Teaching in Novorossiysk

Marcia and I took the bus over to Novorossisyk again to teach at Anya's school. I think it's funny that there are more taxi drivers in line at the ticket window than bus passengers. It was another hot, sunny day. Fortunately, the bus had AC. Last nights lesson was based around travel. I'd done a travel lesson in Anapa a few weeks previous, so it didn't take a lot of effort to put the lesson together. There are two classes that we've been working with and it's been a lot of fun getting to know the people. The beginners group has only 5 people. Their English language skills are still pretty limited, but they work hard and want to learn. There are 12 people in the intermediate group. Their language skills are a lot better and they're a lot more talkative. We often ditch the lesson (so much for planning) in favor of talking. I'm more of a conversation facilitator than teacher in the intermediate group. After class we went back to the bus station, where the ticket lady told us she didn't know if the bus was coming or not. The driver hadn't called in, yet, and the ticket lady didn't know if he was going to finish his route or not. Fortunately, the bus did arrive and we headed back to Anapa a little after 9 pm. Riding the bus here is always interesting. Last week, the driver had offered a "special deal" to people if they boarded the bus a few blocks from the station and paid him directly. 20 or so people spent the hour long ride standing in the aisle of the coach bus. This week, the driver made a couple of stops along the way so he could get a soda. He just parked the bus in the middle of the road while he went to the store. This is normal here. We got back to Anapa around 10:30 pm. Many of the marshrutka stop running around 10-10:30, so I called a cab for Marcia. The marshrutka to Su-Pseh stop running around 10:30 pm, so I was planning to walk the last 4 km back to the house. Thankfully, there was one final bus back to Su-Pseh and I didn't have to walk back.

Russian Ingenuity

I've noticed that Russian people can be very creative in cobbling together contraptions in order to save money. Marcia and I found this basketball hoop and soccer net one day walking around town. At least, I think it's a basketball hoop.

Marcia's Visit

It's been wonderful having Marcia visit. It's been a lot of fun showing her around the Anapa area and she's had a chance to meet all the people I've been talking about for months. We've been having a lot of fun hiking and running, going to the beach, worshiping at church, meeting people, and spending time together. Too bad she has to leave in a week and a half :(

Sunday Lunch

Sunday afternoon Marcia and I decided to host a church lunch at my place. No particular reason, other than that I hadn't had a bunch of people over, yet. I think we had 14 people from church over, a good number. We cooked up some stir fry veggies and pasta and home-fried potatoes. The Russians seem amazed that I know of a way to cook potatoes that they don't know about. Everyone had a good time, I think, sitting around chatting. The chinese food was a big hit (they don't get chinese food here).

Summer Marshrutka

Summer has arrived in Anapa and so have the tourists. Anapa is one of the large resort cities on the Black Sea coast and has a long, sandy beach. 3 million of people (if you believe the locals) come to Anapa during the summer and they all ride the marshrutka. It is usually standing room only on the mini-bus. Standing up with your shoulders on the ceiling and your face buried in somebodies back can make for a some uncomfortable rides. People seem pretty good-natured about the crowded conditions and seated people will often offer a lap for small children or excess baggage. My personal record is 20 people, a baby, and a baby carriage stuffed into a 13 passenger mini-bus. The temperature is consistently in the 80s and 90s during the day, now, and some of the marshrutka don't have windows that open. I managed to grab this picture from my seat in the back of a marginally full bus (there was room for another 3 or 4 people, I think).