Ice Sculptures

Here are some photos of the ice sculptures that are famous here in town. Clockwise from top left:
1) Ahoy Matey! It's a ship made of ice!
2) Ride'em bearboy! It's an ice bear... yeah, it was cold to sit on it
3) Posing with Santa Claus - in Russia we have Det' Moroz (Grandfather Frost), but this was Santa
4) Look at the detail in this scultpure of two birds!

MULTIPLE BLOGS!

Hey all, You'll want to scan back to 12/11/06 to start reading about my awesome trip to Africa to see Amy! It was INCREDIBLE! You'll want to click on the archives for December to see them all as there are LOTS of posts for you all! I've been working on a website with pictures (probably best to not look until after the New Year as I'm not quite finished) But here's a look!

A Four Seat Blessing

When I sat down on my Doha to Moscow flight, I was fully prepared to sit next to a crying 2 year old. But mom, dad, and son all migrated just before takeoff and I ended up with 4 seats together from 2am - 7am! I slept a solid 2 hours on the flight! Yes! What an awesome surprise.

Unfortunately, I messed up because I had so many seats to use. I left the book that I was reading. It wasn't even my book! I borrowed it from Sally! So I took a little time at Domededova and got her book back! Yippie! (plus I get to read the ending AND my last card from Amy was inside it!)

Qatar Airlines and the 14 hour layover

Well, it's been a rough day so far. Amy and I parted ways for another 5 months until we're runited in America. It was awful especially because Amy couldn't even come into the airport with me in Nairobi because of heightened security measures! So we had to say goodbye almost 2 hours earlier than we expected.

The 5 hour flight to Qatar was okay - I was pretty miserable - I've never cried going through security before. I wonder what they were thinking as I tried to hold myself together. Man, it was really hard to leave.

Now I'm in Qatar in the capitol city of Doha. Turns out that the airline put me up in a 4 Star hotel because my layover is so long. It's kinda nice. They're even providing the meals! This is so great. I did a bit of exploring, but I'm really in the city center and I don't want to exchange money to take a bus. So - I took a trip by foot around.

It might be really nice to be a man living in a middle eastern culture. Their clothes look SO comfortable. It's like wearing pajamas all day!

Travel

I'm in the airport again and it's only 5:45am. I've been up for 2 hours. I didn't sleep well, and I'm a wreck.

I'm okay, just sad. Tears are easy to come and painful right now and I feel stupid about crying in front of strangers. I hope that Amy's okay.

I hated how today started. We headed off to the airport and they wouldn't let Amy into the airport! Only ticket holders are allowed inside. :( I can't believe it. It was so unexpected. We were robbed of 2 precious hours.

On the Road again...

Hey everyone. Sorry that I've been offline for 2 weeks straight. I'm going to be typing LOTS of blog entries while I sit in the airport for 14 hours in QATAR. Please pr@y for me as I've got a LONG couple of days ahead of me as I head home to Siberia.

It has been a WONDERFUL two weeks here in Kenya. Here's a picture from today when Amy and I drove across the EQUATOR!

I can't wait to be in touch with everyone - so feel free to email me. I'm going to be a lonely wreck for the next couple of weeks as Amy and I are going to be apart for 5 MORE months!

Stay tuned throughout the weekend for more updates.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

It's the best day of the whole year, and even though my love language is presents - that's not what today is about. Today is about celebrating a very special birthday.

Happy Birthday J-sus.

At a Maasai Boma (village)

Today was a really neat day. I got to leave the clinic compound at Ewaso Ngiro and go for an awesome walk with Amy and Helen to a place where some Maasai live. We spent the early afternoon with a women named Elizabeth. She made us tea, talked to us. Amy was talking to her in Maasai! It was really so neat. And when they didn't know a word, she would teach it to them. She was so kind and even walked us back to the clinic compound. It was so cool to see Amy talking to her for the bulk of the walk back… all in Maasai! I was so proud of her.

