I am still here!

Okay okay, it’s been AGES. Whoops.

I’ll catch you up on as much as I can remember, but my memory is not good enough for leaving things this long! I’m currently sitting on the most orange (orangest?) sofa I’ve ever seen, in our NEW FLAT. The contract ran out on the other one and, since my housemate is staying in Bolivia for another year, we found a nice new place. The landlady showed us literally everything the flat came with, which took quite some time, “This is a can opener, do you know how to use it?” and “This is a broom, you can use it to sweep”, but she’s a lovely lady and I somehow signed myself up to give her niece a tour of London, great. A downside is that apparently there is “no space” for wifi in the building, like that’s a thing, ha, no seriously it is here, so I had to go to different internet providers asking about dongles. The Spanish for ‘dongle’ is ‘dongle’...just in case you were wondering, which I reckon you were. 

Doug came to say hi, we did a bit of travelling and found some dinosaur footprints in Toro Toro (“Mud Mud” in Quechua), one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. The trip involved lots of walking, swimming in fountains, caving, seeing a LOT of goats and donkeys and a couple of little rabbits, picnics in the mountains, and climbing down into and up out of (help us all, so many steps) a canyon. The four hour drive there and back was very scenic, and quite unusual, we picked up a few locals on the way who needed a lift, and had to stop at one point because the exhaust pipe was falling off the car, oh Bolivia. We stayed in a gorgey hotel situation and were the only ones there, we were so well looked after and served SO much food - classic Bolivian dishes with at least three carbs in each meal, what else? The tour guides were great, one asked for some English lessons as we went around and we had a lot of fun. We also went to La Paz, a stunning city, so different to Cochabamba (but Cochy you’re pretty too and you’re still my favourite), to see the sites and enjoy a new city. It’s great how cable cars are used as public transport in the city, wish Birmingham had that, not that it has any mountains. A lot of this trip involved eating lots of food and getting lost looking for food. High up in the city is ‘Valle de la Luna’ (Moon Valley) which was named this because Neil Armstrong went there and said it was the closest thing to what the moon looked like. (I beg to differ, when we were there a Bolivian music video was being filmed with lots of people dressed in costumes with bells attached, it didn’t seem very moon-like to me, but hey, Neil knows best). 

These past few months have also involved a peach festival, my housemate buying a whole chicken and then realising it still had it’s head on and didn’t know how to deal with that (oh how we cried), winter coming so people wearing huge coats and gloves like they’re in Russia (it’s still way warmer than British summer), not getting any diseases, oh wait no I did get parasites again, but only once so let’s celebrate that! (I found out that Cochabamba is the least sanitary city in South America, so I like to think I’m doing pretty well).

In other news, I’M COMING BACK IN JULY, I asked my boss if it would be okay to work from home in the summer and she said yes, so looks like I’ll be seeing you soon - if you are actually my friend and not just someone stalking my blog. This means I have to eat as much Bolivian food as I can before I leave, but only the good stuff of course, so erm, I’ll be eating lots of pastry and meat basically. Joy. 

Thanks for reading,

Lots of love

Liza

Footprints

Bigger footprints

Goats! (Almost as exciting as dinosaurs, right?

Toro Toro

La Paz

La Paz

The Moon!

More Toro Toro

I'm back!

My Nan told me it was about time I wrote another blog…so here it is…

I'm not quite sure how I've already been back for six weeks after a lovely Christmas at home, but apparently I have. Actually, if I'm honest, it felt like it took about six weeks to get back to Cochabamba, and that, my friends, is my first nugget of blog…

So, I'll be honest, I left it a bit late to book my internal flight from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba, but it is a small airline and you can usually buy tickets the same day/at the airport…and "usually" is a keyword in this story. I managed to book a flight, but after a delayed flight from Madrid (I just wrote "fright" by accident, and indeed it was) I missed my connection and was unable to swap onto the next flight out because there had been a landslide on the main road from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba, meaning everyone who would usually drive or take a bus was now flying too…FUN. Long story short, I had to stay overnight in a hotel that a taxi man found for me (not dodgy at all, no) and get a flight back the next evening. But don't worry, all is not lost, I discovered Cinnabon at the airport (about all you can buy there apart from fresh meat, snacks and Alpaca clothing (made out of Alpaca, not for Alpacas) and wow, those cinnamon rolls are YUMMY.

Anyway, I was SO happy to be back after that situation, and probably didn't feel as guilty as I should that my suitcase broke the boot of the taxi, whoops. (When I told the driver that it wouldn't fit, and that maybe I should get a different taxi rather than him driving around with the boot open, he really should have listened!)

