This is one of those rare hikes when I take my camera along but take no pictures. So, if I decide to put here some pictures they are all from Mr. Lee, our photographer. We without fail have a leader and Lee to make our hikes a history.
This time we went across Bitsa park, that is within Moscow. I didn’t know it was so big. I read somewhere that Moscow is the greenest capital of the world. This is certainly true.
In the morning it was dull weather. We could look at the sun, it was light grey through the grey sky. I don’t know why but it reminded me about Ray Bradbury’s fantastic tales. At first our path led us through pine trees, then through birches also. What I love about hikes if you don’t have somebody talk to you just enjoy beautiful scenery but most of the time you chat and laugh with friendly people. It’s a nice opportunity to chat in English. To get to know about different cultures…
When we got on our short break to have a bite, Olga got a ball out of her backpack and I took it and put on the snow beside a bench where we sat to eat something. Probably she thought we could play volleyball after a snack. As there were 12 of us we occupied four benches. I sat with the girl that teaches Sanskrit and Anil, the pilot from India. Anil brought rice with meat and shared with us. I forgot to ask him again what curry is as a meal, because I know it only as a spice. Again I refused to try his cooking. I cannot say that I like cold rice but I should try anyway or I risk hurt him. I don’t know why I am so picking person. I mean I don’t like this, I don’t like that… I won’t try anything if it contains raw onion or meat is fat, I don’t drink milk… Sometimes I just hate myself for this. I was eating a sausage with white bread, I was too lazy to cook something, and bread was like rubber. Lee come to take a picture of us, I immediately leant my head, but Lee smiled and made me be sure this trick won’t work. I had to put off the hood of my jacket and sit straight. He took two pictures. I am smiling now as I write this. He sent me one of these pictures personally, another he put on the site. ha-ha I am quite hard to please me with my pictures and it’s not his fault of course, but still the one he sent me was better the one he put on the site! While eating Anil gave us key rings on which was written ‘ Ambassadors of the Indian Air Force”. Such a nice souvenir. When we finished I looked around to make sure it didn’t fall out of my pocket.
As we continued our walk I decided to teach Anil one bad Russian word. The trick is that if you say three English words fast it will make this bad Russian word. The first word was peace, I had to spell it just in case he understands it as opposite to war not a piece, second word was door. The third word was… Here I am not quite sure whether I said ball or just thought about it and immediately remembered that we left the ball on the break stop. I left of course. I asked Olga if she took it and of course she didn’t. I shouted to the group “people wait!” and ran back. Anil ran too but I gave him my backpack and said stay. It was my fault and only my. I thought running, how on earth I didn’t see the ball while I looked around the bench. The answer was probably very simple, the ball was white and the snow as well. At least I hoped nobody could take it. I don’t know how much I had to run maybe 200 metres or maybe 300, or even more. My feet were ruining ski track and got stuck in the snow, just so nice race! For my luck the ball was where I left it and for even bigger luck I found the way to it! By the time I got back, as red as a beet-root I believe, only Olga and Anil waited me, but soon we caught up with the rest group. Olga said that she was not sitting with us because there was a young man from England and she wanted to chat with him. I was interested too. You don’t always hear a native speaker! It was an Irish man, his name I don’t remember, something like hmmmm well, what I am absolutely sure it begun with K. As for me I won’t even remember somebody’s name until it is written. I should ask him spell his name. I asked him how to pronounce the word catch correct because I tend to say cEtch, as I thought it was wrong, he said it was cAtch and [ko:t] for the past tense. I also wanted to know whether it was only American expression “ to send smb’s love to smb” or British as well, and Olga wanted to know whether it was the same that “my regards”. He said it was rather formal expression or written. Meaning the same that regards. I asked what would be informal then. He said “ say hi, hello from smb”. While chatting we come to our second stop. Our leader made a path in the deep snow to the fallen tree, Anil cleared it from the snow to sit, thank to him for that. We put out our food again. Everybody liked Anil’s tea. It was with milk ewww (ha-ha), pepper, cinnamon and ginger. We were not sure how to pronounce cinnamon, but now I know with s! We were talking about food, and asked whether an Irish has ever tried buckwheat porridge. He said never. There he had an opportunity to try it, Olga had it. Well lol as for me I’d rather eat cold rice than cold buckwheat porridge lol He looked at the porridge, to tell the truth I expected him maybe not like how it looks or something than he would try to refuse eating it, but no he ate several spoons and said it was okay. I think he would love it hot with meat or with sausages, or with cheese and we even eat it with sugar! If potatoes are considered to be our second bread then buckwheat porridge is our third!
An Irish shared with us a bar of dark chocolate.
Then we played volleyball. We made four girls team this time, men stayed chatting. We got warm, it was so nice to play in fresh air, with the shining sun out of clouds…
After playing volleyball we talked to the Irish again. I remembered that didn’t finish to teach Anil the bad word and offered to teach the Irish one bad Russian word through some of English innocent words. He looked interested. If to say peace, door, ball all together fast you’ll get this word. He said. Maybe I turned red. It’s really a bad word, Olga didn’t understand at once but when he repeated she got it. He said he would say it to his teacher. With that I definitely turned red! As his teacher was she, I tried to tell him out of it. He stayed determined. I had my last argument against it that it is as bad as an f-word, and it can be referred to a man. Olga had learned something new that day, she didn’t know about f-word lol Though I felt kind of naughty teaching people this peacedoorball word —it is my classmates to blame! I learned German at school and our English learning classmates amused themselves with this joke.
Well, it seems to me that I ran out of what to write else. Somebody has to read it to say if it seemed to be nice day to be spend with people who you may hardly know… But I only can claim it was! Hikes are great!
The only bad thing that happened to me was that I got my feet wet and I turned into an icicle while waiting for 50 minutes my electric train home… But that’s beside the
point.
more haste, less speed 