December 15, 2010

Today, I woke up to have croissants and Italian Christmas cake (which is exactly like our Easter cake but without raisins) and champagne for breakfast)) I had more sleep later to make up from the day I spent travelling, and we watched Love Actually in the evening. I am looking forward to seeing the city. Tomorrow, Christmas Carols. Oh, one more thing: I got another message from the UN and they expect to see me on the 18th of January for the oral examination!!! I might fail French, though...

December 14, 2010

Today, I went on one of the longest and most tiring trips ever. I woke up at 5.30 a.m. and we set off to Finland at six. Thankfully, I managed to get some sleep on the bus, we passed all the borders quite quickly, and it was beautifully snowy outside... Knowing that I'd have to wait at the airport for several hours I hope we wouldn't get there until 3 p.m. local time, but we were already there at 2. The flight was at 21.15. There were two more people going to London, and we spent all that time with them, chatting and drinking coffee. The flight was all right except for the three English girls who spoke extremely loudly about their diets and gossiped about their friends... and the one sitting right in front of me pushed her seat backwards so far that I could harly move for the rest of flight. She, generally behaved like an utter bitch and didn't even say sorry when my neighbour told her that she was making my flight very uncomfortable.
On arrival, everything went fine, I was let into the couthry without any problems, wasn't asked any questions at all, got the ticket to Southampton all right and got off at the right station to change trains. If only I hadn't missed my train to S. It wasn't really my fault because there was hardly any information on my platform and the train said Bournemouth, but how was I supposed to know if it went to Southampton if even the locals didn't... So, it was past midnight and I was stuck at Clapham Junction. I must admit, I swore quite a lot when I found out the only way for me to get to Southampton this night was to take the next train at 2.15 a.m., then change for a bus at a station called Basingstoke because of engineering works and finally get at Southampton Central at 3 something in the morning. And I did get there but at four, because the train moved even slowlier than expected. I asked a bloke on the train what kind of engineering works these were and he said, "Engineering works means four people in orange jackets having a cuppa, love". The bright side of this adventure was that I saw a lovely-looking city called Winchester while on the bus and met some interesting people on the way. Who would have expected to talk to a guy from Manchester who had arrived in Southampton to see the Docks at 4 a.m.? To begin with, he thought I was local and then complimented my English, then it turned out that he'd been to St. Petersburg and Moscow and Beijing and many other places! What a traveller! In the end, he wished me luck, kissed me on the cheek and called me sweetheart))))))

December 13, 2010

Today, I finished packing and did some Christmas shopping. Also, went to work to say happy birthday to one of the colleagues and saw more icicles being cut off. Whenever I see such enormous icicles I think of death, they're just so so scary.

December 12, 2010

Today, I mostly stayed in, tidying up and packing. I did have one lesson and it was lovely)

December 11, 2010

Today, I had a haircut and received my WAllace and Gromit package!!! That's basically all that happened... I was stunned in the morning to see that practically all the snowy mess had been cleared off the roads during the night. And the district where my hairdresser lives just looked incredibly beautiful and magical... so so so much snow! And it was so white that my eyes hurt!

December 10, 2010

Today, Anya, Anya and I went to a club. That was supposed to be the highlight of the past few weeks. We chose the same club, that is Radiobaby. The music was all right, we still liked the design and the company of each other... But I realized that I'd never ever ever ever understand people who go out on a regular basis. As soon as I looked around when dancing (I do happen to like watching people) I met so many looks filled with, I don't know... lust? desire? some kind of perverted curiosity? But that was all right... because I had nothing to be afraid of being with friends. But when some people we knew turned up, we were all very disappointed to see a married guy make advances to all the three of us... and all that in the presence of his wife. His friend turned out to be an absolute pervert: he asked me and one of the Anyas to kiss in front of him... Sigh... Well, we still we happy to have met up and went to my place in the morning to laugh about the whole thing and come to the conclusion that it's not worth getting married if you are going to seduce other women in two and a half years...

December 9, 2010

Today, I felt nostalgic and sentimental. It might have been my last day at work. Things are not going great with the project but I still think they will "go live" on the 1st of January and that means that my participation will not be needed any more... So, I looked at everyone in a different way today, thinking that I might never see them again (especially the German colleagues). Two of them were leaving, and they both kissed me when saying goodbye, and that was really touching. I had similar thoughts during the rehearsal because it might have been the last one this year... It's very sad that I will not be at the concert because now I'm starting to get what the chorus master wants from us, what he means by those metaphors, and I am going to miss other choristers...
The weather was extraordinary today (and it still is). I haven't seen such a blozzard for a while! It's been snowing since three or four in the afternoon and I already can't see the bushes that grow near the road because they're covered with snow! They say it will keep snowing until morning and I can't imagine what it's going look like!

