I had another trip to the city of Vyatskie Polyany
The last two days were full of trips. Yesterday, I visited a village that I mentioned here before. Today, I visited Vyatskie Polyany. This city is located in another region — Kirov Oblast — not in Tatarstan. So today, at around 11 a.m., my relatives and I started our trip. This journey was not new for me because I had already visited this place a few years ago. Our main purpose was simply to visit our relatives. The trip took about one hour, maybe a bit more, because the road conditions were not very good. The temperature was relatively warm again, around +1°C, so everything had melted. Because of that, driving was not very enjoyable. Also saw the border of my republic, Tatarstan. I wanted to take a photo of it, but I couldn’t. I think it would have been more interesting.
We arrived at around 1 p.m., and I parked my car near the main entrance. However, after that, I was advised to repark it near the garage, where there was more free space and where my car would be safer. When we entered the house, only one of our relatives was waiting for us. Honestly, I already knew that, so it didn’t surprise me. When we arrived, lunch was already prepared. It included fried chicken with potatoes, mushrooms, salads, and several other dishes.
After lunch, I went to another room and listened to English audio on my phone. Sometimes I also explored my phone settings, looking for something interesting. Basically, I found ways to keep myself busy because I was alone, while the women in the family were discussing their own topics. During this time, I discovered some interesting features on my phone: Live Translation and Live Caption. I already knew about these features, but I had never actually used them before, so today I decided to turn them on. Now, all my messages in Russian are automatically translated into English, and all speech on my phone is shown as captions.
Regarding the first feature, I think it’s an excellent way to practice English, and I’m completely sure about that. The second feature is also useful, but most of the time I try to listen without subtitles. However, I can use it when I can’t recognize certain words or sentences. Overall, I see this as another great opportunity to improve my English.
While I was busy with my phone, the head of the family arrived home from work. I didn’t hear him enter because I was wearing headphones. As usual, he greeted us, we shook hands, and then he went to do his own things. I continued what I was doing for about another hour. At around 5 p.m., dinner was ready, and I was invited to join.
For dinner, I ate fried pelmeni with a very delicious tomato sauce. The sauce was unusual and had a unique, unforgettable taste — it was different from any other tomato sauce I had tried before. There were also the same salads, mushrooms, fried chicken from lunch, and other dishes. The tea was also fantastic because it contained real apple pieces, dried apricots, and melissa. All of this made it very aromatic and tasty.
Dinner finished at around 6 p.m. After that, we continued talking for some time. During this period, I either watched TV or participated in the conversations. Later, I went outside, prepared the car by starting the engine, cleaning the windshield, and wiping all the lights. We thanked our relatives for their warm hospitality and then left. On my way home, I also picked up my order.