Thursday night I fell asleep in the chair for at least an hour while Ben visited. We had spent the previous two nights on a train and got very little sleep. They put out an air mattress and I slept for another eleven hours. Neither Ben or I woke until after 8am. The cold bath was welcome after three days without bathing. Breakfast consisted of bread, butter, sardines smoked fish and cucumber slices. Friday was a Holiday (labor day) so the father was staying home and the mother and son went off for a few days. It seems they have a lot of holidays around this time. Ben says the father was off the next 12 days. This particular day everyone was off work and the kids are out Friday and Monday.
The family had a spare cell phone so we took it and bought some minutes from a machine in the metro. I got tired of never knowing what time it is without a cell phone or watch. I quit wearing a watch years ago and never remember to bring one where my phone doesn't work. We have been looking for a cheap watch for days and finally went into a store that had some digital kids watches cheap. Ben asked for a cheap watch. The lady said she had one for 250 rubles. He said cheaper so she said 100. He said cheaper and she went into the back and brought out a watch for 50 rubles. Done. $1.50 It works great but one side of the screen fell back into the watch so you can't see the first one on eleven. Ben asked what time it was and I told him 1:30 when it was 11:30. After a panicked trip across town to meet Ryan we realized the mistake. Now I look carefully.
We went looking for Vera, a 16 year old girl we spent a lot of time with on our cruise up the Volga river 17 years ago. A cute 18 year old girl heard us talking and came over to help us/Ben. She said the family had moved l a couple of years ago but she might be able to find out some information and call us if Ben would give her his number. Ben was happy to oblige but we have not heard from her. We met up with Ryan and the family he has been staying with and toured the palace of Elizabeth the Great. Not very impressive after going to the Hermitage. At 7 we went to the world famous Moscow circus. Very disappointing but I got Janell a little Giraffe.
Ben said he was sorry he went because he had good memories of last time he went. This circus was mostly a bunch of gymnasts who didn't win the gold metal. More off the wall observations. The TVs get very bad reception and almost everything is voiced over. I have never seen so much PDA in my life. The first trip on the metro I counted 8 couples kissing\making out in public. You can't go anywhere without seeing it.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Kay in Russia #5 Thursday
After arriving at 6am we started walking instead of taking the metro figuring on finding Internet along the way. Several miles later I spotted a Hilton across the street so we went and asked for the business center like we owned the place. It was not open yet so we cleaned our shoes on the automatic brush, used the facilities and grabbed some oranges and drinks off the table of the group that just left after morning orientation, then walked back out the front door.
A block or so later we came across a license plate that had been knocked off a car. It was in a frame with a wire front and took some doing to get it out without a screwdriver but I was successful in acquiring Ben a souvenir. Boris insisted we could sell it for a lot of money but he was going to take it to the police. Ben had me quickly pack it away before Boris could take it.
All over Moscow we see signs promoting families. They have a negative growth and are worried about the future without young people. The government has told everyone the Mormons are a cult. We should run our family adds to improve our image. Another mile later we finally found a post office. They all have Internet. It would open in 15 minutes so we sat on a park bench and I read my American newspaper from the Hilton.
Just a couple of observations. Cigarettes are under fifty cents a pack so a lot of people smoke. The orthodox church has a government granted monopoly on sales of cigarettes and get all the profits, go figure. Russians shake your hand when they meet you but only shake hands when leaving if they are not going to see you again. We are expected to take off our shoes in all the homes and the church. We took the metro to Red Square and went through Lenin's tomb. We couldn't take backpacks in so Ben waited for me while I went through then I did the same for him. I followed two rude teenage girls who dress was offensive and had to be shhhhed by every guard in the tomb. Lenin looks great. Hasn't aged a day.
I sat down on the ground outside the gate to wait for Ben. When a guard saw me he came over and ordered me to get up off the ground. OK, I did. We met up with Ryan who has been staying at another family's home and took a train to Sholkava, Ben's favorite area. He had called ahead and made arrangements to see a family there. We had to walk about a mile from the train but this was a neighborhood of houses rather than apartments. They have no objections to building nice new homes in the middle of old ones. It seems everyone owns a dog, even in the apartments. Ben pointed to a sign on the fence and told me it says "mean dog". I went over to the fence and sure enough the dog behind the six foot fence began having a fit. I reached my camera over the fence and snapped a couple of pictures making sure to keep it high enough the dog couldn't get to it. After a few wrong turns we finally found the members house but they were not home.
