Korean Dinner

Spencer and I attended a dinner at Donna and Rob's this evening. It was prepared by Sonja (Sun Hwa) who is a new student from Korea currently studying at the language school.














We had meat and rice that we wrapped in lettuce leaves to eat.





















Grilled sausage, crab and veggies. Along with a side dish of fried oysters.

It was funny to Spencer and I, that we, the non-seafood eating half of the family actually had seafood and enjoyed it!



















Sonja gave an explaination of all the dishes before dinner.





















Joseph (Choong Sung) gave a demonstration on how to prepare and eat the lettuce wrap!

Sonja taught us to make rice cakes. They were made from rice flour. And then steamed. Then we had different toppings to dip them in and eat!

After dinner we played a Korean game that was kind of like Sorry! It got a little competitive but I think everyone had a good time.

Donna made a pumpkin pie... she had also purchased a pumpkin from Slavic like we did back in October.

Poor Spencer tried to make a comment to garner sympathy for being a pastor's son. He told about one time when he stayed with Tom as he spoke for three services straight. Leigh, Charles's daughter asked "you only had to do that once??!" Joseph said that his father preached for "7 hours straight" one time and he and his four siblings had to sit through the whole thing...

Spencer didn't stand a chance in that crowd!

back to work

Rainy evenings are great for watching movies. Tonight as the rain poured down outside we were watching Superman. Brandon Routh made a good Superman. He looked enough like a young Christopher Reeve to make him seem like the REAL Superman...


Spencer and I returned to work today. We were back at the Detsky Proyut. It is a temporary shelter for children. Like a foster home, they can stay there for up to three years before they are sent back to their family or on to an orphanage. Oksana (from the BLTC) has been going there alone for the past month or so. We had a short planning meeting before going over to help her out tonight. She had told us before we walked over together that there were very few children there right now. Most of them went to the other location just outside of the city. As we were setting up, more and more children piled into the room. We had over 40 kids tonight. And there was three of us! Oksana called me when she got home and said that she had no idea where all of those kids came from. She thanked Spencer and I for helping her.

We had twenty little ones (2, 3, 4 year olds) and all we had for them were coloring sheets. I caught two of them fighting over an orange crayon. I asked them to stop and they looked at me with huge eyes. I am sure it does seem strange to a small child to have a foreigner speak to them in their own language! I complimented them on their coloring and one of the little boys stroked my hand and smiled. Tom thinks he was trying to show me that he could be gentle and not hit.

Next week we should have our full team and it will be easier to manage all the kids. The older ones need some type of physical activity along with craft time. Although, they were good helpers at the end. One boy (we think his name was Victor) got the broom and handed me the dustpan and we worked together and cleaned up the floor.

Another young man, Vasa, was grilling Spencer afterwards and I asked him why he wanted to know so much about us. He said he was just curious. I told him I thought he was a spy! He laughed hard and said “no” he was not a spy... he just wanted to have a time to get to know an American better. He kept on asking Spencer about where he came from and how many brothers and sisters he had. One little boy asked Spencer how old his brother is. Spencer told him 19. The boy said he could only count to 12 in English. Spencer asked to hear him and this boy did it perfectly. He could also say please and thank you. Before we moved to Russia that was about all we could say in Russian. “Please” and “Thank you!”

Eye Exam

Yesterday I was able to get an eye exam and order new glasses.

It was a little different to have my eyes checked here. I had to read the eye chart in Russian! She didn't have the large machine that we are used to in the states. You know the one that you sit in front of and the doctor changes the lense choices by turning a dial. Instead, she put a pair of glasses on me that was capable of holding two sets of lenses. She manually changed the lenses and asked me which was better.

The eye exam cost 30 rubles ($1.12)
The frames were 730 rubles ($27.34)
The lenses were the most expensive part at 1250 rubles ($46.82)

I used the most recent exchange rate of 26.70 Rubles = 1 USD

So for a grand total of $75.28 I will be able to pick up my new glasses today at four in the afternoon!

Splendid or Well Done!

Ve-li-ka-lep-nee is Tom’s new favorite word. It means splendid, magnificent, excellent, and marvelous. Two of the new teachers, Marina and Tatiana, use this word. It is exciting when you here it said after you get something right.

Most of the other teachers use: Mal-a-detz (well done!) or Ot-leetch-na (excellently, perfectly, extremely well) either way we are still being told we are doing a great job... it is just interesting to hear new words to express the same meaning!

