Back in the USA

I made it back to the USA safely. Things went well, except for one minor oversight that turned out to be costly. Somehow, I overlooked that my flight to Frankfurt left from Domodedevo airport and not Sheremetevo airport. I flew into Sheremetevo from Anapa and made the transfer to the international terminal. I was expecting to hunker down at the international terminal for the next 12 hours when I noticed that Lufthansa ticket booth had been closed down. After checking my ticket confirmation and talking to the lady at the airport info desk, I found out that my flight the next morning left from Domodedevo airport and not Sheremetevo airport. Domodedevo is 60 miles from Sheremetevo, on the opposite side of Moscow. I ended up taking a taxi to the other airport, I didn't feel like trying to find my way on the metro and bus during rush our with 60 lbs of luggage. The two hour taxi ride (traffic was good) was pretty expensive. Grrr... Other than that, travel went well. It took about 40 hours, total. Fortunately I got a little sleep at the airport and on the flights in between. The lovely Marcia picked me up in Seattle. After three months apart, it was very good to see her. We got dinner at an Indian/Nepali restaurant in Seattle. I went to bed shortly after dinner and slept for 12 hours. I thought it would feel pretty strange being back in the US (the reverse culture shock thing), but so far so good. The only strange things so far are that people on the street smile and say hello and that drivers don't try to run me over while crossing the street. My brain is still confused as to which time zone it's supposed to be in. I think I'll take a nap, hopefully that will help.

Slinging Concrete with the Musgraves

The Musgraves had a load of concrete delivered to their house on Monday and asked me to help move it to the backyard. They're building a patio in the back yard and needed to pour concrete for the posts. The Russian guy operating the concrete truck wanted to dump the concrete in the yard and leave (which provoked some vigorous discussion with John), then he wanted to charge us more for making him wait while we wheelbarrowed the concrete out back (which provoked some more discussion). He really didn't want to wait around. It took us 23 minutes to pour concrete into the 8 or 10 post holes. There was extra concrete left over, so the Russian guy dumped it across the street and took off. The Musgrave's neighbor wanted some of the extra concrete, so we moved some of it to her disintegrating patio. We took the remaining concrete and filled 5 of the 300 potholes in the street. Every little bit helps. Naomi cooked up some hamburgers afterwards. Yum.

Sunday Afternoon with Igor and Vladimir

I was riding the marshrutka to church Sunday morning when I got a call from Igor. Igor, if you recall, helped me shop for modems a while back (see Internet Access in Russia). It had been a couple weeks since I'd talked to him, he's been busy. Turns out he and a friend of his were going to be at church that morning, also. I think Igor was there to talk to the Musgraves about Skylink interaccess (Igor is a salesman) and Vladimir decided to tag along. Igor had mentioned Vladimir in the past, saying that he'd be interested in meeting me and practicing his English. As it happens, I had randomly bumped into Vladimir in town a few weeks before. He overheard me trying to buy a phone card and helped out. Funny.

The weather was actually nice (it's been raining for weeks), so the three of us decided to wander down to the waterfront. We also planned to see if one of the museums was open. The museum plans were cut short, though, when I slipped on the muddy slope by the old German bunker and fell on my butt. I got cleaned up in the bathroom in a nearby hotel lobby, but Vladimir and Igor decided that walking around with a soggy bottom would be the death of me. They were very empahatic, so we headed back to Igors house. Igor washed my pants (which was very kind of him) and also cooked up some lunch. We hung out at Igor's house until evening. This morning was the first time that either of them had attended an evangelical service before, so they had some questions about protestant churches and churches in America. The both said they enjoyed the service, especially that they were allowed to sing and pray. In Orthodox services, the priests perform the service and the people are mostly spectators. Being able to participate in the service was very different for them. While Igor was cooking lunch, Vladimir asked me how I came to find God so I briefly shared my testimony with him. We had a good talk while lunch was cooking. Vladimir also came to the Bible study Wednesday night and seems interested in growing closer to God. I had a great time with both of the guys. I was pretty annoyed about the soggy bottom at first, but it ended up providing a good opportunity to hang out with Igor and Vladimir. Funny how these things work out.

