here also wear pointy toed shoes.

I came back to the institute, & pulled my hat off as soon as I came through the doors (as usual). I dropped it & spent the next 90 minutes tipping my rooms upside down looking for it. I finally found it at the security desk when I went to ask if I could use the phone. I’ve decided I love that hat..I tried going outside with a woolen scarf tied over my head, & jacket hood on top..they were not warm enough!

Another wedding reception tonight.

Back to my room. I spent a lot of the day reloading music onto my i-Pod, & was hit with a dose of the blues. Spent the rest of the night fighting it off. Being tired doesn’t help, & this wedding group is no less noisy than last night’s. Another 3:00am finish. The wine was either very low in alcohol content, or I had my cast iron constitution on because there was no mellowing effect. It tasted less than ordinary & I resorted to adding coke to it in an effort to improve the taste; a trick I learned at Eden Park, & I don’t actually recommend it – blah!

The wedding reception has finished now so I’m off to bed too.

Monday, 14.2.2005
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I hope it was a good one for you all! Who got gifts? Any secret admirers?

We went to an Oxford University seminar today. We were traveling by foot & bus, & it was absolutely FREEZING today! I asked Vasily what the temperature was & he thought maybe around -20C. It’s the coldest I’ve felt since being here & I made this comment. He said it’s because the weather is warming & so ice & snow are beginning to melt, which makes the atmosphere wet & therefore feel colder. Also there was a wind today. I don’t really care what caused it, I was just in fear for my fingers, nose, ears & toes (girly clothes, shoes & tights required to attend the seminar). Honestly, they were all numb or stinging like crazy. I don’t know if I can bring myself to play the dress-standard game again..it’s just too damned dangerous for me!

Asked the girls in my class tonight what I should expect to pay for a fur coat..they reckon about 7,000 rubles rather than the 18,000 – 20,000 I saw. I find that pretty hard to believe, however I may be able to con a couple of them into taking me shopping. They’ve already suggested taking me to a café some time this weekend. Very cool!!!

For those of you that scoffed at my plans to quit smoking while in Russia, you know nothing!!! Perhaps in Moscow it would have been impossible, but I have yet to find a place in Surgut where you can smoke inside. Popping outside for a ciggie here is a full on production! Take off my jeans, pull on my socks & long johns, and put my jeans back on. Put on traveling boots. Pull on polyprop top, a polar fleece, scarf & jacket. Throw on 2 pairs of gloves & a hat. Lock the door to my room & trot down 2 flights of stairs. Get the door guard to unlock the turnstile so I can leave the building & stand outside for my fag. While I’m doing this I’m on closed circuit TV. Fag finished, it’s back in the doors, get the turnstile unlocked again, up 2 flights of stairs to my ‘apartment’. Take off 2 pairs of gloves, hat, jacket, polar fleece & scarf. Unlock door to room, yank off polyprop, take off boots, kick off jeans, drag off long johns & socks, pull jeans back on & collapse in a gasping, sweaty heap on the bed because it’s so damned hot inside. As a result I haven’t yet smoked a whole packet of cigarettes since leaving NZ – that’s a hell of a change from the pack a day I was doing before I left! I’ve only had one evening of craving, which was Saturday night when I had a couple of glasses of wine. The craving wasn’t nearly enough to induce me to brave the night air though.

Thank goodness I packed all my summer singlet tops because one of those & a pair of jeans is all I wear in my room, & I keep the door open while I’m in it to let some heat out. I have to put on a more ‘seemly’ top & a pair of shoes when I leave my room. I wish I had some shorts! I sleep with just a sheet over me & nothing else, & unfortunately have to keep my bedroom door closed & locked. I spend the nights feeling too hot & suffering dry horrors!

That said I’m off to sniff my full carton of fags & have a slug of orange juice.
Ciao for now!

15.2.2005
Quick Update

Hi,
Please pass on that I will send a proper message, hopefully tomorrow. I’m not allowed in the computer room unsupervised, & it has taken me 2 hours to read through all the messages that were waiting for me. The boy watching over me wants to go home & so I have to finish now.

