I'm starting to gain some strength again, and the inflammation on the right side of my throat has subsided, making it much less painful to breath. The left side is still swollen unfortunately, and so swallowing still causes an incredible amount of pain, but my hope is that eating and drinking won't cause such discomfort tomorrow so I can spend a few days resting to recover my strength, which has faded notably during my recovery. Sitting up or texting have been incredibly taxing endeavors, but I was finally able to stand for about 5 minutes today unassisted. I will say that I got to witness a fire today for the first time.
It was a small deal, and I think what happened is that someone accidentally threw a cigarette that was still lit into the garbage bin. Soon the whole thing was in flames. I had heard jokes about how slow emergency services respond here, but witnessing first hand a fire of this size burning in the middle of so many flats and in such a small city, I was still astounded when it took nearly an hour for the engine to arrive and by the time they did, the fire had already burnt out. They sprinkled some water on the smoking embers and left in under 10 minutes.
I was told a joke by a friend recently that I suspect wasn't actually a joke at all. Some guys called and ordered pizza, then called and told the emergency service someone was dying. The pizza arrived almost an hour before the ambulance did. At least if you want pizza for your last meal, that can be arranged! When the firefighters finally arrived, one of them climbed into the garbage been with a shovel and tried to find anything that might still be smoldering, and when he climbed out the other guys took turns hosing him down and laughing.
I'll make a quick observation before I leave you today; first regarding the fire engine. I haven't seen any fire hydrants anywhere in Russia yet, and so I assume it operates on an internal water supply of some sort. The fire engine was I suspect at least 40 years old or so ... I will post pictures later. It has come to my attention that a lot of the vehicles in Russia are like that. Although in Moscow many vehicles have been upgraded to make the capital look nice, it became immediately apparent to me in Saratov that most of Russia isn't like that.
The city buses had German and French writing, and even had German and French advertisements on the sides still. It was explained to me that the safety standards are much lower in Russia than anywhere else in the world (ie there aren't any safety standards in Russia) and so when other countries decommission old vehicles and public transports because they no longer meet safety regulations, they apparently sell them to Russia usually to recoup some of their investment.
I'm afraid that's all I have the strength for today, but I trust I'll be able to write more tomorrow, although I'll still be home-bound! I certainly have plenty to write about without having to leave for new material =P So, now I'm going to open the windows to let in some fresh air and listen to the chorus of frogs singing along the river outside my window before bundling up and turning up the heat again. I hope everyone had an awesome day today, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with you again tomorrow! Take care!
It was a small deal, and I think what happened is that someone accidentally threw a cigarette that was still lit into the garbage bin. Soon the whole thing was in flames. I had heard jokes about how slow emergency services respond here, but witnessing first hand a fire of this size burning in the middle of so many flats and in such a small city, I was still astounded when it took nearly an hour for the engine to arrive and by the time they did, the fire had already burnt out. They sprinkled some water on the smoking embers and left in under 10 minutes.
I was told a joke by a friend recently that I suspect wasn't actually a joke at all. Some guys called and ordered pizza, then called and told the emergency service someone was dying. The pizza arrived almost an hour before the ambulance did. At least if you want pizza for your last meal, that can be arranged! When the firefighters finally arrived, one of them climbed into the garbage been with a shovel and tried to find anything that might still be smoldering, and when he climbed out the other guys took turns hosing him down and laughing.
I'll make a quick observation before I leave you today; first regarding the fire engine. I haven't seen any fire hydrants anywhere in Russia yet, and so I assume it operates on an internal water supply of some sort. The fire engine was I suspect at least 40 years old or so ... I will post pictures later. It has come to my attention that a lot of the vehicles in Russia are like that. Although in Moscow many vehicles have been upgraded to make the capital look nice, it became immediately apparent to me in Saratov that most of Russia isn't like that.
The city buses had German and French writing, and even had German and French advertisements on the sides still. It was explained to me that the safety standards are much lower in Russia than anywhere else in the world (ie there aren't any safety standards in Russia) and so when other countries decommission old vehicles and public transports because they no longer meet safety regulations, they apparently sell them to Russia usually to recoup some of their investment.
I'm afraid that's all I have the strength for today, but I trust I'll be able to write more tomorrow, although I'll still be home-bound! I certainly have plenty to write about without having to leave for new material =P So, now I'm going to open the windows to let in some fresh air and listen to the chorus of frogs singing along the river outside my window before bundling up and turning up the heat again. I hope everyone had an awesome day today, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with you again tomorrow! Take care!
No comments:
Post a Comment