I am finally here! Yay Russia.
I am having such a great time. My family is incredibly nice. None of them speak english except for my older sister Dasha, but they are all really nice and funny. My little sister Laura talks to me endlessly in Russian even though I can hardly understand any of it. Speaking of Russian, I'm have learned a lot of it and I've only been here a day.
So what has happened since I last wrote: I went to an orientation in NYC, and then flew here. The plane ride was long and I didn't really sleep a whole lot, but when I got to Moscow (and through customs) I actually wasn't tired. Something about being in an exciting new place seems to wake you up, even when you've gone like 24 hours without sleeping. In Moscow an AFS voulenteer picked me up. He didn't speak english, and I didn't speak Russian, but he was an exchange student in Costa Rica, so we spoke spanish together. Who would have thought my Spanish would be useful in Russia? We had a few hours in Moscow before my train to Nizhny Novgorod so we went on the metro (crazy fancy and pretty) and saw the Red Square, which is also really cool. It was freezing that day.
Then I got on the train for almost five hours to go from Moscow to my city (Nizhny Novgorod). Russian trains are cool because they have different compartments that you can sit in. When I got to the train station my mom and sister Dasha were waiting for me. Dasha is twenty and speaks very good english.... the rest of my family, doesn't really speak english, but they still talk to me, and I do a lot of smiling. I do understand some things though. My sister Laura loves to talk to me in Russian, I have learned so many words because she keeps pointing at things, telling me what they are, and then quizzing me a few minutes later. She is adorable. She keeps coming up to me and hugging me and saying 'ya tebya lublyou' which means I love you. I taught her a few words in english. Now she loves to say "Hello, my name is Laura. I am sausage." I told her that that doesn't make a lot of sense, but she says it anyway.
Today we drove for like an hour to a small village called Tarasiha. It is really beautiful. The roads are legitamately covered in ice, like they are ice, you can't see the road. You also can't really drive on them, so we were walking a lot, but I kept falling, which Dasha thought was very funny. This was how I learned how to say 'astarozhnaya' (be careful). My grandparents are named Lyouda and Alexei. They are really nice. I also met my aunt, Anna, who is really funny. She has two kids David (7) and Palina (2). Palina is adorable. David reminds me a lot of my brother daniel, he has a lot of energy. I taught him how to say 'no' in english, and he then proceeded to follow me around the house saying 'no no no no no no no'.
Now let me talk about the food. It is DELICIOUS. Like wow. Last night for dinner I had borscht (yum) and salad (it was red though, not sure what was in it, it was also delicious). Today for lunch I had palmeni, and potatoes. Palmeni are like dumplings, they are also really good. My russian grandmother also made a cake with apples and chocolate (called Sharlotka) which was also delicious.
Now let me talk about tea. Russians drink it constantly. I have had 5 cups of tea today, and Dasha just asked if I wanted more.
Now let me talk about my house, it is an apartment on the second floor of a building, and really really close to my school. There is a kitchen/living room, my parents bedroom, a bathroom, and another bedroom where Dasha, Laura and I all sleep. It is like a huge slumberparty... every night. Its fun though. Last night Laura told me lots of stories in Russian taht I didn't understand before we went to bed. She would tell a whole story and then say 'tee ne ponimala' (you didn't understand me) and laugh. We also have a dog name Richi.
I am having such a great time. My family is incredibly nice. None of them speak english except for my older sister Dasha, but they are all really nice and funny. My little sister Laura talks to me endlessly in Russian even though I can hardly understand any of it. Speaking of Russian, I'm have learned a lot of it and I've only been here a day.
So what has happened since I last wrote: I went to an orientation in NYC, and then flew here. The plane ride was long and I didn't really sleep a whole lot, but when I got to Moscow (and through customs) I actually wasn't tired. Something about being in an exciting new place seems to wake you up, even when you've gone like 24 hours without sleeping. In Moscow an AFS voulenteer picked me up. He didn't speak english, and I didn't speak Russian, but he was an exchange student in Costa Rica, so we spoke spanish together. Who would have thought my Spanish would be useful in Russia? We had a few hours in Moscow before my train to Nizhny Novgorod so we went on the metro (crazy fancy and pretty) and saw the Red Square, which is also really cool. It was freezing that day.
Then I got on the train for almost five hours to go from Moscow to my city (Nizhny Novgorod). Russian trains are cool because they have different compartments that you can sit in. When I got to the train station my mom and sister Dasha were waiting for me. Dasha is twenty and speaks very good english.... the rest of my family, doesn't really speak english, but they still talk to me, and I do a lot of smiling. I do understand some things though. My sister Laura loves to talk to me in Russian, I have learned so many words because she keeps pointing at things, telling me what they are, and then quizzing me a few minutes later. She is adorable. She keeps coming up to me and hugging me and saying 'ya tebya lublyou' which means I love you. I taught her a few words in english. Now she loves to say "Hello, my name is Laura. I am sausage." I told her that that doesn't make a lot of sense, but she says it anyway.
Today we drove for like an hour to a small village called Tarasiha. It is really beautiful. The roads are legitamately covered in ice, like they are ice, you can't see the road. You also can't really drive on them, so we were walking a lot, but I kept falling, which Dasha thought was very funny. This was how I learned how to say 'astarozhnaya' (be careful). My grandparents are named Lyouda and Alexei. They are really nice. I also met my aunt, Anna, who is really funny. She has two kids David (7) and Palina (2). Palina is adorable. David reminds me a lot of my brother daniel, he has a lot of energy. I taught him how to say 'no' in english, and he then proceeded to follow me around the house saying 'no no no no no no no'.
Now let me talk about the food. It is DELICIOUS. Like wow. Last night for dinner I had borscht (yum) and salad (it was red though, not sure what was in it, it was also delicious). Today for lunch I had palmeni, and potatoes. Palmeni are like dumplings, they are also really good. My russian grandmother also made a cake with apples and chocolate (called Sharlotka) which was also delicious.
Now let me talk about tea. Russians drink it constantly. I have had 5 cups of tea today, and Dasha just asked if I wanted more.
Now let me talk about my house, it is an apartment on the second floor of a building, and really really close to my school. There is a kitchen/living room, my parents bedroom, a bathroom, and another bedroom where Dasha, Laura and I all sleep. It is like a huge slumberparty... every night. Its fun though. Last night Laura told me lots of stories in Russian taht I didn't understand before we went to bed. She would tell a whole story and then say 'tee ne ponimala' (you didn't understand me) and laugh. We also have a dog name Richi.
St. Basils Cathedral
. "Hi. My name is Laura. I am sausage"
My cousin Palina! I want to steal her!
David, Palina (cousins) and Laura (my sister)
Me and Palina
My lunch. Cake (sharlotka), pickles, potatoes, and palmeni (dumplings, you can't see them here but they were good)
Dasha. Not a great picture. She is very pretty and very nice.
Well that is all. I am having a great time here. I love and miss you guys!!! Email me: lindsaysaligman@gmail.com
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