Lock-In
Not so many years ago I'd have been overjoyed at the mention of a lock-in. Perhaps I should explain to non-native English speakers.
In the UK bars used to have strict closing times by law, putting a stop to our drinking fun at far too early an hour. From what I remember anyway, the fun had only just begun!!! So at closing time everyone was told to go home....enough alcohol, it's bed time and you have to work tomorrow said the law. Except.....the lucky few of us who knew the landlord. We were allowed to stay in the bar, and the doors would be locked, but the bar would remain open serving us a few more bevvies, hence the phrase 'lock-in'. So the party continued!!
I had my own private lock-in last night. It was a quiet affair with far too few people involved to make it a party, and a distinct lack of alcohol. In fact I'd even run out of milk.
I worked late at the office, like you do when you need a bit of peace and quiet. But not too late, as I had an appointment with my friend who runs a business making and delivering healthy food to busy people who want to look after their bodies. Each Monday her team of chefs prepare food for the local homeless people and she personally delivers it to them in a shelter on the streets in conjunction with the local church. I love helping her out, I'd never make a silver service waitress, but I do my best!
Computer off.....running....down the four flights of stairs, switching the lights off as I go, knowing I am last out of our beautiful Victorian building.
While I was in Russia I had a new front door at home installed. When I got home, I took my old keys off the and slipped the shiny new ones onto my key-ring. Oops!! Sadly for me, I had also removed one of the office keys - The Most Important One. The front door of the building, twice my height, stood locked between me and freedom.
I was suddenly very aware of the deep, dark, empty silence.
What's a girl to do? Panic!!!
Trapped, alone in a huge building in the dark at night.
Well, it would have been dark if I'd switched the lights off.
Forcing myself to stay calm, I went back upstairs checking every door on the way for an escape route - but they were all locked. Retreating to my own office I looked bleakly out of the window.....four floors up.
Only one option.
Ring my neighbour who has spare keys and ask her to drive down with them and unlock the door from the outside. Of course it was exactly like that, completely as calm and controlled as I write ;)
If only I hadn't gone to Russia, if only I hadn't had a new front door.....if only....
Did I work late tonight? Yes, of course I did, if only to see if I could top last night's thrills.....I just have a temporary key paranoia.
Languages on Location somos una agencia que presta servicios de Asesoría GRATUITA de cursos de Inglés o estudios en el UK, nos encontramos ubicados en el Reino Unido por lo que a diferencia del resto de las agencias, tenemos contacto directo y personal con nuestras escuelas. Sabemos que es de vital importancia en términos de escogencia de estudios el estar informado o dejar que le asesoren expertos. contáctanos a través de www.languagesonlocation.com
Wednesday 23 October 2013
Friday 18 October 2013
Kazan we can
Kazan east of Moscow
Why wouldn't we take advantage of taking
a weekend trip to Kazan? No reason except it's a 12 hour train journey. So I threw money at the problem, and we took
a flight instead; a much more reasonable hour and a half travelling time.
What a contrast to Moscow is this capital
city of Tartarstan. Situated on the wide
and winding Volga River, open spaces, wide roads, good transport links at the
airport. This is mainly due to the 2013
Summer Universiade, the 2nd largest sporting events after Olympiads, attended
by 162 nations. New arenas litter the skyline, modern and colourful,
contrasting with the beautiful bright turquoise painted historical buildings. The
leaning Soyemika Tower measuring an approximate 1.9m horizontal displacement as
opposed to the more famous tower in Pisa at 3.9m is steeped in history as far
back as the 16th century. Allegedly
the Kazan Queen asked Ivan the Terrible to build it for her, a tier a day
within seven days, before becoming his wife. Instead of which she chose to
throw herself from the top; true or not it adds to the romance of the area and
era.
Come evening time we couldn't believe
our luck when an hour before the sold out show we scooped some front row
tickets to Tchaikovsky's 2nd and 3rd symphonies in one of the town’s beautiful
concert halls.
Surrounded by the famous forests of
birch the traditional colourful dachas and banyas creating flumes of smoke, and
very little English, we really felt like we were in a different country. Unlike international Moscow, the few schools here
are dedicated to teaching English. If
anyone is looking for a summer break teaching English there, drop us a line
because we've been asked to supply a native English teacher for summer holidays
2014.
We flew back to the bright lights of the
capital city for our last couple of days exploits, navigating our way
precariously via the stunning Moscow metro.
Like a child in its formative years, we are learning to recognise the
shape of the letters of the alphabet, having no idea what word they spell nor
how they are pronounced, but we still manage to get around.
