Spencer and I got up early this morning to go to Metro with Bill S. at 7:30am.
http://www.metro-cc.ru/index.jsp after the page loads just click on English if you want the page translated.
I found some treats this morning; Sweet potatoes, marshmallows, peanut butter, bacon and so on. I was excited about the sweet potatoes... I had not seen them since this time last year. But, the biggest find of the day was envelopes. Usually the envelopes we can find are already pre-stamped from the post office. So, you have to pay for the envelope as well as the postage. I found plain white envelopes. I never thought I would get excited over something so ordinary.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Sunday, January 07, 2007
presents
I bought a little backpack for Ira for her New Year's present. It is a stuffed toy poodle with a zippered pouch to store all of her things inside. Yesterday, Olya told Tom that Ira walks around telling everyone that "Aunt Alida and Uncle Tom" gave it to her. And she won't take it off... she even went to bed with it.
When they go out for walks they have seen other little girls with the same type of bag. Ira will get excited and say that she has one too! When I gave it to her it was filled with candy. I let her eat two pieces while we were watching her and Yanna on Friday. Then when her parents took her home they took all the candy out so she would not get sick trying to eat it all!
When they go out for walks they have seen other little girls with the same type of bag. Ira will get excited and say that she has one too! When I gave it to her it was filled with candy. I let her eat two pieces while we were watching her and Yanna on Friday. Then when her parents took her home they took all the candy out so she would not get sick trying to eat it all!
Saturday, January 06, 2007
simple joys
Spencer and I went out today to pick up new internet cards and bus passes for the month. Our time went very smoothly. At the bus depot we were able to get off the bus, purchase the passes and get back on the same bus before it pulled off again.
We got off on Krasnaya and then walked down to the UTK building to buy the new internet cards. It was lightly misting out as we were walking. Once we picked up the internet cards we continued on down Krasnaya to a video store where we found two new movies. The Wild and X Men 3. The guys have been wanting to see X Men 3 for quite sometime so that was a major find.
Spencer and I walked about 8 blocks to the next bus stop and were a little frustrasted to have seen the bus we needed pass us on the way. The bus we ended up taking was only going as far as the depot so we had to change buses to get all the way home. The bus change was the highlight of Spencer's day. He has been saying for the last three months or so that he wanted to ride one of the new buses and today he got his wish. He sat down next to me with a great big smile. I had not seen him that excited for awhile. Simple joy....riding a new bus!
We got off on Krasnaya and then walked down to the UTK building to buy the new internet cards. It was lightly misting out as we were walking. Once we picked up the internet cards we continued on down Krasnaya to a video store where we found two new movies. The Wild and X Men 3. The guys have been wanting to see X Men 3 for quite sometime so that was a major find.
Spencer and I walked about 8 blocks to the next bus stop and were a little frustrasted to have seen the bus we needed pass us on the way. The bus we ended up taking was only going as far as the depot so we had to change buses to get all the way home. The bus change was the highlight of Spencer's day. He has been saying for the last three months or so that he wanted to ride one of the new buses and today he got his wish. He sat down next to me with a great big smile. I had not seen him that excited for awhile. Simple joy....riding a new bus!
Friday, January 05, 2007
Christmas Party at the Orphanage
Oksana came over today and neither one of us was feeling very much like going today. But we bit the bullet and decided to pull it all together for the kids. We stuffed the gifts bags that I bought along with the notebooks and other goodies for the kids. The other goodies came from Reconciliation Church, they took an offering for the children and went out and purchased items. We also had three teacher gifts as well.
They each received a toothbrush, toothpaste, lots of candy, notebook (Batman for boys and Cinderella for the girls), markers, a pencil and stickers. The big hit of the night were the crowns that Judi H. had picked up for the girls... but, the boys liked them too. They decided that they were kings and queens!
We had a small group of 11 children that we gave gifts to in one building and then we were asked to come over to the other building that is like a hospital for the children when they first arrive. We gave out another 12 gifts over there. We danced and sang with the kids and were treated to a break dance competition. And if you want to know how to say Break dance in Russian... it is just the English words "Break dance"!
Oksana was able to tell the Christmas story to the kids and it was great to see that many of them already knew it!
They each received a toothbrush, toothpaste, lots of candy, notebook (Batman for boys and Cinderella for the girls), markers, a pencil and stickers. The big hit of the night were the crowns that Judi H. had picked up for the girls... but, the boys liked them too. They decided that they were kings and queens!