December 8, 2010

Today will be written down in history books as the day when I bought the tickets to see Coldpplay at Werchter, Belgium, on the 2nd of July. It fits perfectly into my dreams about the summer and I can't believe another dream will come true.

December 7, 2010

Today, we had a rehearsal in the concert hall. I can't say we did very well but I really enjoyed it. And I start liking the new chorus master. Well, they're both quite adorable, and with their singing skills and good ear and sense of music they just seem so extraordinary, nearly like some sort of deities... When our main chorus master was giving a speech to make us pull ourselves together before the concert, I was furtively watching this new chap (he's barely older than us) conducting one of the songs to himself, very passionately, waving his hands and moving his lips and nearly jumping on his chair. I smiled to myself, wondering if all conductors live in their own world...

December 6, 2010

Today has been pretty hilarious so far. I don't know if it's my new boots, or the music in my ears or, generally, pretty damn good mood I am in... So, in the morning I was employed and then fired within three minutes. During the lunch break I went out to take some pictures and took a shot of some enormous icicles falling off the roof. The day was short, so I went home pretty early and popped in the post office on my way to get three more staple removers for my collection. Now, this is the climax of the day. So, I'm waiting for the bus shivering in the cold when this bloke comes up. "Oh, I'm so tired, I've walked all the way from the metro station" - "Oh." (Very stupid of you, really) - "So, what's your name? I'm Vitaly." (I'm ignoring the question pretending that I didn't hear). .... "So, what's your name?" - "Sasha" - "I'm Vitaly" - "Pleasure" - "Do you live here?" - "Y..." - "Are you married?" - (Now, that's fast) "Erm... So many questions at once..." - "I'm not from here, actually" - (I can tell) - "I'm from Siberia". - "Oh, wow!" - "Yeah. I'm looking for a girlfriend. For a good girlfriend" - "Right" (Are you, now?) - "So, are you married?" - "No. Does it change anything?" - "I'm just wondering. What if your husband turns up now and beats me up..." - "No, he won't" (I wish) - "Actually, I don't like it here too much" - "Really? Why?" - "I don't know... I liked it better in Moscow" - "Ohhhh... you should never tell this to locals... It's the worst insult you can think of" (Sorry, mate, your chances have just gone from zero to minus hundred). - "It's not too cold here" - "Well, we're not in Siberia either" (You, bastard, I'm freezing)- ... "Right, I should go" And he left.

December 5, 2010

Today, we decided not to go to Pavlovsk because the weather changed and it would be far too wet for a walk. I did, however, went out to see the new Harry Potter film in the afternoon! I took two more "fans" with me, and we all enjoyed it immensely. It felt like seeing old friends, who live very far away and only come over once in two years. Indeed, we have known them for about ten years now... And now they're grown-ups, and Ron is broad-shouldered, Harry has a stubble, Hermione has long legs (but she's still a little bit of a bore), Ron's brothers are as handsome as ever, and only Snape, very sadly, looks much older... And we didn't like the translation... We had lots of fun, commenting on things we saw (like Harry and Hermione kissing) and I think the rest of the audience wasn't too happy about it. But, well, let's face it, they were doomed from the very beginning, when Anya and I chose that particular time to see it. There were a couple of very touching moments, and, again, just as I did when I was listening to the book, I cried when the Putin-looking elf called Tobby was killed... I can't wait to see the second part with the whole Snape-Lily Potter story and the final battle...
I feel like listening to the book again, to be filled with that sense of adventure and mystery and magic)
And when I came home, I rushed to the laptop to see the latest episode of Misfits (now that I'm addicted) and it was rather shocking. I am now counting days to see the next one on Thursday.

December 4, 2010

Today, I had a proper, colourful Saturday. After watching Misfits until five a.m. (naughty, naughty) I had no voice in the morning. Besides, we weren't warmed up properly by our new chorus master (the rehearsal was at 11 a.m.) and I sounded like a very old grammophon... It was still lovely, however, because it turned out that in the absence of our main chorus master, this new one can smile and joke charmingly. One of his masterpieces was (when convincing the sopranos that they must gove out the sound to the audience): Let it out! All of it! It may sound ugly but do it!
We then spent some time in a cafe in the centre, I had a lesson and then we were supposed to meet some couchsurfers which we never did... But we did some shopping and then went to this new club called RadioBaby. I saw the link on a friend's wall on facebook and it turned out he actually is the director there... We didn't have a proper night-out this time, but enjoyed the atmosphere and the drinks and, which is the most important thing, the music there and are definitely going back. I've been feeling like dancing since then...

