easter eggs

Today we are going to the orphanage to paint Easter Eggs. It is not easy to find white eggs here. Most of them are brown. Spencer found some at the rhinok near our home. Eggs are sold here in tens. He brought them home in a small plastic bag not in a carton.

It will be interesting to see what type of designs the children come up with. Some eggs here are done with elaborate designs:
http://www.alvr.com/eggs/easter1.html

I have to be sure to take my camera so you can see the work created by the children!

I don't know what to call today!

We had to go to the Diagnostic Center again today. Tom had an MRI. While he lay quietly in the machine I had a long talk with the Radiologist. He wanted to know what we were doing here. First he asked what Tom did for a living. I told him we are students. Then he asked for the name of our school. He asked if Tom was going back to America to teach Russian. I told him that Tom was a pyschologist and that he was going to teach here after he learned Russian. Then we talked about Bill Gates and Arnold Scwhartzenegger.

He was telling me that during Commuinst times they used to see programs about culture. And now most programs are political. Almost every channel here has a news program. We see Putin in the news everyday. He asked if they show a lot of political news in America too. It was interesting to talk with him. He has two friends who are also doctors; one who lives in Vienna and one in London. He was grateful for the internet so that he could email his friends.

It is interesting how kind the doctors and medical personnel here. They were very helpful yesterday and today when we showed up without Natasha to translate for us. People were good at speaking slow and giving us a chance to think about what was said and how to answer correctly.

If you get the chance to watch on video or attend a seminar on Cat and Dog Theology you have to go! We started watching the DVD last night that we recieved from Cathy in Andover. It is fabulous!http://unveilinglory.gospelcom.net/AdultSeminar.html here is a link to their website and you can learn whether you are a CAT or a DOG! Cats think that God exist for them... and Dogs think that they exist to serve God (their Master). It is funny and thought provoking!

Happy Cosmonaut Day!

We celebrated this holiday by picking up packages at the post office. You can read more about this holiday by clicking on the link below.

When we first moved here to Krasnodar the first street we lived on was Cosmonaut Gagarina. Every taxi driver knew exactly where it was!

http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/04/09/105.html

We have Cathy from Andover, Ks. , Joanie from Anaheim, California, and Ann from Dana Pt., California and Marti from Sweet Home, Oregon to thank for being able to munch on Oreo's, PopTarts, make peanut butter sanwiches, write on lined notebook paper and donate 5 lbs of pipe cleaners to a local orphanage for crafts! We also have nice warm socks for the all the guys. And syrup for our pancakes again. We felt like it was Christmas when we opened all the packages and layed everything out.

We even received several small bottles of perfume which I promptly shared with a few Russian friends who cannot afford such luxuries. It was fun coming home in the taxi with 4 boxes from various parts of America and wondering what was inside!

Thanks to everyone who remembers us in prayer and with various gifts. We try to be the best stewards we can of everything we are sent... and we try not to kill each other over the Oreo's and PopTarts. We are learning how to share with each other as well as with our neighbors!

oversleeping

I suppose that all the running around to different doctors got us all tuckered out. Tom and I both overslept this morning.

I stayed up late to finish the load of laundry that Olya started for us. But, generally I am able to get the next morning. Oh well.

It was good for us both to get some rest. We have been out everyday since Tom got sick on Thursday.

Our new machine is finally here. Olya had to help us read the instruction book. Everything is written in Russian on the machine and in the booklet. She explained it all to me in Russian, but, she used simpler words.

Our house feels more like a home since the smell of detergent is present again. And yes you can use the facilities and get your laundry done at the same time!

Tom

Tom had a very thorough exam by the doctors. He has high cholesterol and high blood pressure. So he is on a new diet that he is not thrilled about. No more smoked sausage and cheeses. He did great on his treadmill test. There is absolutely nothing wrong with his heart. We spent about 2000 rubles on his new medicines. Which is around 70 dollars. Not too bad for 5 medicines.

Thanks for all the prayer, calls and emails. And we are open to suggestions for naming the kidney stones. Boris and Natasha have been suggested along with Rocky and Pebbles!

what a difference a year makes!

Church went great. Nathan didn't make it over there. Maybe he was too tired from cleaning the church yesterday!

Soon we will be have been here for a year. Last year we could barely understand anything that was going on. Today in church I realised that Spencer was writing down words he didn't know from songs. He was able to ask Valentin what the definitons were.

The Big news of the day was that Tom and I both prayed in Russian at church. Our church has the tradition of gathering in small groups to pray for the needs mentioned that morning. Tom, me, Spencer, Joyce H., Lena, Alexei, Natasha and Dima were all together... so it was a safe group and there was no need to feel embarrased about making a mistake.

After we finished praying everyone in the group was complimenting Tom. I think Alexei even teared up a bit. It means so much to our friends when we make an effort like that.

Shopping

We have our income tax refund so we are going shopping. A bed for Tom and I, a table to eat at (just in time for John P's visit!) and shelving for the boys rooms. This should be fun day!

Well, I don't know how much fun the kids will have... they are going over to clean the church. It is our turn again.

We had fun telling Lena about all the things that Natasha had to translate at the Diagnostic Center.... Like when she had to explain how to do the urine test. I understood what the nurse was asking but it was fun to see Natasha's face and to listen to her translate the instructions for collecting a sample! As you can tell we still have our sense of humor no matter what.

Diagnostic Center

Tom has KIDNEY STONES! One of them is 4mm and the other is 6mm. We are waiting for some test results to know specifically what chemicals his stones are comprised of so that the doctor will know what to prescribe to dissolve them. But, this too will pass!

He heart showed no sign of damage or disease. His blood pressure is up. He has an appointment on Monday with a neurologist to determine the cause of the numbness in his arm. We are just grateful that a heart problem has been ruled out.

Today Tom had an EKG, an ultrasound on his kidneys and then an ultrasound for his heart. He was seen by a urologist, a cardiologist, a radiologist and on Monday in the same building he will see a neurologist. In America there is no way we could have seen this many specialists in one day. The diagnostic center that he went to is about three years old. And it is the same place where he had his foot surgery. We are grateful to be so close to such excellent medical care! We are also grateful not to have any horror stories to report about the hospital or the services.

The x-ray machine was not working in the building where all his testing was done so he had to go to the Birthing House and be x-rayed over there with all the expectant mommies! He was carrying around an ultrasound photo of his kidneys and he had earlier been joking with the doctor about NOT being pregnant!

We had Natasha with us today to help interpret the medical terms. I was concerned about not knowing exactly what was being said. She is in the process of translating a book for publication but she took time out to come and help us today. Tom also booked her to translate for John P. from Andover, Kansas when he visits with our pastors in May.

Helping Neighbors

Today Tom called me while I was out with the ladies from school having lunch. He wasn't feeling well and wanted for one of the nurses to come over and check on him.

Kathy came over and checked his blood pressure and recommended that he see a doctor. So in the morning we have an appointment for him. Bill was at the school and he was able to pick up the letter needed for Tom to see the doctor. That helped us out a lot because the school closes the office at 5 and I would have had to rush over to pick up the letter before they closed. Spencer and I went over to pick it up and while we were chatting with Bill and Judi H.... I got a call from Judi B.!

Judi is having a tea party tomorrow and needed a table moved. So Spencer and Andrew left with me. I got off the bus at my stop and they went around the corner to the next stop to help out Judi.

Please pray for Tom tomorrow as he sees the doctor. We don't know for sure why his blood pressure is elevated right now but we are going to check it out.

parties and stuff

Every now and then people at school show up with invitations to parties. Sometimes they are given to everyone and sometimes they are given to a select group of people. I personally think that when you know that you are not going to invite certain people then you don't do the invitations in front of them. Maybe I am old fashioned? Or just up on "Miss Manners"? I don't know. Just voicing a pet peeve.


Today in class I was trying to say that "In Krasnodar many dogs are free".
I said it grammatically correct. But the meaning of "free" here can also be "not married". So when the teacher heard my sentence she cracked up laughing. Because to her I was saying "In Krasnodar many dogs are single!" If the dogs are strays you don't refer to them as "free" they are homeless! So "BezDome-nee" is the adjective you are supposed to use. Language learning is not just about being grammatically correct. It is also about understanding colliquial expressions.

Nathan, Tom and Spencer are fixing the light fixture in the living room. Brownie is laying near my feet while I work here at the computer.

Earlier, Spencer and I went down to get dollars to pay our school bill and we waited almost 45 minutes for a bus to come back home. The bus was so crowded we had to stand all the way! The weather is getting warmer and more people are out on the streets.