We had a small group of 11 children that we gave gifts to in one building and then we were asked to come over to the other building that is like a hospital for the children when they first arrive. We gave out another 12 gifts over there. We danced and sang with the kids and were treated to a break dance competition. And if you want to know how to say Break dance in Russian... it is just the English words "Break dance"!
Oksana was able to tell the Christmas story to the kids and it was great to see that many of them already knew it!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
24
Tom and I had a chance to spend some time with Tim and Joy today. Before we left their house Joy lent us the first season of 24.
It is so good to have something new to watch. We especially enjoy seeing a series. We were able to see the Amazing Race thanks to my friend Joan. And we have seen some CSI courtesy of Tom's folks. One of the things I miss the most is American TV. I could honestly count the television as a childhood friend.
Spencer and I went shopping today to buy goodies for the kids at the orphanage. We found Batman notebooks for the boys. And we found Cinderella notebooks for the girls. We purchased gift bags too. Oksana is bringing candy over tomorrow at 2 in the afternoon and we will fill the goodie bags before going over to visit the kids. They have had several groups give them candy and toys. Our focus will be to tell the Christmas story. It is so good to have Oksana with us on this project. Because as a Russian she can tell the kids the story in their own language without any grammar mistakes getting in the way!
It is so good to have something new to watch. We especially enjoy seeing a series. We were able to see the Amazing Race thanks to my friend Joan. And we have seen some CSI courtesy of Tom's folks. One of the things I miss the most is American TV. I could honestly count the television as a childhood friend.
Spencer and I went shopping today to buy goodies for the kids at the orphanage. We found Batman notebooks for the boys. And we found Cinderella notebooks for the girls. We purchased gift bags too. Oksana is bringing candy over tomorrow at 2 in the afternoon and we will fill the goodie bags before going over to visit the kids. They have had several groups give them candy and toys. Our focus will be to tell the Christmas story. It is so good to have Oksana with us on this project. Because as a Russian she can tell the kids the story in their own language without any grammar mistakes getting in the way!
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
and then there were two
There is officially a second AA meeting here in Krasnodar. It was Alexei's plan and design. He iniated the whole thing. Tonight was the second meeting and he did a really good job. Most of the people are from the Saturday night meeting but they were talking about how to advertise the meeting or get the word out. It is also exciting because it is at our church.
Tom says it is nice to have a meeting within walking distance and not have to take two or more buses to get there!
Tom says it is nice to have a meeting within walking distance and not have to take two or more buses to get there!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Samson
We spent the day in Axtirka. Sasha and his wife Tanya have a fitness center. They invited us to come work out and spend the day with them.
Tim, Joy, Hannah, TJ, Spencer, Tom and I drove out together to this small city of 40,000. It was a nice day today... not very cold. And no snow on the ground.
We ate dinner with the team from Axtirka, including Tom and Carol who came in from Krasnodar on the train. Sasha also invited Andrei and Valera. Andrei brought his wife and two daughters. We had duck and five different salads. Spencer said that "duck is something he never would have tried in the US".
At the fitness center, which is located right across from the only post office in town, Tom and Spencer got in a good work out. They tried all of the available equipment. There was a treadmill, weight bench, stationary bike and an elliptical trainer. I tried the stationary bike for a bit but quickly decided I had no desire to work up a sweat. I, along with Sveta and Alexei H. from the BLTC, who joined us at the fitness center, decided to go to the massage beds. It was NICE! The beds are heated and there is a device that goes from your head to below the buttocks giving you a spinal massage for 40 minutes. After that we had tea and dessert while watching nature videos.
Neither Spencer nor I took our cameras. We will just have to go again!
Tim, Joy, Hannah, TJ, Spencer, Tom and I drove out together to this small city of 40,000. It was a nice day today... not very cold. And no snow on the ground.
We ate dinner with the team from Axtirka, including Tom and Carol who came in from Krasnodar on the train. Sasha also invited Andrei and Valera. Andrei brought his wife and two daughters. We had duck and five different salads. Spencer said that "duck is something he never would have tried in the US".
