We liked these tiles samples!


Tom will be supervising the remodel
of our new apartment will I am in Rome
so I had to go out and make choices ahead of
time! We chose the green for the bathroom
floors and the other tile for the rest of the
rooms.


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We found many remont (repair) items here!

This building had three floors all filled with
bathroom, tile, carpet, paint, etc. It helps us to have
photos of landmarks so we can remember where
to go back to. This building is on the tram-vi
route so it is easy to find!

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One of our neighbors got married today!

On Fridays and Saturdays it is very noisy around here.
These days seem to be the most popular to get hitched!
It is tradition here to follow the Wedding car honking
very loudly. One weekend Spencer counted 15 weddings!
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Language Practice

When our lesson ended Lena was in the entry way putting on her shoes preparing to leave. I was making an attempt to practice the new words we had just learned by asking her in Russian where she was going. However, I got my words mixed up and ended up asking her where she was right now! Duh! The smile she has when we make that kind of mistake is priceless. She corrected me and waited for me to say it right and then she answered the question. One day I will get it right the first time. I hope she doesn’t have a heart attack when that happens!

Top Ten Signs the Sharps have finished a Language Lesson:

10: Nathan is asking for ice cream
9: Alida is doing her homework
8: Tom is taking a nap
7: Spencer is playing with Brownie
6: Nathan is reading in his room
5: Alida decides to go shopping
4: Spencer is watching Russian TV
3: Tom is still napping
2: Alida comes back from shopping & makes dinner
1: Spencer is trying to sing the “Frito Bandito” song in Russian!
(Yah, Yah, yah yah, Yah, Frito Bandito! ... )

Happy Birthday, James!

Hey, James. I didn't want to wake you up to
sing Happy Birthday. I looked at the calendar
at midnight your time and decided to post a
birthday message instead. I thought you would enjoy
a photo of your favorite women! Have a good one.


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O What A Beautiful Day

Asking for directions in the USA is not the same as asking for directions here in Krasnodar. I asked a young lady, Nina, for directions today. I wanted to go to the Visheevoy Renoc (which is huge) by trolleybus or tram-vi. I was able to form the sentence to ask in Russian about the trolley bus. As I was speaking to Nina, her mom and sister came up. They talked and agreed the best way was by tram-vi. They showed me on my map. Then they asked me to walk with them. Spencer was with me and we were both in shock as we realized that they were walking us to the tram-vi stop! After we had walked about 3 blocks the mom and sister turned to go home letting Nina take us all the way there.... another 3 blocks. She waited with us until we got on the correct tram-vi. She told me to tell the conductor I wanted off at "astanovka visheevoy renoc ".

We were even able to have a conversation.... she told me that she was from Krasnodar and asked me where I was from. She asked what I was doing in Krasnodar. She wanted to know what the weather is like in California. I was able to answer her completely in Russian. She even asked me how long I had been studying Russian. When she heard that I have only been studying for 6 weeks she was shocked! It is good that we have been working with Lena for 6 hours a week and reading the dictionary before going to bed pays off! Lena says we are to listen when Russian speakers talk. I listened closely to how Nina conjugated verbs. I learned a few new ones today. I get to tell Lena at our lesson tomorrow. With the help of the Nina, the conductor and the girl I sat next to on the tram-vi; Spencer and I made it safely to the renoc!

My tickets to Rome arrived today. Hallelujah! (the heavens part and a choir is singing!)

I went over to the Language school to pick them up. The driver told the dispatcher that he could not deliver them at first because no one was home. Hmmmm.... the tickets were being delivered to the school. All the office personnel were there at work. I don't know what address he went to but it was not the school. The dispatcher called the driver to try again and I had Spencer wait outside. He came in about 15 minutes later to tell me that the DHL guy had arrived. I was there to sign for it and it was time for the happy dance!

This is who I will be going to see in Rome!

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/289/5738/320/DSC00176.jpg

Beauty in ordinary places

Tom and Spencer made a wind chime of
recycled parts. It was fun to get up close and
try to find the perfect shot!
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Tom collects glass bottles too!

Tom is a collector. He likes beads,
glass, bottle caps, music, people..... the list
goes on.
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Sharp kid is honing his skills

To see Spencer's photos look here!
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Beauty all around us!

It is rare to see that someone has planted
flowers here. We usually see vegetables or
grape vines.
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Window Garden

I love passing this window. We go
by here each time we go over to the
Language school. This helps make the
walk down the alley a bit more cheery!
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Small patches of beauty

Down an alley little suprises can be found!
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Babushka or not a babushka?