Tom was out looking for some school supplies and he needed an eraser. He forgot the word for it in Russian. So he asked the salesgirl how to say it in Russian. She told him and then she asked him how to say it in English! She also asked for help with her resume... someone had translated it into English for her and she didn't understand some of the words. So Tom helped her out.

It is great to be able to have conversations now and give assistance when we are asked. A year ago that was impossible.

Hair!

I am wanting to do something with my hair. I feel frumpy right now. Yesterday, I finally called Olya to ask if she knew where I could by hair extensions to do braids. She knew of a hairdresser and she called for me today. It was pretty neat because I had my phone on silent for school so Olya called me on the school phone. I had to go to the office to answer it. I spoke on the phone in Russian with Olya not realizing that our school's director was listening. She was very complimentary when I got off the phone. Which made me feel better since in our class I felt like it was not a room for learning but a place to perform. You should already know all the answers and never make a mistake when you are called upon. So Tania's assessment of my live Russian skills were welcomed!

Anyhow, the girl Olya knew was going to be very expensive so I mentioned that to Tania. She recommended talking to Tonia who might know someone who could do it cheaper. Tonia and I talked and then she asked Inge. After school Inge told me about an old classmate from her university who does hair as a hobby! I am going to call and get together with her on Thursday and we will buy the materials and then do my hair on Friday. I think it is great that so many women were excited about me getting my hair done that they went out of their way to find someone for me!

Oh and if you talk to Tom's dad ask him about the annoying birthday song. His birthday was yesterday and we found an e-card that seemed to be just perfect for Papa Tom!

What to say?

How can I talk about today? It is hard to express what a school day is like sometimes. Some days are more stressful than others. And I expect that now until the end of school it will be stressful. I am sure there is a lesson to be learned in patience, tolerance of learning differences and personalities. Sandpaper.... I suppose I can look at this as sandpaper in my life. Each of us everyday is being refined by those around us. Someday we'll each be polished to perfection... not in this life, but in the next.

young men

Nathan and Spencer both got up and got dressed and went off to church by themselves this morning. Tom was up late working on his lessons and I overslept.

Our young men are becoming more mature and it is fascinating to watch them grow up. Living here has helped both of them mature. Last night Spencer went to the supermarket and got everything we need for dinner. Nathan cleaned the kitchen while Spencer was gone.

I wonder what the future holds for both of them?

april 1st

Today is the traditional day for practical jokes. So when Spencer came home and told us that he thought one of the neighbors was dead I didn't believe him. I am not sure that Tom or Nathan did either.

But, sadly, it is true. About a half hour after Spencer's announcement I went to our little post office to mail some letters. I had to pass by the door where a large Orthodox cross was standing and the top half of a casket. Four hours later... when we were coming home from a shopping trip we saw the funeral. She must have died three days ago. She would have been laid in her living room laid out for viewing. Then the burial is on the third day. I will have to check with the teachers to find out for sure.

I didn't make it back to the women's conference. I decided to sleep in. We have church tomorrow and then back to school on Monday. The last time I spoke with Joyce H. about school she was on lesson 129 of 130. We all start lesson 42 on Monday! Tom has spent this past week working on the 11 lessons that his class was behind. And he is ready to join Spencer on Monday.

I have had this blog for over a year now. Last year on April Fools I allowed Nathan to post for me. He wrote about me having a tragic accident with a knitting needle. I don't know if that was wishful thinking or just his imagination running wild!

I know your husband!

Tonight after the Women's Conference a woman came up to me and said "I know your husband" then she whispered in my ear that she met him at an AA meeting. I cannot tell you how many times this used to happen to me in California. I used to tease Tom about this being my favorite question; "are you Tom Sharp's wife?". Tonight, however, when she said this to me I was choking back laughter. We moved 9000 miles away from where Tom is best known and it is still happening to me!

I paid 100 rubles to attend the conference. That is roughly a little over 3 dollars. We had tea. And here tea is not just tea. It is open faced sandwiches, cookies, little pies filled with potatoes, and so on. Then we had registration and I was given a notebook, pen and a program. Then we had worship and the speaker. After the speaker there was a time for questions and answers. After which we were fed dinner. Chicken spaghetti and some pickled veggies. We also had dessert. Tomorrow they will be feeding us four more times. I have never been to a conference where we were given so much food for so little money!

The pastor who spoke tonight talked about:
equality
differences
service

It was unbelievable to hear a Russian pastor speaking about the equality of men and women! Then he told about the differences like how men use 12, 000 words a day and women use 25,000. Men are more logical and women more emotional. And so on. He ended with talking about all the ways women MAY serve in the church. He listed everything except preaching. This was very PROGRESSIVE for a Russian pastor to think this way.

Tom was concerned about me attending for fear of how conservative the speakers might be. He noticed me getting ready to go and saw me change clothes three times before I settled on an outfit!

When we sat down to eat dinner many of the women wanted to know where I was from. And when I answered them in Russian they looked suprised... I think they were expecting Lena to translate for me. I told them I have only been here for 11 months and they were very gracious letting me speak and not laughing at my poor grammer. One woman said that she wished she could speak English as well as my Russian after only 11 months!

Lena said that she didn't want to correct in front of all the women. We talked about my mistakes as we were walking to the marshutka (a van that is like a taxi but not as expensive). But, first she told me how proud she was of me for giving my prayer request in Russian and then praying in Russian! She was just so proud of me for trying! She said that the womens faces lit up when I gave my prayer request in Russian. And they mouthed "malodets" to Lena... which means excellent!

Tom's products were on display and I don't know if anything sold but they got a lot of attention. There were also products from the big Christian bookstore in town. Lena didn't like where Tom's things were located so she complained about it and got them moved to a better location!

Women's Conference Part Two

Yesterday Lena Beliah (Lena White) called me on my cell to ask if Tom and I would be home at two. I told her yes and to come on over. She is helping with the Women's Conference and wanted to be able to sell some of Toms' jewelry to the ladies who are coming. She said she was thinking about ways to help us! She took some crosses, pendants that would be considered christian symbols (like doves, crosses and such) and she took several necklaces. We set her up with three black velvet necklace stands and showed her how to pin the pendants on them.

Lena was one of Tom's best customers before New Year's. She would take orders and came over about twice a week to make purchases and see what new things Tom had done.

How wonderful it is to have Russian friends!

Chicken is Back!

Our supermarket has not has chicken for the last three weeks. Yesterday it was back in the store.

If you could read the Russian on the label it is "faithfully" declaring this chicken to be Bird-Flu Free.

Of course we had to get a picture of it. And guess what?... it was the best tasting chicken we have had in a long time!

Women's Conference

Lena has invited me to a Women's Conference. Even though we both know that I won't understand everything she thinks the fellowship with Russian speakers and getting to know other believers in the city will be good for me.

I think networking is always good. I will get to meet Russian women who are leaders here in the city. It will be helpful with getting recovery support groups going if the women from various groups already know me.

I was at the meeting for the BLTC last night. I understood more than last month!


Zhenya had us do an icebreaker where she passed around a bag of M&M's and told us to take as much as we wanted. The bag went around twice. After we had taken our M&M's then we had to ask the person on our left questions for each M&M we took. I had 11! I was able to ask (in Russian) only seven questions... my person was Oksana. I found out her name, where she was born, how long she has lived in Krasnodar, where she went to school, her favorite food, her favorite tv show, how old she is and that she comes from a small family. And then I had to tell what was interesting about her to the group. Thankfully, I survived the ice-breaker.

Tom is diligently working to catch up to where his new class is. He is doing great. Right now he and Lena are in the living room working.

Spencer and Nathan are playing a video game. And for once they are playing nice!

Daylight Savings Time part two

Here in Russia we changed our clocks this weekend. In America you will not change your clocks until April 2nd. Don't worry if you thought you missed it... you still have time to get ready.

Some students were taking bets on who would be late for school. And of course those who were not able to make it to church yesterday were late for school today! One family who had their computer set on Russian time thought that something was wrong with their computer!

We had a new teacher observing in two of the classes today. She will be starting in April. Her name is also Tania. So there are two Tania's and one Tonia. Got it?

I am going to a meeting for the BLTC women today. I came home and watched a few episodes that Joyce loaned us of Law and Order. I think I am ready now for a two hour meeting in Russian.

Nathan is in his room. Spencer is reading his comics and Tom is napping. Just a typical Monday here in our house.

daylight savings time

We thought we were going to be on time for church.

We were an hour late!

Lena and Alexei had just walked in and sat down about 5 minutes before us. Then Olya and Vova showed up... and then one of our teachers from school, Nellie, about 20 minutes later. It seemed as if today was the fastest church service we have ever had!

Tom had a lesson with Lena today. He is being moved into class with Spencer. So he has 11 lessons to catch up on! I will be moving into Nathan's class. And right now they are one lesson ahead of where Spencer and I are. I have already started working on it. Our class will get that lesson on Monday and we should be caught up by the time the change takes place.

