perezimovat...

Not long ago I discovered one of my favourite Russian verbs - перезимовать, which basically translates into 'to make it through the winter'. As soon as I learnt it, I thought to myself 'this would make a great blog post title, perhaps in December when it gets a bit colder'. Well as it turns out boys and girls, winter here in Russia has officially arrived. Today, the 27th September 2013, it finally stopped raining in Voronezh. Instead, much to our (and many of the Russians) surprise, the rain turned into snow! Even our culture teacher spurted out something along the lines of 'Очень холодно сегодня! Какая странная погода! Снег в Сентябре??' (It's so cold today! What strange weather! Snow in September??) Typical! Apparently this is now the coldest September in 100+ years... Lucky us!! Instead of getting all excited about the first snow of the year like we usually do, we immediately started to groan as most of us had a good 30 minute walk home. Oh well - I did want the full Russian experience and being cold is definitely a big part of that!

Todays weather forecast and me in my winter coat!


It's going to be a long winter...

Isobel
xx
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dyen goroda

Exactly two weeks after our arrival, Voronezh celebrated it's birthday, or it's День Города (City day). Many of the main streets including Проспект Революции and all around Плошадь Ленина were pedestrianised, making room for food stalls, sports activities and street performances further than the eye could see. Most of the girls (excluding me as I was still sick) had had a rather late night the night before, so only Grace and I were up and ready to watch the parade by Lenin Square. We managed to squeeze our way to the front and spent about an hour trying to work out what the hell most of the people making speeches were on about. Shortly after, the parade got going in full force and Grace and I tried to join in and 'урах' (hurrah) along with everyone else, although our out-of-time attempts caused surrounding Russians to look at us and tut. 

Festivities in Плошадъ Ленина
Мила :)
Giant Колбаса (sausage) in the parade! 

The parade was pretty crazy and Grace and I decided it was time to leave when a giant inflatable sausage came floating down past Lenin Square. We instead decided to pop into one of our favourite little tea shops in Спартак to warm up. Unfortunately I hadn't (and still haven't!) quite recovered from my freshers flu so I popped home for a nap whilst the others went to explore the food stalls and street performances. Grace later told me how she won an umbrella in a contest because she couldn't understand the Russian and they couldn't understand her English - madness! 
Then, at around 9pm Grace and I met up again and headed down to the bank of the river Дон to watch the fireworks display. By this point it was pretty nippy so both Grace and I were sporting our wooly hats - we looked rather fetching if you ask me! We were actually quite surprised by how many people showed up to see the display. There was a stage with performers, people with their own fireworks (health and safety does not seem to exist here!) and groups of people chanting 'Воронеж, Воронеж!' (Voronezh, Voronezh). Now I must say, I've seen a fair few firework displays in my time (the Chinese love a good firework!) and the show put on for День Города were pretty damn impressive - especially for the middle of Russia. Anyway, after about 15-20 minutes of fireworks and 'урах' (hurrahs) the place emptied out and Grace and I managed to find Charlotte, Maria and Kiara. Before we knew it, we were at a 24 hour cafe drinking one of the sweetest and most disgusting Mai Tais I've ever tried - not to mention being chatted to by a drunk Russian guy, who at one point muttered the words 'karma sutra' - much to our amusement!

The streets of Voronezh
The park and stage by the river bank.
Grace and I in our fetching hats!
Fireworks! (Courtesy of Grace)

Our new friend at the bar/cafe

Overall, it was a brilliant way to mark out two week-aversary in Russia. I was honestly taken aback by how full of pride many of the people were and it was nice to learn a bit more about the city that I will be living in for the next few months. 

Until next time,

Isobel
xx
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two weeks in!

So Saturday marked the two week point, and lots have happened since we last spoke. Everything has settled down, everyone now knows pretty much where they're going and what they're doing, which makes for a much calmer atmosphere. However, the Russian 'freshers flu' has been doing the rounds (I'm still recovering!) so we have all gone through a lot of tissues! 

So what's been going on? Well, on Tuesday my parents arrived in Voronezh to visit me for a few days. It was so nice to have them here as it's been a difficult couple of weeks. Also, not only did my mum bring the few things I couldn't fit in my own suitcase, she also managed to bring a huge bag full of treats (at least 7 big bars of Dairy Milk and a good few packets of Ginger Nuts - yum!!) Considering the fact that I find Russian chocolate pretty gross, this made me feel so much better! The days whizzed by, merging into a combination of classes, sightseeing with my parents and trying to find a permanent home. Luckily, on Wednesday I finally secured a place that I can call home for the next 3 months - I cannot even tell you how good it felt to unpack!! Then on Thursday night, the night before my parents left, we all went out for dinner. It was nice because my mum and dad got the opportunity to meet all my friends here and vice versa - plus it was nice to have a delicious free meal! Then on Saturday, Voronezh celebrated День Города Воронежа (City Day of Voronezh). I have a post about that coming up very soon so stay tuned! Today was just spent chilling in bed, doing homework then meeting Grace, Tyla and Kiara at Галерия Чижова (local shopping mall) to do our weekly shop and to look for some sturdier boots for the months to come.

So that's about it, but before I go, here are a few pics from the week!

В грамматике класса (In grammar class)

Шарлотта, я, Киара и Мария (Charlotte, Me, Kiara & Maria) at Благовещенский Собор (Annunciation Cathedral)

Благовещенский Собор (Annunciation Cathedral)

Like I said, there will be another post within the next few days about Voronezh Day - it was an interesting day to say the least!


