As I don't know what to tell you first, I'll make several parts of mine descripion. And if I missed something, you are interested in - tell me. And I'll add more and more to this text as I'll think about other details.
I live in Omsk, West Siberya, Russia. You can check on the map, where is it, if you are interested.
My Live.
My family has 4 members - mother, father, my younger sister Olga (Olya for short) and me. And we have a she-cat Alisa. We live in 9-stored apartment building on the 1st floor in a 3 room's flat. My grannyes on mother side used to live with us, but they are no more.
I love to read books - fantasy, fiction or history books. I love to walk mindlessly around the city, or just sit in one of many parks. I don't have a lot of friends, but I never feel myself lonely. As for what music I like to listen - almost everything tuneful. While typing this, I'm listening to songs by russian Tolkien's fans.
I spent all my childhood with my grandmother looking after me. But I attended kindergarten for a year, to "get more comfortable before school". Not that it helped much. I spent almost all my time there reading some book in the corner where noone could annoy me.
At the age of 7 I went to school. I was happy that I'll at last can go there. My best friend - half a year older than me - already was at school and was telling me, how wonderfull was there. Unfortunately, there was two schools near my home and we ended up in different ones. I was very shy, 'cause I had to wear glasses. But my ears at Primary school was happiest. I made new friends, studying was easy and my teacher wasn't much higher than me (Even now I'm 1,5 meters high), so I was comfotable.
When I entered my 5'th grade (read school part for grades) Veronika (that's my best friend) transferred to my school. So we were at the same class till entering 10'th grade, when her family moved to the other part of the city. That time was not so good, as my former childhood friend turned into "miss popular" of our class, and I was not on the best terms with her. Than there was a BIG mess with our teachers, many of them stayed in our school no longer than a year. That was year 1991, year when USSR or Soviet Union ceased to exist. So many of them wanted return to former Soviet Republics or other USSR friendly countries where they were originally from. I think it deeply affected education level of mine generation - teachers were replaced by "fresh from univercities" teachers, who knew next to nothing about HOW to teach.
10'th and 11'th grades were mostly uneventfull. I went to additional English courses, spent time with friends (none of them now was in my class) and sometimes visited my cousin to play with a new and strange thing - personal computer. But I was too scared to do something wrong and breake it. Exams weren't all easy, but I was best in most dreaded (by others in my class) exam - English.
After school I entered Omsk Pedagogical Univercity, where I studied to be a teacher in computer classes. But thow I was good at coumuter related subjects and English, I failed in Cultural, Psychology and Teaching classes. I spent there 2 years but it was clear that I'm not a teacher. So I quit Univercity and found a computer work at the factory. I work to have money fo myself and to get some experience. My parents decided it would be only fair, as I've failed in my first univercity. Also I entered Omsk Pollytechnic Univercity. Where I'm now at the 3'd grade of Electrical Engineering faculty. That was where I've met with my boyfriend. He offered me to work in the firm he is working in. Now I'm a computer administrator in a shop. You can't imagime how STUPID computer users can be.
That's almost all about my live so far.
My City.
Omsk is a rather big city (thow not in the american meaning of it) and it was founded 287 years ago. It is build on the two rivers - Irtish and Om - and it's center part is rather old (first town was completely wooden, so it all burned down). Nowadays Omsk is aproximately devided into several parts - central, with is mostly business and commercial, several "sleeping areas", with 5-9-14 stored apartment buildings and many schools and kindergartens, "working areas" where plants, factories and others are placed, and "private living areas" what are survivor parts of old villages. (I marked areas with quotes, as I'm not sure of their correct names - there is no formal separation between them in Russia.)
Kindergarten - School - Univercity
I can't tell you much about kindergarten. Children go there at the age from 2 or 3 to 7 years old. They were organised to be a place vere children can stay when their parents are at work, but now they've changed a lot and also give pre-school education.