So the new classes start the first week of April.
Tom and Spencer together.
Alida and Nathan together.

Thanks Dad for the special treat. We had a family meeting and we watched your video. The boys realised how much they missed you when they heard you singing!

A Day in Krasnodar

Here is a collage I made with scenes from around the city. Yesterday, Tom and I taught Spencer how to use powerpoint. Spencer has said that he might become a pastor so he will need that skill someday. He put together a collage of the city also with his photos and a quote from Lenin. Hopefully, he will post it on his blog for all to see.

Today Tom and Michelle went down into the sewers to see how the homeless people live. Michelle is interested in coming back here to work someday and she has a passion for the homeless.

When they came home Tom was covered in filth. Michelle was realitively clean. Tom was clearing the path for her and went first down into the sewers. He got to meet the cobwebs and crawl over the pipes to find the way down there.

I think Michelle was pretty brave to go down in there... it is not something I think I will be doing.

Welcome Rob & Donna

On Saturday Janet held a party to welcome Rob and Donna to Krasnodar. We ate, laughed and filled out surveys about life here. Janet was concerned with how Tom might fill out the survey.

Tom answered the questions pretty simply. When answering "what do you do with your language helper? ... he said "Mud Wrestling". Spencer filled his out using some cartoon and movie quotes. Our family just cannot follow directions!

Rob & Donna are here from Northern CA. Rob recently had to fly back to the states because of the death of his father. We pray for his family and look forward to him being back with us soon.

Tom and Alida Scrapbook Picture

Getting things figured out!

Aleksey and his mother
Lena in the kitchen
Nastia is serious.

These are from Aleksey's 40th birthday last year in May!

Beautiful Young Lady

Home Alone

Tom, Nathan and Spencer all went to school this morning. I needed the sleep I guess... noone woke me up. I went to bed with a bad headache last night so I think they were all being kind.

I was frustrated yesterday with trying to figure out Adobe Photoshop. Spencer says "let me try" so he has it all figured out now. I will have to have him show me how to use it when he gets home.


We got a package in the mail from Mom and Dad. I finally have the ingredients to make "The Walmart Cake".

Here is the recipe:
1 box Pineapple Supreme- Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Cake mix
1 can of Coconut Supreme Frosting- Duncan Hines Creamy Homestyle
mix cake mix according to package directions before baking mix can of frosting into batter. Bake in a bundt pan.

Looks simple so I think we will try it out later today!


We watched "Pink Panther" the other day. We already have it on video here! We had Mich come over and watch it with us yeserday. The funniest scene for all of us is the scene where he is working with an accent coach and he is trying to say "I want to buy a hamburger" with an American accent. It reminds us of sessions with our language helper. We have had to rewind it and watch it over because we enjoyed it so much.

The other movie we have enjoyed recently is "Everything is Illuminated".
There is only one native English speaker in the movie and the other characters are speaking Russian. It is translated in subtitles. We enjoyed it because the movie goes from America to Ukraine and we saw places that we have been. It was great to see the McDonald's in Ukraine that we actually ate at! There is a quick view of the Potomkin steps and the large train station too. Nathan likes the guy who plays the translater. If someone says something not so kind the translater says something Completely Different that is more polite! Too funny.

Tom went out with Olya last night to meet with the woman who owns one of the stores where his jewelry is being sold. She had sold six pieces so she took several more. Tom said that one of her workers was wearing a necklace he had made. He was excited to see that. He got paid for the pieces he sold and gave Olya her commission for helping him. She has all the business documentation needed for Tom to be in the stores here. She didn't want to accept her cut. She tried to give half of it back. Tom stuck it in her pocket. He doesn't usually take "no" for an answer!

powerpoint scrapbooking

I have played around with this late into the night and the best I could do was take a picture of the screen to get this posted. It is easy to put things together using powerpoint but hard to figure out how to publish. Or maybe it's just me.

I have several other collages that I have done and I printed them out to put into a scrapbook. But since I am low on ink this one cannot be printed tonight. Tom and I worked on this and I am getting pooped! 

Befania

Spencer and I went with Vova, Lena and Nastia to visit Befania Church today. It was a three hour service but we probably sang for half of that time! I really enjoyed it and thought it went by fast. Spencer is resting he thought it was a very long service.

Tom went to our church KBC. He sent me a text message that Valodya spoke in Russian, using a German map and was speaking about Italy. Tom said he had jet-lag when the service ended!

Nathan has a slight cold so he stayed home today.

As we were coming home in the car Lena told me that Slavic had to go to Ukraine to help out their mother. He had to kill the cow and then sell the meat. The cow had just given birth a few weeks ago and she had been sick ever since the birth. So they decided to put her out of her misery and then make some money.

It seems funny to know someone who had to leave the country to go kill a cow!

The Amazing Race!

Yesterday we drove to Ukraine and back! This photo is from when we were there in September. But if you notice the ramp in the photo that is what I wanted to talk about. As the ferry reached the port people came down and filled up this area to be the first ones off the ferry. People were running so fast they were tripping, dropping things and leaving family members behind. All in an effort to be the first one in line at Passport control. There is barely a comprehension of forming a line here. So even the late comers found ways to go under the barries and push to the front. It was amazing to watch.

The water was filled with ice floes. Not clear and clean like in this photo. We were not sure where the ice came from. Tom thought that was where they dumped the ice and snow that they cleared of the city streets and trucked out of town.

Spencer looked at me before we disembarked on the Russian side to return home and said "we are gonna have to run soon!" I said "nope, Vova is going to wait for us no matter how long it takes, I'm not running!".

Sure enough Vova was there with a great big smile eager to know how the crossing went and if we thought Ukraine was beautiful. He is from Ukraine!

When Spencer was being looked at by the Passport control ladies on our return to Russia they were giggling over his passport photo. They told him how cute he was when that photo was taken. He has lost 40 pounds since we have been here and in his original photo he has chubby little cheeks. That baby fat is all gone now.

Nathan and Spencer both did a great job of filling out their own paperwork this time. So now they each know how to do it for when they have to travel without us. They can read the forms now so that helps! That seemed to me to be a benefit of traveling with teenagers. I didn't worry about where they were or what was going on when they were out of our sight. I knew they knew the routine and they did great. Nathan told me he was asked to take his hat off and look at the woman straight on. They were able to answer whatever questions they were asked and move on to the next station. The guy in front of me was yelled at for filling out his paperwork incorrectly so she was very sweet with us since ours were perfect!

We did see one of the guys who was keeping watch over the lines being very rude to an Asian woman. I have heard about how poorly they treat Asian women here but had never witnessed it before. He yelled at her and she didn't seem to understand what he wanted her to do. She was just standing in the line like everyone else. I am very grateful to have no incidences of prejudice to recount.

We had to pay a "FEE" for Vova's car having tinted windows. The policeman who stopped us wanted to see everyone's face and match it up to their passport. Tom was out of the car with Vova and the rest of us just sat in the backseat. Tom was telling the guy "this is my wife" and the guy's response was "customs does not care that brought your wife". Nathan heard him say it. So when he started laughing I asked him what the guy said. He told us and that became our favorite phrase of the day! We were expecting to have to pay for whatever they thought was wrong but this was 1000 rubles. (about 35$). Usually they will ask for 200 rubles or so. On the return trip that same policeman just smiled and waved us through. Vova called him a "bandit". The police here only make 4500 rubles a month so they look for ways to boost their income.

My biggest trauma of the day was over the bathrooms just as I thought it would be. Instead of the normal cost of 5 rubles for using the bathroom it was 10. The bathrooms were squatty potties. Just holes in the ground. There were stalls there, thank goodness, and the floor was tiled around the holes so this was a NICE public bathroom. My fear when I was in there was holding up my purse so it didn't touch the floor and not getting my shoes wet while I was using the facilities. Needless to say the balancing act was not fun and I apologise if my little tale grosses you out.

Wichita St. KOs Seton Hall in NCAA Opener

Okay, so I cannot sleep and I was reading the news. I know that there are Wichitans and former Wichitans that read my blog so this one is for you all!

We leave in a few short hours for Ukraine. Crimea to be exact. This is a short trip... there and back in the same day. We are paying Vova to drive us to the ferry and then cross the Black Sea and then get our passports stamped and get back on the ferry to cross the Black Sea and drive us back home.

It will be a long day, Vova told me to bring plenty of music for the car and FOOD to eat on the road.

The only thing I am not excited about will be the bathrooms between here and there. OY!

Name Changes

We are learning genitive case now and it is interesting that some names change and some names don't.

