A Room with a View

It's so hard for me to start writing the essay, that as an excuse I am writing blogs one after another. Yesterday, when I was dreaming about dreams, I suddenly recollected my life in Moscow and started to compare it with my local life. They differ in the same way as the two pictures above. I am so happy to stay in Canada, that I dont even pay attention to the problems that I have, though they are very serious, and I really haven't decided yet how I will solve them. No, of course, I know the way I have to pass to reach the goal, however, there is no garantee that I' ll succed. My decision to study English at the University was absolutely right ( thank you very much for the Faculty of Education, that you have accepted me), on the other hand it occupies all my time and I have to postpone my medical exams, because it is useless to try passing them not being well prepared. On the third hand ( or leg) when I first started reading this "holly cow" "Toronto Notes" I was shocked, because of a great amount of new words and terms. I was sure that I would have never learned them ( I mean in English). Now the process is going unexpectedly fast, (thank you very much for the LEAP program). Maybe the next presentation I will devote totally to the medical aspects, like analys of electrocardiogram or examination of the patient with jaundice.
As far as above pictures are concerned, these are the views from My windows in Moscow and in Calgary.

My favourite Cat

Here is my Cat. I loved him so much. He was very clever and funny. He was like a member of the family. We called him Chuck. It was my first experience with pets. I was not going to buy anyone, but Chuck was a gift from our friends. He was red persian and had a special sign on his forehead reminding the letter "M"(the first letter of my family name). So we considered that he owned the same family name as we did. He was loyal to us as a dog despite the fact tha he was a cat. He met us at the door every day when we returned from work, woke us up in the morning instead of an alarm clock. He played with my son and was cordial towards all new people. He was always in good mood and never complaint.

He survived in the fire when our country house was burnt but caught a cold ( in was winter) and veterinarians could not save him. I still feel guilty for being not able to help him. Since that time I have some special attitude towards cats, espessially if they are persians or red.

The Send-off to the Winter

In Russia we have a very old tradition to selebrate the send-off to the Winter. This Holyday is called "Maslennitca" and it lasts during a whole week. It started last Monday and will end this Sunday. This week must be spent in merrioment and joy. Each day Russian family usually bakes special flat round pan- cakes, which we call "blin"s and eat them with sourecream and jam or red/black caviar. All days of this week have their special name , but I dont remember what. "Maslennitca" dates back to the ancient Russian history and was set by pagans long before the Russian Christianity. This Holyday is so popular among Russian people, that it is supported by the local authorities. In Moscow, for example, on Sunday, the last day of the Holyday, they arrage a perfomance on the Red Square near the Kremlin . A lot of moscovites come to visit it. It is almost an obligation for all Moscow restaurants to send their cooks to the central squares and parks where people selebrate the Holyday to bake "blin"s on transportable ovens and sell them to the public. Some more details I will tell you tomorrow while speaking for 3 minutes during our Listening/ Speaking session. Yulia.

Neighbours

What is the right way to get acquainted with your neighbours? In Russia you may live for many years not being aware who lives next to your door. If you have a private house with a high fence ( about 3 meters) around it, you could not even see your neighbours. In Calgary it is impossible. You meet your neighbours every day in the morning, especially if it is snowing and you have to shovel the path or your driveway. You greet them, they answer. You feel that they want to ask you something but do not do it first. I asked some of my local friends about a procedure. Nobody knows if there is something special. Is it possible to invite them for a cup of tea or they will consider it to be a little bit strange or worse. I wonder, if you could give me an advice how to behave. What customs and traditions do you have in your countries on that point.
Yulia