Today is Saturday and Saturday is the day I usually go grocery shopping while Dave vacuums and does the budget. I start at the productee which is practically right outside our apartment. Margo and Zarina were there. There are three rooms.
As you walk in Margo and Zarina sit on the left next to the little counter and cash register. Liquor lines the left wall just past them. On the right, is a room I don't use very often, but today I went in to get some juice for our Christmas breakfast with the missionaries. (have I mentioned how many wonderful and yummy juices you can get here?) We thought the missionaries would enjoy some juice Christmas morning. There is also soda, junk food and frozen meats and pastas that we don't use. However, in a little alcove just past the juice was an inside fruit and veggie stand! It wasn't there before! I was SO excited. Ever since Evon left very unexpectedly (along with the other little outside fruit stands, literally overnight), I have had to go to the renock across the street to get any fresh fruits and veggies. It is VERY inconvenient. NOW I don't have to!
This little alcove was filled with peppers, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, bananas, apples, grapes, potatoes. YAY. A man was sitting there just waiting for me to come and buy some of his food. There were a couple of things he didn't have today - zuchinni and mushrooms, but I was able to get everything else. SO glad that this is available once again! :0). Life has just gotten a little easier! LIFE IS GOOD.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Winter in Russia
I remember as a little girl growing up in the snowbelt in Bath NY. There was plenty of snow to make snow houses and sled. It didn't matter how much it snowed because I didn't have to shovel it. Then, moving to MA and dealing with the snow there. Shoveling it and helping little ones into snowsuits to go out and play or dropping off older kids to sled for a couple of hours. I remember a couple of times driving through very snowy and slippery conditions (not by choice). Not fun.
I know that in MA schools are canceled due to snowy weather conditions. I'm guessing that never happens here in Moscow. The Russians know snow. This is what they are used to 5 months out of the year. They have adjusted to it.
The strollers and carriages are protected from wind and snow. Babies are often out with their moms regardless of the weather. Last night, when it was in the 20's, I saw parents out with toddlers at the little playground playing in the snow. I see them with little shovels or little sleds going down tiny hills or even playing on the playground equipment. From the first snowfall, they are bundled up from head to foot in snowsuits and look very toasty.
Snow doesn't seem to phase them at all. I haven't seen any plows at work, but I think some of the main roads are plowed. There are no snowblowers to be seen, but many men shoveling 24 hours a day to keep sidewalks shoveled. I heard them upon waking this morning at 6 am.
Cars don't seem to slow down much, but it does affect bus schedules. There is some slipping and sliding around. A much longer wait at the bus stop is an unpleasant side effect of the bad weather.
I remember when I refused to go out when it was bad conditions. I guess I had better get over that (even though I don't think I will). Waiting an hour for a bus isn't my idea of fun and then sliding around the roads even less fun.
We will see what the winter brings. The Russian people are a tough and hearty bunch. Walking to the office every morning and back is invigorating and I almost always enjoy it unless it is icy. Falling down and getting hurt is not an option because you need to walk virtually everywhere!
I wonder if I'll look at winter weather differently when I get back to MA in time for next winter. I'm thinking no.
And my better half? He's from sunny California. I haven't heard a peep of complaint from him. (I guess I do enough for the both of us.). Until next time, dosvidonya.
HAPPY WINTER EVERYONE.
I know that in MA schools are canceled due to snowy weather conditions. I'm guessing that never happens here in Moscow. The Russians know snow. This is what they are used to 5 months out of the year. They have adjusted to it.
The strollers and carriages are protected from wind and snow. Babies are often out with their moms regardless of the weather. Last night, when it was in the 20's, I saw parents out with toddlers at the little playground playing in the snow. I see them with little shovels or little sleds going down tiny hills or even playing on the playground equipment. From the first snowfall, they are bundled up from head to foot in snowsuits and look very toasty.
Snow doesn't seem to phase them at all. I haven't seen any plows at work, but I think some of the main roads are plowed. There are no snowblowers to be seen, but many men shoveling 24 hours a day to keep sidewalks shoveled. I heard them upon waking this morning at 6 am.
