Another country, another apartment...

So here I am in Russia, and the first thing I'm always interested in of course is 'what sort of place am I going to be living in for the next 12 months'?  Now I have to say I think I was pretty lucky in Korea, so my expectations weren't too high coming in to Russia; in fact they were pretty spot on as it turns out.  My new living quarters are... interesting?  Quaint?  Or as I keep bravely putting it, authentically Russian?  

Actually, aside from the toilet (awful, never flushes properly plus other things I won't go into), the bathroom (at least I could throw out the mouldy shower curtain, but for some reason nothing is going to make water go down the drain except for lots of time), and the kitchen (dirt an inch thick and a fridge that I'm convinced will be warmer than the rest of the flat in winter), it's not too bad.  Except that there's only one bedroom and there will soon be two people living here.  Given the choice (hey, I was here first) I chose to make the living room my bedroom, because it had more light and space plus a table and chairs.  It just means I have to pull the sofa bed out each night and put the sheets and stuff down.  And when I say pull the sofa bed out, it doesn't extend or anything, the base just pulls out like a trundle and if I stretch out on it my legs poke off the end from about the knees down.  It's all good as long as I never have to share it with anyone, which given my recent success (or lack thereof) in the love life department shouldn't be a problem :-)

Well, in case my words aren't painting a vivid enough picture, here's a link to a video of my new apartment, hope it works okay.  I would have shown the dodgy entrance with the steel metal door (where I punch in a security code to get in) and the metal boxes that work part time as elevators but I didn't want to be that weirdo walking around with a camera talking to themselves.  Enjoy!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aw2pdpy9yjy6ejn/Y6O2mEj4F1?m

Saying Goodbye to Korea

Well there were so many things I wanted to and should have written about Korea but that I just didn't get around to writing.  If I'd continued with my 'cool things' posts I would have definitely included the transport system (super efficient and full of modern gadgets, although the bus drivers were a little scary; I mean their driving was.  The actual drivers were nice enough), the food, which was amazing, and most of all, the people.  The people that I met in Korea were so incredibly lovely and generous that I was continually surprised.  It is definitely the people that I will miss most of all about Korea (although the rice paddies come close).  And most of all, I miss the crazy kids that I had the privilege of teaching for two years.  I never would have thought that I  would come to love working with kids so much; me!  So it is very sadly that I say goodbye to Korea and all the wonderful people that I met there, and start all over again in another new and exciting country.  Luckily I have so many beautiful pictures like this one to remember them:-)