Day 4 in Tallinn

a view of Tallinn from the Sea

It's raining again today. Just a nice slow steady drizzle. Makes a craving from Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup a little bit.

I'll be honest that I'm a bit discouraged and disheartened that my invitation didn't come today. It's just that now I'll be here for 6 more days because of the system of how visa applications work here in Tallinn. So I kinda don't want to write in the blog, because I don't want to be a downer.

But the upside is that I want to be honest with you all, and so I'm writing anyway. And there is good news on the horizon.

So the first and biggest bit of the good news is that there was space in my hotel through Wednesday next week, which means I don't have to move. It's the cheapest hotel in the city that I could find open space in and it's halfway between the bus station and the old city center. So the location is really great. The room is basically clean (many of you would NOT want to stay here), but I figure I just came off a hiking trip in the mountains, so this is a huge step up from making a fire to cook.

Today I had an amazing QT up on the Toompea plateau here in Tallinn. It's the highest part of the city and where the fortress here was built. There's a lot of history here and I'll try to get some pictures online to show you some things (I didn't bring my camera cable, so I can't use mine yet!)The old city wallAlexander Nevsky Cathedral

Romans 2 was a real thought provoking read today about judgment. I realize how self-critical I am and wonder if I’m not in trouble for how I deal with myself sometimes. For example: I'm really hard on myself about language learning. I'm doing a good job with no formal instruction -- but I want to be doing better.

My watch just beeped that it's 6pm in Tyumen. So that means the OVIR office has just closed and if it's possible that my invitation came today - this is the last moment -- let's go check email! I'll let you know if there's good news. (nope. same.)

The day in which I discover: the market, downpour and patience.

Safe to call this: POURING rain

So this morning I got up and immediately got ready to go and check internet and see if my invitation had arrived. As I was leaving the shopping mall (where the internet access is) I saw what looked like a cool store with strange and interesting stuff. So I went in. They had a sale on umbrellas. Yesterday someone advised me that you should always carry an umbrella here because the sea brings strange and sudden weather changes. So I bought this little $8 umbrella.

I am very happy now. In fact, I think ecstatic. I was about 15 minutes from the hotel reading in the Book in a park. I felt a little drop and thought, "oh, I'll get my umbrella ready…" and I reached my hand into my backpack and THE HEAVENS OPENED. I barely got it open in time.

So now I'm back at the hotel and mostly dry! The bummer is I was just getting ready to go shopping for food… so now I'm waiting out the storm and hungry. But it'll clear soon.

--- later ---

I attempt to discover the market. I've already seen it, so I know it's out there. I was there yesterday morning and again in the afternoon. Although I do think that the streets of Tallinn are a bit confusing, I also think it's safe to say that I shouldn't go anywhere without a map and a compass. I don't think I could find my own feet sometimes if they weren't attached. So I walked around for 2 hours today getting the lay of the land (that's what I tell myself in my head so I don't have to write that I just didn't know where I was). I can't say that I was lost, because at all times I knew how to back track to the hotel, but I was sorta on my own there.

Tallinn, Estonia: Day 1

Mostly today was a make a to do list and get it done kind of day. Tallinn is a really beautiful old city (with its old towne and new town totally intermingling). It is VERY confusing with lost of winding, swirling, where the heck am I streets. I was lost several times today. With a map.

To all my CIC staff past, present and future. You are the most wonderful beings on earth and you have counterparts in Tallinn, Estonia! There is an information center here and they speak foreign languages. I talked with one of them in Russian and another one in English. And they've got German, Italian, Spanish, Estonian (of course) Finnish and probably 7 other languages covered too.

I'm really looking forward to leisurely strolling about the towne tomorrow and really enjoying its beauty. I'll be enjoying it more after I get my invitation. But I'll just be practicing patience as much as I can.

I'm very sleepy as it's been 2 days since I've really slept more than 3 hours - so … I'm going to bed now. Yeah, it's only 9 pm.

The longest day

I arose on this wonderful Sunday morning at 3am. I went to bed at 1am after packing… and I think I slept for maybe 2 hours. The morning started off with several highlights. Amy called first thing and we were able to talk just before I got the call that Zhanna and Sasha were on their way to pick me up in the taxi.

And we're off! Oh, and I had melon for breakfast… mmm. We don't have this melon in America. It's called Dinya. It's delicious.

So everything went great with getting me to St. Petersburg. The flight was on time (in fact I got there pretty early in the morning). The food on the plane was minimal, but a nice supplement to the Dinya (melon).

So I'll give you the quick overview of the day in St. Petersburg and more details about interesting stuff in additional entries.