The road blocks however, do not end there…It's referendum day today (another no car/no alcohol/no shops open day - a good day for blogging it turns out), and leading up to this there have been many road blocks and other situations as protests etc. meaning getting to work has been a struggle sometimes, talking of struggles, let's just talk about water balloons for a moment…

I just never thought that I'd ever choose getting the bus home instead of walking for any reason other than laziness, but turns out that this month there was a much more important reason… the water balloons. Now I'm all down for a water fight, especially in this warm weather, but when my boss told me that her friend broke her nose a few years back after being hit by a water balloon here, I was slightly concerned.

So,  some context, Carnaval is the biggest festival/parade in Bolivia, and it is celebrated in different cities on different weekends in February (the main one is in Oruro and it is amazing) - in Cochabamba it was last Saturday and it was a lot of fun! It apparently started out as an indigenous religious festival but is now a giant colourful parade, drinking fest and water fight. The lead up to Carnaval is, however, a little less fun. And this is where the water balloons come in…for a good few weeks before the festival young people, especially guys, like to throw water balloons at strangers walking along the street, their main targets are other young people, girls and foreigners, so, well, enough said there…

They throw them from cars, trucks, balconies or just street corners and you never know when you're safe! The first time I got hit I decided it wasn't so bad, just a bit of fun and actually quite refreshing…but a few days later when I was targeted the whole hour-long walk home and hit from all angles, I thought enough was enough… ha. One time I took a taxi somewhere (taxis are super cheap here, it's great!) and the second I stepped out of it I got hit on the shoulder…these youths are seriously on it!

And then there was the foam…you think there is no harm to be done when it's just cute little children spraying pink foam at you when you walk past…but then you get home looking like Mr. Blobby and realise it is not so easy to get off your skin/clothes as you hoped. Oh Bolivia. But overall it has been a lot of fun, if not slightly putting me on edge whenever I see a group of youths, or even when a car goes past slowly.

It's been so nice being back and settling back to everything I got used to here, and although I still have some language barrier situations, all is mostly well. An example of that 'mostly' is when a friend was describing someone to me and I asked whether she had a curly horse, rather than curly hair…I was trying to use some South American Spanish and it definitely didn't work out so well at that moment!

I feel like there are probably other stories from over this time, but the blog is getting quite lengthy so we'll leave it here for now, scroll down for some parade photos though :)

Lots of love,
Liza x

The bus got all dressed up for carnaval!

Just a little flamingo

Even the people dancing in the parade got covered in foam!

Nearly Navidad

Hello friends,

IT’S DECEMBER, aaaaaaaaa!

Despite the many Christmas lights and decorations in the city (including fake snowy Christmas trees, yes, please help), the fact that it is 30 degrees makes it hard to feel like Christmas is really coming...

I’m happy happy here but am definitely ready to come home soon, so ready for that turkey. 

Speaking of turkey, I celebrated Thanksgiving properly for the first time and it was grand. Oh the perks of having American friends. My favourite part of the day was when I was asked whether the banoffee pie I had made was a salad....yes that happened. 

So, here’s what’s been going down these last few weeks...

1) Went on a weekend break to Tarija, a city in the south of Bolivia known for it’s wine, steak, cheese and cold meats. It was a dream. We visited vineyards had lots of fun and ate way too much. The city felt so different to Cbba and it was really lovely to see a new place. Also really cool that indigenous women wear different hats in different cities, loved that. Some airport highlights included seeing a Bolivian bring a giant sack of potatoes as their luggage (they sure do love their papas), seeing just how many forks had been confiscated from people’s hand luggage (they just love food in general) and having my name called out in the airport because I had to take all the wine out of my suitcase and just hold it on the plane, my pristine reputation really is taking a hit here. The Cbba basketball was on the same flight as us and when we arrived back here they had a massive crowd cheering for them, should've definitely got some autographs, dang it.

2) ENRIQUE came to town. Oh it was beautiful. The ticket said that the concert was on the 6th November at 6pm, we found out it was actually on the 25th November at 8pm, we got to the stadium at that time and were told it started at 10, and our friend Enrique showed up to his own concert at stinkin 11. Lucky he’s got a pretty face and some beauts tunes, hey. The support act was very funny (bad, very bad) but was great entertainment because he got very frustrated when he said things like “come on everybody, make some noise, aren’t you having a good time?!” and got no response at all... turns out it’s probably a good idea to speak in Spanish if you are addressing a Bolivian audience! 

