Ask and you will receive

Typically in Russian culture people are indirect. Tom has been teaching his counseling clients to make their needs known. Today one of them sent a text message announcing that today is their birthday. The last three words were a simple request... Bless me, please!.

I sent back the blessing from me and Tom. And this person wrote back thrilled. It was exactly what they needed to hear!

So remember, just ask and otherwise you cannot get your need met!

path in the park

Not far from our house is a botanical garden... this particular path has bricks painted the colors of the Russian flag.

What would you do?

Tom just gave food to a woman begging door to door. At the end of the day, he'd rather be accused of being too loving than being too judgmental.

riding the tramvai

thought for today

As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it. ~Buddy Hackett

Hot water update...

We finally have hot water again... this year it was off for 3 weeks. In the past it has only been around ten days or so.

oh well, such is life! I am off to take a hot shower!

Tea in my soup bowl…

Each Sunday morning before attending worship team practice I take the time to warm up my voice. Oftentimes I begin that process by drinking tea. I can get two delicious cups of tea from one teabag. However, to do so I have to find my bookmark, set down my songbook, get up off of the couch and walk into the kitchen to make the much needed second cup.

Elegantly poised on the top shelf of my kitchen cabinet I found the cute little bowls with handles that I normally reserve for soup. Deciding that I would like get through my warm-up time without needing to trek off to the kitchen for a second cup of tea I chose to use the soup bowl.

I was glad that no one was watching me. I felt a little silly drinking tea out of a soup bowl. But why? Martha Stewart does not live here. She isn’t even coming over for a visit anytime soon. Come to think if it, if she likes tea as much as I do… I would suggest that she relax in her favorite reading chair, with a great book while cherishing a few simple moments of quiet by drinking tea from her soup bowl as well!

T-shirt wisdom

I love reading t-shirts for some reason. Not sure why. Today's sighting:


It's all good
In the hood!


It made me think of the character that Eddie Murphy used to do on Saturday Night Live years ago in his skits called Mr Robinson's neighborhood!

Whole Wheat Flour in Krasnodar!!

 

This may not be a big deal to you... but we have lived here for 4 years and this is the first time I have seen the type of whole wheat flour that we are used to in the states. What we would call white flour is labeled wheat flour here. At the beginning I purchased bag after bag hoping to find wheat... it was wheat just not whole wheat!!

For those of you here in Krasnodar I found this at Tabris for 55 rubles!

Thought for today

I always read the last page of a book first so that if I die before I finish I'll know how it turned out.

Nora Ephron

Art appreciation

 

Since we walk or take public transport in Krasnodar, it’s always an adventure simply going thru the open-air market. We never know what we will encounter! 

Today I met a local artist - an older man from the local village of Elizabeth. He had canvases stacked on an up-side down cardboard box, while 2 framed pictures proudly leaned against the wall of a small store. As he showed me his artwork, he began to share stories. “This is where my parents lived.” he said as he displayed a small landscape. “Here is the dacha (summer home) our family went to every summer.” All of his paintings were landscapes, except for the picture of a young couple. I noticed he had painted on dish-towels, bed linens, burlap sacks & other pieces of fabric, utilizing whatever he had at hand. He’s not the best Russian artist we have seen, but I enjoyed the cultural significance of the artwork of the young couple. 

For $15, I met a local artist, was invited to his house to be shown his favorite paintings, & came home with a reminder of the resourcefulness of the Russian people & their culture that will hang in our home.

-Tom

Pancho cake

 

 

Eera showing me the cake!

Yanna and Tom being silly!

 

Tom and I were invited to Olya's birthday celebration yesterday. She served this awesome birthday cake called "pancho" that is one of the tastiest cakes we have had here in Russia. It had sour cream and cocoa inside. I could not find the exact recipe but I think this one comes close:

- "Zebra" Cake recipe -

Cuisine: Ukrainian, Russian, Yield: 8 Servings
· Ingredients
4 ea eggs
2 c flour
2 c sugar
300 g yoghurt
2 ts baking powder
2 tb cacao
1 c sour cream
1 c sugar


· Method
You'll need two separate mixing bowls
In each:
Mix 2 eggs + 1cup of sugar + 150g of yoghurt + 1 ts of baking
powder + 1cup of flour. Add 2 tb of cacao into one of the bowls.
Stir the batter thoroughly. Pour a tablespoonful of white batter
into the centre of a frying pan (or any vessel you use for baking
cakes). Then goes brown, white, brown till the bowls are empty.
Bake the cake till done.
Cream: whip 1 cup of sour cream with 1 cup of sugar. Put it to a
fridge. Cut the cake into three horizontal parts and spread
the cream over each of them. Use your
fantasy and combine various creams, jams.
When you cut the cake you'll see that slices will have zebra
stripes on sides.
Recipe source: Luba Vasilenko,Kyiv-Ukraine, circa 1999
Posted by Yuri Timohin http://www.ruscuisine.com

Reality check

For the most part I am a very optimistic and easy going person.  I look for the beauty everywhere I go.  I look for the similarities between me and the person in front of me.  I always assume the best about the other person and look for the lesson in each situation I face. 

These past few weeks have been very busy for us with counseling.  Tom is the psychologist and I am his translator.  It has been eye opening to become a part of Tom's professional life.  We had not worked together since our days at Dad's video store back in Kansas.  

I have a great deal of respect for what Tom does.  I used to envy him going off into the workforce each day and being with people while I was busy at home with little ones.  Now, I see the reality.  He was not off having fun at work.  Well, not all day anyway!

Some appointments are rewarding and seeing the progress that individuals, families, and couples experience brings joy to my heart.  But, carrying their burdens around with me is difficult.