Here are the names of our family in genitive case:
Алиды= Alid-i
Натана= Nathan-a
Спенсера= Spencer-a
Тома= Tom-a

Janet is a foreign name that does not change. And neither does Michelle. Bill was Bil-la.

First Time as a Translater

Last night I introduced Olya to the new students. Donna needed a language helper and Olya wanted the job. So I got them together. I did well until I started to get tired. We talked for an hour and half. Towards the end I was speaking to Donna in Russian and Olya in English! We all laughed each time I did that. Olya did a good job correcting my grammer but she understood everything I was translating for her. I am glad they hit it off!

I just got home from Olya's. First I got a phone call from Sveta. She is 22 weeks pregnant and tired of sitting at home. She wanted to come over to visit but she forgot where I lived. So she asked for someone to come and meet her at the supermarket. Nathan went down to get her and she visited with me for a while. She was so happy that I can understand her better and she said that my Russian was very clear. She asked me about how Olya was doing. Olya is also pregnant she is around 18 weeks. So they are a month apart. I asked her if she wanted to visit with Olya and she did. I called and let Olya know we were coming. When we got there Lena was there too. Sveta was so excited. She got to see three girlfriends in one day! Her husband works long hours so she is alone a lot. she and Olya made a date to go over to the mall and price baby items. Once I get a list of what they need I will post it.

While I was at Olya's I was asked to translate an English email she had received. I was excited that she asked me. She understood A LOT of it already. It was a very long email longer than this post! I only had to translate three sentences that had some medical terms she didn't quite understand. Wow! I was very impressed with her reading in English.

On Friday we will be making a quick trip to Ukraine. Every six months we are required to leave Russia. It is a new law. So we will have Vovo drive us to the border cross over on the Black Sea on the ferry get our passports stamped and come right back!

Pray for us since Vovo wants to leave at SEVEN AM! and anyone who knows us knows that only Spencer loves that time of day!

Ring Tones

We saw a young man on the bus today. He was impeccably dressed. Dress shirt, nice slacks, good looking coat. And then we hear his phone ring and it was Fifty Cents "Just a Lil Bit". Tom and I just looked at each other and tried not to laugh!

On the way home from there was a very drunk man who had fallen down while he was walking. Tom tried to help him up but they guy was too drunk to stand. Everyday we see drunk people. The alcohol problem seems huge somedays.

We met some of the new students today at school. They will start in a few weeks. We have more Californians now. Their names are Rob and Donna. They are from the San Francisco area. Now if the Texans try to take on the Californians at least we are gaining in numbers and I don't think they can lick us!

Right now we have spring like weather... sunny and a little windy. I got a copy of Melanie and Jody's newsletter and they are from the other side of Russia and they have three feet of snow! Oy!

It's Monday!

It is never easy to get back in the swing of things.

Spencer had guests over yesterday. His friends Tobias and Andrew came over to play video games. They were pretty loud there for awhile.

We decided to watch Hotel Rwanda last night because Spencer had not seen it yet. After it was over we all needed to do something else to get our minds of the movie. Just as we were deciding what to do Erin called! It was great to hear news about her and her family and I totally forgot about the movie.

Nathan and I belong to the same message board now. We are both going to Bibleforums.org. It is different for both of us to be in the same place. But, having things to talk about that we each have opinions on is pretty fun.

Tom and I both had a good night's sleep for the first time in months. We switched mattresses with Spencer and he likes the soft mattress. Our old backs were grateful for the firm one! O to be 15 again...

Patience

Today the conductor that Spencer and I had on the bus was not the most patient fellow. As soon as Spencer got on the bus he reached for his bus pass. The conductor walked up to him and started yelling "Young man, I have waited a half hour already!" ummm... excuse me we just got on the bus! He also yelled at this poor old man who took a long time to sit down and then he finally reached for his bus pass. He wanted the man to move faster. Maybe he was having a bad day!

sightings- a man carrying a beer and a Barbie Dream House

a babuska in fishnet stockings

3 drunk guys sleeping on the bus. Maybe they were not drunk, perhaps they just wore alcohol cologne!

Valera & Ludmilla

Last night Tom's friend Valera came over with his wife Ludmilla. We had a nice visit. They stayed just over an hour. they came over to chat and have tea. Valera spoke a lot in English and his wife only spoke Russian but she understands English. Their youngest daughter can speak Russian, English, Greek and French. Their grandaughter who is four years old is learning English.

It was very interesting to spend time with them. Many people we have met here find it important to tell us the history of the country. Valera and his wife did the same. It must be a part of the culture here to never forget one's history.

I told Valera that Spencer and I went to the Maslenitsa concert and had bliny and vodka. He told me that the bliny represents the sun of spring. I asked what the vodka represented and that was when we got a history lesson on how the soldiers of different wars were paid in Vodka. Vodka is ingrained in the culture and was developed by a Russian chemist. Who, by the way, Valera believes was an alcoholic!

They were very curious about why our children are studying Russian. And overwhelmed by how many books we have! If they only knew that we gave away or sold more than half of what we owned in California.

Valera is interested in visiting our church. He finds religion very fascinating and had never heard of our church "The Open Door". He knows about the Orthodox and the Baptists here. But, had never heard of the church we attend. Tom will invite them to come to church the next time he speaks. Valera will enjoy that because he can listen to Tom in English and in Russian.

The Fight between winter and Spring

On Monday our teacher told us that for the month of March winter and spring will be fighting to see who is going to win! Yesterday after several days of nice sunny weather we had SNOW! It definitely felt like winter won yesterday's battle.

We have a thin layer of snow on the ground and it is windy out there. So it feels a bit nippy. I think most of us will stay inside today.

Later this evening one of Tom's friends from AA is stopping by. He can speak some English and since we can speak some Russian it should be a good visit. Unless his wife comes over I will most likely just serve them tea and let them talk. Valera is a well respected man here in the AA community. He has 13 years of sobriety. Last night when Tom and Valera set up a time for him to come over they agreed on 18:30. After Valera hung up he called back within just a few minutes. When he had gotten off the phone his daughter told him that in America they don't talk that way about time! He wanted to make sure that Tom understood that he was coming over at 6:30 PM. Fortunately we go to a Russian School and Tom understood perfectly what time Valera meant!

Nathan has a young peoples group meeting tonight. The group that Nathan goes to is mostly college age. At 18 he is the youngest member of the group. There is talk at church about starting a group for the younger teens like Spencer and Tobias. There really isn't much for them right now. The childrens program does not fit them and the group Nathan is in is too old for them.

Spencer is looking forward to a group that he can get involved with!

At my last meeting with the BLTC women we talked about the curriculum we are developing for the incoming female students. We have planned a retreat for all the leaders in June. It has been great getting to know these women and it certainly stretches my vocabulary to sit in on meetings in Russian. I just hope that by June the fight between winter and spring will be over and we will be having summer!

Crash

Today we are going to watch the Academy Award winning movie "Crash" as a family. It has an R rating and Tom and I have already seen it.

We know that there are a few questionable scenes... but, that is why we are going to watch it as a family and discuss it afterwards. The main point of the movie is racism. Everyone in the movie is a stereotype. Whether they are white, black, hispanic, persian or asian. Every race is stereotyped.

Tom and I could see why it won BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR. It made both of us think. Especially watching it while we live in another culture. One could easily stereotype Russian behavior. In fact several movies I have seen do exactly that. Not all Russian men are in the mafia.

If you decide to watch Crash, know that there is a sex scene, a lot of language and some difficult racial scenes to watch. Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Angela Bassett, Thandie Newton, Larenz Tate, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Frazier, Tony Danza are all a part of the ensemble cast. The movie is well acted and thought provoking.

International Women's Day

I have heard the guys talking about going out to get flowers. Right now they are fixing the light fixture in the living room. It is about to fall down. It is good that Tom noticed it before it hit someone on the head!

To learn more about Women's Day you can click on the link below.

Tonight we are scheduled to have dinner with Alexei and Lena. Alexei is cooking. There is no Mother's Day here so this day is the big day for Women.
http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/women/womday97.htm

The teachers at our school are all female so the school is closed today! Tom was wondering why they didn't close the school on Men's Day...

day off

Tomorrow is Women's Day so we have the day off from school. We are grateful for the break.

Many of the students have been sick and some are still dealing with bronchitis or pnuemonia. This weather has been hard on many people with allergies sometimes it is hard to tell if you have allergies acting up or if you are catching a cold.

Joyce B. is back from her trip to Malta. She tried to come back sooner but she got deported in Moscow at the airport! Joyce had all of her paperwork filled out but didn't take it over to the Embassy for processing. She went straight to the airport and flew from Malta to Moscow. She had to return to Malta right away. Joyce has such a great sense of humor and can make just about anyone laugh. She kept us in stitches telling us about her adventure during the break. We heard about a snail in her salad, the trolleybus strike, and how much the taxis cost since they were taking advantage of the bus drivers on strike!