3) Work has been very varied, sometimes not the greatest, but mostly quite fun! Last week my job was to translate Christmas songs, so that was enjoyable. I also learned that the lyrics to ‘Jingle bells’ in Spanish are just ‘Christmas, Christmas, Happy Christmas’, but what can you do really?! 

4)After having a complete replay of the typhoid saga (see my previous postings), but this time with some parasite friends living inside of me, I was finallyyyy able to get the typhoid jab, the celebrations were real.

Today is another pedestrian day, so it's now definitely time to go for a wander (and probably find ice cream, as that seems to be where most wanderings lead to).

Hope life is good over there and that you are enjoying all the festivities, I wish I could use a santa emoji in my blog.

Lots of love,

Liza x

I live here now apparently.

Hello friends,

Cannot believe it's already nearly the end of October, also cannot believe I am FINALLY a resident (fines were paid, stress was had, work was missed), also cannot believe I managed to get three types of typhoid fever and not know about it, (whoops) and I guess that is your little blurb for what this post will include! Fun fun.

So, it's been eight weeks, I have a whole stack of paperwork, have paid a whole lot of dollar (Bolivanos actually, ha, love this currency) and have had some adventures along the way involving immigration officials trying to give me bunny ears in photos, my name being spelled numerous ways and causing problems, waiting in queues in the boiling sun for hours to get appointments (and also waiting in queue in the boiling sun for hours to be told that I cannot have an appointment), suspicious French men oh, and my personal favourite, the time when I had 6 minutes to make it to the bank to pay my fine and the taxi driver was a legend, taking short cuts, saying "We're gonna make it, we're gonna make it" I felt like I was in a movie, it was a good 6 minutes. But alas, the doors closed on my face and I had to do the whole thing again the next day. The larks.

Okay okay, I'll tell you about my diseases now. So, turns out that the typhoid jab they give you in England is actually useless in South America, so when I found this out I decided it might be worth going to get an injection here, just to be on the safe side. So off I went to the doctors and was told that it might be best to double check that I didn't have typhoid already as the injection would then have bad consequences. Long story short, I went to a lab, and turns out I did indeed have typhoid, a whole bunch of it, fun! But I am yet to feel any symptoms so that's pretty sweeeeeet. Have a whole load of tablets and am hoping it stays that way. Ha. 

Work is still alrighty, I get teased about my accent by my American colleagues daily, but hey, being teased all the time makes me feel quite at home, and they are a lot of fun. However, my body clock now wakes me up at 6.15 every morning which I am very much not happy about, I never wanted to be THAT person. We had a work bbq the other day which was so lovely, but lesson learned, taking a big bowl of potato salad on a packed bus is a very risky game, I was half out the open door wondering whether I'd rather lose my shoe or my salad, thankfully they both made it, ish. 

But I am enjoying weekends most of all which have involved a bit of wandering, new places, frozen yoghurt, markets, relaxing in the sun, swimming pools, going out for meals and drinks, and erm getting lost on buses that have such ridiculous decorations that you can't actually see where you are (including slinkies, pom pom fringing and bunny rabbit toys). Oh yes. I love it here. 

Little things just keep happening that remind me how different things are to home, and even though that can sometimes be frustrating, sometimes it's just great, like the other day when the person at the checkout in the supermarket asked whether he could give me chewing gum instead of my change, now that ain't never happened to me in Sainsbury's. Oh, and on the subject of teeth, I have seen children's toothpaste here which comes with a free packet of sweeties, ain't that great?!

Now for the best news, I popped to the supermarket to buy some chicken and came back with tickets to see Enrique Iglesias next month, as you do. Cannot wait.

Hope that all is well over there, so lovely that you're keeping up with my little adventures,

Love, Liza x

Oh, and Mum, here is one of those 'shout out things' for you, ha! :)

Swimming Pool.

Flowers of Cochabamba Flag and Jesus (Bit cool hey?!).

I don't know what this is, but it's pretty.

On the way home from work.

Un mes :)

Hello again :)

I've been here a whole month, waaaaaaaaaaaa! And after a little bit of pestering I decided it must be time for another post, so here it is!

So, last Sunday was election day which meant there were no cars on the road once again! But this time there was no fun and partying, and no shops or businesses or parks were open, so for someone who can't vote (yet - residency here I come!) it wasn't the most exciting of days! But it sure was lovely to be able to lie on the roof in the middle of a really peaceful city and have a cheeky read in the sun! Only downside - alcohol was banned for a few days before, I mean, quite a clever idea really, but not ideal for a little gringo who had a hard week at work… pah. But yeah, voting is taken very seriously here, there are lots of consequences for not voting and it really is quite interesting, you should definitely go and see the new Sandra Bullock film when it comes out (Our Brand is Crisis), cos that's all about Bolivian elections, nice eh! Also, see it anyway, because 'any film with Sandy B in it is gonna be a good'un!' (Yeah Doug, here's your shout out).

