minats_zone

Hi, It's been unbearably hot (over 35-38C) for the whole July already. Many places in Russia are in flames. Some people died or lost their houses, e.g. in Nizhny Novgorod and Voronezh regions. Here in Moscow we have smog and haze all across the city and region as a rezult of forest fires in the south eastern parts of Moscow region. But more importantly, Russian people mostly don't have air conditioning (it's still regarded as a kind of luxury and not so essential in our climate) so you can imagine how many people suffer from heatwave these days. God help us as it's too much for our poor people. We use fans which simply mix up hot air but don't really help whatsoever and we are really looking forward to going to Croatia on Saturday (tomorrow) for two weeks. It will be a survival as Slava can't stand heatwaves and all the pollution in the air. I'm slightly better as I originally come from Georgia and love warm (but not scorchig hot)weather. Have a look at the...

Hey there, It was so nice to see a friend of mine Gulia living in Nicosia (Cypros) who is currently visiting Moscow to see her elderly Mom (Hanifa). Hanifa used to be a prominent all USSR opera singer from Tadzhikistan (Dushanbe)but now is comfined to her bed in her regular Moscow flat. She is being looked after by a helper (Tadzhik woman) but it's realy hard to compare her life now and what she used to have in the times of the USSR. It's a great pity as she is absolutely helpless and lonely now. Gulia and I also visited a Muslim cemetory in Mitino (a distant area of Moscow) where her Dad was buried in 1998. So the day passed slowly full of sad duties as I was obliged to help Gulia with all those sad things. But the good news is that Gulia's daughter Despina is going to have a baby in August. Hope this will comfort Gulia...

Hi there, Today I've been to Yaroslavl for the whole day. We went there with Marina and Kostya by their car. We started at 7am and arrived there very quickly, by 11:30am. The tempetarures outside were extremely high (35-36C), same as in the rest of Russia these days. Thanks God, the conditioner was always on so it was not so bad. We settled our business with Sberbank, which moved to a new place on ul Svobody. The town of Yaroslavle was not only very hot and busy but under construction all over. I don't know why, but it took us 1,5 hours to find our way back to Moscow as all roads were blocked or unpassable.I'm not sure they will complete this huge construction by September when Dima is going to arrive...Have a look at some shots of the town, which is somewhat very special and dear to all of us...

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What do I need it for? by minats Hi from 'Wallwisher' This is my post

Can you get my note? by minats This is my post

I really liked this PLN (Personal Learning Network) discussion and are trying to embed it on my blog. You can see and hear it here My image is 38th or 39th. Hope you like it.

Hey there, This summer days are really dry in Moscow, even unbearably hot and scorching. It's over 30C and doesn't seem to get any cooler. But it's not so bad at our dacha which gives us a welcome shelter and fresh air. Today Marina has brought little Stepan to the dacha so our life here is going to be more vivid. Some of my flowers are blooming even though there has been no rain for many days...Have a look at some photos. Love to all of you.

Hi there Today I've tried a Vocaroo software for voice recording and found it useful. It is here to try so you can do it though it's not of good quality:

Hi there, Stas's only relations - sister Alya, niece Ira and her son Kostya have been staying with us for one week. Today they are leaving for Belgorod. Kostya is a nice boy who loved Stas instantly as he's missing a man around him since he grows without father. It's a pity:(. They enjoyed really hot weather in Moscow and our dacha surroindings with fresh air and greenery. Have a look at some pics

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By the end of ESOL exam session (mid June) I got a pleasant surprise. Cindy Chen, a friend of mine and our former team leader, stayed in Moscow for a few days on her way to London. She is currently working for BC South Korea, Seoul. It was really nice to meet her in the center of Moscow, at Mayakovskaya metro station and have a chat over a cup of coffee on Tverskaya street. She is doing well as she's always been a highly responsible and honest woman who was able to manage all the oral examiners here in Moscow. Now she's timetabling staff in Korean BC office. It's a pity that she's no longer with us. Probably she's better off there...Good luck to Cindy and love to all of you...

