I sent my brother David to Thanksgiving dinner with an update about my year for him to read in my place. In it, I said I was thankful that we hadn't had a freeze here yet. So, of course, as I was walking to Adam and Olya's on Friday, I saw a young boy skidding from one length of a long puddle to the other, unabashedly enjoying the first ice of the season. The city now looks more like the mental image I had of Russia, with trees covered in frost and the sky a low, cold blanket of grey. Thankfully, my apartment is still warm.
Speaking of thanks (trust me, that transition was completely organic), I enjoyed both my Friday Thanksgiving and the one we had at our apartment on Saturday. Adam and Olya have really been great about making me feel wonderful and welcome, and Olya is a really fantastic cook. She even made green bean casserole complete with homemade onion things on top. A lot more has to be made from scratch here, which is inconvenient at times but seems to have really good results. I was the only non-missionary at this gathering of Americans, and it was great to hear all that these men and women were thankful for. Mike, a short-term missionary who is here, and I stayed late as the four of us watched Becoming Jane and then talked late into the night.
I was a little nervous about our Saturday dinner as I've never done anything close to preparing a Thanksgiving meal. We were really excited about the prospect of turkey but prepared to settle for cooking a couple of chickens if the turkey couldn't be found. Thankfully, we did find a 4 1/4 kg turkey (9.4 lbs). Though at about 40 bucks it was probably a bit pricy, sometimes you just have to spring for it. I went to class and Megan got to prepare and cook the turkey, as well as mashed potatoes and some green bean casserole, all of which came out very well. I got back to finish preparing some dinner rolls and to make some pumpkin pie. The Russians hadn't ever seen dinner rolls before, at least not the kind that are rolled, and asked if they had meat inside them. I'll explain why that's funny in a different post. The pumpkin pie wasn't especially pumpkiny, but it did taste good. The crust was good, too. I think I might have assisted in the making of a crust before, but I never really paid attention, an oversight I regretted as I tried to figure out how the crumbly mess I had in a frying pan (we don't actually have mixing bowls in our apartment) was supposed to look flat and appealing in a pie tin. The result just went to show that anything with that much butter in it is going to be pretty hard to mess up. The meal also included cranberry sauce made by Sarah from Russian cranberrys and gravy prepared by Randy, the Canadian. While the conversation at the dinner did keep going back to Stallone, Rambo, and Schwarzenneger, I did enjoy sharing Thanksgiving with this international group.
After church today I got to go to lunch with Adam, Olya, Mike, and kids to the house of a couple from the church. This was the first time I had been in an actual house here in Russia. It was very nice and impressive. Originally it was an old train car, but it has been improved and expanded to the point that only in the entry way where we hung our coats could you see a hint of the original. I kind of hope they leave that siding exposed. In America some people would pay a lot of money to put in an accent piece like that to hint at being rustic. The people themselves were also neat and the son, who I think was about eleven, read from his English book for us.
Now I'm pretty tired, and I do have to teach in the morning, so I'm going to try to call home and then head to bed.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Rejoining the 21st Century
Before leaving America, I passed on my cell phone to John. It would be pretty useless in Russia, and I was interested to see what life without a cell phone would be like. Since it had been five or six years since I had been without the ability to communicate constantly with other, I wanted to see if I had grown dependent, if I would experience withdrawal.
I consider the experiment a mixed success. While I failed to notice any symptoms of cell phone withdrawal, there were confounding variables that I didn't take into account. For one, my feelings at the loss of family, friends, and all things American could have effectively masked those of separation from a phone. Also, I really didn't have much of anyone to call.
