Daily life and the House of Special Comforts

The literal translation of the name of the international dorm is the "House of Special Comforts" probably so named because we are very lucky in much of our access. We're close to the city center, have modern bathrooms and showers, have broadband internet in the bedrooms, a clothes washer, a clothes drying room (there are few or no clothes dryers in Russia) and a small army of older women monitoring the door twenty-four hours a day.

As instructors, Hannah and I are very lucky to have our own rooms. Our bedrooms form a little suite unit and we share a toilet, sink and a separate shower. We also have a small entry area where we hang coats, leave shoes (when we remember, Americans tend not to do that as reliably as Russians) and leave communal items like the hot water jug and shared treats.

The beds are twin beds, and come with sheets and one big pillowcover. At least in our case, we received a flat sheet for underneath, another sheet that serves as a blanket cover (if you use it correctly) and a light bed spread. I tend to put the big woolen blanket on over everything each night, and fold it up and store it each day. Generally, the rooms have been wonderfully warm and the beds quite comfortable.

The kitchen is shared by everyone in the dorm, and while the number varies somewhat it usually settles around 25 or so people. I won't lie, I sure have missed my kitchen! When we made Thanksgiving dinner we ran out of room fast. I had to measure the ovens to see if the big goose we had would fit. (I only found baby turkeys, so I knew those would work fine...although I believe the consensus was to call them "small" turkeys so as to feel less, well, cruel?)
Only a certain number of people can actually fit into the eating area of the kitchen as well, and our thanksgiving day dinner did fill to capacity.

The company, of course, was great

including many of our dorm mates and Hannah and my friends from our different faculties.

Ithink T-day did me in for cooking for the rest of my time here, though--it was tough to do without a real kitchen. I'm off to Ulan Ude next Monday, so it won't be hard to avoid anything resembling actual kitchen labor until after I return. And there are lots of cafes in the area, which I also enjoy!

Not surprisingly, our bedrooms are also our offices, especially given the fact that we have internet access here. I don't have an office in the sociology department, so I do most of my work here and just show up there for class and fun! This is the view from my window. I'm also lucky enough to look out on this little park, and have watched the seasonal changes daily.

Now that winter's here all the overdressed children are far more active, so there is a small group of young boys who are usually in the area every afternoon after school, running around. We're still waiting for permanent snow, however, as so far it has consistently melted away--for me with limited choices for winter boots melting is not necessarily a bad thing, although admittedly far less attractive than a light snow cover like this.