Arrival + 2.5 hours	Finding where to buy the bus ticket
1 hour	Buying the bus ticket
2 hours	Finding internet to email all that I made it
8 hours	Waiting and exploring (broken into several chunks call it recon if you will)
2 hours	Visiting really cool sites in St. Petersburg
1 hour	Picking up my baggage
7 hours	Bus to Estonia
Day transition here somewhere
2 hours	Waiting for luggage holding to open
forever	waiting to go to the bathroom because I didn't have a small enough bill to pay
2 hours	Finding the center of Tallinn to wait for information to open
3 hours	Searching for a place to live

And now I have a place to live, internet access, a rough idea of where I am in the city, a book about the city, and plenty of items to keep me focused on Him and Russian studies.

Please please please please keep pr-ying that my invitation comes quickly. In order to make my flight home, I need to get my visa by this Friday (unless there's some bigger miracle planned). Thanks

Don't eat garlic on an empty stomach

It kinda hurts. And immediately too. The good news is that eating garlic last night, lots of pr-yer and lots of sleep seem to have done the trick. I'm feeling a whole LOT better. I thought that maybe I'd have some more garlic this morning to keep me feeling better… it's like fire in the stomach without other food in there. So I quickly scarfed a piece of bread and drank a bunch of water… it's getting better, but whoa! I even felt lightheaded… that's some strong garlic.

No worries about vampires here.

Well, I ended up lying down for 1.5 hours after the garlic. I don't know if it was the garlic or just my cold trying to resurface. But I've got things to do now to prepare for St. Pete's and Estonia.

I'm in the preparation zone today. Packing, cleaning and getting my photos for my paperwork.
Let's Hope that they let me take my computer with me. Because without it for 10 days I might not be able to be responsible for my actions! ;)

I have friends!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen - I had guests tonight for dinner! It really was fun to cook for someone and to have guests in my new "home." Sasha and Zhanna came over for pesto pasta with chicken, green beans with mozzarellaand salad (which didn't have lettuce 'cause I couldn't find any).

I'll try to upload a picture of our dinner later.

It was fun. My Russian in improving thanks to their continued help and
diligence.

They're also going to help me get to the airport on Sunday. At 3:30am I might add. Because of the recent activities, I have to be there 2 hoursbefore my flight. Phew. That's early.

I'm getting sick. So like a good little Russian boy, I ate my two cloves of garlic. I'm getting ready for tea and a really hot shower. Then I'm going to curl up into bed and sleep as LONG as I can tomorrow. I really don't want to fly with a head cold, find a place to stay in St. Pete's, take a bus
all the way to Estonia, and then find a place to stay there. UGH!

I'm going to be better tomorrow. Please pr-y about this, okay?

Okay - the tea is ready and Susan is calling (that's the name printed on my teapot - Jen, no joke. My teapot came with a name).

My first Drug Deal

So I was walking to the store today and I literally saw a drug deal. I
guess that's it. I was just really surprised. Broad daylight. It's scary
where our world is headed, huh? This is happening all over the world.
People just don't know where to put their faith...

I had an AMAZING conversation with the director of the cultural center
today. He actually lived through the Checnyan war. Whoa.

water

it's such an important thing. Second morning in a row that I've awakened to no water. The cool thing is that it's back on in the afternoon sometime. Bummer is that I want to brush my teeth and shower now. I'm glad that they're working on the water so that in the winter it'll be hot and working and there will be a warm start to my chilly mornings.

I just wish they had posted a sign - they did that when the water was out for a couple weeks back in the summer - so I think that means it'll just be out for a few hours.

This is very normal and typical here... But I want the toilet working! (sorry to be so frank and honest, but it's true).

email blog post

This is cool.

Typical Days

I guess today is a typical day. I think maybe the water is turned off for
atypical reasons. Maybe someone is having a repair done.

Today I've studied for about an hour already. I've been learning an
exciting set of words today. Cleaning words, such as dust, vacuum cleaner
(dust sucker), mop, to mop, etc. So while I'm cleaning the apartment today,
I'll be able to practice these words.

I've also read the Word already today and it's so great! Everything seems
so applicable here. Reading Acts rocks because it's all about the first M
journeys, which is exactly what I'm doing.

I'll then be purchasing an internet card. Turns out that I use about 100MB
a week - if this week is a normal week. I think that talking through the
computer is GREAT, but it uses a lot of megabytes and here you pay for what
you use. Which in a way is a great system, but for those of us using the
internet for calling home and conducting our work... it's a bigger expense.

