Rabu, 27 Oktober 2010

The Inevitable Next One.

Well. I knew this would happen. I have tried to resist but I just can’t help but feel the internet is lacking something without my regular blog updates so…

I’m back, by popular demand!
Yes, popular demand: In the last three months I have had numerous requests to continue blogging (at least 3 separate ones…) and even two emails from Russian people telling me how much they liked reading my blog! Reason enough to spend half an hour trying to remember my blogspot password…
I’m going to start blogging again for two main reasons:
1.Because I like being the centre of attention and blogging is an outlet for this.
2.Because something I and my fellow Russian students are learning is that as hard as you try, Russia never leaves you.

I love the UK. I love living in the UK. I love drinking water from the tap. I love it that in October I can still walk to uni wearing only two layers instead of the four I was wearing this time last year in Moscow. I love my washing machine.
BUT
I can’t shake the feeling that I am not done with Russia yet. This is the first time in four years when I haven’t had my next trip to Russia planned… and it feels weird. I know I will go back to Russia, but when? Where? How? Why? Russia isn’t the kind of country you can go to once and never feel the need to go back. When you go there you catch a bug, the Russia Bug.


I have a full blown case of the Russia bug. I get excited when I hear anything about Russia no matter how far fetched it is (today my friend told me the word for ‘wormwood’ in Ukrainian and I felt a kick of the Russia Bug). My friends and family regularly send me links and cuttings from newspapers about anything Russia – ranging from the diary of a British family who moved to Moscow to photos of two Russians who decided to dress up as cats on their wedding day (side note: this is not normal Russian behaviour).


My Russia Bug has got so bad that I’m even starting to miss living there (but don’t tell anyone – they’ll all shout at me for moaning so much when I did live there!) I miss my friends, I miss the metro and I miss Teremok.

Mmmmmm, Teremok. Fast food pancakey goodness.


I still tell people that I live in Moscow (if I know there is no chance I will ever see them again… it just makes me sound so much cooler!) So from now on I’m going to use my blog to satisfy my Russia Bug.


Vodka, Cabbage and Snow will be the Clearasil to my Russian Bug spots.