Radiators

Tom called Slavic to come over and check on our Radiators. He had to bleed the air out of each one until water came through. Now they are all putting out heat.

We are grateful to have Slavic help us out with things like this. Next year we will know exactly what to do.

The talk at school was about who went to McDonalds and who didn't. Was it crowded when you were there? What did you order? Is it cheaper than the one on Moscow? Does it taste the same as in America?

When we were having the discussion Spencer was the only one in the room that had eaten in Moscow... here in Krasnodar and in America. He says that in Moscow, McDonalds was more expensive. But, McDonalds taste like McDonalds. One of our teachers who has a very busy schedule went there at 4am. McDonalds was taking a break and so she and her friends had to go back at 6am. They had been out dancing and then she was supposed to go teach an English class. Oh to be 23 again!

Prayer Request:
Our school director, Tanya, needs our prayers. Her mother is very ill and is not doing very well. Please keep her in you prayers.

Weather

Summer is over and fall is here. The days are getting chillier.

Here is a link to see what our weather is like for the next several days: http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/34929.html

At least it is not going to snow anytime soon. We don't feel as cold as we did last year. Coming here from California when it got below 60 degrees we thought that was freezing. Having experienced -35 last winter we have a new definition of cold!

McDonalds Opening Day!

Spencer and I decided around 6:30 Saturday evening that we wanted to go out to Krasnaya Ploshad. We hopped on a bus and were surprised to find two seats together all the way out there. When we arrived, there was a give-away going on. While we were inside the mall, we heard fireworks.

With the new wing of Krasnaya Ploshad finished, Spencer and I felt like we were back at South Coast Plaza wandering around! We found McDonalds and it had a line out front of at least 100 people. It was hard to calculate. We decided we would shop for a while and come back later.

We purchased some movies:
Anna and the King
It’s A Wonderful Life
And
To Kill a Mockingbird

After we got our movies Spencer asked if we could try McDonalds again before going home. We got in a much shorter line than the one we had seen before. They were keeping the doors locked and only allowing groups of about 20 in at a time. We were in line outside the doors for about 10 minutes and then waited in lie to get our food about 5. We picked up four Big Mac’s, two orders of fries and two strawberry shakes. It cost 370 rubles. ($13.86)

We saw Christine and Murat (from the BLTC) and some people from KBC church were there too. Opening day of the first McDonalds in our city will only come once and we were there for it!

lazy day

A cold, wet morning.

Spencer is watching movies from his childhood or "old Movies" as he calls them. Nathan is writing in his room. Tom just got up and I am checking today's news.

I got a call this morning telling me there was a warning issued to Americans not to be in places this weekend with large crowds. This is a holiday weekend. I found articles on demonstrations planned for today that were cancelled. Most of them say that the demonstrators plan on gathering anyway and the police are being told to be firm.

So I guess we will stay close to home this weekend!

Social Ministries Team

Today we had a meeting for the Social Ministries Team. It only lasted for 3 ½ hours. Normally our meetings go for much longer. It felt as if we accomplished a lot. We were able to work on priorities for the team and on the budget for next year. We met in a basement room without lights and without heat. The workers had shut off the power to the basement to work on the new addition. We opened up the curtains to allow as much natural light in as possible and went on with our meeting.

Tom and I are here to help with Alcoholics/Addicts and their families. We never expected to have to make decisions about purchasing farm equipment. However, since the rehabilitation center we are affiliated with is located on a working farm, we need to be concerned with such things. Therefore, spending 20 minutes or so talking about purchasing a baler and another 15 talking about a shredder is vital. The farm is 40 % self-supporting. We would like to see it support itself 100%. Purchasing new equipment to help the farm run more efficiently is important. After purchasing the baler for example, they will be able to bale hay for others and make money through that avenue as well.

Tomorrow is a big day out at the rehab center. A butcher is coming to the farm to kill a bull and butcher it. Then they will take it to the market to sell. It takes two years for the livestock to be ready for sale. Tom M. told a story about having a book with a picture of an animal with dotted lines on it for where to cut the meat. He said that he went hunting and caught a deer but the deer didn’t come with dotted lines to show him where to cut. So he was happy that they hired a butcher and he doesn’t have to take his book out to the farm!

Guess who came to dinner?