December 3, 2010

Today, I didn't have to go to work and enjoyed staying in. I did some translation and found out more about pilrimage in China and India, and then, when I was tired and decided to indulge myself, I started watching Misfits, recommended by a friend, and then I regretted it because I just couldn't stop. I watched 5 episodes in one evening, and I adored it! So, so gripping! To say nothing of the numerous accents...

December 2, 2010

Today, I heard a choir that sounded like I wish we could! I skipped the rehearsal, actually, to go to the Mariinsky Concert Hall to hear Russian folk songs! Oh, that was so so so amazing! The sound was so serene and moving, and even the songs that I had never heard before felt so familiar... That must be in the blood or something... That might sound cheesy but at some point I looked around and saw other people's glistening eyes and vague smiles, which made me think that they're bound to feel the same... The concert was only one hour-long but it was unforgettable!

December 1, 2010

Today was the first day of winter! There are very scary icicles going down off the roofs near the office, and they make me feel uncomfortable. Work went all right, but was a little bit boring. Later on, I was to have a lesson, and it was before then that I was woken up properly. The traffic lights weren't working, so when there was a substatial group of people willing to cross, we just started going, but then, somehow I found myself alone among many cars beeping and going... and I panicked for a very short moment and wanted to go back to the pavement and, thank goodness, that car stopped in time. I hated myself for being that ridicuous and immediately imagined boarding a plane with a couple of limbs in plaster...

November 30, 2010

Today, at least the first, working part of the day, was horrendous. It took us a lot of effort to wake up and then get up after going to bed at five. It was snowing when I got to the metro station and it was rather hard to walk to the office. Imagine my shock and irritation, when I arrived, breathing hard, to see that they already had an interpreter. I felt humiliated, called the main office and was told to go there, because there had been a mistake, and they actually needed an interpreter in both places. Ok, another kilometer to the station, metro, office. I stayed there for a mere couple of hours, had a nice lunch, and as I was chewing on the last bit, I was called again and told that I was needed at the other office again, because the other interpreter couldn't stay after lunch. Thank goodness, I was given a lift by one of the colleagues. So, I came back only to translate a tiny speech, which, honestly, anyone could have done... But I did try some lebkuchen and am determined to try making it myself. At the end of the day, I walked the same very distance again, back to the station. I think, if the rerearsal had gone wrong, I wouldn't have helped crying, but surprisingly, it went really well and I sang more when I came home.

November 29, 2010

Today, I had to be at the office at four p.m., so I used the opportunity to collect the parcels that had been waiting for me for a couple of weeks, from Germany. I didn't know who could have sent them, but I was suspecting qensio, the postal service research thing, which has been sending me letters with codes for more than a year now and thanks to which I now possess a collection of Eliott Erwitt's postcards. I arrived at the post office, having trudged through all the snow, got my THREE parcels and found a staple remover in each of them. As useless as it is (considering that I haven't even got a stapler), I still found it rather sweet of them.
After going to the office, walking a kilometer in the snow and finding out that I wasn't needed there, I met up with Anya and we had a lovely catch up in a cafe with ridiculous pop music. We then went to my place, to sing... but never did and went to bed at five.

November 28, 2010

Today, I enjoyed being back home. I had quite a lazy start in the morning and went out at noon to have a lesson. The winter had definitely settled and I listened to the sound of the snow crisping under my feet and the pure white where no one has stepped yet. It was lovely to see the same rowan tree I took a picture of at the beginning of November now covered in snow.
In the evening my mum, Anya and I went to the Philharmonic Hall to hear Symphony no. 8 by Mahler. The venue was completely full and most people, I guess, were relatives of the many choristers who took part in the concert. We saw a group of little boys, half of the boys' choir, passing us on their way to the stage. They were clad in black suits and bow ties and made all the three of us go "awwww" and Anya said her son would definitely sing in a choir.
The concert itself was a little bit of a disappointment, unfortunately. Mainly because of the acoustics. We were sitting in the gallery, not in the stalls, and it just didn't feel like we were a part of it. It was more like listening to an orchestra playing in a different room with all doors shut. I came home and listened to the piece again, on the internet.

