Freitag, 1. Oktober 2010

How to Treat an Old Lady


Today I went to my Babushka for the first time on my own. I called her half an hour before I arrived at her place. Surprisingly, this phone call went better than I had expected, because I'm normally not the best when it comes to talking Russian on the phone.
I also took the right bus and stopped at the right station on the way to her place. I went up the stairs in the house to her flat. The doors were already open, because her bell isn't working at the moment. I stayed there for half an hour and we talked a bit about what needed to be done in the flat and what we had to buy. We then together took the bus some stations further to go to a supermarket and a kind of building supplies store. It was a special social supermarket where everything was way cheaper than in other supermarkets. One could really feel that she had to decide and calculate what she really needed, because she recieves such a low pension. Although, it wasn't that far it took us 3 and a half hours to go there and back, because, as I already mentioned previously, she can't really walk well. Especially the three floors in the house are troublesome. But also daily life such as crossing the street and taking the bus are difficult. However, I enjoyed helping her and talking to her while walking with her arm in arm, because I felt like I did something good and that it really helps her when I carry the bags. When we came home, she cooked for me and we talked again about her life and about my family. That's what interests her most. I had taken my laptop with me to show her pictures of Kiev, because she was born there. She really seemed to enjoy looking at the pictures and talking about her experiences there.

P.S. I have a new (or rather a used) mobile phone. So I can really call people now and they will understand me. Yeah!

1 Kommentar:

  1. Really nice blog!
    I was in Russia this summer with the transsiberian train but only stayed in Moscow for a day... I had mixed feelings about the city... But to be honest, besides the Red Square and the GUM I didnt really give the city a chance! Looking forward to reading more!

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