Chapter the Second: Of Classes and Comestibles

Corinne and I returned to the university today to finalize our classes; apparently the woman working there today decided to treat herself to an extra-long lunch, because we were there shortly after 1:30 and the office was still closed (on Fridays it opens at 12:30, closes for lunch from 1:00 to 1:30, and reopens again until 5:30). We bought some more hot beverages from the coffee machine downstairs and waited it out, after getting some photos taken for our visas (which we weren't told we'd have to pay for, but okay, whatever). I got an amaretto cappuccino and she got some hot tea that apparently had berries or something in it, as it was very fruity and sweet. I want one of those coffee machines, just so I have something that will make me a tiny latte on demand. The coffee really isn't bad, either, for what you pay (average of about 25p).

I laughed last spring when Rachel said on her Russia blog that she was considering taking up smoking, just so she'd have a little fire to huddle around. I laughed at that...and then I came here. I now see the logic in that statement. Not that I'm about to run out and buy a pack at the продукты (it's like a quickie-mart) down the street, or anything. If I could even get cigarettes there.

That's something else I'm beginning to realize. There must be a thousand shops within a mile radius of my apartment, but they're all so specialized that I have no idea where I can find some things I've taken for granted in America, like tupperware and spiral notebooks. Liz says she might know where to find tupperware, and will spring for it if she finds it because we have so many people now. With 3 people in the apartment, it was easy enough to just use the bowls, but now space is running out.

Corinne and I went grocery shopping at this huge grocery store a couple blocks from the apartment, but all they had was food and like two aisles of toiletries. I bought some supplies to make enough chili to feed myself for a week; I just can't make it until I have something to store my leftover chili in. I suppose we have a few spare bowls, but at the same time, fridge space is at a premium, which is why I'm considering storing my hardier perishables in the space between the windows in my room. In Russia, they have inner and outer windows with a bit of space between them, I suppose to avoid cracking the glass due to the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the building. There's about three inches of space between my windows; that'll fit a carton of juice or a few cups of yogurt, if we run out of room in the tiny refrigerator. It was starting to get full by the time I finally got around to buying food for myself, so I just put the stuff that absolutely needed refrigeration in there (juice, yogurt, meat) and I'm storing all the nonperishables in my room. I bought some apples, an onion for the chili and some bread, and I'm keeping those on my windowsill because it's cool enough to keep them from spoiling too fast; I also got a few cans of beans and crushed tomatoes for the chili, and some cream of mushroom soup and rice with which to make Daddy Rice, because the ingredients were cheap and one canful of uncooked rice makes a [swear word] TON of Daddy Rice. Also, it's a taste of home.

Stay tuned for the post about me cooking for the first time here; we have to light the gas stove manually, and I'm not 100% sure how to do that without setting fire to the whole kitchen. I'll get Liz or Alex or Jorge to show me how to use the stove lighter.