Then it's off to the market to pick up a few things. It really seems like
it's better to buy food at the market for the most part as it's SO much less
expensive. A loaf of bread was 9 rubles (remember 26 rubles to the dollar)!
So almost 3 loaves of freshly baked, delicious bread for a dollar.

Then I'm off to the Cultural Education Center (CEC), that's our home base
turn check out a few books to read on my Visa trip to Estonia. I'm trying to
read one book in English and Russian, but it's really hard!

I'm hoping for another long walk today as I feel SO wonderful and healthy
when I do this. It's good to concentrate on physical health as I'm
constantly being reminded here. Eat garlic! It's useful for health! ;)

Then I'll study some more Russian and if the water is back on, it's time to
do some laundry (by hand) and mop the floors). Oh, and a shower of course!

Natural Remedies

Something that I hadn't really thought about moving to another country is what I would learn about medicine. Today while I was at the cultural center I learned about the power of garlic. 2 cloves before bed in the winter will help me avoid the flu. Zhanna also suggested a flu shot… We had fresh garlic with lunch from Victoria's garden. I've NEVER had garlic that fresh before… fire in the mouth!

But tasty.

Igor' is here for a visit and I'm excited about talking to him and starting up our mentoring relationship. He took me around to a couple of markets and to the region where he lives in Tyumen during the school year. This is the region where I'll be taking Russian classes and teaching English, so it was nice to become a bit more familiar with the region.

Then he taught me about the healing properties of iodine. I've always thought of iodine as an antiseptic or sterilizer or something like that. He says that if you feel a chest cold coming on you should smear it across your chest. And if you feel like you're getting a cold you should smear it across the bottom of your feet. He says it works and that he never takes tablets (medicine).

I really find this very interesting - we'll see how healthy I can keep myself this year!

PS I learned how to pay for my electricity today.

And the rain rain rain came down down down

So yesterday I learned about the Russian Winnie the Pooh movie. It is apparently hugely popular and everyone knows it. There was an instant and HUGE down pour yesterday and I learned the phrase, "tut tut, I think it's gonna rain" which Piglet always says in the Winnie the Pooh movie. Well, here Piglet says something like, "seems like the rain is gathering." It sounds really funny when Zhanna says it in Russian.

And today I had the opportunity to say this phrase with Igor! So funny. He recognized it and we both got a laugh until the rain really hit us in earnest… seriously - it blasted us.

We went to three different markets today to find various things and I'm proud to report the following projects are completed:

- the toilet is completely fixed. Two days already there's been a seat on my toilet, well now I don't have to turn the water on and off every time. We bought a new float and fixed it!

- I installed the new showerhead. I'm not only pleased that I installed it and it works great, but it's a WONDERFUL showerhead. It actually projects the water further into the tub so I don't have to stand next to the wall anymore. I can stand in the middle of the tub! Woo-hoo.

- We bought bolts so that I can attach the knobs on my closet drawers.

- and I finally have a salt shaker. I know that's a really silly point. But I've been looking ever since I got here and finally I found one that I like and it wasn't too expensive.

Igor' is going to teach me how to cook a Russian meal tonight. As best as I can tell - it's meatloaf and mashed potatoes - but it's called Cutlet and Potato Puree here.

We must have walked 5 miles today, which is great. I gotta try to keep in shape now that I've lost some weight. It's crazy that I've dropped 25 lbs in two months.

Sasha stopped buy today (Zhanna's husband) and now I've got a computer program to teach me to type in Russian! I'm excited about this. It'll be one more thing that I can occupy myself with while I'm in Estonia getting my visa.

Please THINK about the following: my invitation has not come yet for my second visa. It should have been here by now, and they're saying they should have it by Sunday. Well, I fly out on Sunday - so it's really going to be late. But I can get a copy emailed to me, so I'm not freaking out. Just mildly worried.

Mr Fixit?

Well, I’m not the handiest guy in the whole world as anyone in my family would attest (since most everyone in my family is a Mr Handyman genius), but I get along okay. So the toilet seat broke off the toilet. And I managed to not only remove the pieces that were all over, but I bought a new seat and managed to attach it. The saga goes like this:

• 1 hour walk to the store where I bought the seat. (I did choose to walk instead of catch a bus).
• 1 hour shopping about the store – I had to end up buying a universal seat, because they didn’t have one that matched the exact measurements that I took.
  
• 1 hour taking the bus home and then walking from the bus stop. Ironic that walking an hour or taking the bus takes the same amount of time – but I was carrying porcelin.
  
• 15 minutes attaching the seat.
  Total: 3.15 minutes. Life just takes a little longer here.