FREAKING INCONVENIENT!

Will have more time tomorrow.

Love to you all…THANKS HEAPS SEAN AND CLUR for cleaning up after me. THANKS HEAPS BEN for doing all the furniture deliveries.

Tuesday, 15.2.2005

This is the last of the daily updates! From now on I’ll send a generic message to everyone, & then send personal replies to any e-mails I get as often as I can get on-line.

Another sleepless night..I tried taking the sleeping pills my doctor gave me; the first night worked a dream, the second night I was wide awake again. No point in taking them if they don’t work. I think I need elephant strength tranquilisers to make my body learn healthy sleep habits. This, or maybe a hot man in my little single bed every night. Where’s the nearest vet?

Something I haven’t told you about is the coffee here. So far, all I’ve seen is Nescafe instant coffee, & there are only 2 ways you can have it. Black, with the choice of adding sugar if you want; or white. Now white coffee is also instant..empty the sachet into your cup, add water & hey presto you have white coffee, but with a dump truck load of sugar already in it! I can’t stand sweet coffee, so I’m training myself to drink black coffee (it’s not so bad actually). Thank goodness I brought 5 packets of liquorice tea with me, but in light of the coffee situation, & my alcohol-free state, I can’t see the 5 packets lasting me through to December. Yikes!!!

Electrical outlets here are a real treat too. A hole is bashed into the wall, wiring threaded through & attached to the faceplate. The faceplate is then left to dangle from the wall. No screws to hold the thing flush & safely to the wall. There is no on/off switch so it’s live all the time. I hate plugging & unplugging because the faceplate swings around & sparks, & a couple of times has even given a bit of a “bang”, which results in me giving a bit of a squeak. I think my life is more in danger from the electricity than anything else! Thank goodness I’m not a bloke trying to use an electric razor in the bathroom!

In spite of everyone loading me up with massive amounts of food, & me eating almost all of it (though as I mentioned earlier, the fish is proving a bit of a challenge) I’ve dropped a heap of weight. My work pants are HUGE! They are now pinned in at the sides & attached to my tights, & pinned again at the back of my tights to keep them in place. I look bloody awful! I wonder if the weight loss is to do with no booze as much as a spot of stress? I could venture out & buy a bottle of vodka, some beer (potent stuff), & some wine, but I’m not quite sure when I’d fit in a drink. If I was in NZ it wouldn’t be a problem, I’d just pour one as soon as I was home from work, but here it just doesn’t occur to me. Weird! At least I know I’m not an alcoholic!!

At this rate, by the time I get back to NZ both my liver & my lungs will be almost like new. I wonder if I’ll fall back into my old habits then?

Kate, one of my students, just dropped off 8 DVD’s for me to watch, all with English language options. What a darling!!!

Finally got shown where the computer room is this afternoon so I could access e-mail. Dmitri suggested they try to get me access in my room, which would be fab! If I’m in the computer room I have to be supervised, which is a pain for whoever the guard gets to be, & a pain for me because I feel under pressure to get out. It took me the best part of 2 hours to read through the e-mails waiting for me today, & only managed to flick a disgustingly brief message to just a couple of you because, of course my addresses are all stored in Outlook, not xtra! That’s something else I need to change.

My private student, Alex, had his first lesson with me tonight. He’s a great guy..I hope we’ll have some fun over the next 10 months. He’s into food, wine & travel, is very easy to talk to, & all he really wants is speaking practice. He’s also after interview practice & wants to know how to deal with recruitment agencies. It shouldn’t be too hard to fill a couple of hours per week.

Apparently there’s a good teppanyaki restaurant in town that’s reasonably priced. Alex has given me the number for it..of course I can’t call because I can’t speak Russian, but I’m looking forward to going there for a meal!

