4:30 am or the One Where Jeff realizes that EVERY Wednesday trash pickup is at o'dark hundred

So, I finally figured out why every Wednesday when I get up for Russian lessons, I'm tired. It's because from 4:30am to 5:00am I'm always awake. The trash truck comes to haul away the week's garbage and the bang around metal for about 30 minutes right outside my balcony. I guess that's really it. Just the humor of it had to be shared. I just lay there and pr@y that they can stay warm and thank G-d that I'm in bed and not hauling garbage at 4:30am.

Chocolate chunk cookies or the One Where Jeff Bakes in Russia for the first time.

Today I baked cookies. I couldn’t bake at home, because I don't try my gas oven, I don't have a mixer, and I don't have a cookie sheet. So I went over to Jim and Sally's with a couple of bags full of ingredients and set to work. It was actually quite fun and INCREDIBLY therapeutic, not to mention that the results were quite tasty. It's really interesting how much like home chocolate chip cookies can make a room seem.

I had to buy chocolate bars and crush them up, but the chocolate is actually better here. The vanilla is powdered, so we just guessed and used the whole packet - so that worked great too. I used real butter (Russians don't have margarine or shortening that I know of) and they were SO DELICIOUS! Or I should say are. There are still some remaining.

The intention of making cookies is so that I can share them with my students. We're having a competition this week in class to see who can tongue twist the letter 'w' the best. The winner gets cookies.

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck would chuck wood?"

"Why do you cry, Willy? Why do you cry? Why Willy, Why Willy, Why Willy Why?"

I think they're learning to hate me. Seriously, tongue twisters are an excellent way to learn and practice language. I've already learned three in Russian (although one of them I keep messing up).

I've been surprised how much I enjoy teaching English here and the ministry opportunities that are provided are really awesome. One of my students has already started coming to the center to our D-Club (English discussion club) and others have asked if we can start another D-Club on Thursday nights. I'm also looking into starting an English movie night on Fridays, but I think it'll have to wait for the turn of the new year.

Bitter Wind or The One Where Jeff Learns How to Say Below Zero

It was -6 C this morning when I got up. And the wind is blowing. So a few Russians are starting to say that maybe winter's on the way. Starting to say! It's been snowing (gently) on and off for a couple of days already!

I like it. It's a dry cold, so it's refreshing and makes me feel alive. I definitely need to buy a different coat and some boots here. I don't think that what I have will cut it (suffice). So, I'm going to have to quest this week I think. (Oh, I learned how to say adventure this week too - I like that word a LOT. I don't like the adjective for everyday though… try this on for size: pofsyednyevniy)

Looks like I'll be shopping in the next couple of days for a 'real' coat and 'real' boots. The stuff I brought from America is literally NOT going to cut it.

Heather's Book Or The One Where Jeff Is Flabbergasted At Circumstance

I have some exciting news in the life of my American friends to share with you. My dear and long-time friend Heather Holleman wrote a manuscript for a book about a year ago. She sent it off to an agent this spring and has been waiting very patiently for news. Well, due to a really cool twist of some circumstantial events (and maybe some serious G-d intervention), her book is being read by the head editors at Zondervan!

Here's the story. Heather and Ashley were at a book signing for Phillip Yancy's new book. As Heather approached the head of the line, she told Phillip Yancy that she's working on getting a book published and asked for some advice. Then blink blink blink, he points out the vice-president for marketing at Zondervan who's standing in the room and suddenly Heather is introducing herself. Next thing you know, they're reading her book to check it out! Isn't that cool?

Here's the selfish request. If all goes well with the book and there's a cash advance, Heather's going to send Ashley to Russia to visit! Isn't that great!? So please pr@y that her book gets published. So I know that's selfish - but pr@y that the book gets published anyway as she's awesome and the solid message of her writing should be heard.

Missing Amy Or Jeff Is Close To Sobbing

It's just rough. I miss Amy something fierce. We've figured out that we can send SMS messages though! It only costs 2 rubles. The hard thing is that we only get to talk max 15-20 minutes a week if that. She does have access to email about once a week, but it's hard to not be able to communicate more. I'm hopefully going there to visit her in December. I'm working on getting plane tickets, but the prices are OUT of control.