November 27, 2010

Today, I came back home...
In the morning I did have a tour around Kassel, thanks to Kristina and Anna. We walked around the centre of Kassel, and I found out that it was chosen by the Nazis to be the Headquarters for Germany's Wehrkreis IX, so it was bombed and 90% of the city was destroyed, hence the new houses and complete lack of Fachwerk.
There are still things to see. There is a humungous park called Karlsaue on the river Fulda, where we popped in going down Gustav Mahler Stairs (I have only found out the name now that I'm writing it and the oak leaves are on these very stairs). Also, the city is full of contemporary art from Documenta, an art exhibition which takes place every five years.
Very close to the city is another beautiful park called Wilhelmshöhe with a monument of Hercules and a marvellous view all over the city. Another sight worth seeing is Loewenburg (Lion's Castle) which is only a replica of a medieval castle, but still pretty.
Other things I found out about Kassel are that its twin cities are my Yaroslavl and Florence and that they have got a local beer called Martini.
It was cold today, a bit below zero, and when we drove uphill to the castle we saw some snow, and later on my way to Frankfurt, as the train was passing snowy trees, I could just imagine approaching St. Petersburg on my way from Granny's. This thought just made me so homesick.
I was absolutely knackered after this working week, so just couldn't wait to come home, to my good old freezing Russland.
Quite peculiarly, I was surrounded by number 3 today. My gate was B33, and before I noticed that I booked seat A33 for some reason. Also, I was sent to desk 333 to drop off my luggage and after we spent some time queuing to be searched they opend another gate (Number 3, of course) and beckoned me and some more people there.
The flight went well and I squeaked like a child when I saw piles of snow as we were landing.

November 26, 2010

Today, I did many things:
-nearly cried when I had to wake up at 6.30 for the fifth morning in a row
-fell asleep in the car
-grinned and cheered up when I saw the Christmas tree in the office
-tried a very German thing called Krautauflauf (didn't take a picture though)
-drank more sparkling water from those magnificent indigo-blue bottles (as much as I dislike sparkling water)
-visited Mareike at her place and absolutely loved it
-saw a picture of Pope in the toilet (what can be worse?:)
-met Mareike's horse called Frau Merckel
-had a fantastic dinner which we cooked together with Mareike, Kali and Natasha

A tour around Kassel tomorrow and then flying home! Can't wait!

November 25, 2010

Today, we had a common workshop with the other module, and it just turned into coffee-drinking and pastry-eating. It has got much colder in Germany and there was a thin layer of snow on the surrounding fields.
It was our last evening together before part of us went to Frankfurt, so we didn't go to our rooms immediately after the first glass of gluhwein (I can't believe it, I've been drinking every day for a week now) but walked around more and spent some time chatting in a nice and warm cafe in the middle of the square. Later on, two girls from the project went to my room with me and we had lovely time drinking tea and remembering how each of us got to the project...

November 24, 2010

Today, despite my expectations, work went pretty well and fast. We managed to do quite a lot and I regretted that I wasn't given a laptop right at the beginning of the project. I would have been a qualified user by now.
We walked back from the canteen outside the building and tried some tiny apples from the apple trees that grow nearby.
In the evening I got to the market early enough to buy some postcards and sweet little things. As for supper, we had a Swiss (apparently) specialty, which is melted cheese on potatoes with spices. Very nice indeed.

November 23, 2010

Today, I was stunned by the breakfast at the hotel! All sorts of food were waiting to be devoured... It's a nice thing to look forward to especially when you have yo get up at half past six...
Work was rather boring today, and there was no fog, so I couldn't retreat to my thoughts about magic and fairly tales.
The second day of the Weihnachtsmarkt was much quieter. We tried two types of gluehwein (hollunderwein, which means elderflower wine(honestly, the cordial is so so so much better) and himbeerewein (raspberry)). I think the cherry one is my favourite so far. AS for supper, we tried a Zwiebelkuchen, which was very nice. And I bought some chestnut flour and going to cook something special when I come back home.

November 22, 2010

Today, I woke up to realise that I definitely have a guardian angel. To begin with, I woke up just in time to get my bags ready and have breakfast, which I was craving for not having eaten anything since 3 p.m. on Sunday, and which, I had been told, started at 8. The only thing I saw at the groundfloor, however, was a group of my colleagues, already in coats and ready to leave. They told me they thought I was in Melsungen (the town where we were going for the workshop) and that the taxi had been ordered for 7.30 and by mere luck I hadn't been left alone in the hotel! Bugger me, I thought, and rushed back to my room to get the bag and jump into the taxi, thinking about the breakfast which never happened and shuddering at the thought that I had very nearly skipped work...
Working was rather difficult today, firstly because I didn't sleep too much, and secondly, because it was FI and they were talking too fast for me to understand what the hell they meant by all those accounting slang terms.
I didn't risk asking for the internet after my morning fiasco and entertained myself with looking through the windows at the hills and forest that surround the plant. There were clouds of fog in the distance which made it look like Forbidden Forest from Harry Potter or something worse from die Brueder Grimm...
I did make up for the morning later in the day, when I told my colleagues that the internet was free in the hotel and passwords could be obtained at the reception. I must also look like a sophisticated linguist in their eyes now that I managed to ask the driver a couple of questions in German...
Then we drove back to Kassel where the Weihnachtsmarkt started today and they played Nutcracker near one of the shops! We had some Bratwurst (which is not sold in portions smaller than half a meter) and then some Gluhwein (I kept the mug). I also found the most wonderful thing on earth, and that is NOUGAT!!! More lovely things tomorrow!