Sasha & the guard lady were helping me with my Russian tonight. Between the kitchen staff, the security staff, & Sasha, plus the fruit & veg lady at the supermarket, & the ‘bathroom section’ lady at the dairy I should be speaking like a local in no time at all! They are all really great to me. The guard lady even berates me if she thinks I don’t have enough clothes on, & brushes the snow off me when I come inside. My little Russian mum!

I’ve got to say, the people in Surgut are incredibly friendly & helpful & kind..& at this early stage I have only good to say about the place! I thoroughly recommend it to you! Aside from the shonky wiring, & perhaps some of the décor, it’s not at all backward! The cold is more of a non-event here than in NZ because you know it’s cold here & dress appropriately. In NZ we don’t dress properly for the weather & so get to feel cold!

22.2.2005
Up to Today

19.2.05 My Intermediate Class took me out for drinks & a meal. They sat & watched me wolf down my meal, then asked me how I managed to stay slim! Pretty big coming from Russians, ‘cos man they can eat! I had a really good time, in spite of being tired after a sleepless night. One of them brought along her boyfriend..he doesn’t speak English but understands a little. Another of them brought along a friend..he does speak some English. It was good because they each took turns at talking to me, & they all helped each other when any one of them couldn’t find the right words. In return, I peppered my conversation with the Russian words that I know as well as looking up some new words. I also picked up on some of their common phrases & asked what they meant. They were really tickled..they said they’d had an English teacher from Canada last year who didn’t make any attempt to learn Russian. Apparently my pronunciation is great, but my grammar sucks! No surprises with the grammar issue for me. English is supposed to be really difficult to learn; I reckon Russian, German & French are evil with their gender rules!

It was a nice wee bar that we went to, but expensive. It had a huge flat screen playing music videos, Western & Russian. So far I haven’t thought much of the modern Russian music..very much ‘bubble-gum’ pop.

I am now an official member, & the first female member, of the “Siberian Toast Club”! I’ve finally had vodka in Siberia. Sean, please advise the other members we are now 5!

One of the boys tonight (the friend) is a competition standard dancer. I asked if there is a school here that I could go to for dancing lessons, just for fun. He’s offered to teach me! I’m tempted to take him up on his offer because of his skill, but it kind of defeats the purpose. I want to have dancing lessons because I like dancing, but also because I thought it would be a good way to meet people outside of the institute. It’s difficult to get them to understand this.

Thursday & Friday all of my students asked where I live. It’s another thing that’s difficult for them to understand; that I live where I work. They all seem to assume that I’m living in a hotel.

20.2.05 HAPPY BIRTHDAY Frankie! Sorry no phone call or e-mail..I couldn’t buy a phone card today, & of course internet access for me is still an issue! I hope you had a great day & were spoiled. I think there’s only about 5 hours difference between Surgut & FNQ so we should maybe book a day/time for me to call or do the Messenger/webcam thing.

Ben, & anyone else in NZ, we’re about 8 hours apart (with daylight saving) so we’ll need to book days/times also, for both calls & Messenger. Because I work evenings it should be relatively easy for me to get onto the net in the afternoons, which will fit into a reasonable evening hour for you. Toni & Mark, I see you’ve hooked up to Messenger..WAAAAHOOOOOOO!

A really good sleep last night..the first in what seems like ages. It was alcohol induced which is not perfect, but any sleep is better than no sleep! I’d like to say I was up bright & early, but my body grabbed 10 hours of sleep time, so I didn’t wake until 10:30am. I did bound out of bed straight away though, had a shower & did my washing at the same time, tidied my room, & was ready to hit the streets by 1:00pm. Decided to go for a walk & get some fresh air. Fresh? Hmmmm, can you call -25°C to -27°C fresh? Out of the wind, & in the sun, it was quite pleasant. When I say ‘wind’ it was more like a tiny ‘breath’, one we wouldn’t notice at all in NZ, however here it has the ability to numb your entire face in a matter of moments. At these times I had to wrap my scarf around my nose & mouth so I could breathe. The trouble is that the moisture from my breath dampened my scarf & the damned thing froze! I kept popping into little dairy like places just to thaw out. Once I got home I found my hair had frozen into a single dreadlock on the right side of my head, & my eyelashes had frozen then thawed, & oh so beautiful I was too, because this had made my mascara run..WHAT A BABE!!! I’ll have to invest in waterproof mascara!