Now we know how to get a vacation. Just don't get your paperwork processed!

10 Commandments of American Culture

1) you can't argue with success
2) live and let live
3) time flys when you are having fun
4) shop 'til you drop
5) Just Do It!
6) no pain, no gain
7) enough is enough
8) time is money
9) rules are made to be broken
10) God helps those who help themselves.

Diane Thomas, the president of the Language School gave a talk today about these points. We talked about the values that Amercans, Canadians or Germans might have versus the values that Russians have. It is hard sometimes to identify with all of the values that "Americans" are supposed to have. But, I did have to catch myself when Daine was talking about how here it is normal to wear the same clothes over and over. People wash them and wear them again the next day. I mentioned that I noticed as soon as Diane walked into the room that she was wearing the same outfit that she had on the last time I saw her two days prior. So Russians would judge her for wearing different clothing everyday and I (an American) judged her for wearing the same outfit within a few days. We talked about how that is a judgement that many Americans make. Why do we value wearing different clothes everyday. Why did I find it important to mark on my calendar what outfit I wore when I spoke at a church?

Because of the value that is placed on success we equate what people wear with how successful they may be... or what they drive or where they live. Adjustments have to be made when you enter another culture. It is not about how people act... it is about what people value.

Do your actions show what you value?

Do you change your actions according to what the culture around you values?

Do you expect others to change their actions based on what YOU value?

Each of us will have a chance to meet with Diane and discuss our concerns about cultural issues and the school itself.

I realised today that I value flexibility and maturity. I got upset over the actions of people whom I considered to be inflexible and immature. I realised that other people value personal comfort and change can make people uncomfortable.

When our values clash with someone else's we may get an attitude of superiority. Our values are not superior to another person or people group... Our values are just different and different is not the same as wrong!

What did he say?

Today at church Maj-lis had her family with her. She was translating the service for them from Russian into Swedish. Nathan got up to give his testimony and had Natasha translate for him from English into Russian and at the same time you could hear Maj-lis translating it into Swedish! For awhile there it was hard to know what to listen to.

Nathan did a great job getting up and speaking at the church. He was nervous but he did it anyway. Klaus and Valodya told Tom and I how proud they were of Nathan. Klaus was the first one up to give Nathan a hug after he spoke. He wanted to do it while he was talking but he waited until Nathan was done. Klaus has been very impressed with how well Nathan can read and speak Russian. We are proud of him too... It feels different to hear Nathan or Spencer speak or pray in public. I am used to hearing Tom. But, when one of the boys does it I start to cry with joy. It is overwhelming.

Pancake Day

Pancake Day is a part of Shrovetide. I remember in Liberal, Kansas they had pancake races during this time.

http://www.swdtimes.com/pancakeday/index2.html click here to read about Pancake Day.

Did you know?

The eve of Lent is also known as the butter festival or maslenitsa. During this time Orthodox Russians eat pancakes. Some people celebrate the occasion by breaking holes in frozen lakes and rivers and swimming in icy water.

Today we had a chance to eat pancakes and drink vodka... Bill and Judi thought that the vodka smelled like rubbing alcohol. I thought it was interesting that the vodka had a smell. I thought vodka was odorless and that's why alcoholics like it. We were given a shot of vodka each. I noticed that at the bar there were sodas and water and other things to drink. The vodka was cheaper than the water! Now we know why it is so popular. The kids were not allowed the vodka and Spencer chose not to although at 15 he is old enough (here in Russia).

http://english.pravda.ru/russia/history/28-02-2006/76585-Shrovetide-0 Click here to read about Russian Celebrations of Shrovetide.

We watched a concert that told the story of Shrovetide/maslenetsia through songs and dancing. I sent a text message to Nathan about the dancing bear and a response back came from Tom. It said "too much vodka!" I didn't know if he meant me or the bear!

The costumes were traditional Cossack clothing. The men in red suits with black sheep skin hats on and the girls were wearing dresses and had their hair pulled back in scarves. Both Spencer and I forgot our cameras so I don't have any pictures to show.

We met Maj-Lis's family. They are here from Sweden. They don't speak much English and they don't speak Russian. We just smiled at each other alot!

movies

Wallace and Gromit, Casa de los Babys, and the Honeymooners. If you need a laugh break Wallce and Gromit or the Honeymooners will provide some laughs. If you want to see something more dramatic then Casa de los Babys highlights private adoptions in Mexico. It is half English and half Spanish... you'll need the English subtitles if you don't speak Spanish.

Tom and I were at Krasnaya Ploshad last night and were able to see where the new McDonald's is going in. It should be here sometime this summer! McDonald's is not one of the places I miss but my guys are all excited. Although, Nathan really wishes it were a Del Taco!

Assessment Results

The rest of us finally have our assessements back. Tom is Novice High, and Spencer, Nathan and I are all Intermediate Low. It is typical for women and children to learn faster than the men. Which is why the kids and I are all at the same place. For listening skills Tom, Spencer and I are Intermediate Low and Nathan is Intermediate Mid. Spencer and I seem to listen and speak at the same level while Tom and Nathan both understand more than they can respond to.

It is an interesting process to have your language skills evaluated. No one ever assessed our English skills. Some of us speak faster or more clearly than others. Some American students have accents from the south and some don't. And then we have students from Canada and Germany and they have accents too. We are all trying to speak without our native accents and our poor teachers have to sort it all out!

All of our handwriting still looks foreign. After years writing of in English it is not easy to make one's handwriting look less foreign. Some of us need to learn to write in cursive on a regular basis. It is so much easier to print. However, it is easier for Russians to read cursive.

We don't have to do this again until next year. When we reach lesson 75 or so. We just started lesson 35 today.

Muppets Wizard of OZ

This is a funny movie. Our family just finished watching it this evening. It has Queen Latifah as Auntie Em, and Ashanti as Dorothy. We give it four thumbs up! The jokes are funny and the cameos are great. If you want some light entertainment this is a winner. Nathan liked Quentin Tarantino's and Kelly Osborne's cameos.

We also have Bewitched, Casa de Los Baby's, and Shopgirl. As soon as we get a chance to see each one we will let you know how we liked it.

At school Nathan, Spencer and I got a new lesson on remodeling! We are all to familiar with that topic. We got a very long Russian word and in Nathan's class he gave them a long English word.

Our Russian word is metala-plastik-ovwi. The English word that Nathan loves is antidisestablishmentarianism...."opposition to the disembling of the establishment"


Say that three times real fast!

Post office trip!

My box from Amazon.com finally arrived! I had a box sent to my Aunt's house and then she shipped it to us. She sent it Dec 12. by airmail and it just got here. The post office always has us guessing!

We have all new employees at the post office so it was safe for me to show my face there. Noone who was working today saw my fit that I had the last time I was there. I walked in stood in line for about three minutes... got my package and left! Simple.

Tom spent an extra day at home today. He actually got up and took a shower but he couldn't make it to school. I took in the jewelry that he had made for different people. Madina finally has her clip on earrings and she was very happily suprised. Tom called her to let her know he was not coming into school but didn't tell her he was sending the jewelry.

Nathan's class got their assessments back. None of the students were talking much about how they rated. Nathan is classified verbally as Intermediate Low and his comprehension is at Intermediate High. We are very proud of him. He is doing excellent work at school, church and home!

Day After the Wedding

Today I am playing around with the photos to make sure I only put the best ones on the gift CD.

Nathan is playing a video game in his room. Spencer is watching Spiderman 2 and Tom is napping on the couch.

Just another lazy day in Krasnodar!

Natasha & Dima

I got out of bed to go and photograph a wedding. I took over 800 photos and I am sure there are a few decent ones in the bunch.

Spencer and I left the apartment at 9:15 so that we could be there by 10. We helped decorate three of the four cars. We met the mothers and the grandmothers before we saw the bride and groom. Of course everthing was traditional Russian. Which means it was an EVENT!

It was a smaller wedding than Valentin and Sveta's. It was very elegant and intimate. Natasha is a translator for the BLTC. She has translated for Tom when he has spoken at church. Dima also speaks English. Natasha and Dima will take a week off from working this week and then will honeymoon in Europe this summer. She originally did not want to be a winter bride but Dima wanted a winter wedding. It was not easy photographing the white on white but it was a beautiful sight!

Customer Service

Nathan and I went out to find a second battery for my camera. I have another Russian wedding to photograph and I knew I could not make it through the entire day on just one battery.

We went downtown to Krasnaya Street to a store called Paparazzi. This store defined customer service for me today. I showed them my battery and told them what I wanted. The saleswoman looked at it and told the guy who was helping me to call the other store to see if they had the battery. He phoned and discovered that they had it.