Imagine our surprise to find Red Square
closed, cordoned off by the police and gates closed all round. Luckily being in the wonderful company of a native
Russian speaker we approached who we deemed to be the most handsome guard to
ask when it will re-open for us.
He said solemnly, 'It's a secret.'
‘Will it be open tomorrow?’ we responded
‘It's a secret'
'It's never too late,' is a phrase I've frequently
used and heartily agree with, but in this instance I can't help thinking the
more appropriate one should be, 'never put off till tomorrow what you can do
today'.
How long is my list of 'things to do
today'? Shhh....I can't tell you….because…..
it's a secret.
Must-Go Moscow
My trip to Russia, for both business and
pleasure, has been on the cards for a while.
I originally meant to go in the
summer, but we’ve been so busy welcoming new students to the UK to study
English, not to mention enjoying the beaches and Bournemouth nightlife myself.
So off I go, just before the winter snow
and below freezing temperatures kicked in.
Russia!
For a country that seems so exotic and so different to the UK, it’s
fabulous that the flight time is only three and a half hours – it takes me
longer than that to drive to Norfolk sometimes.
A quick hop in a taxi and in under an hour I’m in Moscow.
We might have been enjoying a bit of
late sunshine in England, but I didn’t want to take any chances, so I’d armed myself
with a new pair of fur-lined water-resistant, super heat-supplying Uggs and
enough cashmere to make Dr Zhivago blush.
But Moscow has thrown me a curveball – we're
enjoying 12 degrees and some sunshine to boot!
Perfect sight-seeing weather. I
dash straight down to Red Square. I’m a
day late to see the ceremonial Olympic flame being delivered into the hands of
President Putin, but the evidence of the stadium reception covered the entire
area for several days. The Russians
don’t do anything by halves!
I don’t use the word ‘Awesome’ a lot, but
I'll treat myself to it now. It doesn’t matter how many pictures you’ve
seen, nothing prepares you for the reality.
The entire area - Red Square itself, the stunning St. Basil's Cathedral,
Kazan Cathedral, the Kremlin walls – it’s all astonishing. In the crisp autumn air, lit up to show off
the fairy-tale colours and shapes, the mixture of old and new, and the sheer
scale and weight of the history is breathtaking.
As for the GUM shopping mall - I'm going
to have to say it most reminds me of Harrods in London.
I was lucky to be there from daylight to nightfall,
and to see the magnificent lights switched on.
There are so many shops and cafes to
choose from. Lucky for me, I’m with a lovely
friend whom I met In Madrid whilst we were studying Spanish at International
House. She and her mother knew the place to go, Cafe Bosco, fronting
the Square. We chose various delicate
salads, graciously served with all the flair and accoutrements of a front line
café restaurant, followed by tea, coffee, and a three tiered plate of various
mouth sized cakes – although I have to say, even my mouth was fairly stretched
to capacity. It seems to be famous for
more than its fine fare, judging by how many tourists took photos of us while
we sat scoffing an array of delicacies on the terrace.
All the while.....of course I was thinking
about work!
Getting a taxi isn't quite as simple as
I'm used to in London but the driver certainly made up for that! He spoke English, better than I speak Russian
anyway. Having said that, I'm sure my
translator only gave me the edited highlights.
Believe me, this taxi driver could have written a book on his exploits!
You know me, I can't let a day go by
without doing some work. Not that I'm
going to tell you how much work exactly.
Unfortunately I couldn’t go out alone because….yes you guessed it, I
don't speak the language. I feel like a
baby, totally reliant and dependant on my friend whose English is perfect,
having spent a year abroad honing it.
The offices and school of Liden and Denz
have a great central location. The main
train station is conveniently nearby.
The departures board reads like a bucket list of popular destinations,
both internal and international.
With the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
next door don't be put off by the security gate on entering the complex. At least you know you are going to be
learning amongst some dedicated professionals.
If you’re considering studying here, the
classrooms are modern with all the facilities you’ll need whilst you’re here.
There’s the usual array of iPads for student use, wi-fi, library and refreshments. With opening hours from 8am, through to 11pm it’s
easy to find a time slot that suits your schedule.
We met a group of youngsters taking
their leaving party photos. They'd just
taken a 4 day closed group course and spent the rest of the week sightseeing,
which seems like a great combination. The
centre director Anastasia told us that courses for adults can also be
specifically tailored to suit.
It's a shame we didn't have time to try
it out......maybe next time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)