Russian Spiders

Russia usually isn't the first country that comes to mind when you here the word "bugs". Peru, perhaps, or maybe Texas but not Russia (it's cold in Russia, and there are bears). Throughout the past week, though, I have found a lot of spiders in the house. They congregate in my bathroom for some reason. I've found small spiders that make small webs in the corner. I've found big hairy spiders that hang out on the wall. "No big deal," I told myself, "they eat the bugs." When I was in Ecuador, we had a tarantula the size of my hand living outside the door to my hotel room. Even that one didn't worry me too much, until one day he'd moved and we couldn't find him anymore. A couple days ago I found this guy (see picture) on the handle of the shower nozzle. I'm no arachnid expert, but the black, bulbous body and hourglass-shaped markings make me think it's a widow spider of some sort. That wouldn't be good. I took some pictures and then squashed him with the shower nozzle just to be safe. Anyone know what kind of spider this is? I scoured the internets for 30 minutes and gave up. I found two types of venomous spiders that live in Russia, but couldn't identify this one.

March 8 Is My Birthday... and Women's Day

I'm not dead, yet. What a great way to start a blog post :) Last Sunday marked 32 years completed for me. 32 doesn't feel so bad, but then I haven't had much time get used to it. Sunday morning it was pouring rain, I got completely soaked on my 5 minute walk to the bus stop. Pastor Victor was the first to see me when I walked into church. He yelled "Happy Birthday!" in English and then gave me a huge bear hug. I tried to wave him off, but to no avail, and he was soon almost as wet as me. Victor had a small birthday present for me: a stick of deoderant. He was quick to explain that such gifts are common in Russia, I really didn't stink that much. Elena also gave me a card, which was nice, and someone had put a small birthday poster on the bulletin board for me.

March 8 is also Women's Day in Russia, a big holiday. It's a celebration for women, obviously, and not only mothers (like in America). After the service, 8 guys (including myself) got up front to read poetry to the ladies. The poems were in Russian, of course, and I spent most of the service practicing my piece. I notice that I was given the shortest piece to read:

Вы прелестны, словно розы,
Только разница одна:
Розы вянут от мороза,
Прелесть женщин- никогда!

The poetry was a big hit with the ladies in church. After the service, we had ice cream sundays for everyone. Yummy. Kolya and Oksana gave me a ride back to Su-Pseh so I wouldn't have to walk in the rain (very kind of them). We stopped by the flower market on the way home and I picked up some daffadils for my neighbors. Galina and Tanya have been very helpful to me here, so I thought I would do the Russian thing on Women's Day and buy them some flowers for Women's Day. 5 flowers, each. I'm told you're supposed to give ladies an odd number of flowers, you only use an even numbered bunch for funerals. I don't know why, that's just the way it is. I had shashlik again with Nikolai, Galina, Tanyan, and Kolya. Nikolai thought it was great that I had brought flowers for Women's Day and said that I'm now a Russian citizen. I wish getting a work permit was as easy as obtaining citizenship :) We had a good time together over some great food. We also had some of Nikolai's home made wine, made from the grapes they grow in the yard. All in all, a good birthday/Women's Day.

Weekend Church Retreat

This past weekend was a short retreat for the church. 17 people, including kids, made their way to the Mountain Spring camp at Novorossiysk Saturday morning. Victor and Luda had prepared a bunch of marinated chicken for the BBQ. Generally speaking, Russian ladies prepare the meals. BBQ, or shashlik, is the exception. The ladies went off to prepare the other aspects of the meal while the men-folk went to play with fire. In this case, the grill was a big steal box with legs that had been welded together. Ventilation holes had been cut in the bottom. One of the guys then poured an entire bag of charcoal into the grill and then went searching for matches. I was a little skeptical about how well the huge pile of charcoal would burn until Viktor poured in two bottles of lighter fluid. It burned just fine. After fanning the charcoal for 15 minutes, we had a good bed of coals. The shashlik inferno was a good opportunity for me to get to know the guys at church a little better. I've spent little time with some of the guys and we had a chance to talk for a little while. The guys seemed pleased to hear that I'm part Czech, and thus part Slavic. Almost as good as being Russian, I suppose. The chicken was amazing.
After lunch a bunch of us wandered down to the beach. It looked like it might rain, so I left the big camera in my room. The ladies gabbed, the men stood and looked out over the sea, the boys threw rocks into the water. Some of the big boys, too. Later in the afternoon we all got together for a sermon by Viktor. I'm afraid I didn't get much out the sermon. I can pick up a few words here and there, but it's usually not enough to follow the theme. I'm sure it was an excellant sermon. Afterwards we had prayer time, which was good.
Later in the evening we went to The Banya. The ladies went first, the men didn't get in until 10 pm. I've done the banya several times here in Russia. I like the banya, for the most part. It's a good chance to hang out with the guys. I thought I had the banya figured out, but the guys from church added a new twist the third time round: wool hats in the steam room. Why in the world would you wear a wool hat in a steam room, where it's 110+ degrees C? Good question, one that I asked. Apparently, you put the wool hat on if you're getting too hot. It's supposed to insulate your head from the hot air and keep it a little cooler than your body. I thought it was a joke at first (haha, let's get the American to wear a wool hat in the banya!), but they were serious. They produced three wool hats from somewhere and were wearing the hats right along side me, happily baking their brains out. After the banya, we hit the sack. I learned something that evening getting ready for bed: only Americans bring PJs and a change of clothes for a 2 day retreat.
Sunday morning we ate breakfast and listened to another sermon. Again, I had trouble following along. Later, Viktor was kind enough to give me a recap on the drive back to Anapa. After lunch, we piled back into the vehicles and went home. Even though I have trouble communicating, I was glad to have gone on this trip. The people in the church are wonderful and I'm glad I got the opportunity to get to know them better. The other people had a good time, as well.