Ben had brought two baseball gloves and three balls for the family. All week he had been saying how anxious he was to get rid of them. Ben and Ryan threw a ball to each other in the dirt road until their arms got tired then Ben decided to go try to talk someone into letting him use a cell phone. They wouldn't let him use it but someone called the family for him and soon the family came home. We stayed the night with the family. They live in the back of a home that has been converted into a triplex. It is small and dilapidated. There are pipes and wires all over and the wallpaper is worn and old. When it was installed many years ago they didn't bother to trim the ends so some pieces go for 8 inches or more onto the ceiling where others just make it to the top of the wall or a few inches more. They probably don't even see it anymore. He installed an on demand water heater but there isn't enough pressure to turn it on so they heat up water on the stove for a bath/wash. I chose to forgo the hot water and took a cold bath. Not really a bath since I just washed my hair and splashed enough water on me to soap down and get it off. Ben says all of his apartments had the hot water tied to the boiler that heated the building. When they shut off the heat to the building they were without hot water until fall.
The father has a good job as a warehouse manager over three warehouses. He makes about $1000/month and his wife sells insurance on the street for another $800. They are middle class. Few people here own a car. In the US they would qualify for housing assistance, food stamps, earned income tax credits and who knows how many other government programs. Our unemployed poor live in better housing, eat better food, wear better clothing and drive better cars than Russia's working middle class. For dinner they fed us a pasta dish with pumpkin and hamburger mixed in.
A block or so later we came across a license plate that had been knocked off a car. It was in a frame with a wire front and took some doing to get it out without a screwdriver but I was successful in acquiring Ben a souvenir. Boris insisted we could sell it for a lot of money but he was going to take it to the police. Ben had me quickly pack it away before Boris could take it.
All over Moscow we see signs promoting families. They have a negative growth and are worried about the future without young people. The government has told everyone the Mormons are a cult. We should run our family adds to improve our image. Another mile later we finally found a post office. They all have Internet. It would open in 15 minutes so we sat on a park bench and I read my American newspaper from the Hilton.
Just a couple of observations. Cigarettes are under fifty cents a pack so a lot of people smoke. The orthodox church has a government granted monopoly on sales of cigarettes and get all the profits, go figure. Russians shake your hand when they meet you but only shake hands when leaving if they are not going to see you again. We are expected to take off our shoes in all the homes and the church. We took the metro to Red Square and went through Lenin's tomb. We couldn't take backpacks in so Ben waited for me while I went through then I did the same for him. I followed two rude teenage girls who dress was offensive and had to be shhhhed by every guard in the tomb. Lenin looks great. Hasn't aged a day.
I sat down on the ground outside the gate to wait for Ben. When a guard saw me he came over and ordered me to get up off the ground. OK, I did. We met up with Ryan who has been staying at another family's home and took a train to Sholkava, Ben's favorite area. He had called ahead and made arrangements to see a family there. We had to walk about a mile from the train but this was a neighborhood of houses rather than apartments. They have no objections to building nice new homes in the middle of old ones. It seems everyone owns a dog, even in the apartments. Ben pointed to a sign on the fence and told me it says "mean dog". I went over to the fence and sure enough the dog behind the six foot fence began having a fit. I reached my camera over the fence and snapped a couple of pictures making sure to keep it high enough the dog couldn't get to it. After a few wrong turns we finally found the members house but they were not home.
Ben had brought two baseball gloves and three balls for the family. All week he had been saying how anxious he was to get rid of them. Ben and Ryan threw a ball to each other in the dirt road until their arms got tired then Ben decided to go try to talk someone into letting him use a cell phone. They wouldn't let him use it but someone called the family for him and soon the family came home. We stayed the night with the family. They live in the back of a home that has been converted into a triplex. It is small and dilapidated. There are pipes and wires all over and the wallpaper is worn and old. When it was installed many years ago they didn't bother to trim the ends so some pieces go for 8 inches or more onto the ceiling where others just make it to the top of the wall or a few inches more. They probably don't even see it anymore. He installed an on demand water heater but there isn't enough pressure to turn it on so they heat up water on the stove for a bath/wash. I chose to forgo the hot water and took a cold bath. Not really a bath since I just washed my hair and splashed enough water on me to soap down and get it off. Ben says all of his apartments had the hot water tied to the boiler that heated the building. When they shut off the heat to the building they were without hot water until fall.
