This episode’s vocabulary
Suburb
noun — an area on the edge of a large town or city where people who work in the town or city often live.
Flatmate
noun — a person who shares an apartment with another person.
Respectively
adverb — in a way that relates or belongs to each of the separate people or things you have just mentioned.
To rub along
phrasal verb — if two people rub along, they work or live together in a satisfactory way.
Wildly
adverb — in an uncontrolled or extreme way.
Hovel
noun — a small home that is dirty and in bad condition.
To work out
phrasal verb — to happen or develop in a particular way.
To look back
phrasal verb — to think about something that happened in the past.
Nostalgia
noun — a feeling of pleasure and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past.
Questions and answers
Are you ready Rory?
Yes, I am.
Fire away.
Well, I've got to tell you about my last flat in Moscow, which was the best apartment I have ever lived in. I shared it with two of my colleagues, because the company we worked for couldn't afford to give us our own accommodation. But I still loved it. To be more exact about the place itself, it was in Strogino, which is a suburb in Moscow. And I will always remember it because it was flat 33 on the 12th floor. And both of these are multiples of my favourite number, which is three. With that in mind, it seemed super lucky. And it was. It had a decent kitchen, and a big room with a balcony and a great view of Moscow. Plus the nearest metro station was only about 10 minutes walk away, so it was perfect. To describe my flatmates in greater detail, I shared it with two other teachers, Kristen and Grant, who were American and from New Zealand respectively. We didn't move in at the same time. And we didn't move in the same social circles either. But we got on well and managed to rub along really nicely. This is despite the fact that there was one bathroom and we all had wildly different schedules and personalities. But it was so great just being together with people who are reasonable and quite accommodating and welcoming. In more depth about the reasons behind the flat sharing. We were all working for the same company, but in different schools around Moscow, so they needed us in one convenient location. And this was the best bet for that. I'd stayed in some absolute hovels in my time in Russia, and this was a brilliant compromise. Flat sharing was a common practice in the company that we worked in. And in this case, we were no exception. It could have gone so badly, but it worked out brilliantly. To say more on my personal feelings, I loved every second in that place. And I often look back on it with a sense of nostalgia. I can still remember standing in the hallway one spring morning thinking this is the best it's going to get and it very nearly was.
Oh, and would you like to come back there?
I would love to go back to that apartment. Yes.
Thank you, Rory, for your sharing! -