Maasai Mara

What an incredible day. We got up and had breakfast made to order along side the river running along the northern border of the Maasai Mara (which is the Kenyan side of the Serengeti). It rained a good portion of the night, so we were a bit worried of heading out into the park on our own, but we did it anyway.

About 20 minutes into the park, we were stuck in the mud. Seriously. Not moving, no hope of moving, and really no alternatives to getting out. Being a hopeless optimist -- I can't believe that I really felt a small amount of despair, like we weren't going to make it out. We thought that if we waited long enough - the mud might dry out in the sun and then we'd get out.

Turns out that 20 Maasai men were out and about in a truck helping trucks that were stuck, and then came over and helped us too!

Their ring leader, Simon, then volunteered to be our guide for the day in the park and this was an EXCELLENT decision. Because he was with us we were able to see: elephants, giraffes, hippos, a crocodile, Thompson's gazelles, warthogs, ostriches, lions, wildebeests, zebras, really cool birds, and so much more. We even got to stand on the border between Kenya and Tanzania! Check out my photos here.

Potholes are a way of life Or The One Where Jeff Goes to the Maasai Mara

We drove to the Maasai Mara today. It's one of the most famous natural wildlife preserves in the WHOLE world. It's actually the northern tip of Serengeti National Park Game Reserve. It's named for the Maasai people and the Mara River which divides it. However - I heard from the Maasai that Mara means spotted in their language, which is what the game reserve looks like from the tops of the hills.

There are several things about the Mara that are really cool. It is in the Rift Valley which extends from the Mediterranean Sea all the way to South Africa! It's mostly prairie with wide open space and acacia trees, which truly fascinate me.

Anyway - over half of the trip was on non-paved roads. We literally had moments when non of our bums were on the seats in the truck because we were airborn!

And - we got stuck. The cardinal law of the Mara… don't go off the main roads. No matter how bad they look - stay where other cars are driving. So we went off the main path, because it looked really bad. And the black cotton soil - grabbed our tires. Luckily, we'd just been trained by Joe how to winch and tow the vehicle. So another car pulled us out!

Maasai Wedding

I got to go to a Maasai wedding today (Mah-sai) It was fairly westernized in many ways, but there were still aspects of the Maasai culture in the ceremony.

The bride and groom don't see each other before the ceremony. The men about 15-20 of them - march slowly into the church. It was a church wedding & the legal ceremony both. The men move into the church to a shuffling, step and sing a chant. Then while the men are entering the church the older Maasai women - the mamas - surround the bring and sing songs too. Once the men are all in the church, the young women respond to their song inside the church & they start marching to the church as well.

The bride is carried to the end of a line of women where she is set down on a shawl - she doesn't touch the ground, but only walks on the scarves.

It takes about an hour for the men and the women to all enter the church. The bride looked miserable. It was all show. She chose her husband and they are both very much in love, but it is Maasai custom for the woman to be sad because they used to be young and they married much older men, leave their families and often move to another location.

The wedding all total was 5 HOURS long. It was officiated in both Swahili and then translated into Maasai.

Tea Masala and the Maasai Market

Another busy day in Kenya! We headed out to shop for curtains today & enjoyed the morning with Amy's teammate Helen. We had lunch at an Ethiopian place with Joe, Amy's team leader. After lunch we did some more curtain shopping for Amy's house and saw a MOVIE (the Nativity Story)

Today I discovered my next favorite thing from Kenya: Tea Masala. Masala is the Swahili word for spice. This is a spice that 'kicks' tea up a notch. It's so good! I highly recommend it, although I'm not sure where you can buy it in the States.

I actually have no idea if it's really Kenyan or African, or from India - but it's delicious!

We went shopping at the Maasai market today. I found a few knickknacks to remember the trip here and buy a few gifts. We accidentally overstayed our time here in Nairobi today, so we ended up staying with friends from MTI!