Cars don't seem to slow down much, but it does affect bus schedules. There is some slipping and sliding around. A much longer wait at the bus stop is an unpleasant side effect of the bad weather.
I remember when I refused to go out when it was bad conditions. I guess I had better get over that (even though I don't think I will). Waiting an hour for a bus isn't my idea of fun and then sliding around the roads even less fun.
We will see what the winter brings. The Russian people are a tough and hearty bunch. Walking to the office every morning and back is invigorating and I almost always enjoy it unless it is icy. Falling down and getting hurt is not an option because you need to walk virtually everywhere!
I wonder if I'll look at winter weather differently when I get back to MA in time for next winter. I'm thinking no.
And my better half? He's from sunny California. I haven't heard a peep of complaint from him. (I guess I do enough for the both of us.). Until next time, dosvidonya.
HAPPY WINTER EVERYONE.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Someone is watching!
I am looking forward to Dave and I doing some Christmas shopping later this month. I know pretty much what to expect now whichever mall we go to. I go to Okey with Sister Sorenson or Peggy on occasion. Okey is kind of like WalMart. It is a fairly new store in a new mall.
A security guard greets you when you first walk in.
When you come into the store (which is part of a lovely new mall), there is another security guard. There are security people are all over the store actually. When you first walk in, if you have anything with you (not to include your purse, they will stuff it in a big plastic bag and tie it shut. Maybe they're afraid I am going to try to steal??
Then, after I have finished shopping, I unwrap the bags at the check out so I can use them to put my purchased items into. They do not bag for you. You do it yourself.
In some stores there are lockers for you to put things you have already purchased in others stores so that you are not carrying around bags filled with items you have already purchased.
I'm guessing that the theft rate is low because there is someone watching carefully from every floor!
A security guard greets you when you first walk in.
When you come into the store (which is part of a lovely new mall), there is another security guard. There are security people are all over the store actually. When you first walk in, if you have anything with you (not to include your purse, they will stuff it in a big plastic bag and tie it shut. Maybe they're afraid I am going to try to steal??
Then, after I have finished shopping, I unwrap the bags at the check out so I can use them to put my purchased items into. They do not bag for you. You do it yourself.
In some stores there are lockers for you to put things you have already purchased in others stores so that you are not carrying around bags filled with items you have already purchased.
I'm guessing that the theft rate is low because there is someone watching carefully from every floor!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Visa Trip
Today we went out on our third visa trip since arriving in Russian 9 months ago. Alexander picked us up at 6 am and it took 25 minutes to get to the airport. (in a snowstorm last week, it took over 3 hours.) All in all, things went very well. The SVO Airport was on the quiet side when we arrived. We didn't have to stand in line to get our tickets, the flight was on time, it came back on time and it only took an hour to get back home in rush hour traffic. Thanks in part to Alexander knowing all the shortcuts! Sometimes it takes MUCH longer to go from the airport back to the office where passports are scanned. Because there was plenty of time, we enjoyed a delicious meal at Lido's. It's fun to see the different foods available in different countries. Think pancakes w/ fresh strawberry sauce, panckaes filed with cottage cheese or cheese and ham and rolled like a tortilla. Delicious fruits - starfruit, pineapple,kiwi, fresh squeezed orange juice which was SO good and Dave's juice was called santhorn. It was very smooth like a nectar and delicious but not a taste we were familiar with. There were different desserts. Orange pie, oatmeal dessert with fruit and many others. (we didn't eat dessert this time - maybe in March).
There are a lot of English speakers in Riga and the atmosphere is different from Russia. Friendly and more easy going and slower paced.
I enjoyed reading my kindle and snoozing on the plane and Dave (Elder Sutton) read and snoozed as well.
The whole purpose of these visa trips is to be in compliance with Russian law. We personally don't see the purpose. We are required to exit Russia every three months on a second passport. It is a three month visa on our first or second passport. If we fail to do this we would be illeagle and kicked out of the country,.Russia has made it difficult for us to be here.