But no, work is going well, I'm getting used to it and very much enjoying the challenge, the drama on the bus rides and of course, lunchtimes, it really is great trying out different Bolivian dishes!

I'm also getting used to the ridiculous number of parades that Bolivia has and absolutely loving them, apart from that time a couple of weeks ago when I was walking home from Church and got majorly stuck…yes I jumped in and hid among some teenagers dressed as fluffy fairies in high heeled boots in order to cross the road, and yes it was a successful technique.

Another thing I'm loving is the fruit here, from the ridiculously cheap oranges and lemons (hellloooo fresh OJ and lemonade), to the chirimoyas (yes, a real word and a yummy fruit), mangoes, avocados, passionfruit and erm, definitely not the pineapples. (See previous post, ha.)

I have been having a slightly more interesting experience on the vegetable side of life, bought what I thought were normal peppers the other day and had quite the shock when I tasted my chili, helppppp, very spicy, very spicy indeed. Learned a couple of lessons from this, and I sure will be checking my vegetables more closely from now on, and erm, not rubbing my eyes after chopping them.

I have just had a realisation. It's been a month. That means my visa has run out. Grrreattt! But hopefully all is good immigration wise - I sure have given many a finger print (and gone to work with blue hands due to being covered in ink from said finger prints) - so hopefully I'll be staying in the country and erm not paying the biggest fine.

It's starting to get nice and hot here (sorry guys) and I really am loving the feeling of living in this city :) you should all come visit already!

Lots of love, hope all is lovely over there,
Liza
x

Why not have traditional dancing to encourage people to pay taxes really?! (I still don't get it but it was wonderful, I so wish I had the moves to join in, and the costume.)

The Pretty Poor Piña Problem

(This is what happens when you let someone else name your post, ha!)

Hola friends,

Pretty proud of myself for writing another post already! Hope you are all doing just fine :) I'll make this one a bit more snappy!

I'm almost at the end of my first ever week of full time work, who knew I'd make it through?! Sleepy is the word. The only awkward thing about that is that I had two days off before I even began, but how was I to know I'd get food poisoning?

From a pineapple.

Yes, it happened, let's move on.

(I can still hear you giggling, Kate, what a lovely little sister.)

Thankfully timing has been beautiful because the day before the erm, pineapple incident, I had to have a health check as part of the requirements for staying in the country. That all went smoothly, ish, I mean I did accidentally take my top off when I wasn't supposed to but you're always going to have a few mishaps when it comes to living life in a different language. I also had a lung x-ray which I was quite excited about, turns out I'm healthy/the x-ray has someone else's name on so maybe they're the healthy one? Either way, I'm all set for staying in the country.

So, in other news, I finally got myself a Bolivian phone and am absolutely winning because it came full of numbers (bit dodge, yep) so I have been presented with a great way of making new friends, just can't decide who to call first, there's Javier? Or maybe Carmen? Patricia?

Sunday was a great day, it was Día de Peatón which is basically pedestrian day, so nobody is allowed to drive cars and the streets were full of people cycling, wandering, playing games and just loving life, there were also loads of little stalls and just a lovely atmosphere. We very much need these in England I feel, anyone agree?

A few other little highlights from the past few days include:

-Going to the Cancha, the giant bustling market which I loveeeee and will be getting lost in more times than I care to think about.
-Discovering we have a roof terrace with barbecues on, oh yes! And you can see Jesus from up there, who doesn't want to see Jesus from their roof really?!
-Having some very funny conversations with taxi drivers and locals, yep they speak English in England, and no, I'm not a Mormon.
-Doing my first translations, wooooo.

View from the roof! 

View from other side of the roof!

I think I'll leave it there,

Lots of love,
Liza
x

I'm alive :)

A very big hola to you all and welcome to my little blog! So, I made it to Cochabamba (!!!), yipppee (I know more than some of you are surprised, meanies.) From the moment I saw the mountains when we were landing I felt so blessed and happy to be back in this beautiful city, how was I lucky enough to get to spend a whole year here?

I literally don’t know where to start, I’m out of the blogging swing of things you see, so be kind to me por favor - if you get bored just skip to the next bit, I won’t judge/know.

So, my first flight was fun - hours of blobbing, drinking tea, eating, oh and watching films dubbed in Spanish to make up for my lack of preparation thus far. (Guardians de la Galaxia is a must-see!) We aren’t going to mention my transfer in Miami (it’s not my favourite place). The next flight was a blur of sleepiness, food appearing in ma face and being squished, but at least I had a window seat to see the gorgey view of La Paz.

