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My only job today was to reserve two rooms at Hotel Fatima in Kazan. Finding the email address was easy enough, but I had no idea how to write a formal email in Russian. I enquired politely and received a reply almost straight away. I checked it ten times for grammar mistakes before sending it, but when I read it back to myself I wasn't sure whether I had "reserved" the rooms or "demanded" them. Fatima is the same hotel that we stayed in when the Yartek group went to Kazan - beautifully decorated with whitewashed walls, exotic plants and Arabic art.

Nimikirjaimet.

Jonathan Campion
2006-08-21 12:26:10

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My only job today was to reserve two rooms at Hotel Fatima in Kazan. Finding the email address was easy enough, but I had no idea how to write a formal email in Russian. I enquired politely and received a reply almost straight away. I checked it ten times for grammar mistakes before sending it, but when I read it back to myself I wasn't sure whether I had "reserved" the rooms or "demanded" them. Fatima is the same hotel that we stayed in when the Yartek group went to Kazan - beautifully decorated with whitewashed walls, exotic plants and Arabic art.

Liza brought me a CD of Finnish music today, and her walkman to play it on. She had even spent all six hours on the train to Petersburg translating the lyrics into English for me so that I can understand. It is very beautiful pop music, and the lyrics are genuine and a bit abstract.

5:

In the evenings
I might sit down,
and think light thoughts
about what you're doing
there in that strange country.
And I know I won't have
the energy to come back,
but if you want
I could come to meet you.
After winter.

3:

It was lots of fun last night
even though the bar was empty,
and the glass half empty.
The winter's first snow
is falling on leaves still green
on the trees.

1:

I have seen, I have seen
how their skin changes.
I know when they fall in love,
and when they're angry.
And the further I come,
the less I remember about
everything else.

8:

And when you tell about
the weeks during which
we did not meet,
I hear how your voice goes
up and down.
And how at the very same time,
the very thin woman
that you can see early in the morning,
who brings newspapers for the neighbours.
But never for me.
She never brings them for me.

For the time being it suits me not doing much with my days. I am doing my best to make my pile of homework smaller before Kazan, so I can get back to doing positive things again and make the most of it.