So the showerhead broke after I fixed the toilet and showered ‘cause, well, fixing the toilet – no matter how clean it is – just feels dirty. So I guess tomorrow I’ll fix that!

I also bought knobs for my closet drawers. I can’t open the drawers very well because there are NO knobs. Well, I found out why there are no knobs. The screws aren’t long enough to fit through the front of the drawer. Guess I’ll try to find longer screws the right size tomorrow too.

Dad, you’d be proud.

PS I got invited to an ev-angelist-c bike tour gathering tonight. But I went where I thought the person told me to go... but I guess I didn't know enough of the directions. :( Alas. So I'm home now and making dinner and then blogging the rest of the hiking trip

A day of errands for the skinny guy.

So I walked about town today getting some errands done. And I mean walked. Lucky I’m in hiking shape. So, I just did some calculations and I lost 16.5 lbs in my first month here and the second month (with all the hiking) removed an additional 9 lbs! Can you believe it? I’m 25 lbs lighter already. I’m guessing that the weight loss will slow rapidly now, because I don’t have nearly as much to lose now… I feel great though.

So I waited at 8 bus stops today and wrote down all the busses that stop at them. I’ve been wanting to do this… for all my information center friends – you just can’t get the information assistant out of you. They don’t actually have bus route schedules or maps like we do – so I’m making my own!

Oh, and I found roach traps! I used Lingvo to look up the word for roach and found the traps all by myself… let’s hope I read the instructions correctly.

Leaking Pipes, Toilets and Roaches

Welcome home! By the amazing providence of G-d, there was a basin sitting on the bathroom floor directly under the spot where one of my pipes started leaking while I was gone for two weeks! Yes!

The toilet seat broke off when I, well, sat down on it. And that’s a real joy. Y’all will be really proud of me – I actually figured out how to remove the remaining pieces all by my self and I plan to buy a new seat and repair it first thing tomorrow. Now if I can stop the toilet leaking and the leaky pipe…

And the final quick and fun thing is that there are cockroaches in my apartment… in the kitchen… I turned on the light tonight and thought I saw movement… but then realized it was the reflection off a pan. Then it happened again… only the pan wasn’t on the counter anymore. I’ve only seen 2. But when there are 2… there are a 100.

I’ll have to figure out what passes for Roach poison here.

On the train again…

Hours on train: 17

So it's another early morning and the trip is coming to it's end. I'm sorta sad as I have no idea if I'll ever see any of these people again. Except for Sasha, of course. The train ride was longer on the way home for me. I kept thinking that we were almost there, almost there, almost there… and I didn't sleep as much as I'd hoped. I did sleep for a couple of hours though. Here's some highlights:

I sat across from a Kazakh woman who is a Russian teacher. I had several lessons and she actually graded parts of our conversation. I got all perfect marks too.

I picked up the book I've been reading on and off for months, Hinds Feet on High Places. It is really incredible. I think it's a great book for any xian to read, especially if you're involved in M work. Phenomenal.

In summary: I am so glad that I went on this trip and it has been an TREMENDOUS language opportunity. I've really learned a lot, I understand a LOT better and I've been told that my skills are increasing. Let's keep the learning going!

Novosibirsk

We spent the whole day today in Novosibirsk. Mostly today is a wash. Not much happened. There was a random point of confusion today when I was the stupid foreigner again. I just assumed that we would be staying with Kostya until we leave tomorrow. Well, that's not the case. He didn't really ever say that we weren't, but he did ask us to collect our things. I thought he meant just make sure all your stuff is in one place… I don't know what I was thinking.

So all of a sudden (to me) we're up and leaving. Sasha was prepared… I wasn't. So I felt really dumb. It wasn't the first time though, that Kostya had assumed that I understood. I guess I'm just not quite as good at Russian as I'd like to be!

The final day of hiking

Hours Hiked: 6
Craving: steak
Pity parties: 1

So I had my first pity party yesterday. It was our last evening actually camping and everyone was talking about what they wanted to eat, who they wanted to see, etc. We had quite a bit of time to sit around and just talk and, well, I just got totally left out. All the smokers went off to smoke the rest of their so carefully rationed cigarettes, even the two quietest ones paired up to go pick berries.

The worst of it wasn't really that. Because that's normal that groups split up. I just had my QT and a final opportunity to really enjoy the creation and nature all around me.

It was later on when we were all going to play cards. Then we ended up playing contact again. It just takes a LOT more language skill. And then people just kinda started ignoring me. That was the hard part.