I walked to the Russian Orthodox Church with the intention of taking some photos, but being so cold & damp, all my camera wanted to do is fog up! Bugger..I’ll have to do this walk again. The round trip took me 3.5 hours. I was pretty tired & cold on the way back home, but I don’t know the bus routes yet, so I just had to tough it out! I did go into one shop to buy chocolate & to put another jacket on. I have to make the trek again though because this church is just so beautiful I’ll be heartbroken if I don’t get a picture of it. I asked a couple of people today if it’s ok to take photos, & they’ve assured me it is..from outside, but not inside. I had assumed pics of the interior would be a no-no. I’ll take photos of the other 2 churches while I’m at it because they’re lovely too. The churches here are really amazing to see.

I had intended walking to the Ob River today too, but it was just too cold, & I was too tired to do it, & there wasn’t much point if I couldn’t take any photos. I can’t wait to get all these shots to send to you.

I also found the mall I’ve been told is the best to go to. They’re right! The food looks way nicer than anywhere else I’ve been, & the shoe shop is WAY cheaper than all the others so far. I’m going back tomorrow to buy a couple of pairs of boots (approx $185 for both). One pair are ankle boots (I know, I know, there is a law against them, but just not here.) They’re fur lined, warm, comfortable, black suede, & quick to get on & off; also kind of skid-proof in the ice – 1300 roubles.
The other pair of boots are pretty much the same but flats, & knee length & 1800 roubles – I saw the same pair in a shop closer to ‘home’ for 4350 roubles. I can wear either pair with jeans & work pants..they’re more presentable & acceptable for going out than my travelers boots (which most definitely are NOT acceptable apparently), & more practical than my girly shoes as far as warmth is concerned. The same shop also has a great pair of leather gloves for $30. I’ll grab them too. The boots & gloves are all things I can wear in NZ too, & being so cheap it’s hard not to grab them.

I’m having mixed feelings about the fur coat issue. I want the warmth & convenience, & it would be very cool to have one as a souvenir, but then I’ll never wear it in NZ. PC police would have me crucified! Also, it’s not really cold enough there for one..unless of course I stick to my guns & live other than in Auckland. Then the other side of the coin is my desire to settle in Port Douglas..no need for a fur coat there! It would be good if I could pick up a leather coat..I would have more practical wear out of one, but I haven’t seen any women’s leather coats or jackets..leather seems to be reserved for the men. I’ll keep looking. If I do pick up a contract elsewhere in Europe for next year I’m going to bring Nana’s silver fox fur over with me & have something functional done with it. The thing is already dead, it’s sitting in the wardrobe waiting for moths at the moment, & it’s beautiful..I should put it to practical use! I wish I’d brought it to Surgut! I saw a silver fox fur hat today! I could have a set!

I watched “Cradle 2 the Grave” & “Arlington Road” tonight on DVD – the first time I’ve succumbed to visual escapism. I’m REALLY, REALLY tired..the movies were good for turning off my brain, & so now I’m off to bed..I’ll be happy if I get 6 hours sleep, anything else will be cause for celebration.