This photo does it no justice, you'll have to come and see it for yourself.

And then I got to Santa Cruz airport where our drama begins.

So, picture the scene - little English girl going up and down in a glass lift with a giant suitcase and other bags looking more frustrated each time. Yes that was me. It’s always a joy to be told you can’t take your suitcase with you any further on your travels and in the end I was told ‘ooof well, I guess you could but you’ll have to pay a lot of money’ - which turned out to be $6. I splashed out.

Things improved after that, a Bolivian lady saw I was upset and we started chatting, but let’s just say I wasn’t eased back into Spanish - our conversation was mostly about taekwondo and the British elections, help.

I’ve just realised that this post may be longer than my dissertation, sorry for that.

When I landed in Cochabamba I met my boss who is lovely and we drove to MY NEW FLAT, yay! I’m living with another girl working as a translator and it’s all great :). My flat is a dream, really spacious with some very interesting furniture and, wait for it, a maid’s room! Oh yes, so if anyone wishes to move to Cochabamba after this, I know of a position you may be interested in. Such larks.

Oh, and I have a doorman. He’s great, he just sits downstairs and watches soaps. But he doesn’t open the door. Should doormen open doors?

Rachel (here’s your shout out!) made me share the following tale with you, hope you enjoy... So, I was going out for a meal on my first evening and I really really wanted a shower after all the flying - my housemate and I each have our own bathrooms (winning) so I went into mine and assessed the situation. It’s a lovely big shower with a huge window looking out onto the city. But…there is no curtain. NO CURTAIN. So stressful, I just couldn't face all the Cochabambinos seeing me shower! So my housemate had popped out and I was sure she wouldn’t mind me using her shower, but then I got stuck! The door just wouldn’t open and the stress was real (first impressions are important don’t you know). Long story short, I escaped, and my windows are ferlippin tinted. I can now enjoy the most amazing showers ever looking out onto the mountains in peace. Phew.

So, speaking of first impressions, on Thursday I was with my boss trying to sort out my documents and as we were driving along in her car, I was hit by a sudden wave of altitude sickness, next thing I knew, I very much threw up, and erm, well, it was awkward to say the least.

So, as i mentioned, I had a lot of documentation to sort out when I first arrived in order to get my visa and gain residency....EEEK! This was no easy task and I am learning a lot about the culture here through having to dart all over the city to sort it out! One of my fave moments during these times was being in the police building to get cleared for drugs with the Bare Necessities playing in the background and being told that I must live in Buckingham because Birmingham wasn’t on their list of UK cities, greeeeat.

I also had to get some photos taken and, after year abroad larks, I was pulling the most serious face I could muster, and the guy was like ‘Are you okay? Lighten up a bit!’ What has Russia done to me?!

Moving swiftly on to the weekend - Saturday was my first chance to have a cheeky explore of the city on my own, I blobbed around in some of the beautiful squares, map in hand, and just had a wander. Because of said map, a guy asked whether I needed a hand finding anywhere, I said I was just happily wandering but the next thing I knew, he and his dog were taking me on a mini tour, now, now, I know, the stranger danger alarm bells were ringing loud, but it was very funny, and I would like to say how friendly people have been. And while we’re on that topic, I tried to find this Church on Sunday and have never felt so lost in my life, (okay, maybe I have, this is me after all), I haven’t yet got a Bolivian sim so had no way of calling anyone and well, I was very late, but the many MANY people I asked were so so lovely, shame they kept sending me in the complete wrong direction though. The story ends well, the Church was lovely and I will definitely be going back :).

Finally, on Sunday eve I ended up at a football match, heck knows how, it was so very spontaneous but also such jokes, Cochabamba won (yipppeee) and the atmosphere was great. Lovely first Sunday in this lovely land.

Thanks so much for all your lovely cards and messages, happy thoughts and prayers, you’re all great and it really is special to know you’re reading this.

Lots of love,

Liza (yeah I still feel this is the only way to sign off, old habits and all)
x

P.S. If anyone else would like to be added to the cheeky e-mail list, lemme know - bethrattley@hotmail.com, it will literally be an e-mail saying I’ve updated the blog, I might put a little emoji in it to mix it up, but don’t get too excited!

Hello, little blog.

Oh hello! It's been a WHOLE year, but I've remembered my password and done some decorating and the blog is back! I'm delighted to be updating you on my next travelling adventure - working as a translator in Bolivia - eeshka, how do I get myself into these things?

