Tuesday, June 27, 2006

My last day of class at the AH

It's strange to think that my teaching days at the AH are finally over. Yesterday was the final day of class, which normally consists of returning final exams, discussing common exam mistakes and having a party. Yesterday was no different. My first class brought cake, candy, two bottles of champagne, a box of Georgian wine (as in the country, not the state), and a bottle of vodka. They also gave me a lovely set of crystal shot glasses from the town of Gus Khrustalny, renowned for its crystal. We spent the bulk of the class having wonderful Ruslish conversations, and it was really a lovely way to end the semester.
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Me, with my 4:00pm class

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They taught me the proper way to make a Bloody Mary:
You have to make sure the vodka and tomato juice don't mix
That way you shoot the vodka and have a built in chaser.

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Gus Khrustalny crystal shot glasses.

My second class brought less booze (luckily for me!), and we spent the class time sipping champagne, eating chocolate and chatting. They gave me a traditional Russian cutting board set, which will look nice in my kitchen, once I get the place painted. After class, two of my students invited me to a cafe where we split a bottle of wine amongst the three of us, nibbled salads and chatted some more. The whole evening was really wonderful.
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Me with my 7:00pm class

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My Russian cutting board

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Masha and Lily at the cafe

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This is what my memory of last night is like!

Of course, when I returned home I was completely trashed, and Nina M got a great laugh out of it. I went straight to bed and expected to sleep straight through until morning. Sadly, that was not to be. Now, being from the swamplands of the Southeastern US, I'm accustomed to mosquitoes. I don't like them, but they rarely disturb my slumber. Let me just say that the mosquitoes here in Vladimir are of an entirely worse variety. Once I get stung by one of these creatures, I immediately awaken and spend the next hour or so rubbing hydrocortisone cream on the itchy and enflamed areas. These guys are potent, and I swear their one goal in life is to bite my hands and feet as I sleep. Sadly, I didn't sleep as well as I would have liked....

Today we're having a big going away party here at the AH. All of the Russian staff is currently in the midst of some sort of cooking marathon, and soon we shall have a feast.... I will try to post pics of said event, assuming I don't pass out from lack of sleep or from further consumption of alcohol (which is destined to happen, I'm sure!)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought the Russians had embargoed Georgian wine.

annie said...

yeah, i'd thought so too. i haven't heard anything about that in a long while, so perhaps it's been rescinded? or perhaps the box still remained in the store from before the embargo? who knows!

Melinda Young Stuart said...

What a pretty and informative blog!
Thanks for helping me identify my Russian cutting board from your picture!!
-Melinda