I was up at ten today and had breakfast with Olivio. It was unusual to say the least: rice pudding with a knob of very salty butter, cheese and ham on 2 slices of bread topped off with a treacle cup cake!
I went to find the American Express office on the other side of the city today but found that they don’t cash their own traveller’s cheques there! I was given directions to another bank – the Impex Bank. It was a lonely old day really and my knees are playing up with all the walking on these uneven pavements which is very worrying at the beginning of a potential 2 year trip. I bought my ticket to Ekaterinburg, my first stint on the Trans-Siberian Railway. It cost 1800 roubles which is only about 36 quid! Yet the journey will take a couple of days. I leave at 3.30pm o Wednesday and arrive at 7.45pm on Thursday. I remember that it cost me something like 91 quid for a return ticket to Newcastle in the Summer.
I ended up in the centre of Moscow again and my knees were killing me as I wandered around trying to find food. I really didn’t want to cop out and go back to the same place as yesterday but I was sorely tempted. I suddenly felt really anxious about going in to order food but I must get used to it quickly. I really must make an effort to chat with people in the common room tonight – I failed last night. Perhaps I should make it a rule that I must meet one new person every day. Louise (my sister) left today for Australia via Bangkok – how different our two trips will be.
I saw a tiny grey kitten by the side of the road today but decided that there was no point in interfering with it. Several men walked past and glanced at it but ignored its plight as I had done though I was loitering uncertainly nearby. Then a middle-aged woman appeared and scooped the little thing up into her arms shaking her head at the retreating men and uttering some kind of admonition in thick Russian words. I felt chastened too. Why had I not helped?
I saw a women (headscarf and long overcoat) emerging from an apartment block today. As she crossed the road she paused and genuflected three of four times in the direction of the local church, a proud, dramatic building with golden details and the distinctive cross of the Russian Orthodox Church. She must perform this rite every time she leaves her building and perhaps every time she returns. That is faith.
I tried to remind myself today that this journey will be full of those ups and downs I’ve already experienced and I must remember too, that the downs are as much a part of the journey as the ups. In fact, without them, the journey would be flat and featureless like my life before I left (only three days ago!) I’ve got to respect both the highs and the lows.
Somehow, through fear perhaps, I’ve ended up in an ‘English’ restaurant called ‘Look In’. Well, I only did what the name suggested. Nevertheless, I feel like I’ve cheated somehow and to make matters worse I’ve inadvertently sat near a table of English people who are living and working here in Moscow from what I can gather. I don’t really want them to realise that I’m English too. Listening more closely it even sounds like they might be from London or Surrey (my home county) – how irritating! I’m hoping my unshaven appearance and functional, quasi-military attire will help me blend in and appear Russian as I sit here and drink my soup.
I went to find the American Express office on the other side of the city today but found that they don’t cash their own traveller’s cheques there! I was given directions to another bank – the Impex Bank. It was a lonely old day really and my knees are playing up with all the walking on these uneven pavements which is very worrying at the beginning of a potential 2 year trip. I bought my ticket to Ekaterinburg, my first stint on the Trans-Siberian Railway. It cost 1800 roubles which is only about 36 quid! Yet the journey will take a couple of days. I leave at 3.30pm o Wednesday and arrive at 7.45pm on Thursday. I remember that it cost me something like 91 quid for a return ticket to Newcastle in the Summer.
I ended up in the centre of Moscow again and my knees were killing me as I wandered around trying to find food. I really didn’t want to cop out and go back to the same place as yesterday but I was sorely tempted. I suddenly felt really anxious about going in to order food but I must get used to it quickly. I really must make an effort to chat with people in the common room tonight – I failed last night. Perhaps I should make it a rule that I must meet one new person every day. Louise (my sister) left today for Australia via Bangkok – how different our two trips will be.
I saw a tiny grey kitten by the side of the road today but decided that there was no point in interfering with it. Several men walked past and glanced at it but ignored its plight as I had done though I was loitering uncertainly nearby. Then a middle-aged woman appeared and scooped the little thing up into her arms shaking her head at the retreating men and uttering some kind of admonition in thick Russian words. I felt chastened too. Why had I not helped?
I saw a women (headscarf and long overcoat) emerging from an apartment block today. As she crossed the road she paused and genuflected three of four times in the direction of the local church, a proud, dramatic building with golden details and the distinctive cross of the Russian Orthodox Church. She must perform this rite every time she leaves her building and perhaps every time she returns. That is faith.
I tried to remind myself today that this journey will be full of those ups and downs I’ve already experienced and I must remember too, that the downs are as much a part of the journey as the ups. In fact, without them, the journey would be flat and featureless like my life before I left (only three days ago!) I’ve got to respect both the highs and the lows.
Somehow, through fear perhaps, I’ve ended up in an ‘English’ restaurant called ‘Look In’. Well, I only did what the name suggested. Nevertheless, I feel like I’ve cheated somehow and to make matters worse I’ve inadvertently sat near a table of English people who are living and working here in Moscow from what I can gather. I don’t really want them to realise that I’m English too. Listening more closely it even sounds like they might be from London or Surrey (my home county) – how irritating! I’m hoping my unshaven appearance and functional, quasi-military attire will help me blend in and appear Russian as I sit here and drink my soup.
No comments:
Post a Comment