I just wish to clarify first and foremost that Bolivia is not in Russia, ha. Not naming names here, just a helpful hinter to avoid the shock at no longer reading about babushkas and blinis.

As you most probably know, I am not the most organised of people and don't have a plan for when this little blog will be updated, so you are very much welcome to send me your e-mail address and I'll hit you with a message to let you know when I've added a post :).

So, as per usual, I don't have much of a clue about what I'll be doing each day (/the whole year, help!!), but I'll be sure to inform you of my embarrassing tales and cultural experiences. (Already cringing at the memory of the wig story.)


Anyway, I hope you will enjoy joining me on my journey, it's so lovely to hear that people wanted this to start up again, either that or you're all very polite! I leave in a week's time so it's probs best if I end this now and try to find my visa.

Lots of love,
Beth
x

P.s since the Russian adventures are over (for now), I feel like Лиза is no longer appropriate, I'll try and embrace any new Bolivian nicknames!

Lessons I've learned

Two months later … and I have been back in England for over a month, eek! Missing Russia but so loving being home for the summer with my family and friends. Anyway, here is a post I meant to write a while ago on the things I've learned from living in the motherland.

Lessons I've learned 

Gherkins are not, and never will be, my friend. Fair play to them for trying hard, disguising themselves in sandwiches and salads, but alas, it was never to be.

Beetroot, on the other hand, has very much taken me by surprise and become something I will happily eat, not when it's pickled mind you, don't get too ahead of yourself!

Also, you will be shocked to hear this, but Russian food really does have a lot going for it if you strip away the gherkins/pickles and the rye bread, and the taste that the gherkins left behind (impossible task - I challenge you).

Babushkas are not to be messed with, they are the best. Don't question them, and, whatever you do, don't mistake them for two different people (see wig incident).

Just because you're the next person in the queue doesn't mean you're the next person in the queue, always take a look around and see if there are any sneaky babushkas waiting to jump in before you at the last minute.

Porridge comes in many shapes and sizes, textures and flavours, beware.

If you're ever feeling bored just go for a cheeky walk by the Neva, you will never be disappointed hahah neva never, I'm funny. But seriously, this city is gorgeous.

Also just walk along Nevsky, any time of day or night, I really will miss it.

Go third class on a night train, I feel everyone needs to experience sleeping on a shelf in very close proximity to hundreds of strangers.

If you're feeling ill, be very careful, Russians are very caring but definitely have some odd ideas about how to get better. Butter and milk aren't good together.

Get used to being pushed out of the way, and if you hear tutting it's probably best to give up your seat.

Also, you will probably be stared at at quite often, stare back if you're brave enough.

It's good to have small change, be warned, if you are unable to do this you may end up with being given 30 roubles in single rouble coins = very heavy purse.

People really are lovely and friendly here, learn to see past facial expressions. (Train stations are a massive exception to the rule, don't even get me started).

After a certain amount of time, you will start responding to "Girl!" (Unless you are not female of course, that would be odd).

It really is wonderful living in a land where you can get a cheap overnight bus to other countries. Exploring is fun. As is getting lost. Most of the time. When it isn't -20.

I will struggle to be back in a place where cafés and corner shops aren't open 24.7 and there aren't at least a few of them on every road.

Your food will arrive at a restaurant, it really will, but you may have to wait. A long time.

Crossing the road in Russia is something else, if the lights are red the cars go, if the lights are green the cars go.

I flipping love public holidays and the parades and celebrations that come with them.

A cheeky trip home never goes amiss. Friends and family and cats are good. As is Birmingham.

Now for a bit of cheese…thanks so much to everyone who's been reading this little blog, I'm so thankful for all the fun times I've had this year but also for the messages, whatsapps and Skype seshs from people at home. I will definitely be returning to St Petey's one day in the near future, let me know if you fancy joining me!
Lots of love,
Лиза xxxx

С Днём Победы!

Hellooooo.
After an actual age I am finally back, and so is the blog!
I genuinely don't know where to start with this one, so much has happened, but also so little - just had a two week flop at home, much needed but also made me very conscious that I only have four weeks left in this lovely land, eeeeeek, you would think that after 8 months in a place you would have done your bucket list, but alas, I haven't finished writing my list. A list. That's what I'll do! Here is a list of what's been going down since my last post.