They told me that I needed to go over to the Media Center. I simply said “I don’t know where that is”. The guy mentioned a marshutka that would take me there. But, the woman called a taxi instead and then PAID for it! She escorted Nathan and I to the taxi and thanked us! The taxi driver took us to the front of the Media Center and dropped us off. We walked right in and went straight to the store. Before the guy let me buy it he tried it out in my camera first.

Royal treatment over a 24-dollar purchase!

Jim & Lisa

Jim and Lisa have their kids! Nathan says that they are cute boys and are already calling Jim and Lisa mom & dad! Thanks for all who prayed for them. We are so thrilled for this new family.

holidays we never knew about!

The Army Day - Men's Day - February 23: This holiday is celebrated on the 23rd of February. It is our tribute of respect to all the generations of Russian soldiers from the ancient times till nowadays to those who defeated courageously our motherland from invaders. On this day all the masculine representatives from boys to old men receive congratulations and presents and the military men greet each other. Women have a happy opportunity to say the warmest and the sweetest words to their lovers and to please them with sings of attention.

The Pancake Day - February 27 till the beginning of March: It is a holiday of ancient Slavs in honor to east pagan God of fertility (Vles). It is a holiday of farewell to the winter and welcome to the spring. The Orthodox Church considers the Pancake Day to be a Christian holiday the so-called cheese week. It is previous to the Fast and it is celebrated 7 weeks before Easter. It is a merry folk holiday when old rubbish or hey scarecrow is burnt. Most people put on skins of animals and soil their faces with soot to drive away wicked spirits.

To see a full list of Holidays go here: http://www.flowers2moscow.com/Russian_Holidays.shtml

Yesterday Olya asked to be paid early so that she could get a gift for her husband today. There is no Mother's Day or Father's Day here. So Men's Day and Women's have to fill the gap!

bleh!

I am sick. Tom is sick and Nathan is sick. We have lots of juice and water and kleenex. We get to watch the Olympics on tv. But it is hard to hear the tv over the coughing and hacking going on. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day!

still sick...

Tom and Spencer made it out to school this morning. Nathan and I are still sick. We have not said much to each other this morning... he coughs and I cough back!

I stayed up late watching the Olympics and it has been fun to know things before you find out in America. Italy is only two hours ahead of us so we have seen some events live. I really enjoyed watching Shani Davis win his gold medal. Spencer was asking about being a speed skater... I wish there was a rink around for him to be able to skate again.

Thanks Joanie, for sending the paper. Tom was excited to take a new notebook to school today. We are so grateful for those of you who help us out in such practical ways!

Price of Staying Home

Spencer and Olya tackled his room today. He was not feeling well so he didn't go to school. Since he was home Olya started asking him "is this clean" " is this trash" and after about an hour of that his room was clean!

Nathan and I were allowed to sleep. My back was hurting and Nathan has a sore throat. Only Tom made it out the door this morning!

We are all waiting to find out what homework we have and if the results from our assessment are in.

Nathan entertaining!

Bill and Judi came over with their four kids to watch the Olimpics. Michael, four years old wanted to see SpiderMan. Michael LOVES SpiderMan! Nathan got his laptop out and showed the movie to Mikey. He was so excited. He barely finished his dinner cuz he wanted to get back to the movie. He told his mom the chili was too spicy... he did finish eventually. Nathan did good not starting the movie until Mikey was done with his dinner. Chili and french fries should not equal such torture!

When SpiderMan was over Nathan showed Fraggle Rock to the girls. Kaylynn and Becca had not ever seen it before. Nathan let them take it home. We gave Bill the movie Munich. It is an intense movie put out by Speilberg on the aftermath of the Isreali team being taken hostage and killed at the 1972 Olimpics.

Andrew came in when Judi and I were cleaning up my kitchen. He was trying to get us to tell him if we were going to make dessert or not! He finally just came out and told his mom what he wanted. So I made a batch of blonde brownies. They were a big hit. I am sure that my mother in law never dreamed that her brownies would become so famous!

The new family that we met have the same names as my Aunt and Uncle. They are Betty and Charles. Tom and I are going to have to work hard not to call him Chuck like my uncle... I just hope I don't start calling him Uncle Chuck!

Walking to Work

As we walked to work yesterday Nathan started teasing Lena. She and Spencer took off running and they waited for us behind the corner of a building. I told Nathan that I thought they were making snowballs. Yep! As soon as I came around the corner they let them fly. I ducked and they got me on the shoulder and Nathan was glad that I went first. Later after our short tramvai ride we were walking again and Spencer was teasing Nathan so I pulled him away and put him up near Lena. She grabbed him and shoved him in to a big hill of snow near the sidewalk. He came up laughing. Then Nathan was able to get Lena and Spencer in the snow. Spencer and Lena ended up with "white" jackets. I am glad that Lena grew up with 5 brothers and that she knows how to get in there and scrap with the boys!

Everyone has finished their assessments now. Tom came home and said that he did well answering all of Tania's questions and he only had to asked her once to repeat something. The interview is completely in Russian. She will introduce herself to you and pretend that she doesn't speak English. You have to answer her questions and tell her about yourself and your life here in Russia. She wants to know what level of comprehension and communication you are at. We each had our little flubs but that doesn't matter. I can tell on myself and say that when I was given the chance to ask her a question I was trying to ask if her mother had a country home. I added one letter to the beginning of the word so instead of saying country home (dacha) I said 'zdacha' which is change. I asked her if her mother had change! Oh well, she just smiled and answered my question.

Olya's mother had a birthday yesterday and Olya's present was to tell her mother that she was expecting another baby! We found out a full month ago but were not allowed to say anything until after the birthday! Olya is doing very well and is still going to work for us through the pregnancy.

Sveta, Valentin's wife, is also expecting. She has had a hard time with morning sickness and was hospitalised many times because she was not eating.

We have another wedding coming up next weekend and I will take pictures for them. We are excited for Natasha. She is the woman who translates for Tom when he speaks. Our family has been asked to come up with some skits to perform at the reception... I don't know if Krasnodar is ready for this!

Olya is showing him how to clean the rugs!

 

Winter Cleaning

Olya and Spencer cleaning his couch slipcover. 

First Assessment!

Miss New Mexico USA... mom and dad went to an event and she was there. I thought she was very pretty so I downloaded the photo to share today!


Spencer and I were able to get the written part of the assessment done today. I also did my interview. And like Nathan... she said I was amazing! When our family first met Tania, the school's director, most of us did not even know the alphabet.

From our group Spencer and Judi H. still need to do the interview. Tania had a crisis with a student and had to go attend to that. Please pray for our fellow classmates. There is a couple that is trying to adopt two children. They have invested thousands of dollars that were raised just for the adoption and there is a person here who is trying very hard to block the adoption. Our teachers and the Director of the School care about every aspect of our lives and they have been very supportive of the adoption. We are praying that the court will hear the people who are willing to speak up for this couple!

We are grateful for our language helper and to our teachers. We are grateful for our Russian friends who really want to communicate with us and want us to learn this language.

Tom is still sore from his fall yesterday but he is up and walking around. He is planning to go in to school tomorrow for his assessment.

ещё снег!

More Snow! Our current temperature is -6 degrees Celsius = 21.2 degrees Fahrenheit. We had to walk to school as the snow was coming down. Tom fell getting off the bus and injured his back. He was a trooper and finished school... but now he is lying down on the couch resting. He had a tutoring session with Lena and was able to hang in there for about 40 minutes.

After the rest of us finished our session with Lena we watched the DVD of me performing. Lena wanted to watch it so we talked about how many different languages I had to sing in and about Erin still performing. She asked me if I dreamed of singing professionally. And as always the answer is still no. I know how hard it is to keep a voice in shape and I have fun when I sing now and then but I would not want it to be a job.

Tomorrow, Spencer and I have our assessments. We have to be at school at 9am. Last week I was feeling nervous about it. This week I am just ready to get it over with. I am not competing against anyone but myself. If I am still speaking at the same level next year then that would be a problem! Last year when we got here we could only say "may I" and point at what we wanted. Now we can ask for specific items by name when we shop. Now we can translate simple things for our friends. Now we can spend an entire evening with Lena and Alexei and not need the dictionary! No matter whether the assessment shows that I am a novice or intermediate... I am still able to communicate with friends and keep our family fed!

Food for a gift?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Since we come from Kansas we happen to love Sunflowers... however if you mentioned wanting some as a gift Russians will laugh at you. Sunflowers are food. Why would you ask for someone to buy you some food for Valentines Day or for your birthday?