That's the Longest Tongue I've ever seen or the One Where Jeff goes to the Giraffe Park

Wow. I don't know what else to write. Amy and I went to the Giraffe Park today. They have 11 giraffes on their property which is all they can support because they eat 65 kilograms of leaves and grass a day. They are so much more graceful than I ever imagined and they are beautiful. The grown up to 16 feet in height and the oldest one on the property is 16. The youngest was 3 weeks old. He won't start eating grass for 7 more weeks. He was birthed while his mother was standing up and the drop to the ground jump starts them just like smacking a baby's behind!

They are ruminators, so they don't have upper teeth in their jaws, which comes in handy when you get to FEED them! That sure was a treat. Here are some pictures of Amy and I feeding them, hugging their heads, and yes, even KISSING them. I'll admit that wasn't the kiss I was most looking forward to when I got to Kenya!

It was such a wonderful and blissful day together. Giraffes are really special to Amy and I - and it was an incredible start to our holiday together.

Kenya is beautiful and G0d's creation and creativity are BLOWING my mind. I've taken so many pictures of flowers that my friends in Russia are going to cry and the flora here (or boredom from so many to look through)

I arrived earlier today & waited until the fourth to the last bag off the plane to exit baggage claim. My bag was one of the first on because it was a transfer and I had a layover in Qatar.

Amy and Helen were there waiting. I had this big grin on my fact that I couldn't remove. It was glued on! What a sight for sore eyes! She's so beautiful and I couldn’t wait to give her a hug!

Africa - Kenya is SO beautiful. I immediately fell in love with the landscape. It's so GREEN! And 75 degrees. The first animal I saw here - giraffes! They're the first ones that Amy has seen so far. Isn't that amazing? (Giraffe's are a bit special to Amy and I - so it was really cool). I'm also in love with Acacia trees. They are SO cool. I hope I get to see a baobab tree too.

We're staying at a place called the Mennonite Guesthouse in Nairobi. It's beautiful here. Like a small oasis. It actually feels more tropical to me than anything else - the sun is out (it's 9:30am) and everything is alive and green!

I'm in Kenya!

I made it. Everything got here although a few small things did break on the way here. So I was a bit sad about that, but nothing that was REALLY significant, just a few small gifts.

I'm really excited to be here and I've got a few small blogs that I'll type in later. Some interesting observations from the travel.

Qatar (Doha)

There is no alcohol advertising here. There are however lots of ads about winning the lottery (1 million US Dollars) or a BMW. Almost everything here is in English and then also in Arabic. As native English speakers we sure gave a leg up. I'm tired. 1.5-2 hours of sleep on the flight and I'm ready to sleep.

The Devil Wears Prada

Interesting how the last leg of my journey to Kenya is turning out. The movie was supposed to be Scoop, but ended up being the Devil Wears Prada.

I laughed, I was disappointed and now I'm reflecting.

There was honestly some good humor. I really hated how Ann Hathaway's character had casual sex when she really was in love with another man. And then it was glossed over and not processed by the characters.

But I'm thinking more about image and popularity which is the intended message of the film.

It's a 1988 flashback in Munich, Germany. Basically our entire German class went on the tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Turns out my German skills were in demand and the popular crowd invited me to come along. Of course, I didn't know why I was invited. I naively thought maybe my charming personality and wit had something to do with it. Turns out, I was just a sell out with the rest.

Luckily I figured it out before the day was half over - but making good with my friends was tough… but worth it to be true to my friends.