The father has a good job as a warehouse manager over three warehouses. He makes about $1000/month and his wife sells insurance on the street for another $800. They are middle class. Few people here own a car. In the US they would qualify for housing assistance, food stamps, earned income tax credits and who knows how many other government programs. Our unemployed poor live in better housing, eat better food, wear better clothing and drive better cars than Russia's working middle class. For dinner they fed us a pasta dish with pumpkin and hamburger mixed in.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Kay in Russia #4
Tue night we took the overnight train to St. Petersburg. It is about an 8 hour ride. We got there at 5:30am. Each area has 6 beds and there are no doors between areas. The cheapest are on top so guess where we were. Ben says the mission always put them into the private rooms and bought the entire room even if there was just one missionary. Apparently they have had problems in the past with drunks and naked girls. We had neither. The beds are about 5' 9" so my feet would stick out into the hallway if I stretched out. Ben figured he got about 3 hours sleep and I think I got about 4.
We got into St. Petersburg to early for anything to be open so we took off walking down Nevsky Prospect from the train station to the Hermitage. On the way we stopped at a 24 hour Internet cafe and sent Tue letter. I also learned that Rachael drew the same elk permit Janae did. They both have permits to take a big bull elk on the Deep Creek range. We had breakfast at a (not Internet) cafe. Once we made our way to the Hermitage we found it would not open for several hours. Again we watched as a large army marched around then went across the street to Androvsky gardens. It is still early Spring so nothing has bloomed. So far the weather has been beautiful with daytime highs around 70. St. Petersburg is the northernmost major city in the world and only gets 35 days of full sunshine a year. It was significantly cooler there but not unpleasant.
Thinking this would be a good time for a nap we laid down on park benches and tried to sleep. I fell asleep but woke up freezing. It was probably around 40-45. I noticed Ben was asleep so I decided not to wake him. I watched the people go by, pee in the park etc. I decided to take a picture of Ben asleep on the park bench. He slept for at least a half hour longer than I did. When he woke up I told him I had taken his picture and he couldn't believe he had gone to sleep. He said he had watched me fall asleep and after a while took a picture of me and decided to lay down and wait for me to wake up.
The Hermitage is one of the premier museums in the world. Having been built as a royal palace and filled with art from around the world by it's occupants they made it into a museum and continued to fill it. They say there are 3 million objects and the only rival museum's are the Louve and the British Museum. We spent the entire day there until 5pm. My favorites were the items marked acquired 1945 Berlin Museum. We are not used to seeing spoils of war in our museums but apparently the Russians though it their right to raid the Berlin museum for their own exhibits. The best part though was getting in. The fee was 350 rubles unless you are Russian then it is 100. Ben's Russian must not be to bad as he got us in for 100 each. He saved us $15 and made himself feel good.
After the museum we hopped onto a city tour. We both fell asleep but caught most of the tour. We decided to go around again but it was the last tour of the day and we were the only ones on the bus so they kicked us off when we got back to where they had picked us up .
We wanted to have a sit down Russian dinner but after walking some distance and leaving one restaurant because it was to pricey we ended up at one of many cafeteria style places where you pick out what you want and pay for what you take. We both had a potato casserole plate and a cinnamon roll. I was a little surprised when Ben said Russian food wasn't as good as he remembered it being.
We both decided we were used to better food and cinnamon rolls at home.
Our train back left at 10:30 and we arrived back in Moscow this morning at 6am.
We got into St. Petersburg to early for anything to be open so we took off walking down Nevsky Prospect from the train station to the Hermitage. On the way we stopped at a 24 hour Internet cafe and sent Tue letter. I also learned that Rachael drew the same elk permit Janae did. They both have permits to take a big bull elk on the Deep Creek range. We had breakfast at a (not Internet) cafe. Once we made our way to the Hermitage we found it would not open for several hours. Again we watched as a large army marched around then went across the street to Androvsky gardens. It is still early Spring so nothing has bloomed. So far the weather has been beautiful with daytime highs around 70. St. Petersburg is the northernmost major city in the world and only gets 35 days of full sunshine a year. It was significantly cooler there but not unpleasant.
Thinking this would be a good time for a nap we laid down on park benches and tried to sleep. I fell asleep but woke up freezing. It was probably around 40-45. I noticed Ben was asleep so I decided not to wake him. I watched the people go by, pee in the park etc. I decided to take a picture of Ben asleep on the park bench. He slept for at least a half hour longer than I did. When he woke up I told him I had taken his picture and he couldn't believe he had gone to sleep. He said he had watched me fall asleep and after a while took a picture of me and decided to lay down and wait for me to wake up.
