So, my amusing anecdotes are out the way. Time for some general news.

Had a crazy week this week. I was phoned at midnight on Sunday by my administrator who was panicking because a teacher who had left on a short trip to the States before the holidays hadn't come back when she was supposed to. So I have been covering some of her classes this week. My timetable has been a mess, but this teacher is allegedly due back today so hopefully next week will be slightly calmer. Some of my own groups are coming to an end about now so my timetable is naturally easing off anyway. With any luck, I'll be down to 25 or 26 academic hours next week.

In other good news, we gave the insane cat back on Thursday. Finally. Incidentally, the teachers who had gone down to Sochi near the Turkish border for the holidays - a mixed party of English, Americans and Russians, including the girl who foisted the cat on us - had all, almost to a man, been arrested on the train on the way back for 'indecency'. Basically, the police pulled them from their beds and arrested them for not wearing trousers. Genius, eh? Who wears trousers when the sleeper trains are superheated? Anyway, the police refused to accept any bribes and one Russian girl, Marina, was forced into signing a confession - so it's probably not the last that they have heard of this incident. Though the police did threaten Ian the stereotypical northerner with writing to Bridlington Council about his behaviour! I bet he's quaking in his DMs.

Some of the teachers are starting to reach the end of their contracts and drift off now. I have my second leaving do to go to tonight, an Australian friend called Emma. Personally I am contracted to work through June and the start of July but I don't know what I'll be doing as the academic year will have finished. Luckily one of my groups want to continue studying throughout this period so it's unlikely that I'll be shipped off to summer camp. Mind you, even that could be interesting (as long as I don't end up back at Dubravushka!).