Sunday 17.02.13

Sunday 17.02.13 (Europeans do the month second)

It felt odd not going to church today but it just wasn’t going to work out. It is okay. What was even weirder was going shopping on a Sunday. I was very insistent that I needed a warmer coat and water proof boots (which the later I can agree with). So, we went to the mall. I got a beautiful brown parka from Westernland and I also got some thick tights from H&M. They had some stores I recognized like H&M and American Eagle and Ikea, but other stores I didn’t recognize like OBI and Soloman and a lot of other stores. We also got some clothes for N and A but they didn’t come shopping with us because I thinks it is difficult to take them shopping so, we had to go on Al’s day off (Sunday). I think shopping for me here in Russia is going to be difficult because there seems to be so many people everywhere and all the stores are so crowded. I hate crowds. I get all anxious and claustrophobic. Plus, what we Americans would consider rude isn’t rude here in Russia. Which is fine, it is a different culture. I just need to get used to people not apologizing for bumping into you or a sales person looking annoyed with you. But if I don’t enjoy shopping I won’t spend as much. Which is good because then I can save up for where ever I’m going in six months. I have to leave the country in six months. I can’t stay longer than six months at a time on my visa so, I have to go somewhere for like a week or so. I haven’t decided where to yet. Maybe London or Madrid or Venice or Paris! There are so many places I can go! Maybe even Helsinki but, I might be tired of the cold by then.

Today we also did watercolor and that was fun. I think I frustrated A again because I didn’t know what she wanted me to paint. Oh well. It was so cute because I drew A, N, and me and while I was finishing one of us (I can’t remember).  A started drawing ‘Papa’ and then she drew another Papa which made us both laugh. Later she drew a Mama. But it was fun to count “Odin papa, dva papa? Dva Papa!?”

It occurred to me today how tech savvy the girls are. N is 1.5 and she already can navigate her way around an IPad, including exiting out of programs and ads and watching youtube videos (pre-saved). Seriously, I do not know how to work technology that well… Half the time I forget where the home button is on an IPad or how to turn it off. I blame that on the fact that I don’t use apple though.

Happy Breakthrough! I got A to say ball in English! And she knows what it is. I also learned ball in Russian: Myach. We were playing toss over a net and to get it back she had to say ball in English. I would say “chto eta?” and point to the ball and she would scream “Myach!” and I would respond “Pangliski!” and with a little more prompting she would say bawl. Wrong accent but right word so, it is okay!

I’ve been paying a lot of attention as well to the fact that I tend to slur my words. That is not helpful when learning English. I am trying to speak a lot clearer now so, hopefully that will help.

Foodwise: For breakfast we had crepes and raw salmon. I almost died. I took two bites. I tried it my Mom would be proud of that but, I ended up eating leftover breakfast from yesterday – crepes and cream. They call crepes blini. Lunch was delicious though. I had rabbit and buckwheat. Oh, rabbit was so good and the buckwheat was fine. I think if I added some cheese I would’ve loved the buckwheat too. But, I think it is a crying shame that I have never had rabbit. It is so delicious.