Living in America

Almost a year later...

2010-11-25T07:43:00.002+03:00

I haven't kept up with my blog at all this year! And looking at all those creepy comments on an old post now I'm nervous too.

I'll give it a try anyway though. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I married the most amazing man God has created 4 months ago. I feel like this was one of the best decisions of my life. I'm so thankful for a loving family who has not only loved me inspite of all my quirks but has also loved my husband like he is one of their own. God is definintely taking care of us as newlyweds and he reminds us that He will supply all of our needs! For example, our move in 2 weeks, completely sent from the Lord and exactly what we need at this time in our life.

I hope you all have a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving this year!

Overdue Update

2010-01-08T12:56:00.000+03:00

I have been such a horrible blogger! I feel a little bad about this but hear me out. Here is my rational. I spent to years in Russia as you know and I was heavily dependent on my computer and technology to keep in touch with people. I was constantly updating facebook with photos of all the cool stuff I saw. I was on skype a few times a day talking with Cliff and my family. So now I live in America again, and those people are near me everyday. So I have been trying to stay off the computer so much and spend time with those I love the most. But I will try my best to get better again.

So updates..... Wedding planning is going so great. I have my dress, well I have ordered it and it should be in any day now. I have already picked up my veil, petticoat and jewelry. The church is booked, the reception is booked and the food is booked. We need to get some pics done so we can send out Save the Date's this month. I should have done that during these snow days the last two days.

Here is a sneak peak at the dress. I LOVE IT!!!!

In other things... I absolutely love my job! I have 21 little 3rd graders who steal my heart everyday. I was really dreading going back to work after such a great break. But after about an hour of being there I was glad to be back. I missed spending so much time with Cliff. He was just begging me to get home as soon as possible. He doesn't start back to coaching till Monday so he was a little bored without me. We have just had the best time watching movies, playing tons of games, and playing in the snow. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with this wonderful man!!

I promise I'll be better about updating now. I had an awesome football weekend in Dallas so I'll post some stuff soon!

Engaged!

2009-09-12T08:55:00.002+04:00

I have been horrible about updating since I got home and started working. I am not only loving my job but got engaged tonight to the absolute love of my life! I thought I would share a few pics!

Hawaii

2009-08-06T07:30:00.002+04:00

I know I am a horrible blogger this summer. I promise to update later!

Training has been awesome this week. I am a bit overwhelmed and on information overload but it will be great! I can't wait to come back and work.

I am coming back because I am heading to Hawaii in a few hours! I'm going to spend a few days with my honey and to bring him home to me! I can't wait.

I promise pics later, and more updates!

It has really been a fun summer full of blessings!

Job!

2009-07-24T05:00:00.002+04:00

I got the job! I interviewed this morning and it went awesome! I will be working at Central Elementary School in Putnam City. I start on August 3rd for training. That is till the 5th. Then I will go to Hawaii to see my Honey. We will leave together on the 11th. (He is never to really leave my side ever again!) We will arrive in OKC on the 12th. I will go to work for the year on the 13th!

I know only I would plan something like that.

But I am totally ecstatic about my new job. Love my new principal and new co-workers already!

I cannot wait to see what God has in store for my life this year!

interview

2009-07-21T07:43:00.002+04:00

I have a job interview! I'm so excited. Apparently I have been getting anxiety attacks the last few weeks due to stress. I get myself a little worked up about not having a job yet since school starts in a few weeks. So I have applied for over 30 more jobs in the last few days. One of the principals called me today for an interview. I'm so excited!

I don't know anything about this part of town but its in Putnam City and not too far of a drive from Edmond. I'll let you know how it goes!!

Family Time!

2009-07-09T01:26:00.005+04:00

I know it has been forever since I have written anything. I have really been enjoying my time in America thus far. I have been spending a lot of time with family. I haven't really seen many friends yet. That will come. I have been relaxing and unpacking! Here are some pics to show what I've been doing.

my first time meeting my cousin Jarrah, grandbaby #56, I think
Noah and Sara at the dance studio taking Hip Hop

I love these cousins, Noah and Jarrah.

FYI their momma, my aunt is 20 months older than me!

Happy 4th! My family at the 4th of July parade

After the parade at the McFarlin's for a pool party. My sis Sara, bro Bub and his lovely girlfriend Lauren.

Last night we went to see some of our friends in the musical Music Man. It was a great show! Here is my whole family!

Siblings

my parentals. I like them

Bub and Lauren

Leaving on a jet plane..............

2009-06-26T10:01:00.003+04:00

In exactly 24 hours my plane will be taking off at Domodedevo airport in south Moscow. I'm not really sure if I will ever come back here. I have lived here 2 years and visited St. Pete once before that. If I think about it, that is a lot more time than any other countries I have really loved. Though I have never made the kind of lifelong relationships in any other country either. But while I was at tea with the girls last night for the last time we were talking about how it really is such a small world and who know where we could end up and where our paths could cross again.

I thought I would attempt to make a list of the things I will not miss and the things I will. Now I'll go ahead and say that some things will overlap for sure. And these will be in no specific order

Things I will not miss:
1. the harsh way people speak, even when they are not actually angry with you
2. getting in trouble for not doing some paperwork correctly that I didn't know existed in the first place.
3. feeling like a sardine on the metro and smelling that lovely smell
4. having to walk next to and sit next to beggars and long to help them and give them everything I have if it would make their life better
5. walking home in the rain/snow with 40 mph wind and a ton of groceries
6. having to leave no later than 7.20 am so that I wont miss the 8 am bus and not make it to work
7. being so far away from the people I love
8. Pough! (its like big balls of flying cotton and its everywhere!)
9. Getting really sick and wishing I was in America where I can fully understand the Dr. and what is wrong with me to get proper care
10. the constant feeling of being unsafe and having to be extremely aware of my bags and all that is going on around me
11. not being able to go out after dark
12. kids being raised by nannies and body guards
13. my 3 bedroom apartment that cost $3,000 a month
14. language barriers and never being able to fully communicate
15. 9 months of winter

Things I will miss:
1. PEOPLE. I was asked at small group this week what I was most thankful for during my time in Russia. It was definitely people and my relationships with them. That has made all the difference in the world and I wouldn't have made it without them.
2. Chocolate! It is amazing here
3. Blini, it has become a favorite
4. traveling to other countries for so cheap
5. MES, it was a lot of things for me
6. PEOPLE! This really is the most important to me.
7. my apartment
8. my small group and the fellowship
9. tea with the girls every Thursday
10. tea with Polina every Tuesday
11. being immersed in something so foreign to me.
12. walking so much

I'm sure there are more but that is all that comes to mind right this moment.

There are also a ton of things I am really looking forward to in the U.S.

1. PEOPLE. of course, my family, Cliff and friends. I have really really missed them
2. Mexican food
3. Italian food
4. Sonic Diet Dr. Pepper!
5. Diet Dr. Pepper! it deserved 1 1/2 spots
6. Chickfila
7. driving to the store and then putting all my bags in the car!
8. no language barriers
9. PEOPLE, did I say that I missed them
10. My CHURCH, I have really missed that too
11. my next journey. I'm not sure what it is yet but God knows.
12. mom's cooking
13. dad's grilling
14. buster, the little fat dog
15. not working this summer but instead, laying by the pool, scrap booking and playing a ton of Rock Band!
16. getting to meet all the new babies in my life that have been born while I have been away!
17. PEOPLE, I'm not sure if you get it yet
18. putting the suitcases away and filling an actual closet and dresser!
19. T.V., I know so trivial, but it will be nice to have tons of channels of nonsense all in English
20. air conditioning when it is really hot, thought this will be quite an adjustment

Well that is a ton of stuff already so I should probably stop now.

I (and Sara) will be arriving into Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport on Saturday, June 27th at 2:05 pm!

SO I BETTER GET TO PACKING!

Ballets

2009-06-25T16:49:00.005+04:00

We have had the wonderful opportunity to go to 3 ballets the last 2 and a half weeks. When we were in St. Petersburg we went to Mariinsky Theater and saw Don Quiote. It was truly amazing! I have never seen such great technique and people flying through the air. Then in Moscow we saw Giselle at the Bolshoi Theater. It was also good but a bit of a sad story. My friend Tania went with us to that show and then she ended up getting us free tickets to another show. So the next day we went to a smaller theater and saw Cinderella. It was great too.

Sara, me, Laura and Allyson on our way to see Cinderella. We came out all wearing blue. Sorry the pic is a little blurry.
Sara and I in front of the theater

This was a cool statue sort of thing in the entry way of the theater.

me and Tania, again blurry for some reason

Sara and I about to go in

Here is Tania and I in front of the Bolshoi theater

a little closer

Sara and I infront of the Bolshoi

a pic of the inside of the Bolshoi

The outside of the Mariisnksy theater in St. Petersburg

Sara and I about to go in and see Don QuioteSome costumes at the Mariinsky. Swan Lake, Juliet, and Giselle

This is where the Tsars used to sit when they would come to the theater

more of the Mariinsky theater, this is where they currently send their best ballerinas

It was such a fun cultural experience of me and Sara. And great entertainment!

Victory Park

2009-06-23T23:58:00.003+04:00

Saturday night Sara and I also went to Victory Park. This is a WWII memorial park. The metro station is also called Victory Park. It is a beautiful park and so huge. It is so big in fact that you actually forget you are in a city of 16 million because you can't hear any cars or anything. There is so much forest around and trails to walk down. They have several memorials, one to the different cities in the USSR that sent troops to WWII, one for the holocaust and one for the 4 branches of armed forces. They also have an area around a pond full of old tanks and sub stuff. It is pretty neat. Just to walk to the tanks and back took almost an hour! We didn't even go down trails or anything.

Here are some pics from that night. (I took these between 9.30 and 10.30 PM)

Sara at the front of the park. They have Moscow written in flowers and to the left (not pictured) is a working clock made of flowers.
They have really cool fountains here down the long cobblestone pathway leading up the the cities memorial.

This big tower thing (actually a triangle) is dedicated to the cities. all up it is carved the names of the different cities with different military type pictures. At the top are 3 angels, 1 is holding a big gold halo/wreath, the other 2 are blowing into gold trumpets. At the bottom is a warrior on a horse. He has cut up a dragon into many parts. (I'm going with symbolism here.)

The big white building is a museum.

Here is the statue devoted to the 4 branches of military.

another memorial in the park

Sara with the tanks

more tanks

at the fountains

Last Dinner

2009-06-23T12:14:00.003+04:00

Saturday we went out to dinner with Polina for the last time. She is leaving to teach at an English camp for 2 weeks so I won't see her again before we leave. So this post is for Polina, Mya Krasavitsa, my dearest, beautiful one. I couldn't have made it in this country without her. God put her in my life for a reason and she was my lifesaver and dear friend these 2 years. I will miss her more than I thought I could. But looking up, she is planning to come to America for the first time! I cannot wait!

Sara and me having my favorite American food in Moscow, Starlight Diner, for the last time

Sara and Polina one last time

I like my Polina!

It had been raining a lot!

Mya Krasavitsa!! I will miss her dearly!

Trying to give Polinichka a goodbye

VDNH Park

2009-06-19T16:15:00.006+04:00

Yesterday Sara and I went to VDNH park. Apparently this is an abbreviation for some really long Russian words meaning the place of friendship. It is pronounced Videenhah park. I had never been but heard it was great. They have the biggest Ferris wheel in Russia there. It turned out to be kind of like a small fair. There were games to play, small roller coasters and other small rides, kiddy rides and cafes. You could also rent roller blades, bikes and these kind of go-cart looking things with pedals.

Then when you walk to the back of the park there are all theses super cool buildings and this gold fountain. I had to call Polina ask her what this was all about. She says that it is called the place of friendship. And each building represents a friendship between Russia and that country (during the Soviet days). Now each of these is a kind of market. We walked in and nothing was too exciting. But the park was full of families, which was nice to see.

Here are some pics of our day at the park.

What you see when you walk into the park

Sara on the Ferris Wheel.

