I have been rather bad about e-mailing lately. I don't know why, I just don't feel like doing it. I think I go through these phases. Oh well, I can't say I feel too bad about it :-) It does however mean that I get fewer e-mails from friends, including my friends in Armenia, which makes me feel so much further from there than when I hear about the day to day goings on. At least if some of them would log it wouldn't be so bad! :-(
The temprature has shot up to the 50's these past few days and seems like it will stay there for the next few days at least. That is sooo much better than the 30's I have experienced since my arrival. It is nice to be back to the Farenheit scale for weather, even though I strongly advocate a switch to Celcius. After all those years in Armenia all I know for sure is that above 40 degrees is unbearable, and so is anything around zero. So with the nice weekend weather we headed out to see new neighborhoods to see what may be to our liking. We walked north and the neighborhood became more and more heavily Polish until is was practically nothing else. A very nice neighborhood and vibe. In many ways it reminded me of Yerevan, and if we can find something there we'll definitely take it. "Finding Something" is an incredibly difficult process though and I am learning how time consuming it can be. It's very hard to do it without a broker, and without fees. When rents start at a thousand dollars, a thousand dollar fee for showing you an apartment is just highway robbery, especially if you don't plan on living there for years and years...
Eh, anyways, the other excitement in life is the vegan lent diet we are sticking to. The meat part is really not that bad, but the dairy (and eggs) are a real killer. Precious few foods are available at restaurants, so it is a true test. Interestingly, back when these lenten practices came into being, the seasonal changes and societal homogeneity made it much easier. In other words, the time before Easter was when you should not partake of dairy because the cows and sheep just gave birth and their babies need it, and for the same reason there are few large animals available to eat, since the females just gave birth, the babies are too small, and most of the males good for eating have already been eaten. Then with the whole society observing at once (and usually eating at home) there was not much choice in what to eat anyways. You were all in it together...
The temprature has shot up to the 50's these past few days and seems like it will stay there for the next few days at least. That is sooo much better than the 30's I have experienced since my arrival. It is nice to be back to the Farenheit scale for weather, even though I strongly advocate a switch to Celcius. After all those years in Armenia all I know for sure is that above 40 degrees is unbearable, and so is anything around zero. So with the nice weekend weather we headed out to see new neighborhoods to see what may be to our liking. We walked north and the neighborhood became more and more heavily Polish until is was practically nothing else. A very nice neighborhood and vibe. In many ways it reminded me of Yerevan, and if we can find something there we'll definitely take it. "Finding Something" is an incredibly difficult process though and I am learning how time consuming it can be. It's very hard to do it without a broker, and without fees. When rents start at a thousand dollars, a thousand dollar fee for showing you an apartment is just highway robbery, especially if you don't plan on living there for years and years...
Eh, anyways, the other excitement in life is the vegan lent diet we are sticking to. The meat part is really not that bad, but the dairy (and eggs) are a real killer. Precious few foods are available at restaurants, so it is a true test. Interestingly, back when these lenten practices came into being, the seasonal changes and societal homogeneity made it much easier. In other words, the time before Easter was when you should not partake of dairy because the cows and sheep just gave birth and their babies need it, and for the same reason there are few large animals available to eat, since the females just gave birth, the babies are too small, and most of the males good for eating have already been eaten. Then with the whole society observing at once (and usually eating at home) there was not much choice in what to eat anyways. You were all in it together...
posted by Raffi K. at 3:36 AM
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