Well, not much very exciting happened this week. Other than finally acquiring a Рив Гош plastic bag. It goes against my bargain senses to buy anything from this makeup store, because nothing is very cheap there. But, I had to have the bag!!! I'm not sure what the attraction is for carrying this specific plastic bag everywhere. I know Russians are especially fond of makeup, so maybe this store is their mecca, full of all the makeup anyone could ever want. I got some purple mascara. I can't wait to wear it everywhere!
The nice blue tights I had brought from home got a run the first time I wore them. Stupidly, they were the only pair of tights I brought. I finally bought some the other day, from a little store in the giant mall next to the university. Can I just say I hate shopping like that? Where you have to look at all the options behind glass cases, and then talk to the shop owner to find out which ones are actually available and in your size. Of course, here I have no idea what my size is. So, with my limited vocabulary, I pointed to different pairs and none of them were available. She suggested a black pair with an argyle pattern, so I was like, "Sure." Anything to be done with this uncomfortable situation trying to talk with a surly Russian seller. I got them, even though they were $10. Way too much for tights! I wore them the next day with my new high heels and my black dress. I felt so Russian! Until we had to walk about 50 miles to the grade school to talk with the 17 year olds again. Halfway there it started to feel like the skin was being scratched off my feet from the friction with the tights. I was limping all the way there and sweating all over in my leather jacket. Turns out my new tights, which kind of resemble fishnets only with tiny holes, had given me giant blisters. Fun! The one on my left foot was kind of shaped like India. I'm not wearing those tights again without other softer socks beneath them.
Living here is expensive. My host sister Marina and her husband are looking for an apartment (I think?) and they are all expensive. Even the ones with only 3 rooms! Those are about $150,000. A nice apartment, that seems more like a condo, with two floors, a garage, 2 bathrooms, and 5 rooms in all is $300,000. My host brother Sasha has been looking for a car for the entire month that I've been here. The men in the family discuss cars every single time they are together, and debate tiny little details of the benefits to one kind over another. I think Sasha's planning to go to Moscow to get his car, which seems really weird. There are car sellers here, and I'm sure they have cheap cars, why go 9 hours away to get one? Maybe they only sell old Ladas here, and he doesn't want one of those. Good for him, I say. Too many people here still have old Ladas.
Yesterday was such a nice day. No one else wanted to do anything, so I took a bus to the Kremlin park and walked all the way around the Kremlin. It was so beautiful! There were lots of gnats that liked to get in my hair, which was GROSS, but it was such a beautiful day I didn't really mind. There were lots of little kids riding on horses throughout the park, and even a donkey pulling a carriage. Some guy running an archery stall called me over and asked for change for his 100 ruble bill. I totally understood him and was able to give him two 50's! I took lots and lots of pictures of all the towers of the Kremlin, which I will upload when I have access to reasonable speed internet. I then went to Lenta, which is kind of like Wal-Mart. It was so much like shopping at home! Except for everything being in Cyrillic, and the million cans of pate in the canned food aisle. I got me some Italian trouser socks for $1. And some chocolate covered halva. MMMMMM. That stuff is better than Reese's. Really, it is. The guy in front of me at the checkout asked me if he could use my Lenta card, and I had to tell him I didn't have one. At least I hope that's what he wanted.
Stay tuned for further developments.
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