It was huge. I am guessing the 850 Moscow on the front is that they built in when Moscow was 850 years ago. And now Moscow just had it's 861st birthday last Sept. 1st.

The worst roller coaster in the world! It was so jerky we were in so much pain when we left.

This spinny ride was really fun though.

another cool building

the beautiful gold fountain

These next pics are all of the different friendship buildings

RED SQUARE

2009-06-18T18:12:00.006+04:00

We had a wonderful day at Red Square with the Pence family on Tuesday. Kathryn's mom and 2 sisters are visiting at the same time my sis is here. We were able to squeeze a day in together at Red Square and the Kremlin. It was so much fun getting to show our families stuff that we have been doing the last 2 years. Here are some highlights.

Breakfast at Pushkin Cafe
The Pence family joined us, Allyson, Laura, Kathryn and mom Joann

traditional pose in the center of Moscow

GUM

Me and Kat in Red Square

Sara inside GUM

the stairs inside St. Basil's

inside St. Basil's

I liked the walls

Sara posing as a statue

outside the Kremlin walls

a church inside the Kremlin

The Tsar's cannon

inside the Kremlin

It was such a beautiful and fun day!

Last teaching day

2009-06-17T13:59:00.003+04:00

I have to play catch up again. Since Sara has come we have just been soooo busy that I haven't had time to sleep much less blog. So today I am getting caught up.

My last teaching day, last Thursday, was a bitter sweet one. I actually should call it my last work day, I didn't teach. I spent the day saying bye to people and taking care of some business that I am still trying to work out before I leave. My teacher friends had some very sweet and encouraging words to say. I got a few gifts too. My supervisor, Larissa gave me a beautiful ceramic tea pot with sugar and cream holder/ pourer. They are gorgeous. And my friend Tania gave me a hand made cloth/ ceramic doll and framed flowers. It was all so sweet. I was sad to say by to these people. But at the same time, excited to see what the future holds!

Me and Lydia

The English Teachers for PYP: Natalia, me, Kristina, and Dasha

Me and my dearest Tania

Me, Tania and Sara

Dinner with all the American teachers for the last time, Adam, Lydia, Truc, me and Kate.

Sister here!

2009-06-11T09:04:00.000+04:00

Sara came in on Monday afternoon. Everything went smoothly at the airport which was our biggest concern. Documents are such a huge thing here and I have seen it go wrong so many times. But everything was perfect.

I'm pretty sure I have worn the poor girl out. We are both completely exhausted. But she is getting a glimpse into what my life is like here for a few days. Today is my last day of work! But that means she has been getting up at 6 am with me, leaving at 7.15 and the earliest we have gotten home is 10.30 for the first time in the day. So we are a bit tired. But things will slow down in about a week. We are going to St. Pete on Friday and that will not be restful. We are going to see as much as humanly possible in 3 days. Plus we are seeing a ballet at the Marinsky theater there. It is supposed to be the most beautiful theater in the world. They still have the throne of the last Tsar there, where him and his family sat when they saw ballets.

So anyway, I have to go. I will make a better post later!

A Day at the Park

2009-06-07T17:55:00.000+04:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of having the day off and spending it the my favorite Fisher kids. I was supposed to be on an excursion to the Kremlin with my students but there was apparently some problem with us being foreigners. There is always some kind of problem. So Kathryn and I took the Fisher kids to the park for the afternoon to give their mommy some much needed relaxing time. Dad is in Iraq for a month with the BBC.

So here is some of our day! It was not your typical park. It is what we call the statue graveyard. It is behind the art museum and the put a bunch of statues on some land and made it a walk through park.

This first one is actually the last. After our day in the park and dinner at McDonald's, we had bath time and were watching a movie. Angus and Amy were feeling particularly snugly. This is how we layed for about an hour. I was shocked they were still awake!

I especially like this one. I got one of them all looking at the camera but I really like how Angus is lookng up at Jude.

Of course we had to have ice cream in the park too!

Angus liked to eat from the top and bottom at the same time!

2009-06-05T00:35:00.002+04:00

Well the regular school year is over and now we are in Summer school. There are only about 30 kids in the 1-5 grades. We have only had 2 English lessons in the last 4 days but it has been great to just hang out with my students and play games with them. We also went on an excursion to the Moscow River. We got a private river boat tour with a tour guide. I have done this many times but the kids didn't seem so interested. Their PSP's were much more fun to them. But I really enjoyed being outside all day.

Tomorrow is an excursion to the Kremlin all day. Me and the other 2 English teachers were supposed to go but they are claiming some problem with foreigners so we can't go. Not the end of the world though because that means I have the day off! I'll spend the day with my favorite Fisher family instead.

This is random,but this pic is of some trees all near our apartment. They are all over the city. I don't remember them from last year at all. Maybe they were not near where I lived. I think they are maybe lilacs. I'm not sure but they smell sooooo good.

FYI: I took this pick on my walk home from the metro on night at 10:30 pm. Look at how like it still is. The sun is barely beginning to set.

Here is the river boat. Some of my previously 2nd grade girls, Olga, Dasha and Sonya.

Here with my sweet 4th grade girls, Anna, Arina and Sasha.

I think it is safe to say I am beginning to realize that I'm going to miss them! Some of it is beginning to hit me...

Retreat

2009-05-29T10:00:00.000+04:00

This past weekend we had a great chance to get outside of the city and have a retreat. I go to a Bible study on Tuesday nights with the 'young adults' from the church I used to attend here in Moscow. This group if full of people from 18 to their mid-late 30's. It can't be called the singles group because there are several married couples in it. And it can't be called a college group because there are only a handful of college students in it studying abroad for the year. So we call it the young adults group.

We got to stay at this dacha for the weekend. It was about an hour electric train ride outside of the city. We did a study over a C.S. Lewis book. We also had a great time in fellowship over tea, yummy smores, a great meeting with some guys from Tajikistan, a skimpy-dip in the pond and tons of fun. I was unfortunately sick the whole time. So I ended up spending our Saturday free time asleep in bed but I still did everything else, just heavily medicated.

Well all the fun stories begin with the need for smores. You cannot have a weekend in the woods without smores. Doug was able to go to the American Embassy store and get Hershey's chocolate, Jet Puffed marshmallows and real graham crackers. But it had rained all day and we couldn't find any dry wood for the fire. Well some of the guys in our group started to walk around looking for some. They ran into two guys from Tajikistan who said they had some left over roofing wood we could have. Well they ended up inviting them to have smores with us. They loved it. It was a real treat for them.

We had already planned on jumping in the pond when the Tajiks invited our group over. So about 10 of us went to their 1 room home. It wasn't any bigger than my office here at school. It was a father and his 5 oldest sons. He had 5 other sons, a daughter and a wife still back in Tajikistan. They were working and sending their money back for them. Well they cooked us up some lamb fat and onions and did some traditional Tajik dances for us. It was the best time. Great memories. They kept going on about how it is such an honor for them to have guests in their home. Their home by the way had no bathroom and an outdoor sink. It had 2 benches and a table with one set of cabiniets. They also had a little 2 stove gas set to cook on. Their hospitality was truely amazing. Before we left they wanted to pray for us. So one of the sons sang a beautiful prayer in Arabic to their god Allah. Then one of our girls asked if we could pray for them. She prayed to the one true God (in Russian). They continued talking about what a blessing this was for them. Here in Russia they are like beyond scum to the Russians. It is quite sad. But I know that Jesus loves them just as much as he loves me.

Then we went for a skibby-dip in the pond. You can't call it a skinny dip because we were still in our skibbies. It was great fun. Though Lydia and I both got cuts on our foot and it probably only made me more sick. But hey, it was a great way to end the weekend!!

This is the house (dacha) we stayed in for the weekend. It was so wonderful!

A view down the street of the village.

I think this house doesn't have much longer to be standing.

Another house in the village

Emily out on a walk.

One of our neighbors houses.

Attempting to get a fire started with roofing wood and copybooks after it had been raining all day.

The girls about to enjoy some smores!

About to eat my first smore of the night

Betty and her head torch. She had never had a smore before (poor British girl) and just though you were supposed to eat the marshmellow melted. She was all happy about it too. Then we had to show her the good stuff.

Emily had the great idea to just put the chocolate right on the marshmellow and melt them into a tasty treat. Those Brits are clever.

Getting smore number 2 ready.

Me and Kat enjoying the campfire.

Roomates for a few more weeks!

Dr. Appt.

2009-05-28T17:51:00.002+04:00

So like most Americans I know, I am going to work sick because there is just TOO MUCH TO DO!! I have Russian medical insurance and I so as long as I see a doctor, I still get paid when I am sick. Well I have been pretty darn sick for the last week and finally decided to stay home on Tuesday and have the doctor come see me. She told me I needed to stay home for the rest of the week and go see the doctor next week. Well she was probably right but I am stubborn and there is just TOO MUCH TO DO!

So I went to work today, late. When I walked in my supervisor was there talking to someone and she is asking my why in the world I am at work. She says I should not be here until Monday. This is true. But I was there anyway.

I really didn't want to miss the last week of school. So I went today so I could have a little more time with my students. Not to mention next week starts summer school. They finally gave us a schedule and a theme today so we can start planning. Plus there is tons of end of the year paperwork to do. Which I did early trying to be diligent. Of course, I did it wrong and got a nice yelling at from other teachers over that. So I spent part of today fixing my mistakes and will finish that tomorrow.

Well I had to go to the doctor to 'close my account'. It was the fastest dr. appt. ever! There was no wait which is very unusual. Then I totally lied and told the doctor that everything was normal. I had to hold in all my coughs, this was hard. And she had to list to my breathing. I did my best to fake a really good deep breath, or well like 10 really good ones. She looked down my throat. I didn't do any sniffling. I passed the test! But what was really funny is that she kept asking me "Are you sure you want to go back to work tomorrow?!" I didn't even try to tell her that I had already been today. I bet I was her first patient who went back to work earlier than they are supposed to!

Sick

2009-05-27T00:00:00.002+04:00

I'm guessing there will be nothing fun to post about this week since I'm at home sick. I finally broke down and saw the dr. today after feeling awful for the past 5 days. So the conclusion is: a low fever, an upper respiratory infection, a sinus infection and a virus. That whole breathing thing seems optional these days. So against what I want to be doing, I'm in bed resting and taking all my meds. The dr. said to stay home at least until Friday. I don't think that will happen. I have to at least be at work on Friday because it is my last day with my kids. I have to say bye. But I'll think about that then because it makes me sad.

My Kiddos

2009-05-24T14:45:00.008+04:00

Next week is our last week of normal school. For some weird reason grades were due this Friday. We are not allowed to do anything for a grade next week. So I guess next week is like lets pretend we are in school and come but lets just play all week? I don't get it. Well I decided to take some pics of my kids. I got as much as I could. I thought I would share. Most of them drive me crazy because they are quite the spoiled brats, but they are too cute as well.

This group is especially naughty. Vova, Nastya, Nina, Katya, Max, Ivan, Alouna and Asya.

Their true selves.

second grade boys

The boys acting somewhat normal

2nd graders, Yagor, Vova, Gosha, Kolia and Daniel

A little crazy. 2nd grade.
Natasha, Olga, Igor, Alex, Artem, Phillip, Sasha and Artum.

Some fourth graders, Anna, Arrina, Gleb, Robert, Sava and Andre

Acting a little crazy. They show their true colors.

Sava and Max. My fourth grade boys

Some sweet fourth grade girls Sasha and Dasha

Some more fourth grade girls, Aleena, Anna, Polina and Arina

Polina and Stasya, 4th grade

4th grade boys, Pasha, Andre, Robert, Robert and Sasha

My sweet 1st grade girls, Masha, Tania and Liza

some more 1st grade boys, Misha, Igor, Yakov, Sasha and Ivan

Arkadya, Tate, Serge and Misha (again kind of trouble makers, but cute)

Alex and Elijah, I don't know if you can tell but they are trouble makers

These are native English speaking first graders, Alicia, Stepan (his father own's a huge pharmacy here called 36-6) and Masha (President Yeltsin's granddaughter)

Two sweet 1st graders, Misha and Sasha

Second graders: Veronica, Sonya, Dasha, Seva (sebastian), Dima, Nikita and NasarThis is my second graders acting silly.

