Looking around

The apartment we live in has 3 levels - level 1 is the entrance, office for the staff, room to plan and make crafts and the showers. Plus the shelves where one always leaves outdoor shoes and puts on inside ones. Level 2 is the dining room/living room/kitchen, two bathrooms, and one bedroom for 10 plus a glassed in porch where laundry dries. Plus the TV - which plays only Russian shows. Level 3 has rooms for sleeping and 2 bathroom. Some sleeping rooms are 2-person (my current companion and I each have one), a couple of 3 person and one for 6. It is pretty much up and down for anything.

I can find my way around in Russian! I take the bus uptown, exchagne money, buy food.


We have had a lot of room to spread out now, but on Sunday 6 more folks arrive who overlap me and an observer for just 2 days. So the dynamics will change again.

Someone asked yesterday if there were any loud things. I am anguished to note American music is played very loud. It is more like disco than rap and there is a sprinkle of stuff even I know. Actually all music/radio is and the TV is kept loud.

On TV we have a new favorite Russian show - it appears to be a detective team and the smartest in the bunch by far is Rex the German Shepherd. At just the right moment as the Dumb Detectives are overlooing the same clue the entier audience spootted whne they walked in, Rex will ARF (sounds the same in English) and the mystery will be solved! Sometimes he gets a bone as a reward.

We made lots of cutout Gingerbread type figures this week for International Children's Day. All successful. And I lost some more dominoes. Tomorrow we go to the Vocational School and talk in English! Then it is the weekend!

Yep - Lady Gaga is played here. Loudly.