"Lavender Sunrise Palace of Mirrors"

.....this is the name of our flat.  "Lavender Sunrise Palace of Mirrors". Why you ask? Well take at look at these pictures:

Entrance. Lavender.

View from entrance.

In the entrance, looking at the bathroom door. Mirrors.

Bathroom. Mirrors. 

Bathroom. 

Bathroom. Mirrors.

Bathroom.

Living room. Through the curtains in the back there..you will find my bedroom.

Another view of the living room. Door to one person balcony behind the curtains. Sunrise.

Closer view of where you will find my bedroom.

 Part of the living room where I store most of my things and do my makeup. Mirrors. 

What I do when I go to sleep. Who needs a wall?

Kitchen. Mirrors.

Are you dizzy and confused yet?

View from the balcony. Sunrise.

View from inside my bedroom. 

My bedroom. Palace. 

    Now let me tell you the good, the bad and ugly of this flat.  I live here with two other teachers.  This is a three room flat...meaning there is one bedroom, one wannabe bedroom, and a living room. I share the wannabe with one of my roommates.  But since we are in our twenties, and we do not feel like sharing a whole big "bedroom" like children, we did this: 

We separated into two sides using my clothing, a shelving unit, and curtains.  And now, with all of the curtains..its like a giant fort! 

   Apartments here come furnished like condos.  The kitchen was fully stocked with dishes when we arrived.  The refrigerator was stocked with numerous beverages.  The living room was stocked with Russian children's DVDs and toys.  The bathroom was stocked with used toothbrushes and old soap.  The balcony was stocked with a hairdryer.  The entrance was stocked with furry slippers and broken in chairs, and boy were they broken.  The "bedroom" was stocked with an MRI scan.  The front door was stocked with tight security...so tight that sometimes, you can't even get out of the apartment.  The building was stocked with 6 flights of stairs, zero elevators to my flat so I don't have to join a gym. I thought "Wow they really want to make sure their tenants have everything."  

....then I thought maybe this stuff belonged to a previous tenant who just didn't feel like packing up.  Now,  if I did something like that in the US, I would NEVER get my security deposit back.

   Russians consider couches and cots to be beds.  So yes, my bed is cot.  I opted to take the cot as I am the shortest roommate and from the looks of it, my "bed" is meant for a child.  If I were 2 inches taller...my feet would hang over.  With that said, my "bed" is actually quite cozy in my little nook.

    When exploring in the area surrounding my flat yesterday,  I found a larger than life mall about 15 minutes from me.  Inside I saw smokers, a raccoon, and a bagpipe band.

    I went to the school for the first time today.  There was a meeting for all teachers...in Russian.  A translator sat near me, so I got the gist of what was happening.  I was somewhat confused and highly entertained when the the meeting went form talking about assessments and benefits of the international baccalaureate program....to showing us this:

    On my home on the bus today, this happened: A lady got on with a stroller that had a real live baby in it.  She gave the handle of the stroller to me, as she walked away from the stroller to the front of the bus.  Before I knew that she was traveling to the front to pay for her ride, I thought I had just been forced to adopt a child.   Shortly after my brush with motherhood, the bus driver stopped, got out, bought some cigarettes at a stand, and got back on.  

     Random overload.  

-Gina