The Culture or Advertising

I'm sitting at international Gate #4 at Domedova surrounded by alcohol ads. Directly in front of me is Samuraev Vodka, at 2 o'clock is Russian Diamond Vodka, at 3 is Label 5 Scotch and Whisky at 3:15 is Cognac, and at my 6 we find Absolut. My left side is windows - so there are no ads there. I wonder if there will be this many alcohol ads in Qatar, a Muslim country…

People Watching

This is a skill I am so thankful to have developed. I remember the first time I heard this term. It was in 1982 at the Knoxville World's Fair. Do we still have a world's fair? We were sitting around a fountain eating Petros (sudden food craving: chili, server over fritos or better yet in a fritos bag - with sour cream on top) and being a typical 10 year old, I was realy to go on the move. But the family was resting and people watching. I remember being bored. And now I know why. I was only looking for people just like me. Kids- looking for the familiar. I'm sitting at Domededova airport in Moscow right now and it's FASCINATING.

Click click click click … a Russian woman dressed to impress or seduce someone… How do they walk in those things? And don't tell me that they're comfortable. Habiba, the director of Lingva (my University job) HAS to wear heels now because her feel can't deal with flat shoes!

Jingle jingle jingle - a man's keys as he nervously ticks waiting for someone. Is he excited or nervous? Is it love - now that's my own life entering the story, but isn't that how it always is? We can't hardly help, but interject our own lives & history into what we see and experience.

Presents just went by. It's Dec 11 & New Year isn't for 30 days - but giving is here - talk about a holiday that's been moved - Christmas is on New Year's and isn't about J-sus anymore. I digress.

A mom just walked by with her baby strapped on. How do parents choose how to carry their babies? Front or back? Carriage or stroller?

I like imagining their lives. I think Qatar will be interesting.

Trapped or the One where Jeff is imprisoned on a plane between people

I'm trapped in a small prison. The man sitting in front of me is 7 feet tall and he has his seat leaned all the way back. The man behind me is VERY large and has asked - err - told me that I am not to lean my chair back. So - I've got about 10 cubic centimeters in which to function. Breathing has been easier in my life as the man next to me obviously smoked 35 cigarettes before the flight or works in a smoking factory. I'm not really complaining - the beauty & irony of the whole situation is that G0d gave me a small frame - so I fit almost anywhere. Note: Russian planes are NOT built for comfort & knees in your back are almost guaranteed.

Tyumen or I'm not gone yet

I'm sitting in the airport right now. I left for her at 6:20 and registration doesn't start until 1:20 before the flight. I've been waiting with Vladimir, who brought me to the airport. It was really cool, because just before he left, he pr@yed for me and for Amy and our time together in Kenya. Amy and I pr@yed that I wouldn't have to pay any overage for my baggage, because with my backpack included in the weight I'm over by like 15-20 pounds! (updated: I didn't have to pay any overage! The didn't ask me to weigh my carryon!)

Balding

Shed no tears, I'm okay - but it was quite a shock to see the reflective shine. Well, turns out that most everything here in Russia has been awesome with one major exception… I guess the dry climate isn't so good for balding men… cause I'm losing hair like I'm a professional. Just informing you all so as to not surprise you all too much when you see me in another 6 months. Maybe I should stop cutting my own hair? Did I do this to myself?

(in this picture I'm also sporting a BEAUTIFUL fartook (apron) while I wrap pirogies)

Photo Blog

1) Zhanna receives her Christmas present from Amy and I (Maxwell Leadership B!ble
2) Jim reads the US history of Thanksgiving
3) Check out this beautifully frosted tree near the University where I study and teach
4) Our Thanksgiving Table (from upper left: Zhanna, Vicki, Me, Dennis, Masha, Jim, Sally)
5) Sasha receives his Christmas present from Amy and I (leatherman multitool)
6) Look at Sally's joy at her birthday!
7) This is my Russian teacher Tatiana and my fellow student Vicki (she's British)
8) This is me at English discussion club with one of my students, Nikita (working on his resume)
9) Here I am enjoying the beauty of lemon juice in my pepsi (Amy taught me this!)
10) This is what I look like in my down coat.
11) Here's a shot of our last English Discussion club this year
12) Here's the entire Cultural Education Center Staff!