Some time has passed since Olia visited us in Moscow but it seems as if it was so long ago. I think this impression I got for some good reasons. These are a few of not so good things that happened to us lately - first we had some problems with health caused by early summer stuff, mostly those fluffy pollen and dust coming from trees and bushes, secondly it was my dear iPhone , which I had stolen from my handbag and thirdly, it was bad weather and even storms in Moscow that caused many trees to fall over and other problems. Now this situation, hopefully, comes to an end but we haven't completely recovered. The best news is that Slava bought another iPhone (3G-s), which is more updated than the previous. I like it so much. We've been to the theatre and I attended a conference at BC with this iPhone. Anyway, we both are looking forward to the seaside holiday in the late July in Croatia. Will keep you informed about our plans. Love you all...

Olia's flying visit has come to an end. She stayed for 8 days and now she is on her way back home, to LA and then to SF. We managed to do many things together, even though time was very limited. But most importantly, we went to see little Stepka in Tuchkovo, where he lives with his Granny (not me, of course) and his relatives from Kostya's side. He is a cute and lovely boy who has taken a lot after his Dad but not Marina. However, Stas, her elder son, is also like his Dad. We travelled there for 3 hours by car, it's western direction of Moscow, 72km west along Minskoe highway. Have a look at some shots with Olia and Marina and the Granny. By the way, he has got a spot on his neck, is it a sign?

It has been raining heavily since yesterday so now we are sitting in and doing some computer stuff. Im trying to download some video from our trip to the Bay It was really good in all respects. Views, Grotto, Food from fish farms, Vietnamise crew guys, everything was first class. But more importantly, the weather was bright with good visibility. Have a look at some clips we made there.

Here we are in Ha Long. It was a really hard and long journey here from Moscow. The plane was full of small children crying all the time and the weather in Hanoi and Ha long is rather dull and grey. But I'm glad I eventually got here with Slava who feels a bit unwell after several sessions of acupancture he has had in Hanoi. Now everything is over and we are trying to rest and sleep well here. I don't think the weather will be good for swimming as the forecast is not promising...But still I'm glad I'm here. Have a look at some shots I made here on the very first day.

Hi there. I'm staying in Moscow for this weekend as I just got back from Saratow where I examined YLE, KET, PET (23-25 April). It was not especially exciting but the weather there was much better than in Moscow - sunny, worm and pleasant. Really, it's so cold here in Moscow - 4-5 above zero and strong, harsh wind. Well, I really got tired and tomorrow is going to be the exam of my HSE Ss so I'd better have an early sleep today. Saratow was as usual nice and welcoming with all those nice girls there. Had an unforgettable time at their Radischev's Museum of Fine Art, which is, probably, one of the best among provincial Russian towns. Well, Dad's in Vietnam already, I'm going to fly there on Saturday (May 1). Love you all...

Hey there, Yesterday I examined YLE in Zhukovka (Barvikha or Rublevka), the poshest area of Moscow. It is situated to the south west of Moscow on Rublevskaya Highway. There live the Russian tycoons. Their kids can be very special, too. Some of them are quite normal but some of them are probably not easy to deal with. One boy answered, when I asked him 'What did you do last weekend?' - I was in Las Vegas and stayed in a very big hotel. Great, let's keep our fingers crossed for them as they are supposed to be the future elite of Russia. Another surprise was to see their concert Hall where performances are given for one day only by top singers and actors from all over the world. They are invited specifically for this place. Tickets are very expensive and the place is beyond the easy reach. Well, air flights stopped all over Europe because of volcano eruption and Slava's flight to Vietnam on April 23 is questionable. I'm flying there on May 1 as I'm busy till the e...

Hi everybody, Another horrible thing occured at Katyin', at Smolensk airport where a huge aircraft collapsed with 96 top rank passangers including president of Poland and their bishop. They were flying to Katyin to commemorate those Polish people who were killed by Soviet secret services in 1939. I learned about that at the conference of ELT at HSE. The day was really bright and warm. Everything was fine when we got this news.It was really horrible and I'm very sorry for all those people and their relatives. Now they are coming to Moscow for a painful mission of recognizing the remains.Tomorrow is going to be a Day of Mourning in Russia....:((

The brightest day of all has come!!! It was very early this year, April 4, and patches of snow still can be seen in our dacha. However, the day itself was really sunny and warm. We had very special breakfast - Easter Cake and Eggs. After that we did some cleaning up in Marina and Kostya's house where we got rid of some old and useless stuff. It is considered to be a sin to do anything like physical labour on this day and I regret that we couldn't do it on another day. But Kostya had his lorry available and we took advantage of it to drive tha garbage away. Really sorry for that... Love you all and Looking forward to Olya's coming on May 15.