Tonight Lee and Marilyn came over to our house for dinner. It was great to spend an evening with them again. We hope they decide to come here. They are very nice people. We had no idea that people from Fresno could be so much fun! They had been reading my blog before they came to get an idea of life here in Krasnodar. It was fun to meet people who got aquainted with us through the cyberworld!

Lee and Marilyn were in class with Tom and Ann this afternoon. Afterward they came home with Tom. Nathan and Spencer did a great job helping me with cleaning the kitchen and bathroom while I cooked.

When I was out today shopping at Krasnaya Ploshad, I saw where McDonalds is going in. Monday is a holiday here. McDonalds has chosen to open on Saturday just in time for the long weekend. Our family is not planning to go on opening weekend. I think we will wait awhile...maybe a week or two. Although we are interested in French fries and strawberry shakes!

Dinner Out!

Tom and I just returned from Madyar Restaurant. http://www.madyar.ru/

We met Lee and Marilyn from Fresno, California. And even though we are “Southern” Californians and they are not, we ate with them anyway! Maj-Lis and Joy were also there and we all had a great time together.

Tom and I got there first and we looked around for the rest of the group. Joy had said which room we were going to be in but when we asked, there was no reservation under her name. So I took out my cell phone to call her. And she gave me a membership number to give to them. He heard me repeat the number back to her while I was on the phone and when I got off the phone he said that number was Brian’s. We realized that the BLTC must use this restaurant a lot!


Tom and I were at Madyar last year with Dave and Shari from Moscow back in January. Tonight both Tom and I tried new foods. I had a salad with duck, star fruit, cranberries and cucumbers. It was quite tasty. Tom ordered a hors d’oeuvre that was fried cheese with bacon wrapped around it. We also had Czechoslovakian flat bread with garlic sauce that everyone shared. The food was beautifully prepared and so good to eat.


Earlier in the afternoon, I had an interesting cultural experience when Judi H. and I went out for coffee after class. I asked for tea with honey and cream. I was told “no honey” and I said, “Fine, with cream then.” He said “no cream” and then asked if I wanted a latte. I asked if he could make a chai latte (tea) he said he could only make the latte with coffee. So, I had plain green tea.

We have had the experience here in Krasnodar of trying to special order a pizza you know, something exotic, like ham and mushroom. The ham pizza does not come with mushrooms... if you want mushrooms you have to order a different kind of pizza that is already prepared with mushrooms. We heard of others who tried to order ice cream a certain way with no luck. Food items come the way they are “packaged” with no exceptions.

Happy Reformation Day or Happy Halloween!

Spencer and I just returned from a Harvest Party. There had to have been thirty kids at the Watsons house! Joy asked me to take pictures. So I was busy the whole party.

Becky came up with all the games, my favorite was when the kids were shucking corn! There was a pile of corn set in front of each team and they raced to see who could finish their pile first. Next time I buy corn on the cob I am going to invite some kids over!

I have some photos from the party and of Yanna today,but, Blogger is not letting me load them as fast as I would like. On top of that I loaned my camera to Joy because Hannah has a program at school tomorrow and Tim has their camera in America with him.

We had Yanna today for four hours while her mom was at the doctor. She is two months old now.

Nathan had a really bad headache today. He spent the entire day in his room. Their teacher's mother is in the hospital and their class was cancelled for the day... but they have to make it up on Friday!

a wonderful monday!

More packages! Thanks to Del and Marge for the movies... we just finished watching Monster-in-law and really enjoyed it. Thanks also to Mom and Dad. We received the box of goodies and have already divided things up. The pop tarts worked out to just the right number!

I used some of the pumpkin today. Mom reminded me of the recipe I used to use all the time when we still lived in California. It took a little work but I found it.

Monastery Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 cups sifted flour
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 4 eggs, beaten
1 cup oil
2/3 cup water
2 cups solid-pack pumpkin
Walnut pieces

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.Combine eggs, oil, water and pumpkin, mixing well. Stir into dry ingredients. Turn into 3 greased 9x5-inch loaf pans and top with several walnut pieces. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 1 hour or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool before slicing.

Enjoy!

sunday, sunday

Alexei spoke in church today. Our whole family went to support him and to hear his message. We didn’t understand everything that Alexei spoke about but we got the context and overall meaning.

We understood:
He was reading from the book of Judges
He talked about Gideon
Sometimes God gives us difficulties in life
Fear affects our ability to serve God
Difficulties cause us to turn back to God
God was merciful to Gideon and gave him a miracle when he asked for one.
What we go through in life affects our faith

As we gathered in small groups to pray our family came together and prayed in English. It still amazes me that around the church several different languages are present. Russian, English and German to name a few.

