My life and experience in immigration. Блог о моей жизни в иммиграции.
8:30 утра, среда (2 ноября) еду на работу. Проезд по моей улице перекрыт. Неприятно, но бывает. Скорее всего к вечеру все починится и улица будет открыта для проезда.
Как я ошибалась!
Моя и еще пара соседних улиц были закрыты для проезда, а на остальных было столько припаркованных машин, что яблоку было негде упасть! Какими-то окольными путями я все-таки добралась до дома.
Дома Дэниел спрашивает меня: что происходит на нашей улице?
Continue reading “Съемки фильма в Нью Бедфорде”
A small room with a king-size bed, red wine in disposable cups. We’re on vacation. My husband and I are talking. I am lucky that my husband is really interested in my opinion. Especially when I’m shocked. Shocking news catches you even on vacation. Sometimes you’re not ready to get it, understand it or absorb it.
My old acquaintance Sergey*(a Russian man about my age) shared his opinion.
I was appalled by learning it, but … this is a different opinion, and it has a right to exist.
Continue reading “Mobilization in Russia/Different opinion”
The first Russian word I taught my husband was the word “жопа”=ass.
One day he came home from work and said that his boss was “жопа” (ass). I corrected him: ass is the situation, and his boss is a козел=goat*.
When my friends and relatives (actually Daniel’s relatives) ask me about my sons, the best way to answer would be the word “ass”.
If you read me you know what I think about Putin’s war.
My main concern was mobilization. Many Russians thought they were not interested in politics, the government was doing what must be done to take care of its citizens.
And now politics has come to almost everyone’s home. And mobilization has become not only my concern.
On September 21, president Putin announced a partial mobilization. Where the word “partial” means nothing.
RIA Tomsk reported that the Maldives entered the top of popular tourist destinations among Tomsk residents in the summer of 2022*.
It is clear that not all Tomichi can afford this type of vacation. Many of them choose some local destinations.
“Altai” – you can hear that name quite often. But in Russia there are two Altais that are very different.
Altai Republic and Altai Krai.
Continue reading “Altai Republic and Altai Krai”
The capital of Mississippi is facing numerous water problems — there’s been too much on the ground after heavy rainfall in the past week, and not enough clean water coming through the pipes for people to use.
And there is not even a Tomskvodokanal* there.
Since the pipelines are very old and worn out, pipe breaks occur constantly. In the summer, Tomskvodokanal is trying to perform at least some repairs. Therefore, the water in Tomsk is turned off often and for a long time and not always in accordance with the shutdown schedule. Tomskvodokanal publishes information about where and when cold water will be turned off.
Continue reading “September – extended summer”В столице Штата Миссисипи городе Джексон вот уже несколько дней очевидные проблемы с водой. После сильных дождей на прошлой неделе на земле воды слишком много воды, но по трубам поступает мало, плюс ее надо кипятить, чтобы было не опасно пользоваться.
А ведь там даже нет Томскводоканала.
Их местная организация называется “O B Curtis Water Plant”. Официальные лица говорят, что основные насосы предприятия были серьезно повреждены, и завод начал работать на небольших резервных насосах.
Continue reading “1 сентября – начало учебного года, но не начало осени”August 20, 178 is the day of the war.
The woman and her dog went outside, crossed the road, turned left and merged with traffic.
The intersection, the traffic light, the commands “wait”, then “let’s go”. I hope that the dog already understands the meaning of these words.
The next intersection, without a traffic light. And again the commands “wait!” and “let’s go!”.
Twilight is gathering fast. The streets are poorly lit. Drivers practically do not see either a woman or a dog. And those who see, do not pay attention to them. In loose trousers and her husband’s plaid shirt, the woman looks very “local”.
The woman has already stopped being surprised at her own simplicity in clothes. In Russia, she would not have left the house in this outfit. And now, in a plaid shirt and with a dog, she looks like a typical American. at least, she feels like one.
Another intersection, the commands “wait!”and “let’s go!”.
The smell of tires, hot asphalt, sometimes cigarette smoke from the windows of passing cars, headlights, and sounds – the noise of the city.
