We made it! We got up early and Claudia went out to start the car. It actually worked so we sat down and had breakfast and were on the road at about 8:30. I was still limping so it took me some time to get down the 4 flights of stairs to the parking lot, but once I was settle, we drove right through, only stopping shortly before Kazan to get gas. As soon as we hit town we drove to the address we had gotten for the store that sold foot braces. And it had them. I got just the sort of ankle supporter I was looking for and I will make sure I wear it as long as I am on my feet.
The streets here are a mess. This great amount of snow is melting so quickly! We drove through flooded streets and when I got out of the car I stepped in more than one puddle.
When I got in the house, I outlined my lesson plans , did two loads of wash, cooked spaghetti sauce and just basically got stuff done. Tomorrow it’s back to work. Boy, it’s the middle of March. Where is the time going? I will be home before I know it.
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Saturday, March 9, 2019
The saga continues
Ramil towed the car until it jumped on. He seems to think it’s a problem with the oil filter. As long as the car is running and warm, there’s no problem. But Claudia will try to start the carcearly tomorrow so that we can call for help if we need it. Now we’ve got two bus drivers staying I. The hotel, so someone will be able to give us a hand.
In any case, the hotel lady recommended a nice restaurant for supper and since it wasn’t too far and since a thick layer of snow had covered the ice, I said we could walk. I also still wanted to stop at a pharmacy and get a foot bandage. We had a great supper with a lot of sea food and veggies. It’s almost like tapas. The portions are very small so we ordered several and shared. Then we decided to find a pharmacy. At the first one we found, the lady to.d us that only one place in town sold the foot brace thingies that I was looking for. She gave us the address and I decided I could walk that far. Of course we found the address but no pharmacy. We asked in two or three others but they all said nope, only this once place has it. But it had disappeared off the face of the earth.
We gave up and called a taxi to get back to the hotel. No way was I going to walk back. We asked the taxi driver and she said the place had moved. Oh crap. Nobody else In Town seemed to know that. But it seems to be a canon like Walgreen’s so there are also several in Kazan. And we will try to find one when we get back tomorrow. IF we get back tomorrow. We plan on leaving early. I’m Not holding my breath.
In any case, the hotel lady recommended a nice restaurant for supper and since it wasn’t too far and since a thick layer of snow had covered the ice, I said we could walk. I also still wanted to stop at a pharmacy and get a foot bandage. We had a great supper with a lot of sea food and veggies. It’s almost like tapas. The portions are very small so we ordered several and shared. Then we decided to find a pharmacy. At the first one we found, the lady to.d us that only one place in town sold the foot brace thingies that I was looking for. She gave us the address and I decided I could walk that far. Of course we found the address but no pharmacy. We asked in two or three others but they all said nope, only this once place has it. But it had disappeared off the face of the earth.
We gave up and called a taxi to get back to the hotel. No way was I going to walk back. We asked the taxi driver and she said the place had moved. Oh crap. Nobody else In Town seemed to know that. But it seems to be a canon like Walgreen’s so there are also several in Kazan. And we will try to find one when we get back tomorrow. IF we get back tomorrow. We plan on leaving early. I’m Not holding my breath.
Almetyevsk
So, here comes the good part. I had been to Almetyevsk a month ago with the bosses and was so impressed by the bike infrastructure here and Claudia had always wanted to see the city, so we had chosen this weekend to come back for a visit. It was a great ride down because the sun was shining and the landscape was beautiful. I had booked a room at the Sultanmurat hotel with free breakfast and free WiFi for .........wait for it.........$21.50 a night per person, mostly because I liked the name. It turned out to be one of those places on the fourth floor of and apartment building where the entire floor is converted to a hotel. It was a great room, lots of space and clean. We checked in with the nice young man at the counter and asked for directions to the museums I had checked out online. Turns out one was closed permanently and the other one was just down the street. Ok, it’s only about 3:30 in the afternoon so off we go. We get to the museum and the sign on the door says it’s closed for the Women’s Day holiday weekend. Great. So we head down to the mall because we figured we would go to the movies. Keep in mind the the ground is covered with inches-thick ice because of what has collected all winter, plus the fact that it had rained and frozen on Thursday.
We get to the mall and it is absolutely PACKED with people. It’s a very attractive mall with a food court and all the stores you can imagine. We were even able to find birthday presents and souvenirs for people we know.
We first went to the food court because Claudia hadn’t eaten all day. She got Sushi and I had a pizza. Both were actually very good. And, since all the table were continuously occupied, there was a security guy walking around, kicking out anybody who didn’t appear to be consuming food.
Then we headed down to the other end of the mall, bought our tickets for Captain Marvel (Don’t ask!) and looked around the mall some more until the movie started.