Three of my sweet 4th graders, Ann, Sofia, and Adely

Two of my mischievious fourth graders, David and Robert

Bridal shower

2009-05-24T14:24:00.003+04:00

I'm still doing some catch up. Last weekend we threw our friend Elizabeth a bridal shower. Her and Max are getting married June 5th. We wanted to do something special for her since we are all parting ways soo. We had such a great time just the girls. Here are a few pics.

Our cool ring cake we made.

some yummy food

Girls in pink, Betty, Nataly and me.

Girls in pink, me Betty and Katya

Me and the lovely bride to be Elizabeth.

All the girls at the showerMandy, Katia, me, Elizabeth, Kate, Truc, Betty and
Jane. Nat was taking the pic :(

The guest of honor with her hostesses: me, Elizabeth, Kate and Truc.

Tsaritsena Park

2009-05-22T16:56:00.010+04:00

Okay so this post is much over due. Sorry. We went to My favorite park in Moscow, Tsaritsena, nearly 2 weeks ago. This park is so beautiful in all seasons. But spring is my favorite because this is when they plant the tulips. They put the bulbs in after the snow finally melts in April and the bloom the first of may. This is the palace and grounds of Catherine the Great's summer home. Here are a ton of pics, enjoy!

There was a lot of people there.

Nothing goes as planned here...

2009-05-20T09:33:00.000+04:00

It is a well known fact that over here nothing ever goes as planned and if you are ever going to get anything done it will be a huge long process.

Yesterday Polina and I met up to get train tickets for St. Petersburg for when my sis is in town. Well I should have known that it would not turn out well by how it started out. I waited (needing to go to the bathroom by the way and there is no such thing as a public bathroom except at Mc Donalds) for about 45 minutes on Polina at the metro because she went to the wrong metro. This is funny since she is the native here and I'm the foreigner. She forgets where we are supposed to be and is headed to the wrong train station. So we finally get ahold of eachother and and hour later are headed to the correct train station.

While we are there we wait in line for about an hour. Only to find out there are ABSOLUETLY NO TICKETS LEFT! We even try to be flexible with our travel dates but nothing. So we leave the train station and head across town to the Transportation Authority. Apparently they sell tickets too. Well, they are suposed to.

Have I ever told you that it is rare to get this thing called Customer Service over here. It just rarely exists. Silly me to think that this was going to be a day where it did exist. Nope. We got there and there was one lady at the desk selling tickets. She was on her cell phone talking. Yea so about 10 minutes later she decides to get off of her cell phone and help us. She tells us there are no tickets left on the sleeping train but there are 5 tickets left on the train that sits up like airplane seats. We decide it will not be fun but we will take the tickets. They were only like $15 as opposed to $60 each way. So I guess that is a plus.

Well, of course her cell phone rings, AGAIN. Of course, she answers it. We had already told her we want the 4 tickets. But apparently she didn't type it in. So 5 minutes late when she decides to get off of her cell phone, guess what?! THE TICKETS ARE GONE! That is how quickly they are selling out (and they have only been on sale for a week). Polina and I are so furious at her that we just leave and head to McDonalds for some ice cream and a cola light.

So about 2 and a half hours later, we still have no tickets to St. Petersburg. Well caffiene and ice cream can do wonders. We settled down and I headed to Bible study. I decided to look online for plane tickets, figuring they would be way too expensive. Nope! There were the same price as the sleeping train tickets!

So today I bought round trip plane tickets to St. Petersburg for $134 per person. The flight will only be 1 hour as opposed to 8 hours on a train. Though I wanted Sara to have the experience of sleeping on a train, at least we can still go! God is so nice to me!

Bitter/Sweet

2009-05-19T09:00:00.002+04:00

I have recently decided that bitter sweet is a good way to describe my time in Russia right now. As the weekend was coming to a close my roomates and I were shouting with excitement about only having two weeks of school left. We were so excited. This year has flown by but at the same time seems like it has been forever.

All year, since the end of September, I have been giving private English lessons to a 10 year old boy named Alex. I would go to his (3 story) apartment on Monday and Wednesday afternoons for an hour to help him with his English homework and help him to speak more and to speak better. He has a lovely family, very nice. His mom would bring me tea and snacks while we were doing our lesson. We rarely missed any lessons. Then he just spent the last 2 weeks in Italy on vacation. We had 2, 3 day weekends in a row, so I guess that means take a 2 week vaca? I don't know. So yesterday was our first lesson in over 2 weeks. Then in the middle of the lesson he told me there will be no lesson on Wednesday. So I asked if we would pick up again on Monday. He said no. On Wednesday he would go to his dacha (country home) for 2 weeks. Then he will be returning to Italy where he will be until September! Rough life for the kid. He went on to tell me about his house in Italy, his house in Dubai. So I am currently not feeling bad at all about them paying me about $50 each hour lesson.

Anyway, his mom is still in Italy but his grandmother was there. So she asked how much they owed and paid me the rest of the money. I left and was walking back to the metro and was just flooded with emotions. I wasn't quite to the point of tearing, but give me a few weeks and I might. Part of me was happy that I don't have the make the trek out there anymore and can spend my afternoons doing other things. But part of me was sad because it was a step closer to leaving here and leaving the life I have had for the past 2 years. I have been really excited about this, but now I'm feeling sad too.

But then this morning my mom called and they purchased my sister's ticket to come see me. She will be spending 3 weeks with me in June. It should be really great! So I went online really quickly and bought my return flight home to America. It is official! I will be be in Houston on June 27th at 2:05pm at the Bush Intercontential Airport. Again, happy my sis is coming, kind of sad that it is official that I am leaving.

So on this rollercoaster, we are back to happy again... This afternoon I will go with my dearest friend Polina and we will buy train tickets for me, Sara, Polina and Truc to go to St. Petersburg! It should be an amazing trip. We are going over a 3 day holiday weekend and during White Nights. So we should get to see some cool stuff and maybe even a parade or something.

Back to the rollarcoaster...we can call the part the twisty part, you know when you are on the rollarcoaster and it is kind of taking you in circles really fast and you think your head may explode! That is now. Because though I only have 2 weeks of regular school left, then we have 2 weeks of summer school. No one has any info for me yet so I can start planning lessons. Somehow, I need to plan and decorate the school in the next 8 days for about 30 or so lessons for 1-5th graders! AAHHH! Everything is so last minute here. And I have a TON of russian paperwork to do for the end of the year. Grades are due this Friday so I have a lot of grading and recording for the Russian documents to do.

So since grades are due this Friday, does that mean that next week is just pretend school? We are not allowed to do anything for a grade. So what is the point really? Plus most of our kids will go ahead and leave on vacation AGAIN. Like my private lesson student, most of my kids just took two weeks off. So I think we will watch movies next week!

Ok, that is kind of a short novel so I should probably get to work now!

OH and I forgot! Today is May 19th and yes it is a little chilly outside, about 55 in the morning. But I saw a girl in leopard printed ear muffs on the metro today! Really, is that neccesary?????

Because this is Russia...

2009-05-16T14:12:00.004+04:00

Only in Russia...

Yesterday I was on the metro heading to Metropolis mall to buy cake mix and icing and gifts for Elizabeth's bridal shower today. I paid about $8 for the cake mix and about $5 per tub of icing. Only in Russia...

Well if you look on the metro map, this mall is only about 2 cm away but on the dark green line, and I am on the purple line. Both about 5 or more stops from the center on the brown line. Well I decided to try to grab a gypsy cab (where you put your arm out and a random person picks you up.) I have done it a million times. Well no one would take me! I know there is construction around there but seriously. So I had to take the metro and it was about a 45 minute ride to go what would be 5-10 in a car. Only in Russia...

Also on this metro ride I saw some interesting things. This man got on, he looked in his 60's, tall, patchy, unkept gray/ black beard, crazy grey/black hair and super thick glasses. Ok you are thinking nothing is weird right. Well he is holding this clear/green bucket with holes in it and a lid. What is in the bucket you ask... WHITE MICE! Yes, he was carrying a bucket of white mice in the metro! Only in Russia...

Last Monday we had the day off of work and it was the only day in the last 15 that hasn't been raining. So we headed out to Tsaritsena park to see all the beautiful tulips (a separate post later). Well this is what we saw while at the park.

Only in Russia...

Oh and there were some of these too.

2009-05-11T17:58:00.006+04:00

Here are some more pictures to see. This is the other monastery we visited. It was also really beautiful.

These pics are from a church that was built and used during the reign of Catherine the Great. The buildings that aren't a church were used as a miliatry prison during her reign.

Monastery for the deaf

2009-05-04T17:31:00.005+04:00

This past Friday was Labor day here in Moscow and it turned out to be such a beautiful day. We took a walking tour of two monasteries that Kathryn found in the newspaper. The first one we came to was a special monastery for the deaf. They even had living quarters for deaf people. It was super old and a bit run down but that made it more interesting to see.

Here is a pic from the outside surrounding wall.

I just really liked this sign. It says Dietsky Park (kids park). It was next door to the monastery.

Another part of the surrounding walls

A different view of the walls

I had to take a pic of the trees because they just started budding this week. Finally some green!

This is the actually church inside the monastery. It doesn't at all look like an Orthodox church. There are no towers with onion domes. It was pretty inside but quite simple compared to most.

Walking inside the monastery

Me outside the church.

Another view of the church. These are the steps going into it.

Looking up.

This is one of the living quarters for the deaf community attending this church.

Another building at the monastery

I was really excited because there were finally flowers blooming!

A view of the Moscow River in the southeast part of Moscow.

Birthday pics

2009-05-03T19:58:00.004+04:00

Here are a few pics from my birthday celebration. My friend Lydia and I had our birthday 6 days apart. So we decided to celebrate together. We had a chili and rice dinner at my apartment and invited some of our close friends over. It turned out to be so much fun.

Here is me enjoying a piece of my homemade chocolate cake with homemade icing.

My dear friend Tania and her fiance Sasha

Nataly and Chris Barnes, love them.

Me and Kate. We work together too. She is such a sweet girl to have around

Me and Truc. I'm wearing the souvenir apron she gave me, holding my tea pot from the Fishers and she has my matroshka Starbucks mug from Polina. Some great presents!

My FAVORITE Brits, the Fishers, Daniel and Emily.

Me and Mya Krasavista (my beautiful one) Polina. I wouldn't make it in this country without her!

I'm excited to open my present from Kat.

Standing on our balcony before the sun set, at about 8 pm. This is the view from our bedrooms. We live on the 16th floor so we can see a lot of the city.

Truc, Lydia, me and Kat. Ready to begin celebrating!

It was such a great time. I felt so blessed to be surrounded by such great people, people that mean so much to me over here!

Update

2009-04-30T09:35:00.000+04:00

Ok so I know it has been FOREVER since I have given ya'll any kind of update. But things have been busy and nothing too exciting has been going on. Well I guess not exciting to me. But as my mom reminded me these things here are not NORMAL to everyone else. So I will try to do better.

Our old friend Jamie came to visit for about a week. She worked with us last year and lived here 2 years. That was a lot of fun. We spent time just hanging out and eating at her favorite restaraunts here, playing card games and watching movies. It was great to have a friend come to visit. Plus she brought us goodies: Kraft Mac and Cheese, Jiffy creamy Peanut Butter, Aussie hairspray, ice breaker mints, orbit gum, Gobstoppers and stuff for the other girls too. It was so great! It was like Christmas in April! There was a little bit of craziness with her travel. B/c of weather her plane was delayed and rerouted so she got here a day late. But she got to stay a day later too. But then the driver from school didn't come to get her so she missed her flight. So she spent another day with us but had to pay some money for another ticket. It was kind of crazy. But we had a really good time with her.