21.2.05 I had a great sleep last night again, but I look like rubbish today. It must be the catch up phase.

I got up early & went to buy my boots. The lousy shop wasn’t open at 10:00am, which is when most shops are open. I considered waiting, but only lasted 5 minutes..it was -27°C, not weather for a wee Kiwi girl to be standing around in. I headed back home..I wasn’t even ½ way when I lost all feeling in my fingers, & my toes started to go numb as well. I was worried about myself & so tried to walk faster. The downside of this is that you create a bigger breeze around yourself & so get colder. I finally got back home & went straight to the bathroom to run cold water over my hands. Man, the pain! My fingers REALLY hurt for about ½ an hour. I don’t want to do that to myself again!!! I went & had a hot roll with cheese, bacon, luncheon sausage & tomato paste, & a hot coffee. Back to my room to cuddle the heater for a while. I put on a second pair of long johns, a second top, a second pair of socks, then my 2 jackets & now 3 pairs of gloves, with scarf & hat, to go out & buy those boots. The shop was still closed so I went to the one next door. Their boots were a little more expensive, but they had some very sexy shoes which I have put away until tomorrow (I reached my daily limit for my card in their machines - $400). So today I bought 2 pairs of boots. Tomorrow I will collect a third pair of boots & 2 pairs of sexy shoes, plus a jersey. The ladies LOVE me. They gave me a little knitted top as a gift, plus coffee & a huge plate of fresh fruit & lollies. Cool! We sat in the shop together & chatted, ate & drank for about ½ an hour. They’re from Armenia, & one of them speaks very good English. They have 2 shops..one is the shoe shop, the other is a clothing shop (hence the gifted top, & the jersey to buy tomorrow). I tried to turn the gifted top down, but Tamara’s rationale is that I’ve been a good customer already, & if they give me gifts & discounts I will return to their shops. Sound reasoning, however there’s not much I’m likely to buy from the clothing shop..it’s mainly geared towards the larger woman, & mostly pretty ‘mumsy’. The shoe shop on the other hand…mmmmmmm

Today’s boots are:-
A black leather pair, narrow but not pointy toes, with a wedge heel (very popular here) with lambs wool lining (& oh so comfortable!)
2. A brown suede pair, square toed, molded rubber soles with a slight heel, & lamb’s wool lining.

Tomorrow’s boots are black suede, square toed flats, with lambs wool lining. As for the shoes..well, I’ll send you a photo, but they’re sexy Italian heels for NZ$40 each (fab sale!)..girls you’ll be proud of me! Now all I need is a skirt or dress to wear them with.

The reason for this extravagant expenditure is that the 2 pairs of shoes I brought with me (black heels & little red flats) are completely impractical here, & my traveling boots are unacceptable for anything other than walking the streets. The boots I’ve bought are warm enough to wear outside & good looking enough to wear to work or out. They all have thick rubber soles which is a good thing, because we all know how ‘dainty’ I am when walking – so much noise from one so small!!!

All boots & shoes will work well in NZ as well as here. They’re just too cheap not to grab..even more so now they’re on sale.

I’m not sure whether it’s because I’m tired or if it’s from my 2 long walks in the freezing cold, but I’m really wrinkly under my eyes today! I hope it’s temporary, but if it’s permanent & caused by the cold conditions then I’m not going for any walks until it gets warmer! I’ll look 80 years old in a couple of weeks at this rate! I had counted on cryogenic effects here, but perhaps not! It’s 7 hours since I got back from my first excursion to the shops this morning & my fingers still hurt..wow, I think I must have been pretty close to doing some real damage to myself. Speaking to Vasily today, he agrees the weather is very unpleasant at the moment. He says he’s been here in temperatures close to -50°C & not felt as cold..it’s the moisture in the atmosphere that’s doing the damage. Next week it will officially be spring here. I guess that means more moisture & dangerous conditions. Yikes!!!

There’s a gym here at the institute (another thing I’ve learned today) & so I’m going to start using it. If it’s too dangerously cold outside to go for a walk I need to work off my energy somehow, & so the gym will be a life-saver!

I’ve been told today I’m expected to pay for my internet access. I’m brassed off because Vasily had told me I would have free access. I’ve just found his e-mail telling me this, so I will show him tomorrow & try to hold him to this commitment.

22.2.05 Waaaaaaah! Only 3.5 hours sleep last night. A car alarm went off at about 2:30am & no-one turned it off. It finally stopped at about 4:30am (I think the car battery must have died). With that, a new car alarm went off in the university grounds..& no-one turned that off for an hour. Finally silence..but this set the dogs off because they were disconcerted by the silence! I gave up at 6:00am & got out of bed. This morning I’m thinking this is exactly why I should be climbing into a bottle of wine every night..alcohol induced deafness & sleep! I’m tired & cranky..hopefully new shoes will cheer me up!