The Hermitage is one of the premier museums in the world. Having been built as a royal palace and filled with art from around the world by it's occupants they made it into a museum and continued to fill it. They say there are 3 million objects and the only rival museum's are the Louve and the British Museum. We spent the entire day there until 5pm. My favorites were the items marked acquired 1945 Berlin Museum. We are not used to seeing spoils of war in our museums but apparently the Russians though it their right to raid the Berlin museum for their own exhibits. The best part though was getting in. The fee was 350 rubles unless you are Russian then it is 100. Ben's Russian must not be to bad as he got us in for 100 each. He saved us $15 and made himself feel good.
After the museum we hopped onto a city tour. We both fell asleep but caught most of the tour. We decided to go around again but it was the last tour of the day and we were the only ones on the bus so they kicked us off when we got back to where they had picked us up .
We wanted to have a sit down Russian dinner but after walking some distance and leaving one restaurant because it was to pricey we ended up at one of many cafeteria style places where you pick out what you want and pay for what you take. We both had a potato casserole plate and a cinnamon roll. I was a little surprised when Ben said Russian food wasn't as good as he remembered it being.
We both decided we were used to better food and cinnamon rolls at home.
Our train back left at 10:30 and we arrived back in Moscow this morning at 6am.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Kay's in Russia #3
Everyone got up early at Boris' house so we had the place to ourselves for breakfast. I took pictures but they didn't have a card reader. When I find one I will try to send pics. We went back to Moscow and went to the mission home. The president was really happy to see Ben. There is a guy here that makes Matruska dolls of the prophets for all the missionaries. I was hoping to order some but we cant get hold of him.
We met up with Ryan and took a train out to Lobnia where Ben and Ryan both served. After a good hike we found the apartment building Ben was looking for. It was then he realized it was more difficult than he thought to remember one apartment from the next. They all have security intercoms on them so Ben tried the ones he thought was it. We finally abandoned that and went to another where Ben resorted to yelling up at the apartments and sure enough someone came out. They figured with the bad Russian it had to be one of the missionaries.
This was the apartment of the branch president. We had a nice visit and his wife called the other apartment. Katia, a really cute 14 year old girl came over. Ben was here for her baptism and confirmed her. Ben is considering waiting until she grows up to get married. If any Russian girl could get him I think this would be the one. We went looking for another family but gave up after breaking into the building and going down each floor trying to figure out which apartment was theirs. Ben was a little nervous about this because it was how he got beat up the worst on his mission.
When we got back to Moscow we went to a restaurant called My My (moo moo) like the cow sound. There were cow decorations everywhere. It was a cafeteria style where you pick out each item. I had fish and cole slaw and of course, they put a piece of candy on your tray at the check out....Russian desert. A group of kids 10-12 came in and had a birthday party. It was fun to watch and I took pictures. They separated into groups of 5 or 6 and someone wrapped them up in a roll of toilet paper then they broke out of it. They seemed to think it was great fun.
We had an overnight train to St. Petersburg at 9:30 and the 2 hour circus started a t 7pm nearby. We were planning to go but it was closed. The only night this month. We ended up going to Red Square where they had a parade. They are building up to a big holiday on May 5Th. Out of time bye.
We met up with Ryan and took a train out to Lobnia where Ben and Ryan both served. After a good hike we found the apartment building Ben was looking for. It was then he realized it was more difficult than he thought to remember one apartment from the next. They all have security intercoms on them so Ben tried the ones he thought was it. We finally abandoned that and went to another where Ben resorted to yelling up at the apartments and sure enough someone came out. They figured with the bad Russian it had to be one of the missionaries.
This was the apartment of the branch president. We had a nice visit and his wife called the other apartment. Katia, a really cute 14 year old girl came over. Ben was here for her baptism and confirmed her. Ben is considering waiting until she grows up to get married. If any Russian girl could get him I think this would be the one. We went looking for another family but gave up after breaking into the building and going down each floor trying to figure out which apartment was theirs. Ben was a little nervous about this because it was how he got beat up the worst on his mission.