Yesterday, however, I gave in and bought a phone. I realized that what was a very minor inconvenience to me was much more of an inconvenience to other people. Besides, I could get a phone for about 40 dollars, and the minutes are very cheap. Rather than signing a contract and having a plan, here in Russia they just have little SIM cards in the phones and do a pay-as-you-go deal. If something happens to my phone, I can just take the SIM card out (it is smaller than the memory card for a digital camera) and put it in a different phone, and my phone number will work. I can even save my phone book to the card so that it will transfer easily too. America could learn something from this system, I think, but the phone companies would probably prefer we didn't. Another cool thing about the SIM card is that it is effectively free. It cost 50 rubles (2 dollars), and came with 50 rubles worth of minutes on it. The only difficulty is that the shops have to do some paperwork when you buy one, and a lot of paperwork if your passport isn't Russian. So, they just tell you you need a Russian passport. Thankfully, one of my friends was willing to make the purchase for me.
Well, that's my technological adventure for the week. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. I have to work all day on Thanksgiving, but Friday I will have dinner with some church friends and Saturday with my work friends. I'll write up how those go. Hopefully we can get a hold of a turkey. There is a frozen goose at the grocery store, but I don't think it would be quite the same.
I consider the experiment a mixed success. While I failed to notice any symptoms of cell phone withdrawal, there were confounding variables that I didn't take into account. For one, my feelings at the loss of family, friends, and all things American could have effectively masked those of separation from a phone. Also, I really didn't have much of anyone to call.
Yesterday, however, I gave in and bought a phone. I realized that what was a very minor inconvenience to me was much more of an inconvenience to other people. Besides, I could get a phone for about 40 dollars, and the minutes are very cheap. Rather than signing a contract and having a plan, here in Russia they just have little SIM cards in the phones and do a pay-as-you-go deal. If something happens to my phone, I can just take the SIM card out (it is smaller than the memory card for a digital camera) and put it in a different phone, and my phone number will work. I can even save my phone book to the card so that it will transfer easily too. America could learn something from this system, I think, but the phone companies would probably prefer we didn't. Another cool thing about the SIM card is that it is effectively free. It cost 50 rubles (2 dollars), and came with 50 rubles worth of minutes on it. The only difficulty is that the shops have to do some paperwork when you buy one, and a lot of paperwork if your passport isn't Russian. So, they just tell you you need a Russian passport. Thankfully, one of my friends was willing to make the purchase for me.
Well, that's my technological adventure for the week. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. I have to work all day on Thanksgiving, but Friday I will have dinner with some church friends and Saturday with my work friends. I'll write up how those go. Hopefully we can get a hold of a turkey. There is a frozen goose at the grocery store, but I don't think it would be quite the same.
Monday, November 17, 2008
If it's Tuesday, this must be Alexei, oops
So, I woke up this morning recharged from a good night's sleep. After eating a bowl of oatmeal and grapes and doing a little reading, I went to school with time to spare to get ready for my lesson with Alexei. Only, that lesson is on Wednesday. I don't have anything until noon today. So, being up early and energized, I decided to update this blog.
I had a really great weekend. My Friday was restful and amusing as I watched my landlord bring a variety of handymen into our apartment to replace a broken shower hose. I don't know where he was finding these men or why they were needed, but the new hose broke and Megan was able to replace it herself on Monday.
Saturday my classes went well. In the conversation class we talked about immigration issues. There is very little in the way of political correctness here, and so they openly said they weren't too happy about people from the Caucasus who lived in Russia. Of course, they tried to call these people Caucasians. When I said, "Well, actually, I'm a Caucasian," their faces looked both shocked and confused. I went on to explain, and they just laughed. After that the teachers had a seminar on teaching vocabulary and then went to "The Steak House" one of the nicer restaurants in town and which caters to English speakers.
Sunday was the great day. I got a call from some missionaries here who I had gotten in touch with thanks to friends of a friend, and they invited me to go to a Russian Baptist church. Two and a half hours and three sermons later, I will never complain (I hope) about a pastor who preaches until 12:10 again. Not only was listening and singing hymns a great way to practice my Russian (Olya, the missionary wife, translated for me), it was also great to see the work God is doing here. After Russia opened up to religion, the government gave the land to a Baptist pastor. At the time, there was no church building or members, but now there is a small congregation about to move from meeting in the basement to their newly completed sanctuary. The service was most like the Mennonite service I went to in that the congregation was very active and vocal and children were noisy through the whole thing. The kids left during part for a Sunday school time, but the back area was full of benches where a few mothers sat and the kids could come and go as their parents permited.
