Bass and Borscht.

My Borscht

Well, I am officially in Russia! Currently sitting on my bed indulging in some itunes. God, I don’t even know where to start really. I’ll try with the beginning. The flight was absolutely fine, although I’ll try to avoid British Airways scrambled egg in future. Managed not to cry at the airport. I then thought I would cry when the plane took off, but I had a really unexpected feeling of excitement so was chuffed with that. Met the Bristol uni lot just before boarding the plane and they’re really lovely which was the first relief! So we got off the plane and waited around for a bit to meet our driver Andrei who was to take us from Moscow Domodedovo airport to Yaroslavl.

When we finally found Andrei, the eight of us got into this minibus thing. Out of nowhere came what I can only describe as Russian dance music or something. I’m not kidding, it was so loud and I just sat there thinking...how am I going to tolerate this for three hours? (Actually ended up being five hours). The minibus had inbuilt speakers which were just blasting out this surreal music, which, initially, only Andrei was appreciating. There was serious bass going on and the whole car was buzzing. I’m not gonna lie, I did get weirdly used to it after a while. A couple of hours into the journey everyone fell asleep. And it was only when we all woke up that we realised the music had gone off for a bit. Anyway, Russian driving. Oh my god. People just cut you up and swerve in front of you. You seem to always be able to see the scene of at least one minor accident at any one time. There are loads of old bangers about...some cars with their whole back window boarded up and smashed in sides. They literally look like they’re about to disintegrate. I was taking all this in and Andrei meanwhile, was driving extremely fast on the Moscow motorway whilst texting on his phone. The surroundings were so strange. There were lots of restaurants and things along the way but they were ALL deserted. It was quite unsettling. What I did like though, was watching babushkas walk along the side of the roads arm in arm. Half way through the journey, we stopped off to get something to eat. We went to a really strange restaurant which was empty, but there was a bear stuck to the wall, as you do. None of us knew what to order, but some of us got borscht (beetroot soup). It was actually really nice! We got back into the car and continued the journey.

Finally, and I mean after what seemed like days, we arrived in Yaroslavl. By this time it was very dark outside. Anna, the organiser of our language school came to meet us and she was going to take us each to our hosts. We had stopped in a little area with some apartment blocks, and the first three people were taken to their flats. At this point, I was freaking out because they were all together and I really, really didn’t want to be stranded somewhere on my own. Anna came back and said that two people were going to have to take the bus to school..and I was just thinking- please don’t let that be me. But we drove on a little further and luckily my name was called along with Kate. From the outside, our apartment block looks dreadful. There’s no denying this, it just looks a state and you really do feel like you’re stepping back in time. My host lady Natasha came to meet me outside and I immediately knew she was going to be nice. She was there with her son Misha who I think is about sixteen or seventeen. We got up to the apartment which has two doors. One of the doors is a massive metal one, and the other door is covered in leather. Yes, Leather. It’s a nice place actually. I have a nice bedroom with balalaikas on the wall. There are some quite odd aspects of the flat though. The toilet just looks like it’s going to fall over. And there is no bathroom sink. You therefore have to wash your hands in the bath and brush your teeth over the bath. Oh and the toilet paper is dark grey tracing paper. Ooooh lovely! Was so happy to discover the two cats that live here though. I think they’re called Darcy and Masyana. Darcy’s mouth is all red because she fell of the balcony four days ago apparently. Anyway, Natasha was talking to me in Russian at an incredible speed and I had no idea what she was saying. I feel like a stuck record saying “Da, da, da, da, da, harosho” all the time. Well awkward. But Natasha and Misha are really nice. It’s amazing how little I actually know how to say though. I was trying to act out “shellfish”. Unsuccessfully. Definitely going to have a dictionary on hand all the time now. It’s also massively awkward watching tv with them, because they’re both sitting there laughing and I just know that whatever I do I’m going to like an idiot. If I just keep a straight face then I look much too serious, but it’s really hard to laugh when you blatantly don’t know what’s going on. I was then presented with a huge slab of cake.

Took me ages to get to sleep because I had been awake so long and was thinking about everything that happened during the day. But when I finally did I slept through till morning. I got to try “Kasha” which is Russian porridge. I absolutely hate porridge and this wasn’t any better. It just wasn’t going down well...but I was helped by a big cup of black tea. Then I was told that I had to be ready to be shown where my school is in fifteen minutes...so I didn’t even have time to have a shower. Grim times indeed. Misha, Kate and I walked to the school and met Harry. I’m not going to remember where it is in the morning. And also really panicking about how to open and close the front doors..it’s not straightforward. Anyway, we went into town on the bus, which costs twelve roubles per journey. Everyone around you just looks deeply troubled all the time. All the old ladies wear scarves round their heads, proper babushka style. Fashion wise, it’s all very 90’s here. Small children with mullets galore and plenty of tracksuits to go around. We were walking around one part of town and there were big speakers blasting out patriotic music. Misha kindly told me and Kate that this area of Yaroslavl has the most crime (as we watched a boy walk past shooting a toy gun). I replied, “well I come from London” only to be told, “London crime, that is kindergarten.” Schweeet. He also told me never to speak to the man who lives nextdoor to us because he has a drink problem and is crazy.

So anyway, I have taken lots of photos of the town. There are some beautiful parts but also some quite depressing parts. I was so relieved to talk to Kate and Harry today because they had experienced all the same weirdness as I had. For example, Kate also doesn’t have a sink. I also visited a Russian shop for the first time. They really do know how to welcome you. The drinks counter looks like a tombola stall and you have to ask for what you want. The women behind the counters just glare at you. Quite intimidating. Misha also just goes up to guys in the street and gets cigarettes off them which is an interesting way of doing things.

So I got home and had some lunch which consisted of some form of chicken. They were like..little mini burgers. Accompanied by shredded beetroot which tasted a bit creamy, cabbage, spaghetti and tea. And that’s everything. If you’ve read up until this point, then good effort. I wouldn’t have.

I’ll be getting to school for ten tomorrow morning. I’m really looking forward to it actually. All in all, I’ve got off to a good start here. It’s all quite daunting for obvious reasons and the language barrier is very difficult. I think after a while it will do my head in, but being as hopeless as I am at Russian conversation, the only way is up. And I will improve my acting skills. I really, really like it here. Not because the area is particularly welcoming, because it’s not. But I love it because everything is just so, so different from what I know and it is oddly refreshing! I really do feel such a long way from home, but for now I’m just fine. Can’t believe I’m finally here and that I have four months of this ahead of me. It’s certainly going to make me appreciate home comforts. Good news though, I’ve spotted a few snickers bars about.