Franzi and I were supposed to meet today. However, when someone who speaks four languages plans a meeting and their first language is not English….lookout! I arrived at where I thought we were meeting and pondered how we could possibly miss each other. After all she is Swiss and I am African American. It’s not like we blend into the crowd. She went to the Renoc and I went to the Tram-vi station near the church. She was going to show me how to buy fresh meat. Maybe, God was telling me I’m not ready for that yet. City girls are not used to seeing fresh meat being ground up. I prepared myself by not eating breakfast. I did not want to lose it; if you know what I mean! I waited for an hour for Franzi to show up. We will try again next week.

Since I had time to kill I played a game….Babushka or not a Babushka. I took pictures of Babushkas once they came into focus! I also came up with this:

You might be a Babushka:

If you like to sit facing the other passengers…

If you listen to other people’s conversations and then interrupt when you have the solution to their problem….

If you tell someone else they need a sweater or jacket because YOU are cold…

If you like to wear socks with your sandals…

If you seem to always know what everyone else is doing…

If you like to get out early to get your shopping done…

If you ignore fashion and just wear comfortable shoes….

If you dye your hair interesting colors including orange or burgundy….

If you can invoke guilt in listeners who don't even know what you are saying!

Babushka

Bless her little heart!
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Not a Babushka!
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Babushka feet
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Babushka Crossing

The tram-vi's always stop for these ladies!
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Thinking Babushka

Is anyone going to buy these flowers?

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Babushka meeting

These gals stood and talked outside
the market for quite some time. It
must have been juicy!
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Shopping Babushka

This little dog followed her for a while. It may
have been hers or it may have just been hoping
for a snack. I had one follow me today for about
five blocks. I don't give out snacks!
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Pop Pop, this is for you! Spencer is at the Notary Office.

Spencer finally agreed to pose for a photo for his
Grandfather. I told him it would be fun to get his picture
taken in front of the Notary Office since his Pop Pop
is a notary. Spencer's exact quote is "beats the he##
out of the Easter bunny!"
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You too can speak Russian

Try saying Tide, Clearasil, Palmolive or any other name brand you can think of with a Russian accent. If you can do that you are speaking Russian! Some things do not translate. Those are the times when I can purchase a product without any problems. Today was my first time ordering water without a panic. Nathan and I went to a restaurant kind of like (not really) McDonalds. Everything was spelled like the English words but phonectically in Russian.

гемьегр= ham bug r

It was like that for cheeseburger and so on! I have picked up the habit of reading the dictionary before I go to bed. So when I was asked if I wanted my Aqua Minerale with or without gas I was able to answer 'bez gasa' ....without gas! I don't like the taste of carbonated water. None of us do. So knowing how to ask for still water is vital. Well, maybe it's not vital.... but, it's what we prefer.

Nathan and I went to a bookstore in the building on the floor below the restaurant. I finally found a medical reference book that has 12,000 prescription names in Russian. Tom has wanted one so we will know what to ask for when we go to the pharmacy. No prescription is needed here. Just walk in and ask for what you need.

I almost got run over on the way to the tram-vi stop. There were three kids who were riding their skate boards down the hill. One of them came up on the sidewalk to avoid being hit by a car. An older woman (maybe his mom?) saw me jump off the sidewalk to avoid being hit. I heard the word for 'watch' and 'tourist'. I told Nathan she said "watch out!, you about killed that tourist!" The boy ran back out to the road and just looked at me and Nathan. Then he re-joined his friends. I know there were some crazy boys in Southern California who used to do the same thing!

Nathan gave up his seat on the tram-vi for this old Orthodox babushka (the orthodox ones keep their heads covered) . She trudged slowly onto the tram-vi like she had been walking for over a hundred years. And painstakingly let out the word "spa-ceeeee-bah!" to Nathan. She rode for two stops and got off. I hope she made it home. She had to cross the tundra in the nice spring weather we were having today!