My little ‘Russian mum’ security lady said my name this morning, & then said ‘ok’ when I thanked her in Russian for letting me in the door. What a HONEY, I could pick her up & HUG her!!!

Time to go & grab some breakfast then off to a class belonging to one of the other English teachers just to say hi, and then collect my new shoes. I’ll take pics then send this message.

I hope you’re all well & happy, warm & safe! By the way, all but one of my fingers have stopped hurting now. Whew!! My eyes are still a bit wrinkly & dark, but not as bad as yesterday (yay the papaw ointment..thanks Andy Paterson for this stuff). It’s official, no more long walks in the cold!

It’s occurred to me I have no idea what’s happening in the world. TV is of no use to me because I can only get one TV channel, I don’t have a radio, and I can’t read the paper. I’ve decided to make this part of my teaching..each student must contribute to an English ‘newspaper’ for me. I’ll buy some exercise books for this purpose today.

Week 3 in Surgut

I MISS SORBENT & PUREX TOILET PAPER, & PROPER TISSUES!

Wednesday, 23/02/2005 9:55 p.m. A man arrived in the classroom tonight asking for scissors, although I didn’t know what he wanted at the time. My students told me after he’d left the room. I grabbed a pair & chased him down the hall to give them to him, but he didn’t want them anymore. He came back to the classroom about ½ an hour later & asked if he could come to my classes to learn English. ”Of course” I said. When my class ended & the students had left he came back to the room & asked me to go with him to his office; his office is opposite my classroom. Sergei is a distributor of Tahitian Noni (have you heard of it? I haven’t! It’s some sort of super fruit juice – disgusting stuff!) Noni looks a bit like a cross between breadfruit & pineapple. The leaves of the Noni look the same as those of the breadfruit. Sergei offered me a shot of Russian cognac (several actually), toasted me each time, & told me he would like to “have a party with the beautiful English teacher.” Am I supposed to toast him in return? He asked how often I’m in Surgut & was interested to know I’m here every day until the end of December. He’s written down the name of a good brand of vodka for me to buy. It would be better for me to take him on as a private student ($$$$$), but I’ve told him he can join the classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays. He said he would join us on Friday. He had on a really cool pair of jeans – the weave was different. Am I obligated to return the drinks invite?

It was “Men’s Day today, a public holiday, so I had the institute almost to myself for most of the day. Very cool! Quiet & relaxing. Watched a couple of DVD’s; A Beautiful Mind (I napped through some of this one, I can’t stand Russell Crowe) & Johnny English (with Rowan Atkinson & Natalie Imbruglia). I got serious giggles over this movie, all by myself with a bottle of coke, a super sized snickers bar, a big bar of almond chocolate, a big bag of chips & a pot of yogurt! These were all eaten between my meals. Michelle Young, Natalie Imbruglia reminded me heaps of you..made me a little homesick. Only 3 of my students turned up tonight, the other 2 obviously celebrated today.

I’ve found out that it’s compulsory for men aged between 18 & 27 years to do 2 years in the army. The only ways to avoid this are:-
1. go to university & do higher education (meaning be a real brain-box) & probably a parallel university military course along with whatever else you’re studying
2. have a wife & at least 2 children under the age of 2 years (but you’d probably have to go to university as well)
3. get off on medical grounds

No wonder they’re all surprised you’re not married with children, Ben! They all look at me with horror when I say I’ve told you you’re not allowed to get married or have kids for another 10 years at least! They’re also all bemused when I say I don’t have a husband. They assume I’ve left my husband in NZ & always ask what my husband thinks of me being away from him for a year.