You Majored in Linguistics? or the One Where Jeff Says 'Ha!' to the Sceptics

Last Week

r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r This is the sound of me rolling my r's. Yes, I did this for 10 minutes straight. I was attempted to perfect the Russian 'r'. It's really not like the Spanish r… it's softer, but still rolled. It's so interesting to try to learn the finer points of pronunciation. But after all, without it the word charcoal becomes corner. I also practiced 't', 'd', 'n', 'ch', and the two Russian variants for the letter 'l'. I'm SO happy that I can at least hear the difference, because it makes it possible to try and work on them. I'm still struggling a lot with one of the Russian vowels. We don't have something like it in English. I imagine it's the sound you make when punched in the gut. 'ii' I can make it sometimes in a word, but not by itself.

Shooting up in the Kitchen or the One Where Jeff Gets His Flu Shot

This morning had a really interesting start. I've become a bit of a night owl since I was in Estonia and I was working until about 3am last night. Just getting stuff pulled together and around for teaching this week. At 9am this morning I heard my doorbell. So I ran to answer it. It was my best pal here in Russia, Sasha. He arrived to inform me that my flu shot had arrived and we set to work.

I have no antiseptic in my house. No alcohol (to drink or to rub), I have no iodine, I have virtually nothing. I have no cologne (sorry Amy - what kind of man am I anyway?) So we used eyeglass cleaner… I have no idea if that's really helpful or not. But anyway - we shot up in the kitchen.

So now I've got my Russian flu vaccination. We'll see if I get the flu or not!

Making Pilmeni and Blini

Turns out that I had a very interesting evening tonight. One of the students at our University is crazy about English. He asked one of the teachers if he would be able to study with me next year (my American teaching methods are creating quite a stir amongst the students - we 'played' market in class to talk about money and they just couldn't believe that we played a game to learn instead of me just talking to them). Anyway - I digress. So Tatiana told him that I wouldn't be here for him to study with me 'on the second course' (which I only barely recognized as sounding strange in English). So he invited me over for an evening of Russian culture with he and some of his friends.

We made homemade pilmeni and blini (pilmeni are the traditional food of Russia - a type of dumpling - although I'd say closer to Chinese potstickers than dumplings -- and blini are very thin, very tasty (um.. I mean delicious) pancakes). I started off rolling the dough for the pilmeni, and eventually I graduated to actually folding the dough around the meat. We boiled them as the staple of dinner. Tasty! And we also had fried eggplant with mayo and garlic -- spicy, but really nice.

They had lots of questions for me (we spoke in English for the first couple hours and then I broke down and started speaking Russian with them -- they really wanted to practice). They wanted to talk about politics, education, American teens, music - and they were especially surprised to learn that Americans are not like the movies. I asked them if Russians were like Russians in American movies (of course not) so why would Americans be the same? It was a good talk.

They gave me some Russian music to listen to on my computer and they all were REALLY excited to meet with me again. I hope that it has potential to develop into a relationship where they might start coming to our center. They're really cool kids. They want to show me some classic Russian films. One of them is called something like the 'white desert'? I think anyway.

It was really interesting to meet some brand new people and to have a chance to just listen a lot. I learned a lot of new words (but I did refuse when they wanted to teach me a bunch of curse words). They kept it clean for me. And they already knew that I wasn't interested in drinking. Word travels fast.

A Language In My Pocket Or The One When Jeff's Palm Gets Updated

I finally have lingvo on my pocket pc! Whoo hoo. Now I'm a translating fool. Lingvo is the world's awesomest computer program for speakers of English and Russian. I'm not kidding. Every idiom in English seems to be in this clever piece of software. Once again - you can thank the amazing Sasha Vassiliev for Jeff being properly connected and up to date with technology. He even helped me find some really cool software for my calendar, etc. My handheld is completely Russified. So I'm learning a lot of technical words too, which is really good for future ministry possibilities. I'm so thankful for his continued friendship and help.

Gasps and a Sharp Intake of Breath or the One Where Jeff Tells His Classes that He Speaks Some Russian

I told my first two groups of students that I understand and speak some Russian today. The first group was really the best - so I'll tell you about that.