Continue reading “a woman and her dog”20 августа, 178 день войны
Женщина и ее собака вышли на улицу, перешли через дорогу, повернули налево и слились с трафиком.
Перекресток, светофор, команда wait, потом lets go. Надеюсь, что собака уже понимает значение этих слов.
Следующий перекресток, без светофора. И опять команда “wait!” и “let’s go!”.
Сумерки сгущаются быстро. Улицы освещены по русским меркам слабо. Водители практически не видят ни женщину, ни собаку. А те кто видят, не обращают на них внимание. В бесформенных штанах и мужниной клетчатой рубашки женщина выглядит очень “local” (местный, здешний).
Continue reading “Женщина и ее собака”-I don’t like to tell people that I am from Russia – I.
-Tell them that you’re from Moldova – said Elena – Hardly anybody knows where it is.
There are three categories of reaction to the answer: Moldova – she continued:
The world is made of paradoxes*.
At the time when I don’t even want to sound Russian, Steven Seagal says he is Russian, Russia is his home. He got Russian citizenship in 2016. The same year when Serbia too granted its citizenship to him.
Well, to each his own.
The Moscow Times reports that more than 3.8 million Russians have left the country in the first three months of 2022, according to data from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
4184 people left the Tomsk region – Tomsk telegram channel “Tomsk 1604” says.
Unfortunately all my family is still there. They are not as rich and popular as Steven Seagal. And I worry about them every day.
I just hope everything will be fine and soon.
.
* Paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/23/many-leave-russia-as-ukraine-war-drags-on
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/06/nearly-4m-russians-left-russia-in-early-2022-fsb-a77603
August 1, 159th day of the war
Gasoline has become cheaper, water (water bill) has become more expensive, creative projects hardly help not to get bogged down in the swamp of everyday life and not to go crazy from the horror of the news.
I’ll start with a pleasant one: gasoline has become cheaper. On Sunday, I paid $4.19 for a gallon (at BJ’s). Sweet.
But the water bill went up a lot. It’s all about the long heat and lack of precipitation. We have to water everything: vegetable’s gardens, lawn, trees. Daniel bought a sprinkler. He moves it around the garden every 15-20 minutes. This way we save time but spend money. I do not know how these water bills are compiled. But for some reason, sewage in the bill costs twice as much as water supply. Hopefully it will rain soon.
While we have a drought in New Bedford for how long… last two-three weeks?.. There is a lot of rain in Tomsk. My friend complained that she could not (or did not want to) walk through the rainy forest to her dacha. My sister complained about huge water paddles everywhere in the city. This made her journey to work long and unpleasant. Here in the USA, we often complain about the roads. Well, Russian roads and sidewalks are often much worse.
By now, the rain has stopped in Tomsk. But another regan is under Emergency mode due to floods.
Flood waters flooded 1,747 residential and country houses in Chita and five districts of the Trans-Baikal Territory, rescuers evacuated 285 adults and 38 children. This was reported on August 1 in the press service of the regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Chita is a city in the south of Eastern Siberia, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway route.
I will leave a link to the article under the post. The article is in Russian but there are a couple of photos.
I am glad that there are no such big and serious problems in Tomsk. It’s a little different there. In some areas of the city, there is no hot water in apartment buildings. In some (about 500 buildings) there will not even be cold water during the day in mid-August. But who knows… this one day can turn into two days or longer.
The infrastructure in Russia is very old. Tomskvodokanal* repairs it every year, but it seems there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
COVID-19 is still with us, although people talk less about it.
The number of new COVID-19 cases in the city of New Bedford is growing, and in the week from July 21 to 27, the state Health Department reported 267 cases.
In the Tomsk region, 52 residents contracted the infection during the day on August 1.
Russians have stopped wearing masks almost everywhere.. Rospotrebnadzor** recommended that citizens from risk groups wear masks in crowded places and on public transport.
And The New Bedford Light published a promising article about Dartmouth’s Toxic facility. The link is here.
Briefly, The Tonix Dartmouth plant is developing live viral vaccines against COVID-19 and monkeypox and is increasing its production. A human trial is scheduled for 2023. It will probably be convenient to have such a plant locally.
Continue reading “Hot Summer 2022”