A (postponed) year in review

A review of 2015? Of my 25th year? In either case, it's about time I got on with it before I forget everything.  I brought in 2015 from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  A few months later I rang in my 25th birthday back in Moscow.  There was a good amount of mid-year exploring - to Manchester, up and down the east coast of the US, and a brief stint in Romania (they don't have good cheese, but their schnitzel makes up for it).

I started taking Russian lessons again for the first time since college.  I successfully hosted my first Thanksgiving potluck (and without anyone destroying my apartment!) before marching straight into Christmas, which was probably the hardest away from home since I've moved here.  Luckily there were plenty of good friends around to make it easier.

Next up I headed to the land of my people, where Pawel and his family made me feel right at home during the new year's holidays (even without water).  I headed back to Moscow, but not before a side trip to Krakow, where Pawel tried his best to freeze us to death on his self-guided walking tours of the city.  But we lived! And had a great time :)

As for life in Russia? The sanctions are still on, life is still harder, and the ruble is still in a sorry state.  But Russians are really good at handling crises, and I learned about a dozen phrases to express this during my lessons.  In addition to the phrasal verb "to launder money", which became really relevant after the release of the Panama papers.  Spoiler alert, most people here didn't bat an eyelid after their release, and some predictably stamped it as a Western conspiracy.  For some more light reading about the current state of the Russian economy, look here.

Now I'm a ripe old 26, and what do I think I've accomplished? I've traveled a bit; I've become a pretty good teacher; I've worked on translations that were used in an art exhibition.  I've figured some things out, and more importantly, I've figured out some of what I still have to figure out.  So here's to 2016, to 26, and to needing a new passport soon!  

The summer, and then not the summer

I spent the first half of the summer finishing out my employment at EF Mayakovskaya, and with it my time teaching children for the foreseeable future. I'm glad to have had the experience, but it's not for me right now.  Before heading back to the US, I took a weekend trip to Warsaw to visit my friend Pawel and his family.  They were the best hosts I could ever have asked for, with Pawel's parents feeding us delicious (and huge amounts of) home-cooked food for every meal, and Pawel himself showing me pretty much everything there was to see in the city - the Old Town, New Town, parks and palaces, forests, a very new castle, and even a pit stop for shopping and a mad souvenir hunt. Warsaw is much smaller than Moscow, and most buildings are new - they were reconstructed after the war, but kept as close to their original style as possible. In short, I loved Warsaw and it was a welcome break from Moscow.   

The following weekend, I flew back to the US for the next month, where I was met with friends, family, and familiar food.  I spent as much time as possible at the beach, got a fair bit of shopping in, and spent a lot of time driving to and from seeing people.  I was able to help my dad out with doctor's appointments after his heart surgery the first week I was back, and I'm happy to say he's been recovering well and quickly.  Another thing I got to do at home was go to and camp at a 4 day music festival by the beach in my city called The Gathering of the Vibes.  I camped with a big group of friends, and in order to gain free entry I worked with another friend selling tickets in the parking garage for a day.  Not bad at all! I didn't get to spend a single day on my own during my vacation, but it was a lot of fun and flew by rather quickly. 

When I got back to Moscow, I started my new job teaching English to EF's corporate clients.  It requires quite a bit of commuting every day, but I really love it so far.  I've had a few stints of being ill and also found out I have a new lentil allergy, but I've also gotten out to see friends and enjoy some of our parks.  I even rowed a boat a few weeks ago before the cold set in! And despite what you may be hearing in the news, there is plenty of food on the shelves, and it has not decreased in quality.  Though cheddar cheese has all but disappeared, leaving me deeply distraught. 

It's been said that without regularity, your writing suffers, so hopefully this hasn't been too painful to read.  That's my news from Moscow for now!