Going home

It was a hard decision to make. Things haven't quite worked out as we would have liked but we had still intended to stay. Then I got sick, again. I've never really settled healthwise here. I've had a lot of problems with not getting my timetable fixed quickly and not being able to get into a routine. I've also had a lot of problems with food. I've been very tired and had a lot of headaches, dizziness and nausea. I've had a stomach bug a couple of times but last week it was really horrible and I had to go to the doctor. After a lot of soul-searching we decided that my health was getting worse and was too important to ignore any more so we made the decision to leave.

We've done some amazing things here and several dreams have come true. Our trip to Hohlovka with Alex was wonderful. (Thank you Alex!) I am also fascinated by ice sculptures we've seen recently and think they are wonderful. The ballet was fabulous and we enjoyed the opera too. After 15 years I've finally started to study Russian again - granted I haven't improved much in 4 months but it's a start, something I hope to continue with wherever we end up. I have all 7 Harry Potter books to read and the five films I can watch in Russian, so that should help!!

I've also remembered just how much I love snow though I've still not been skiing or ice-skating. One of these days!

I've still got the Russia travel bug, though I'm not sure how much Rafa has. We didn't see much of Russia but were able to see a lot here in Perm - especially churches and statues plus wonderful buildings. There is still so much I want to do here and we will have to come back in the future - maybe it would be better for a holiday than for work! Or we could come back so I can learn Russian!! Rafa would still like to go to Moscow and I want to go to Tomsk and Vladivostok as well as St. Petersburg.

We've made some good friends, especially Alex, and I hope that our friendship will continue even though we are no longer here. The internet really does make this a smaller world.

And, of course, I've got some good photos - many winter ones I never would have taken elsewhere. So, I'm happy.

I hope we made a difference, if small, here. Coming to Russia has made a difference to us too - even if it's only to confirm that I have a love of Russian language and culture and need to continue with my studies. It's also made me realise that I'm not so young any longer and maybe need to settle down a bit better and get sorted. I suppose it could happen!