Spring Returns!

14:00 27 March 2009

Yesterday I did the new apartment dance! I moved into an apartment in my village and I am so pleased! I moved mainly because while I, overall, got along quite well with my family, I missed the freedom of being able to cook for myself on a daily basis, go and leave as I please, and have guests over whenever I wanted. My old host family was really nice and even helped me move by getting all my stuff into a horse cart and taking it over, I was going to hire a taxi but they were really willing to help out and I really appreciated it.

My new place seems like it will be a great location for all of this. It’s located in a really nice, calm, area of town on the first floor of two in a complex that used to house the workers of a Soviet era factory. The apartment has a lot of cool Soviet-y things about, little quirks like a radio that only has one channel on it (during Soviet times, it was used to receive the radio channel, there was no possibility to receive other frequencies) and a commemorative plaque from the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Other than these, it’s a pretty typical apartment with two bedrooms and a nice kitchen with a refrigerator! I even have running water and a toilet, though I still have to buy a seat for it. The nicest part of it though is the gorgeous balcony I have out back, overlooking a rose garden that is going to be just beautiful once they bloom, the mountains to the south, and a little glimpse of the lake to the north.

To celebrate my new domicile, I had the JICA volunteers and Emil, an awesome HCN friend of ours, over for a dinner. I got to inaugurate my stove, dishes, table, and chairs in the place that I assume will probably be a hot spot for hanging out in my village, the JICAs both live with host families so it will be easier to cook at my place without getting in anyone’s way. Amid all the good feelings though, I do have to admit that I will miss certain aspects of living with a host family. The cultural integration I had on a daily basis and practice with Russian won’t exist as much, though I am lucky that I have a talkative neighbor to chat with and practice. I also really liked that family in general and hope that I can retain a certain attachment with them in the future.