We played a 'market' game today talking about supply and demand (I know - since when did I start teaching about things like that?!) Anyway - the key to winning the prize was to do you best AND to speak only English. So anyone who spoke Russian wasn't able to win the candy bar and I got to keep it.

So they were complaining about how hard it was to speak only English and no Russian. "We speak Russian all day long and then we come in here and have to speak only English!" So I answered them in Russian, "Конечно, я понимаю. Я говорю весь, день каждый день по-русски" There was an intake of breath, some laughter and even applause. It was fun to tell them! Then I told them that only I could use Russian in class and only if it was helpful, because they weren't understanding. Sometimes - I just know that it's necessary to help them learn.

The Second class tonight was fun too. I was teaching a tongue twister for pronunciation practice. Russian doesn't have the sound th (either voiced or voiceless) So we have been learning.

Room 333 on the 3rd floor rents for $33.33 every third Thursday.
And
I can think of six thin things, but I can think of six thick things too.

So one of them said - I bet you can't say, "Шла Саша по шоссе и сосала сушку!" So I said it. That was fun too. They clapped. It's a tongue twister that I learned in my Russian classes. I'm learning 3 or them right now to practice the softer sounds of Russian. English is too abrupt and 'hard' It's strange to relearn the sounds t, d, and n. See another blog for that update.

Uncle Jeff Or The One Where Jeff Nearly Bursts Into Tears For Love Of Children

This is an exciting blog entry for me! First, my almost sister in law gave birth last week to Noah Ryan Couch! Congrats to Laura and Nathan! Welcome to the family Noah! You beat me to it by 9 months!

The second part of the Uncle Jeff story involves a little 2 year old named Victoria (everyone at the cultural center calls her Vika). She's a little bundle of joy who comes to our cultural center every day when her mom comes in to clean. She's just a doll and runs around making everyone smile all the time. She's a bit shy and takes quite a while to warm up to people, especially to guys. She's a very special little girl to all of us, because she's the first baby saved at our pregnancy center. Her mother is so thankful that she kept her and everything is working out fine for her. Today Vika called me Dada (don't freak out anyone - remember she speaks Russian!) Dada is like kid-speak for Dyadya which means uncle. I about melted. She came running down the hall where I was studying Russian and jumped up onto my chair and said Dada (very seriously) and pointed to the light switch. We play a game that I smile when the light is on and frown when it's off. I've started teaching her a couple English phrases. She already says "hi" and can gimme 5 and gimme 10. I started with right and left and then remembered that she's 2 and I should cut her some slack.

Part three. I am desperately missing Sarah Holleman and her little sister Baby Kate. BK probably isn't much of a baby anymore. She was just walking when I left and now I'm sure she's a running terror! I'm looking forward to seeing the girls again next year and it's awesome when I talk to her dad on the phone when I get to hear her playing in the background. I'm such a sap for kids.

Behind in blogging

sorry gang, I was behind in the blog-o-sphere again. I just posted 6 new posts dating back to 10/3/06 -- life is getting busier and busier, and I'm so glad that years ago the L0rd helped me to decide to live my "Life on Purpose" Someday if I ever start my own company, that's what I'd call it. Maybe that's why I like Life is Good clothing so much.

I miss you all. Yesterday I got to talk to America with several folks and it was great. Everything from a talk with my brother Will to a fast call to Gail Swenson for help finding a phone number - it was wonderful. When I got to call into the youth group staff meeting and Jay pr@yed for me I almost started crying.

Thank you all so much for your support and just know that you are missed and loved. I have wonderful friends here and am supported here as well, but just knowing that my community in America is behind me is a tremendous comfort.

The Birds or the One Where Jeff fears He's living in a Hitchcock Film

This will be short. There are so many birds outside my apartment that it's creepy. They've just moved in and started roosting in the trees nearby. Please pr@y that they move on. They fly around and are VERY loud. I sleep fine, but it's just creepy.

