Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Monday, October 11, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Trip to Sochi
Last week the whole 7th grade split into 2 groups and flew to Sochi. 2014 winter Olympics will be held there! In Sochi we stayed in two different hotels. One was located near the Black Sea and the other one was in the Krasnaya Polyana mountains.
It was raining until Thursday when the sun came out. My most memorable experience was when we took a boat ride in the Black Sea. When we got to the center we got to swim. While I was swimming I saw a huge pack of jelly fish came by me. Luckily, they can't sting as hard because of the salt water.
The water temperature was very warm, much warmer than Pacific Ocean in California. All the kids thought the water was cold, but I'm from Cal, I'm used to much colder water.
Stayin
g in Krasnaya Polyana made me feel like I was in the middle of nowhere. All I could see was trees and hills.
We were so high in the mountains that we could touch the clouds. Look at the picture I took!
During my trip to Sochi I felt as if I was coming back home to California. It was warm, palm trees everywhere and seaside.
If only Sochi could have In-N-Out and Mexican Food then I can really be home!
It was raining until Thursday when the sun came out. My most memorable experience was when we took a boat ride in the Black Sea. When we got to the center we got to swim. While I was swimming I saw a huge pack of jelly fish came by me. Luckily, they can't sting as hard because of the salt water.
The water temperature was very warm, much warmer than Pacific Ocean in California. All the kids thought the water was cold, but I'm from Cal, I'm used to much colder water.
Stayin
g in Krasnaya Polyana made me feel like I was in the middle of nowhere. All I could see was trees and hills.We were so high in the mountains that we could touch the clouds. Look at the picture I took!
During my trip to Sochi I felt as if I was coming back home to California. It was warm, palm trees everywhere and seaside.
If only Sochi could have In-N-Out and Mexican Food then I can really be home!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Week 1
WEEK 1: SURVIVAL (per Lana)
My first week is being under jet leg, when days and nights are the same – foggy and blurry. The environment outside me does not help. I don’t feel like it’s a real world, being surrounded by gray smog, choking from smoke in my lungs and smelling fire in my nose.
It feels more realistic as if it’s an episode from “Survival”. So, I called my first week in Moscow – Survival.
Episode 1: Arrival
Moscow met us with heavy smog from peat fires burning outside the city. It’s above 100 degrees.
Picture Dante’s travel through Hell in the “Divine Comedy”.
Episode 2: Moving into a New Apartment
Lucky us - staying in a nice air conditioned apartment. What about most of moscovites that do not have it? They’ve never had a need for them in 1,000 years. The head of RosHydroMet ( Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Services) confirmed that there were no such abnormality in temperature for the last 1,000 years, due to their archive.
You ask me what most moscovites do? – Flea the city. Take vacation, buy hospital “leave of absence” (saw on TV how you can buy one week “being sick” for just over $100). All popular resorts in the nearby proximity are sold out, even with a triple cost. Airlines are overloaded and delayed.
Good news now. Our apartment is located by “Fifth Avenue” – mini Spectrum from Irvine. What a positive sign, visible 24/7. I feel like I’m in both capitals of the world. We just use a magnet card to open the gate from our gated 2-building community to access a few-story complex with a grocery store, cleaner, Starbucks, nice and fast food restaurants, movie theater with few screens, including 3-D and many shops. We’re good!
Episode 3: Shopping
Bed sheets, towels, plates, spoons and forks, knives, sugar, salt…Basic necessities were on my shopping list after we moved into a gorgeous fully furnished apartment.
I started small: exchanged 600 dollars cash into roubles. With a lightning speed I spent all of them at Metro – “Russian Costco” and relied upon my credit card to charge further basic necessity at “Your House” – Твой Дом. I’m just not used to carry more than $500 in my purse yet!
Price shock! How can an ordinary towel cost $60 and comforter set $2,500? Hmmm… my Ralph Lauren comforter set for winter would have cost here $6K. Good thing I shipped it here.
Finished my first day of shopping at IKEA – felt more comfortable there, as if I’m in Costa Mesa at Harbor Blvd. There was the difference there though – if you have their card, you can save up to 30% on some of the items. They don’t do this home, in California.
Episode 3: What Kids Do
In tweet phrase – “they’re on their own”.
