Saturday 31 January 2009

Oh the Joy

The language geek is overwhelmed... there is a Polish tv-channel, wohoo!

Stand Up, Remember

Russia is a country most people have an opinion about, and in many cases these opinions tend to be negative. No country or culture can be classified good or bad (the world is not black and white, it is shades of grey), and the same applies to Russia. I could write a long list with the good things this country has to offer, for the negative things you only need to switch on the news.

But one thing that never has been a strong in Russia is something that people in the West take for granted: freedom of speech. Without freedom of speech, no active debate can be formed among people in order to improve and develop the society they live in*. This issue, its causes and consequences, deserves a deeper analysis that I am going to give in this blog. I just want you, the readers, to be aware of the fact that a demonstration will be organised in Moscow tomorrow. The purpose of this demonstration is to commemorate the human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and the journalist Anastasia Barbulova, as well as protest against political murder. These individuals were killed for their opinions, and their courage deserves any ounce of respect. More importantly, their work should not be forgotten. Not by Russians and not by foreigners, who should take a moment to be think about their own political systems.

* or so we like to believe.

Miracles

I woke up at 6 am. Stayed in bed thinking about studies, shopping, travelling, the summer, my family, my friends, the day ahead, what to wear, tickling my boyfriend wondering if he would kill me if I woke him, going to the toilet or not, pets, the metro route, what to eat for breakfast, music. It was aready 7 am and I realised that any trace of sleepiness had gone. So here we are, at 7:12 a.m ona Saturday morning. Surt sa räven ("sour" said the fox).

Well, good thing I have a feeling this will be an amazing day.

Happy Saturday to everyone!

Wednesday 28 January 2009

Siis joo...

Note to self: it might be a good idea to use that extra hour for studying instead of reading about people's worries online.

Sunday 25 January 2009

Already?

How can it possibly be Sunday night? Why, oh why, does time always go so quickly during the weekends? And why do Monday mornings feel as fun as being hit by a full-speed train, even if work is quite ok all other days of the week?

Le Week-End



After almost all of Spain has been in the risk zone of flying down to Africa, the winds are finally starting to calm down...



The porrage shop which also has a lot of other Russian delicacies (not to mention books and films) is located right next to the main railway station in Valencia.



Our street, how exotic... The most interesting fact about it is that it has two names and several nicknames, most of them containing the word s**t- the dogs here have the slightly annoying habit to do their needs wherever they find most convenient, hence the smell.

It might be time to start taking down the christmas decorations and prepare for summer..

Friday 23 January 2009

Cravings

For some odd reason, the only dish that I have been thinking about for the last weekhas been chili con carne. They used to feed us this in school, and I never really liked it very much, but... of course, when the craving hits you, all you can do is give in (or pretened to have a will made of iron, but that's not the point here).



All you need is:
minced meet
olive oil
garlic
a bit of pepper
2 tomatoes
tinned tomato
baked beans

wild rice

lettuce

Yummy....

Thursday 22 January 2009

Pickafight!

Sometimes that's what you really need. A good old intensive discussion. The kind where you can let your opinions fly, beat your opponent by using your tongue and wittiness and get all those extra aggressions out without hurting anybody else's feelings. Instead of shouting at someone about absolutely nothing or feeling that stiffness and emptiness that comes together with unexpressed feelings.

Monday 19 January 2009

Warm and Sweet


Aih, it's cold today, and my computer decided to close the programme in the middle of one of the lectures I had to listen/watch today. The keyboard is covered in kiwi... slimey. No big deal... it might work out.
Right, there is actually a point with this post, and the point is called rooibos vanilla tea. Rooibos, which is also known as red tea(but shouldn't be confused with pu-erh) is made from the rooibos plant that can be found in Africa and it has several health benefits (please consult wikipedia).
So, today I got myself some, spiced with vanilla. This particular tea has 7% vanilla in it (real, fake, sugar, I dont wanna know...) so it smells delicious and tastes sweet, which is a nice change to the bitterness of green tea. Definitely worth a try!

Sunday 18 January 2009

Excited

There are two things that make me really, really excited at the moment. No, make that three - the third one, however, will take place a few months from now but I just can't wait. So... what is it?

One thing I'm really excited about is the gym; the feeling during and after class is really euphoric. Last week I went twice, and this week my intention is to go many more times than that. Pilates and water aerobics are both things that I love doing, but I want to try to add some more cardio and strength training to my schedule. Boxing sounds like the ultimate fun but I'm afraid I will make a fool out of myself or end up being punched in the face by some sweaty big man.



Starting uni is also waking up the butterflies in my stomach although I have no idea why. I know from experience that comparative politics can be a drag (especially when you are comparing two countries that you really aren't familiar with) and microeconomics.... what was I thinking... I used to hate numbers, graphs, statistics and anything that is in any way related to economics. Well, it shall be fun.