The movie ends and we start to walk back to the hotel. And wouldn’t you know it, I step on a patch of ice and slip. I didn’t even fall hard, but I twisted my ankle. I couldn’t even get up for 5 minutes. That took care of walking home, so Claudia called a taxi. When we got in the room, She went outside and got me a bag of ice. That certainly kept the swelling down but the ankle was still sore. We texted a little bit, then got to bed around 11. I have to say, I really slept well in spite of the ankle.
This morning we wanted to drive over and see the ski resort before we headed home. We got to breakfast at shortly before 9. The mother of the young man who was the receptionist made us, porridge, French toast, three eggs each, plus yoghurt, coffee and homemade relish. Then the young man came in and we started talking. And talking. And talking. We didn’t get finished until 2 o’clock. He had all sorts of questions about America and Germany, from “Do you throw garbage on the streets,” to “May the police entire your house without your permission.” It was such an interesting conversation and since just about everything was closed anyway, we didn’t mind sitting there and talking with him. I think we learned a lot about Russia too.
But now we figured we had really better start getting ready because we had a 3.5 hour drive, it was snowing, and Claudia wanted to take a short nap before we started out. She wakes up, we load up, say goodbye to the nice people and get In The car. And......wait for it...... the car doesn’t start. By this time it’s sleeting and getting dark. Claudia calls the nice young receptionist, whose name is Ramil, and he says he will be over to try and tow the car. We look at each other and decide we aren’t driving home tonight, in any case! So we check back into our room.
I’m sitting here nursing my sore ankle and Claudia is downstairs with Ramil trying to get the car going. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.
We get to the mall and it is absolutely PACKED with people. It’s a very attractive mall with a food court and all the stores you can imagine. We were even able to find birthday presents and souvenirs for people we know.
We first went to the food court because Claudia hadn’t eaten all day. She got Sushi and I had a pizza. Both were actually very good. And, since all the table were continuously occupied, there was a security guy walking around, kicking out anybody who didn’t appear to be consuming food.
Then we headed down to the other end of the mall, bought our tickets for Captain Marvel (Don’t ask!) and looked around the mall some more until the movie started.
The movie ends and we start to walk back to the hotel. And wouldn’t you know it, I step on a patch of ice and slip. I didn’t even fall hard, but I twisted my ankle. I couldn’t even get up for 5 minutes. That took care of walking home, so Claudia called a taxi. When we got in the room, She went outside and got me a bag of ice. That certainly kept the swelling down but the ankle was still sore. We texted a little bit, then got to bed around 11. I have to say, I really slept well in spite of the ankle.
This morning we wanted to drive over and see the ski resort before we headed home. We got to breakfast at shortly before 9. The mother of the young man who was the receptionist made us, porridge, French toast, three eggs each, plus yoghurt, coffee and homemade relish. Then the young man came in and we started talking. And talking. And talking. We didn’t get finished until 2 o’clock. He had all sorts of questions about America and Germany, from “Do you throw garbage on the streets,” to “May the police entire your house without your permission.” It was such an interesting conversation and since just about everything was closed anyway, we didn’t mind sitting there and talking with him. I think we learned a lot about Russia too.
But now we figured we had really better start getting ready because we had a 3.5 hour drive, it was snowing, and Claudia wanted to take a short nap before we started out. She wakes up, we load up, say goodbye to the nice people and get In The car. And......wait for it...... the car doesn’t start. By this time it’s sleeting and getting dark. Claudia calls the nice young receptionist, whose name is Ramil, and he says he will be over to try and tow the car. We look at each other and decide we aren’t driving home tonight, in any case! So we check back into our room.
I’m sitting here nursing my sore ankle and Claudia is downstairs with Ramil trying to get the car going. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.
What an end to the week!
Wednesday we had our class presentation in our room (as opposed to the multi-purpose room). It went very, very well. The kids sang songs and then performed their little skit. Then all the parents did a craft project with the kids that I had prepared. They had the best time. And, of course, the mom of one kid didn’t show up, but all the other parents really included her in everything. Then we had tea and ate the cookies we had baked on Tuesday. Also, the kitchen baked some cakes for us. Some parents stayed two hours andplayed with the kids. I was a great afternoon. These parents are not used to this kind of celebration. They’ve always had the presentation where the kids have to perform on the stage like some trained animal act. This was so much more relaxed and enjoyable.
Since Narzullo’s son is in my class and the party lasted so long, he picked Paul and me up a little later for table tennis. Ravil met us there, but Andy and Marat couldn’t make it, so it was just the four of us. Man, I still can’t beat any of them, but I’m getting better and better every week. And with Narzullo as my partner, we even won a doubles set against Paul and Ravil. I really work up a sweat when I’m playing against these guys.
Oh, and I didn’t go back to the clinic to get my blood drawn because I needed the kids’ nap time to prepare for the party.