English Discussion Club or the One Where the Cat is Let Out of the Bag

We had our first English discussion club today. It was awesome! There were at least 10 people there and we got along famously. It was wonderful to know that I'm being helpful to so many people and the topic has been turning to significant matters of life without any intention on my part! It's amazing. One of my students came to the session too. I didn't realize that ALL of my students have class at the time that we've scheduled English discussion club. So he had to skip class to come! (The Russian word for skipping class is something like убежать which literally means to run away). I really enjoyed tonight.

There's only one catch. Larissa, who works at our cultural center, told the whole group that I speak Russian. And one of my students was there. And my students don’t' know that I speak any Russian… so I guess I'll be telling all my classes this week!

Smooth Shoes or the One Where Jeff's Language Deficiencies Cause the First Confusion

So apparently I didn't make myself clear enough when I was at the cobbler. I got new soles on my shoes. I did request this, I think. But it looks like he purposefully sanded off the tread on the shoes so that they're smooth. I guess I used that word a few too many times when I told them about the problem with my shoes. She said when I picked them up that they'd never worked on shoes like mine or had a request quite like it.

So I guess I asked them to do that… but I didn't realize it. So I might be making a visit back there for some traction - because let's face it, a nose dive is in my future if the soles of my shoes are this smooth.

The Sanitarium or the One Where Jeff is Committed

That's right. I spent the weekend at the Sanitarium. The Lingvo Center (the faculty that I'm a part of at the University, that teaches English, French and German) took a weekend retreat to the Sanitarium. A sanitarium though isn't really what the image is that's popping into your mind. It's basically a high level dormitory where people go to 'have a rest.' There's actually a verb in Russian to 'have a rest' and it's a very important part of their culture. So the 10 of us packed an overnight bag and went to have a rest.

Most of the services weren't operating because it was the weekend. So frankly, I was disappointed, because I thought a HOT banya and a massage sounded great after the initial push of the Fall and teaching and lessons and whatnot. But the mineral, hot spring fed pool was operational. So at about 40 degrees some of us went swimming outside in 85 degree water! It was wonderful. Swimming always makes me nice and tired, so I got some hard sleeping done!

In the afternoon, our sportsman, Alexander, helped us all get a workout, by establishing some games and leading us in calisthenics. It felt like 4th grade gym class all over again and was really quite fun… my legs hurt the next day!

In the evening, we had a banquet. It would be too much to say it was in my honor, but I was the focal piece of much of the evening. G0d has been teaching me about humility recently, and I was a bit embarrassed to have so much attention. There was even a series of contests to see if I could pass muster (that idiom is for you Zhanna) and be accepted as a lecturer in the department. That was bordering on humiliating because I didn't understand the Russian very well at that point in time. They asked me to take a series of fake 'teaching oaths' and I didn't know more than 25% of the language. Humility is good, but humiliation isn't. They took pity on me, but were disappointed.

That's really hard for me to disappoint others. I'm a people pleaser at heart. My language skills are continuing to improve, but I think pretty much everyone thinks I'm doing better than I really am. I can do much better when I'm speaking, because I get to choose the words I already know to express myself. And in one-on-one situations I do much better than in group situations where multiple people speak at once. Brain fry sets in earlier when there are lots of people talking.

Front Page News

Today I became famous at our University. Seems as though the small interview that Vicky (an Englishwoman working in the volunteer program at Neftegas) and I gave on Wednesday was made into a quick article on the HOMEPAGE of the Universities website. Luckily, today it's already moved to the homepage of just our division of the University.

Foreigners are big news here, so we made front page coverage. Vanity also prevailed, because my first emotion when I saw the pictures in the article was… "Why did she have to show the back of my head?!) (my bald spot is in full view of the entire world!) Then I just had a good laugh about it and moved on with my futile attempts to read the article quickly like I could just scan it and move on.

The great thing about trying to read an article like that though, is that I pick up bits of new vocabulary all the time.

For example: I learned the word power supply from an email from Sasha about the USB Hub I'm getting for my computer. I learned the word method from a conversation with Igor about how we capture our thoughts to plan for the future, and I learned the word 'dirty-faced' while memorizing tongue twisters for pronunciation practice!