After church I went with Adam, Olya, and their four little girls to their apartment. A short term missionary from America who has been working with them also was there. We had great food and fellowship. We were able to have great discussions about life and theology like I haven't been able to have since coming to Russia. They were gracious and let me stay a really long time and even are going to have me over for Thanksgiving. Hospitality is something I really want to cultivate, and they are great examples. They were also kind enough to lend me several books in English, which everyone knows is a great way to win my affection and appreciation.
After I got back to my apartment, I found that the others were at Zhenya's place for his birthday. He's been kind of down and hadn't let anyone know about it, so this was all very last minute. I got to see the tradition of "If you respect me, you'll drink," but women are allowed to drink wine instead of cognac or vodka. Don't worry. It wasn't a drunken night or anything like that. I also got to try some traditional Russian foods, like a kind of fish jello. If I hadn't been so full from lunch I would likely have appreciated it more, but I doubt I'll be making it myself.
Today, walking back from school, I got stopped by a woman looking for directions from some store. This keeps happening, and each time I'm able to get a little closer to understanding enough to be helpful. This time it actually took her a bit to realize I'm not Russian. Even though I feel sometimes like I must stick out as obviously foreign, it seems I actually blend in pretty well.
I had a really great weekend. My Friday was restful and amusing as I watched my landlord bring a variety of handymen into our apartment to replace a broken shower hose. I don't know where he was finding these men or why they were needed, but the new hose broke and Megan was able to replace it herself on Monday.
Saturday my classes went well. In the conversation class we talked about immigration issues. There is very little in the way of political correctness here, and so they openly said they weren't too happy about people from the Caucasus who lived in Russia. Of course, they tried to call these people Caucasians. When I said, "Well, actually, I'm a Caucasian," their faces looked both shocked and confused. I went on to explain, and they just laughed. After that the teachers had a seminar on teaching vocabulary and then went to "The Steak House" one of the nicer restaurants in town and which caters to English speakers.
Sunday was the great day. I got a call from some missionaries here who I had gotten in touch with thanks to friends of a friend, and they invited me to go to a Russian Baptist church. Two and a half hours and three sermons later, I will never complain (I hope) about a pastor who preaches until 12:10 again. Not only was listening and singing hymns a great way to practice my Russian (Olya, the missionary wife, translated for me), it was also great to see the work God is doing here. After Russia opened up to religion, the government gave the land to a Baptist pastor. At the time, there was no church building or members, but now there is a small congregation about to move from meeting in the basement to their newly completed sanctuary. The service was most like the Mennonite service I went to in that the congregation was very active and vocal and children were noisy through the whole thing. The kids left during part for a Sunday school time, but the back area was full of benches where a few mothers sat and the kids could come and go as their parents permited.
After church I went with Adam, Olya, and their four little girls to their apartment. A short term missionary from America who has been working with them also was there. We had great food and fellowship. We were able to have great discussions about life and theology like I haven't been able to have since coming to Russia. They were gracious and let me stay a really long time and even are going to have me over for Thanksgiving. Hospitality is something I really want to cultivate, and they are great examples. They were also kind enough to lend me several books in English, which everyone knows is a great way to win my affection and appreciation.
After I got back to my apartment, I found that the others were at Zhenya's place for his birthday. He's been kind of down and hadn't let anyone know about it, so this was all very last minute. I got to see the tradition of "If you respect me, you'll drink," but women are allowed to drink wine instead of cognac or vodka. Don't worry. It wasn't a drunken night or anything like that. I also got to try some traditional Russian foods, like a kind of fish jello. If I hadn't been so full from lunch I would likely have appreciated it more, but I doubt I'll be making it myself.