Number three: England, England, England. I have missed thee. If everything goes according to plan, I will be visiting dear old Manchester in May. Fingers crossed!!


Photos: here, here and here

Daj mi..

One of the greatest event in spring is to find the perfect bikini. It is quite amazing how much time and effort women go through to find two pieces of fabric that really don't cover that much. The requirements for the perfect bikini are endless: the colour has to be right, it has to fit both up and down, make you look gorgeous, emphasise your good bits and conceal the less better ones. It should preferably not fall off in the water, and it is a great plus if you can play something while wearing it.

Anyway, this post is for my family and friends who wish to buy me an early birthday present... err...

I humbly ask you to get me this. Referring to the bikini of course, although the hat is nice.

Wednesday 14 January 2009

Good Girls Staying Good

The 10 Commandments for Good Girls

Girl, you are not a saint. You don’t even need to pretend to be one, because it is imperfection that makes you interesting.

You do not need to like everyone. You can give a person a fair chance and then decide to dislike them. However, even disliking can be done in style. Avoid gossiping about people behind their backs; you will not get any true pleasure out of it and eventually you will lose your face.

You do not need to please everyone either. Not all the time, at least. It is good that you take other people and their feelings into account but sometimes you have to step your foot down and only think of yourself

You are allowed to make mistakes. That is one of the few ways you will learn anything.

Like yourself. The neighbour’s dog might consider you an ugly, stinking human being and your arch enemy might make fun of you in public. But… who cares?

You do not have to be the best at everything. Take advantage of your skills and talents, but remember to do something you are so bad at that you can only laugh at yourself.

Laugh at yourself. And the world. The world might laugh with you or it might consider you utterly insane. At least you will have fun.

Don’t fight with yourself. There are no winners.

Go with the flow, far too many things are beyond your control so concentrate on what's essential and do your best.

Push your limits and find adventures. Be “naughty”. Paint the town red with your girlfriends, waste money on something completely unnecessary, dye your hair red, skip the gym if you don’t feel like going, read an erotic novel and eat the whole tub of ice-cream. Get a tattoo, go bungee jumping. Make an extemporaneous trip to the other side of the world. If everything else fails, start collecting stamps.

Monday 12 January 2009

Signs of Spring

Spanish people can say what they like* but I know better... it´s almost spring (we're 99% there), and I can prove it to you:

Music in the streets.
Warm enough to walk outside without a jacket.
Light at 6 pm.
Birds singing and flowers blossoming.
People seem happier.
There is snow nowhere to be seen, meaning: you could wear white shoes if you wanted to.
A light feeling of energy.

There is no better feeling than the mix of all these together. Few things are more vitalising than walking outside one bright spring evening with butterflies in the stomach, with the happiness bubbling inside while the warm wind and the setting sun is caressing your skin.

*I know there are at least two of you, and I would really like to hear your counterarguments if you have any!

Sunday 11 January 2009

Finding Snoopy



Yey, my boyfriend found me Snoopy in his toy shop. The rabbit is originally from Novy Arbat in Moscow and the red nose is a result from standing in the cold* for too long.

* It was - 26ºC and windy, something Spain will have to wait a long time to see.

Sunday Mornings...

Sunday morning is the most relaxing time of the week, for once there is enough time for a big breakfast, several cups of tea, planning the week ahead and just catching up with the rest of the world.



(for me a big breakfast consists of two slices of toast and fruit + orange juice... this amount of food reminds more of the total daily intake. Photo

Saturday 10 January 2009

High On Coffee

Spain is drowning in snow, except for Valencia where water has to do. The 5 pm vanilla latte is nicely stirring up my head* and mind, and it feels like I´m ready for a Saturday night adventure.

Tuesday 6 January 2009

Epiphany

Today is the last day of Christmas, as well as the last day of the holidays. Sniff, going back to work just feels so... distant. Something I could do next week, but not tomorrow. Epiphany in Spain seems to be something huge, maybe even more important than Christmas itself. After all, it is today that the magi bring all the gifts to all those who have behaved decently during the year.
Oh well, my experience of this great day consists of giving evil looks to all those mean people at Corte Inglés (I may be small, but that´s not a reason to run over me) and chilling at home, very content and satisfied.
Although we (the 2 people of this household) are very grateful for the gifts we received for Christmas, we could not help but to bribe those magi a little bit:



Hair straighteners... you may guess who those are for...



Whoever puts these pieces together, gets it...






And this is what awaits me for the rest of the evening. Voilá.

Wanted


Wanted: an oversized (men´s) Snoopy tee, preferably dark blue.