The Cobbler or the One Where Jeff Gets His Shoes Fixed

Yeah, so it's been raining for days. And on my way to the University this morning through the puddles and the muck, I about did a header. I knew that my shoes were a bit to smooth to trust them, but I only have one pair of black shoes - and everyone knows that Russian men wear as much black as possible. (quick survey of students shows that of 50 men, 47 are wearing black coats - not exaggerating if you're wondering).

So, with the help of my trusty friend Sasha, I found the local cobbler. Turns out he's actually in my building. So I took my shoes and entertained the ladies at the cobbler shop. I was their first American visitor! They were very patient, kind, and frankly… fascinated. It was fun to speak with them and they were very encouraging. Because, well, let's face it - talking about shoes is some specialized vocabulary. I don't know how to say sole, heel, shine, traction, slip or anything like that. So it came out more like: my shoes are smooth. I don't want them to be smooth. Can you make them not smooth?

Amy in Africa or the One Where Jeff's Heart Starts Breaking

Amy is in Africa! I can't believe that she's finally there. After almost a year of waiting to get to the field, she's finally flown to Kenya. She's about halfway between Nairobi and Naroq, living in the bush and working with the Masai tribe. She's with a group called CMF International and specifically her ministry is called Community Health Ev-ngelism. This means that she'll be teaching locals about the AIDS epidemic and how they can prevent its spread through community education. This is a really cool method for instruction and sharing the Message.

Basically the G-spel message is embedded in the community health messages about AIDS. Kenyan Nationals (community leaders) are taught this system and then they in turn go back to their communities and teach their friends and neighbors! Such a cool program, huh?

Well anyway - we could use tons of your pr@yer about Amy in Kenya. Here are the quick details. It is very expensive for me to call Amy in Kenya and even more expensive for her to call me in Russia from Kenya. Amy doesn't have easy access to the phone and we can maybe talk once a week for 5 minutes or so. This is much worse than we initially thought and we're very sad about it. Although she does have internet access there, it is also only once a week and she has to pay by the minute! So we're going to be writing emails and letters mostly to communicate.

Also, I'm planning to go to Africa to visit Amy in December/January sometime and so far it's MUCH more expensive than I ever dreamed. (funny - that's more of a Russian construction than English -- why didn't I say imagined?) Anyway - it looks right now like it'll be upwards of $2500 to go and visit her, but I'm committed to making this happen.

Please be pr@ying for her as it's a much different situation there than what I've got here in Russia. I knew so many people before I even came and am already very plugged into community here. Although Amy is part of a larger team, she and her partner Helen are very isolated and experiencing the first pangs of homesickness!

Police at the Market

Today I was at the market getting some ground beef for dinner and I thought. I bet my friends in America would like to see what the market looks like. There are several markets where I regularly shop and I knew that the Central Market would allow me to buy beef for 1/2 kilo (instead of a whole kilo which is 2.2 lbs).

When I was there I thought I'd snap a photo for you all. Well, I guess that wasn't a good idea. Turns out that a security/militia man came over and watched as I deleted the three photos I'd taken in the market.

Strawberry Juice

What more needs to be said? It's incredible. I found it at the store. Delicious. And it's just like any other juice here. Flavors are so interesting: peach nectar, apple, grape, tomato, strawberry, mors… mmmm Mors - um… it's a national Russian berry

Building Houses or The One Where Jeff is Readining Haggai 1

Whoa. Honestly this is a bit of a butt kicker. I was reading about the return of the Jewish people to Jerusalem. They didn't want to start rebuilding the temple right away because they were busy setting their own affairs in order.

It hit me pretty hard as a guy who spent the bulk of the day yesterday cleaning his apartment. yes, I do need to set my own affairs in order, certainly, but it was just a very thought provoking read. I'm here this year in Russia to learn Russian... there's a Russian verb for what I'm really supposed to do выусить - it means to learn completely. I know that this serves the Father and it's my primary aim, but when opportunities arise for other things - I never know if I should say yes or no and there are more opportunities than I could possibly do. I've said yes to too many I think. So now I'm trying to cut back as to not be overwhelmed and especially so that I don't become ineffective.

Okay - Just a quick rant about how much Hag. 1 struck me.