So when we were talking about what we miss - after people, I want Outback. I want a big, juicy, delicious steak. And a bloomin' onion. With a really cold coke.

The hiking today was blissful. I can't even describe what the last day was like. After all the up, up and more up… this was flat, descent, and down ALL day. It was really nice. My feet hurt a little. The going down, of course, makes the tips of the toes hit the boots… which for me isn't the MOST pleasant experience right now. Overall - the easiest day of hiking by a LONG shot.

When we arrived at Visotnik, it was like a reunion. Andrusha, Lyosha, Sonya, and Marina were all there waiting for us. Sonya was running around hugging everyone, she was so excited! Then it was off to the river for our final 'natural' bathing experience and off to pick up Lena.

We were 2 days early by Lena's recollection so she was incredibly excited. She hadn't expected to see us so soon. So that was really fun. 15 more hours on the bus and we're back in Novosibirsk.

Bus ride highlights: Kostya gave special toasts to everyone in the group, we stopped at a roadside dance club for one of our pit stops (so funny to see Lena and Andrusha dancing together -- broken ankle and wrist!)

And Back Again

Pictures
Hours Hiked: 7
Hours slept: 3 or so

So, we tried to sleep 6 in a tent last night. It didn't work out so well. I was on the far side. So my face was PRESSED against the side of the tent. And it was really cold. I couldn't turn over either because there were too many of us. I started to get claustrophobic too, but then I figured out that my old gymnastic skills would come in handy and I flipped myself head to foot to make more room for my shoulders - and I slept a little.

We left early this morning to head back to our stationary camp. We took a different route back, because we didn't have a real route that we followed to the lake. We headed up the steepest path (seems like that's what we always do). And it turns out that we got up to the peak and Kostya realized we were headed in the wrong direction. So we turned away from the path and struck out down the mountain to find the other path.

Marina (the younger) turned her ankle on the way down, but turned out fine. The hike was uneventful with the exception of a waterfall that we saw on the way home.

To the Lake

Hours Hiked: 6

Russian Word Learned: helicopter

Today we actually achieve our end goal! We see the lake!! It's very exciting. It is a beautiful sight to behold… a lake at the foot of the mountains. Gorgeous. We left so early this morning that we arrived at our campsite by lunchtime! We actually cooked lunch today! Yes! That's right, a meal in the middle of the day. I wasn't even really hungry. I took a nap in the sun and let my feet air out. And I bathed in the lake too. Freezing cold, but it's delectable to feel clean.

We are only 6 at this point in time. Katia and Natasha stayed behind with the bulk of our things. It was really incredible to hike with just a few items in my rucksack. It was so light having 15 lbs that I forgot I had a pack!

We saw a few helicopters out and about today. They were doing rescue reaches for lost hikers. That's how I learned the word for helicopter.

The Blistering Pace

Pictures
Hours Hiked: 5
Kilometers Hiked: 15

Our team is smaller now. Lena has already left us. Andrusha cannot hike with his broken ankle, Sonya is sick and Marina is staying with her and we're 9 when we set out.

So I now understand the phrase, "setting a blistering pace." We hiked so fast today, with my little legs I was practically running to keep up. It was very interesting hiking too as we were along the river for part of the day and there were lots and lots of rocks to navigate. I liked that part.

Lyosha didn't make it today. About 1/3 of the way, he turned back because his foot was hurting too much. He hiked back to the others and joined them in convalescence.

My feet started hurting about half way through the day, but I really just did my best to ignore them. Turns out that's not the smartest move. I had 5 blisters! I've never seen blisters like these before either… 3 of them were under my toenails.

So my toenails were all sticking virtually straight up and we're a little afraid that I might lose them (3 of them). The other two blisters were on the backs of my heels - painful, but no big deal. The really really rough part, was my right foot, middle toe. The blister was quite large and I knew that hiking on it wouldn't really be very simple… so - I had a little operation. Kostya sterilized a needle and some thread with Iodine and then lanced the blister. The thread he left in the blister overnight to help it to continue to ooze the puss out. It stung, but I took it well. The most painful part was actually the next morning when I pulled the string out.

So most everyone was really tired out from the 'blistering' pace and Katia and Natasha actually refused to keep going. My blisters were a good excuse to stop. So we set up a stationary camp. I went to bed not knowing if I'd be able to go on for the next day or not. Turns out I keep going.

Pictures

Stationary Again: In the Village

Hours Hiked: 0
Skill achieved: shelling sunflower seeds

Today was mostly a very calm day. We got to sleep in, rest and recuperate from the first 5 days of hiking. Highlights from today include:

□ incredible and beautiful sunshine, views like I’ve never experienced – it looks like paradise here.

