Pigs and Yeast

{{I wrote this blog during passover, but just got around to posting it now. Don’t be scared. Yes, you are correct, Passover is over. But the story is still relevant and interesting….}}}
So Passover has begun. I reminded Gollum last week, about the rules and regulations. Basically all I eat that is no good for Passover [...]

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Rite of Passage

I study at a convent. Well what was once a convent. St. Petersburg State University is quite large, and there just aren’t enough buildings on the main campus to house all the faculties. As a result, the foreigners are subjected to study at a women’s convent, which Lenin once used as his headquarters. The convent [...]

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Vacuuming the Hardwood Floors

Gollum bought a vacuum cleaner today. She has hardwood floors in the apartment. She assured me all was good. It is an American made vacuum. “Redmond” brand. Never heard of it. They day she bought it, she called all of her relatives. All I could make out of the conversations was “very expensive.” She has [...]

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Cry Wolf

Today a car cleaner found a pendant worth over $450,000! It was on the news. Fantastic. They showed the pendant. It was shiny and was glimmering. OOOhhhh, AAAhhhh. My host sister and Gollum were not that impressed. But why, may one ask. Simple. They are skeptical. Of what? Easy. Two years ago a story broke [...]

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Yusopov’s Palace

This weekend I went to a palace. It was nice. But that is not the point of this story. I also walked by Dostoevsky’s apartment, but that also is not the point of this story. The point of this story is this: In Russia at all major attractions there is a foreigner price and a [...]

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Broken Toilet

The toilet at my apartment stopped working. It doesn’t flush. Instead, a slow yet steady stream of water flows through the toilet. But the force of the water is not really strong enough to make anything go down. So, as a result, we have instituted a bucket-flushing system. We take a bucket full of water, [...]

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A Retrospective

So maybe I have been a bit too critical in my writing. The point of my writing is not solely to bash Russians, although at times it may seem like that. I actually am going to miss this silly country. And when I write about negative things, it is more in a sense of appreciation. [...]

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A power outage, pigeon death, and some water.

I was at the market the other day and the power went out. Just went out. We all got yelled at to put the food away and exit. And we obeyed. Only in Russia.
I also saw a pigeon fight today. Actually a pigeon murder. Two pigeons were fighting over a large a scrumptious piece of [...]

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My Weekend

This weekend I went out. Both nights. I know, even I surprised myself. Not to mention the shocked looks on everyone’s faces and the constant, “Miriam, I am so glad to see you out, finally,” or the “Miriam, out, on a Friday night? Crazy.” Yeah, I know. Trust me, after the events of this weekend, [...]

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Waiting

As I was at the airport trying to fly back to Russia at the check-in counter, no sense of order could be found. The Russians were pushing and shoving, not waiting in line. Senseless.

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