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| Autumnal Lagernii Sad (A World War Two Memorial Garden) |
As the temperature dropped from +14 degrees to -4 in three
days last week, it dawned on me why Siberia winter is so famous. This is early
autumn and I would consider our current weather to be a cold English winter.
Nevertheless my heavy-duty coat, hat, scarf and gloves have all been put into
action and are so far proving to be most effective. I feel reasonably prepared
for what is to come despite the winter horror stories that we have been told,
such as your tears turning to ice and your earrings freezing to your ears. The
thing that I am most worried about is what we are going to do every day when
going outside and walking places is not an option, but I shall keep you updated
on that as time passes.
I have decided that lunch is the most awkward of meals. Whilst
at university, the most convenient option is the staff ‘столовая’ (dining room),
which is cheap and close. This is a very hit and miss affair, as either you
order something vaguely edible such as buckwheat and cabbage (a personal
favourite, which gets very boring after the second mouthful)or you try to spice
things up by ordering ‘
щи’ (shchi),
the traditional cabbage soup. The last time I tried this I discovered that,
despite being a cabbage soup, the cabbage was not actually a necessary ingredient
and it could be replaced with the equivalent quantity of oil. The coffee is
alright, though the presence of milk cannot be relied on and as a result, we
have found ourselves searching for a more reliable lunch experience. And as a
result, we discovered the Uzbek restaurant/ ‘столовая’. The idea of these
dining rooms comes from the Soviet era and they are very similar to a canteen.
You have a tray, and choose from the vats of food in front of you and pay the
small price at the end. The Uzbek food includes plov (a rice dish with
vegetables and meat), noodles, soups such as lagman, dimlama (a meat and
vegetable stew) and mutton. It may not sound delicious but it has flavour, its
filling and it is more cultural than a banana, yogurt and bag of crisps!
I have decided that lunch is the most awkward of meals. Whilst
at university, the most convenient option is the staff ‘столовая’ (dining room),
which is cheap and close. This is a very hit and miss affair, as either you
order something vaguely edible such as buckwheat and cabbage (a personal
favourite, which gets very boring after the second mouthful)or you try to spice
things up by ordering ‘щи’ (shchi),
the traditional cabbage soup. The last time I tried this I discovered that,
despite being a cabbage soup, the cabbage was not actually a necessary ingredient
and it could be replaced with the equivalent quantity of oil. The coffee is
alright, though the presence of milk cannot be relied on and as a result, we
have found ourselves searching for a more reliable lunch experience. And as a
result, we discovered the Uzbek restaurant/ ‘столовая’. The idea of these
dining rooms comes from the Soviet era and they are very similar to a canteen.
You have a tray, and choose from the vats of food in front of you and pay the
small price at the end. The Uzbek food includes plov (a rice dish with
vegetables and meat), noodles, soups such as lagman, dimlama (a meat and
vegetable stew) and mutton. It may not sound delicious but it has flavour, its
filling and it is more cultural than a banana, yogurt and bag of crisps! 
.JPG)
No photos this time - but I am sure I do not want to see the food!
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