At the fitness center, which is located right across from the only post office in town, Tom and Spencer got in a good work out. They tried all of the available equipment. There was a treadmill, weight bench, stationary bike and an elliptical trainer. I tried the stationary bike for a bit but quickly decided I had no desire to work up a sweat. I, along with Sveta and Alexei H. from the BLTC, who joined us at the fitness center, decided to go to the massage beds. It was NICE! The beds are heated and there is a device that goes from your head to below the buttocks giving you a spinal massage for 40 minutes. After that we had tea and dessert while watching nature videos.
Neither Spencer nor I took our cameras. We will just have to go again!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Happy New Year!
Tom and I got up and went to church. It was beautifully decorated with Christmas decorations, which are New Year's decorations here. Afterwards Nathan, Tom and I went out to Krasnaya Ploshad to look around and shop a bit. Spencer stayed home because he had a cake in the oven and he didn't want anyone else to watch it for him.
We all pitched in to make dinner, ate the huge dinner, watched a movie and a few episodes of LOST and throughout it all our neighbors were setting off fireworks.
At midnight President Putin came on the TV and we listened to his speech. I think no matter where you live all presidential speeches are the same. He recapped the year, gave a vision for the future and closed by wishing everyone success and health, and so on!
Once Putin was done the fireworks started up with a vengeance! Not just little ones that pop but huge stuff... like you would see in a professional show. Most of the fireworks come here from China and it is overwhelming. Things are thrown off balconies, off roof tops and there was even a group of our neighbors down in the field where the kids play soccer. We are grateful nothing was set on fire!
It is almost 2am here and there is very loud music going on in our building. This is a party that is not going to end anytime soon!
Heat update:
Thanks to the electric radiator we are borrowing from Tim and Joy our home is warm. It also helps that today was a warm day.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
now what?
On Firday we asked Joy if she would call our building manager for us to let him know that the apartments here in the building are cold. When she found out that we were cold, she offered an electric heater for us to use until we get the radiators fixed. Our apartment feels much warmer now.
Saturday morning Spencer heard a commotion out in the stairway. He heard yelling for about 15 minutes straight... then a knock at our front door. The knocking at the door was the building manager. He asked if our apartment was warm. Then he asked Tom where the radiator was. He touched the radiator in the living room and pronounced that it was “fine”. He touched the floor, said “perfect”, and then walked out the door. As he got out the door, the neighbors were still screaming at him. We heard him saying things like “it is not that cold right now” and “it is going to be a warm winter”. He argued with one woman for another 15 minutes. Does this mean he is going to fix it? We don’t know.
As you can imagine it is frustrating not to understand every single word. Because of that, we don’t know what the resolution is... if any. Spencer and Tom tried to ask the upstairs neighbors when it was all over but no one would open their doors. Maybe they were tired of the controversy and did not want to invite more in! I found out later from Joy that she had not been able to get a hold of him. So, his coming out was at the request of another neighbor in the building. We are glad to know that our neighbors were upset about the cold too and that they were willing to fight the battle and not just us!
Later in the evening Olya called and wanted to know if we had electricity. Hers was out and so were her neighbors. I told her we still had electricity and invited her to come down to our place. She said that she was okay at home and she just wanted to know if the whole building was without lights or just their entrance. Almost two hours went by and then our power went out.
Tom and I both had the same thought. We wondered if they cut our power because of the complaints about the heat. As the power went off, I was putting a casserole in the oven. Fortunately, we have a gas oven so I was able to finish making dinner. I got out my cell phone and called Olya to let her know that our power was out too. She said that someone should be coming out to fix it soon if the whole building was down. We lit candles and then I called Joy to let her know that now we didn’t have lights. She said she was glad to hear me laughing about it. What else could we do? As I was on the phone with Joy, the lights and everything came back on. Spencer called Olya to see if her power was back and it was for them too.
What a day! Wonder what tomorrow will bring?
Saturday morning Spencer heard a commotion out in the stairway. He heard yelling for about 15 minutes straight... then a knock at our front door. The knocking at the door was the building manager. He asked if our apartment was warm. Then he asked Tom where the radiator was. He touched the radiator in the living room and pronounced that it was “fine”. He touched the floor, said “perfect”, and then walked out the door. As he got out the door, the neighbors were still screaming at him. We heard him saying things like “it is not that cold right now” and “it is going to be a warm winter”. He argued with one woman for another 15 minutes. Does this mean he is going to fix it? We don’t know.