Понедельник

Дни Недели
Days of the Week

Понедельник.... Monday........ pah nee Del nik

Вторник............ Tuesday..... ...v Tor nik

Среда................ Wednesday ...sree Dah

Чеверг .............Thursday .......chet Vairg

Пятница.......... Friday............. piAht neet sah

Суббота............Saturday......... su BOAT ah

Воскресенье.... Sunday........... vos kres SENyah

This is a copy of the chart I made for Spencer. He is doing excellent in his Russian studies. Lena told him he was a good student today. I was telling Lena that I have to type very slowly in Russian. She said that is what she does when she has to type in English. I took a typing class so I type in English fairly quickly. But, in Russian it is hunt and peck! During our lesson Nathan kept asking for ice cream. I told him if he could ask for it in Russian I would pay for it. I suggested he ask Lena how to say it. He wanted it badly enough so he did. He even wrote it down in his notebook so he could learn it and ask again! I treated everyone to ice cream. Nathan asked me for “sto rubleh”. I am learning how much things cost here and I don’t fall for that anymore! Sto ruble is 100 rubles. I gave him 60. They were about 4-8 rubles a piece. And he was buying 4. So all he really needed was 30. Right now that comes to just over a dollar for everyone’s ice cream! Mine was Kiwi flavored. Lena’s was vanilla covered with white chocolate and had sesame seeds in it. Spencer had strawberry and Nathan got a Popsicle that was multi-flavored.

After the lesson Spencer and went shopping for a popka (file folder). It was exciting to have learned the word and then use it. We were able to say how many clear plastic pages we wanted inside....30 of course! That's as high as we can count. Spencer was thrilled to find mechanical pencils. In the five weeks we have been here that was the first time we had seen them. We were shopping from little stalls along the street. You never know what you will find. It's like a treasure hunt! To purchase a binder, plastic sheet protectors and 3 mechanical pencils was all less than a dollar. Not bad for a half mile hike!

We watched "White Chicks" with Jody and Melanie. It was good to laugh with them. When traveling or living abroad you seem to collect stories. Sometimes there are so many it is hard to fit them all in. Tom told us about being on the bus today and there was a fire. So his language helper Alexei M. got him off the bus in a hurry. Tom was confused however because he could not smell any smoke or feel the heat. When he got off the bus he saw the fire engines and there was a house on fire...not the bus. Tom said all the fireman he saw were smoking cigarettes! hmmmm...what is wrong with that picture? He and Alexei had to wait for the next bus to come by to finish their trip to the post office. Melanie reminded me that when she and I went shopping last week there were two different women who touched MY boobs to explain how the swim suit would fit on Melanie! She thought it was funny because I didn't bat an eye when I was touched. I understood what they were doing; I didn't think they were feeling me up! They were explaining the bra inside the suit. Jody told us about a time when he was trying on jeans. There was a tea pot inside the room with him. It was boiling and he stuck his head out to say "your chai is ready" he did not have the jeans buttoned up all the way and they did not fit quite right. Can you imagine? Then they wanted him to show off the jeans!

We all agreed on how much we love this country! Where else can you can be felt up by old Russian ladies on the trolley bus (Tom; this little old Orthodox babushka was reaching for the bar to hold on to and her hand went inside his shirt!) or while you are out shopping with a friend ...... oh sorry, I was reminisicing!

A Day Of Rest?

Madagscar! We give the movie 6 thumbs up. After church we went over to City Center with Lena and Alexei P. We were hoping to see Star Wars but it was not showing. So we went to see Madagascar instead. The movie was in Russian but there is enough physical comedy in the movie to understand the context of what was going on. I think we laughed harder than some of the kids in the theatre. We noticed a few differences in going to the Russian movies;

1. when you purchase a ticket you are assigned a seat.
2. the theatre is very clean & everyone cleans up after themselves.
3. there is no warning to turn off cell phones so they will be used to make or receive calls during the movie!
4. we saw a commercial for a TV channel and one movie preview and then the movie started.
5. they don’t put butter on the popcorn and it is already pre-salted. There was a choice of caramel, regular and cinnamon.
6. they sold draft beer!

I am grateful Lena taught us the word for paper. She and I went to the bathroom together as women do. The stall I was in was out of paper… Lena makes me speak Russian as much as possible and I was able to say “Lena! Nyet, boomahgah!” She corrected my grammer like a good teacher. I should have said “boomahgee” because I needed more than one piece! However, she gave me lots of toilet paper to help me out like the good friend she is as well!! OY!

Tom has been saving plastic bottle caps to make a mosaic. He’s lived in California so long he has to recycle. Lena was teaching the kids in Sunday school today and she mentioned it to them. One of the boys went right to work and brought Tom several plastic bottle caps right after church. We ate lunch at city Center and had snacks at the movie and picked up a few more caps along the way home so for today we brought home 44 plastic bottle caps!

Everyone is wiped out now. We have been thinking and speaking in Russian all day long. It is only 9pm and we have all gone to separate rooms. No one wants to think or talk any more!