This past weekend the weather FINALLY turned beautiful. Friday it was about 30*, Sat and Sun got to about 60* or 65* but then Monday got to 80*! Just in time for my birthday. It has been so nice! So we really didn't have any inbetween time. I went straight from wearing a scarf with my peacoat, to one day of springish jacket, to denim jacket one day to nothing yesterday! I was actually hot! I cannot believe it. You know we have been wearing a pea coat or more since SEPTEMBER! So this is still a bit unbelievalbe for me. I am loving it.

I had a great birthday too. I will post pics when I get home. I had a few friends over Friday night to celebrate. My friend Lydia's birthday was a few days before mine so we celebrated together. We made chili and rice and homemade choclate cake. It was so yummy. We had the best time just hanging out with friends. It was great too b/c we had co-workers, random friends and friends from church all together. Plus Lydia and I had friends that neither of us knew of the other. It was nice how everyone mingled and got to know eachother. We played fun games too. Not to mention I got some awesome present that I definately didn't expect. Monday was my actually birthday. I worked all day and taught a private lesson in the afternoon. Then my roomates treated my to Hard Rock Cafe, my fav. When we got home I spent the rest of the evening talking to family from home.

We have tomorrow off of work for Labor day. I'm so excited. We are going to take a church and monastary tour through the southeast part of the city. It should be great. So I will have a bunch of great pics for you coming soon!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-27T08:58:00.000+04:00

I do believe I feel a bit older today... and maybe a bit wiser too

Jobs..

2009-04-09T09:57:00.002+04:00

Well my time in Russia is coming to a close. While I am trying to savor every moment, and praying for the warmth, I am also on the job hunt. I am applying all over in the Edmond area at various different school districts for teaching jobs. Since I am not there, but rather on the complete other side of the world, this can be difficult. I am so thankful for dear friends who are already teachers at various schools and are helping me and letting me use their names, etc. But for me it is kind of a big waiting game. I just hope someone goes out on a limb and thinks I'm worth hiring even though they have never met me!

Well in all of this I am reminded of this verse:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Phil. 4.6

I have given it to Him and He has ALWAYS taken care of me in this far so I know He won't stop.

But any prayers would be appreciated!

19 DAYS!!!!

2009-04-08T10:17:00.001+04:00

19 DAYS UNTIL MY BIRTHDAY!

THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW ME KNOW THAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE BIRTHDAYS. AS A MATTER OF FACT I THINK IT IS TIME TO START THE CELEBRATIONS NOW!

24 YEARS IS ALMOST HERE!

Elena

2009-04-05T08:54:00.000+04:00

Yesterday was possibly my last visit to the Ryzan orphanage. I have completely fallen in love with a little girl named Elena. During my first visit a year and a half ago, she just kind of clung to me. She was brand new and hadn't even been there a week when we first visited. So we have definitely bonded during our visits together. She even told me once that she can understand me when I talk to her even though I don't speak her language.

Well I found out yesterday that she has a brother that is there now too. His name is Valery. I met him yesterday and he is such a nice boy. I'm so glad she has him. Well I wish with all of my heart that I could adopt them. In an easier world I could. So since I can't, with Polina's help, I am going to stay in contact with them. I am going to write them letters and send a package of things they need. Polina will translate the letters for me and bring the packages with her when they go out there. So since I can't adopt them, at least I can help them a little bit.

I brought the little girls baby dolls yesterday that they had requested during my last visit. They had never had a baby doll. So there are some pics with their dolls. But I wrote Elena a letter and Polina translated it for me. Then we read it to her. It was so hard to leave her crying yesterday. But I know God will look after her and her sweet brother. Her are the pics of me and Elena from yesterday and my letter to her.

My Darling Elena,
I am writing you this letter because I do not know if I will ever see you again. If I never get the chance to spend time with you again, I want you to know how much I care about you. I love you so much. I have never loved a child so much that is not my own. If I were able to, I would take you home and love on you forever. Even though I cannot take you with me, know that I will always love you. I will always pray for you, I will always think of you.

I hope you grow up knowing how much Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that he died just so you can be with Him. It is my prayer that you believe in Him and all the promises that He has made for you. If this happens, I know we will be together again I day.

Always know that you are special, your are wanted and you are loved. Not only by me but by our Lord. Never forget this.

All my love,
Dana

My favorite little Brits...

2009-04-03T15:31:00.016+04:00

The Fisher family is living here in Moscow and are very special to me. Daniel is a BBC producer and his lovely wife Emily raises their wonderful kids, Jude, Amy and Angus. Daniel and Emily host us every Tuesday for Bible study. Emily always makes an amazing desert. This family is truely a blessing to me. Well, every so often I get to go and babysit their kiddos. Can I just say, I love that babysitting is no longer a job for me but a pleasure. I love doing it just because. So this post is dedicated to my dearly loved Fisher family. Wow how the kids have grown this year. It will be full of pics and videos. Enjoy!

A day at the park:

AngusJude

Jude and Amy
babysitting
Storytime before bed

Amy always has a big smile for you!

How can you not love that cute little face!
I just love their facial expressions
Not a good pic of me. But here is one on Angus' 2nd birthday.
Happy 2nd to Angus!

One of the many time Angus has fallen asleep in the stoller. Too cute for words

Amy helping to make Christmas cookies. I think she will take after her momma with baking.
You could say we made a lot of cookies.

Ice skating in Jan. Angus and I were watching Mommy skate.
Daniel and Kathryn skating with Amy
Emily and I ice skating

Amy painting at Jude's birthday party.Angus painting too
This was sent by Emily. This is classic Angus
Jude playing.
Angus being a polar bear
Playing polar bears.
I just really love their imaginations!

I really love watching them play here.

Sacred Space

2009-03-31T16:51:00.002+04:00

Where I find a quiet place.
It's where my soul finds sacred space.
It's where my knees touch the ground.
It's where peace is found.

In You, Jesus.
In You, Jesus.
In You, Jesus.

It's where my heart is purified;
the only place I feel alive.
It's where my Father beckons me.
It's where this child is meant to be.

In You, Jesus.
In You, Jesus.
It's in You, Jesus.

It's where I run.
It's where I hide.
It's where You hold me safe inside.
It's where I live.
It's where I breathe.
It's where I look upon Your beauty.
It's where I fall.
It's where I rest.
It's where I find You loved me best.

In You, Jesus.
In You, Jesus.
In You, Jesus.

The throne of my heart has an incompetent ruler without You.
I look to You for the love of You, the peace of You to silence all the noise within.
To bring tranquility to all the scattered thoughts within.
I learn to think of You and not of me.
To go deep in You until I lose who I used to be.
With You I can be everything You intended me to be.
And it's in this sacred space where I lay my ability to be anything without You.
Where I lay my preconceived notions about You.
Where I forget about me. To remember life is about you.
To remember I live for Your smile.
To remember I live for Your smile more than I live to please the crowd.
Make me like water.
See through me.
See You through me.
Nothing left of me to see.
Cleanse me.
Immerse me in purity.
Wash me of iniquity.
Help me to choose You.
To lavish You with a lifestyle worthy of You.
To lavish You with more than words.
To lavish You with all that you deserve.
I surrender because You are more than my cognative knowledge...

In You, Jesus.
In You, Jesus.
In You, Jesus.

It's where I tremble with Holy fear.
It's where my questions disappear.
It's where my feet begin to dance.
When I realize where I am.

I'm in You, Jesus.
I'm in You, Jesus.
In You, Jesus.

Sacred Space, Steve Fee

An old Roman ampitheater

2009-03-25T19:36:00.004+03:00

While in Alexandria we also got to see a really awesome old Roman amphitheater. Of course it was in ruins. But the date outside the gates said 817 B.C. That is super old! Of course this is where not only did they have theater but they also held political rallies and did awful gladiator type stuff too. Though I never really figured out what a ROMAN amphitheater is doing in EGYPT?

This really old fort in Alexandria

2009-03-25T19:22:00.004+03:00

We got to see a famous old fort while in Alexandria. I don't actually know much about it but it originally had a lighthouse and it was a famous port for many centuries. Now all that is left of it is the fort. It was really cool, minus the fact that they had all the Muslim symbolisms in the building. That wasn't so cool to me. But here are a few pics of the fort. I'm sure it has a name but I have no idea what it is, sorry.

A realy really old palace in Alexandria

2009-03-24T17:20:00.006+03:00

So our trip to Alexandria was amazing! We saw some really beautiful and really old things. We saw the Nile, stayed at a hotel on the Meditteranean Sea and saw the oldest palace in Alexandria. Here are some pics of it and the grounds around it. We couldn't go inside the gates b/c it is currently the residence of their current president.

Ciaro

2009-03-23T19:52:00.006+03:00

We took a two day trip to Ciaro and Alexandria to see the National Egyptian Museum, the Pyramids, the Nile, the Meditteranean Sea, a palace, a fort and an old Roman ampitheater.

Here are the pyramids.

The Red Sea

2009-03-23T19:23:00.003+03:00

We took a little spring break vaca to Hurghada, Egypt. It was so wonderful and I tried to soak in as much sun as humanly possible, though I could have used more.

Here are some pics of the Red Sea, our hotel and on a boat. Enjoy!

Back

2009-03-22T22:13:00.000+03:00

Back from a week in Egypt! Will post pics tomorrow!

Washing Machine Update

2009-03-11T20:45:00.005+03:00

We have a new washing machine! After 3 weeks of a broken one we are finally able to do laundry. Now my roommates have been hand washing things but not I. So mine is super piled up. And not to mention that you cannot double wear any kind of pants here. It is disgusting right now with all the snow melting so everything gets super dirty when you wear it.

So I am kind of feeling like I have too many clothes. OK well lets not go too far and say too many, but a lot. I have just run out of tights, but still of hose left. Other than that I have yet to run out of anything yet. And then when I think about the clothes I still have at home, my goodness. Well in my defense, I just gave away 2 sweaters to a friend the other day. I have had them since 9th grade, that's 10 years! So that is one reason I have so many, I keep them forever.

So our landlord hasn't been able to get ahold of 'the master' since Friday. He came out about 5 times and 'fixed' our old machine. Um, not so much. He totally cut corners and it was still broken. So when our landlord couldn't get a hold of him after like 5 days, he bought us a new washing machine!

It is amazing already. It is almost the size of an American one. Our last one could hold 2-3 towels or 2-3 pairs of jeans max. So as you can imagine, with 3 girls it was always running. It took forever to do any laundry. I always do it once a week and it would take me 3-4 loads plus towels. So currently it is holding about 7 towels! Its really quite exciting!

Mazlenitsa

2009-03-09T14:33:00.006+03:00

In Russia they have a celebration in March called Mazlenitsa. This is the official celebration of Spring. It is always on March 1st. At school we celebrated it this past Thursday. They send the kids home early and have a big party for the teachers.

First we went outside and all the teacher were drinking hot, spiced wine and playing carnival like games. It was very traditional Russian and so fun. Some of it was participated in and some we just watched. Then we went inside for some music and dancing accompanied by blini (kind of like a crepe). You could have smoked Salmon, red caviar, jam, honey, or sweetened condensed milk on your blini. They also had spiked punch, tea and some cookie like things.

It just really cracks me up that these things would be found at a school! I don't think that they were ever have alcohol at an American school for a celebration, even if it is for teachers only. But this is Russia!

Here is a pic of our drama teacher. He is a hilarious man! He was one of the MC's of the event.

Here is a pic of the American Girls. Kathryn, Truc, Lydia and me

The next few pics are just of some of the games we were playing outside.

This is a video of the teachers singing and dancing around in a circle. I don't know, its a Russian thing.

Here is a video of the teachers at Zaitsevo and the teachers at Presnya having some sort of sing off or something.

Women's Day

2009-03-07T17:25:00.002+03:00

Russia has this great holiday called International Women's Day. Now as much as I love to honor my mom and grandma's and other moms in my life, I love this holiday. I get to participate in it so it is great. We got bouquets of tulips from students. I got a beautiful glass jam dish from 5th grade and a beautiful swvarsky crystal key chain from one of my fourth graders. Plus our kids did some performances for their moms. They sang songs, did drama's, and acted. Of course they sang songs in English too. They are just so precious. So I have taken lots of videos of the whole day.