As you can imagine it is frustrating not to understand every single word. Because of that, we don’t know what the resolution is... if any. Spencer and Tom tried to ask the upstairs neighbors when it was all over but no one would open their doors. Maybe they were tired of the controversy and did not want to invite more in! I found out later from Joy that she had not been able to get a hold of him. So, his coming out was at the request of another neighbor in the building. We are glad to know that our neighbors were upset about the cold too and that they were willing to fight the battle and not just us!
Later in the evening Olya called and wanted to know if we had electricity. Hers was out and so were her neighbors. I told her we still had electricity and invited her to come down to our place. She said that she was okay at home and she just wanted to know if the whole building was without lights or just their entrance. Almost two hours went by and then our power went out.
Tom and I both had the same thought. We wondered if they cut our power because of the complaints about the heat. As the power went off, I was putting a casserole in the oven. Fortunately, we have a gas oven so I was able to finish making dinner. I got out my cell phone and called Olya to let her know that our power was out too. She said that someone should be coming out to fix it soon if the whole building was down. We lit candles and then I called Joy to let her know that now we didn’t have lights. She said she was glad to hear me laughing about it. What else could we do? As I was on the phone with Joy, the lights and everything came back on. Spencer called Olya to see if her power was back and it was for them too.
What a day! Wonder what tomorrow will bring?
Friday, December 29, 2006
fixing up the place?
As reported earlier this week, our stairwell is being painted. We thought that they were done after they did the bottom half of the walls blue... the top half is white. However, they came along this morning and did this brown trim.
while the windows remain broken...
Hopefully, they are finished with the painting in our stairwell and will move on down to the next entrance. We live in entrance number 1. Olya doesn't think they will get to her entrance, number 9, until February!
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Alida's Pumpkin Cookies
I am still figuring out creative ways to use up all the pumpkin I froze. These are the cookies that the guys gobbled up for dessert last night. If you like soft cookies then these are for you!
I was going to take a photo of the cookies but they were all eaten before I got out the camera.
Alida's Pumpkin Cookies
1 cup sugar
2 cups pumpkin
1/2 cup butter,softened
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts ( I used pecans)
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugar, pumpkin and butter. Stir in flour, baking powder,soda, spice and salt. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop by teaspoon fulls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake until light brown 8-10 minutes. Immediately remove from baking sheet; cool. Spread with a cream cheese frosting if desired. Makes about 4 dozen!
Prayer request:
Please pray for those of us living in apartments here. Our homes are heated by radiators and we have no way to regulate the heat in our rooms except to open a window. Last year we opened the windows as soon as we got home from school. This year the radiators don't seem to be putting out as much heat and the apartment is colder. Spencer and Olya talked with the upstairs neighbor and their apartment is colder than ours. We have double-pane windows and insulated walls. But, our neighbors are not as fortunate.
I was going to take a photo of the cookies but they were all eaten before I got out the camera.
Alida's Pumpkin Cookies
1 cup sugar
2 cups pumpkin
1/2 cup butter,softened
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts ( I used pecans)
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugar, pumpkin and butter. Stir in flour, baking powder,soda, spice and salt. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop by teaspoon fulls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake until light brown 8-10 minutes. Immediately remove from baking sheet; cool. Spread with a cream cheese frosting if desired. Makes about 4 dozen!
Prayer request:
Please pray for those of us living in apartments here. Our homes are heated by radiators and we have no way to regulate the heat in our rooms except to open a window. Last year we opened the windows as soon as we got home from school. This year the radiators don't seem to be putting out as much heat and the apartment is colder. Spencer and Olya talked with the upstairs neighbor and their apartment is colder than ours. We have double-pane windows and insulated walls. But, our neighbors are not as fortunate.
long day
We had a Social Ministries Team meeting and then a meeting at the BLTC following that.
We came home in the dark, both of us (Tom and I) tired and hungry. I made dinner and some pumpkin cookies for dessert and then we decided to watch a movie.
We watched Reds... http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/reds/about.php although it has good reviews it is one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. Spencer said it was THE MOST boring for him. He went over to Judi B's today with Sonja to watch part of the marathon Judi was doing with the Lord Of the Rings trilogy. He says he only stayed about 4 hours and just saw one of the 3 movies! Nathan didn't go because he did his LOTR movies over the weekend!