It is a waste of time (missionaries lose a whole day and sometimes more if you include their travel to get to the airport, sometimes from outlying cities which requires an overnight stay). It is a tremendous expense for the Church who pays for all of the missionaries throughout Russia to go out of the country and back in. Not to mention the paperwork and time involved and the $150 for each passport.
Visa trips are NOT vacations and all of the missionarie, with the exception of our Russian missionaries have to do this.
There have been two places where our particular mission has gone for our visa trips. Kiev, Ukraine (until fairly recently) and Riga, Latvia. When the missionaries arrive in Riga, they don't leave the airport. They stay until it is time to board the plane to come back to Moscow.
We have had a chance to see Riga Latvia, because of a glitch made our first visa trip out last June. It is mentioned in a prior blog post. We ended up going back to Latvia the next day and had to stay overnight. Riga is a BEAUTIFUL ancient city and we enjoyed ourselves very much. It was an unexpected treat that we enjoyed the hard way.
Very recently, our new missionaries who just arrived and those who come after no longer have a second passport which means that they will have to leave the country only every 6 months to get a new migration card which will allow them to stay in the country for another 6 months. Dave and I will still have to go out two more times, March and June, before we come back to the States. We are making progress!
It is something we all have to do. At the end of the month we are having 25 missionaries going out on a visa trip at the same time. Wow. It keeps our office elders busy when they come back and need their documents scanned. Transportation needs to be planned with 3 vans or a bus for such a large group. Our visa clerk Diana is kept VERY busy making reservations for all these flights. It is a demanding job.
Well, until March 3 or so we can keep our feet on the ground here in Russia. Dosvidonya.
There are a lot of English speakers in Riga and the atmosphere is different from Russia. Friendly and more easy going and slower paced.
I enjoyed reading my kindle and snoozing on the plane and Dave (Elder Sutton) read and snoozed as well.
The whole purpose of these visa trips is to be in compliance with Russian law. We personally don't see the purpose. We are required to exit Russia every three months on a second passport. It is a three month visa on our first or second passport. If we fail to do this we would be illeagle and kicked out of the country,.Russia has made it difficult for us to be here.
It is a waste of time (missionaries lose a whole day and sometimes more if you include their travel to get to the airport, sometimes from outlying cities which requires an overnight stay). It is a tremendous expense for the Church who pays for all of the missionaries throughout Russia to go out of the country and back in. Not to mention the paperwork and time involved and the $150 for each passport.
Visa trips are NOT vacations and all of the missionarie, with the exception of our Russian missionaries have to do this.
There have been two places where our particular mission has gone for our visa trips. Kiev, Ukraine (until fairly recently) and Riga, Latvia. When the missionaries arrive in Riga, they don't leave the airport. They stay until it is time to board the plane to come back to Moscow.
We have had a chance to see Riga Latvia, because of a glitch made our first visa trip out last June. It is mentioned in a prior blog post. We ended up going back to Latvia the next day and had to stay overnight. Riga is a BEAUTIFUL ancient city and we enjoyed ourselves very much. It was an unexpected treat that we enjoyed the hard way.
Very recently, our new missionaries who just arrived and those who come after no longer have a second passport which means that they will have to leave the country only every 6 months to get a new migration card which will allow them to stay in the country for another 6 months. Dave and I will still have to go out two more times, March and June, before we come back to the States. We are making progress!
It is something we all have to do. At the end of the month we are having 25 missionaries going out on a visa trip at the same time. Wow. It keeps our office elders busy when they come back and need their documents scanned. Transportation needs to be planned with 3 vans or a bus for such a large group. Our visa clerk Diana is kept VERY busy making reservations for all these flights. It is a demanding job.
