More about Tanya and other things

I have had an interesting last few days. Last Thursday Karina and I went to her mother’s to pick cherries because two of her students cancelled their lessons so we didn’t have to be back at her house until 7:30. We didn’t get to pick for very long though because it started raining too hard for us to continue, but it was very fun while it lasted. I love picking berries/eating berries, so it was kind of a dream come true for me. That being said, cherries are really different here. They are very small and sour (I am not sure if they are actually all just sour cherries or if there are other cherries elsewhere that are even more sour). Karina said that in other places there are cherries more like the cherries we are used to, but not really in Siberia. Anyway, the cherries we picked are the classic Russian cherries and I thought a lot about Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard while we were picking.
That night we had one lesson but I didn’t really contribute a whole lot. I am really not doing much teaching now, as I mentioned before. I don’t want to be too pushy about teaching during Karina’s private lessons since the students are paying her to teach them English. I just come talk to them when she asks me to and sometimes we sing songs or play games. Some days it is fine and we have fun anyway, but especially recently Karina hasn’t wanted to leave the house much. I do enjoy watching Russian TV, but I also would like to leave the house occasionally.
I have taken a few walks around the town by myself to take photographs or just get fresh air, so I think I will keep doing that when Karina wants to stay at home. I could always call Tanya, but then I would have to listen to her talk about Barnaul and coming to America next summer. I don’t know though, that is starting to sound better than sitting at home.
On Friday I helped Karina with lessons in the morning and then went to the Post Office to use the internet. I got an email with some bad news about a friend of mine, so I felt pretty depressed for the rest of the day. I put more money on my phone so that I could call her but the money ran out really fast, especially because the first time I called her she didn’t answer. After that I was even sadder and I just felt angry that I was here in Russia so far away from everyone I love. It just made me feel so helpless. It was funny though, as if by some miracle of fate, one of Karina’s students gave her a kitten that evening. I, of course, wont say that kittens make everything better, but I think they really do help when you are sad. He was so little and scared, I just sat with him and tried to make him feel more comfortable. Just having something to take care of helped me feel better. I also talked to Matt and Ted on the phone, and they were both very sweet.
On Saturday I slept in really late. We were supposed to go to Karina’s mother’s to work in the garden but it was raining really hard. We watched TV and I played with the kitten. Then Karina made Gruzinchiki, a really delicious meat/dough thing. We listened to Avril Lavigne and The Jackson Five. Then we danced around to Justin Timberlake. She didn’t feel like leaving the house, even to go to the store. I left once in the morning to put money on my phone and she asked me to put money on hers too. Then she wanted me to go out and get beer in the evening. I felt confident that I could easily go to the supermarket and buy a few cans of beer, but she wanted me to go to a special beer store where they fill the bottles to order. She actually gave me a hand-written note to the shopkeeper that said, “This girl doesn’t speak Russian, please give her such and such beer.” It would have been really humiliating if it wasn’t so funny. I am pretty sure that I could have made that transaction by myself, but I just kind of went with it. She also wanted me to get her a pack of cigarettes and I managed to purchase those all by myself. The whole thing made me feel like the 4-year-old daughter of an alcoholic.
That night, Karina fell asleep on the couch at around 9:30 and I just cleaned up a little and went to bed as well since I was really tired. A few hours later I heard the door buzzer and her friend came over and they talked loudly and presumably drank for several hours. I was happy to be in bed with the kitten and not have to deal with it. He is really so cute. I can tell he is starting to feel more comfortable because sometimes he will bat at my hand with his little paws. He likes to hide under the covers and behind pillows, but Saturday night he slept right next to me in the open.
Sunday I waited around for a while for Karina to get up, but around noon I just decided to go for a walk and take pictures. I walked around the city center and then up past the heath resort. I specifically wanted to take pictures of this really creepy playground that I had seen earlier, but the sun went away right when I got there and there were children playing and I didn’t want to be that creepy person taking pictures of children at a playground. Anyway, Russia is famous, or at least I knew about, for its really strange playground statues of deranged-looking animals. After my nice long walk I still didn’t feel like going home and just sitting around, so I called Tanya. I am not sure if hanging out with her was better or worse than going back to my room and listening to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on book on tape, but I suppose it was at least something to do.
She, as always, talked to me about coming to visit me in America next year and about how much she likes drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. Today she graced me with a description of her ideal career, which was actually hilarious. Firstly, she asked me if we have resorts in America. Then, she said that more than anything she would like to work as a receptionist in a hotel in Las Vegas. I asked her why and told her that I think Las Vegas is disgusting, and she told me that it is the city of rich people. What really surprised me is that she was getting a college degree to work as a receptionist, not just in America but also in Russia. I mean, I understand getting a degree in tourism if, for example, you want to be a hotel manager or start your own travel-related business, but a receptionist? I am actually starting to feel bad that I have no intention of having her stay with me in New York next summer. I mean, she did invite herself without asking if I was even going to be in America next summer, but she just seems so excited.