November 21, 2010

Today, I did a short tour around Cologne, met Katharina (who would have thought that it would happen so soon), tried another German dish, popped into the Chocolate Museum, had gluhwein and more Koelsch. It's a pity I was still feeling rather wobbly after yesterday (must have been mysterious food-poisoning or some sort of a stomach collapse).
Oh, I forgot to mention the wonderful hostel we discovered! It's called Die Wohngemeinschaft. They call themselves a hostel but it's so much more like a small hotel. Thet have only got 8 rooms, and only one of them is a dorm, others are privates. Each room was created by a young designer, and I would love to come back to Cologne just to stay in the other seven rooms. This time we stayed in the room with birch trees)
In the evening I boarded the slow regional train to Kassel, where I met four Russian-speaking families with two children each. I chatted to two of the fathers and one mother and watched the children playing Uno. I wish I'd taken a picture of them, they were all pretty sweet... Watching them made me feel somewhat lonely and wish I was going home and not to a hotel in a city I know nothing about...

November 20, 2010

Today, Cologne exceeded all weather expectations with a clear blue sky and lots of sun. Frankly speaking, the city is not bursting with landmarks but with Weihnacht coming, the atmosphere is just lovely with all the decorations and fir-trees and markets, and chestnuts sold in the streets and gluhwein...

In the evening we found a German brauhaus where we had Koelsch and some hearty traditional German food (Flammkuchen and Jaeger Schnitzel). I tried to speak German and we were brave enough to take menus in German, not in English, but I seem to be more successful in understanding than in expressing myself.

November 19, 2010

Today, I set off for my trip to Germany. An hour before I was supposed to leave the flat I realised I hadn't bought some things (like vodka for a friend, for example), so I had to rush and arrived at the airport rather close to the last-check-in time... Bloody typical, Sasha. On the other hand, I didn't have to wait. I was quite pleased to see the look of astonishment in my German colleagues' faces when they noticed me at the gate. The flight was all right, I did some reading and had a nice lunch (oh, I haven't travelled with decent air lines for ages). The first thing I saw upon arrival made my giggle. SAP is indeed everywhere.





The second thing I ran into was a red tape that was on my way to Fernnahnhof and, therefore, to Cologne. Apparently, someone left their handbag and they were suspecting a terrorist attack. Anyway, while waiting in a crowd of Germans, I met this lovely guy, called Dennis. We boarded the same train later on and, 40 minutes later it turned out that B.Braun is one of their suppliers (he works for a dental something company). I mentioned SAP and the woman next to us, sighed, and said that SAP implementation is a nightmare. I found that hilarious. I generally love all these encounters that I'm lucky to have during my travels!
On arrival to Koeln Haupbahnhof I spent an hour on the platform, worrying a lot but got the message I'd been waiting for at last, headed for the Koelner Dom and finally noticed a familiar and rather conspicuous moustache)

November 18, 2010

Today, I very nearly embarrassed myself. I was sitting in the conference room and translating. Then I thought that listening to some music would be nice. So, I went to Naxos Library, chose the Ceremony of Carols,and started playing it. Everything was silent and I went back to translating. A couple of seconds later, distracted by something I completely forgot about the music which still hadn't started. So, when I heard a voice singing very quietly as if in the distance, I turned around among all these people and said rather loudly: "Who is that...?" Thank goodness, I didn't finish the question and say "Singing", they would have thought I'd gone crazy...

November 17, 2010

Today, I translated for a German man who looks like someone from "Wallace&Gromit":)

November 16, 2010

Today, I met a peculiar man. At half past eleven, I was coming home by tram when I noticed a young man with a huge backpack. We exchanged smiles and I asked him where he was coming from. It turned out that he'd been in India for 6 months. Then he said: "I'm looking for shanti (that's what I heard, at least), but it doesn't seem to be here" and looked through the window at some bare trees...