It is Sunday evening and I have already settled into my little dormitory portion with yellow flowery walls, mismatched besheets, plastic pansy wall decorations and a strong smell of fresh paint. I have been here since yesterday at around 4pm, when we arrived from the train station in a matt-grey soviet style minibus. There are people from 13 countries and I am sharing a section of a larger dormitory with a Ukrainian girl and an Italian (one who couldn't be more different from each other).
We are staying in a place which normally houses children with learning difficulties and or no parents. This is why the rooms are so gaily painted and have cuddly toy collections on the cabinets and in the drawers. For our first evening, we ate, had an introductory session and settled in, ate, and then found ourselves back on the bus and on the way to Ludza.
Our guide, bless his cottons, was absolutely hilarious. It wasn't so much his small knowledge of English that I found funny (as frankly I don't think it is funny when people in other countries try and speak my language when I don't know theirs) so much as his facial expressions and contortions and his rising and falling tone. oh and also what he said!
First we had a brief overview. Then we went into the orthodox church, where he announced that we were in the part of the church called earth and behind the altar was heaven and "the priest comes from heaven and acts as a bridge between heaven and earth - which is ideal really" it was all too much for me and clearly some other people who were all stifling giggles. It definitely felt like a school trip.
We then went to the castle ruins, the "jew street" and the square, before getting back on the bus and hitting the town's local festival.
The festival consisted of extremely old couples whirling each other round and then smooching like teenagers. Within 5 minutes I was pulled onto the dance-floor by an old geezer who looked like he was from a David Lynch movie. In fact, the whole place suddenly became a David Lynch movie. The harsh colourful lighting on the dance-floor, combined with the assortment of old pissed people, dwarfs, children with toy guns and local slappers all in the forest to a sound-scape of loud early nineties rock covers did weird me out.
After his sudden confidence boost from having a young, angliski, lady to dance with he came into his own. Most of his moves were based around the squat, and the leap. He dazzled all of us by dancing in the centre of our circle for ages. The he got lucky with a very elegant old lady and then they started arguing and she went away.
We got home fairly late and I conked it straight away.
I woke up, excited to do some yoga and went out onto the lawn with my mat. The birds were tweeting, the sunbeams pushing through the trees, and the sky was blue. How lovely, and then a high pitched hum in my right ear. Then my left. Then a pinch on my right leg, one on my left and one on my face. The little bastard mozzies had found an english breakfast. Doing yoga in a damp field full of mozzies is unpleasant and presents a variety of ethical and philosophical questions. Should one swat the blighters in order to attain a higher state of being? will I come back as one if I do? Is Mr Yoga frowning down from above? and how the hec are you meant to concentrate on one leg whilst having your blood sucked.
After discovering other people had suffered the same fate, we spoke to the guy running it and persuaded him to do it in doors. Unfortunately, after his kind co-operation I did not manage to get to the class as I drank 4 small glasses of various alcohols and couldn't wake up. I now feel very guilty. I will be there before everyone else tomorrow morning. (02.08.09)
So, like the last attempt at a blog of my overseas experiences I will not discuss the project I am working on too much as I carry it around in my head all day long and this blog acts as a nice chance to ponder the smaller moments of my time here. Feel free to pester me for pictures after Saturday when the final images will be chosen,printed and exhibited in the local cinema.
Ta ta for now.
Gracex
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