Thursday, 24/02/2005 3:29 p.m. Oh my good grief! I paid my visa last night & saw how much that stupid hat cost me..NZ$490! I hope it’s sable or mink..but it’s probably the Russian version of road-kill possum! It took me 30 minutes to come to my senses & pick myself up off the floor. Shatter me!..I’ve been told I can probably pick up a fur coat for NZ$700! I got fleeced..that’ll teach me to go shopping without a calculator & some idea of the exchange rate! Still, what price my life aye? My watch cost me NZ$120, & my carton of fags cost NZ$20 (which I might add still barely has a dent in it!)

I’ve woken a couple of mornings this week thinking it must be the weekend because I can hear someone’s lawnmower. Silly bimbo..no grass here..it’s the snow plough clearing the roads!

Nelly, the other English teacher here translated my name for me today..it’s ‘blahgorazoomniya’ (spelled phonetically with emphasis on the bold syllable). All she said was “That’s you, it suits you”. I’ll pin her down tomorrow for a full explanation. This was about 2:30pm & I needed food urgently so I couldn’t ask her more at the time. She’d talk the leg off an iron pot, so I have to be wary of the time when I’m with her.

There wasn’t much food to choose from by the time I got to the café; I ended up with a bun that has a centre of baked sour cream. It’s nice but very rich, & my tummy was churning by the time I got to the last few bites.

It’s really warm today, only -8°C, & snowing..I guess it’s really just frozen rain as it’s very overcast.

Friday, 25/02/2005 9:39 a.m. My wee Russian mum has been doing some research. She asked me “how are you?” & “what’s your name?” in English last night. Little poppet! I told her my name & asked her in really bad Russian how she was. She told me in really good Russian. The she told me, again in good Russian, that she & I are friends. She took my hand & poured a load of little black things into it. They looked like miniature coffee beans. She told me to eat them. I put one in my mouth & chewed away. She thought it was a real hoot..they’re nuts & I ate one shell & all! Once shelled they look & taste like little pine nuts. Pine nuts are not in their vocab, but I’m pretty sure that’s what they are.
2:50 p.m. They ARE pine nuts..I saw a packet in the supermarket & the label had a couple of pine cones on it! Ha, just call me Prudenka Bond 043!
I had a disconcerting experience while out shopping today. I was in a shop so hauled off my gloves, hat, scarf & 2 jackets. During this process I discovered I ‘smell’. Not BO or sweaty smells, but just different from everyone else. I’ve become used to everyone smelling of fish, which I’m not eating. Diet can have a huge effect on the way you smell, & of course my diet remains different. They probably think I smell disgusting! How embarrassing! Nothing I can do about it though. I guess I noticed it in the shop because I was surrounded by ‘fishy’ people. I usually strip off in my room where there’s only me & my own smell.
5:28 p.m. I’ve discovered a new taste sensation..strawberry juice! It comes in a carton like McCoy’s, & it’s gorgeous. They have all sorts of different juices here, & I’m drinking a heap of it. At the moment my fridge contains orange juice, grapefruit juice, strawberry juice & tomato juice. Also a couple of bottles of some kind of soft drink..it’s the closest thing to Soda with a Twist that I’ve found. Oranges, green grapes, lemons, feta, salami, yogurt, a 6 litre bottle of water, & a bottle of vermouth completes the contents list. Oh, & a potato salad for dinner tonight. In the freezer I have a packet of pretzels, a packet of crackers, some wine biscuits, my passport, registration documentation, migration & vaccination certificates, my contract with the Institute, & some US cash. Very nutritious wouldn’t you say? The salami is a vacuum packed heart attack! It is sooooooo fatty it will probably last me until December! Wring it out & there’d be enough grease to service every car in NZ!
I was finally taken to a bank today to arrange an account. Vasily asked them to issue a credit card which they agreed to do; only they didn’t take much information, so I asked Vasily to check if it was a debit card they were issuing. Sure enough! Vasily & the lady serving us had never heard of debit cards (they call all cards ‘credit’ cards), & so they were quite pleased to have learned something! Perhaps there’s a career as a training consultant in banking here for me too! I’ve been given 5 CD’s to listen to today (& of course I copied them to my i-Pod.) 3 jazz CD’s (very cool) & a couple of club music CD’s (not completely to my taste, but they’re ok as random tracks sometime in the 7 days of continuous music.