Revival or the one where Jeff gets really excited at Sunday service

Sunday service today ROCKED. I'm not sure exactly what about it was so awesome, but it really was. Jim was actually the main man up front sharing the message today and the topic was Communion. The mood was serious, but appropriate. Zhanna interpreted the message.

There were SO many people there. I think a lot showed up to hear Jim speak? There were certainly more men at the service than I've seen in a very very long time. I think more than I've ever seen.

I was SO great.

I was pretty down yesterday and it was just awesome to know that He's got my back. I feel bounced back! Yippie!

Little Stress Monster Or The One Where Jeff Describes The Knot In His Back

I really have no intention of being a downer, but I do want to be honest. For an unspecified single reason, I'm really stressed out right now. I think that it's really a conglomeration of multiple very minor stresses that have combined to form an army against me.

I'm really doing okay, especially now that things are quiet on the home front and I've decided that I really need to take a day off from other people. Which for an extrovert like me is odd, but still very important.

Mexican or The One Where Jeff drools while Cooking

Tonight I had company over for dinner… I made Mexican! Taco Salad and spicy rice! Here's a special shout out to Miss Amy! Thanks so much for sending the taco seasoning!!! I wasn't able to find tortillas (although I'm told that they can be found somewhere in the city!) I did find tortillas chips (spicy ones) though. So - anyway it was really tasty. It's amazing how much familiar food can do to bolster your soul, huh?

Now if I could just find spicy chicken with peanuts! Can't wait to find Chinese somewhere here! That would rock the house!

(I have to be honest though, there is lots of good spicy food here - Korean food has influenced the Russians in a VERY good way!)

Ending The Silence Or The One Where Jeff Starts Blogging Again

Sorry about the lack of blogging in the last week or so. There is much to tell as I've been so busy I couldn't even get enough sleep let alone sit down to type. Entries go back to 9/16/06. St. Petersburg

Toenail or the One where You get Grossed out looking at Jeff's feet

You've been asking to see it, so here it is. The long awaited photo of my feet with missing toenails. So the first phone is the first toenail that I lost. The second photo shows my left foot with one toenail gone already and the third toenail I lost before it decided to hit the road.

Notice the incredibly flat feet of yours truly while you're at it.

Roommate

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you, Vadim, my new roommate. Vadim is a pastor in the village of Troitsky about 1.5 outside of Tyumen. He's making some plans to start a new group here in Tyumen. As it turns out, he's looking for some temporary lodgings for a couple of months for about half of the week.

So we struck a bargain! So far it's been okay. I've been learning a heck of a lot about myself. I guess the #1 thing that I've learned so far is that I really lived for too long by myself. I'm just used to things being the way that I expect all the time. There's at least a dozen other small things that I'm figuring out about myself too. I think it's great (even though it's hard).

I'm pretty sure that I'm being prepared by G0d to do a better job being a husband - cause certainly I'll be having a roommate for the rest of my life now!

Sweet 16, again? Or the One Where Jeff starts driving in Russia

Today was pretty cool. Jim and Sally have visitors from America and they wanted to see the location of our summer camp program. So we all packed into the car (5 of us) and headed off to Gurino! The part about this trip that was different from usual trips is that I DROVE! That's right, my AAA international driver's license got it's first (and second) work out today.

It was really interesting actually. The first thing that was so strange (and made me really uncomfortable) is that you don't have to wear your seat belt. So I didn't fell like I was safe. I put it on anyway and then it was much more like normal driving. The roads are okay, but in some spots you can't even believe that it's road… it's like driving through a moon crater. No automatic steering is something I haven't experienced in a while either, but then again - you get used to that quickly.

Special thanks to Dad for teaching me to drive a stick early. That, at least, was no big deal.

Washing Machine Part II

Spring Freshness is the smell permeating the air of my apartment! Yes, that's right. Snuggles the bear has visited, and my washing machine is working! Sasha stopped by again tonight for 3 more hours of work and I know have 3 rooms in the house with grounded plugs (the bathroom, kitchen and study!) Woo-hoo.

I've already washed two loads of laundry and the fresh smell is every where. The washer is so CUTE you won't believe it!