When we got back to Moscow we went to a restaurant called My My (moo moo) like the cow sound. There were cow decorations everywhere. It was a cafeteria style where you pick out each item. I had fish and cole slaw and of course, they put a piece of candy on your tray at the check out....Russian desert. A group of kids 10-12 came in and had a birthday party. It was fun to watch and I took pictures. They separated into groups of 5 or 6 and someone wrapped them up in a roll of toilet paper then they broke out of it. They seemed to think it was great fun.
We had an overnight train to St. Petersburg at 9:30 and the 2 hour circus started a t 7pm nearby. We were planning to go but it was closed. The only night this month. We ended up going to Red Square where they had a parade. They are building up to a big holiday on May 5Th. Out of time bye.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Russia #2
This morning we woke up to find Ryan, Ben's missionary trainer, asleep in the next room. Ben went out and got breakfast for us while we let Ryan sleep. He arrived a day later than we did. For breakfast we had some bread, an orange and a bottle of drinkable yogurt.(actually very good).
Even though we use the metro, buses and trains we end up walking quite a bit. This morning we took several subways and ended up at a large cathedral that didn't open until 1PM. We had a couple of hours to kill so we decided to visit the museum nearby but of course it is Monday. I think the UN passed a resolution some time ago that all Museums were to close on Monday. We wandered around for a bit and took pictures, bought some fruit for lunch and worked our way back to the cathedral. As we were standing in line an old gentleman came over and told me I could not take my backpack inside because it was too large. Ben and Ryan also had backpacks but were apparently within regulation however, Ben was wearing shorts. He was speaking Russian so I understood none of it but the gentleman told Ben he should take my backpack and get out of here.
Obediently, Ben took my pack and found a bench to sit on while Ryan and I went into the cathedral. Oddly, it was like looking at a 1929 Ford Roadster replica. Impressive but not real. After having been through many of the most impressive old cathedrals it was really strange to see one that had been recently constructed. It looked like the old ones but everything was new. All the floors, furniture, murals and icons were new. It just didn't seem right. They had an icon very similar to one of mine with St. Peter holding an open book. When we came out I offered to change pants with Ben in the public square but he declined. For 400 ruble each we took an hour and a half ride on a tour boat around Moscow. I'm pretty sure we took the same ride 17 years ago. We went past the Olympic venues, the Kremlin and Red square. We stopped at the train station and bought tickets to St. Petersburg. 2900 Rubles/$100 round trip for both of us. We will take the sleeper train at night.
I told Ben I was going to the WC but changed my mind when I found two large Russian women guarding the entrance. I didn't ask what they wanted but suspect it was money. I just turned and walked away. Ben had arranged for us to go back to Leningrad to stay with some members. They were to meet us at the train stop at 6 and of course we were there at 6:30. We hopped into his van and drove to the apartment.
On the way to the apartment Boris mentioned that he had got Ben's invitation and wondered if he was married. Delighted to hear he was not he offered Ben a cow to marry his daughter. At the apartment we got out and Boris began handing us bags of groceries. He had obviously done a lot of shopping for us. His daughter also remarked how it was enough food for 20. Ben tells me Boris was an Olympic greko roman wrestler and he looks like it. Boris now drives for the mission president. He was just told the president is going home in July and he will be out of a job. As Ben visited with Boris and his wife in Russian, I talked to the daughter in English. She served a mission to Siberia and has a research degree in food processing. Specifically cheese. I told Ben he should at least see how high he can get Boris to raise the offer before he turns down the deal.
She is a very nice girl and cute. They brought the subject up several times during the evening. When they told of another Russian girl who had married a returned missionary and was living in Rexburg, Ben leaned over and commented how they thought that was wonderful but he is opposed to such things. I have always been opposed too but may want to reconsider.We had dumplings and cabbage sandwiches. When they offered tea I declined so Ben told them to give me ????. I'm sure it was similar to the fermented mares milk from Mongolia. When I asked if it was fermented Ben insisted it wasn't but after some discussion in Russian told me it was 1% alcohol. It said 1% on the box so I suspect this was accurate. I could only take about half the small glass. It seems they always serve candy here for desert. I'm really beginning to like this place.
Even though we use the metro, buses and trains we end up walking quite a bit. This morning we took several subways and ended up at a large cathedral that didn't open until 1PM. We had a couple of hours to kill so we decided to visit the museum nearby but of course it is Monday. I think the UN passed a resolution some time ago that all Museums were to close on Monday. We wandered around for a bit and took pictures, bought some fruit for lunch and worked our way back to the cathedral. As we were standing in line an old gentleman came over and told me I could not take my backpack inside because it was too large. Ben and Ryan also had backpacks but were apparently within regulation however, Ben was wearing shorts. He was speaking Russian so I understood none of it but the gentleman told Ben he should take my backpack and get out of here.