The needs mentioned this morning were:
Weather changing is causing many people to be sick
Volodia Rajabov and Tim Watson leaving for America today. They will be away from their families for three weeks
The church’s neighbor has a bad attitude towards the church being next door to him.
Three different people are having surgery this week
One person is going to Pakistan to have a heart transplant... he wanted to have it here in Russia but that did not work out.
Our church’s soccer team as an outreach tool
A new teen group is meeting at the church
For us as a church to not just hear God’s word but to obey it.

Last year Maj-lis had to tell us what the prayer requests and announcements were and this year we understand better for ourselves. We pray that each year it will get easier and easier to understand what is said...including the jokes that we miss now!

As the service was ending, Pastor Vadim spoke about the importance of cleaning your shoes before coming into the church. He wanted all of us to notice the shoe cleaning area outside and to “get acquainted with it!” He said that if we couldn’t clean our shoes then to use a pair of house shoes that the church provided or bring some from home. Keeping the floors clean is serious business here in Russia!

online friends...

Nathan got a package today from an online friend that he’s known for over 4 years. He was expecting something small like a music cd. She sent him a late birthday present, the cds and some sugar cookies! We like Ruth’s cookies... Nathan treated each of us to one cookie. Thanks Ruth!

Nathan was able to pick up the package by himself with no problem. He showed the package slip and his passport and she went to get the package and handed it over. As we were on our way home from the post office, he says, “Now you have to believe that my friend is real!”. I acknowledged that I do believe that Ruth exists. ‘I do believe in Ruth, I do believe in Ruth!”

The online world is great for meeting people that you might never have met otherwise... even though you live in the same area. Nathan, Spencer and I have all met people online. My friend Joan is a woman I met online from my days on the original Starting Over message board. She actually lives in the same city where two friends of mine used to live. I think Sadie may have lived just a few blocks from where Joan is. I drove there plenty of times... did we ever see each other and not know it? It is possible. I look forward to meeting her.

Andrew is here playing video games with Spencer. The rest of us are trying to stay out of the living room and not embarrass Spencer. It is so tempting to go in there!

the adventures of public transport

Spencer and I went to hear Jill and Stuart Briscoe speak for the ex-patriates in town. We decided to take the bus over to Shane and Melissa's house for the event. On the way over there we ended up taking two buses. Which is no big deal because we have bus passes. It was a big deal to those who did not hear the announcement that the bus was going on break. So it only went as far as the University and then stopped. When one young man realised that he was going to have to pay to ride another bus he started yelling at the conductor. She yelled back at him and finally got out of her seat and walked up to the front of the bus to get away from him.

He would not stop yelling so the driver stopped the bus and got out of his seat to come and yell at him. The driver yelled that "everybody heard the announcement" and that the young man needed to listen better. That was when pandemonium broke loose. Several people joined in the argument saying that they didn't hear the announcement either. Spencer and I seemed to be the only people that actually heard the announcement as soon as we boarded the bus. It ended with the young man writing down their names and I.D. numbers to report them.

Spencer and I enjoyed the time with Jill and Stuart. Hearing their stories of life in ministry and their world travels was inspiring. They have gone to teach in places where it is illegal for Christians to gather.

I think the thing I will remember the most is Jill saying that "you have to unpack your bags into the situation or you will always have regrets". She was referring to a young wife who had spent two years on the field of a four year term and had not unpacked her bags and was ready to give up and go home. It applies to literal bags as well as emotional bags. It is difficult to move forward in life without having fully unpacked all that you brought with you.

We met some people with Campus Crusade who are here in the city attending school and serving. It was nice to meet some new people. One of the young ladies is from California. I talked to her even though she was from Berkeley!

On the way home Judi B. joined us. The soccer game had let out and there were six drunk young people who were singing a Kuban cheer over and over and louder and louder. And playing the music on there cell phones loudly. It is interesting to note that when people are drunk they sing "La La La" a lot!

As Spencer and I were getting off the bus Judi whispered to me to be careful. Spencer and I walked slowly along the path to let that group get ahead of us. And then came safely on home. If they chose to harass anyone along the way it was not us!

why did the Sharp men stay home from school?