We have snow on the ground and it is cold outside and in. We are wearing light jackets or sweaters in the apartment. Transportation here is slow. This morning we took a taxi over to the meeting at Tim and Joy's so that we would not be too late. Our taxi driver got confused and took us a little too far. I recognised we were going the wrong way and he apologised and only charge us the minimum fee for the ride. Which was a blessing because when the weather gets bad they will charge extra for using up gas for the heater!
We came home in the dark, both of us (Tom and I) tired and hungry. I made dinner and some pumpkin cookies for dessert and then we decided to watch a movie.
We watched Reds... http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/reds/about.php although it has good reviews it is one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. Spencer said it was THE MOST boring for him. He went over to Judi B's today with Sonja to watch part of the marathon Judi was doing with the Lord Of the Rings trilogy. He says he only stayed about 4 hours and just saw one of the 3 movies! Nathan didn't go because he did his LOTR movies over the weekend!
We have snow on the ground and it is cold outside and in. We are wearing light jackets or sweaters in the apartment. Transportation here is slow. This morning we took a taxi over to the meeting at Tim and Joy's so that we would not be too late. Our taxi driver got confused and took us a little too far. I recognised we were going the wrong way and he apologised and only charge us the minimum fee for the ride. Which was a blessing because when the weather gets bad they will charge extra for using up gas for the heater!
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
minus zero activities
The staircase in our apartment building is being painted today. Tom says that they are using a petroleum based paint. It sticks to high heaven. I was awakened by the fumes.
We are not sure why they waited until it was below zero outside and snow is on the ground but such is life here in Russia!
We are not sure why they waited until it was below zero outside and snow is on the ground but such is life here in Russia!
Monday, December 25, 2006
Just a Little Bit of Service...
Today was our first snowfall of the season. We awoke to a soft, white covering everywhere. It snowed the rest of the day & turned into an icy mess by late afternoon. Beautiful? Yes. Comfortable? No. Today I (Tom) took 4 tolleybuses, 2 marshutkas & did lots of walking to get to the police services facility to speak to prison psychologists of our region. I left at 10:30am even though I wasn't scheduled to be at the facility until 12 noon. With numerous accidents due to the weather, I arrived at 11:54...certainly time enough to spare... on a trip that usually takes about 25 minutes.
Between 40 & 50 prison psychologists & police officers had also braved the elements to arrive for our first training. I spoke for a couple of hours on general issues for working with addicts & alcoholics. Many of the professionals in attendance work in very small communities & villages, & this was the first type of training that they have received. The attendees were very interested & engaged, & stated that they would like to have more training of this type. I answered as many questions as I could, dispelled myths & misconceptions about the disease of addiction, & tried to provide some practical tools for this group. Many of the attendees had questions about what kind of statistics are available about alcohol & drug problems in Russia. It was surprising to me that they lacked some key information about the very population they are working with. It showed me the great need for on-going education & training. Katya did a great job translating & said that it was very interesting for her as well, as it was all brand new info. I shared with the group that it was great to be in a room filled with police officers & prison personnel, & NOT be in trouble! They appreciated the humor.
I'm not sure how everyone did with having a 'civilian' at the facility, let alone an 'American.' I was escorted everywhere, even to the bathroom! Still I look forward to other opportunities to be just a little bit of service!
Between 40 & 50 prison psychologists & police officers had also braved the elements to arrive for our first training. I spoke for a couple of hours on general issues for working with addicts & alcoholics. Many of the professionals in attendance work in very small communities & villages, & this was the first type of training that they have received. The attendees were very interested & engaged, & stated that they would like to have more training of this type. I answered as many questions as I could, dispelled myths & misconceptions about the disease of addiction, & tried to provide some practical tools for this group. Many of the attendees had questions about what kind of statistics are available about alcohol & drug problems in Russia. It was surprising to me that they lacked some key information about the very population they are working with. It showed me the great need for on-going education & training. Katya did a great job translating & said that it was very interesting for her as well, as it was all brand new info. I shared with the group that it was great to be in a room filled with police officers & prison personnel, & NOT be in trouble! They appreciated the humor.
I'm not sure how everyone did with having a 'civilian' at the facility, let alone an 'American.' I was escorted everywhere, even to the bathroom! Still I look forward to other opportunities to be just a little bit of service!
Merry Christmas!
The guys say that today has been fun. We got up and went out to Krasnaya Ploshad (our mall) to shop for Christmas presents and for our movie for the day.
Tom came home with a new electric razor and some music CD's.
Nathan had new head phones, movies and some music too.