Until next time,

Isobel
xx
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Puddles

Voronezh can be summed up in one word... Лужи (or puddles to you and I)! Actually, the masses of water everywhere could be better described as lakes or ponds. From what I can tell, proper drainage simply does not exist, so when it rains, the water has no where to go. In addition, lots of the roads and pavements are uneven so the water is able to collect in crevasses and create deceptively deep pools. It properly rained for the first time today in a week, and these pictures are the result of that. Granted, it rained all day but the rain was by no means heavy (nothing compared to the tropical storms in HK!) What's more, it hasn't been getting warm or sunny enough to evaporate more than a normal sized puddle, so these gargantuan pools of water are growing larger by the minute. 

Fancy taking a dip? :)

I am fully aware that this is by no means a very interesting post, but I thought it was strange and therefore decided to write about it. This way, I can look back on this blog in years to come and remember small things that remind me of my time in Россия!

Until next time,

Isobel
xx
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... Do as the Russians do

So I've been in Russia for a week now... how crazy is that? I'm not going to lie, it has probably been the hardest week of my life. I'm not going to go into that just yet because today I wanted to tell you about some of the most interesting things I've come across whilst in Russia and what the motherland has taught me thus far.

Just outside (opposite) Галереи Чижова (the main shopping centre)

Firstly, unfortunately the Russians here have proved themselves to be equally, if not more, disorganised than previously thought. For me, disorganisation and lack of order makes me all panicky and anxious, so the laid-back way of life here really has not help me settle in any faster. Despite starting lessons on Tuesday, we didn't receive a proper timetable until Thursday. For the first few days, we were just told (if we were lucky!) the day before what we would be doing, and were just expected to show up when and where we were told. This would be tricky even if we were in Bath, but Voronezh is a pretty big city and nothing is in English. They could have at least provided us with a map!

Opposite the Russian Department where our classes are

Before coming here, everyone warned us about the culture shock that we would most likely suffer from. Having grown up in HK, I knew I would be able to deal with how notoriously blunt Russians are know to be - as the Cantonese are very similar. However, it never crossed my mind that I would experience culture shock of another kind - the difference between the standard of living here compared to where I have previously lived. All of a sudden, you have to deal with the lack of reliable hot water, the unfinished pavements and the over-the-top Russian bureaucracy. I swear, there can't be a single pavement in the whole of Voronezh that is complete! At times I have even burst into tears and sworn never again to take a mattress or a hot shower for granted ever again! 

My make-shift washing machine!

This trip so far has also consisted of a record-number amount of firsts. Due to my current living situation (I'm living in a hotel until I can find somewhere else), I have been having trouble working out how to do my laundry. Funnily enough, Воронеж happens to be one of the only places on earth that doesn't have a single laundrette. So, onto plan B. Today I popped into Окей (the local supermarket) to pick up some detergent and stain remover. I then proceeded to do something I have never before done - washed my clothes in a sink. Kudos to anyone that does this often - it was such hard work! I was only washing underwear and undershirts so I can't even imagine washing trousers or jumpers! Other firsts since being here? I am now proficient at washing my hair with one hand whilst holding the shower head with the other, I helped my first Russian by telling him how to get to the nearest bank and I have mastered ordering Липтон холодный чай персик (Lipton Peach Iced Tea)!!

However, one of the most important things I've learnt so far has become the title of this post - do as the Russians do. It may sound painfully obvious, but the only way to learn a language and immerse yourself in a culture is to discard any trace of being a foreigner and try and blend in as much as possible. This could mean anything from dressing like everyone else to adopting their cultural habits. However, in the last week taking this advice more literally has been more useful than anything else. In Voronezh, the streets are pretty huge and wide, but only a handful of them have traffic lights to help you cross. If you've ever been to somewhere like Cambodia or Laos, you will know what I mean when I say that crossing the street is a bit like playing Chicken - it's a matter of who will stop first. So that is where my advice has come in most handy this week - do as the Russians do, cross the street when they do and you will surely survive!!

Well I'm sure I've rambled on for long enough now. There's so much more I have to say but I'll have to leave until my next post otherwise this will never go up! 

Until next time,

Isobel 
xx
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& the packing has commenced...

I am exhausted. I landed in the UK on Saturday at 4.50am and jetlag has taken over. However, I have no time for jetlag, as the countdown has gone past the week point and I have to get my life together. I popped to Bluewater (a large shopping centre) yesterday and picked up some last minute bits - so today I finally put the first items into my suitcase. I also wanted to show whoever reads this blog what I've got so far!

The current chaos in my bedroom - a combination of unpacking from HK and packing for Russia!

Some cosmetic bags I got in M&S to limit how much I can take!

A brilliant little perfume atomizer - the perfect travelling solution!

My hand luggage

My lovely fluffy winter coat from North Face

So that is about it. I'm going to raid M&S tomorrow to get some new pyjamas, tights and socks. I also need to raid my nail polish collection and narrow it down to the final 5 that get to come with me on my travels. When I wake up tomorrow the countdown will be officially 4 days which is pretty scary. Luckily, I am feeling fairly organised and prepared, so the next few days should run pretty smoothly, right?


Isobel
xx

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Isobel Rose. 22.
London-born, Hong Kong raised.
Language graduate. Frequent traveller.
London/Bath, UK


PR Emails & General Emails isobel@isobel-rose.com


Third culture kid (TCK) is a term used to refer to children who were raised in a culture outside of their parents' culture for a significant part of their development years.

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