Nathan was feeling ill. He felt sick to his stomach. Spencer had a stuffy nose. And Tom wanted to stay with me while I babysat for Yanna and Ira. (Eera)


Ira was only here while her mother was shopping at the outdoor market. She showed up with her little raincoat on and her little yellow umbrella in her hand. She and I read some books together. I have a book called "The First 1000 Words in Russian”. All the language students have it. It is an Usborne book. I read to her in Russian and she repeated after me. It was cute. After about an hour her mother called and was ready for her to come home. I got her dressed to go outside and Spencer walked her home. He said to her “give me your hand” in Russian and she had her umbrella in one hand and Spencer’s hand in the other!



Yanna and Tom took a nap...Yanna on our bed and Tom on the couch. When she woke up I got her bottle ready and then Tom fed her. Spencer and I took a few pictures of her wearing a hat I crocheted last night. She is such a joy! The boys marveled at her little hands, feet and face. We just sat and held her for two hours until Olya came to pick her up. She was trying her best to talk to us. Each of the boys took a turn talking with her and holding her. Plus since she is just 7 weeks old we could speak to her in English. What a great way to spend a rainy day!

did you know?

Spencer asked Tom about Russian history. Tom gave Spencer the book "Russia, Belarus & Ukraine" which is an Insight Guide from the Discovery Channel, and a second book “Midnight Diaries” by Boris Yeltsin. Yeltsin was the first president immediately after the fall of communism in 1991.

Yesterday, Spencer was coming up to us and saying things like “did you know that Gagarin went into space in 1961? Since we have been here in Russia and have traveled to Ukraine his fascination with history has grown.

Nathan went over to pick up our mail from Olya’s and we got three movies from Marge and Del. Thanks so much for the treat! We truly appreciate you thinking of us.


Class today was just me. Judi H. was ill. I spent and hour and a half being drilled non-stop by Madina. She was very excited at one point during the class. She looked at me and said “Alida! That was 10 minutes! You just talked about your faith and spirituality for ten whole minutes.” It is amazing that we have learned enough spiritual vocabulary to give a testimony about why we go to church or what we believe.

The joys from yesterday:
Hearing Stuart Briscoe speak for 3 hours on Titus 1:1-6. (it was amazing!)
Talking with Erin on the phone.
Receiving an email from my cousin Hilary.

pumpkin time!

Yesterday, I spent the evening cooking, pureeing and then freezing a 8.5 kilo pumpkin. That is 18.7 pounds! Judi H. had gotten 3 cups of pumpkin puree from her pumpkin. Our pumpkin yielded 16 cups. I found a recipe for pumpkin pie and one for pumpkin bread and they both take 2 cups of pumpkin so I packaged up eight bags of 2 cups each.
It is hard for me to believe that something like this actually occupied my evening...
In America with cable TV, movie theatres and malls to keep us entertained, I would have just bought canned pumpkin. However, here in Krasnodar, it is so different. I cannot jump in my car and run to a Quik Trip or 7-11 the night before Thanksgiving and buy canned pumpkin. Thanksgiving is a month away and I am planning what to have. Nathan & Spencer want a pie and Tom wants pumpkin bread. So, I had to cook a pumpkin to accomplish those goals.

Spencer and I tackled the project together. I cut it in half and he scooped out the insides. Then I baked it and he helped me to scoop out the cooked pumpkin into a container and set it in the window to cool before going into the blender. Since living here, we have learned to make things from scratch. We have learned to plan. I realize that there are homemakers all over the world who do these things. But, for us coming from Southern California that was not our lifestyle. Microwave food, McDonalds and flying by the seat of your pants was the way we lived. Part of our culture shock came from slowing down.

We read more. We watch movies and not TV shows. We all have hobbies... Nathan writes and draws, Spencer collects medals and takes pictures, Tom does jewelry, and I crochet, knit and take pictures. Daily life in Russia is different from daily life in Costa Mesa, California. It is not bad or wrong just different!

best laid plans

I set my alarm to get up and go hear the Briscoes before school. I woke up, turned off the alarm and laid back down for a few minutes... 2 minutes before the seminar started this morning I woke up again!

I was up late having a discussion with Nathan. That was worth missing out on the seminar this morning.

Update:

McDonalds has a new billboard up here saying "Coming Soon".


McDonalds was supposed to be here this summer... we are still waiting!

Great Reads:

if you find a copy of "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgarov then read it! Tom and I both finished it and it is great at helping understand Russian culture, religious beliefs and it is just a good well written book.