Spencer has new music.
I will have to go shopping another day because they don't sell yarn at the mall. I will be purchasing some cashmere to make a sweater.
Our family movie was.... Serenity. http://www.serenitymovie.com/ After watching the series on DVD we had to get the movie to answer all the questions we had from the series. The movie is action packed and did not disappoint!
We had dinner at McDonald's and everyone was stuffed to the gills and there was nothing to clean up afterwards.
It is very different celebrating in a country where Dec 25th is not Christmas. There has been nothing on TV, no celebrations and all businesses were open.
Orthodox Christmas is January 7th. You can read more about how Russians celebrate here:
http://russian-crafts.com/customs/christmas.html
So far all of you who do celebrate today... Have a wonderful Christmas!
Tom came home with a new electric razor and some music CD's.
Nathan had new head phones, movies and some music too.
Spencer has new music.
I will have to go shopping another day because they don't sell yarn at the mall. I will be purchasing some cashmere to make a sweater.
Our family movie was.... Serenity. http://www.serenitymovie.com/ After watching the series on DVD we had to get the movie to answer all the questions we had from the series. The movie is action packed and did not disappoint!
We had dinner at McDonald's and everyone was stuffed to the gills and there was nothing to clean up afterwards.
It is very different celebrating in a country where Dec 25th is not Christmas. There has been nothing on TV, no celebrations and all businesses were open.
Orthodox Christmas is January 7th. You can read more about how Russians celebrate here:
http://russian-crafts.com/customs/christmas.html
So far all of you who do celebrate today... Have a wonderful Christmas!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Holiday Fun
Last night we were with the Watson family. Nathan, Spencer and I went over for dessert and to watch A Christmas Story. Seeing how Joy decorated for Christmas made us feel very festive. And it was like Christmas is "actually real" for someone other than us. Everywhere else we go we realise that the decorations are for New Year's (including the trees) and not for Christmas.
However, seeing an American home decorated for the holiday actually reminded us that we are not the only ones celebrating on the 25th.
Tom joined us after his AA meeting and then we all came home together. Tom and I stayed up way too late and missed out on the church serivce this morning.
I think I was in a funk and really didn't want to go and that is why I didn't set my alarm. This is our last Christmas with Nathan at home. Tom says that I have already started to grieve and that is healthy. We do want to send him off in a healthy way. And it is also important that I acknowledge how I feel about losing him. The only consolation is knowing that he is going to be with Mom and Dad.
Alexei and Lena stopped by to wish us a Merry Christmas. After that Olya came over with her friend Luda (as in Ludmilla)and her two teenage girls. Anya is 13 and Nastia is 14. They are studying English and wanted to practice. We asked and answered questions in a mixture of Russian and English for a few hours. We had to remember to speak slow so that they could understand us when we spoke English. We drank tea and ate a cake that they brought over as a hostess gift. Thirteen year old Anya likes to write and has written some fairy tales. While 14 year old Nastia likes cars and wants to be a designer. Luda is currently studying to be a psychologist so she had questions for Tom as well.
Both the girls and Olya were suprised that I knew who Dima Bilan is (a singer who came in second in Eurovision). I was watching the night he won and have heard his song on the radio and on TV since then.
After everyone was gone we were pretty tired. We decided to order pizza and watch some movies. We checked out the delivery menu for our favorite pizza place and decided to try some new things. We ordered:
barbecue beef pizza
salmon pizza
assorted meat pizza
chicken pizza
The barbecue pizza was more like a chopped steak pizza. The salmon pizza was salmon, green beans and cheese. The chicken pizza was chicken, cheese and olives. Tom was not real thrilled with the salmon pizza even though he is a big salmon fan... just not on pizza!
It is just after midnight and Spencer is already in bed while Tom and Nathan are watching the 3rd Lord Of The Rings movie. This is Tom's first time seeing it!
However, seeing an American home decorated for the holiday actually reminded us that we are not the only ones celebrating on the 25th.
Tom joined us after his AA meeting and then we all came home together. Tom and I stayed up way too late and missed out on the church serivce this morning.
I think I was in a funk and really didn't want to go and that is why I didn't set my alarm. This is our last Christmas with Nathan at home. Tom says that I have already started to grieve and that is healthy. We do want to send him off in a healthy way. And it is also important that I acknowledge how I feel about losing him. The only consolation is knowing that he is going to be with Mom and Dad.
