Новосибирск 2

week 1 day 2, 12 jun 2009 - the Russian Day. (raining)

I think I woke up too early, I feel like sleeping at 1200! Anyway my parents are off to our church’s 13^th retreat at Bintan. I talked to Pastor Ong on the phone and he said he will pray for my stay here. (so caring of him! Our dear Pastor is like a big father of iur church) Aww if not for coming to Russia, I would have been there. I wonder how’s everyone there? How was the boat ride to Bintan? Please update me about the retreat when I’m back. Now I feel like flying back just to know how retreat went. Oh well, I should not bother about that. I should enjoy my stay here.

Ok back to more blabbering about my stay here again. This morning one of the AIESEC member (pretty lady, I think she looks like my ex-classmate Yingwen, I shall call her ‘Yingwen’ for the time being since I cant catch her name and neither do I know how to spell it) She kindly donated a washing machine for us. If you are starting to image those humongous watching machines most Singaporean families have, then I suggest you to stop that imagination now because it looks nothing like those back home. It is about 1/3 the size of our local washing machines and is Really a washing machine. This means that its one and only function is to wash your clothes. No extra features like rinsing, spinning or dying. Let me show you a picture of it soon. (btw, our yingwen look-alike is call kate (kathia in short))

I shall stop here for the time being since. I’ll go sleep or read my Sun Zi Bing Fa while I wait for the AIESEC members to come pick us up. (technically they are late) I’m hungry! I want food!!! (thinks of cookie monster)

I forgot to tell you yesterday’s temperature was about 25 degree Celsius, so a thin cardigan was enough to keep warm. But today it’s a totally different story. Apparently it rained pretty heavily last night and today the temperature plunged to about 14 degrees Celsius. Oh noes! Its freezing under 3 layers! My face feels like its frozen and my only thought was to get back into our apartment and huddle up in bed.

At about 1200, Tatiana (Tanya), Natasha (Natsha), and Kate came over to our place and they brought us to a 24 hours super market. There we bought products that we need to cook our meals. Now here are some interesting findings at the super market. Their chicken eggs are white, just like our salted eggs. Russians love beer too, so there were all sorts of beer on sale. This was the same for bread. They have all sorts of bread, from the normal white bread to even black bread and Kazarstan bread. You name it they have it.

*marketing!!!

Back at our apartment, Kate whipped us some breakfast, well more like branch for me. She made ring sausages and eggs for us, but it was kind of screwed up since she was not too sure how to cook them. Anyway, I just ate it since I was too hungry.

Natsha told me that Russians, especially Russian women love to eat sweets. These sweets that she was referring to were those kinds that we bought at the super market just now – traditional Russian sweets. I bought 2 of those. One is white, and the other is black. The white one is coated in white chocolate decorated with strips of chocolate. Bite into one of those, the inside is still white; the bottom layer is a layer of bread-like (somewhat like taupok) cake base with a layer of marshmallow-like filling seated perfectly on top of it. This sweet has got a name – milk of bird (direct translation from Russian) The black one on the other hand, is stuffed with double boiled condense milk which very much taste like caramel but less sticky. Containing this ‘caramel’ is a layer of bread-like cake which is coated in a layer of chocolate. Its just as dreamy as its name – dream. Its delicious! Russian women love to eat sweets, now you know why!

*'milk of bird'

*'dream'

*milk van outside our apartment

Again, more chit chatting session in our double-up living room and we headed for the book store to get a English-Russian dictionary for me so that I could learn how to write in Russian.

*an advertistment we saw on the way home.

*this the the bridge that connects the left and right bank of Ode river.

*behind us is the right bank of the river.

By the time we reached home, its 6+pm and I could hear my stomach on strike. Our chef EP, Sasha kindly made dinner for us, which I tried to help out here and there. How do Singaporeans usually cut potatoes? Just slice them into quadrants. But in Russia, there’s a new way to cut potatoes. You cut them like you are cutting up cucumbers or turnip to make our local delight – rojak! Cool huh!?! Well I’m waiting for dinner to be ready since Sasha chased us out of the kitchen. (I think he thinks we are making things worse by trying to help him)

Just a little side track, yesterday the LC told us that we are going to have picnic at Lenin’s square to celebrate The Russian Day, and we will play some games then as well. But its dinner time now and I wonder what happened to this original plan?!? The Russian Day is a public holiday for the Russians and its somewhat like our national day (if that’s the real meaning of this day). In singapore we have NDP, but here, no one seems to care about it. No one’s even celebrating it or what-so-ever. Its just like any other normal day. I wonder why?!?!?

Finally finally at 2100 dinner is ready!!! Chicken stew with diced chicken meat, shredded carrots, diced onions, rojak-cut potatoes and beef steak essence (Maggie cubes), along with Russian white bread to dip and eat. Oolala! Delicious! Sasha can really cook! He cooked such a huge pot of chicken stew (international food), and I’m so excited about it because that means there is breakfast for us tomorrow. (l’ve not been having breakfast for the past 2 days. It was always branch).

*homemade dinner by Sasha!!! (delicious!!!)

Anyway there isn’t much to blog about after dinner, since its more cultural exchange session and I’m now back to blogging and making a PowerPoint photo album to kill time. (the tv is in the guy’s soon, so this is my only entertainment for now, since I’ve got no TV and wifi here = sad. Orhhhhhhhhh(do it the Russian style))

Its been a tiring day. I’ll go sleep in a short while. That’s all for the time being and more blogging to come your way soon. In the meantime, keep smiling (;