Our daughter left to the East Coast of Russia with her friend, the Far East. Needless to say, she's in far best conditions weather-wise and life-style conditions now. Her friend’s father is a Governor and mom is a famous actress and supporter of many foundations in Russia. Both parents are great friends of my husband since college. For the last two days she’s been on a mission trip in taiga – combination of jungles and forest - establishing a new church with educational facility. They will have to sleep in the tent!
Our son spends every day at the hockey rink! It's a heaven for him - so much hockey, the practices are intense. First, it was hard for him, but yesterday he was praised by the coach and offered a spot on the team! We have not even seen him on ice here. He's on his own - making his hockey choices and working hard to be accepted. All other / outside hockey time he spends with his friends at their summer houses - to be away from Moscow....Of course, our hockey friends, are a great help in it - taking Alex with them.
Episode 3: What About Me
I’m better today, after a breakdown yesterday. The lack of service and choices bother me.
We went to buy me a car in Moscow. Nothing I wanted was available until January of 2011. With great nostalgia, I remembered how on my way home from Crystal Cove beach, within a few minutes, I changed Lexus SUV on a 350 E at a Mercedes dealer in Newport Beach, still having sand on my feet. I will have to drive whatever is available now within my budget.
Episode 4: Food & Movies
• Starbucks: 2 Grande iced Mochiattas = $15. Free internet though.
• McDonald’s: There’s a Russian burger called “Royal Deluxe”, not available in America. Very tasty per Alex’s experience. “They also have their own French fries,” - shares Alex – “that is healthier and tastier. The downside is the cost of any sauce = $1. And too crowded!”
• Movie tickets are less expensive, just $9. “Popcorn has another flavor, they call it “sweet”, – shares Alex.
• KFC has its own name in Russia – “Rostiks”! Crowded and slow service. But food is popular.
• Food in grocery stores: a lot of choices in deli section – European cheese, meat. More than in any American deli section. Wines from Italy and France – great choice, great price. Ahhh – Siberian pelmenis and varenikis. The choice of salads and their freshness in American chains supersede anything available here.
Episode5: Top 3 Differences
Per Alex:
1. Weather is worse: none of California fires could have competed with this disaster
2. People are nicer: strangers are very friendly
3. Traffic is horrible: not enough lanes. Drivers break the rules
Alex’s extra one: people in Russia smoke too much, and everywhere!
Per Lana:
1. Too serious, not enough smiling faces
2. Consumers are not spoiled with service
3. Expensive
My first week is being under jet leg, when days and nights are the same – foggy and blurry. The environment outside me does not help. I don’t feel like it’s a real world, being surrounded by gray smog, choking from smoke in my lungs and smelling fire in my nose.
It feels more realistic as if it’s an episode from “Survival”. So, I called my first week in Moscow – Survival.
Episode 1: Arrival
Moscow met us with heavy smog from peat fires burning outside the city. It’s above 100 degrees.
Picture Dante’s travel through Hell in the “Divine Comedy”.
Lucky us - staying in a nice air conditioned apartment. What about most of moscovites that do not have it? They’ve never had a need for them in 1,000 years. The head of RosHydroMet ( Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Services) confirmed that there were no such abnormality in temperature for the last 1,000 years, due to their archive.
You ask me what most moscovites do? – Flea the city. Take vacation, buy hospital “leave of absence” (saw on TV how you can buy one week “being sick” for just over $100). All popular resorts in the nearby proximity are sold out, even with a triple cost. Airlines are overloaded and delayed.
Good news now. Our apartment is located by “Fifth Avenue” – mini Spectrum from Irvine. What a positive sign, visible 24/7. I feel like I’m in both capitals of the world. We just use a magnet card to open the gate from our gated 2-building community to access a few-story complex with a grocery store, cleaner, Starbucks, nice and fast food restaurants, movie theater with few screens, including 3-D and many shops. We’re good!
Episode 3: Shopping
Bed sheets, towels, plates, spoons and forks, knives, sugar, salt…Basic necessities were on my shopping list after we moved into a gorgeous fully furnished apartment.
I started small: exchanged 600 dollars cash into roubles. With a lightning speed I spent all of them at Metro – “Russian Costco” and relied upon my credit card to charge further basic necessity at “Your House” – Твой Дом. I’m just not used to carry more than $500 in my purse yet!
Price shock! How can an ordinary towel cost $60 and comforter set $2,500? Hmmm… my Ralph Lauren comforter set for winter would have cost here $6K. Good thing I shipped it here.
