Ukraine v Moldova

Having been unable to go and watch CSKA Moscow v Zenit St Petersburg when I was in Russia, as the match was played behind closed doors, when I found out the Ukrainian national team were playing a World Cup qualifier in Odessa I knew I needed to buy a ticket.

Luckily my roommate likes football, so I didn't need to convince her that it would be a good idea! We bought the second most expensive tickets, which cost 150 hryvnya (around the £12/£15 mark I think), which isn't too bad considering I often pay around £30 to watch Forest play when I'm at home (extortionate).

Of course, on Tuesday it decided to snow, which is unusual for Odessa at this time of year. Having paid a man for a lift to the park in which the football stadium is situated, we managed to reach the stadium having not slipped over. God knows how we managed that - the path was basically a sheet of ice and all the crazy Ukrainian men were sliding everywhere. It was also a really bloody hilly path, which made matters worse!

When we eventually got to the ground without any broken bones, getting in was actually really difficult and quite scary. In England there are lots of turnstiles for each area of the ground, which means you seldom have to queue, and there isn't any pushing. Here, it was just a free for all to get past a barrier, which the really unhelpful policemen were holding up. At one point I was getting squashed against this barrier, to the point where I felt like I couldn't breathe, which was absolutely terrifying. Fortunately, after about 5 minutes of this (it felt like a lifetime) the police decided to let all the women in, as you do. I also had to have my bag checked, which has only happened to me once at a football match in England (at Peterborough's ground of all places).

We eventually got to our seats about 5 minutes after the match had started (gutted to have missed the national anthems, sob). Despite the absolutely freezing temperatures, it was nice to finally relax, and when a man came round with beer it was hard to say no! I found it quite novel to be able to sit in the stands with an alcoholic drink, although I think if this was allowed in England I'd probably not remember any of the match.

The quality of the football was average at best. You could tell that Anatoliy Tymoshchuk plays for a decent team though, as he seemed to control everything that was going on. The first half finished 0-0, with Ukraine having had the better chances. The second half improved a little though and we saw 3 goals! I was left a little terrified after Ukraine scored, as the rowdy section of the crowd set off flares, which made a very loud bang. Later on in the game, this section decided it would be a laugh to take their tops off and chant too. I am really glad we didn't sit there.

Look how pink and cold I look!! Kudos to the nice lady who gave us a blanket at half time. I love you.

The match ended 2-1 to Ukraine, so everyone around us went home happy. We had to wait for ages until there was a trolleybus that wasn't completely rammed full, but after about half an hour we managed to get on one. The journey involved being given vodka by some very happy young men. We did a toast to Ukraine's success, and they practiced some (very) broken English on us. It was about midnight when we got home, but I don't think I properly warmed up until about midday on Wednesday.

I'm off to Kiev tonight, despite there being another ridiculous document related situation this week, which resulted in me spending most of yesterday being very dramatic and crying. I am very very fed up of paperwork, and I hope I don't have to sort anymore out because I'll probably end up going mad. I haven't even started my packing yet, I think I'm just going to put all of my jumpers in a bag and hope for the best.

An Update

It feels like a long time since I posted anything about my Odessan life here, so I thought I'd give anyone who might care a little update...

Luckily we've managed to avoid the снегопад (translation: a crap load of snow) which seems to have affected most other parts of Ukraine, which is pretty handy as I definitely didn't bring many snow friendly items of clothing with me. Saturday was ridiculously windy though, and a massive tree got blown over, so I'm glad I had a really lazy weekend.

I've started trying to learn Ukrainian properly, even though nobody in Odessa uses it in their every day life. It isn't too dissimilar to Russian - the vowels are different, and a few words aren't at all similar to their Russian equivalents. I'm debating going to classes at university so I pick it up a little faster. If it all goes well I fancy a trip to a Ukrainian speaking part of the country to test my skills!

Tomorrow I'm going to my first ever international football match, which should be an experience. I know very little about Ukraine's national team, and nothing about Moldova's, so I probably won't get as involved as I do when I go and watch (my beloved) Nottingham Forest play. Despite being really used to going to football matches, I'm a little scared about what the fans are going to be like, but I think this is the media's fault, and I'm sure everything will be fine. I'll probably devote a whole post to the game.

Finally, I am definitely going to Kiev on Friday, as I have my вид на жительство (resident's permit thing). The weather there is absolutely hideous at the moment, but hopefully I'll get to do a lot once I've arrived having survived the train journey.

I'm currently writing this in the dark as the bulbs in the main light, and our lamp have both decided to go. Our hob also broke (again) yesterday, but the man with the impressive moustache has been and mended it for us. My life out here is a little different to my life in England...