Deadline by Randy Alcorn

This is the book I'm currently reading. Sally gave it to me. The basic gist is that the main character's two best friends just died… here's a few quotes that have been good for my thinking…

• Picture two twins in their mother's womb, debating about what's outside. The one says, "There's a whole world out there - grassy meadows, and mountains and streams, horses and dogs and cats and giraffes, and huge blue-green oceans with whales and dolphins and fish of every color. And there's people like us, only much bigger, and they can walk, run, and jump, and play games like football and baseball. There's skyscrapers and stadiums and freeways. And soon we're going to leave here and join them in that world." His twin brother scrunches up his face, looks at him and says, "Are you crazy? Get real. There's no life after birth!"
• I want to make four brief statements about death.
• First, life's greatest certainty is death. The statistics never change. Of those who are born, 100 percent die.
• Second, death will come whether or not you're prepared for it. Talking about death won't hasten it. Denying death won't delay it. Each mans' life is but a breath. The only question is whether or not you and I are ready when death comes.
• Third, death is not an end. It's a transition. Death dissolves the bond between spirit and body. The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Death is simply a doorway to another world. If I were to suddenly walk out this door, you'd no longer be able to see me, but would you conclude I no longer existed? Of course not. I would simply have moved out of your sight. Our friend who passed away walked out the door, moved out of our sight. That's all.
• My final point is this - death will bring us face to face with our Creator.
• He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot

Last Class and the New Yea

I had my last Russian class until the next semester starts and I taught my last English class too. My last group had their oral exam today and the topic was the Russian New Year. Here are some interesting facts that I learned about Russian new year:

• Russian New Year is the biggest holiday of the year. We suspect that New Year used to be just like our New Year, but during the Communist Revolution the Christmas holiday was 'replaced' with New Year.
• Russians give gifts at New Year, not at Christmas (except of course for Russian xians)
• New Year is a VERY big family holiday. And they gather together and enjoy each others' company with many specific family traditions.
• The Russian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on December 7.
• Mandarin oranges are huge too. My students explained that this was because prior to Stalin there was a 'deficit' of such delicacies. Don't know if this is the case, but it's how they explained it to me.
• Students love to go skiing during the holidays as well.
• They also celebrate New Year twice. On December 31-January 1 and then they celebrate Old New Year on January 13 - January 14 (before the calendar was changed)
• Drinking does appear to be a large part of the holiday for many Russians, but not all. Many of my students really disagreed with the sentiment that many Russians are hard drinkers.
• Many students and families have the tradition at midnight, when the clock begins to strike midnight, you write down your wishes for the next year on a sheet of paper, burn it into a glass of champagne, and then drink the glass down before the clock finishes striking midnight. Then your wishes will come true.
• My students explained to me that Russian tradition stems from both Christ!an orthodoxy and a history of paganism. Many of them (mostly girls) call upon old occult traditions - mostly to try and find out who their husbands will be.
• Contrary to popular belief the students inform me that there are not that many bears in Siberia. At least not where we are.
• Here's an AWESOME link with information about Russian Christmas -- at the bottom is some info on New Years: http://russian-crafts.com/customs/christmas.html

Lunch with the Professor's family!

That's right. Today I spent the early afternoon at my professor's apartment. Vicki, who is a British woman who also studies with Tatiana, was also there. It was really nice because we got to meet Tatiana's husband and younger daughter. Her son lives in another city, so he wasn't there. It was a downright groovy celebration. Food enough for me to feel nearly sick after eating.

Russians know how to be hospitable, I can't even describe how it feels. When you first meet someone, you're definitely on the outside. But once you're invited into their home, it's just this side of use my toothbrush. And you could probably share the same towel and they wouldn't be incredibly upset.

Anyway - we had a lovely talk and enjoyed each others' company.

Larium or Fighting Malaria Before it has a Chance

I can't remember if I already wrote about this or not. Did I write about trippy dreams and sleeping in the evening? I took my first Malaria medication last night and it really knocked me out. I could hardly stay awake and I literally fell asleep before 9pm. I woke up at 1 am and I was kinda confused and I had some pretty strange dreams. Nothing really worth writing about - just strange.