1. My mother and brother came for a visit - it was a lot of fun. Aside from the fact that it actually took forEVER to find the 'hotel' they were in - literally a person's flat and had no signage whatsoever, I do feel like finding it was one of the great achievements in my life. Anyways, it was lovely to show them a a bit of the motherland, introduce them to my babushka (big moment!), get them lost on numerous occasions -not forgetting the Hermitage - and also go to Swan Lake on Ice (yes that's a thing!) and the opera which was amazing, who knew I could be so sophisticated?! (does this compensate for the time my water bottle exploded on me on the bus and I had to walk home with a massive wet patch on my jeans and a old man pointing and laughing at me?! please say yes.) But yes, it was great having visitors and taking them to some of my fave places. Another good thing about having visitors was the huge amount of chocolate and treats that my mum managed to bring me…she definitely has a big role to play in keeping Cadbury World in business.

Okay so this is basically just normal paragraphs!

2. Some friends from uni came to visit (here's my big shout out to Emma and Alex, HIII!) Their efforts at speaking Russian really were impressive and we had lots of laughs, so funny to see how newcomers see the city as I don't feel like a tourist anymore!

3. The white nights are on their way - it's currently midnight and still not pitch black outside! Tourist season is just starting to kick in and the place really is gorgeous.

 4. I've done a lot of teaching English, who knew I could blag so much about English grammar?! - I do really enjoy teaching until a student asks me whether an uncountable noun can be countable in some situations, needless to say my lessons with beginners reading The Three Little Pigs are slightly less stressful! Also, sharing M&S Percy Pigs with a class always goes down well! 'If in doubt, share food' has to be a good motto in life.

5. Summer came and went - had a beautiful couple of weeks with gorgeous gorgeous sunshine, St Peteys couldn't have been prettier... and then boom came some more snow! This caused a 'total wipeout' style situation where, for a couple of days, icicles were falling down all over the place, but at the same time the road sweepers had these sideways hose things going on and pedestrians were hopping around all over the place. Very funny until a whole block of snow fell down off a roof right in front of me!

6. Babushka has been really making me giggle, gonna mis her! The other day she was shouting "Liza, Liza, come quickly" in a way that made me worried she'd fallen over, I ran to her only to see her standing there with a new wig on twirling around and asking me whether it suited her! The only babushka moment that tops this one would have to be when she came into my room and asked me which one of her cheeks was bigger than the other! She also used some of my rent money to buy me some plants and comes into my room daily to check up on them which she finds very exciting - I often get a report on their progress!

7. Victory Day. This is by far the biggest public holiday in Russia, full of parades, flowers, banners, flags, costumes and singing. Such a good time to be in this beautiful land, it all felt so very Russian! The constant rain in no way dampened the spirits, with all sorts of events going on across St Peteys and the country.

Hope this finds you well and gives you a bit of an idea of what I've been up to lately, or at least reassures you that I am still here! I will post photos as soon as I can.

Lots of love,
Лиза xx

Riga

Hello :) Yes, Riga was a long time ago now but I think it still deserves a little post!

Latvia isn't very far at all from St Peteys, we just hopped on an overnight bus and there we were… arriving at 5am isn't the greatest, especially when cafes aren't open 24hours like they are here, but after a very long breakfast we started exploring and all was good.

I always enjoy a cheeky coach journey, especially when it's pretty empty and each person has a couple of seats, however this did mean that I fell asleep at the border crossing only to be awoken by a security man in a scary uniform and a furry hat staring at me because I needed to give him my passport. Awks.

So Riga is gorgeous, the main thing being its old town with lovely little buildings and cobbled streets (bit like Tallin) but throughout the city there is amazing architecture and lots to do. We found a little market with lots of local food to try, crafts, jewellery and a little band playing while people did what seemed to be the Latvian Hokey-kokey. While we were wondering around the old town we were joined by a large group of people in very very interesting costumes. Including a man dressed as a mermaid - my personal favourite. These people had no audience apart from us and a few other passers-by but none-the-less began to sing, dance and recite poetry, it was quite simply stunning, and no-one had a clue what was going on, but it was a lot of fun, until they tried to get us to join in with the dancing. (I cannot think of a fitting word to describe them in any of the languages I know). While we were there it also happened to be Riga's celebration for being the current cultural capital of Europe and we stumbled across a Latvian band playing - this was also a lot of fun, especially due to their excellent dance moves and rendition of some cheesy English songs, but I don't think it could quite compete with the mermaid.

Check out the mermaid!

Amazing

Little market - free samples (or at least I hope that's what they were - language barriers can cause issues!)

Now back to Rossiya...