The Banya

The banya is truly a unique, Russian experience. The people here love it, many people have a banya at their home. The banya typically consists of a steam room, a cold pool or shower, and a sitting room. There are three phases to the banya. Phase 1: you sit in the steam room, wrapped in a white sheet, for as long as you can stand it. 15 minutes, typically. The steam room is hot, usually around 110 degrees celcius. If oak or birch branches are available, you dip them in the bucket of water and flog each other until your skin turns a nice rosy pink. Sitting in a broiling hot room while getting switched with steaming hot tree branches feels like you've been set on fire. This is supposed to be healthy. Phase 2: when you can't take the steam room or flogging anymore, you run and jump into a pool of cold water. The sudden change in temperature and blood pressure hits you like a mule kick and leaves your head spinning. This is supposed to be healthy. Phase 3: you sit around a table drinking tea and talking until you cool down. You repeat this sequence another two times, the overall process takes about two hours. As I said, Russian people love the banya. It's almost a past time for them. If you give them a chance, they will explain at length the benefits to your health and how it will improve your life. I'm not sure why the Russian ladies love it so much. I can see why Russian men love it. The intense heat, the cold water, the tree branches... it all has the aspects of a hazing/bonding ritual. Guys like that kind of stuff. I don't see why this would appeal to the ladies, but they love it, too. The banya is strictly segregated by sex, though, so maybe the women have a different routine. Perhaps they flog each other delicately, I don't know. I should investigate.

Happy Birthday, Russian Guy!

I was walking into Anapa to visit my favorite English speaking ATM when I spotted this billboard. The caption says Happy Birthday, in Russian. Obviously, somebodies friends are helping him celebrate his special day by taking out a 15'x20' (I think that's 80m by 150m) billboard ad. I think it's funny. I wonder if his friends told him, first? Probably not, I wouldn't. Happy birthday, Russian Guy!
As I've mentioned before, the road between Anapa and Su-Pseh is never boring. I got chased a little ways by two German shepherds from a car lot not too long ago. Weddings are pretty common events on the weekend. The friends and family of the bride and groom will often decorate their own cars with ribbons and flags and follow the couples car, forming a carvavan on the road. I was walking home from the ATM when I saw one such caravan. The bride and groom were in a heavily decorated stretch limo accompanied by 5 other decorated cars, one of which was flying a huge Russian flag. All the cars were flashing their lights and honking their horns. As they passed me, the limo was flanked by two other cars. On a two lane road, they had formed a line 3 cars abreast. The two outer cars were half driving on the dirt shoulder and they were all moving fast. A little ways on, the car in the left lane hit the brakes and pulled behind the limo to let oncoming traffic by. He didn't leave much room for error. Never a dull moment on this road. I should memorize a few emergency related phrases in Russian. I spend a lot of time on this road and see some crazy stuff. Some day I may have to call for an ambulance. I usually pray for the drivers as I walk into town.

February 23 is Army Day

Army Day is one of the big holidays here in Russia, right up there with New Years. The Soviets started Army Day some years ago, I'm not quite sure when. Probably after the Great Patriotic War. As the name suggests, it honors the veterans that have served in the wars. The Russian Federation still celebrates Army Day. Kids get the day off from school, most people have the day off from work, and people get together with friends and family for the day. Army Day is also extended towards fathers and all men in general, not just veterans. So I guess it's Men's Day, which I appreciate because I got to partake of the 20 something different types of potato and cabbage salad that the ladies at church made for us men-folk. I spent most of Army Day with my neighbors Nikolai and Galina and Tanya (their daughter) and Kolya (Tanya's son). We cooked shashlik (similar to shish kabobs) outside as it was snowing lightly. We ate inside, of course, and had a lot of food and a little "Hammer and Sickle" brand vodka. Russians love making food for holidays. It was a good day.