Here are some of our tulips. The first 2 pics are of mine and the huge and gorgeous orange and red ones were Kathryns. I don't think they know that tulips are one of my favorite flowers!

Washing Machine Repairs

2009-03-04T18:20:00.004+03:00

Well this is Russia. So as you can imagine things don't really go as planned and take a long time to accomplish, etc.

For about 3 months our washing machine has been sounding like a rocket taking off when it spins. Kathryn had this same one in her old apartment and assured us that it was normal. So we never thought much about it. Well last week it slowly stopped spinning all together.

I called our landlord and told him that our washing machine wasn't spinning anymore and we needed it repaired. So he said he would call 'the master' and let us know. Russian's always use this phrase 'the master' when they really just mean repair man. Well he has been here 3 times, 3 days in a row. Well this is what he left us with yesterday.

Well I would say it is not yet fixed. I am just hoping he can put it back together. 'The master' was supposed to come today again to work on it. But when I called my landlord he said that he could not get 'the details.' I am assuming details means parts. But who knows.

This is Russia!

St. Andrew's Cathedral

2009-02-28T14:15:00.003+03:00

St. Michaels Cathedral

2009-02-28T14:04:00.003+03:00

St. Sophia Cathedral and Monastery

2009-02-28T13:43:00.003+03:00

Kiev in the city

2009-02-27T23:59:00.005+03:00

Larve Monastery

2009-02-27T23:26:00.005+03:00

Kiev WWII park covered in snow!

2009-02-27T23:10:00.004+03:00

This is just a cool park we stumbled upon this cool little WWII memorial park on our way to to a monastery.

Kiev

2009-02-27T22:59:00.003+03:00

Ok it has taken me all week but here are Kiev pics. I decided I'll post seperate posts for different places because I have a ton of pictures from only two days!

First here are some pics of our train ride. It was Kathryn's first train and mine and Truc's first time to sleep on a train.

Sleeping on a train!

2009-02-20T08:47:00.002+03:00

Me and my other to apartment mates (? do you call them roommates when you all have your own room?) are headed to Kiev, Ukraine tonight. Our train leaves at 23.23 (11.23 pm) and we will be in Kiev at 8.20 am. We got 2nd class tickets, kupae cart. This means there is a room with 4 fold out buck bed kind of things. All with pillows and blankets. This is a first for me. I have never slept on a train. So I'm pretty excited! There are bathrooms and our little room has a door and a lock on it. I was told it is really good.

Tickets cost us about $100 each way. Not too bad, but more than they cost last year when we tried to go and they were sold out. We only had to book one night in a hotel so that wasn't too bad. We will get there Sat. morning, spend all day Saturday sight seeing, stay the night in the hotel (which is in the city center and we got a good deal on), sight see all day Sunday, then our train leaves at 9.30pm. We will get back to Moscow at about 9 am Monday morning. We have Monday off of work for Armed Forces Day, also known as Mens Day. So thank you men, I will take a short trip!

We are pretty excited. This is the first trip one of my roommates has taken since she came to Moscow in August. It is supposed to be a tad bit warmer in Kiev than here but still snow all day Saturday. They speak Ukrainian and Russian but not much English. So we won't be able to totally escape from Russia but I was told it is much more of a European city that a Russian (even though it is part of the former USSR).

Many people have asked me why I am going, what is there, etc. Well I have been told there are 2 really great monasteries (which I love seeing), churches and museums, accompanied by food that is better than Russian food. Really it is mostly a bunch of history, which I also love. So it will be like visiting Prague back in November. We will be seeing the historical sights and eating good food! Plus it is small. I have been told we will be able to see most everything in those 2 days!

Sometimes it is really great to live over here b/c I can go to another country for the weekend for about $250, before food and attractions. Who else can do that?!

I'll post some fun pics when I get back on Monday!

Girls Nights

2009-02-16T14:26:00.002+03:00

Sorry I forgot to take pics this week but I will try to do better next week. This past week was so incredibly busy but fun. It seems like I had some kind of girls night every night.

Tuesday night is always Bible study. It was great. We are doing a new study on Philippians, which happens to be my favorite book. I will enjoy this for sure.

Wednesday I went to work and had a private lesson after work. Then I met Lydia for a show. A colleague at work gave us free tickets to a show called Absent. Well the 4 girls who were in it had absolutely amazing voices but it was a little trippy. Apparently Absent is a form of acid. I had no idea. But the whole show is about an acid trip that these four French girls have. So it is in French of course and they are just moving around all weird and singing the whole show. Towards the end they somehow transform and have these bright colorful outfits on. Since it was not in one of the few languages I know, I really am not sure about what happened exactly. But the singing was great non the least and the tickets were free. We also had a crazy cab ride trying to find the theater. We had the address but it is incredibly difficult to find. Thankfully in Russia you negotiate the cab fare before you enter the cab so we didn't rack up a huge fee driving forever.

Thursday is tea night with the girls from small group. This week we went to Homemade cafe. It was a cute little place in the city center. I had some amazing homemade fresh strawberry lemonade. Amazing! It had fresh strawberries in it, mint leaves, lemons, and who knows what else. But it was good. And I had some pasta to go with it. We had as great time. One of my friends is a bag collector. She has a ton and her hubby has said no more until she gets rid of a few. Last week she sold her $600 Furla bag to Kathryn for $50. So she is about to go through her spring collection and let me know. I can't wait!

Friday night we had an 'American Night.' It was amazing. The 4 girls American teachers went out to have dinner at TGIFridays. Wonderful. Then we saw a movie in English! We saw Slumdog Millionaire. It was wonderful and I would highly recommend it. Apparently it is up for a ton of awards but I had never heard of it.

The rest of the weekend was spent at home. I got a nasty sinus infection and was feeling awful. So besides going grocery shopping, I stayed at home, watched Lost online, talked to mom and dad and my honey. A very low key Valentines. My roommates and I watched High School Musical 3 and made some dinner. I know very exciting right?

Promise some pics next post! Hope everyone is doing well!

A few stories

2009-02-10T12:04:00.000+03:00

Well I really don't have any exciting new pics to post this time. The weather is yuck and I spent half of last week at home sick so things were a little dull. This week is crammed full though.

Yesterday I got paid and needed to take it to the bank. I get paid in rubles but have an account in dollars. Now I am glad I made this decision when I opened the account because the ruble is doing awful and the dollar is doing much better. I don't like to keep a lot of ruble cash laying around my apartment so I take it to the bank when I get paid. This isn't too bad of an ordeal. The bank is in the center of the city and the people who work there are really nice.

Well I guess I can't do things the easy way. I go to an Austrian bank in Russia and want to speak in English. When I opened the account the guy was practically fluent. Well I have yet to see him again. So I walk in and ask for someone who speaks English. There is one girl who knows about 50 words. This is fun. It is not a problem to put money in my account but this time I need to transfer some to my account in America. About an hour later between me, the worker who was Russian and a transfer document that was badly translated into English we manage to fill it out. I have this official document in Russian saying it will be there on the 12th. Now I am crossing my fingers as it was kind of a lot of money to just lose.

It kind of makes me sit back and laugh a little as I think of everything life things like going to the bank and how different it is. Then I laugh harder when I think of different people I know and how they would do this small task.

Another story:
I have mentioned my friend to you that I work with who is really seeking right now. Things are going great with our friendship. It is growing everyday and we talk eachotheres ear off. Well she loves hearing about my relationship with my boyfriend and asks me stuff all the time. She knows we do a Bible study together on Sundays so I told her about it this Monday. Cliff and I bought a book to help us study. We did it this past Sunday and love it. Both of us have wanted to read all the way through the Bible and have never done it. I thought I would buy this book to help us along.

Well with this study you have a lot of homework, which is good for us. Each week you study a new book, and some weeks several small books together. Well our homework this week is to read 7 chapters a day until we get through Genesis. I have an extra small Bible at home and I brought it to work on Monday. This week after work is super busy for me and I have some free time at work. So I decided that was a good use of my time and good reading material.

My friend came into my office yesterday while I was reading and asked about it. I had just read Genesis 1, the Beginning. I told her that I just read the most beautiful story about the creation of the world. She asked if I would read it to her. So we sat there in my office and I read the creation story to her.

Now I leave work earlier than her, but I get here earlier too. She asked if I could leave it here at work for her to read. I of course said yes. I told her it would be here the whole semester so she could read it whenever she wants.

I just thought was really neat.

My Angels Must Be EXHAUSTED

2009-02-02T08:43:00.004+03:00

Well I have quite the story for you today. But first I must discuss this weather. Yesterday when I was getting ready to head to a friends for a chili feast I was checking the weather. I had noticed it was unusually cold in our apartment. As some of you know already, the heat is regulated by the city. It is really old fashioned and we cannot change the temperature unless we want to open up the window. So we get what we get. Well I looked at my computer and it said -8*F! When I walked out side and took a breath in, everything inside my nose froze instantly. It was really a weird feeling. Well today I think it is even colder. My computer said -10*F this morning and the metro said -20*C. Crazy! So I had to do more than just tights today, I had to bust out the cuddle duds. They are amazing by the way. And had to use the wool knit scarf, the fuzzy ear warmers, the super gloves, my amazing -40* goose down coat of course and my hood, with my fur lined boots. It was crazy cold. So I was feeling pretty warm except for my face. It was frozen. And it is a really weird feeling to breathe when it is that cold. It feels like you can't quite get a deep breath. Well this is the coldest I have ever experienced and I think maybe I could make it a few days in Antarctica now!

OK on to the story about my angels. After these 2 incidents on Friday, I decided that I don't thank God enough for keeping me safe over here and that I think my guardian angels are probably a little worn out. Well I have explained to some people about how it is not always that safe before, I've been chased down the street once, a man exposed himself on the street, stuff like this. Well honestly it doesn't happen that often and I think that some for the reason that is is because I try to use common sense and make good decisions. For example: I try not to walk alone when it is dark (which is hard when it is pitch black by 4.30 pm and I'm not home from work yet), I try to not speak very loudly in English in public, and I try to imitate the Russians, keep the headphones in and keep to myself. Usually if you don't bother them, they don't bother you.

Well I guess this past Friday was a special case. I have told some of you that alcohol is really a problem in society here, particularly in men. Now there are some decent non alcoholic, and even Christian men in this city too, but they are not the ones that harass me so they don't get put in the story.

Story #1:
Truc and I were on our way home from work and it was about 4 pm. We were headed to the grocery store. We were speaking in English of course, had a few glance but we kept it down and nothing was a big deal. Then about 2 stops out from ours, this old man came right up to us and started talking to us. Well he got about 2 inches from my face and wreaked of alcohol. I had no clue what he was saying, it was quite slurred in and was coming out in Russian and German. Though I know a little of both of the languages but it didn't help me much. The man just kept on in my face and was really creepy. What was really frustrating is that there was a woman next to him saying in Russian oh I understand you and laughing right after I said in Russian that I didn't understand what he was saying. Truc and I got off at our stop and I noticed that he did too. I grabbed Truc and we took of for the mall where the grocery store is.

Story #2:
I was headed to the Fishers to babysit for them while they went to an event at the British embassy. It was no big deal to go at 6pm as most people were still at work anyway. I got on the metro, walked halfway down the platform and got on. When I got on I was surprised to see there were a lot of seats open, odd for rush hour. I sat down, sort of between to men, but there was at least a persons width on both sides of me. No big deal this is normal.

Well i have 6 stops to Pushkinskya till I switch to the grey line and go 2 stops to Polyanka. So I am glad for a seat for a long ride. The man on my right pulls out a huge can of beer and starts chugging it. He already wreaks before that. But I don't think too much of it. He was dressed in a suit and a nice pea coat, not the kind of man you would think to be on the look out for. Well as the ride went on, he ended up scooting closer and closer too me. Apparently he had to speak to me. I had no idea what he was saying, his words were so slurred. He was so close to my face and spitting all over it when he spoke. He tried to grab my hand one time and talk to me too. I politely said the same thing to him, I don't speak much Russian and I don't understand what you are saying. Then I turned to ignore him.