Well, until March 3 or so we can keep our feet on the ground here in Russia. Dosvidonya.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Just another day at the office
Today we welcomed a new missionary couple who will be working humanitarian and living in Moscow. It's always wonderful greeting our new missionaries. Later in the month, we will be greeting 6 new elders to our mission family. Throughout the course of the day, I answered the phone and before I could slow them down, Russian speakers were talking a mile a minute. I transferred them to our Russian-speaking office elders. (one from the States and one from Sweden). Sometimes I go next door to get Onya to help out or Diana, our Russian visa clerk will take the call. I'm used to it now, hearing Russian around me and I'm used to not understanding it.
Today was mail run and the office elders came back around noon bearing packages from back home for missionaries for Christmas. There were 4 extra missionaries in the office and of course, they were very excited and started going through them to see if there was anything for them. Later I sorted through the packages and put them in our mail center in different places to go to the different outlying cities or the schoff at the Central Building, to be picked up by missionaries working in the Moscow Oblast (equivalant to a county). I also sorted letters. I love seeing our missionaries get mail and packages. It makes them so happy to get mail from home
.
We were pleasantly surprised to see that one of the packages was for us, from our good friends the Ladieus back in MA. We served with them in the Boston Temple and they are very special to us. AND we received 3 Christmas cards. Thank you Sue and Rachel! Thank you Linda! Thank you condo family!
Sometimes, I look at my list of things to do and I don't know where to begin. There were many things I could have done today, but I have learned the importance of being flexible. Things come up. One sweet missionary called for her companion yesterday who has been really sick. I talked to Sister T (the sick one) and I gave her some suggestions and told her I would check in on her today. She beat me to the punch and called today to tell me she is feeling much better!
Clothes keep trickling in that need to be sorted and passed on to those who can use them, or given to those in need in Moscow.
I received notice of another 4 missionaries who will be joining our ranks in April and May and there is quite a list of things to do for each one in preparing their folders and planning for them. Then there are another 4 missionaries who are going home before Christmas. Let's just say I don't have a lot of time to get into trouble.
One thing I did today was place an order with the Distribution Center. Missionaries let me know what they need and I try to get it for them. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I don't. For instance, Sister I and her companiion need French materials for their French speaking investigators. I scoured the supply closet, took what few supplies in French that were there. I was told by Distribution that it would be a couple of months before the French and Armenian supplies would be in.
Dave, on the other hand, spent a lot of time on the computer funding rent and other expenditures, was involved in a couple of projects he was asked to help with. He met with President Sorenson on mission business concerning calendaring and release dates for our missionaries. He is also involved in helping find apartments, working with our realtor and coordinates everything to make it possible.
I am trying to become more organized. Let's just say that it is a work in progress. I am a work in progress. My sweetheart is so organized. Always has been. I am only organized in certain things. I'm working on it.
Tomorrow we will not be in the office at all as tomorrow we have to leave the country on a visa trip. I'll report more on that tomorrow. Until then, dosvidonya.
Today was mail run and the office elders came back around noon bearing packages from back home for missionaries for Christmas. There were 4 extra missionaries in the office and of course, they were very excited and started going through them to see if there was anything for them. Later I sorted through the packages and put them in our mail center in different places to go to the different outlying cities or the schoff at the Central Building, to be picked up by missionaries working in the Moscow Oblast (equivalant to a county). I also sorted letters. I love seeing our missionaries get mail and packages. It makes them so happy to get mail from home
.
We were pleasantly surprised to see that one of the packages was for us, from our good friends the Ladieus back in MA. We served with them in the Boston Temple and they are very special to us. AND we received 3 Christmas cards. Thank you Sue and Rachel! Thank you Linda! Thank you condo family!
Sometimes, I look at my list of things to do and I don't know where to begin. There were many things I could have done today, but I have learned the importance of being flexible. Things come up. One sweet missionary called for her companion yesterday who has been really sick. I talked to Sister T (the sick one) and I gave her some suggestions and told her I would check in on her today. She beat me to the punch and called today to tell me she is feeling much better!
Clothes keep trickling in that need to be sorted and passed on to those who can use them, or given to those in need in Moscow.