I think Sergei, the Tahitian Noni distributor, may really be Sergei the Stickman! He was a no-show at school tonight & he hasn’t called Vasily about fees! Obviously having “a party with the beautiful English teacher” is a euphemism for “let’s get laid!”

I took photos of ‘my kids’ last night. This one is of my Intermediate Group. They’re the ones who took me out last Saturday. From the left they are:-
Irina (16 years old, she drives me NUTS! About as motivated & interesting as a soggy tissue), Kate (22 years old, a fantastic girl, she’s the one supplying me with music, DVD’s & weekend outings), Irene (23 years old, & a real ‘Parnell Princess’, very driven & focused), Natasha (18 years old, & as naïve as a kindy kid), Nastya (18 years old & maybe not as naïve as I originally thought, a real sweetie though). This is a great group, but they’re devils for not doing their homework! I tossed my toys at them the other night, telling them I hadn’t traveled from the other side of the world to spend my evenings with people who expected to be spoon fed. They were very sheepish & all but Irina are working much better! I’d love to throw Irina out of the class but that’s not an option.

Saturday, 26 February 2005 1:52p.m. Slept late this morning..woke around 10:30 I think, & I’m feeling human. Bustled around doing “housework”, putting shoe & serviette boxes to good use as book & stationary holders, storage units for miscellaneous plugs & cables, hair colour & nail polish. Now that I’m living a more genteel & lady-like life, I have fingernails! Much prettier, but so time consuming & labour intensive, & they play havoc with my typing!
With my hair getting longer now I’m going to have to bite the bullet & buy a comb & some hairclips! What a crazy life I’m living!
STOP PRESS: No wedding or any other kind of function at the Institute tonight..Oh what bliss!

I never managed to blow dry or straighten my hair today..the electrical outlet I needed was busy recharging my camera batteries. How do you like the top? It’s the one I was given by the Armenian ladies for being a good customer (boots, shoes & jersey).

Monday, 28 February 2005 4:43p.m. Nothing of interest to report for Sunday. I spent much of the weekend creating my “Siberian Adventure” album & sleeping. I should have gone exploring because the weather was quite mild, but my memories of freezing my fingers off & my eyes out are still a bit too vivid, & R&R were more beneficial. There’s plenty of time to explore the city over the next 10 months.

Slept late again this morning. I can’t believe how tired I am. I wonder if it’s a combination of sleeping badly for such an extended period & enforced inactivity here making me wind down? Perhaps you’ll meet a new, slower, less flighty, more relaxed Prue when I return to NZ.

I spoke to another couple of day classes today & will probably pick up some extra students as a result. A boy in the first class has offered to take me to their Victory Day celebrations in May. A boy in the second class asked me if I’ve been clubbing here in Surgut yet. I said no, because I don’t know anyone as yet, & also because I’m a bit old for clubbing in NZ so hadn’t given any thought to it here. They told me I am ‘a modern woman, very beautiful’ & I will be fine clubbing here. Hmmmm, I’m not convinced, though I guess in a club the pain of not being able to communicate is lessened because no-one can with the music being so loud!

I start a completely new group tomorrow, but at this stage have no idea what the expectations are. Communication & details are not Vasily’s strengths!
He confessed to me on Thursday that he suffers from depression (no shite, Sherlock!) & wants to talk to me about it. There’s not much I can do for him because even if he does actually sit down & talk to me, he never stops & listens..he constantly interrupts. I haven’t yet given him an answer to anything he’s asked!

I reached lower heaven today..chicken & buckwheat for lunch. This is the first day I haven’t had meatballs for lunch in almost 3 weeks.

I know why the women here wear stilettos in these treacherous conditions. The heels act as ice picks & anchor you to the ground! Very clever! So now I have boots with heels!