On Spring

The winter may have been long, but I thouroughly enjoyed it.  Spring however, was a little on the short side.  It is now the end of May and I can already feel in my bones the itchiness of the sun and the heat of the mosquitoes.  A nawing regret that the snow doesn't fall anymore and the unbearable face rubbing that comes from hayfever.

The start of the snow melt and bluebird skies

Yes the spring came, the spring went, and in its path it has left a Moscow that is starting to come alive.  The old, sour faced women on the metro have been replaced by short dresses and the smiles of beautiful girls.  There are beer gardens crowding the pavements, and there are people drinking into the wee small hours of the night (not that that didn't happen before, they can just do it outside with even more gusto).  The small pangings that i had had for the tropical climes of Cambodia have been replaced by a deep longing for "real rain."  So far ive only experienced itt at a BBQ picnic, which turned out to be a complete an utter wash out.

Beer gardens and shaslik at Victory Park

Relaxing in the shade at Patriarch's Pond

The snow melt in some places was a thing to behold.  Whole areas of land that had been glaciated simply became marshland and then grassy fields in a matter of days.

Marshland at Kuntsevo

Taking the snow away

Spring was interesting month alright.  It brought my parents to Moscow: thankfully they had great weather and a great time.  They met the girl and the girl met them, which went very well (of course), and my mother experienced her (first?) stadium gig.

Parents and Ukrainian vodka

Roger Waters was great gig.  The Wall being built behind the performers in the first half of the show, they then performing on the outside in the second half, and finally knocking it down! What a great experience, and one that I dont think can be repeated.

The Wall

Spring also brought a holiday to Kaliningrad (worthy of at least one blog of its own, probably 2), a place that is Russia, but is not in Russia, and a great, but more importantly, relaxing time was time was had!

Kaliningrad Gothic Cathedral

Spring is also the season of not teaching teenagers/kids, so I should have more time to blog (sorry Anna!), whether i will is a different matter (really, very sorry Anna!).

On hot weather and no hot water

I have no hot water.  This saddens me.  I won't have any hot water until the 10th of June.  This really saddens me.  It is starting to get hot on a regular basis.  This (to borrow a G.W.Bism) miserablises me.  I have hayfever. This also miserablises me.  I am, however, happy, content and not at all complaining about this point in my life.  I am indeed, a martyr.  More to follow....

On my first winter in 2 years

After an unusually warm autumn, winter finally struck Moscow last week.  Whilst the UK and other parts of Northern Europe were engulfed in snow showers and plummeting temperatures of minus 6 I was enjoying a 15minute walk to some schools in temperatures ranging from minus 15 to minus twenty.  You know it’s cold when you are judging the temperature on how quickly your earphones and trousers freeze.  Yes, the gloves have come out, the hat is being worn and I am abandoning my Northern routes by wearing a coat; it is cold.  I never though that I would think that minus 10 was warm, but last week that was every new teachers thought.

For the last 6months of the 8months I was in Cambodia I waited and I prayed for the Russian winter I was expecting and now that it is here it is living up to expectations.  With one let down.

There is not enough snow.

Whilst Wolsingham, Newcastle and all other places in the UK have been getting record snow fall, snow depth in Moscow has barely reached 3inches.  It may stay for an incredible amount of time; the snow from last Saturday night has barely receded but there is still not enough of the stuff for my personal liking.

Anyway, here’s hoping and praying for some more snow and a long cold, but sunny, winter!

The pond by my house in October

And again taken on 4th December

Kids playing on the ice with the power station

chimney stack as a majestic backdrop

Moscow week one, posted in week 9

WOW MOSCOW! My initial disorientation is dissipating somewhat but the scale of the city appears to be similar to Beijing but with the windy twisty courtyards and smaller streets of London.

Travelling into the city by night from Domodedovo airport reminded of Bangkok; big 8 lane highways with the lights of advertising boards illuminating the roads (I also saw my first car crash!). When I arrived at the accommodation I was completely disorientated but thankfully I met my next door neighbour who explained which Metro station we were near and how to get into central: Thank you Minna!

The next day was a day of exploration; seeing The Red Square and The Cathedral, as well as getting lost up some random street which I’m still not sure which street it was. For those who know me I’ve been pretending to learn Russian since I got home from Cambodia and although I hadn’t learned many words I was able to learn most of the Cyrillic alphabet. This has to be the smartest thing I have done in a long time and if anyone is coming to Moscow I cannot recommend learning Cyrillic enough; it is invaluable!

The Metro system is relatively easy to use, as long as you know Cyrillic, and the trains are clean, quick and regular with the last train being at 01:00am. I have yet to properly explore the majestic palace like stations but I did manage to get lost in a station on Monday night where I experienced at least some of the grandeur of the central stations. Something that has surprised me is the genuine respect shown to older people riding the metro. People of all ages get up from seats and allow the aged to sit down even if it’s just for one stop. I can’t remember if this happened in China but I know that it rarely happens in London.

As for the school itself, well Monday was all about orientation, including being picked up from my room to be taken into school, thank you Anya. For me personally this was a bit of a waste of time because I had already found my way to the school on the Saturday but it was nice to get to know a local. The school I’m working for is a massive organisation comprising over 30 satellite schools spread throughout Moscow. There are four or five central schools and one central office which house most of the resources. The school where I am teaching at the minute is four metro stops north of my house but I will teaching in more schools as time progresses.

The area where I live is quite a quiet one. There appear to be no, or at least very few bars (although I haven’t had a good explore yet) but it is very near a park and an artificial water, pond , reservoir thing which will undoubtedly be very pretty in the winter. The weather itself is definitely cooler than home but not drastically so…yet! Apparently the weather has just taken a change to the colder and some people I’ve talked to think that by the end of this month it will be much colder.

A pond near the flat

I am very excited for a “good” winter!

Surprisingly I haven’t drunk any vodka yet but will endeavour to rectify that situation this weekend.