City Center...the newest mall in Krasnodar!

This is truly a western mall. There is a food
court and there are two movie screens here!
There are three floors inside. This was the
second time Lena had ever used an escalator!
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Nathan messing up Hannah's hair... just cuz I told him not to!

A large group of kids were holding the door shut
so Spencer could not come out side. Spencer asked me
to open the door. You should have seen their eyes
when it was not Spencer coming through that door!
Hannah started posing for me. The kids know I always
have my camera...

I asked Nathan not to mess with her hair
and just as the flash went off...well you can see
the rest!
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Time to go home!
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Lena & Sonya
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Tom & Valodia
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Time for chai (tea) after church
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Kids Club Day!

Spencer was invited to the Kids Club today. The group ranges in age from 12-15. Spencer was the oldest boy. We heard that sometimes it is all boys. He was at least willing to try it out. We learned some new words and phrases along the way. It was fun to listen to the kids talk. Some of the kids speak multiple languages and they freely switch back and forth between them all.

When I was with the women they were telling me some of the Russian words that sound like other words if you don't put the accent in the right place. If you don't say the word for tray correctly you will be saying the word "diarrhea" and if you don't say the word for writing correctly you will be saying the word "to pee". Sonya told me that Klaus was going to talk about painting with a brush. But, instead of the word for brush he used the word for cat. Fransi said that you could only paint with a cat if he was a very patient cat! Sonya also told about a time she heard someone talking about courage but it sounded like they were using the word "to skin" so it was pretty scary to be hearing about skinning someone in church!

Walking to the park!

Spencer and Pavlik share the load. Pavlik is the
son of pastor Valodia. He has three sisters. Sasha,
Natasha and Ruth.
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Franzi and Spencer still on the path!

Pavlik ran ahead to play Spencer and Franzi
have switched burdens. She is now carrying the
bucket of water balloons and Spencer has the
grill and the food!
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We saw horses in the distance!

Nathan heard that some people let their horses
run free in this park to eat. They come back for
them later. He told us this last night and today
we see them here!
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The guys get right to work on the grill!
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Spencer gives Tobias a hand!
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Pavlik found a tree he liked!

Before his sister Natasha makes him come down
we both get a quick shot of him in the tree! This
tree was very tall. He skinnied up and down like
there was nothing to it!
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The girls took off running down the hill!
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The boys are working to start the fire!
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Photo by Spencer!

Tobias and Mischa came running back from this
pond to tell me there was a huge frog that I needed
to get a picture of. I gave Spencer my camera and
sent them off! I am told there is a frog in this shot.

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The fire is finally hot!
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Natasha prepares the veggies!
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Waiting to eat!
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We had quite a spread!
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Tobias helps prepare the meal!
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The sun was bright but not too hot!
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What a gorgeous day!
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These trees are huge!
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Manuel got a call from his Dad!

Franzi got a call form her husband Klaus. All of
his boys took turns speaking to him. The older ones
all spoke in German. Manuel started his conversation
in English, then swtiched to German. He still had time
to pose for me! He wanted to see the photo right after!
He likes the digital camera....
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Food is finally ready!
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Pavlik found his sister Natasha's camera!
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Sonya is taking photos too!

Sonya is from Switzerland. She speaks German,
English, French, Russian and Swiss. She says they
have to learn German, English and French in school!
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Pavlik wants a photo for himself!
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going home!


Everyone is tired. They have eaten and played
futbol (soccer) , frisbee, hide and seek, and explored
the park. And now we have a 20 minute walk
back to the church!
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Rusglish?

When you combine Spanish and English you get Spanglish. When you combine Russian and English you get Rusglish. Our assignment is to listen and write down words. As we go around the city I have heard younger Russians speaking a combination of English and Russian. I do it to. I think it happens when you are learning one of the languages. The typical thing that I mix is the English word “oh” with the Russian word “Dah” (yes). The other day I was out and heard someone else do it. If you had heard the context it was clear that is what the person had done! Today during our language lesson with Lena; Spencer was writing out his words. He kept mixing Russian and English letters. It was funny because he did not realize what he had done. I kept saying you need to change that letter to a P. He kept saying that is a P. I kept saying “no a Russian P not an English P that is an R. Tom and I told Lena that is Rusglish!

Guess what she said… “Oh!..Dah!”

Tastes like Vanilla Coke!
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This is a supermarket- Mahgneet
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We found shops inside an apartment compex!
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