"A happy man has no need for a watch." - Russian proverb

Last night was English Cafe (photo credit: Andrea). The theme was image, status, and culture. It was pretty fun because I got to lead my own group. I had five Russian girls. Their names were Dasha, Natasha, Irena (pronounced eer-een-ah), Nadya, and Victoria (pronounced Veektoria). Natasha at first told me to call her Natalie, but that her real name was Natasha. I told her that Natasha was an American/English name too, and she was shocked to discover that. So, I called her Natasha. There was no need for her to "Americanize" her name.

Victoria and Dasha are teenagers who are still in high school. Irena is a dentist. Nadya was older than the others. She arranges flights or something like that. I couldn't really understand what she said. Natasha is "at university" (no one ever says "in college" or "studying at a university"), and she is going to be a sociologist. Whatever that means. She said, "But I am at a place where the roads cross."

"You are at a crossroads in your life?"

"Yes, yes. I am at a crossroads."

Natasha and Nadya's English was really good, but Nadya's accent was so thick that it was hard to understand her. Irena's English was okay. Nadya really intimidated me throughout the evening. She wasn't as friendly as the other girls, and I felt like she hated me the whole time. I just tried to be nice and friendly though. She would ask me questions, and if I gave TOO much information, she'd cut me off abruptly and say, "Yes, yes, I know that," as if I were insulting her intelligence. The truth is this discussion is for everyone at the table, so I was giving extra information for poor Dasha and Victoria because their English isn't as good. Anyway, she seemed offended at some points, but sometimes Russians are just blunt and abrupt, I guess. I'm not going to worry about it too much because by the end of the evening she was fairly warm towards me; she smiled and said spasiba (thanks) to me twice. That meant a lot to me because Russians don't say thank you unless it's for something they are genuinely thankful for. I'm glad she lightened up at least a little bit. She was a tough one.

A couple of times there was an awkward silence after we'd finish answering the discussion questions, but they would ask me questions about America which helped fill the silence.

"No snow in Georgia?!?!"
"And how do you like Moscow?"
"Do you drive in America? You have a car?"

We had one really funny conversation. They asked, "What do people call you?"

"What do you mean? My name is Meredith."

"It is such a long name though. What do your friends call you?"

"...Meredith."

"Really??? It's so long though! You see, my name is Irena, but I go by my short name -- Ira."

I told her that sometimes I am called "Mer," but by very few people.

Then Natasha listed ALL of her shortened names. It was crazy. There was a list of 25 different names she goes by. They couldn't believe that I actually was called by my real name.

Irena asked me if I had a brother or a sister. I thought that was a strange way to ask the question as if I could only have one other sibling -- not more. I told her that I had both. "Really? Two? A brother and a sister?" It was just really odd to me. I talked to Cathy about it later, and Cathy said it's very rare for people to have three children. They usually have one or two. The population of Russia has been decreasing, so last year Putin began campaigning a population increase. There are billboards and posters in Moscow that encourage couples to have three children. So I guess that's why Irena was surprised that I had two siblings.

My group also wanted me to speak Russian, and they were smiling when I recited all that I knew. They were pleased though to know I was trying to learn it, and that's all that matters.

Then they asked what a salary is like in America. (At first I thought they were asking about celery. Haha.) I thought that was a dumb question because it's impossible to make general statements about salaries. In Russia it is completely fine to ask someone what they make too. It's not inappropriate at all. I just told them that it varies. Natasha told me a lot about the "middle class" in Moscow. She said her professors say it is impossible to define who is in the middle class and who is not. She said that Russians still need time to figure out what to do with the middle class. "After the fall of the U.S.S.R., we did not know what to think of the middle class that was emerging. We still don't, and we need more time to know what to do with it." It was really interesting. Fascinating, actually.

After the discussion, the school group cleaned up everything. However, one of the newcomers to English Cafe approached Luke and started asking him questions. His name was Andrei, and his first question to Luke was "Why are you here in Russia?" Luke told him that God called him to Moscow. And Andrei said, "Do you go to church? Where is it?" (Luke goes to a Russian Nazarene church.) Then he asked Luke about religion and how he could find out what religion was right. "All the religions claim to be true. I don't know what to believe. I am searching for the truth." He asked Luke what he thought of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and Luke told him his honest opinion. It was really cool because Andrei was the one who wanted to talk about it all. He is the one who brought it up. Luke didn't do anything except try to answer his questions. We try to refrain from being evangelistic at English Cafe because people are coming to learn English, not about Jesus. If we push Jesus, we'll push them away. So, Andrei's wanting to talk about truth is really a miracle. So, if you think of it, say a prayer for Andrei.

Today Cathy, Cody (the dog), and I took a walk in the forest by our apartment building. It was the most beautiful day today. It was a crisp 24 degrees outside, but the sun was shining which made everything clean, shiny, and fresh.

This is a little Orthodox church by our apartment building, but it is not open. It's a rather new building, but there are no services held there. There is a building next to it within the red fence that houses a few people. Cathy said that the church has Caucasians (people from the Caucasus region) live there to watch over the church and to make sure that it is not vandalized. We're not sure why it's not a functioning church though.

Cody is a great tool to use in order to talk to people. If you have a dog, Russians are more likely to speak to you. The first line is always, "What is your dog's name?" And then you take the conversation from there.

Beautiful blue sky.

I love this picture because Cody has a huge grin on his face. :)


A frozen pond.

Walking on water!

Ice fishing on the pond.

Fishin' holes.

Horse riding on the pond.

Cross-country skiing on the pond.


I'm amazed at how many people take babies out in the freezing cold. It'll be 5 degrees out, and mothers and fathers will be pushing baby strollers out in the snow. The babies are dressed like Randy from A Christmas Story. It's hilarious. They look like giant, colorful cream puffs.

People create makeshift bird feeders and hang them up in the trees.

The birds that hang around in the winter are yellow finches, pigeons, crows, and sparrows.

All in all, a very beautiful day. A good weekend.