□ I practice what seems like a lifelong skill for all Russians… shelling and eating sunflower seeds.

□ I spent HOURS reading the Book and pr-ying. (Isa 40:31 had a special impact for me) As I was reading it - no joking - and eagle was soaring

□ Potatoes. Can I tell you how delicious potatoes are? Worthy of drool.

We're headed back into the mountains tomorrow. We found out today that Andrusha broke his ankle hiking yesterday. Lyosha's foot is okay, just sore.

Did I mention the chafing? Being wet all day yesterday and hiking through the mountains doesn't go so well with skin... So there's some serious chafing on my left thigh. It hurts too. PTL that I have A&D ointment with me.

The Rescue & The Escape

Pictures
Scots Rescued: 2
Hours hiked: 5
Bones broken: 1
Ankles turned: 2
Banyas: 1
Word learned: storm

So today was a very eventful and exciting day. In the middle of the night I levitated off the ground because of the sound of thunder… the whole sky was lit up with lightning from a storm trapped inside the mountain range. Whoa. It was seriously intense. Rain, rain, rain. So by the time we got up in the morning, the river had seriously flooded over and there was actually water FLOWING across places where there was land the day before. It was like one river had become 3.

As crazy as this sounds, Kostya’s plan was to continue forward and cross the river and head back up into the mountains. So 4 of us were chosen to scout out how to cross the river. The bridge was still accessible after crossing two of the new rivers in knee deep water. So we made it to the other side. But there matters became more intense.

You see, there was another new river on the other side of the main river… and it wasn’t so little. In fact, we used a rope stretched across the little river (tied to two trees) to make it safely across because the current was so strong. Well, initially Kostya was the only one who crossed and it was our expedition to figure out how to get backpacks across the river.

But it became instantly apparent that the Scots thought that we were there to rescue them! Kostya tried to communicate with them, but eventually I got called in as reinforcement interpreter. So – we helped them to cross over the river. It took quite some time to convince them that they needed to leave their things behind and move quickly. (Funny that it took time to convince them to move quickly).

So we had a problem develop. All of these HUGE logs started coming down the river and barraging our bridge. A bridge further upstream had already collapsed and it’s parts were destroying our bridge back across the river. So we lit the hot seat and got out of there. Turns out that 2 hours later our bridge completely collapsed!

So we hiked out all day through mud and rain and it was very steep and very cold going. The amazing thing was that I was in great spirits for having helped the Scots. On the way down, Andrusha slipped in the mud and broke his ankle. Lyosha lost his sandles in mud and hiked all day in socks, which resulted in an injured foot/turned ankle. We were all cold and muddy and gross by the end where we had to cross another river.

That bridge was out too, but it was on the edge of a village and with some good old fashioned cash, he ferried us across the swamped over part of the bridge.

We paid for lodging in a local woman’s house and even had a Banya (it’s a Russian Sauna). It was great to be clean and hot after all the mud and cold.

Base Camp

Pictures
Hours Hiked: 0
New Games Learned: Duraka, 101, Contact, Cities
Hours of English Spoken: 1.5
Word Learned: Scots

Well today was an interesting day. We spent the whole day waiting. Kostya and Lena hiked out today and we waited for them to return. Turns out that the arm was in fact broken and Kostya came back alone. But he brought back meat and sugar coated hard tack! Oooo. Tasty. The day was completely rainy and most of us took naps, played cards, and just talked.

The game contact is really cool and was great for my Russian language experience. So someone thinks up a word. They tell the group the first letter, let’s suppose it’s A. Then the others ask questions like. Is it a kind of food? No, it’s NOT an Appetizer. It’s not a type of peace? No, it’s NOT Amnesty. If the person who thought up the word can’t think of one that starts with A…then they have to provide the next letter. Like AP. It isn’t a kind of fruit? Yes, It’s an Apple!

So Natasha and Katia were out wandering across the bridge and they met some foreigners. They couldn’t really talk to them, but they tried anyway. Turns out they were having a lot of problems starting a fire (it was a little bit too wet). So Natasha and Katia came back across the bridge to get a couple of guys and me as an interpreter.

So that’s how we met Helen and Terry – two Scots who were hiking in the Altai before Helen got sick and they had to hike out. Part of me wanted to stay in Russian language isolation and part of me was so relieved to speak freely. It’s amazing how much my personality is affected by ease of speech. All the team who were there talked about how funny I am and animated and how ‘beautiful’ my smile is.

So strange that they hadn’t really seen that in me before, isn’t it?