So, Thursday was the celebration for the rites of spring. Of course, one of the kids hit another one so I told him he couldn’t go to that celebration. After two minutes of crying he knew I wasn’t kidding, so he just quit protesting. While the others went outside to the celebration, he and I went for a walk. This is a 4-year-old who is so bright, he can look at three-digit numbers on license plates and tell me which is the biggest and which is the smallest. Amazing. He just can’t keep his hands to himself.
After lunch the kids went down for their nap and Linar and I headed to the clinic for the blood draw. No problem. Took one hour back and forth. I can get the results on Monday.
The rest of the day dragged and I was really pooped. But I was psyched because I was supposed to give my bike ed presentation to a group of Tatar businessmen who are learning English that night. I was just headed out the door when Mahmoud called and said it was postponed because everyone was celebrating International Women’s Day.(The school and the parents shower us with presents. In the States I had never even heard of the day!)
OK, that was cool. So I headed out to the couch surfing meeting. I met Sonia, Ravil, Albert and Dmitry there But was really so tired, I only stayed an hour because Friday Claudia and I wanted to take off for the city of Almetyevsk, about 3.5 hours away. So I vasically got home and flopped not bed.
Since Narzullo’s son is in my class and the party lasted so long, he picked Paul and me up a little later for table tennis. Ravil met us there, but Andy and Marat couldn’t make it, so it was just the four of us. Man, I still can’t beat any of them, but I’m getting better and better every week. And with Narzullo as my partner, we even won a doubles set against Paul and Ravil. I really work up a sweat when I’m playing against these guys.
Oh, and I didn’t go back to the clinic to get my blood drawn because I needed the kids’ nap time to prepare for the party.
So, Thursday was the celebration for the rites of spring. Of course, one of the kids hit another one so I told him he couldn’t go to that celebration. After two minutes of crying he knew I wasn’t kidding, so he just quit protesting. While the others went outside to the celebration, he and I went for a walk. This is a 4-year-old who is so bright, he can look at three-digit numbers on license plates and tell me which is the biggest and which is the smallest. Amazing. He just can’t keep his hands to himself.
After lunch the kids went down for their nap and Linar and I headed to the clinic for the blood draw. No problem. Took one hour back and forth. I can get the results on Monday.
The rest of the day dragged and I was really pooped. But I was psyched because I was supposed to give my bike ed presentation to a group of Tatar businessmen who are learning English that night. I was just headed out the door when Mahmoud called and said it was postponed because everyone was celebrating International Women’s Day.(The school and the parents shower us with presents. In the States I had never even heard of the day!)
OK, that was cool. So I headed out to the couch surfing meeting. I met Sonia, Ravil, Albert and Dmitry there But was really so tired, I only stayed an hour because Friday Claudia and I wanted to take off for the city of Almetyevsk, about 3.5 hours away. So I vasically got home and flopped not bed.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
It’s gonna be a short week!
Friday is International Woman’s Day so we have the day off. Hip hip hooray! Tomorrow is our little “performance” for the the moms to celebrate. We’re going to sing and do a little play in the room. Then we’ll eat the cookies that we baked today.
Yesterday I met Dmitry downtown for a cup of coffee. He’s a new friend from couch surfing and is also a cyclist. He had lots of great tips on the best and cheapest sports shops in town. Today I went to the clinic to get blood drawn to check my thyroid meds, but they sent me home because I forgot I couldn’t eat anything. Rats. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Today after work I walked over to the post office and the bank. After I left the post office, I went into MacDonald’s to use the bathroom and ran into Matthew and Valeria eating dinner. They were also headed for the bank so I sinned and had a hamburger and French fries. Please note that I had eaten a salad and fruit before I left the house!
They were going to stop in sort of a Walmart-type clothing store on the way so I went with them to check it out. I was looking for a pair of sweat pants that I could wear for table tennis. What I like didn’t fit and what fit I didn’t like. Oh, well.
Then we stopped at the bank and afterwards they went grocery shopping and I headed straight home.
The exciting news is that the local bike club asked if I could get my presentation translated into Russian because they want to show it around. Seems like we’re making some headway in trying to influence the powers that be to make some changes in infrastructure.
So now it’s time to quit writing and go to bed.
Yesterday I met Dmitry downtown for a cup of coffee. He’s a new friend from couch surfing and is also a cyclist. He had lots of great tips on the best and cheapest sports shops in town. Today I went to the clinic to get blood drawn to check my thyroid meds, but they sent me home because I forgot I couldn’t eat anything. Rats. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Today after work I walked over to the post office and the bank. After I left the post office, I went into MacDonald’s to use the bathroom and ran into Matthew and Valeria eating dinner. They were also headed for the bank so I sinned and had a hamburger and French fries. Please note that I had eaten a salad and fruit before I left the house!