Obediently, Ben took my pack and found a bench to sit on while Ryan and I went into the cathedral. Oddly, it was like looking at a 1929 Ford Roadster replica. Impressive but not real. After having been through many of the most impressive old cathedrals it was really strange to see one that had been recently constructed. It looked like the old ones but everything was new. All the floors, furniture, murals and icons were new. It just didn't seem right. They had an icon very similar to one of mine with St. Peter holding an open book. When we came out I offered to change pants with Ben in the public square but he declined. For 400 ruble each we took an hour and a half ride on a tour boat around Moscow. I'm pretty sure we took the same ride 17 years ago. We went past the Olympic venues, the Kremlin and Red square. We stopped at the train station and bought tickets to St. Petersburg. 2900 Rubles/$100 round trip for both of us. We will take the sleeper train at night.
I told Ben I was going to the WC but changed my mind when I found two large Russian women guarding the entrance. I didn't ask what they wanted but suspect it was money. I just turned and walked away. Ben had arranged for us to go back to Leningrad to stay with some members. They were to meet us at the train stop at 6 and of course we were there at 6:30. We hopped into his van and drove to the apartment.
On the way to the apartment Boris mentioned that he had got Ben's invitation and wondered if he was married. Delighted to hear he was not he offered Ben a cow to marry his daughter. At the apartment we got out and Boris began handing us bags of groceries. He had obviously done a lot of shopping for us. His daughter also remarked how it was enough food for 20. Ben tells me Boris was an Olympic greko roman wrestler and he looks like it. Boris now drives for the mission president. He was just told the president is going home in July and he will be out of a job. As Ben visited with Boris and his wife in Russian, I talked to the daughter in English. She served a mission to Siberia and has a research degree in food processing. Specifically cheese. I told Ben he should at least see how high he can get Boris to raise the offer before he turns down the deal.
She is a very nice girl and cute. They brought the subject up several times during the evening. When they told of another Russian girl who had married a returned missionary and was living in Rexburg, Ben leaned over and commented how they thought that was wonderful but he is opposed to such things. I have always been opposed too but may want to reconsider.We had dumplings and cabbage sandwiches. When they offered tea I declined so Ben told them to give me ????. I'm sure it was similar to the fermented mares milk from Mongolia. When I asked if it was fermented Ben insisted it wasn't but after some discussion in Russian told me it was 1% alcohol. It said 1% on the box so I suspect this was accurate. I could only take about half the small glass. It seems they always serve candy here for desert. I'm really beginning to like this place.
Kay and Ben in Russia #1
Sunday morning we got up and left with plenty of time to get to 11am church early. After a subway, bus and mashutka (van that has a route) ride who to knows where we arrived in Zellenongrad (green city) at the church 15 minutes late. Ben figured it should have taken one hour. The trip back took 3 after standing at the mashutka stop until we decided it abandoned the last pickup of the evening. We ended up taking the train to Moscow and 3 subways.
Church was entertaining even though it was in Russian. The youth speakers microphone wouldn't work so people were running back and forth into another room. It would squeal occasionally but was off most the time. I think they fixed it 3 times and messed it up again. They finally got it working in time for her to finish the talk.
They called Ben up to bear his testimony. Everyone told him his Russian really sucks now. By the end of the day he was feeling much better about the language. Sunday school started with a list of material necessities we had to have to live. The list started with food, shelter, transportation and ended with most of the time being spent arguing if documents should be on the list. They finally agreed, in Russia you need documents.
We will have to go to the post office today to get our registration papers to go with our passport, visa and immigration form.
Eating: Saturday night we stopped at a kiosk near the hostel and bought a baked potato and toast/pita bread thing. Sunday morning we bought a pita bread with meat in it. After church we visited several members. The first fed us a bowl of mushroom soup with sour cream in it and the second gave us rice and corn. Both were good. I'm hoping to lose weight while here.