On Running: Why I put myself through such pain.

Earlier I watched this video and felt far too inspired. It resulted in me writing what I'm posting below. It's probably a load of rubbish, but maybe somebody will relate to it.

For some unknown reason, I seem to be feeling more motivated to put my leggings on, lace up my trainers and go for a long hard run than I have done in a long while. Maybe it’s due to the weather here currently being perfect – bright with a cool breeze – and the fact I have a great park on my doorstep. I’m not entirely sure. Nevertheless, it feels great to be so enthusiastic about something which, although makes you feel great afterwards, can be so painful at times.

I started running properly about two years ago now. I have been going to the gym since I was about 15, but I always seemed to shy away from the treadmill, sticking to spinning sessions and lengthy spells on the cross trainer, but one Sunday morning I was in the gym with my dad and the London Marathon was on, and I decided to give the treadmill a go. I haven’t really looked back since.

Running simply provides me the greatest feeling of freedom possible. I’m probably the biggest stresshead/worrier/pessimist you’ll ever have the misfortune of encountering, so to have found something which (at least temporarily) gets rid of any of the crap in my head is a godsend. There’s just something so liberating about going out into the fresh air, not having to think about anything other than putting one foot in front of the other and going for as long as possible.

Feeling good on the inside is definitely the main reason why I've kept going for so long, however I guess it does mean I’m not the porker that I probably should be. I've not actually lost any weight at all since I started running, which I guess on the whole I’m fine with as I’m technically a ‘healthy weight’, but my body has definitely changed. I used to dread going shopping for jeans (my mum also dreaded having to accompany me) as sometimes nothing in any size seemed to fit. That is now a thing of the past, and I somehow even manage to get my sturdy legs into Topshop's skinniest offerings. This has prevented many of those awful ‘coming out of the changing room feeling like you could cry’ scenarios from happening. I’ve also managed to achieve these results despite eating like a pig the majority of the time. I dread to think how super fit I could be if I bothered to eat like a normal human being, as opposed to living off chocolate.

It sounds almost daft to say this about something so simple, something which doesn’t cost a penny, and something which our bodies are naturally designed to do, but I’m not sure what I’d do if I wasn't able to run. 

I’m never going to be the best at it, and I’m not going to be the fittest girl in the world (one can only dream), but I sure hope that I can keep this habit up for as long as possible. My aim for this summer is to complete a half marathon, hopefully in less than 2 hours. After that? Who knows.

A good excuse to eat pancakes.

Maslenitsa (Масленица) is a religious and folk holiday in this part of the world, and marks the last week before the Great Lent (thanks Wikipedia). Traditionally, during Maslenitsa week meat is forbidden, and then after Maslenitsa milk, cheese, eggs and other dairy products aren't allowed - hence why the following week is called the Great Lent I guess.

I think I remember reading something at school about how Maslenitsa also marks the end of the winter, and blini, being 'round and golden' represent the sun which will soon be here to stay, I hope. I don't really think anyone ever needs much of an excuse to eat copious amounts of pancakes, but this week is Maslenitsa week, and practically every single restaurant here is advertising a special blini menu, so I decided to do the right thing and go and get some pancakes!

The restaurant of choice was a traditional Ukrainian restaurant. Offering the various soups and salads synonymous with Ukrainian/Russian cuisine, it seemed like a suitable place to engage with Slavic culture. I enjoyed the slightly over the top decor in the restaurant, and fell in love with the huge floral crowns that the girls working there were wearing.

The best cheeky picture I could get of the floral crowns, ahhh.

The blini menu was in Ukrainian (agh), but luckily it was all easy to understand (rayy!), and I opted for blinis with meat (vague) and mushroom sauce, and blinis with baked apple and ice cream for pudding. The mushroom sauce on the savoury blinis was particularly good - they do know what to do with their mushrooms over here. Sara ordered уха (a fish soup), which I thought was brave, as the last time I saw someone preparing it there was a fish head in the pan. Fortunately, Sara's soup was fish head free, and actually looked really good. It was served in quite a fancy way too!

I've just done a little bit of research, and have learnt that Russian Maslenitsa is celebrated in London. The event is free, and takes place this Saturday (16th March) in Trafalger Square. It involves Russian food, drink and music. The website is here - I suggest you go on it just for the lolz of hearing Boris Johnson attempting to speak some Russian. He makes my poor attempt at an accent sound practically native!