I just took pictures, but it's a little hard to get good perspective. The bathroom is too small to really get a good shot. Here's the scoop: it's not even waist high. It can clean 3 kilograms of laundry at a pop and the cycle takes about 1:45 to run through. But the clothes come out nearly clean (it spins at 700 rotations a minute!) So My clothes will be dry overnight instead of taking several days!

I'm really so excited I could dance. It used to take me 5 hours to get all my laundry done and wringing it out by hand was so tiresome! I have a new appreciation for hard work though, that's for sure!

I really had a good time helping Sasha install the washer and I learned a LOT of new Russian words… who knew that I'd know how to say hammer drill or screw driver, or wire or conduit? I really only recognize them when someone else says them right now, but eventually they will be mine!

SIDE NOTE: yesterday when I was talking with Sasha, I said the word 'yesterday' in English while I was speaking Russian… with a Russian accent! Isn't that funny? I had a really good laugh about it!

Master and Apprentice: the Washing Machine Saga (Part I)

How many men does it take to buy and install a washing machine? This question might be better phrased, how many HOURS does it take to buy and install a washing machine.

This morning Sasha greeted me promptly at 9am for our trip to Mir (World) to buy my new washing machine. We had already met on Thursday to scope out the prices and features of machines (and sizes! You'd never believe how cute and small my washing machine is).

So here's the run down of our 14 hour day.

The Washing Machine

□ 9am - 9:30 I eat breakfast to fuel up for the day. walk and bus ride to Mir

□ 9:30am - 10 scope out the machine and talk to Yura about it.

o Turns out that there's a special sale and every hour the discount changes

□ 10am - 11 wait for an hour to see if we can get a better discount. Search for miscellaneous parts that we need to attach the machine to the sink in the bathroom, yes the washing machine is in my bathroom (the store doesn't have any of the parts we need).

□ 11am - 11:30 we achieve a 15% discount and save over $80 on my washing machine with discounts!!!

□ 11:30am Driver meets us to take the machine home!

□ 12:00pm - 1 we fiddle around with the insides of the machine and make sure everything looks like it's working.

□ 1pm - 2:30 we hike to the tool market and buy the necessary items to hook up the machine AND ground 3 outlets in the house… yes - that's right - it's totally sweet working on do-it-yourself projects with Russians, because they're all electricians, and really really handy!

□ 2:30pm - 3:15 lunch. I heat up some blini (pancakes) and we fuel up again.

Electricity

□ 3:15pm - 3:30 we realize that we don't have all the things that we need….

□ 3:30pm - 4:45 we go to Sasha's to pick up some supplies, head off to a different market to buy a few other things and Sasha shows me the best places to buy cheese, milk, bread, veggies, and a few other key items!

□ 4:45pm - 11 we work almost nonstop to get everything done. We literally have only inches of extra electrical wire and conduit. And… we aren't finished.

Stay tuned for Part II: was it worth shedding blood or clean clothes are worth the wait

Yeah, we had a small accident and there was actually blood. Unfortunately not mine. I'm feeling really humbled about how much I've been helped today and I know there is nothing I can really do in return. It's so awesome to have friends who are genuine and just love to serve. Sasha's help really reminded me today about how J-sus loves and serves and requires nothing in return.

Teaching Or The One Where Jeff Discovers He Doesn't Like Chalk

So I taught my first 2 classes today! To be honest I was certainly nervous before the first one started, but just moments into the lesson all was good. I have about 25 students in each of my 4 classes. They are all studying their second year of college English (they are all minoring in English to be translators).

The classes are grouped by English ability so on Wednesdays I have the weakest 2 groups. The first group was quite afraid of speaking English at first, but I helped to loosen them up with some humor and reminding them that making mistakes is part of anyone's language learning. Making a mistake is required to get better at any language…

The toughest part of the whole thing is that the faculty department wants me to do my best to keep the students from knowing that I understand any Russian. This is because they want the students to speak English (which of course is what I want too).

It's really hard to not speak Russian with them at all and to not respond to any of their Russian questions… Plus in the faculty office students come in to talk to me when I'm there - and I have to use an interpreter! It's funny, huh?