It was exciting to take this medication though, because it means I'm two weeks away from being with Amy.

Funny Moments and Being Thankful

Do you ever have one of those moments when dread passes across your heart? When you hear a noise in the bathroom, you rush in there and the toothbrush cup is on the floor? Where's your toothbrush?!

Well, I just had that moment. And my toothbrush fell into the sink. Isn't that great. That's what my life is like here. Even when something really difficult happens, there's protection, comfort, and a silver lining.

Hot Water! or Taking Nothing for Granted

After just under 2 weeks (13 days) we finally have hot water at home again! We're all talking about how excited we are for HOT SHOWERS. My one roommate even is planning to take a BATH! That's how much we're excited about having HOT water. It's the hugest answer to pr@yer. So for all of you who said a word for us, THANK YOU!

I think I'm just going to run hot water because I can.

BTW - even though we've been without HOT water for quite some time, it's been the best possible time to be without water because it's been WARM outside. It's barely below zero (so for Siberia in winter that HOT). In fact, I've been sweating in my down coat, so I'm almost switching to my fall coat.

The Africa countdown continues: 4 days until I leave!!!

Email Addiction, Homesick, or just plain dirty.

I think I'm addicted to email and hearing from home. That must mean that I'm finally entering some kind of homesickness, huh? I guess that really makes sense. Thanksgiving was last week, I'm leaving in a week to go and see Amy, and Christmas is three weeks away. I'm sorta experiencing a general feeling of malaise and not wanting to do anything - so I'm gonna jump start today with a pr@yer session, head off to church and hang out with Igor and Ephesians chapter 3.

Examining my inner mood, I've decided that a big part of my feelings today might actually be because I'm dirty. My hot water has been broken for 9 days now. So I've had 2 showers in the last week (thank you Jim and Sally!) I'm preparing a sponge bath as we speak (water is boiling in the kitchen) and I'm going to be clean for communion Sunday. I do have heat in 4 rooms of the house, but not the main room and the second bedroom. So we're still using an electric heater for the roommates.

Evening Walks or M!nistry on the Go

Walking is a big part of Russian culture. I think, 1 because it's good for you, but 2 moreso that apartments are small and to find some private time with someone you go for a walk. So I got a phone call from Dennis last night and we went for a 3 hour walk! It was great! One, it's awesome for me, because I really feel like I'm developing friendships here. Two, I spoke Russian for 3 hours (after 5 hours earlier today already). Three, our conversations are about real things. It's SO nice for me to not only have the opportunity to touch the lives of others, but to be able to communicate on a real level and not feel like language is a huge barrier. So that was great!

Really Homesick for the first time or the One where Jeff Talks to the CIC Staff

Just got off the phone with the CIC staff at their bi-weekly staff meeting. It was so AWESOME to talk to them and share what's going on over here in Russia. I'm so excited to be caught up on what's going on in their lives! Nick is about to be an uncle (congrats Sam and Mike), Nifer's sister is getting married (congrats Erin), Katelyn is going to Scotland (you won't regret a moment!) and a bunch of the gang are graduating and moving on to cool things (Teach for America! You go Cristina!) I'm proud of all of you. Remember to pursue your dreams for all they're worth and it's NOT about money…

How to find your purpose is 5 minutes or less. Write down what you think your purpose is. Something you care about. Do it again. Do it again. Do it again. When the thing you write down makes you cry - you've figured it out. Pay off all your loans and all your debts (hopefully you don't have many) and pursue what you were made for! I've not regretted a second here in Russia, because it is what I was made for. If you're having trouble with the above exercise - send me email and I'll talk you through it - seriously.

Miss y'all. PS. Jen, they asked me to pr@y for your plane flight in Phoenix to Cali. So consider that done.