Living abroad is about adventure (and adjustment). Our apartment has been secured with great assistance from my sponsor from the International Office at Bashkir State Medical University and we walked in and easily moved out of our (large) bags. It is more than adequate, and has a lovely view of the city from the top floor of the building. Many of the people living in the apartment are professors & their families) at the university. It reminds me of a New York dwelling with heavy security, bad elevators, small flower gardens, and graffiti. We have several markets surrounding the building where we can purchase milk, and other food. It would appear no preservatives are utilized in the products as they spoil quickly, are puzzling in appearance, and don't translate easily. We had "sparkling water" (or as they say "va-da with gas") in our coffee this morning...oops...looked like just plain water to me!?!
The laundry facilities...well... the corner sink in our toilet room (bath separate, of course) is sufficing as the washing machine at the moment. John (and we all know how ingenious he is), has converted our heated towel rack to our clothes dryer. As I unintentionally made it here without a hair dryer we spent several hours Sunday searching for a "hair fan" (our best translation) and after 6 stops were successful!
Transportation has been via feet to this point. We are in a very central and vibrant area of Ufa. Near the medical university, many cultural events, restaurants, etc. We plan to break out tomorrow and try the bus, trolly and/or tram systems. There is no metro/subway in Ufa.
The weather has been lovely so far. I expect snow any day though (not in the forecast), just what I think of when I think of Russia. Typically foggy in the morning, which is good since we have no curtains and we don't worry about the bright sun waking us up. Cloudy midday and then lovely and sunny in the afternoon. Nights are chilly and polar fleece is recommended.
Tonight's meal was a fiasco as I attempted to order for the first time with full Russian menu. It was a lovely little Italian restaurant in a cellar. From what I could tell the pasta included shrimp. I ordered the pasta "without" shrimp (this whole meat thing has me spooked) with my dictionary in hand. The waitress was so kind she brought me a hand written note from the restaurant staff next door that said " I want pasta without shrimp", "Da" (yes), I say. She smiles and twenty minutes later my pasta arrives with shrimp on a separate plate. Gotta love it, my pasta was WITHOUT shrimp! And it was delicious!
The laundry facilities...well... the corner sink in our toilet room (bath separate, of course) is sufficing as the washing machine at the moment. John (and we all know how ingenious he is), has converted our heated towel rack to our clothes dryer. As I unintentionally made it here without a hair dryer we spent several hours Sunday searching for a "hair fan" (our best translation) and after 6 stops were successful!
Transportation has been via feet to this point. We are in a very central and vibrant area of Ufa. Near the medical university, many cultural events, restaurants, etc. We plan to break out tomorrow and try the bus, trolly and/or tram systems. There is no metro/subway in Ufa.
The weather has been lovely so far. I expect snow any day though (not in the forecast), just what I think of when I think of Russia. Typically foggy in the morning, which is good since we have no curtains and we don't worry about the bright sun waking us up. Cloudy midday and then lovely and sunny in the afternoon. Nights are chilly and polar fleece is recommended.
Tonight's meal was a fiasco as I attempted to order for the first time with full Russian menu. It was a lovely little Italian restaurant in a cellar. From what I could tell the pasta included shrimp. I ordered the pasta "without" shrimp (this whole meat thing has me spooked) with my dictionary in hand. The waitress was so kind she brought me a hand written note from the restaurant staff next door that said " I want pasta without shrimp", "Da" (yes), I say. She smiles and twenty minutes later my pasta arrives with shrimp on a separate plate. Gotta love it, my pasta was WITHOUT shrimp! And it was delicious!
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