On Saturday it was International Women's Day which is hugeee here - it seemed that nearly every woman walking down Nevsky was carrying flowers and smiling, was really lovely. Russia has a lot of pubic holidays - including those for mothers, fathers, women, men, children and teachers! I've been told that in May there are about 7 days off - how exciting! This morning on the way to school a woman just gave me a bunch of flowers and said "Happy Holiday", what a start to the week :) oh Russia. Lots of florists here are open 24 hours - I don't know who is buying bouquets at 3am, but apparently they do!

P.S - Babushka quote of the week "Ah, Leeza, I think we've found our mutual language - food!" This, it must be said, was quite a while after the Holodetz incident - which is basically bits of meat floating in jelly/fat and considered a real delicacy kept for special occasions - when my babushka was quite offended that I only had one helping.

Love, Лиза

Pancake Week!

Morning :)

Yep, pancake WEEK is here, it is an actual thing - called Maslenitsa - and I am very much enjoying it. Maslenitsa is an Orthodox festival, which as far as I can understand (not very far) signifies the start of fasting (so same as pancake day, just different dates). Each day of the week has a different theme, for example "Eating too much" or "Being young again". It is also supposed to include sleigh rides and snowball fights but alas, it is practically tropical weather here at the moment so that won't be happening. On Saturday there will be a big celebration near the fortress including many more blini (pancakes) and a bonfire. I have also learned a new Russian phrase which literally translates as "the first blini comes out a blob" which is used in all new situations which don't turn out as planned.

Tutoring, due to this, has been great this week (as if they don't normally feed me enough) I was given a  giant bowl of yummy borsch, a big slice of cake and some blini, I would quite happily take this as pay but don't tell them that. Was a teeny bit embarrassing when the girl's mum asked me how she was getting on and I said "yes, her Russian really is coming along…Oh... and her English too!" but hey, I like to think that, aside from these little errors, my Russian is improving.

Speaking of food, I will now tell you about breakfast here. So we haven't had another stir fry thankfully, I politely told the babushka that I'd much rather have a light breakfast. The next day I discovered she'd found BACON(!!!), so asked for a bacon sandwich, I was a bit confused and assumed she'd misunderstood as I was given porridge, but went with it, then she gave us a little salad, some blini, and then came the bacon. Which was amazing. But I had to save it for later to avoid exploding. She's also tried to feed us fried potatoes, cabbage and meat wobbling in jelly (called holodetz) for breakfast… interesting.

We're getting to know the babushka now and learn her little ways - there are some things that we have to do like leaving certain doors open/closed or putting stuff in certain places, but hey, we can deal with that, especially since she buys Twinings tea and feeds us at all times of day.  However, I do think she has a fear of mushrooms as she told me I had to eat the whole packet I'd bought in a day otherwise I'd be very very ill.. quite confused, and after sneakily eating them for the rest of the week I can safely say I'm feeling fine. I have heard that this may be a superstition as a friend's babushka said a similar thing. Ooh and on that note, I'll share a few other Russian superstitions that I've learned with you - this post is becoming quite educational!

So, one of the main ones that is very very important to know is that you should only give someone flowers if there is an odd number of them, if you gave someone, say, six flowers in a bunch this would be very very offensive as even numbers are only ever used at funerals.

2) -  never whistle indoors as this could bring misfortune to your family. Thankfully I can't whistle so haven't had any awkward situations regarding this.

3) Before going on a trip you should sit down for a few seconds once all of your stuff is ready as this brings safe travels. Our old babushka definitely made us do this before going to Moscow and we were very very confused, especially since we were in a massive rush and didn't quite fancy "having a little rest".

4) If you leave the house and forget something you really shouldn't go back for it. (pretty much a daily occurrence for me) If you absolutely must return, then you should look in a mirror before you step out again.

5) If you aren't married you shouldn't sit at the corner of tables - if you do then you won't marry for something like seven years.

6) Don't say 'happy birthday' to a person before their birthday (have done this twice now, both times received very odd looks, whoops)


I'm sure there are many more but I can't remember them at this moment!

Also, big news.. went to Riga last weekend!! It was quite spontaneous but a lot of fun and I will tell you all about it in the next post as I don't have much time now.

Happy Maslenitsa!
Лиза xx

Some little snaps

Hola, I'm about to be called to the kitchen for brekkie (this seems to be a daily moment of fear - what will be on that table?! I will tell you more about this when I actually write something later), so for now, here are some random little photos which should have been attached to other posts! Лиза xx

This is when we actually had snow here, near to my old Babushka's

This was an event recognising 70 years since the siege of Leningrad

Frosty Palace Square

Another cheeky plane photo

No snow but still pretty chilly! Blocks of ice have been falling off buildings - always fun

Just a few bags - only came with the suitcase!

Wallpaper with St Petey's on… nice