By this point the metro is packed and there isn't anywhere to move to. So I just do my best to ignore him hoping he will give up and leave me alone. No. Didn't happen. So he just kept on trying to talk to me, about 1-2 inches from my face, spitting on me, etc. Then he grabbed my headphone and pulled it out of my ear. That was it for me. I was really tired of it. So I waited till the train stopped (one stop too early for me) and then I jumped up and pushed my way through the crowd at the last second to get out the door. When I did this he grabbed my arm. I had to jerk it away. And he was strong too. I turned around when I got off and there he was, he tried to get off but didn't make it before the door shut. Thank God. I forgot to mention he was about 6ft 3 and big built, not fat. After he grabbed my arm and I got out I was so thankful he didn't. I knew then how strong I was and knew I didn't stand a good chance.

Well now I am about the bust out in tears but I don't want to cause a scene in the metro. So I was doing well keeping it together. I spent the rest of my train rides thanking God for keeping me safe. I do have some pepper spray in my purse and maybe that would have helped if I needed it. I was going through all kinds of things in my head of what to do. When I got there and told the Fishers there said I did the right and that God really protected me. And that he did.

That is when I started thinking about my life here and how much God really protects me. I spend the whole metro ride home that night first thanking God for always keeping me safe and second asking His angels to keep surrounding me. I had zero problems going home that night. I could literally feel His arms around me protecting me that night. I think He knew I needed that because I was feeling pretty scared.

God is so good. He saved me from what could have been a really horrible thing for me. Harassment is much less traumatizing than what could have happened if I wasn't protected.

The US Embassy sent us a letter saying there have been a significant increase in hate crimes against Americans in Moscow. Most of these are against African-American and Asian -American people but non the less it is an issue. Now with what happened on Friday, I am feeling more scared to be here than I ever have. I definitely feel that God is telling me my time here is finishing up. So I would ask my loyal prayer warriors to add me to your list. Please pray that God will continue protecting me in the country. I would really appreciate it!

Oh and sorry mom and dad if this one scares you but I just had to share it.

Ice Skating!

2009-01-25T19:52:00.004+03:00

We had such a blast ice skating this weekend. Though now I am a bit on the sore side. The Fishers came out with the kids and we got to help teach them how to skate. Here are a few pics!

Here are the girls of the trip: Charlette, Truc, Kate and I

Me and Kate

Me and Angus hanging out while mommy skates

Me and my other roomie Truc skating

My twin Charlette in our matching, amazingly warm, Lands End coats!

Daniel and Kate helping Amy skate

The lovely Mrs. Emily Fisher and myself

Some pics of the forest park by my apartment

FREEZING!!!

2009-01-20T10:12:00.002+03:00

It is soooo cold this week. Yesterday I was listening to my mix of Jason Mraz music and his Christmas song Winter Wonderland was in there. It was so perfect because at that moment I was walking in a winter wonderland. Which by the way, I definately prefer over the ice from last week. It is so much easier to walk in.

So yesterday after I got out of the metro and crossed the street, I looked up for the time and temp. It said -16! That is the first time I have seen that this school year and I only saw it once last year. So I came to school and got on the computer to convert it to F. It is only 3*F! And the shower is just showering down! It is actually really beautiful.

So I brought my camera with me today and I will get some pics to post up here.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Hawaii!!!!!

2009-01-14T20:11:00.005+03:00

Well I am back in Russia and it is soooo dreadfully cold. I am having an extremely hard time adjusting to the time. I have never had jet lag like this before. Just to give you an idea yesterday I got home at 4 from work, fell asleep sitting up with my computer on my lap at about 5.30, woke up at 9 not very happy about missing Bible study, went back to sleep at 10, woke up at 12.3o, went back to sleep within about 10 minutes until 2.30 am, was awake until 4am and then slept till 5.30 am. At that point I was so tired of being in and out of sleep that I just called Cliff and then got ready for work. Crazy!

But on with Hawaii. I spent 10 amazing days with my love in Maui. This is where Cliff was born and raised and is currently living now. It was so breathtakingly beautiful, extremely relaxing and I loved the quality time I had with him.

So instead of telling you countless stories, which I would love to do if you ask, I will just try and show you my favorite pictures from the trip.

Beware: there will still be a lot even though I narrowed them down!

Cliff and I infront of this huge tree, it has roots coming down from the branches back into the ground!

Cliff and I out on the beach about to dance in the sand on New Year's Eve!
Cliff and I on our way to Bubba Gumps for a date!
Cliff laughed at me but I like the pic of our feet!
Our first day on the beach, pre sun burn or tan for that matter
Yep, us again. On our way to Hard Rock, my fav!
Sunset walking down the sidewalk to Hard Rock

Sunset looking from our table at Hard Rock

Here is a little bit of sun burn setting in after we spent about 5 hours in the water snorkeling and swimming.

These were on my breakfast in bed tray my last morning there. So sweet!

Finally about Christmas!

2009-01-13T16:19:00.005+03:00

I'm so sorry it has been forever since I have updated. I had an amazing 1 month vacation from my life in Moscow. Each day was such a blessing it is hard to describe. I had a great time just spending time with my family, friends, working on the house, running errands, sleeping, everything was great. The only problem with me being home and around the people I love is that I don't want to "waste" that little bit of cherished time with them by spending forever on the computer. So you will have to settle for my delayed updates.

Christmas was wonderful. We drove in Christmas Eve and went straight to my Memaw and Papaws for Christmas over there. I am extremely blessed, my because they bought me a new comforter set that I really wanted for my "new room" (since the whole house it pretty new now). That was wonderful because right now I wouldn't have been able to get it for myself. We had a great time just hanging out over there and listening to my Memaw tell old stories. I love that. Those are really some of my favorite times is when I get to hear about the 'good 'ol days'.

Christmas day we spent at my Aunt Tammy's house with my dad's side of the family. That was wonderful as usual. I enjoy getting caught up on all the new drama with each family. I got to see two aunts with preggo babies and that was exciting. Food was amazing as usual.

The rest of my time in Houston was just spent hanging out with the Tacconi's and Niki and Ashley. I really just love hanging out. Oh and this was the first time for a trip to Houston that my brother hung around the family the whole time. He is usually with his friends, which is completely understandable. But he said this time he just didn't feel like calling and telling them he was in town. Well this was really special for me because I got to spend a lot of good time with him that I usually don't.

Ok well here are some pics from Christmas!

My Bub and me.

Here is my beautiful Aunt Christie and I. Yes she is my aunt, a whole year and 8 months older than me.
Sara and Taylor, same age cousins

The younger girl cousins: top 3: Kryslyn, 5, Kristin, 7, Hannah, 5, Bottom 4: Madelyn, 7, Bailey, 7, Gwendolyn, 3, and Abigayle, 5.
Dad and baby Elise

The O'Farrell family: Jarred, Noah, 5, Christie and baby Ella on the way!
The Hollis girls
me with my Papaw and Mamaw Hollis
My forever life long BFF's and dearest and oldest friends Ashley and Niki
Ash and her wonderful hubby Josh
Bub and Niki

so long!

2009-01-07T10:02:00.000+03:00

I know it has been way too long since I have updated! Sorry. Christmas was wonderful and I have been in Hawaii for 8 days now spending wonderful quality time with my honey. I will update on all and post lots of pics later! Sorry, I just can't spend my little time with him being on the computer. Promise an update later!

I'm Home

2008-12-19T07:38:00.009+03:00

I'm home! I have been here almost a week but have been soooo busy! Of course most of my time has revolved around Sara, no surprise. So here are some cute pics of her Christmas shows I've seen this week!

Sara's Christmas ballet dance

Sara's Jazz dance

Sara's pointe dance

Sara's solo this year

Christmas is coming!

2008-12-10T20:02:00.005+03:00

Well Christmas is coming fast! I cannot wait! Though I absolutely love the summer, I think this is my favorite time of year. I am so excited that I will be home in 2 days! The last few weeks have been crazy busy getting ready to leave. Work has been so busy and I had to get all of next terms plans in (9 weeks worth!) before I could leave. Plus there has been Christmas parties and Christmas shopping etc. So here are a few fun pics from the festivities with other Americans before we all leave for the States.

Here is me, Doug, Polina and Truc getting different cookie doughs ready

Kathryn and Masha making Post Toasties
Truc and Lydia at our American Teacher Secret Santa dinner

Me and Kathryn at our Christmas dinner which was at the Tibetin Kitchen, go figure

Adam, me and Kat
Sweet couple. New American Teachers this year. Lydia works with me and Truc, and Adam works with Kat.
Tanslation: Happy New Year 2009! They don't do Christmas here, it is all about the new year

St. Basil's at night. so pretty

The entrance to Red Square. Quite nice I think.

These last to are in Red Square. The lit up building was first a palace, then a governement building, then the building where you went to stand in endless lines with you stamps for food and clothing during the Soviet days, now it is an amazingly nice shopping mall. Its called (translated from Russian letters to Latin letters) GUM (pronounced goom). Its pretty! And they have ice skating there in the winter.

Coming Home!

2008-12-05T12:06:00.000+03:00

In exactly 1 week I will be in the wonderful USA! I am really excited, if you couldn't tell! Of course I am really enjoying my time here but I love to be with my family for the holidays. It has been 5 months (to the day when I arrive home) and I am ready for a visit.

Here is a list of things I am really excited to do when I'm at home: (in no specific order)

1. see the fam
2. go shopping with mom
3. see sara dance
4. watch the CMA's (thanks mom for the dvr!)
5. see the house almost finished!
6. eat mexican food
7. have lots of Diet Dr. Peppers
8. go shopping/ grocery shopping and put it in a car and drive it home
9. See TWILIGHT!
10.Spend some quality time with mom, dad, sara and bub each seperately
11. go to Hawaii to see my honey!
12. get a great tan in Hawaii in January!
13. eat more good food
14. have a lot of fun seeing the people I love!

Things I will miss while I am gone:
1. work, haha not! Who misses work while they are on vacation, not me! (But I do love my job)
2. the snow, if it will ever fall again
3. Polina
4. New Years in Moscow
5. my super soft bed, haha
6. getting all my clothes really wet and muddy from walking everywhere in the melted snow. Oh wait, nope, not going to miss that either!
7. seeing my kids yell "Miss Dana!" and run to give me a hug. I do love that

Thanksgiving in Russia

2008-11-29T15:15:00.004+03:00

Here are a few pics from our Thanksgiving. We had it on Friday night. We invite the teachers we work with to come over and enjoy a traditional American meal. It was a lot of fun!

I was so glad our librarian Marina came and brought her daughter Nastya.

Our friends from church Elizabeth and Max

Mya Krasavitsa! (My beloved one!)

Kathryn and Lydia

Polina, me and Truc

Me and my lovely Polina.

Zaitsevo English teachers, me, Truc and Lydia

Here are some MES teachers. Kathryn, Marina, Truc, me, and Larissa

Here is me and Kat about to tackle the kitchen

Its a winter wonderland out here!

2008-11-26T21:51:00.004+03:00

We took a few pics at 'work' today in the snow! Just having some fun with Truc and Lydia.

Its the little things in life

2008-11-19T21:39:00.003+03:00

This afternoon showed me that its the little things in life that make me happy. It had been an incredibly long day and early this evening I just wanted to be home. My journey in that direction was still long with many tasks when I walked outside. It was snowing! Big huge flakes of snow were coming down so hard! The wind was so blustery but I didn't even try to take out my umbrella. I just walked in it with a big smile.

I have been waiting for the snow forever it seems like. Last year we had our first snow on Oct. 14th. So it is awfully late this year. I'm not sure if this is a sign that we will not have too bad of a winter?

