Wednesday 12th February

I'm happy and exhausted.

We talked. We stopped. I'm tired but happy.

Thursday 13th February

We went to the cinema. There are sofas and cushions. When you want to order a drink you press a little light and a waitress comes over.

Sasha falls asleep on my shoulder and Gemma and Lauren drink too much. Vita Boyfriend No.1 is ill. We have Vita Boyfriend No.2 with us. 

After, Volva and Alexis argue about a tour of Soviet metro stations. Gemma doesn’t know the word for tour so she shouts about travelling ballet groups. It’s nearly the same word, I guess.

Vita and Nastia want to go to McDonalds. We go to McDonalds, just Vita, Nastia, Vita Boyfriend No.2 and I. We leave the others standing at the bus stop.

They catch up later. Vita and Nastia don’t like Alexis. We eat just the four of us together. It’s cool, I think, but I don’t really know. They talk so quickly.


I take three lessons and observe 1. Later I'm asked to feedback. It’s a class of 10 year olds and they’re learning irregular verbs.


Saturday 15th February

I dreamt last night I had food poisoning. I woke up confused. Novgorod is colder than St Petersburg. I'm cold. We’re all cold. I'm worried I wasn’t dreaming. I have a headache and nothing is very appealing.

We go home. They give me soup then salad then fish then ham then fish then cake then tea then I felt sick.

Sunday 16th February

Today we ski.

We eat rabbit for supper. We cook it on a barbeque in the snow at the dacha. Then there is the sauna. Then you run in the snow. Then you go back to the sauna.

Vita cooked me toast. I'm happy.

Monday 17th February

Alexis likes Nastia.
Nastia does not like Alexis.
Nastia likes no one.
Kira likes Serge.
Serge likes Vita.
Vita likes Serge.
Kira likes Edik.
Edik likes Vita.
Vita likes Serge.
Serge likes Vita.
Volva likes Gemma.
Gemma thinks this is hilarious.

Today was boring. St Petersburg is melting. I have nothing more to say about today.

Wednesday 18th February

I'm tired. Things are irritating me. Days are wasted. This isn’t work experience.

The museums were good today. There were all these foetuses in jars.

Then we looked at stuffed animals. I liked the snakes. We looked at penguins. Laura looks like a penguin. I don’t like penguins.


Thursday 19th February

We walked on the frozen river Neva and we went to a café and ordered pizza. The pizza was not good.

Earlier I helped in one class with Kat and took the second class as an assistant teacher. It was good.

We came back from Nastia’s about an hour ago. Her parents made us a formal supper with champagne and olives.


Now I’m drawing stick people with Vita. In Russia you don’t sign cards with love unless you really mean it. I like signing with love. It makes me feel like I may have capacity to do so. I sign a card to Edik not with love.

Friday 20th February

Vita is ill. She argued with her mother. They shouted a lot and I didn’t know where to look. I looked at Vita. She was flushed but still beautiful.

Later the three of us drank tea with lemon. Vita and I had a bowl of honey each too. Vita talked a lot, very quickly in English and Russian and English and Russian.

She’s asleep now. I think she has a fever. She was laughing about if her temperature rises any higher she’ll be clinically dead. She laughed a lot. Then she said in English that she wanted to cry. Her mum doesn’t understand English and Vita didn’t translate.


I think it’s time to go. The plane is at 3 tomorrow.