I have definitely refound my confidence when it comes to speaking Russian over the last few days. I found myself talking about gel nail varnish to a lady in a cosmetics shop today. I also bought a train ticket to Kiev, as it now seems very likely that I will be able to go there at the end of the month. I shan't hold my breath though, as things often seem to go wrong, but I have been reassured that everything should be fine. I've been in Odessa a month now, and although I do sometimes miss home, I feel pretty settled and happy. I can definitely think of worse places to be living!

Something a little different.

Today has been a non-event. I usually like lazy Sundays, but today has been a bit of a dodgy one. Seeing Facebook and Twitter full of people enjoying spending the day with their mums and grandmas made me really want to be at home, and the weather here has been horrible, meaning I couldn't really go out and distract myself. I then came across this and thought I'd give it a go, as I like nothing more than piecing together outfits and wishing I had the money to afford them.

The MoneySupermarket.com Passion for Fashion competition involves putting together 3 outfits based on the themes casual wear, party wear and holiday. The budget for each outfit is £200, which for a student like me is actually quite generous. I thought it would be fun to see what I could come up with, and I quickly discovered that £200 can go quite a way.

Blouse, £19.99 Pull & Bear
Cardigan, £42 Topshop
Loafers, £45 ASOS
Bag £35 ASOS
Jeans, £42 Topshop
Total - £183.99

I decided that a pair of black skinny jeans often work as a good base for an everyday casual look. These Topshop ones have a high wasited fit, which tends to be more flattering, and have slight stretch to them for added comfort. I love this blouse, and I think it makes a casual look that little bit smarter. I think it would look equally us good tucked in, or left to hang loosely. This cardigan just screams cosy, and can just be thrown. Burgundy is a favourite of mine, and I love the knit of this cardigan. These ASOS loafers are such a lovely colour and I do like a good patent finish on a shoe. Finally, this bag is just extremely cute, and big enough to fit in all the essentials.

Top, £22 Topshop
Sunglasses, £16 Urban Outfitters
Shorts, £54 American Apparel
Bag, £6 Monki
Belt, £4.99 New Look
Nail Varnish, £5 Models Own (Hedonist)
Shoes, £25 ASOS
Total - £132.99

My Holiday Wear outfit has quite a beach-y feel to it. However, I think that this could be thrown on on top of a bikini after a hard day's sunbathing to go straight for cocktails. Despite being the palest girl in the world, and only ever going red in the sun, I know that white and sun tans are a great match! This floral crochet vest from Topshop is that bit prettier than your bog standard white vest, and thus is worth its £22 price tag. If there's any time when you can get away with Hawaiian print, it's on holiday. These American Apparel shorts are a way of working this print into an outfit without looking like you've borrowed your dad/uncle's shirt. As with the Topshop jeans, they sit high on the waist. Sunglasses are the essential holiday accessory, and this Urban Outfitters pair took my fancy. Tote bags, like this Monki one are great for just shoving everything in. All of this finished off with tan sandals, a belt and a flash of Models Own Hedonist just screams holiday.

Crop Top, £22 Topshop
Clutch, £15 River Island
Skirt, £48 Sister Jane
Socks, £5 ASOS
Shoes, £69 Dune
Total - £159

Party wear definitely presented me with the most challenges, as I'm a pretty casual kind of girl. I think buying separates is a good way to do party wear, as I often find myself buying a nice dress with a fairly high price tag, and barely ever wearing it. This Sister Jane skirt is quite a statement piece, and I love the colours. I think you could even wear this in the day with a band tee and some flats as well as for a party. I think crop tops are an inexpensive way to transform your look, and the sheer top and sleeves on this give it a little bit more of an edge than the average jersey crop. The on trend striped bag from River Island provides us with a pattern to clash with the skirt, and has a handy chain strap for people like me who get sick of, well, clutching their clutch bag (it's hard to dance with a bag in your hand, ok?). These Dune flatforms are also very dance friendly, and I thought these glittery socks would make us all think about socks and sandals in a new light.

International Women's Day & Some Unwelcome Stress

Yesterday was quite exciting, as I got the day off! Despite only having just over two hours of classes a day anyway, I was pretty ecstatic when my teacher told me that Friday was a state holiday. In Britain we don't really celebrate International Women's Day at all, but here it seems like a big deal. The streets have been littered with people selling a variety of flowers, and people in the supermarkets seem to have been buying a lot of wine, vodka and cake.

It seemed apt to spend a (maybe not so well earned) day off doing something that I love, so my roommate and I decided to hit the shops. Riveria is a shopping centre situated about 30km to the north of the city centre, but the tatty little buses (маршрутки) go all the way there and only cost a mere 25p! So I'd already snapped up my first bargain of the day before the shopping had even started. True to form, the bus was disgustingly (perhaps dangerously) busy, and I decided to take a nice, blurry picture of it for you all to see.