Today we watched home movies of the boys with Lena. She actually understood some of the English. She enjoyed seeing the boys when they were little (my-len-kee) She was not having the best Valentine's Day. Her Valentine is in Moscow teaching at a Seminar.

Tom took jewelry to school yesterday and again today. He sold quite a bit. Someone bought bracelets to give to the teachers.

Some of the women picked out what they wanted and then their husbands had to ask "what did I give you?" Just like in America...

What does that word mean?

We have been enjoying watching the Olympics on TV. It is interesting to watch with Russian commentary. We are learning new phrases or other ways of using words we already know. Have you ever had one of those moments however when you hear a word used in a different way and think "what does that mean?"

Yesterday we kept hearing the commentator say "в этом году". This phrase is pronounced "V-etom Ga-doo". I kept hearing it as Vetom Gadoo. I couldn't find the word Vetom in the dictionary. I finally realised the context and it dawned on me what it meant. V=in, etom=that, and finally gadoo=year (in Accusative case). "In That Year!" Duh! you cannot find vetom in the dictionary because it is not a word...

We do this in English too. We often say things very fast and it is as if the words are one. For example how do you say "I can do that for you"? If you say it at a normal speaking pace "for you" sounds like one word. Just remember when you speak with someone for whom English is not their first language... you don't need to talk louder just slower! Our friends like the way Tom and I speak English. We speak slower and more distinctly when we have to use English here. We know that people are listening who are trying to learn.

As we watch the Olympics we find ourselves not knowing who to always route for... when the Russian women played the Canadian women we cheered for Canada. Mich (michelle) is Canadian and besides the score was 12-0! When Russia was against the Chinese in pairs figure skating we were cheering for Russia. But, when America was snowboarding it was America all the way!!!

Chronicles of Narnia

Spencer and I took the Narnia movie over to Bill & Judi's to watch it with them. Bill was in Moscow so we just spent the afternoon with Judi and the kids. Judi got the chance to be a translator during the movie. The movie was in English but not American English. The little kids were having a hard time understanding the British actors accents. So they kept asking "what did he say?" "what did she say?" At one point Michael (four years old) looked up at his mom and said "is this english?"

Judi got a call from Jim C. after the movie was over. He needed to stop by for a minute. Judi told him to come on over but also warned him that the kids were all out playing in the snow. The kids go from ages 4-15. Jim came over prepared... he showed up with snowballs already made and nailed Spencer (15) and Andrew (12) as he came around the corner! They kids came in laughing and soaking wet.... Andrew said Jim put snow down his clothes. I am thinking the biggest kid out there was Jim!

spencer in the snow!

Spencer walked me home from Bible Study. He picked me up at 9:30 pm so I didn't have to walk home in the dark alone. I brought my camera along because I know how much he enjoys taking pictures. I thought we might get some fun nighttime shots. Spencer had other things in mind... he chose a spot and fell back into the snow to make an angel. The only warning I had for him before he did it was " Don't make an angel in yellow snow!" 

Still Snowing

Like Noah we may want to get rid of some people or events in our boat of life...

It is Friday morning and the snow is still coming down here. We never expected to be living in a climate like this. We were told how much it normally rains in the winter here. This is the most snow that they have had in many years. When we were in New Mexico last year the snow fell there in record amounts too.

Maybe the snow likes us? Maybe it was getting us ready for Krasnodar?

We have friends in California who have been affected by fires and earthquakes... friends in Kansas who still have memories of the damage of past tornados. No matter where we live in this world we will have to contend with nature!

Spencer is off bowling with a friend, Nathan is playing video games in his room, Tom is still sleeping (his favorite past time) and I woke up at 8:30 and could not get back to sleep. Noone has anything that has to be done today so it will be interesting to see what the day holds... maybe movies, popcorn and hot chocolate!

как лёд

Ths snow came down feeling more like pins and needles than soft dewy snowflakes. It was sleet. Rain and snow is not a fun combination to walk in. Some how we got to school with our faces in tact. It felt like having someone scratch at ones face!

I found this photo on a Moscow News site!


Nathan had his assessment today. He was very pleased with how it came out. Spencer and I are scheduled for next week. We also have a review next week of lessons 25-30. It is great that time has past by so quickly.

Last night Valodya and Roma came by to talk over some prayer needs and requests of the church. Valodya brought his youngest daughter with him because she speaks English and he wanted her to translate. Once everyone was seated she realised how tired she was. She had travelled to Moscow last week with her dad to work for him there. She was so happy that Tom and I were able to understand the conversation. She kept leaning over to to tell Nathan she was surprised with how well his parents understood. We aren't doing bad for being adult learners! It is much easier to understand what is being said than to actually respond. But, we do have the ability to respond in simple sentences. Complex sentences are still hard to put together. Russian words and pattern of speaking do not lend themselves very well to English grammatical construction!

As they were leaving Valodya said "like in America, bye!" He and his wife are now studying English at the BLTC. He was practicing the English words that he knew and seemed to be having fun with it. It must help to see all of us struggle with new skills at our age and he and his wife Lena decided to join in and just talk with out fear. If someone speaks to us in English we still answer as best we can in Russian. It is the only way to ensure that everyone gets the practice that they need with language skills!

Assessment time!

It is time for us to have our language skills assessed.

We are doing small reviews to help us prepare. Nathan is going first. His test is tomorrow. Spencer and I will go in next week. The course at the language school is 125 lessons long. Our class just got Lesson 30 today. Students are first assessed somewhere between lesson 25-30.

Lesson 30 is very interesting. We are learning the names and the different titles for each type of believer. Such as Hari Krishna, Moslem or Buddist. We have a new list of verbs and adjectives to learn and we just got the phrase "it seems to me"!

The assessment will determine whether we are at one of the following levels:

Novice

Intermediate

Advanced

Superior

Each level has specific requirements. It is hard to determine where each of us will fall. So let the testing begin!

Snow Madness!

Russian Pranksters Turn Lenin Into Scream Killer
MosNews


Pranksters in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar altered the looks of a Lenin statue by pulling a halloween-type rubber mask like that used in the horror movie Scream over the revolutionary’s face.The monument’s head is about five meters above the ground, the NTV television channel noted.Krasnodar police presume the mask was placed on the statue overnight when there was nobody around.A lot of people gathered in the park where the monument is situated to look at the Communist Party leader in the killer’s mask, the channel added.
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As for our day had a fun taxi driver. He was in a great mood despite all the snow on the roads. In the taxi was Mich, Tom, Nathan and me. A man opened Tom's door when we stopped at the intersection and asked if the driver was free... excuse me? Tom is sitting right there! The rest of us were in the back seat. The driver told him he had passengers right now. The man said "oh, I'm sorry, my vision is bad" when the door shut the driver busted out laughing.

As we were creeping along the street at one point the driver opened the window and said to another taxi driver "how's work?". It is odd how many people seem to just love the snow and are so happy out there. While others can be extra grumpy.

The majority of us made it to school today so classes were held. Tania was in the breakroom with us today. She said that she measured the snow on the table in front of the school and it was two feet high. Yes, we have two feet of snow out there. And when she did the measurement the snow was still falling!

New teachers!

Once again Spencer and I have Madina as our teacher! We are pretty happy about it. Madina is a very thorough teacher and gives great handouts. Today she gave us a model for prayer that she made up. She assigned us each a day to pray. Spencer is praying tomorrow, me on Wednesday and Michelle on Thursday and Janet next Monday. Bill is in Moscow. I think he had to go to the doctor. He was having some ringing in his ears.

Nathan has Arina and he is excited. I really enjoyed having her. She is trying to increase her English skills and will ask how to say or spell things when she needs the answers. Tom has Goar. Goar will challenge your Russian vocabulary and in my opinion she helps you actually learn to ask questions in Russian. Her English is not as good so if you ask in Russian she really understands how to help you. She is also an excellent teacher. She is very thorough with Russian grammer for each new lesson.


Today the talk was about the Superbowl in the breakroom. Iris was the one and only woman who stayed up and watched the game. Go Iris! For the guys it was Mike and Robert. The game started here at 2AM. Robert made a copy for those who want to see it at a more decent hour!

I was glad to hear that there were no Wardrobe Malfunctions this year! One classmate made a comment about Janet... as in Jackson. But, all Janet heard was her name so she threw something at him. I am sure it hurt cuz Janet is a very strong and athletic woman!

O, my goodness, I don't know how I could forget to tell this story... yesterday as we were walking over to Lena and Alexei's house we saw a trolleybus stop at the corner, a bag came flying out and then a dog stepped off. I guess he must have misbehaved on the bus!

ковчег севодня!

We went to Kovchek Baptist Church today. It was a traditional Russian Baptist Church. Much like the one we were at in Ukraine. We decided to visit because Lena grew up Baptist and she wanted to see how the services are conducted here. It was communion Sunday today.