They were going to stop in sort of a Walmart-type clothing store on the way so I went with them to check it out. I was looking for a pair of sweat pants that I could wear for table tennis. What I like didn’t fit and what fit I didn’t like. Oh, well.
Then we stopped at the bank and afterwards they went grocery shopping and I headed straight home.
The exciting news is that the local bike club asked if I could get my presentation translated into Russian because they want to show it around. Seems like we’re making some headway in trying to influence the powers that be to make some changes in infrastructure.
So now it’s time to quit writing and go to bed.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
The non-moving trolley, ice berg lettuce and no bacon
Ok, this was weird. Yesterday I wanted to go shopping at the store where I know I can find the good stuff like bacon and spinach. Sonia was headed for a concert and was going to come over afterwards for a late dinner so I figured I had plenty of time to go shopping for everything I needed. I walk to the trolley stop near the metro station and wait with a about a hundred other people. The trolley didn’t come. People were standing on the tracks looking down the route to see if it was coming. Meanwhile people were checking their phones and starting to walk away. After 20 minutes I though, screw this, and walked around the corner to a little local store I like. I just got the stuff I needed for dinner and figured I could go shopping for the other stuff today. I went home and cooked stuffed peppers and stuffed tomatoes. Sonia got there about 10:30 and we ate and yakked until 1:30.
In spite of getting to bed late, I still woke up at 7:30. I started looking online for what was playing at my favorite theater. It turns out that Green Book is playing at 5:30 and Favorite is playing at 8:30. Aha, I figure I’m going to do a double feature. I text Anna right away and she is in. So tonight will be a long movie night.
I finally got moving and went out to the water dispenser to fill up my drinking water bottle. Then I decided to head for my good store again. I’m just walking through the underground passage at the subway to get to the trolley stop and I see Jennifer coming toward me. We talked for a few minutes and then she decided to come with me. We walk up the stairs to the trolley stop and on the tracks going in the opposite direction that we want, a trolley is sitting there and not moving. And, again people are coming on our side of the tracks, checking their phones and then leaving. I look down the track and the trolley is siting about a quarter of a mile away and not moving. And not moving. And not moving. So we decided not to waste anymore time there and started walking back home.
First I showed her the indoor public market. And to my great surprise, I found ice berg lettuce. I was delirious with joy because my purpose of the shopping trip had been to find bacon for BLTs, which I had been going to eat without the L. Now I had the L but no B. Jenn had not known the market was there and she really liked it. After we left there , we went across the street to the little mall that has a store with really cheap kitchen utensils because she was looking for a certain type of mop. We also found a yarn shop where she got some neat yarn for crafts for her kids.
We didn’t find her mop so we went down to the grocery store on the lower level. No bacon, but Jennifer got some of the delicious grapefruit. We headed for home after that and stopped at one more grocery store along the way. Still none of the good bacon I like. Much of the stuff called bacon her3 is inedible to me. It has to be labeled Spanish bacon. In any case, we walked back home and I ate two LTs. I still have a little while before I have to leave for the movies, so I might as well take a nap.
In spite of getting to bed late, I still woke up at 7:30. I started looking online for what was playing at my favorite theater. It turns out that Green Book is playing at 5:30 and Favorite is playing at 8:30. Aha, I figure I’m going to do a double feature. I text Anna right away and she is in. So tonight will be a long movie night.
I finally got moving and went out to the water dispenser to fill up my drinking water bottle. Then I decided to head for my good store again. I’m just walking through the underground passage at the subway to get to the trolley stop and I see Jennifer coming toward me. We talked for a few minutes and then she decided to come with me. We walk up the stairs to the trolley stop and on the tracks going in the opposite direction that we want, a trolley is sitting there and not moving. And, again people are coming on our side of the tracks, checking their phones and then leaving. I look down the track and the trolley is siting about a quarter of a mile away and not moving. And not moving. And not moving. So we decided not to waste anymore time there and started walking back home.
First I showed her the indoor public market. And to my great surprise, I found ice berg lettuce. I was delirious with joy because my purpose of the shopping trip had been to find bacon for BLTs, which I had been going to eat without the L. Now I had the L but no B. Jenn had not known the market was there and she really liked it. After we left there , we went across the street to the little mall that has a store with really cheap kitchen utensils because she was looking for a certain type of mop. We also found a yarn shop where she got some neat yarn for crafts for her kids.
We didn’t find her mop so we went down to the grocery store on the lower level. No bacon, but Jennifer got some of the delicious grapefruit. We headed for home after that and stopped at one more grocery store along the way. Still none of the good bacon I like. Much of the stuff called bacon her3 is inedible to me. It has to be labeled Spanish bacon. In any case, we walked back home and I ate two LTs. I still have a little while before I have to leave for the movies, so I might as well take a nap.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)