Well if the snow wasn't enough, about a minute later I saw a Molly Dog! We used to have a absolutely gorgeous, super spotted Dalmatian named Molly. She had to be put down last spring. I always called her Molly Dog instead of just Molly. Well this Dalmatian was nearly as beautiful as her. This was bitter sweet for me but still increased the smile on my face.

For the next story, brace yourselves, it is descriptive. I already know what the reaction of my parents would be: my mom would say something exactly along the lines of: a huge burst of laughter followed by "Oh, I wish I could have been there. I bet you looked retarded!" (in love of course). Dad would have said: "Oh my goodness that sounds rough. Are you okay. Did you make it through. Tell me all about it." (said in a very worried tone). You have to love them, they balance each other out quite nicely. So here it is:

After an incredibly long day, (which I will share with you later) I got off the metro and headed to the grocery store. It was my night to cook and I am making breakfast tacos with eggs, bacon, and potatoes in a tortilla. It was yummy. By now we are borderline small snow storm. I get my groceries very quickly and attempt to get home quickly to cook before everyone gets home.

I leave the grocery story with 4 heavy, heavy bags of groceries. I am all bundled up, scarf wrapped tightly around my neck, ipod in the ears, gloves on, etc. I head out the door and feel a huge gust of coldness. The temperature has defiantly continued dropping, the wind is against my face, piercing me with snow, but I start walking.

Now just picture: a South Texas raised girl + Oklahoma wind + Moscow snow + hands full of heavy groceries

So after I walk through the crowds at the bus stop I have to begin walking uphill. The snow has now formed a layer of slushy ice on the cement from people walking. The wind is so strong that I can barely move forward. It is so slick that I am taking tiny baby steps. I can't look up because the snow gets in my eyes and I can't see. My hair is going crazy! It is flying everywhere, getting caught allover my face, standing straight up and who knows what else. At this point I cannot feel what used to be my throbbing fingers. I don't know if this is from numbness from the cold or from the heavy bags. Maybe a mixture of both. Just when I think I am not gonna make it, I get to the park. The sidewalk is very icy but it is completely white now and over it is an arch of tree. It just looks so beautiful that I start to smile again. Well this crazy snow scene continues as I walk home. When I get into the elevator I have these massive ringlets that are all over my head in all different directions, snow all over my coat, my face is so red it is almost purple, and it is all white with a little black from my mascara around my eyes so I look like a red raccoon! It is quite a sight to see!

I think it is about time for the big coat. Right now I am wearing the knee length pea coat with a scarf that can double as a shawl but is so big you can wrap it around so it is nice and cozy. It is time to bust out the knit scarves with the down coat that goes mid calf and is good for -40*. I have a rule that I can't bust that out before it is consistently freezing or below. I have to at least try to toughin myself up a little for the winter.

So I hope you got a good laugh in. Now I thought I would give you a glimpse into my life today. Not all days are this crazy, but the last two weeks, they have been.

6 am- wake up and get ready
7.20 ish leave for work
7.50 am- arrive at Presnya to catch the bus to Zaitsevo (the campus I work at)
8.35 am- arrive at Zaitsevo
9-930- 1st grade science lesson
9.30-9.50 second breakfast (yummy baked apple)
10-10.40 4th grade science
11.10-1140- 1st grade conversational English
11.40-12.20 4th grade science
12.30-1.10- 3rd grade conversational English
1.20-2pm- 5th native English
2-215- scarf down some lunch
2.15-240 get things ready for tomorrows lessons
2.50-3.15- take bus to Kuntsevkya metro
3.15-3.45 take metro to Krasnapresnanskya metro to the lab/ clinic
3.45-4.15- attempt to communicate with the nurse explaining the test I need. Not knowing which of the 5 I need. Complete nightmare!
4.15-4.30- travel on metro to my private lesson
4.30-445- walk from metro to lesson
4.50-5.50- do a private lesson for Alex at his apartment
5.50-6.30- travel home on the metro
6.30-6.45- do some intensely fast grocery shopping
6.45-710- walk home what normally takes 10-15 minutes
7.15-7.45 cook an amazing dinner
7.45-8.15- eat and watch TV with Kathryn
8-15-9.30-write an article with Kat and Truc for the MES magazine.

Yea that is what you call a long day! I feel like I never stop running around. My legs are soooo sore and tired. I still am not sleeping through the night so that doesn't help.

Anyways, I got some blood work done today for what the doctor thinks I have. He thinks I have H.pylori bacteria in my stomach. This kind of bacteria causes ulcers. You get it from food and drinks. This explains why I got the pain very suddenly and it hasn't gone away. Good news, if it is this bacteria, then it is treatable with an antibiotic. If not, then they have to put a scope down my throat to see what is there causing so much pain. Lets hope for option #1!

Lets end this incredibly long post with ridiculously hilarious blond Dana quotes from this week:
"How long do you think it takes to dethaw a turkey?"
"Your ruining my buzzkill"

A happier note!

2008-11-17T10:24:00.004+03:00

Thank you to all my sweet girls who joined me in crying! It makes me feel much better! Looking back on that day I feel kind of silly for crying but I just couldn't take it anymore. Plus I forget to mention an important feeling I have been having the last few days...sadness.

Well it is the holidays and this is the time of year that I get sad. I am usually not one to get homesick, ask my parents. But that changed during one time of year when I moved to Russia, Thanksgiving. Last year I would randomly just burst into tears and call my mom telling her that I wanted to be home for Thanksgiving. I think this year will not be to bad. I will have a wonderful celebration here with dear friends and collegues!

So if you add the Thanksgiving approaching sadness plus all the events of Friday afternoon, you get some tears. (And yes, people stare at you weird here if you cry in public. Its almost as if they want to ask you if your okay but they just can't bring themselves to it.)

Random piece of info: We bought turkeys this weekend. 3.2 kilos a piece and 1000 rubles a piece (about $40 ish) We bought two, and still have to buy some ham. Thankfully the cost is split among 5 of us so it isn't too bad.

On to happier things! I think it is okay to post this story because I don't think my friend even knows I have a blog. But to be safe I will leave out her name.

I have a new co-worker. She started here in September. She is American, raised in Canada. Very sweet girl but unfortunately not a believer. But she is a seeker.

The first day we met I showed her around the school and we rode on the bus back to the city together. We began talking and getting to know eachother. I really dont' think I said anything inparticular that would make her think this, but I guess this is how God works. She said "You are religious aren't you. I mean you have faith and stuff like that?" So I proceed to tell her that I don't really care much for religion outside of academia but I do have a special relationship in my life and yes I have faith.

Well that began it. Now everytime we are toghether are conversations are one 1 of 4 topics: her boyfriend, my boyfiend, love or "religion". She uses this word 'religion' for everything, but I don't like it. I don't consider myself and what I have to be just another religion. Most days the conversation atleast hits on this topic. Which is great!

Well I thought I would tell you about last Wednesday morning. I honestly don't remember how the conversation began but I do remember how it ended. She asked me something like this, "So you say you believe in God. Well what do you mean you believe in God, I mean what does that mean to you? How does that affect your life?" (Seriously, What a great question) So I proceeded to give her my honest take on it. I told her how I can see God in everything and described that. I told her how I know that I probably wouldn't still be alive if I didn't have God in my life and I described that. I also told her what he means to me and how having God in my life affects every aspect of my life. ( Now we are talking about God, not Christ, that is next)

Through talking aobut God and Him in my life, I had mentioned that I believe that God sent His only Son to Earth in the form of a human to die for our sins. So now comes in the discussion of Christ. She asked me why I think that I need Christ, what does that relationship mean in my life, what does it mean to have a relationship with someone who people say are dead.

I could go on forever. The questions keep coming until we get to school. It was so cool. I ended up getting to share my testimony and a whole lot of my heart with her. I couldnt' have been happier.

I tell you all of this not only to share this great story but to talk about purpose. She, among many others has asked me before what my purpose is here. I think one of my purposes is to plant seeds.

Planting seeds is plenty purpose for me!

It could have been better, but I guess it could have been worse too

2008-11-14T22:00:00.004+03:00

Its Friday! So it is supposed to be a great day, right? Well it started out fine. I got up went to work, taught 1st grade, 2nd grade, 5th grade, and 4th grade and all of that went fine. Then I scarfed down my PB&J and apple and prepared to leave.

You see, today was a much anticipated afternoon of going to see the doctor. Yes many would not anticipate this, but if you had shooting pain everytime you ate your drank anything at all then you would want to go too.

So here is my afternoon:

I leave the school and have to walk about half a mile to the bus stop that is on the side of the highway and pray that a 442 comes by soon. I am really hoping because the doctor leaves his office at 4 pm and I have a long treck still ahead.

Well while I am walking I get attacked by a crazy dog barking and growling at me as I scream and run down the street while on the phone. Praise the Lord it decided to turn around and go back to the woods where it came from. Because I am surrounded by forrest.

Then about 30 seconds later, some Russian man in a nice SUV just stops right next to where I am walking. I look over but cannot see through the tented windows. I keep walking and talking. about 1 minute later he moves up to where I am, honks and unrolls the window. He has a creepy smile and is offering me a ride. I kindly say no thank you can keep walking. I still have at least a quarter mile to go.

I finally get to the bus stop and am getting cold, it is about 33* today.

About 30 minutes later a 442 comes. Thankfully it stops and I get on. I pay the driver, and get the last available seat in the back of the bus.

I rode the bus for about 30 minutes to Kievskya metro on the brown line. I took the circle 6 stops to the other side of the city to the light green line. Then I took the light green line 8 stops to my stop, Lublino. (It is about 3-6 minutes between each stop depending on distance and speed).

I have now been traveling since 1.20 pm. I excited the metro and it is exactly 3.20 pm.

I have directions to the doctors office from speaking with him on the phone. They are not nearly as clear as I thought they were. I walk one direction for about 30 minutes, knowing I have gone too far, never finding it. I have left his cell number at home but have the office number. After walking about 10 minutes I begin to try the office number. Each time I get a machine that says that it is not a working number.

I turn around, walking so fast I am out of breath. It is now 3.45 pm. The doctor leaves in 15 minutes. I have also been calling kathryn this whole time. She has his number and has been to the office but is teaching a lesson and not answering. I walk back to the metro and treck the other way about 10 minutes.

Finally at almost 4pm I get through to the office. Of course the lady speaks only Russian. That would be my luck, even though it is an American and a British doctor who work there. So I ask for my doctor, and she puts me on hold. After about 5 minutes it hangs up.

It is now after 4 but I call again. Of course, he is no longer in! So I turn around and get back on the metro.

Well I did a not so good job at holding back the tears at this point. I am so frustrated and all I wanted to do was to go to the doctor and figure out what this pain is all about.

I get on the train and head back into the city center. Since I am three stops from the bottom, I get a seat. This is an up right? Not so much.

At the next stop this older, bigger and apparently drunk man gets on and decides to sit in the open seat next to me. Next to him is another even bigger man. (This is very uncommon to have big people in Russia and of course the 3 of us have to be squished into a 3 person seat) Well the man falls on me when trying to sit down. As he falls on me he also elbows me in the forhead. Then he finally sits next to me. Only to cover up half of me. And he is constantly reaching over to grab the bar on the other side of me. Of course each time he does this he elbows me hard in my squishiness. I jump up to get off and see him trying to get up too. Thankfully, though upset, I am sober and can wiggle my way through the crowds very easily.

I switched to the purple line, rode it about 8 or 9 stops to Shchukinskya where I live and went home.

I took my shoes and coat off and went straight for the ice cream. Truc and I compared afternoon stories, and though hers was not fun she decided I won.

I called the doctor, rescheduled for Monday, and he told me to eat a snickers bar.

Thankfully it was Kathryn's night to cook. She made one of my favs, on purpose. Coconut chicken on a Santa Fe salad. And then we watched Prince Caspian which I had never seen.

That was my day! How about yours?!

Oh and doctor says no more caffiene :(

Prague. It Was Pretty Legendary!

