Anyway, as you can imagine, the temperature has dropped considerably. I think we hit a chilly -16 one night, but generally speaking we have had quite a bit of -10 and some random hopping to and from a high of 0 degrees. The thermals are well and truly out of the wardrobe and looking like Michelin woman feels normal. I’ve been wearing boots for so long now, that the other day when I popped on a pair of trainers to go downstairs, my feet felt naked.
So what has been going down in Yaroslavl and my insignificant life as of late? Well, as a class we have been rehearsing for the play which we will be putting on for our babushkas this weekend. We are performing a version of the Russian fairy tale called ‘Teremok’ which means ‘Pretty Little Cottage’. We have all been assigned different animals and people to play. I’m going to put it out there- I am the frog. I was not initially pleased with this news! But with further consideration, I am pleased because it is a very small part. I’m a bit worried though because I’m yet to make it through the whole play without crumbling into laughter. It’s just so funny. Our teacher Anna also has some specific asks of us. She has demonstrated how I should jump across the stage in the most frog-like way. She also said that in Russia, frogs don’t “ribbit”, but they “kvark”. Need I say any more? Apart from, frogs blatantly “ribbit.”
Things at home are okay, although I’m missing proper home for some particular reasons. It’s really starting to get to me that I’m living in somebody else’s house. Even though I pay rent, I am beginning to feel rude when I spend a long time in my room doing my own thing. I worry that I wash my clothes too often and that I put my shoes in the wrong place. And I’m fed up of being told that I don’t eat. I really do like Natasha, but last night’s food really hit rock bottom. Natasha put in front of me a plate piled up with really soft cauliflower, slices of slimy mushrooms and cheese. This could quite easily sound vaguely edible, but in all seriousness, it was the most vile thing I have eaten here so far. It was just a plate of grey slop. I narrowly missed having to eat a fish cutlet as well. I’m very open to trying new food here. I always give things a go, but basically there was no way on earth that what was on that plate could be good in any way.
I’m very pleased that I have come this far, but my body feels exhausted. A combination of sitting in the cold, eating very unsatisfying food and generally doing a lot of work has made me feel quite tired and my legs and arms hurt! Cannot wait until I can just sit in my own living room, sleep in my own bed, and just eat some piping hot food that hasn’t been tampered with by any babushka.
Anyway, today we went on a school trip to the town of Rostov, which is just an hour away from Yaroslavl. I had such a good day! On the journey there we had a group discussion about various deaths over the years in ‘Neighbours’. This is what we’re becoming. So when we arrived there, we first of all went to Rostov’s Kremlin and had a guided tour. It was really fascinating and just beautiful to see. We went into an odd shop where they sell ceramic whistles in the shape of various animals. I considered buying one, but then thought:
1) I don’t want a whistle
2) Who would want a whistle?
3) I wouldn’t buy one of those bird whistles being sold by that guy outside the Tate Modern, so why would I want to buy one in Russia?
So I just ooed and ahhed a little bit and then left.
We then went to a gallery of Russian art, which I really enjoyed. A lot of the art there was Icon paintings. Icons are hugely important in Russia. Not only can you buy them pretty much everywhere, but people have them in their houses and in their cars. Ordinarily, I would take little interest in this kind of art, but our guide was so thorough and good that she really got me interested. She explained everything from the way in which they are painted, to the meanings of the different images and even what each colour signified. It was truly fascinating and I couldn’t believe that I was seeing 500 year old works of art. The icon artists have to follow strict guidelines of how they are to paint. So in a way, I found it a bit surreal being surrounded by wall upon wall of identical faces looking at me with the same expression. After the icons, we saw a range of Russian art through the ages which I also loved.
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| Finift Jewellery |
Rostov is famous for a certain type of craft called ‘Finift’. ‘Finifit’ has a very unique style which is used most commonly to make jewellery and ornaments. It takes incredible skill to make jewellery in this way, as we saw when we visited the factory and museum. The process consists of many, many complex stages. But the general idea is that images of flowers, scenes or icons are finely and delicately painted with extremely thin brushes, onto a plate of enamel. This design is then set into a very decorative frame, which can be compared to what we would describe as filigree. The filigree is painstakingly crafted with tiny, individual strands of thin metal which are shaped into beautifully elegant curls and swirls. Each layer of paint on the enamel must be dried before applying the next coat and the special paint will never dry if not put into the kiln. I cannot describe how incredible it was to see the artists painting in this way. Some of them were copying scenes from photographs onto the enamel and they were like exact replicas. It really was such a unique and unbelievable skill to watch.
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| My Finift Ring |
When we got home, there was a small blizzard in Yaroslavl. The weather was alternating between very heavy snow and hail. When I got into my flat, I was oddly able to pick bits of ice out of my hair. But after a very enjoyable day and a well earned small break from Yaroslavl, I am very tired and happy to be in the warm.
It’s good be a nice chunk of the way into November now. Hopefully the snow will arrive for good soon and will brighten everything up a bit. Hope it’s not too cold in England. (not). J
Ciao!
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