Monday, July 24, 2006

A special post for fans of The Fast Show...

The focus of the first half of our lesson today was emotions - how different feelings are written in Russian. We were reading the list one by one and when the teacher got to me, we were on the word, "OX." I said "okh" but apparently not with enough enthusiasm - for she started repeated it over and over, "Ooookh, ooookh, ooookh." Hehehe. Sorry for those of you who weren't exposed to the Fast Show when Laurie was in Dallas. Inside joke I guess.
Anyway, I found another difference between American and Russian universities. Apparently cheating is a lot more common. We spent the second half of class watching a video and talking about it - it was about a guy "preparing" for an examine (aka - making a cheat sheet). The teacher was asking us - "How do you cheat at home?" My answer - "I can't. The only way to cheat in a literature exam is to copy your neighbor and the teacher is bound to notice when two papers come back exactly the same." Of course, I said this suavely in my broken Russian.
Now I think I'll go to Teremok - world's best blini stand.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Trains

I was just looking into train ticket prices, as I have to start buying my tickets for the final leg of my journey. So here's the deal - do I pay $257 for a 2nd-class ticket in a four-berth coupe, or do I go the Russian way and buy the $93 3rd-class ticket in the "common car"? Hmmm. I think I may have learned my lesson at this point.
I'll make up for the price difference when I buy my bus ticket to Helsinki - a whopping $10! Woohoo - I see adventures upon the horizon.
And more luggage locks to be purchased.