Sunday, August 06, 2006
AIESEC dances in a Russian Datcha
Tuesday, 1st of August
Happy birthday Switzerland!! We were in the Victory park this evening, and I planned to do a small Swiss apéro, I had some cake and chocolate. Unfortunately it rained and we had to seek shelter in a restaurant. Yeah, we will have to do a proper Swiss evening another time, when the AIESEC members are in town again. Until end of August is holidays, and the students are in holidays, or at an AIESEC conference.
Did you ever do AIESEC dances in a Russian Datcha?? No? Well, I did it, it’s lots of fun, here are some pictures (do you know which dance it is?)… We had a farewell party for Kiriel, who leaved Saratov on Sunday and returned to Bulgaria, because his CEED was completed. A CEED is when an AIESEC member spends some time abroad, working for another local committee (LC) of AIESEC.
The Datcha is a small house outside of the city. The building and equipment is usually very basic, without central heating and toilet. Lots of Russians have a Datcha, where they spend their weekends and holidays and grow vegetables in the garden. Quite a lot of old women try to earn some money in addition to their poor pension by selling vegetables and fruits of their garden (cucumbers, tomatoes, raspberries etc) on the street. They come in the morning, carrying heavy bags full of vegetable, and return when they sold everything or when it’s evening. Usually I buy at these old women and not at the professional traders, because they are friendly and honest. You get a plastic cup with 5 dl raspberries for about 1.25 CHF.
So I’m eating fruits, cornflakes, pasta and rice. Until now I did not buy meat and I don’t want to do so in the future, because on the market the hygienic situation is awful. Nevertheless I’m convinced that you could eat most of this meat without suffering from diarrhea, but when you are there and see this place, you like to become a short-term vegetarian. The meat market is situated in the market hall, a long passage through the whole building. Right and left there are the stands with meat and fish. The sellers have stone tables on which they present their selection. On a wire above the tables hang chicken, rabbits, dried fish etc. The salesman wears usually short trousers and is not well-groomed; his clothes are soaked with blood. Behind the fix installed stone tables there are big pieces of wood on which the merchant chops the animals, blood runs down to the floor. Of course there is no cooling system and no refrigerator. The buyers touch the meat to test the quality, and the seller takes money and gives out meat with bare hands. Ah, and don’t forget the smell of fish and blood.
I hope I didn’t spoil you appetite! ;-)
The only time I eat some meat is for lunch. In the building where I work, there is no cafeteria like in the central building where Philippe and Nabil work. But there is this woman who cooks at home, transports the food to the bank and sells it to us. We get a plastic plate with hot food for 25 Rubles, that’s about 1.25 CHF. Usually mashed potatoes, cucumber salad and some cooked (soft) meat, it’s ok. On Thursdays (fish day) and when we want to have a change we buy some bread and cakes for lunch. About cakes: At work we eat cakes every day. Very nice, there is a Russian and a ‘German’ cakes shop very close to us. A nice piece of cake is 0.60 CHF. Yes, I will probably get fat here without eating meat… ;-)
Here is a picture from our tour with a party boat. Very loud music, 2 hours on the Volga, dancing on the upper deck, talking on the lower deck, splendid!
¶ 7:15 PM 
Happy birthday Switzerland!! We were in the Victory park this evening, and I planned to do a small Swiss apéro, I had some cake and chocolate. Unfortunately it rained and we had to seek shelter in a restaurant. Yeah, we will have to do a proper Swiss evening another time, when the AIESEC members are in town again. Until end of August is holidays, and the students are in holidays, or at an AIESEC conference.
Did you ever do AIESEC dances in a Russian Datcha?? No? Well, I did it, it’s lots of fun, here are some pictures (do you know which dance it is?)… We had a farewell party for Kiriel, who leaved Saratov on Sunday and returned to Bulgaria, because his CEED was completed. A CEED is when an AIESEC member spends some time abroad, working for another local committee (LC) of AIESEC.
The Datcha is a small house outside of the city. The building and equipment is usually very basic, without central heating and toilet. Lots of Russians have a Datcha, where they spend their weekends and holidays and grow vegetables in the garden. Quite a lot of old women try to earn some money in addition to their poor pension by selling vegetables and fruits of their garden (cucumbers, tomatoes, raspberries etc) on the street. They come in the morning, carrying heavy bags full of vegetable, and return when they sold everything or when it’s evening. Usually I buy at these old women and not at the professional traders, because they are friendly and honest. You get a plastic cup with 5 dl raspberries for about 1.25 CHF.
So I’m eating fruits, cornflakes, pasta and rice. Until now I did not buy meat and I don’t want to do so in the future, because on the market the hygienic situation is awful. Nevertheless I’m convinced that you could eat most of this meat without suffering from diarrhea, but when you are there and see this place, you like to become a short-term vegetarian. The meat market is situated in the market hall, a long passage through the whole building. Right and left there are the stands with meat and fish. The sellers have stone tables on which they present their selection. On a wire above the tables hang chicken, rabbits, dried fish etc. The salesman wears usually short trousers and is not well-groomed; his clothes are soaked with blood. Behind the fix installed stone tables there are big pieces of wood on which the merchant chops the animals, blood runs down to the floor. Of course there is no cooling system and no refrigerator. The buyers touch the meat to test the quality, and the seller takes money and gives out meat with bare hands. Ah, and don’t forget the smell of fish and blood.
I hope I didn’t spoil you appetite! ;-)
The only time I eat some meat is for lunch. In the building where I work, there is no cafeteria like in the central building where Philippe and Nabil work. But there is this woman who cooks at home, transports the food to the bank and sells it to us. We get a plastic plate with hot food for 25 Rubles, that’s about 1.25 CHF. Usually mashed potatoes, cucumber salad and some cooked (soft) meat, it’s ok. On Thursdays (fish day) and when we want to have a change we buy some bread and cakes for lunch. About cakes: At work we eat cakes every day. Very nice, there is a Russian and a ‘German’ cakes shop very close to us. A nice piece of cake is 0.60 CHF. Yes, I will probably get fat here without eating meat… ;-)
Here is a picture from our tour with a party boat. Very loud music, 2 hours on the Volga, dancing on the upper deck, talking on the lower deck, splendid!
¶ 7:15 PM