Backtracking & lost

Pictures
Hours Hiked: 4
Percentage of hiking hours slid: 2.5%
Time Lost: 1.5
Falls: 0 (yay!)
Russian word learned: wind blows

Lesson: don’t nod your head when you understood 60% -- it’s NOT enough.


Yesterday was supposed to be the new toughest day of hiking. Well – it’s even harder on the way down. And because I’m carrying 1/2 of Lena’s group weight & we’re sliding down the mountain.

The day is very focused on helping Lena & we are all full of purpose behind our movements.

I hike with Marina the younger the whole morning & I suddenly realize she thinking that I’m leading her! (from behind?) and no one else is around. I’ve been following her for an hour in the wrong direction.

Prayer, prayer & prayer. We’re found. Balalaika! (It’s our group call if you’re lost or just checking in with the group across the mountains…)

Fire, Falling, and Fellowship

Pictures
Hours hiked: forever. 6
Bones broken: 2 (none mine)
Clothes changed in 4 days: 0 (I stink)
Russian word learned: accident

It rained all night. The tent I’m sleeping in doesn’t breathe & I’m soaked, cold & frustrated. It’s my job to achieve fire for breakfast – so I’m up an hour before everyone else & literally praying for a miracle (which is granted when I find a dry birch tree to use as fire starter – thanks dad & the boy scouts).

It’s like climbing up a river of flowing chocolate. The mountain is incredibly steep & the rain keeps coming. It takes all my energy to keep from falling – so I memorize verses while I hike (thanks to the Navigators’ B-ble memory system). And I see my first cow cross a bridge on it’s own volition.

So we’re at the top of our first peak with an INCREDIBLE sunset tonight. About 1/2 the group climbs further up the rocks for a better view & we have our first team accident. Lena fell 10 meters and broke her arm in 2 places.

Turns out that boy scout first aid comes in handy again (and so does a master’s in counseling). Lena went into Shock from the fall and needed warming. Thanks to a Nalgene bottle, a fire and a nearby spring – we warmed her up, got her arm splinted and she slept through the night – that part was due to pr-yer I think.

The 3 days of solid rain begin.

Wrong Turn

Pictures
Hours hiked: 5
Hours hiked in the wrong direction: 1.5
English words spoken: <50
Russian Word learned: useful (This means that it doesn’t taste good, but you should eat it anyway).

Today was supposed to be the roughest day of hiking in the whole 11 days, but we made a wrong turn and hiked 45 minutes in the wrong way.

So camp was early and we had B-ble Study on Revelation 13.

We’ve been drinking the water without purification. I worry, but it turns out that all is okay and the water has been fine the whole time (I’m actually typing this after the trip. Of course, I didn’t hike with my computer)

The Start :: Meet the Team

Pictures

Hours of Hiking: 3.5
Gradient: steep
Russian word learned: Steep

Being a man has some good and bad perks. Macho society doesn’t totally agree with me and being that I’ve hiked a bunch I packed really light. Which means that I’m carrying double group weight.

I packed the following for 11 days:

2 pairs of pants
4 t-shirts
4 pairs of undies
4 pairs of socks
2 long sleeve shirts
1 pair of long underwear
1 jacket
Boots
Sandles
Sleeping bag
Bible
Devotional (Daily Light)
Um… and the toiletries

So my bag has extra space which is now filled with more team supplies. I feel like a mule, but my spirits are great. Hiking is really good time for prayers. It’s so beautiful here.

Meet the team:

Kostya – team leader, stud, but somewhat absent minded
Lyosha – the ‘king’
Katya – the ‘queen bee’

The Court
Andrusha – (1/2 of the brother sister pair that we have)
Natasha – (court princess)
Marina – the ‘quiet, sweet’ one
Peytya – the ‘nerd’ (seriously -10 vision, but doesn’t wear the glasses)

Sonya – the youngest (only 13) who wants to be 30
Marina – the ‘elder’ – the team nurse
Sasha (the guy) – my fellow Tyumenian.
Lena – the ‘helpful’ one
Sasha (the gal) – team philosopher (and the other 1/2 of the brother sister pair)
Oh, and me – I’m the foreigner

Preparations

T Minus 1 Day and Counting…

Sasha and I got to sleep for several hours finally! I didn’t get much sleep on the train ride here. After we got up our host and team leader, Kostya, gave us several assignments. Then he disappeared for 6 or 7 hours.

We got our return trip tickets for the train – a huge relief – although we won’t be sitting together. We did score the last two seats on the train! We shopped as well for a bunch of the team supplies and sorted out the food into different packets.