Today, walking back from school, I got stopped by a woman looking for directions from some store. This keeps happening, and each time I'm able to get a little closer to understanding enough to be helpful. This time it actually took her a bit to realize I'm not Russian. Even though I feel sometimes like I must stick out as obviously foreign, it seems I actually blend in pretty well.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Some fall pictures
Wow, that last post was pretty long. If you prefer it in picture form, here it is. Though you will miss the part about cute kids. I'll try to get pictures of them up sometime.
This is the Panorama museum, which we visited several weeks ago. It contains a huge circular mural of the battle of Stalingrad as well as many exhibits about the battle and the war. At least the European theater. The Russians don't seem to acknowledge that the Japanese were ever a threat. Below are pictures of the ruins of a bombed out flour mill, which stand to remind Russians of all they sacrificed in the war and to help Americans understand why Russians believe they shared unequally in the sufferings of the war.
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The next four pictures are of the Central Park of Culture and Leisure. You can see the pitiful amusement park rides that I hope are non-operational. Still, with the changing colors and the natural setting, it was a very nice park. Someone even wanted to make sure the birds could enjoy it and put up a milk-carton bird feeder. There are no squirrels here to steal the seed.
This final picture is of the sunrise the morning after the elections. Currently the sun rises around 6:30, so admiring it filled in one of the gaps in between results.
This is the Panorama museum, which we visited several weeks ago. It contains a huge circular mural of the battle of Stalingrad as well as many exhibits about the battle and the war. At least the European theater. The Russians don't seem to acknowledge that the Japanese were ever a threat. Below are pictures of the ruins of a bombed out flour mill, which stand to remind Russians of all they sacrificed in the war and to help Americans understand why Russians believe they shared unequally in the sufferings of the war.
The next four pictures are of the Central Park of Culture and Leisure. You can see the pitiful amusement park rides that I hope are non-operational. Still, with the changing colors and the natural setting, it was a very nice park. Someone even wanted to make sure the birds could enjoy it and put up a milk-carton bird feeder. There are no squirrels here to steal the seed.
This final picture is of the sunrise the morning after the elections. Currently the sun rises around 6:30, so admiring it filled in one of the gaps in between results.
A Lack of Fireworks, but a nice time
I realize that it has been some time since I last posted. Sorry about that.
The last few weeks have gone well. My classes all seem to be on the right track and having a good time. The children's class has been going much better. The textbook we use is called Happy House and contains absolutely no reading or writing assignments. It is designed to be a non-threatening, fun introduction to the English language. While that sounds nice and would be great for 4 year olds, by 7-9 year olds love to write in English. Maybe it is because the alphabet is so different and so it is like a puzzle or maybe it is just that they like to show off, but they enjoy it. So I've been taking opportunities to supplement the workbook with writing activites. This has the advantages of helping them learn more, keeping them more focused on English, and serving as evidence to their parents that their children are learning. I actually look forward to this class all week. Not only is it very different from and more high energy than the others, no other class acts as excited to see me as these kids do.
It continues to get colder and colder here, though it hasn't snowed yet. Tuesday was the Day of National Unity, a holiday not celebrated during Soviet times, and which really still isn't celebrated. Though it was a public holiday and school and work was officially canceled, nothing really happened. They didn't shoot off fireworks, even, and here they often shoot off fireworks to celebrate the fact that it is Friday or that the Volga continues to flow south. We, that is, Ivor, Sarah, Megan, and I, went on a walk to find The Central Park of Culture and Leisure. This park didn't quite live up to its name. While we live in the city center, which is in the northern part of the city, this park was quite far to the north of us, so I'm really not sure what it is in the center of. Also, there really wasn't much "culture" there, though we did see very run-down fair rides that I very much hope are non-operational. We had a good time despite the very noticible cold, windy weather.