Alexei and Lena stopped by to wish us a Merry Christmas. After that Olya came over with her friend Luda (as in Ludmilla)and her two teenage girls. Anya is 13 and Nastia is 14. They are studying English and wanted to practice. We asked and answered questions in a mixture of Russian and English for a few hours. We had to remember to speak slow so that they could understand us when we spoke English. We drank tea and ate a cake that they brought over as a hostess gift. Thirteen year old Anya likes to write and has written some fairy tales. While 14 year old Nastia likes cars and wants to be a designer. Luda is currently studying to be a psychologist so she had questions for Tom as well.
Both the girls and Olya were suprised that I knew who Dima Bilan is (a singer who came in second in Eurovision). I was watching the night he won and have heard his song on the radio and on TV since then.
After everyone was gone we were pretty tired. We decided to order pizza and watch some movies. We checked out the delivery menu for our favorite pizza place and decided to try some new things. We ordered:
barbecue beef pizza
salmon pizza
assorted meat pizza
chicken pizza
The barbecue pizza was more like a chopped steak pizza. The salmon pizza was salmon, green beans and cheese. The chicken pizza was chicken, cheese and olives. Tom was not real thrilled with the salmon pizza even though he is a big salmon fan... just not on pizza!
It is just after midnight and Spencer is already in bed while Tom and Nathan are watching the 3rd Lord Of The Rings movie. This is Tom's first time seeing it!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Orphanage
Spencer and I were back at work today at the Detsy Priyut. We had fun with the kids. We, along with Sonja, arrived before Oksana did and the kids were very surprised to see us so we got huge hugs.
I was glad that the gaurd at the gate opened up for us immediately after I told him why we were there. Then I was able to ask a different worker where we could set up to spend time with the kids. I know that I still make grammar mistakes but I am understood and that gives me the confidence to keep on talking and allowing myself to make mistakes so that I can learn to say it right.
The kids had visitors before we got there and they had large bags of candy from it. They were so happy with their new wealth that they were all giving us candy.
It was very touching. Can you imagine? These kids have so little and yet they wanted to share!
I had the kids making snowflakes from 3 different patterns that I found on the internet. Girls and boys jumped right in and got to work after one explanation. And when Oksana arrived she had them make Christmas trees using plastic cups, glue and garland. It was cute.
One of the boys, Losha, wanted Spencer and I to see his room. He had decorated it and hung his snowflakes and Christmas tree up for all to see.
One of the games we played was:
we separated into two teams. Each team stood in a straight line holding hands. The first person in line had to watch Oksana as she flipped a coin. If it landed with the number side up the first person in line had to sqeeze the hand of the person next to them and so on...transmitting the "signal" to the end of the line. The person at the end of the line had to pick up a package of gum when they received the signal. It was funny how many times a signal was wrongly transmitted or the kid at the end picked up the gun as soon as the coin was tossed. When the game was over the team who had done it correctly the most times won the package of gum to share. There was enough gum in the package for everyone on both teams to share!
We left tired and happy. Spencer and I had babysat for Ira and Yanna yesterday and he went back again today to sit with Yanna while Olya took Ira to a playschool session. He said that he had been taking care of children for "two whole days and was worn out!"
I was glad that the gaurd at the gate opened up for us immediately after I told him why we were there. Then I was able to ask a different worker where we could set up to spend time with the kids. I know that I still make grammar mistakes but I am understood and that gives me the confidence to keep on talking and allowing myself to make mistakes so that I can learn to say it right.
The kids had visitors before we got there and they had large bags of candy from it. They were so happy with their new wealth that they were all giving us candy.
It was very touching. Can you imagine? These kids have so little and yet they wanted to share!
I had the kids making snowflakes from 3 different patterns that I found on the internet. Girls and boys jumped right in and got to work after one explanation. And when Oksana arrived she had them make Christmas trees using plastic cups, glue and garland. It was cute.
One of the boys, Losha, wanted Spencer and I to see his room. He had decorated it and hung his snowflakes and Christmas tree up for all to see.
One of the games we played was:
we separated into two teams. Each team stood in a straight line holding hands. The first person in line had to watch Oksana as she flipped a coin. If it landed with the number side up the first person in line had to sqeeze the hand of the person next to them and so on...transmitting the "signal" to the end of the line. The person at the end of the line had to pick up a package of gum when they received the signal. It was funny how many times a signal was wrongly transmitted or the kid at the end picked up the gun as soon as the coin was tossed. When the game was over the team who had done it correctly the most times won the package of gum to share. There was enough gum in the package for everyone on both teams to share!