Riviera wasn't bad at all, a particular highlight for me was probably Zara. it was much bigger than I imagined, and the prices weren't too much higher than in England. I remember once in Russia seeing a dress I had in the sale in Zara, but it still cost more than I bought it for at full price - ouch! I could have bought quite a lot, however I didn't feel like parting with an awful lot of money. I think the size of my shopping bag was a little deceptive. I only bought a really nicely cut plain white t-shirt, and much needed new handbag.

A very exciting purchase...

A cheeky selfy in Zara.

I am starting to regret not making two purchases now, however I probably would have felt guilty next week and would have ended up eating less instant noodles in order to save myself a bit more cash!

So, the Zara dress would have been met with much disapproval from everyone who knows how many striped items of clothing I own, so I had to say no to that. The blouse was from Pull&Bear, a shop which I've never been in before, but have read a fair bit about. Again, it's monochrome, just like most other things I wear. This was only £20 though, so I may have to go back and buy it at some point.  Furthermore, having just consulted ELLE Ukraine, perhaps I should have bought the dress, as it would have made me a bit of a модница (cool) over here...

I really don't know why fashion is written in Latin?! Ahh dear.

We had a much needed and deserved beer and pizza break half way through our little shopping session. Unfortunately they didn't have any BBQ left, so I went for Мафиоса (or something Mafia related). It was pretty good, even the Italian said it wasn't too bad - so all in all a pretty glowing review. As ever, the beer prices were ridiculously cheap. I think if I lived here permanently I'd have some kind of alcohol problem, that's for certain!

More English everywhere!

Cheap peeve - cheers!

Sara and I have been on a search for some kind of Ukrainian/Russian comparison book, or even Ukrainian/English, but this search has been somewhat unsuccessful thus far. Riviera had a massive book shop, complete with uncharacteristically helpful shop assistants, but no Ukrainian books. I did, however, come away with a Russian translation of Wuthering Heights, which only cost me a couple of quid. I can't promise to read it all, but I shall have a good go at it.

Aside from shopping, this week has been a bit of a grumpy one. I've chosen to stay in Ukraine for over 90 days, which means I need a visa, and the visa system here is perhaps a little daft. Applying for it back in England was a mega ordeal, involving translators and trips to a public notary person, and meant I had to be more like an adult than ever. Despite overcoming this hurdle I need to extend my visa over here and get myself a residency permit or something. All in all, it sorting out the documents for it all just involves a load of photocopying and getting a few passport photos taken (the man who took them thought I was Ukrainian and asked me if they were for a Shengen visa - win!). However, like with everything over here, it all seems to be quite last minute and rushed, and the lady helping me sort it warned me that I may not be able to go to Kiev at the end of the month as I may not have my passport. This resulted in me being extremely grumpy, as it's something I've been looking forward to for a while. I'm now playing a bit of a waiting game to wait for a document to come. If it arrives next week everything should be fine. Keep your fingers crossed for me please! I'm not very fun when I'm grumpy.

The First Day of Spring.

One of the first things my teacher said to me today is that it's 'officially' the first day of spring. I'm not sure how something like this can be made official, but I think she was right. The weather here has been lovely today. I'm not sure why people are still wearing fur coats and knee high boots, because I'm pretty sure if it were this warm in England I'd probably have seen a few fools in shorts by now.

After lessons today I met Sara for a wander around the city, and for the first time in my life I've actually taken a decent amount of pictures (woo, go me!). The emergence of the sunshine has really lifted Odessa, people have started sitting outside cafes, and some parts of the centre look particularly beautiful now.

The main park in the centre of town.

Is Liverpool on this because, like Odessa, it has a port?

I don't completely 'get' the whole putting a padlock on a bridge thing, but I thought this little heart shaped version was rather cute, even though it isn't really my usual kind of thing.

During our wander around town, we witnessed a very extreme take on the animal print trend. It does seem very common for people over here to love a bit of co-ordination, but this Grandma took it to a whole new level. She may become my new style icon.

I'm feeling better about things now I'm used to my new surroundings. I think when I first got here I felt under pressure to make lots of friends and do a whole host of 'super exciting' things, and I'm not really sure why. Sometimes I can feel really lonely, especially when Facebook is awash with people uploading pictures of themselves with their friends on their year abroad, and I do sometimes wonder why I decided to come out here by myself, however I think in the long time it will pay off. I think by the end of this I'll feel quite proud of myself for doing something way outside my comfort zone!

Anyway, I have a chicken burrito and a cider waiting for me, so that's enough for now. Let's hope the sun keeps shining!