They sang every verse of every hymn!




Fortunately only two pastors spoke today. Traditionally there would be three. But, since we had communion they only had two.


We got to see Vika and Arina at church today. Vika works in the Preschool at the Language School. And Arina is a teacher. They both sang in the choir at Kovchek. Vika sang a solo and it was beautiful!

Natasha came over and greeted me with kisses. That is also traditional in the Baptist churches here. Women kiss women and men kiss men. Most people were kissing on the mouth.

Natasha was looking forward to us coming. She is Bill and Judi's nanny. And we were able to let her know we were planning a visit when we were with them on Friday. Natasha's father is one of the pastors at Kovchek.

At the end of February we will visit Befania Church. (Bethany Church) It is a charasmatic church and we have heard great things about the music over there. I have a few of the CD's from their worship team and they are fantastic. If they were singing in English you would think it was our church back home in Capo Beach!

Russian Officer Hired Out Troops for Slave Labour

Russian officer hired out troops for slave labour
· Rocket commander fined and banned for three years · Concern grows over abuse and beating of conscriptsNick Paton Walsh in MoscowFriday February 3, 2006
GuardianThe Russian military was facing growing public anger yesterday when, amid a flurry of high-profile cases of abuse, a senior officer was convicted of hiring his troops out as slave labour and pocketing the fees.
A Russian military court fined Vladimir Kontonistov 60,000 roubles (£1,200) and barred him from command for three years. Prosecutors said the sentence was too lenient and said they would appeal.
Kontonistov was deputy commander of a division of the Strategic Rocket Forces in Siberia's Novosibirsk region, a unit that services Russia's nuclear missiles. He hired out his troops to local businesses, according to Interfax news agency, a practice believed to be commonplace in an army in which poorly paid officers say they have to find ways to supplement meagre incomes.
The case came amid growing public disgust over the fate of Andrei Sychev, a 19-year-old conscript at a tank academy in the eastern town of Chelyabinsk. He was reportedly beaten and tortured by his superior officers during a drunken rage on New Year's Eve, during which he was tied to a chair and repeatedly hit. He did not receive medical treatment for several days, by which time gangrene had set in, forcing doctors to amputate his legs, genitals and fingers. He was taken off a ventilator only on Monday.
The defence minister, Sergei Ivanov, a confidant of President Vladimir Putin and tipped as a possible successor, was criticised for playing down the incident at first. An outcry by civil society groups led to calls for Mr Ivanov's resignation, and protests outside the ministry of defence on Saturday.
This forced the minister to act, sacking the head of the academy and pushing through an investigation that has led to criminal cases being opened against 12 servicemen.
Mr Putin called the incident "horrible" and last week ordered Mr Ivanov to conduct a wide review of the "educational work" of the military. He also gave the boy's family a flat. The local administration has awarded the family £10,000 in aid and Moscow's media now carry the details of a bank account to which the public can send contributions. Russian state doctors have said they can operate on him to restore his genitals.
The cases have drawn attention once again to the wretched conditions suffered by military conscripts. All Russian men are supposed to serve two years in the military between the ages of 18 and 28. Reports of brutal initiation ceremonies and bullying are common.
The media reported 10 serious incidents in the past 24 hours. In one case, Yevgeny Koblov, a soldier serving in Khabarovsk in the Russian far east, was heavily beaten in May last year, but lay in a basement for 24 days before receiving medical treatment. He may also have to have his legs amputated, as may another conscript from Ekaterinberg who reportedly has similarly serious leg injuries.
In an attempt to confront one of the most unpopular issues in Russian society, the Kremlin has pledged to reduce the length of service to 12 months.
While few are now sent to serve in the violent North Caucasus, near Chechnya, it is estimated that hundreds die each year through accidents or through the ritualistic bullying inflicted by superior officers. Forty-six soldiers died of non-combat injuries in one week alone last year.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

Domino Game That Would Not End

Tonight was the first night that Spencer and I worked together at the Orphanage. It went great. Judy had planned a craft where the kids were making dragonflies. And it had a package of gum for the body. The boys all wanted to do the craft to get the gum! Many of the kids were very creative.... this is unusual for Russian children. Judy told them to color the dragonfly their favorite colors. And there was a wide range of crayons to choose from. One boy figured out that he didn't have to color inside the lines because all the pieces had to be cut out. I thought that was very clever. There was only one other child who did the same thing and it was also a boy.

It was enjoyable talking with the children. They all asked if their finished products were beautiful. Don't we all need to be affirmed?!

After being at the Orphanage we all went to Bill and Judy's house for dinner and dominoes. One of the pizzas they ordered had mayonaise, cucumbers and tomatoes on it. It is not a traditional Russian pizza. We said it was strange for American pizza to be made that way. Natasha, their nanny, said it was strange for Russia too!

We played four games of dominos. The person to the right of the dealer won three consecutive times! The final game we played took a looong time to complete. The rule is if you forget to tap your domino to signal that you have only one left then you have to draw again. Well, I think it happened to Judy 3 times and then to Bill and me two times and to Mike once. Finally, Andrew, who had been giving Kathy a hard time all night WON the game!

Before we ate dinner I had asked everyone to pray for Nathan. He has his youth group meeting on Friday nights and he had decided that he wanted to pray tonight at the beginning of the meeting in Russian. Lesson 28 is on prayer. We have been learning all week how to pray in Russian. Lena had Nathan write out his prayer to be prepared ahead of time. He said it went very well. Nathan speaks Russian very well and very fast. I am not suprised that he is the first one of us to pray in Russian in public!

Tom had a night all to himself. I sent him a text message to let him know where Spencer and I were. He wrote me back saying that he had just gotten up from a nap and was getting ready to eat dinner! It was after 8PM then.

===========================================

If anyone is interested in having their child correspond with a child here please send the letters to us. I will take them to the orphanage and have the children write back. Some of them are learning English and it would be good practice to have them write letters! We hope to find many participants. Please spread the word! This is a transitional house so the kids come and go. Their ages go all the way to 17.

Lunch with the Girls!

Today was Janet's birthday. The women from school all went out to lunch. We went to a fun place called Prima Vera. It is amazing that we have an Italian restaurant here in Russia. The food was really great. The only people that got a suprise when their food arrived were Mary and Michelle. They ordered a Marinara pizza. Should be something with a great sauce, right? It was Marinara as in marine! It came with shrimp, calamari, mussels, squid, and some other things we were not quite sure of.

Yesterday, Lena and I went to the hospital to visit Anya. She is Sasha's daughter from the Rehab center. Her baby was born 5 days ago and he has pneumonia. I didn't do much there. I just listened to her and let her know that Nathan had the same problem as a baby. She was relieved to hear that. We prayed with her before we left. We tried to go back and see her today. But, when we got there we found out that she was already at home. The baby is still in the hospital. Please pray for him. His name is Timothy.

I had a talk with Nellie about my social project. I am going to start a new job; working at the orphanage. Hopefully, that will be a better match. Tamara was a difficult person to work with. No matter what I had prepared she was not happy. The children were thrilled but she was not. I was trying to stick it out because I told Nathan we need to learn how to work with difficult people. I am grateful for the answer to prayer. Nathan will go with his Dad and I will go with Spencer... hopefully that will work out!

What would you say?

Today we were talking about Groundhog's Day.
I finally found the Russian word!
woodchuck
сурок лесной североамериканский
surok lesnoy severo-amerikanski


We got on this topic because tomorrow is Janet's birthday. Feb 2, Groundhog's Day. It is also Debbie H.'s birthday in California. Happy Birthday ladies! GP, I hope you do something nice for your mom! http://www.groundhog.org/

Tom went to school today and didn't look good. Three people tried to send him home. First Madina, then Kathy and then Ann. Madina- the teacher, Kathy- the nurse and Ann- the mom. But, noone was successful! He stuck it out for the day.
I shared our recent shipment of green chiles with the Texans. They all got excited. I even gave one to Janet. Evidently they like spicy food in Kentucky too!

My text messaging feature on my phone was not working. I took my phone over to the store and asked why. The gal over there had me change my phone language to Russian and then still needed my help finding where something was located on my phone. Oy! Talk about a language lesson. I should have taken notes because when I tried to show it to Nathan I couldn't because by then I had already changed the language back to English. Anyway it works again... so if you have my cell number I can recieve text messages now!

Tom's new lesson is on furniture and the rest of us are learning to pray. We are going to be assessed in a few weeks. So there is a chance classes will change again. I am not sure. Two of the classes are on the same lesson. Only one is a few lessons behind. We have a written test to take and then will have a verbal interview. It should be interesting to see the results!