We don't talk about it much because of needing to keep the confidence of those we work with.    But just know that we work with everyone, those who can pay and those who cannot.  Those who are influential church leaders and those who are doubting God's existence.  

Emotional, spiritual and relational pain has no prejudice, it falls like rain upon us all.  However, some are more resilient than others in how they handle it.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers... and know that while I may post about food, train rides or silly things that happen in our daily lives, we are hard at work and the load is not always easy.

Salmon Burgers!

 

For dinner last night I thought it would be fun to try something new. I found a simple recipe at Cooks.com for Salmon burgers, and used what I had in the fridge to create a salad to go with it!


Apple, Cabbage and Pine Nut Salad
1 med size granny smith apple
1/2 cup red cabbage
1 small head of chinese cabbage
2 TBS pinenuts
Ranch dressing to taste

Dice apple and cabbages and place in mixing bowl. Add pine nuts. Coat with Ranch dressing and enjoy! 

thought for today

 

  

Tom went to the dentist today... I went along to translate for him.  He is doing well now just resting.  He had to get one tooth filled.  His dentist was impressed that he had gone twelve years without seeing a dentist.  She said that if all of her patients mouths looked that good without seeing her, she would be out of work!!  

A taste from childhood

 

One of my favorite activities during my preteen years was going to Skateland North with my brother John. After he DJ'd at the skating rink we would go to Church's or Popeye's (along with hundreds of other hungry skaters) to eat and we always ordered strawberry soda to go with our meal.

I found strawberry juice in the supermarket today. Along with that I purchased some carbonated water. Add ice, mix the two liquids to your desired level of sweetness and you have Strawberry soda!

the joys of summer

Fresh fruit is delightful part of summers here in Krasnodar. Tom found these great peaches at the outdoor market and to my dismay the photo does not transmit to you the joy of tasting how sweet they are!! We have been enjoying them in fruit salads, served with granola and yogurt for breakfast, using them in smoothies,  or just eating them plain!!

What are you doing with your fresh fruit?!

The joys of unlimited internet

One of the benefits of having unlimited internet access now is being able to actually watch the news and not just read it!!  

Here is a link to one of the sources we are enjoying right now... a Russian news program in English:  Russia Today

Memories...

Not long ago our friends Lena and Alexei celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary.  Theirs was the first Russian wedding we attended.  It was our first time in Russia as a family.  We came for a month to determine if we could handle living here or not.  Five years later here we are enjoying the life and work that we have here.

 This past Sunday I was asked to take photographs for a young couple getting married in August... I can hardly wait!!

Train Ride

Spanning the length of the corridor that all passengers have to walk down to get to their individual compartments is a long narrow rug.  Covering the rug is a long thin piece of cotton material, perhaps meant to keep the higher quality rug underneath clean.   In a few places in the corridor, the rug is askew.   It was not that way when we boarded the train, however after all of the passengers pulled their luggage and belongings across the full length of the rug… it was no longer in its proper position on the floor. 

“Go back to your place!” yells the cranky old conductor.  Who, interestingly enough, reminded me of the Disney villain Ursula from The Little Mermaid.  

“But, I have a question” I calmly respond.

“Go back to your place, I am trying to fix the rug and you are bothering me!” Ursula’s twin looks up and then over my shoulder nodding at me and the gentleman behind me.  She tugged forcefully on the rug that we were standing on to prove the point that she could not complete this task while we were standing there. 

 

“I also need to ask…” the gentleman politely interjects.

Focused, determined and insistent the cranky conductor interrupts him yelling:

“I already said go back to your places!”  

Reluctantly we turn around and walk back to our compartments.  I feel the villainous eyes of Ursula’s twin boring a hole in the back of my head as I calmly walk all the way to end of the hallway where my compartment is located.  

Laughing, I related the incident to Tom complete with an imitation of the cranky old conductor… just as I finished my story the young happy “how can I help you” conductor knocks on our compartment door, sticks her head in and sheepishly asks:

 “I hear you have a question?”

I ask my question about the entrance form we have to fill out for Ukraine.  She answers with a smile and leaves after making sure we have everything we need. 

 

Tom and I realized that the cranky old conductor has probably been working on the train longer than the younger one has been alive.   The older gal would have started working during the time when there was no concept whatsoever of customer service as there is now with the younger generation of people in service positions.  From the moment we approached to board the train the younger conductor was earnestly making sure that all passengers had their needs met and questions answered.   The older one works the night shift and had been sleeping when we boarded the train.   She was still in her housedress, with four curlers strategically placed in her hair, when she began working on the rug. She completed her mission with the rug and went to change into her uniform before the passport control officials boarded the train around midnight.

It would be easy to interpret her behavior as rude or callous and therefore assume that all Russians are that way.  But, that would be wrong.  I have seen her type many times over the past four years that we have lived in Russia.   One might see the very same woman in her home or meet her in the company of a mutual friend and experience her as being warm, loving and having an incredible sense of humor.  The public face is often different from the private face.  Even in America one person might smile and laugh with co-workers, greet everyone with a warm and friendly “how are you?!” only to come home and raise hell with everyone who is unfortunate enough to be a part of the family.

It is important for each of us to realize that we see the world through the eyes of our own culture.  I love watching the show Amazing Race.  One episode in particular from several years ago stands out in my mind.  There was a male team, from New Jersey I think, that was frustrated with the people around them not speaking English.  In letting out his frustration one of the pair swore “those #@&% foreigners!”    Always remember when you travel abroad… You are the foreigner!  You are the one who is different.  The culture around you is functioning as it normally does.  You may be frustrated, disappointed or perhaps shocked with what you see, feel or experience but that is part of the process of acclimating to a different culture.  This in turn will serve to broaden your world view and prepare you for further travels.   And if you run into Ursula the cranky conductor along the way… just smile and get off of her rug!