We left tired and happy. Spencer and I had babysat for Ira and Yanna yesterday and he went back again today to sit with Yanna while Olya took Ira to a playschool session. He said that he had been taking care of children for "two whole days and was worn out!"
Thursday, December 21, 2006
lookie what I got!
Thanks Mom for the new cookbook!
I am looking forward to cooking my way though this one. I used to watch Rachel Ray when we still lived in the states. She was my inspiration for actually following a recipe. I love the idea of having 365- 30 Minute Meals to choose from for dinner. The guys are actually prepared to try some new things.
Last night I read some of the recipe titles aloud for the guys and we talked about what we could and could not buy here. Substitutions may have to be made. That is okay, we have learned to adapt.
Spencer and I went shopping today and we found most of what we needed to make the very first recipe in the book. Scramblewiches. I thought I already had the cheese we needed but I was mistaken. I will go out tomorrow for Swiss cheese. One good thing about living here is the cheeses imported from around the world.
Speaking Engagement
Last night Tom received a phone call from Natasha. She is a prison psychologist. She had asked Tom on Sunday if he would be able to speak to the regional prison psychologists if she were to set up a day for them all to come to Krasnodar. She called last night with the date and time of the event. I took the phone to firm up the details and I think I understood most of what she said. Tom will be speaking on Tuesday, December 26th, for 3 hours on the subject of how to work with alcoholics and addicts. He was asked to focus on dependency issues. Katya will be there to translate. (She was our very first translator in 2004 when we visited for a month)
It is interesting that she has only heard Tom speak one time. She was invited by Jim and Joyce to come to our church when Tom spoke there for the first time. He does of great job of integrating theology and psychology each time he speaks. She told me on the phone last night that she felt that Tom had more experience and knowledge of how to work with addictions than what she and her colleagues here in Russia have.
I was talking with Lena today and telling her about Natasha asking Tom to speak to the area psychologists. Lena told me that Natasha is not just one of the prison psychologists in the area... she is the Regional Head Psychologist for the entire prison system. Now it makes since why she was able to call a meeting for all the area prison psychologists!
Tom is looking forward to being able to speak to this population. This is why we are here and it is exciting to have this door open for us!
It is interesting that she has only heard Tom speak one time. She was invited by Jim and Joyce to come to our church when Tom spoke there for the first time. He does of great job of integrating theology and psychology each time he speaks. She told me on the phone last night that she felt that Tom had more experience and knowledge of how to work with addictions than what she and her colleagues here in Russia have.
I was talking with Lena today and telling her about Natasha asking Tom to speak to the area psychologists. Lena told me that Natasha is not just one of the prison psychologists in the area... she is the Regional Head Psychologist for the entire prison system. Now it makes since why she was able to call a meeting for all the area prison psychologists!
Tom is looking forward to being able to speak to this population. This is why we are here and it is exciting to have this door open for us!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Neighbors
As Spencer and I were on our way to school yesterday we were greeted by our neighbor that we met on the night on the Kuban Cossack Choir Concert. She said that she hoped we would be able to spend time together soon.
Spencer and I had all the good intentions of going down to her apartment, she lives in the same entrance as Olya, but... we didn't make it. Then as time passed I felt like it was weird to just show up. Now since we saw her again and she renewed the invite I will have to do a better job of getting over there this weekend!
Part of my fear about going over there was the possibility of not being able to understand and fully participate in a conversation. With our friends we are able to use a dictionary or they will explain things in a different way to help out. I know that she is aware of us still being in the learning phase... I just don't want to fumble and stutter! But, I will humble myself and get down there. Really, I will!
Spencer and I had all the good intentions of going down to her apartment, she lives in the same entrance as Olya, but... we didn't make it. Then as time passed I felt like it was weird to just show up. Now since we saw her again and she renewed the invite I will have to do a better job of getting over there this weekend!
Part of my fear about going over there was the possibility of not being able to understand and fully participate in a conversation. With our friends we are able to use a dictionary or they will explain things in a different way to help out. I know that she is aware of us still being in the learning phase... I just don't want to fumble and stutter! But, I will humble myself and get down there. Really, I will!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)