The first visit was a single woman whose husband died of brain cancer in Feb. We spent most to the afternoon visiting with her, in Russian. She lives in a very small apartment with her cat that looks like Lucy. The second family had two kids at home, a dog and a cat. They also lived in a very small apartment. Not much bigger than our bedroom. I thought their master bedroom was about the size of our master bath. I was starting to feel like a missionary that couldn't speak the language. I played with the dog as Ben spoke in Russian. The whole missionary feeling was sealed when, without warning the dog bit me on the back of my hand. Ben told me not to let the lady of the house see the bleeding but it was too late and couldn't have been hidden anyway. I thought he was trying to keep her from getting upset but it turned out he was just trying to avoid me having to wear a badge of iodine on my hand. Too late. She brought out a bottle and cotton pads and liberally applied a green patch on my hand that will probably still be there when I get home.
We made it back to the hostel just after midnight and slept well until 8am. We heard Ryan D.is asleep in the other room but don't dare wake the fellow.
We exchanged money at the airport at 33 to one. I got 9900 rubles for 300 dollars. We ended up buying 20 subway passes for 380 rubles. About 12 dollars. The baked potato was 48 or about a dollar and a half. I had to buy dental floss for 112 but the toothbrush was only 14.
There is a computer in the hostel but this will probably our last night here. Kay
Church was entertaining even though it was in Russian. The youth speakers microphone wouldn't work so people were running back and forth into another room. It would squeal occasionally but was off most the time. I think they fixed it 3 times and messed it up again. They finally got it working in time for her to finish the talk.
They called Ben up to bear his testimony. Everyone told him his Russian really sucks now. By the end of the day he was feeling much better about the language. Sunday school started with a list of material necessities we had to have to live. The list started with food, shelter, transportation and ended with most of the time being spent arguing if documents should be on the list. They finally agreed, in Russia you need documents.
We will have to go to the post office today to get our registration papers to go with our passport, visa and immigration form.
Eating: Saturday night we stopped at a kiosk near the hostel and bought a baked potato and toast/pita bread thing. Sunday morning we bought a pita bread with meat in it. After church we visited several members. The first fed us a bowl of mushroom soup with sour cream in it and the second gave us rice and corn. Both were good. I'm hoping to lose weight while here.
The first visit was a single woman whose husband died of brain cancer in Feb. We spent most to the afternoon visiting with her, in Russian. She lives in a very small apartment with her cat that looks like Lucy. The second family had two kids at home, a dog and a cat. They also lived in a very small apartment. Not much bigger than our bedroom. I thought their master bedroom was about the size of our master bath. I was starting to feel like a missionary that couldn't speak the language. I played with the dog as Ben spoke in Russian. The whole missionary feeling was sealed when, without warning the dog bit me on the back of my hand. Ben told me not to let the lady of the house see the bleeding but it was too late and couldn't have been hidden anyway. I thought he was trying to keep her from getting upset but it turned out he was just trying to avoid me having to wear a badge of iodine on my hand. Too late. She brought out a bottle and cotton pads and liberally applied a green patch on my hand that will probably still be there when I get home.
We made it back to the hostel just after midnight and slept well until 8am. We heard Ryan D.is asleep in the other room but don't dare wake the fellow.
We exchanged money at the airport at 33 to one. I got 9900 rubles for 300 dollars. We ended up buying 20 subway passes for 380 rubles. About 12 dollars. The baked potato was 48 or about a dollar and a half. I had to buy dental floss for 112 but the toothbrush was only 14.
There is a computer in the hostel but this will probably our last night here. Kay
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Kay is in Moscow ...Russia, Not Idaho
When I called and told Frances dad made it to Moscow she was out of the loop and wasn't sure if I meant Moscow Idaho or Moscow Russia.
Our nephew Ben works with Kay in Omaha. He was a missionary for our church in Russia and has been home a little over a year. He has wanted to go back and found a killer deal. For just under $400 dollars they flew round trip from Omaha to Moscow Russia. They made the reservation almost 3 weeks ago on April 6Th but needed visas. I happened to have 3 passport pictures of Kay a few years old ("not to be more than 6 months old") but hey, he hasn't changed.
We found a middle woman and sent in the signed paperwork (signed in the Chicago airport on our way to New England) but the paperwork was sent back, the prices went up so Kay went and got another check (about 350 total) and was going to send it in again when the middle woman said she had arranged for him to get the old price and to send it in again, which he did .
We had only paid for the 3-5 day service to start out with and found out 2 days before leaving he would not get his visa but apparently Ben called the consulate and asked them to slip Kay's into Ben's packet. We didn't know if they actually did this so we were on hold. a day before they left, Ben's and Kay's passports and visas arrived in separate packages (go figure?) and the middle woman, after that, emailed Kay to apologize for him not being able to go on his trip. He would have lost all his money he had paid for the flight and the visa.
