For some reason Tuesday has become my day of pain! I have 3 classes on Tuesday and dance class too! I'm up at 8.15am to make breakfast & get to History class for 9.30am.Each of my classes on Tuesday are in a different location in Moscow! My History class is by смоленская station, Post Soviet Economy is at the HSE campus on покровский boulevard and Mergers & Acquisitions is at the Management Department on кирпичная улица by семеновская station. This means I do a lot of travelling on a Tuesday and ride the Metro quite a bit!
Yesterday I stuffed myself with bananas and peanut butter sandwiches so as to make it through to the afternoon. I don't have much time to get lunch until about 2pm. I found peanut butter in the supermarket, imported from the US and probably the most expensive thing I've bought out here!
Then after that I dawdled slightly to the subway and made my way to курская for my next class. It's a new class and part of the Kent University/UCL Masters programme out there. As I've said the number of classes in English are super small so I'm taking Masters classes. This new class is called The Economy of the Post Soviet State and was beginning this week. However we all turned up to class, in a classroom which was massive and resembled a dance studio and the teacher didn't show! We waited for half an hour and he didn't come. This was actually a good thing for me because it meant I could dash back home to my dormitory and have a quick bite of lunch! Also I didn't realize quite how cold it was outside so I needed to change in order to keep my body temperature up!
I had a little lunch and then left for the Management Dept, it take about an hour to get there including the trek from the station. I think there must be a shortcut to the subway but I never have the time to investigate! Our class was in the computer room this week. They use old LG computers and the keyboards are ancient so make it super easy to hear who's using their computer! We were in the computer room in order to put into practice the "Event Study Methodology" we learnt last week & for homework.
Unfortunately I hit one important and large barrier: The computers & software were in Russian and whilst I know my way around Excel & Word, they used different commands and such so I was stuck! I couldn't do the classwork. Luckily my teacher understood and said I could sit next to a Russian and help them, I had 3 offers of someone to sit next to!
It was pretty complicated statistics we were plugging into Excel in order to find out the value of the merger of Procter & Gamble with Gillette. A lot of it went over my head but we tried and managed to get the right answers! I also got to practice my Russian and learnt some new words. The Russian all giggle when I say things and tell me how good my pronunciation is, they also don't realize quite how much Russian I can understand so I have to remind them that I can pretty much understand everything they're saying!! I did manage to get to grips with the Russian keyboard & how to switch between Cyrillic & English characters.
We also got set our homework and I've managed to get a group of 6 boys to work with!! Slightly daunting but they said that they wanted me in their group, especially because of my English which could guarantee them better grades! I'm just happy I've managed to make friends and got a group so I can do my homework properly!
Yesterday I stuffed myself with bananas and peanut butter sandwiches so as to make it through to the afternoon. I don't have much time to get lunch until about 2pm. I found peanut butter in the supermarket, imported from the US and probably the most expensive thing I've bought out here!
History class was interesting and we learnt about the 13th century and the Mongol invasion of Russia and a little about Genghis Khan (who fascinates me!). I'm sure I bleat on about this but I do love my teachers enthusiasm, makes the early mornings worth it and more bearable!
Then after that I dawdled slightly to the subway and made my way to курская for my next class. It's a new class and part of the Kent University/UCL Masters programme out there. As I've said the number of classes in English are super small so I'm taking Masters classes. This new class is called The Economy of the Post Soviet State and was beginning this week. However we all turned up to class, in a classroom which was massive and resembled a dance studio and the teacher didn't show! We waited for half an hour and he didn't come. This was actually a good thing for me because it meant I could dash back home to my dormitory and have a quick bite of lunch! Also I didn't realize quite how cold it was outside so I needed to change in order to keep my body temperature up!
I had a little lunch and then left for the Management Dept, it take about an hour to get there including the trek from the station. I think there must be a shortcut to the subway but I never have the time to investigate! Our class was in the computer room this week. They use old LG computers and the keyboards are ancient so make it super easy to hear who's using their computer! We were in the computer room in order to put into practice the "Event Study Methodology" we learnt last week & for homework.
Unfortunately I hit one important and large barrier: The computers & software were in Russian and whilst I know my way around Excel & Word, they used different commands and such so I was stuck! I couldn't do the classwork. Luckily my teacher understood and said I could sit next to a Russian and help them, I had 3 offers of someone to sit next to!
It was pretty complicated statistics we were plugging into Excel in order to find out the value of the merger of Procter & Gamble with Gillette. A lot of it went over my head but we tried and managed to get the right answers! I also got to practice my Russian and learnt some new words. The Russian all giggle when I say things and tell me how good my pronunciation is, they also don't realize quite how much Russian I can understand so I have to remind them that I can pretty much understand everything they're saying!! I did manage to get to grips with the Russian keyboard & how to switch between Cyrillic & English characters.
We also got set our homework and I've managed to get a group of 6 boys to work with!! Slightly daunting but they said that they wanted me in their group, especially because of my English which could guarantee them better grades! I'm just happy I've managed to make friends and got a group so I can do my homework properly!
Then I rushed off home as class had run late, it was rush hour and I needed to get to dance class! I hadn't realized there was also a football match going on which meant the station I chose to change lines at was packed! Packed with football fans who were all singing and chanting - one of the things I got told to avoid in Russia were football fans, as they can be especially rowdy & violent. I was kettled into the queue to get up the escalator and just went with it. I decided not to go home and went straight to class instead. This meant I did my dance class in my jeans & strappy top and NO sports bra (big mistake!) but I would have been at least half an hour late so that would have been lame! I turned up on my own and actually arrived before my friends from the dorm so I had a good opportunity to practice my Russian. I spoke to a couple of my fellow dance class members and they were impressed (or seemed to be!). I told them я должна говорть по русски потому, что я изучаю русски язык (I must speak in Russian because I'm learning Russian).
Class was tiring and we were learning how to do spins. Due to my genetics I am blessed with incredibly low blood pressure - so low that when I was in hospital I was forced to get up & jump around before my blood pressure could be recorded because it was too low for me not to be in intensive care. This means that if I've been rushed all day, hardly had any food or drink and I'm put in dance class and made to do lots of spins, it doesn't give good results! I did about 2 spins and nearly fainted. I decided just to do them super slowly and got away with it. Though I had a niggling headache but I pushed on through and put on a smile! When class ended I was slightly glad and couldn't wait to get home and relax! I got home, changed into PJs, made myself a pasta salad of cherry toms, feta and dressing and watched Downton Abbey! I woke up late this morning to make up for my tiring day yesterday!