Apparently Russians hike a LOT heavier than we do in the States, or at least Kostya does. Looks like I’ll be carrying an extra 8-10 Kilos (like 18 lbs) of group weight. I packed lightly on purpose – oh well. It looks like we’ll be eating hot cereal for breakfast and dinner everyday – cheese with breakfast and sausage/salami with dinner. Tea two times a day and no real food for lunch: 2 pieces of candy and a handful of peanuts and dried apricots.

I see no water purification filters or tablets!

Oh by the way, there’s a 15 hour overnight trip by van in my future. With 15 people & 6 of them are smokers.

Lesson today: expectations can be the enemy. Flexibility is your friend. And being patient is ALWAYS a good skill to practice.

Departure

The big day has arrived & it’s off to the Altai Mountains in South-Central Russia for 2 weeks.

I was up late packing which isn’t like me, but as I’m learning – planning ahead is okay as long as your expectations aren’t SET on the things that you’re planning.

Today’s update is a big boring. 15 hours on the train from Tyumen’ to Novosibirsk.

Stay tuned – I’m hoping to show you on a map where I’ve been

Click here for photos

Lingvo 10

Yes, I have the coolest computer program in the whole world on my laptop now. It can translate anything from English to Russian and back. Thank you Sasha and Zhanna! Yippie. It also works on Palm PC and Palm OS for you computer geeks out there.

Basically, the translation of the above paragraph is that I can quickly and easily look up the hundreds of words that are flying around me all day. I’ve been trying to look up as many as I can each day, but this way I can look up more words and MUCH faster. I’m also learning to type in Russian this way. I wonder if I’ll ever type in Russian as fast as I can type in English?

Language errors … gotta laugh

So my language errors continue. In 2002, I asked a little boy to pee all over a little girl because I messed up stress. oPEEsat vs opeeSAT. Earlier this summer I said a vulgar word for pee instead of full (meaning I’d eaten enough) SSeet vs seet. Today I said another vulgar word (can’t really explain here and be PC) because I tried to create my own word for something and the stress was in the wrong place! Eegads. Why are all my mistakes vulgar? I guess that’s not true. I make LOTS of mistakes with grammar on a moment by moment basis, but it’s really odd how many of the bigger blunders are about bathroom issues.

Friends in Russia!

I’m so excited!! I just got off the phone (a 7 minute conversation no less) with Sasha! He’s Zhanna’s husband and a fellow computer geek at heart. He works for the regional state government as a computer dude and he helped me get connected today with Russian keyboard stickers for my laptop! He called to see if everything was working out ok and to give me some advice about leaving the apartment for a few days. He walks by my building on the way to work and he wanted to make sure that I securely closed my balcony window as it’s not safe to leave it open while I’m away. Incredible. It was so fun to talk to him and in Russian! Sometimes I don’t understand everything, but he explained it a different way and I got it!

Such blessings abound!! I’m excited about the possibility of a friendship with him. He’s the one who recommended and helped me get connected with high speed internet too. It should be connected here at my flat within 10 days! It’s so wonderful.

Expect the unexpected in Russia

So this morning I got 2 phone calls from America. The first at 5am and the second at about 8am. I’m SO excited to hear from America, it doesn’t even matter if I’m wakened from deep sleep!

So once I got up, I headed to meet with Zhanna to conclude our agreement with the local internet provider. I was nervous, because everyone kept telling me to prepare for them to say no. Turns out that someone had internet installed nearby and the high-speed cable is actually already on the roof of my building! How rockin’ cool is that? So then with the help of Olga – we set it up! They even called today to set up the installation. Unfortunately (which I hear is a very common phrase here), they called back to say that an emergency arose and they won’t be able to come now… Zhal’ (that’s the Russian word for pity (meaning too bad)– it’s the first thought in my head). So it’ll be sometime in the next 10 days.

It’s kinda cool. Once the internet is installed (no need for a modem) – I buy these little cards (pretty much anywhere in the city) and that’s how they charge me. It’s nice because you only pay for what you use here. It’s not a set fee per month. It’s just like how my cell phone works. You only get charged for what you use. So awesome. And the cell phone only charges you for your outgoing calls… not incoming. Isn’t that sweet?

SIDE: just read an email from a friend of Amy and she was talking about Abraham before the destruction of Sodom. Abraham was ‘convincing’ G-d to require fewer and fewer uncorrupted people in order to save the city. I never thought of it before, but really there was no convincing. It was the original plan all along. How often do we think that we’re bargaining or convincing G-d of something different, when really we’re just realizing the original and best plan all along. Cool, huh? Thanks Angie.