2008-11-08T21:18:00.016+03:00

Just got home from 4 nights and 4 days in Prague, Czech Republic. It was amazingly beautiful. The people were nice. The food was soooo good. The weather was pretty good, at least it was warmer than here. We had a really great time. I thought I would give you a brief list of what we did.

Monday: arrived in Prague and took a mini bus to the hotel at about 10.30 pm.

Tuesday: We took the hotel shuttle to the town center at 9.40 am. That put us in the center at about 10 am depending on traffic. We wanted to go to the Prague Castle first. We decided to walk there. It took us about 2 hours. But we found our way and saw abou 3/4 of the city but had no idea yet what anything was. On our way up to the castle we passed through Lesser town. It was so cute with all the old buildings, winding up hill on the cobble stone streets. We ate at a little restaurant that served traditional Czech food. It was sooo good. We spent the next 4 hours exploring the castle. It was huge and there were so many buildings to go into. That evening we had Mexican food, per a recomendation, and it was great too.

Then we decided to head back to the hotel using public transportation. Well they have trams, buses and the metro. It is a little different than our public transportation stuff here. We couldn't find anywhere to buy a ticket. We watched everyone else and they were just getting on. We decided to follow them and just hop on. We saw little ticket punchers on the tram but no one used them. Of course the Transportation Authority had to jump onto our tram to check tickets. And of course we didn't have one. So we had to get off with him at the next stop and pay a 750 Kroun fine. About $40. It sucked. Come to find out all those people had month long passes and you don't have to punch tickets except for the first time you use it. So different from here where you have to punch it every time you get on, and here they are magnetic. When I told him there were no signs saying where to buy a ticket or how much they are, he told me to buy one at the smoke shop! Oh I should have known, buy your transportation ticket at the smoke shop! Of course also at the metro, but we hadn't been on the metro yet to see that. So from then on we made sure to always get a ticket. And we were not stopped again.

Tuesday: We went to the Jewish part of town. I had really wanted to do this. We saw 6 different synagogues that had been turned into museums and a Jewish cemetary. We learned the complete history of Czech Jews beginning around 790AD and the traditions of the Jewish faith. Most of these I already knew but it was intresting reading them from a secular perspective. We had some more amazing Czech food for lunch and walked around the old part of town. We had dinner at the Bohemia Bagel, per recomendation. It was amazing as well. We ended up going there again and bringing bagels home with us. It is like Panera but way better. That night we found this little Italian place that was have live jazz music. We stopped by there and listened for a little while. It was nice.

Wednesday: We took a walk around all day. We explored different parts of the city, the old and the new town, lesser town. We walked along the river. Ate lunch at a pizza place, had tea in the center square in the sunshine. Enjoyed the evening.

Thursday: We explored Wenceles Square. It has a monument dedicated to those who fought against communism from WWII to 1991. There was also a thing set up buy some activist that we walked through. It told there story of about 50 different people. Each poster showed a picture and told the untold story of how that person tried to fight against communism and make a difference in their society. It was really moving for me to read about. There were so many people who tried to stand up for what was right and sacrificed their life because of it. Also at the square is the National History Museum. We got to read about the cultural history of Czech from the 20th century. It was facinating. It also had a bunch of Zoology stuff too. I got to see possibly every animal in the world stuff behind glass, including skeletons of how we came from apes! It was a little outrageous to say the least. The rest of that day we walked around that part of the city and explored.

Friday: We had already seen everything but decided to walk along the river and try to get some more pictures. We had lunch at the Bohemia Bagel and took home a dozen bagels. We flew out that night!

It was such a great trip and not too terribly exhausting. We got to take our time strolling through town each day. The hotel was great too. Here are some pics. Ok its alot. I tried to narrow it down. If you want to see all of them then look on my facebook!

Oh and a few funny videos at the end too!

Visiting the orphanage

2008-10-26T13:04:00.006+03:00

WARNING!!!WARNING!!!WARNING!!!

THIS IS A LONG POST. You have now been warned so here it is. We went to visit the Ryzan Region Orphanage yesterday. It was so much fun. We taught them the old story of Halloween. They made masks out of paper plates and then we had kind of a fall carnival. We set up different games that they came to and then got candy. They seemed to have a lot of fun. We also had a birthday party and had 25 kids that got presents this time. It was great!

Stay tuned to the end and I have a great story for you!

We had to pull over to the side of the road for a funeral. I was told a teacher at the village school passed away. Well I took a picture but then later saw the carrying the open casket of the women. It was sad.

My dearest Polina.

My sweet little monkey Elena
My sweet little Irina.

Here is my little monkey in some of the new clothes I got her. She looks so cute.

Here are two videos of the kids playing some games.

Now for the story. The night before we were to leave for the orphanage I was working on getting everything prepared for our trip. Our apartment was completly filled with bags of stuff for the day. Well I decided to go through my clothes to see if there were some I could give away for the older girls. I went through my clothes first and then decided to go through my shoes.

Well this summer my honey bought me a new pair of tennis shoes because I made a comment that I never wore mine because they always made my toes go numb. So I got sweet new ones but had a pair still here in my closet. I called Masha and asked her if I could bring them to give away with the clothes. She said of course and I put them in the bag with the rest of the stuff.

Then while we were getting the hygiene bags together for the kids Masha was talking all stressed out. Anton told her that there was a new boy that had just been dropped off at the orphanage last week and he was walking around with no shoes on. Anton had said to just give them one of the shoes from the birthday kids. Well then I remembered the shoes I had brought. I told Masha and she said she would speak to Anton.

Well come to find out, the boy had asked for a pair of tennis shoes. He also wears a 38/39. I wear a 39 and had brought some tennis shoes. Yes, they were girls but they had a tourquiose blue nike check on them so they could essentially work for a boy without being to girlish (like my new ones with a pink nike check). So anyways, they fit him perfectly and I just feel like it was totally God to put that thought in my head the night before to bring my perfectly good shoes.

Cute kids

2008-10-23T21:07:00.003+04:00

Today I took a few pics with some of my students. I only got a few with first and fourth grade. They really crack me up. In each picture I can really see that kid's personality. It is really hilarious, at least to me.

This one is in first grade. From the left is: Felix, Masha, me, Masha, Yakob, Tate and Stepan.
They are all very cute. Though felix is kind of in a universe all of his own.

Here are some more first graders: Tania, Max, me, Ivan, Igor, Felix again, Arkosta.

My fourth graders whom I love! Stasya, Sasha, Polina, Sofia, and Robert. All really great kids.

Some more fourth graders: David, Gleb, David, Me, Nastya, Robert and Sasha. Ok this is hilarious. They all look so much like what they are! The first David is very sweet and soft spoken but one of my very best students. You could call Gleb my worst student. If he shows up to class at all, he is empty handed, refuses to speak in English, and just draws on everything. Look at his face looking away! The other David is also mischievious and just hates everything, I don't know why. Then you have Nastya. Ha! She is definately a Russian supermodel in training! Robert looks happy and sweet as he always is. And Sasha looks nervous, as she always is. haha.

Here are some more 4th graders and two teachers, Tatiana and Masha. I teach science with them and love them! Masha so has a typical Russian picture face one. Stas and Gleb are looking like trouble with Tatiana. Polin is hugging me tight with Sasha (girl). Then there is Sasha (boy). This cracks me up. He just came from playing out side and was still getting dressed when Masha threw him into the picture!

Sick days

2008-10-17T22:08:00.003+04:00

So I have been at home sick for the last three days. Well kind of three days. I went to work Wenesday and they sent me straight to the doctors office (in the school) and then straight home and told me not to come back till I was well. I should not of come in at all since I had a fever. But I was being a typical American (as opposed to the typical Russian who misses a week for having the sniffles) and I went to work even though I felt awful.

Kathryn has been home too. With the flu. Not fun. But we have enjoyed laying on the couch watching movies all day. We got out today to go to the grocery store. Um, it took ALL my energy. I came back thinking I was gonna die. Not really fun. So tomorrow we are supposed to go shopping for the orphanage trip birthdays. But I am not really sure if I can make it or not. We'll see!

But here are a few pics from last weekend. Angus turned 2! Really it was just an excuse for all the adults who love hime to get together! It was fun!

Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down. Autumn leaves are falling down, red, yellow and orange.

2008-10-10T20:36:00.006+04:00

So that is definately the song I taught to my first graders this week to the tune of London Bridge. How fun is that. It is definately fall here! So yes, it is nearly unbearably cold for nearly half of the year in this part of the country BUT when the seasons do change it is so beautiful! It was in the 40's and 50's the whole month of September and then recently we got like 5 days of the 60's and sun! It was gorgeous! Well it is officially time for fall! It is nearly cold enough for snow! It is predicted to snow next week! But most exciting is that the leaves are changing colors.

I am amazed in a city of 15 million (and still growing) that there are so many parks and trees everywhere. Even though many parts of the city are not so pretty with just a bunch of buildings, they have random trees and little flower beds everywhere! So no matter where you are you can see evidence of the seasons change. Sometimes I wonder if God did these beautiful things so he could watch for himself or was it because he knew we would love it! I don't know but either reason I really like it. So here are some pics of last weekend at Tsaritsena park where the leaves were just beginning to change colors. I hope to go to some other parks when it stops raining and get some more pics with deeper colors!

So many Celebrations!!

2008-10-04T18:41:00.018+04:00

So I want to give a shout out to my most favorite Kersh family! I am so exited for you and your special addition to your family. What an answer to so much prayer and patience. I cannot wait to meet Jude!

I am so sorry I have not updated in forever. It has been crazy busy around here. I thought that once I moved it would slow down. But then work became ever so exhausting and stressful. But I think I am through the worst of it now. Things are working out and smoothing over. Though I will admit there were days I just wanted to give up and come back to my home in America. But I didn't, I stayed here.

Well after all that settled down, it seems like it was time to start celebrating.

First my dearest and most treasure friend from this continent, Polina, had her 21st birhtday. We had a great time celebrating with a dinner at her favorite little restaurant. Kat and I went in together to get her this beautiful scarf to go with the new coat her mom had gotten her. Then I got her a few "American" things that I knew she already loved. Here are a few pics from that night.

Our school decided to celebrate the English language with a special emphasis on America. Well being that I am one of the 3 Americans that work there, and I have been there the longest, I was in charge of a lot of stuff. We ended up having a great time and the kids did a great job. It was a lot of work but turned out great. Here are a few pics and videos from that day. (It was Wed. Oct.1)

They asked me to dressed like a Texan!

The second graders studied American Food

The Fifth graders studied American symbols.

The Fourth graders studied The Faces of America

My cute little first graders studied the world of Disney.

The third graders studied when Columbus discovered America.

My cute little Stepan as Mickey Mouse

Masha was Minnie Mouse, then Sergei, Misha the blonde was Pluto, another Misha and Max

Hilarious! Third grade reinacting the scene when Columbus meets the 'Indians' for the first time. Even though he was really in the Bahamas! And I don't think it went quite like that. But they were so cute!

Here is First Grade singing their song, Popping Popcorn.

Here is 2nd grade singing Old MacDonald

Here is the 3rd grade singing Yankee Doodle

4th graders singing Clemintine

5th graders singing America the Beautiful

Then Friday was International Teachers Day. It was a fun day. We had to sing! We messed up a lot but it was fun and the teachers loved it.

Here is a hilarious video from the Teachers day celebration. Some of the teachers did some kind of funny dance. I don't really know what it was about. but hilarious!

Okay here it is. Try not to laugh too terribly much. We got a whopping one rehearsal and none of us but Lydia can actually sing. But here is our debut.

Moving Day!

2008-09-21T14:36:00.007+04:00

We moved last weekend! We are so tremendously blessed in our new apartment. We are really enjoying it. So I thought I would show you a few pics comparing our new and old apartments.

So they are way unorganized. But that is because I have been sooooo busy! I am so exhausted. I am going to try to go to a park and the honey festival this weekend and relax a little. I have been working all day and then bringing my work home and working all evening. Not fun, super stressful at work this week. I will fix these later and update everyone! Love!