Taking notice of the fact that it was Election Day and wanting something American (at least the 3 of us Americans did; Ivor didn't really care), we went to McDonalds for supper. While this is kind of pathetic, the only two American establishments in town are McDonalds and Baskin Robbins, and we were somehow not in the mood for ice cream.
Megan, Sarah, and I were tempted to stay up all night to watch the results. I then remembered that I had class at 9:30 in the morning, so we came up with the brilliant plan of waking up at 4 in the morning to watch. Surprisingly enough, we followed through on this plan and had a good time of it. This was one of the many, many times we were grateful for high-speed internet as we were able to watch the speeches along with the rest of America. While I'm sure some of you reading are far less thrilled with the results than we were, you've got to admit it was a great moment in history to be watching.
While most Russian people know very little about American politics, they do know that they didn't really want Bush anymore, or anyone in his party. None of them have mentioned the Russian president's threatening remarks yet, and I really haven't wanted to bring it up.
I was able to find a church this past Sunday. It is small and meets in a conference room, but it is in English, which is wonderful. Most of the congregants are Malaysian or Kenyan medical students, but many of them speak English very well, and the pastor and his wife are American. The songs are a mix between praise and worship and hymns, and they sing the Doxology in three languages. I'm looking forward to going back.
The last few weeks have gone well. My classes all seem to be on the right track and having a good time. The children's class has been going much better. The textbook we use is called Happy House and contains absolutely no reading or writing assignments. It is designed to be a non-threatening, fun introduction to the English language. While that sounds nice and would be great for 4 year olds, by 7-9 year olds love to write in English. Maybe it is because the alphabet is so different and so it is like a puzzle or maybe it is just that they like to show off, but they enjoy it. So I've been taking opportunities to supplement the workbook with writing activites. This has the advantages of helping them learn more, keeping them more focused on English, and serving as evidence to their parents that their children are learning. I actually look forward to this class all week. Not only is it very different from and more high energy than the others, no other class acts as excited to see me as these kids do.
It continues to get colder and colder here, though it hasn't snowed yet. Tuesday was the Day of National Unity, a holiday not celebrated during Soviet times, and which really still isn't celebrated. Though it was a public holiday and school and work was officially canceled, nothing really happened. They didn't shoot off fireworks, even, and here they often shoot off fireworks to celebrate the fact that it is Friday or that the Volga continues to flow south. We, that is, Ivor, Sarah, Megan, and I, went on a walk to find The Central Park of Culture and Leisure. This park didn't quite live up to its name. While we live in the city center, which is in the northern part of the city, this park was quite far to the north of us, so I'm really not sure what it is in the center of. Also, there really wasn't much "culture" there, though we did see very run-down fair rides that I very much hope are non-operational. We had a good time despite the very noticible cold, windy weather.
Taking notice of the fact that it was Election Day and wanting something American (at least the 3 of us Americans did; Ivor didn't really care), we went to McDonalds for supper. While this is kind of pathetic, the only two American establishments in town are McDonalds and Baskin Robbins, and we were somehow not in the mood for ice cream.
Megan, Sarah, and I were tempted to stay up all night to watch the results. I then remembered that I had class at 9:30 in the morning, so we came up with the brilliant plan of waking up at 4 in the morning to watch. Surprisingly enough, we followed through on this plan and had a good time of it. This was one of the many, many times we were grateful for high-speed internet as we were able to watch the speeches along with the rest of America. While I'm sure some of you reading are far less thrilled with the results than we were, you've got to admit it was a great moment in history to be watching.
While most Russian people know very little about American politics, they do know that they didn't really want Bush anymore, or anyone in his party. None of them have mentioned the Russian president's threatening remarks yet, and I really haven't wanted to bring it up.
I was able to find a church this past Sunday. It is small and meets in a conference room, but it is in English, which is wonderful. Most of the congregants are Malaysian or Kenyan medical students, but many of them speak English very well, and the pastor and his wife are American. The songs are a mix between praise and worship and hymns, and they sing the Doxology in three languages. I'm looking forward to going back.
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