Anyway, they made it. They each took a 15 lb back pack and are meeting Ryan Dalrumple, who worked for Kay last year and was Ben's favorite missionary companion, there tomorrow.
Because it was on Vayama and maybe so last minute, we couldn't get them seats on-line so some how they got seats on the plane. Here is what he wrote:
"The flight was surprisingly good. I think we both got enough sleep even though we were in coach and restrained to one seat each. We got into Moscow in the evening and took the bus and metro to the hostel. It took about 30 minutes to figure out the hostel was around the building numbered 49, then through an alley and hidden in a corner. Once we found it they did not have our reservation. Ben showed them a confirmation email and he sent us to another hostel at least a 30 minute walk away. We finally got checked in a little after midnight. The hostel was about half full. 7 bunk beds in our room. I slept quite well until 8am. We just showered and are on our way to 11am church."
Kay asked if I wanted to go? Been there, done that, no thank you. Russia is a dank, dark, grey, Godless country in my ever so humble opinion. I loved being on a tour there, going on a boat (not as ship) with a cafeteria, I loved visiting the small villages but this trip is "off the seat of their pants" Maybe hanging around members of the church with hope would be OK but "no thank you." Kay likes adventure and no plans.
As I remember our last trip to Russia about 16 or 17 years ago. People would stare at him and we decided he looked very Russian. He needed to keep his mouth shut. we even had women come up to me to tell me how handsome my husband was. Kay was shocked! Never in his life has anyone told him how handsome he was (except me). He just couldn't understand it. Even teenage girls said it....... hummmmm, maybe I should have gone.........
Our nephew Ben works with Kay in Omaha. He was a missionary for our church in Russia and has been home a little over a year. He has wanted to go back and found a killer deal. For just under $400 dollars they flew round trip from Omaha to Moscow Russia. They made the reservation almost 3 weeks ago on April 6Th but needed visas. I happened to have 3 passport pictures of Kay a few years old ("not to be more than 6 months old") but hey, he hasn't changed.
We found a middle woman and sent in the signed paperwork (signed in the Chicago airport on our way to New England) but the paperwork was sent back, the prices went up so Kay went and got another check (about 350 total) and was going to send it in again when the middle woman said she had arranged for him to get the old price and to send it in again, which he did .
We had only paid for the 3-5 day service to start out with and found out 2 days before leaving he would not get his visa but apparently Ben called the consulate and asked them to slip Kay's into Ben's packet. We didn't know if they actually did this so we were on hold. a day before they left, Ben's and Kay's passports and visas arrived in separate packages (go figure?) and the middle woman, after that, emailed Kay to apologize for him not being able to go on his trip. He would have lost all his money he had paid for the flight and the visa.
Anyway, they made it. They each took a 15 lb back pack and are meeting Ryan Dalrumple, who worked for Kay last year and was Ben's favorite missionary companion, there tomorrow.
Because it was on Vayama and maybe so last minute, we couldn't get them seats on-line so some how they got seats on the plane. Here is what he wrote:
"The flight was surprisingly good. I think we both got enough sleep even though we were in coach and restrained to one seat each. We got into Moscow in the evening and took the bus and metro to the hostel. It took about 30 minutes to figure out the hostel was around the building numbered 49, then through an alley and hidden in a corner. Once we found it they did not have our reservation. Ben showed them a confirmation email and he sent us to another hostel at least a 30 minute walk away. We finally got checked in a little after midnight. The hostel was about half full. 7 bunk beds in our room. I slept quite well until 8am. We just showered and are on our way to 11am church."
Kay asked if I wanted to go? Been there, done that, no thank you. Russia is a dank, dark, grey, Godless country in my ever so humble opinion. I loved being on a tour there, going on a boat (not as ship) with a cafeteria, I loved visiting the small villages but this trip is "off the seat of their pants" Maybe hanging around members of the church with hope would be OK but "no thank you." Kay likes adventure and no plans.
As I remember our last trip to Russia about 16 or 17 years ago. People would stare at him and we decided he looked very Russian. He needed to keep his mouth shut. we even had women come up to me to tell me how handsome my husband was. Kay was shocked! Never in his life has anyone told him how handsome he was (except me). He just couldn't understand it. Even teenage girls said it....... hummmmm, maybe I should have gone.........
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