The Food and Other Aspects
Nizhnevartovsk Siberia, Russia(ACN)
On this trip I have definitely gone native. I have eaten only Russian food, Shee, Blenie, red caviar, served in two ways, a wonderful soup whose name escapes me, but is reminiscent of French Onion soup, without the onion and cheese and with a slice of lemon floating on top. Ok, so maybe I have not conveyed the taste very well, but it was delicious.
The red caviar was first served to me by Nadya, Anya's sister. Nadya did not know how to call it in English and she did not tell me it was fish eggs. She said some friends brought it to her and that it was very expensive. She took a small amount from the jar on a spoon and I tasted it. It was very fishy tasting. It was also the first time I had eaten caviar and I said it would be my last. Well, "Никогда не говорите никогда" or in English, "never say never". As it turns out last night Andrei and Svetlana, his wife, fed us a wonderful dinner. There was one platter that had several pieces of bread and what might have been mayonnaise and a red substance.
Anya and others had told me that the correct way to serve caviar was on a piece of bread with mayonnaise. So I thought, here goes, "I am about to eat caviar again." When I ate it, at first I thought it was not caviar, because it tasted so good, but then I could taste a little of the fish taste and realized, that I had eaten caviar again. Oh well, at least served this way it is delicious.
Angie, will think I have lost my mind when I tell her that all of the food was good and that I did not get sick, but there it is. I am well and the food is wonderful.
There is one poor Russian fellow who thinks I am either retarded or a fool. I had the keys to the apartment and it was time to go. How did I know, because the little microphone and speaker sstem was yelling at me that someone was at the front door. I had no idea as to how to turn off the alarm, so I took the keys to the apartment and went out in to the little area that the two apartments on our side of the hall had in common.
This litte area is an about 5 feet by 4 feet with three doors. Two of the doors go into the two apartments and one door goes out into the main hallway where the elevator is located. So now I tried to lock the door to the apretment and could not figure out how to use the key. I did however use the inside button to lock the door. So now to the outer door. I can't see in the dim light and it is definitely locked. Great now I am stuck outside the aprtment in the little common area and I can not reenter the apartment and I can not go outside. My ride is waiting on me. What to do?
At that moment I hear noise outside the door in the hallway where the elevator is and I thought good, now my life will be spared by my driver whose has come to rescue me. One minor problem; it is not my driver, but instead it is the neighbor whose door is behind me. So I asked him in broken Russia how to lock the door to the aprtment, there are two you know. He looked at me rather strangely and I know he thought I was stupid. I handed him the keys and he locked it very easily. Again I must say, it was difficult to see.
My troubles are over. Now I can leave. I turn to go to the outer door that leasds to the elevator, but what I see is a closed and locked door. So now I must ask this poor Russian how to unlock a door to which I am holding the keys. Well so be it. "Uh poor Russian fellow, can you help me again?" I hand him the keys and he unlocks the door so obviously that when he looks up at me it is with a look that said, "You truly are stupid aren't you." I thought I will tell him I am an American and half blind, but I had neither the words in Russian nor the courage to make all Americans look stupid, so I took one for the team. I simply said "this is my first time." He had to be asking himself, what is this the first time you have ever used a key.
Now you are probably thinking, well you idiot why didn't you ask Vasily or Olya to help. Well I would, but they had the audacity to leve and go to work already. It was 11:00am when I was leaving.
So these are the adventures of of a half blind man, whose speaks Russian poorly and who has never used a key and lock before.
On this trip I have definitely gone native. I have eaten only Russian food, Shee, Blenie, red caviar, served in two ways, a wonderful soup whose name escapes me, but is reminiscent of French Onion soup, without the onion and cheese and with a slice of lemon floating on top. Ok, so maybe I have not conveyed the taste very well, but it was delicious.
The red caviar was first served to me by Nadya, Anya's sister. Nadya did not know how to call it in English and she did not tell me it was fish eggs. She said some friends brought it to her and that it was very expensive. She took a small amount from the jar on a spoon and I tasted it. It was very fishy tasting. It was also the first time I had eaten caviar and I said it would be my last. Well, "Никогда не говорите никогда" or in English, "never say never". As it turns out last night Andrei and Svetlana, his wife, fed us a wonderful dinner. There was one platter that had several pieces of bread and what might have been mayonnaise and a red substance.
Anya and others had told me that the correct way to serve caviar was on a piece of bread with mayonnaise. So I thought, here goes, "I am about to eat caviar again." When I ate it, at first I thought it was not caviar, because it tasted so good, but then I could taste a little of the fish taste and realized, that I had eaten caviar again. Oh well, at least served this way it is delicious.
Angie, will think I have lost my mind when I tell her that all of the food was good and that I did not get sick, but there it is. I am well and the food is wonderful.
There is one poor Russian fellow who thinks I am either retarded or a fool. I had the keys to the apartment and it was time to go. How did I know, because the little microphone and speaker sstem was yelling at me that someone was at the front door. I had no idea as to how to turn off the alarm, so I took the keys to the apartment and went out in to the little area that the two apartments on our side of the hall had in common.
This litte area is an about 5 feet by 4 feet with three doors. Two of the doors go into the two apartments and one door goes out into the main hallway where the elevator is located. So now I tried to lock the door to the apretment and could not figure out how to use the key. I did however use the inside button to lock the door. So now to the outer door. I can't see in the dim light and it is definitely locked. Great now I am stuck outside the aprtment in the little common area and I can not reenter the apartment and I can not go outside. My ride is waiting on me. What to do?
At that moment I hear noise outside the door in the hallway where the elevator is and I thought good, now my life will be spared by my driver whose has come to rescue me. One minor problem; it is not my driver, but instead it is the neighbor whose door is behind me. So I asked him in broken Russia how to lock the door to the aprtment, there are two you know. He looked at me rather strangely and I know he thought I was stupid. I handed him the keys and he locked it very easily. Again I must say, it was difficult to see.
My troubles are over. Now I can leave. I turn to go to the outer door that leasds to the elevator, but what I see is a closed and locked door. So now I must ask this poor Russian how to unlock a door to which I am holding the keys. Well so be it. "Uh poor Russian fellow, can you help me again?" I hand him the keys and he unlocks the door so obviously that when he looks up at me it is with a look that said, "You truly are stupid aren't you." I thought I will tell him I am an American and half blind, but I had neither the words in Russian nor the courage to make all Americans look stupid, so I took one for the team. I simply said "this is my first time." He had to be asking himself, what is this the first time you have ever used a key.
Now you are probably thinking, well you idiot why didn't you ask Vasily or Olya to help. Well I would, but they had the audacity to leve and go to work already. It was 11:00am when I was leaving.
So these are the adventures of of a half blind man, whose speaks Russian poorly and who has never used a key and lock before.
1 Comments:
The next time I go to Russia with you I expect to have Russian food! Your key story has caused me to laugh out loud several times causing my office mates to wonder what is so funny. I continue to keep you and those you are working with in my prayers.
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