It's hard to stick to the no-new-teas rule. Really hard.
I broke it.
I've gone all out and have a collection.
The tea situation as a temporary student is not great. That sounds absurd- it's Russia, after all!- but it's just not happening. It's like a game in which constant upgrades are required.
Level 1: You arrive in the dorms with nothing. You buy bottled water. You think a lot about tea. A lot. Cost: 80 rubles, $1.20 USD.
Level 2: You buy a lighter, a small saucepan, a tea cup, a box of black tea, and a box of herbal tea. Now you can make and drink tea in the dorms (when the kitchen is open: 6 AM - 11PM). You spend a lot of time in the kitchen, waiting for the water to boil and avoiding cockroaches. You consider Level 3 but hey, there's only a few more weeks of school and as the popular Russian saying goes- надо экономить, we must save our resources. Cost: 1000 rubles, $15 USD.
Level 3: You break down and buy an electric tea kettle. And three more boxes of black teas. And a cute little Korean thermos to bring tea to class. And a bag of frozen pelmeni to boil now that the saucepan has retired from tea duty. Cost: 1500 rubles, $23 USD. Bonus: you get lots of visitors stopping by your room for a fill-up ;)
Level 4- Expert: You go to a home goods store and get that picture you've always wanted (but refused to spend thirty dollars on at IKEA). You put the picture on the windowsill and look at it constantly. And a Russian friend brings you dried lemon balm from her garden, which turns out to be an awesome add-on to any tea. Cost: 395 rubles for the picture, $6.20 USD.
Приятного чаепитие, or, let the tea drinking begin!
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| Czech morning tea from my neighbor :) |
I HATE those plastic cups with hot tea! The only time they're any good is when you're waiting for a train in winter, but even so...
ReplyDeleteSincerely jealous of all the awesome tea you've got over there (at those cheap Russian prices!).
Ah, waiting for a train in winter... you've got me dreaming of Russian winters now, Polly! (Although they're surely more pleasant in the imagination than in reality.)
DeleteHow is your husband coping with American teas? Or does he hit up the local Eastern European food stores for the real stuff?
I did the same thing when I came to Innopolis. I was like, "I don't need a kettle. I don't need tea." Then I got here and they already provided me with a kettle so I had to break down and buy tea. This time I brought my own mug from home so I didn't have to steal plastic cups from the cafeteria. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's so smart to bring your own mug, Jasilyn. It's like in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy but with a coffee cup instead of a towel. I was thinking about bringing my mug from Nizhny along on the road but decided against it. Last night I check into this hotel in Moscow at midnight and am up late using shower gel to scrub someone else's lipstick off the room's water glass, just for a tea fix :p
DeleteAnyway, since you're in RU long-term, maybe you could do a tea haul or "what's in my kitchen" someday? It would be interesting to see!
Oh! That's a great idea!
DeleteYes, how are people not alarmed by boiling liquid in plastic cups? Just one of those puzzling Russia. things!
ReplyDeleteHaha, yeah! Like when you buy blini at the supermarket and they ask "подогреть?" and then they proceed to microwave them on a styrofoam tray with a plastic bag over the top.
DeleteWhat level is buying a set of Soviet postcards depicting different types of samovars? I'm about there.
ReplyDeleteUm, I believe that's like... LEVEL: AWESOME! ;) If such a set exists, you should totally buy them and share the pics on your blog / FB.
DeleteHi Katherine!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Damian Oleksiuk, and I just came across your blog. My family lineage is from Ukraine, and I've read your story and a bunch of your posts and - thank you! - for painting Ukraine in such a beautiful light!
My grandfather, Stepan, wrote a Ukrainian WWII survival memoir called "Separation," in which he tells the story of his fight to help Ukraine find its independence from the Soviets and Nazis. Stepan and his father, both working for the Underground movement, were arrested and dragged through prisons and camps, beatings and bombings, and eventually separated. The book was a top ten most read book in Ukraine in the late 90s, and I recently translated it from Ukrainian to English.
I thought you might be interested in the memoir - here's the Amazon link:
http://amzn.to/2aLhMpT
Let me know if you have any questions or if you'd like a copy. Thanks again for your writing and you can reach me at dnoflows@gmail.com.
Привіт, Damian! And дякую for dropping by :) I'm emailing you now...
DeleteGreat! Looking forward to it. :)
Delete