I received notice of another 4 missionaries who will be joining our ranks in April and May and there is quite a list of things to do for each one in preparing their folders and planning for them. Then there are another 4 missionaries who are going home before Christmas. Let's just say I don't have a lot of time to get into trouble.
One thing I did today was place an order with the Distribution Center. Missionaries let me know what they need and I try to get it for them. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I don't. For instance, Sister I and her companiion need French materials for their French speaking investigators. I scoured the supply closet, took what few supplies in French that were there. I was told by Distribution that it would be a couple of months before the French and Armenian supplies would be in.
Dave, on the other hand, spent a lot of time on the computer funding rent and other expenditures, was involved in a couple of projects he was asked to help with. He met with President Sorenson on mission business concerning calendaring and release dates for our missionaries. He is also involved in helping find apartments, working with our realtor and coordinates everything to make it possible.
I am trying to become more organized. Let's just say that it is a work in progress. I am a work in progress. My sweetheart is so organized. Always has been. I am only organized in certain things. I'm working on it.
Tomorrow we will not be in the office at all as tomorrow we have to leave the country on a visa trip. I'll report more on that tomorrow. Until then, dosvidonya.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Love from our condo community
What a wonderful surprise last week when we received a care package from our condo family in Thorndike, MA. It made us feel so good. Being remembered when we are so far away is a big deal even more this time of year. I LOVE Christmas and are looking forward to celebrating with our missionaries, but thoughts of friends and family back home are in our hearts.
How we appreciate the little things from home. Thank you, condo family, for your thoughtfulness. Everything you sent is being enjoyed and some of it shared with our young missionaries. We love the emails and the skype dates which help keep us connected with our little condo family. It is a great blessing. Merry Christmas!
How we appreciate the little things from home. Thank you, condo family, for your thoughtfulness. Everything you sent is being enjoyed and some of it shared with our young missionaries. We love the emails and the skype dates which help keep us connected with our little condo family. It is a great blessing. Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Russian weather
Winter arrived on time here in Moscow - late October when the temps dropped. We had our first major snowstorm a couple of days ago. In fact, it is the biggest snowfall in November in 50 years. Hmmm. That doesn't bode well for the rest of the winter. Wait. Anyway, the snow was followed by freezing rain which made walking treacherous, even in my new snow boots, which have a good tread . I must have looked like a duck as I inched my way home on ice-covered sidewalks.
The stairs were the worst. Coming out of the office, they were covered in ice and there was no treatment on them. Approaching the apartment, there are a few stairs to climb. They were covered in ice as well. Luckily, there were some men milling around outside on a work break and one of them came over and took my elbow and matter-of-factly walked me up the stairs. The same thing happened on Wednesday when we went to Zelonograd. There are stairs going down underground to walk under the streets. They get very icy. A young man behind me, took my elbow and led me down the stairs and then went on his way.
I am considering buying a bag of cat litter at the pet store and putting some in baggies and sprinkling it liberally when needed. What do you think?
This morning (day after ice storm) I woke up to the sound of shoveling. In fact, I heard shoveling on and off all night. They rely on workers to shovel by hand as opposed to using a snow blower.. Until next time, dos vidonya.
The stairs were the worst. Coming out of the office, they were covered in ice and there was no treatment on them. Approaching the apartment, there are a few stairs to climb. They were covered in ice as well. Luckily, there were some men milling around outside on a work break and one of them came over and took my elbow and matter-of-factly walked me up the stairs. The same thing happened on Wednesday when we went to Zelonograd. There are stairs going down underground to walk under the streets. They get very icy. A young man behind me, took my elbow and led me down the stairs and then went on his way.
I am considering buying a bag of cat litter at the pet store and putting some in baggies and sprinkling it liberally when needed. What do you think?
This morning (day after ice storm) I woke up to the sound of shoveling. In fact, I heard shoveling on and off all night. They rely on workers to shovel by hand as opposed to using a snow blower.. Until next time, dos vidonya.
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