Finished my first day of shopping at IKEA – felt more comfortable there, as if I’m in Costa Mesa at Harbor Blvd. There was the difference there though – if you have their card, you can save up to 30% on some of the items. They don’t do this home, in California.
Episode 3: What Kids Do
In tweet phrase – “they’re on their own”.
Our daughter left to the East Coast of Russia with her friend, the Far East. Needless to say, she's in far best conditions weather-wise and life-style conditions now. Her friend’s father is a Governor and mom is a famous actress and supporter of many foundations in Russia. Both parents are great friends of my husband since college. For the last two days she’s been on a mission trip in taiga – combination of jungles and forest - establishing a new church with educational facility. They will have to sleep in the tent!
Our son spends every day at the hockey rink! It's a heaven for him - so much hockey, the practices are intense. First, it was hard for him, but yesterday he was praised by the coach and offered a spot on the team! We have not even seen him on ice here. He's on his own - making his hockey choices and working hard to be accepted. All other / outside hockey time he spends with his friends at their summer houses - to be away from Moscow....Of course, our hockey friends, are a great help in it - taking Alex with them.
Episode 3: What About Me
I’m better today, after a breakdown yesterday. The lack of service and choices bother me.
We went to buy me a car in Moscow. Nothing I wanted was available until January of 2011. With great nostalgia, I remembered how on my way home from Crystal Cove beach, within a few minutes, I changed Lexus SUV on a 350 E at a Mercedes dealer in Newport Beach, still having sand on my feet. I will have to drive whatever is available now within my budget.
Episode 4: Food & Movies
• Starbucks: 2 Grande iced Mochiattas = $15. Free internet though.
• McDonald’s: There’s a Russian burger called “Royal Deluxe”, not available in America. Very tasty per Alex’s experience. “They also have their own French fries,” - shares Alex – “that is healthier and tastier. The downside is the cost of any sauce = $1. And too crowded!”
• Movie tickets are less expensive, just $9. “Popcorn has another flavor, they call it “sweet”, – shares Alex.
• KFC has its own name in Russia – “Rostiks”! Crowded and slow service. But food is popular.
• Food in grocery stores: a lot of choices in deli section – European cheese, meat. More than in any American deli section. Wines from Italy and France – great choice, great price. Ahhh – Siberian pelmenis and varenikis. The choice of salads and their freshness in American chains supersede anything available here.
Episode5: Top 3 Differences
Per Alex:
1. Weather is worse: none of California fires could have competed with this disaster
2. People are nicer: strangers are very friendly
3. Traffic is horrible: not enough lanes. Drivers break the rules
Alex’s extra one: people in Russia smoke too much, and everywhere!
Per Lana:
1. Too serious, not enough smiling faces
2. Consumers are not spoiled with service
3. Expensive
My life so far.....
September 11. By Anya
"My life so far in Moscow isn't that great! I don't have many friends, I am still trying to catch up on reading, writing, and speaking Russian, and it is REALLY different! The roads are horribly CRAZY here and the metro scares me now because of the terrorist attack.....and it is kind of boring for me here!!!" ~ Anya
"My life so far in Moscow isn't that great! I don't have many friends, I am still trying to catch up on reading, writing, and speaking Russian, and it is REALLY different! The roads are horribly CRAZY here and the metro scares me now because of the terrorist attack.....and it is kind of boring for me here!!!" ~ Anya
September 13. By Lana
"My life so far is quite interesting! I have many friends, I can read, write and speak Russian, BUT it is REALLY DIFFERENT! After dropping Anya at school, I spend around an hour in traffic coming back home with a headache (drive to school takes 15 minutes). Anya is right about crazy driving. After today's driving I went straight to bed and slept for 2 hours, since sleep is the best remedy from stress. Especially, not sleeping through the night - was waking up few times to get up at 5:30 am and send Alex to school. His class must have landed in Sochi now. They will spend 5 days in the southern capital of Russia, going up into the mountains, enjoying the beach, etc...and getting to know each other and their teachers!
I miss, I miss, I miss waking up in the morning and seeing a bright California sun with a blue sky and not a single cloud in the sky. I've seen gray clouds every morning for the last 2 weeks. Really different. Had to give up Perricone's promise to stay healthy and young, meaning avoiding coffee and having only green tea. Sorry, Dr. Perricone, it does not work in places, where there's no sun. Enjoying my double expresso now and life is getting better. Ahhhh..." ~ Lana.
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