Do they say that men are like buses, you wait for ages for one and then three come along at once? Well, I don't know if it's true about men, or even buses, but it's certainly true for Native English Speakers in Tyumen (from this point on referred to as NESTs). Here I am, isolated and struggling (well, kind of) for three whole months and it turns out that all this time there's been two girls (one British and one American) at the University feeling isolated and struggling too. And unlike the Aussie woman (who makes it 3 buses), who is still in her honeymoon period, these two girls have been here long enough (too long by the sounds of it!) to share many of my opinions on certain matters like the food for example! We concluded that:

Russians are better drinkers than Americans and Brits
Russians make better cakes than anyone
Going to the Russian Embassy in London is like the scene from Fight Club where Meatloaf's character stands on the doorstep for 3 days and nights while being constantly told to go away (plus being insulted and having water thrown over him)
Don't eat the Kvas salad soup concoction (and I was so keen to try it, but it made both of these girls feel sick!)
The meat is BAD

OK just to stress how bad the meat in this country really is, here's extracts from conversations with my Russian friend,
ME: Ohhhh look at that summer tent over there, there's a barbeque.
HER: Hmm yeah but you may get dog in your burger.

And then later in the week,
HER: Yum this pizza is tasty and the meat is real meat.
ME: What, you mean it's not dog? (realising that she's not laughing) Do you get fake meat even in pizzas? (I realise that technically dog is 'meat' but let's classify it here as fake meat – ie, meat you shouldn't eat)
HER: (like I'm stupid) Yeah!
ME: (innocently) Why?
HER: Because people in Russia want to make money....

I'm becoming vegetarian for the rest of my stay – unless the food is prepared and cooked by my Russian family; they are rich enough to avoid fake meat – me, I have the income of a teacher so therefore fall into the category of people who can only afford to buy the lower end of the meat market, the offcuts and the dog meat.....

I went for my Mexican food with the student, and it turned out that the restaurant was Mexican THEMED but there was no actual Mexican food.... so I had salad and blini whilst surrounded by the Mexican décor of orange walls and, erm, well, just orange walls.....I guess the demand for food from other places is not so called for here. And then I got lost on my way home, which was an adventure, I got to see a bit more of the town.

So fear not, friends, the lonely wanderer is lonely no more.....