What the motherland has taught me...


Having been home for nearly a week (sorry for not updating sooner!) I've had time to think about my time in Russia, and realised that I've learnt a lot since September, so I thought I'd share with you all some valuable lessons that I learnt in my time there;

1. Vodka has so many more uses than you could possibly imagine. Used to treat about any illness (by rubbing it all over your body or adding it to tea), to keep you warm, and of course, to clean your jewellery.
2. Saying you ride a матрёшка (matryoshka = Russian doll) instead of a маршрутка (marshrutka = taxi/bus) to class everyday will not get you anywhere.
3. Learning how to open corked wine bottles - no screw tops there!
4. That it is very possible to cross the road without looking - in fact it's usually better to.
5. You don't pay when you get on a bus. Instead you do one of three things; pass your money forward when you find a seat, hand it to a conductor (only some buses), or pay when you get off.
6. That -5 can actually feel quite toasty.
7. That Russian men are just different, and their pick-up techniques are proof of that. Case and point; "Do you have a boyfriend? Yes. Does he live in Russia? No. Cool we can go out then?" Which is then followed by him showing you a picture of his young child. Interesting to say the least.
8. Russian is a very complex language, but they do have a few great shortcuts to balance it out. For example, the English language needs a word like 'можно'. The basic translation of можно is 'possible?' - a question word that can be used in practically any situation.
9. How to traverse a 3 metre wide (and deep!) hole with the help of only a wooden plank.
10. Just not to get upset when people just ignore you, are rude or shout- reminding yourself that the notion of customer services does not exist there.
11. Look, learn and follow. Classic examples being putting any shopping bags you have into a locker every time you enter a new store, or learning to cross the road.

So that's is! However, do not fret, I have a few more Russia related posts to put up before my adventure to Madrid begins!

Until next time,
Isobel
xx

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Winter wonderland...

It's been snowing a lot recently, so it's been really cloudy, but when I woke up on Saturday I looked out the window and the skies were bright blue, but due to the sub-zero temperatures, a lot of the snow was still intact. I decided to take a little stroll with my camera and capture the beautiful weather whilst I had the chance. Here are a couple of the photos I took whilst out and about...


Until next time,
Isobel
xx
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The last hurrah!

Group shot at BARak O'Mama - 
Incase you didn't notice, you can still smoke inside in Russia.

With less than a week left in our beloved Russia, we decided we should all go out for a 'last hurrah' on Friday night before we all go our separate ways next semester. We met at about 9pm, and after about an hour of hovering by tables, glacial service and separate tables, we managed to get two larger tables next to each other, and the cocktails began to flow. Unexpectedly, there was a great live band that performed some great Russian, Spanish, English and even Italian hits - causing different sections of the bar to break into spontaneous singing! More drinks were poured, cocktails turned into shots and before we knew it we were leaving BARak O'Mama to head to a dance club that plays latin/salsa music on a Friday night. With Sam, Grace and Kiara being the only passable salsa dancers of the group, the rest of us just bopped along and had a genuinely good time. Before I knew it, I was heading home in a semi-blizzard, into my bed and off to sleep in no time! It was a really lovely evening but somewhat bittersweet - our time here together in Russia is nearly over. This time next week I will be back home - most likely in a food coma (have I mentioned how much I miss food??) - and my wonderful Russian journey will be over. Not only will I be leaving Russian, but also leaving behind new found friends, amazing teachers and leaving friends from Bath, many of whom I will not see until September 2014. However, all good things must come to an end, and before I know it I'll be back on a plane, heading towards my new life in Madrid, with many exciting adventures ahead of me. Do not fret however, this definitely won't be my last Russian post - I have a few planned before I leave!

Until next time,
Isobel
xx
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Numb fingers and love locks.

With only two weeks left in the motherland, I decided that it was time to be proactive and get onto doing the things I want to do before I leave. So yesterday, Kiara, Maria, Charlotte and I strolled down to the very same square by the river where the fireworks were held for День Города on our second weekend here - how very fitting it was. Grace had told us that people had been putting love locks (like the ones in Paris) on the railings by the river bank and we decided that it would be a nice way to commemorate our time here. So with padlock and permanent marker in hand, we braced the icy wind and headed to Адмиралтейская площадь (Admiralty Square). On the lock, we decided to write all of our names in Russian - Изобель (Isobel), Кьяра (Kiara), Шарлотта (Charlotte) and Мария (Maria), along with the date (30/11/13) and Voronezh. Due to the harsh weather conditions in Russia, I thought it would be a good idea to (very carefully) coat the writing on the lock in clear nail varnish to protect it, but my plan unfortunately backfired! No matter how carefully I dabbed the polish on, within a minute the colour from the pen would start to run. By the end, 'Maria', 'Kiara' and 'Isobel' were only just readable, but poor Charlotte's name was nothing but an inky smudge. Luckily we had taken photos of the names before hand so instead of getting upset, we decided that it was the thought that counted and went to go and attach it to the railings. There we met our second challenge. It turns out that Russian padlocks are just as inconvenient and annoying to use as everything else here. After about 10 minutes of struggling with numb red fingers, I finally got the lock attached and we all let out a sigh of relief. Then, we divided up the three keys and threw them into the river. By the time this was done, we were so cold (-4 plus wind!) that we decided that it was time to head back into town to enjoy an nice hot cup of coffee. I've been talking about doing this for a while so I'm glad that we finally got around to doing it. However, I'm slightly annoyed at myself for forgetting to take some pictures of other people's locks, but here is Grace's post about it so you can see some there. I did however get some other good photos, so here are some of the best from the day...

Walking down to the river
The church by the river
Адмиралтейская площадь / Admiralty Square
Maria writing her name
Изобель и Кьяра / Isobel & Kiara
Nail polish fail!
Воронеж, our names and 30/11/13 on our lock - if not slightly smudged!
The Voronezh River (a tributary of the Don)
Me, Kiara, Maria & Charlotte
Throwing the keys into the river
Throwing the keys into the river
Throwing the keys into the river
Group photo!

Until next time,
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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