At the age of 7 children go to the Primary school, where they are taught to read, wright and count and some times to work with computers. It is just basics of the education. This are classes 1 to 3. Each class is of 25-30 pupils and supervised by one teacher, who also teaching all the lessons. At the age of 10 they go to Middle school which gives basik education on all subjects. This classes numbers are 5 to 9 (class number 4 is scipped now, it was additional class for slow-learners). There class is also has one teacher, who looks after it, but different classes are teached by different teachers. So at the age of 15 you can leave school and find a work or you can continue to 10th and 11th classes. You can't enter the university withought them.
If school have a good director who can get mostly good teachers, than school become "elit". It is attended by children from wealthy people and they (rich parents) spend their money to make standart school into good and beautiful. Such was the school my sister transferred and graduated from. Mine school had some good teachers but our late director was a.... can't find polite word to describe her.. So she couldn't keep even what she had in school. I graduated before good teachers left, but my sister tranferred on her 6'th or 7'th grade.
We don't have private scchools at all. Well didn't have back when I was at school. Now there may be few, they are expencive, but I don't know if they any better. Well, they are new to this, in Soviet Union there was no private organizations of any tipe.
At the age of 18 you leave the school and considered of age. You can find a work and/or countinue to the university.
Our school education too often isn't good enough to enter any of Univercities. You have to get some privat lessons in the last school year. There are spesial cources in each Univercity, as well as private cources outside Univercities. And you can take private lessons with univercity teachers. All of this is expensive, but obligatory for entering.
You have to take 3 or 4 exams (depending on univercity and faculty) if you want to enter payment free cource, or just have a "conversation" (don't know right term) with teachers, if you are paying for your studies. And in elit univercities you have to take exams even when you are paying. Payment is rather high. It also depends on univercity and faculty. It is aproximately 200$ - 600$ per semester (was last year). My family, for example, won't be able to pay.
Climate of Russia
Well, not all Russia, it is too big and climate it rather differend in its different parts. I'll tell you just about climate in my part of the country - south of the West Siberya.
As you said, you know that it is cold in Russia, I'll start with winter.
Winter really is rather cold season and long too. Usually it starts in the middle of October - beginning of November and ends sometime in March. I count as winter all the time between when snow start falling in the autumn and starts steadily melt in spring. So in the winter temperature changes from -5 to -30 degree by Celsius, but mostly it stays quite comfortabe -15 to -23 degree. There is A LOT of snow all the time, so snowdrifts can reach up to 2 meters high (or deep, considering what side you are looking at it - from the outside or inside of mentioned snowdrift). Children are getting in the snowfights all the time, and it doesn't matter that I'm 21, I like getting into them too.
Main winter holiday is New Year (I'll tell more about holidays later, but winter and New Year must come together). Naturally, it is selebrated on the night on 31 of December - 1 of January. Traditionally, it is a family holiday but young people can selebrate it in night clubs or open air parties, which are held all over the city. Preparations begin a week before holiday. We buy fir tree, but don't decorate it right away, it is decorated on 30 of December so it can stay for a longer time. When my sister and I was little we bought a big tree, but now it is rather small and we place it on the table in the corber of the room. On the 31 we go to the city and spend all day (or at least half of it) having fun on big city's parties. Or we can go and visit our relatives. In the evening we return home and usually my aunt - mother's sister - and her son come with us. Then we separate - adults sit in the living room watching TV and talking and we - Olga, Sasha and I - get mine or Olga's room. At 11:30pm (23:30 o'clock) we gather at the table, laid in the living room, turn off the light leaving only TV and garland on fur tree. We listen to President's newyear's speech and at 12:00 we congratulate each other and give presents. Then we eat, talk and have fun. last year we was almost late to meet New Year, as we walked back from our garage and played all the way. Noone sleep untill 5 or 6 in the morning. On the 1 of January we sleep for half of the day than have some fun, as each other understand it - some times together, some times alone. I like to go round the city, have snowfight with children or just stay at home (depends on my mood). Next day we visit friends.