Minutia

As follows is a list of small points of mundane life.  Because dear readers, we have all fallen into a trap.  I am succumbing to the internet's desperate plea for just one more hit of private, unimportant, and uninteresting information.  I am an enabler.  You dear readers, even without searching for it are consistently bombarded with such information on Facebook, VK, Twitter, Youtube, you name it.  Seriously.  Name the site and I will find you some unimportant information.  And so we fill our places in this world, and though I recognize and cringe at the banality of the following statements, I nonetheless will publish this post.  Because life my friends, is a string of banalities, and often times these banalities are actually what are most important to us when it comes down to it.

So, to start off the list, Christmas lights.  Or New Year's lights.  Or, pretty lights around the kitchen window that remind me of home, my dog getting in the way underfoot, my brother pushing his way past me to the water pitcher, my mom drinking mocha in her pajamas, my dad singing hymns while washing the dishes.  The lady at the store thought I was crazy when I bought them.  I was so happy to find some that weren't multicolored.  She plugged them in and informed me that they didn't blink either...was I sure I wanted to buy them?  Yes!  Absolutely, they are perfect.  Except, as it turns out, they do blink, but not immediately.  And it isn't a nice sparkly blink, it is one of those half the string goes out at a time, sometime the whole thing does plunging you into darkness, making it very difficult to do anything by that light.  Unable to find the command light, I gritted my teeth and just told myself that they were good enough...a phrase I'm getting too comfortable with here.  But, excitement and resolution comes to this sad tale when a friend came to tea, I complained a bit, and within 3 minutes he had found both command lights, shorted them, and there I was with the perfect set of Christmas lights.  Immensely grateful, the ease with which he so quickly accomplished this highlighted the extent of my apathy on the subject - I had been unwilling to look beyond the 5th lightbulb.  [That should be a saying]

So with a new resolve to not be apathetic about anything, I have reattacked the windows to seal up the drafts.  And guess what??  It actually seems to be working!  I am sitting quite comfortably in my apartment right now with only one sweater and one blanket.  Practically normal!  My next project will be installing a hanging rod in my coat closet because the big puffy winter coat I just bought [ironically also American] does not come with a loop to hang it [minutia!], meaning the best option will be a proper hanger.  I also need to buy more hangers [you are welcome, internet, for your daily fix] as with the onset of cold weather, New Year's giving has started early and I have been lent 4 sweaters, a pair of warm pants, 2 jars of jam, a warm skin coat, kasha, and borscht all within the past week [I will grant that this is moderately interesting].

Which of course, brings us to weather.  Weather is always a dangerous topic, because for Americans it signifies really the most trivial small talk possible, and for Russians, it tends to signal the end of a conversation.  But nevertheless, I do a lot of talking about weather here.  Because it is cold.  Not so long ago, I was hearing all about how it was so unusual not to have snow.  As in, there must have been some trigger in the collective consciousness, because out of the blue every conversation included that talking point.  And now, with snow on the ground, every conversation is about how it is so cold now, so unusual, usually this doesn't come until February etc etc.  General consensus says the weather will let up soon, though certainly some are already seeing -45 C in Pushchino's near future.  The weathermen seem to agree with the first opinion.  Either that, or my requests have been granted, and for Christmas, the lovely R------ from the States is bringing enough Florida weather with her to warm up the Moscow Region a full 13 C.  One more week.  Class sizes have actually not dropped so much as I thought they would giving the cold snap.  Hey, if I weren't the teacher, I sure wouldn't leave my apartment after a long day of work to go walk 30 minutes both ways risking frostbite to be confused by a girl speaking quickly in jibberish for an hour.  [Side note, after teaching pig latin to a friend, I learned two different jibberish type languages based on Russian.  A tad bit advanced for me now, but something to aspire to.  True jibberishsky!]

And, I can't mention cold without mentioning that the wiring in my apartment is a nightmare.  An actual nightmare.  I think I may literally have had a nightmare about it.  Because I have burnt out the same outlet twice (the second time within an hour of receiving a new outlet) and a second outlet smells off when ever it gets too much use ("to much" varies on the day).  The one place I can plug in my heater without risking fire is in my hallway, obviously the most convenient space since like most people, I spend most of my time sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway.  But snarkyness aside, it still manages to add a couple of degrees to the whole apartment, even if it is only 2 or 3 by the time it gets to habitated zones.  Every degree counts.

And there will be more on the visit of the lovely miss R----- soon, but she doesn't get here for another week so that can wait its turn.

Things of actual interest that have happened in the past two weeks: I went to see a ballet, something which I will likely write a whole post about soon so I'll leave that one for later.

Also, I had my first experience in a Russian sauna (different from a Banya only the absence of humidity and and веники [birch branches that are used to whack, *hem*, massage other occupants.])  The difference seems tiny to me, but huge to people here.  Regardless though, it was awesome and is my new favorite thing.  You basically just lie or sit down in this room that is quite literally almost boiling (98 C) until you a) stop feeling cold b) feel warm, c) feel really hot or d) start getting light headed.  Then some people like to just stay warm as they drink their tea, or others will jump into a pool of cold water.  It is a wonderful way to relax, warm up, and engage in conversation with friends for a few hours.  Also, in the same experience, I learned that dried and salted fish is really delicious.  I also learned a few Russian songs about cold, love, and heartbreak.  I returned the favor by teaching "She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain" and "On Top of Spagetti."  I think between the two of them, they pretty accurately depict the American soul - a people defined by their trains, mountains, and lost meatballs.

And throughout the weeks there is a smattering of conversation in multiple languages (Russian, English, Sign language, Sound effects, and Spanish in a real pinch...everyone knows who la cucaracha is), lots of chai of different flavors and caffeine levels, and occasionally some delicious things.

WHICH, brings me to the food blog.  I made a pumpkin pie!  Successfully!  Though crust can be fickle, I whipped something together that worked quite well.  The next step is to translate the recipe into Russian and metric (which is going to be harder?) for those who asked for it.  Also, I ate some delicious chebureki made by someone else, and in the process learned the local secret of where to find the best meat in Pushchino.  I am hopeful that this discovery will bump up my daily meat intake.  My standard go to meal has become two fried eggs with a choice of 3 different sauces.  Today I mixed it with rice and it was oh so exciting.

But though the everyday sustenance is unexciting, I do occasionally cook delicious things.  Like the pumpkin pie.  Or cookies, or a really delicious baked chicken teriyaki which I need to repeat soon, as well as several very tasty soups (American so far, whats up Lentil Sausage Soup or Cheesy Corn Chowder with chopped fresh tomatoes?!?).  Items on the "to make and eat" list: gingerbread and another pumpkin pie for Christmas, eggnog and glogg also for Christmas, borscht, real pelmeni, apple pie, blinis, jam tarts, more cookies, and s'mores at some point when I find myself in good company near a bonfire.  I have also had enough conversations recently about fried ice cream, that I'll put that on the "to attempt" list as well, though with a tempered expectation of success.  Also, baking a cake with a Russian turned out to be so incredibly different than baking an American cake, that I may just have to make a chocolate cake for the kicks, giggles, and cultural education of my neighbors.

No pictures this time, just some late night crazy talk to share with the world.  Merry Christmas season to all, and to all a good night!