Birthday cake
Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University where I study
Kids' program at church on Easter Sunday
Uncle Lenin
Lena my roommateThursday, May 5, 2011
Some Random Pictures
Birthday cakeKrasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University where I studyKids' program at church on Easter SundayUncle LeninLena my roommate
Some Random Thoughts
Why does the ruble have to keep going up and the keep dollar going down? Oh, yeah. It’s this thing they call “gas”…
Been here 2 months, you’d think I’d have a routine or some consistency…maybe someday I’ll come to grips with the Russian reality that consistency is impossible.
Like the flexibility of the language program I’m in… too bad it’s not the most consistent and challenging.
I love randomness of Russian life – having a drunk, beat-up assembly man show up to assemble my desk and proving he is a break dancer by doing a back-flip in my living room OR while running an errand, seeing a naked guy standing in the snow, or reading “words” on written with Latin letters that really aren’t words
My roommate is an awesome match for me, it’s a bummer that she and her mom just sold the apartment we live in and are moving to a smaller, studio apartment with no indoor plumbing.
Wish I had a better internet connection and that there wasn’t a 14 hour time difference between here and WY…it makes me feel pretty far removed…almost like I live in Siberia or something…
I love hanging out with friends…too bad you can’t get a visa just to hang out with people
Good thing God knows what I should do with my time and what I should do to extend my visa and keep living here…now, for Him to let me know…
Some days I just want to throw my hands up and plead insanity
I have to admit, even with all my worries, I wouldn’t change this life God has given me.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Settling in
Today I found a place to live!! After asking around, hoping to rent a room from a Russian lady or family or rent an apartment with a Russian girl my age, a girl from church invited me to live with her and her mother. I visited them today and was very blessed by their fellowship and felt at home in their apartment. On Wednesday I will be moving in!
Also, the process of getting medical tests done to prove I don't have a bunch of diseases (so that I can apply for my temporary residents visa) has went very smoothly. For the past week and a half I have been in four clinics, once to be tested and then again to pick up the results. I have all the results except one, that I will pick up on Wednesday. My American documents are being translated and then I will have those notarized on Friday and hopefully be on a bus to Tuva on Saturday. I don't know how long it will take me to submit all of my necessary documents for the visa once I'm down there, but I sure would appreciate prayers for this process to go very smoothly and quickly without problems that can't easily or quickly be fixed.
All in all, things are going very well! I am still tired a lot of the time but that's to be expected. Perhaps once my visa application is submitted and I am moved into the apartment I will be able to relax a bit more and catch up on rest. Thank you, thank you for your prayers!
Also, the process of getting medical tests done to prove I don't have a bunch of diseases (so that I can apply for my temporary residents visa) has went very smoothly. For the past week and a half I have been in four clinics, once to be tested and then again to pick up the results. I have all the results except one, that I will pick up on Wednesday. My American documents are being translated and then I will have those notarized on Friday and hopefully be on a bus to Tuva on Saturday. I don't know how long it will take me to submit all of my necessary documents for the visa once I'm down there, but I sure would appreciate prayers for this process to go very smoothly and quickly without problems that can't easily or quickly be fixed.
All in all, things are going very well! I am still tired a lot of the time but that's to be expected. Perhaps once my visa application is submitted and I am moved into the apartment I will be able to relax a bit more and catch up on rest. Thank you, thank you for your prayers!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Arrived!
I type from my friends' apartment here in Krasnoyarsk, Russia! I praise God for the safe travels and the many people that have been praying for me to quickly get over the jet lag! Also, I was able to ship all of my things from St Petersburg to here (they should arrive on Friday).
While it is good to arrive, Russia has a way of always reminding me that I have "not arrived" in Russian language and culture. I had a couple "adventures" along the way that helped keep me humble, but over all, things are going VERY well!
I am thankful for Lucas and Jamie who are letting me stay with them until I find a place of my own (you can pray that I find a good place to live while here in Krasnoyarsk, I'd like to live with a Russian). We (Lucas, Jamie, Sam, Sophie and I) were able to attend the Russian festival, "Maslenitsa", in celebration for the coming of spring and "last hooraw" before the Orthodox fast. Here's a glimpse of our afternoon (along with a picture of my personal favorite - the horses used to give kid rides...I wish I would have taken more pictures of them, this was only one of at least a dozen "beautiful" horses....)
While it is good to arrive, Russia has a way of always reminding me that I have "not arrived" in Russian language and culture. I had a couple "adventures" along the way that helped keep me humble, but over all, things are going VERY well!
I am thankful for Lucas and Jamie who are letting me stay with them until I find a place of my own (you can pray that I find a good place to live while here in Krasnoyarsk, I'd like to live with a Russian). We (Lucas, Jamie, Sam, Sophie and I) were able to attend the Russian festival, "Maslenitsa", in celebration for the coming of spring and "last hooraw" before the Orthodox fast. Here's a glimpse of our afternoon (along with a picture of my personal favorite - the horses used to give kid rides...I wish I would have taken more pictures of them, this was only one of at least a dozen "beautiful" horses....)
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