So we use chalkboards and chalk, and the chalk is really flaky... well, let's just say that I'm covered in chalk most of the time on Wednesdays and Fridays... all over my clothes!

First Day Of Class Or The One Where Jeff Gets Russian Grammar Lessons In Russian

Surprise! Today I showed up at a meeting with my new Russian teacher. She's the director of the Russian language program (translation she teaches Russian teachers who to teach Russian).

The incredible part of this is that she doesn't speak English… So I'm learning Russian in Russian. The toughest part is probably the grammar - so I'm starting to cram grammar terminology so that I can keep up!

I've learned a ton already - and my comprehension levels are already on the rise. The crazy thing is that she's really into my pronunciation - so that means I'm memorizing tongue twisters in Russian to perfect my vowel and noun sounds.

Oven

I know this is silly - but small victories are important to celebrate. I lit my gas oven all by myself today. I've really never used a gas stove and I'll be honest that they scare me a little bit. No pilot lights here so....

anyway - I said a pr@yer and jumped in. Not the oven!

Anyway - I'm making pizza. And I'm drinking coke. I know, I know. It's a lame sell-out, but every once in a while - it's okay. I let myself eat 'American' maybe once a week.

Test!

Today I had several meetings at the University to get everything squared away before we begin (tomorrow). Everything went great. But I was surprised that Nina (the coordinator of this whole arrangement) called Tatiana (my Russian teacher) and set up another meeting with her TODAY!

So suddenly I'm in chairman of the Russian Language Program's office talking with the Director about my goals and why I want to study Russian (in Russian!) She asked me several questions, then asked if I would read some sentences for her and fill in the blanks.

She left the room. I said a prayer.

She returned with a book for me to read, the word 'TEST' was written on the cover. Ah ha! I'm being placed in my Russian ability. Yikes!

I made LOTS of mistakes, but overall she was very pleased and decided that I can continue to study with her! Phew! She assigned homework for tomorrow and is going to quiz me on noun endings and verbs tomorrow. She is very excited about my linguistic background and that I am 'not afraid' to speak. Ha! If she only knew.

Apparently lots of foreign language students don't like to talk... But if I'm ever going to get there... I gotta talk.

Many Blogs

Sorry that there are so many new blogs today. I've been writing all along, but didn't really have an opportunity to post until now. I'm really loving the 'journal' aspect of the blog and keeping y'all updated, but I especially love when you email me or send comments along - it's really nice to know that we're still connected, even though I'm so far away - and for those of you reading that I don't know… nice to meet you. Maybe someday I'll hear from you or get a chance to meet you.

You need to go all the way back to September 13 to see all the ones that just got posted... so to overwhelm!

Firsts

That's this week. A big week of firsts. Today had two firsts already. First snowfall (no joke - it's 5 degrees Celsius right now - September 18!). And my first meeting as an instructor. The funny humor in that is that I THOUGHT it was a meeting to make up for missing school last week. Turns out it's a meeting for establishing me as an instructor. It went well and was almost completely in Russian! Whoa.

Can you believe it snowed today? The heat isn't turned on in my apartment yet either - don't know when it gets turned on. Lucky I trained for cold in America first!

I also meet tomorrow to discuss my Russian lessons and to coordinate with the other English teachers. Crazy!

Upside Down

I've gone from nothing to do all day to busyness overnight. My schedule has just packed. I have 2 meetings today and 4 tomorrow, 4 on Wednesday, 2 on Thursday and 3 on Friday. Yikes, it's only Monday. What just happened? I'm excited though. I'm meeting today about my Russian lessons and what I missed last week. And tomorrow I'm meeting about teaching and what I missed. I'm kinda nervous though…

St. Petersburg or the One where Jeff goes to the Hermitage Museum

Have you ever just been blown away by the beauty of art? Well, a visit to the Hermitage museum will do that. It's one of the most famous collections of art in the world. It's HUGE. It's housed in the winter palace of Peter the Great and the subsequent tsars/ tsarinas of Russia (and a few other buildings). The collection is phenomenal. Everything from a peacock clock made of gold that moves, to paintings, to statues, to glass, to tapestries… they have some of everything. And such famous works of art.

Strong points of the Hermitage collection of Western art include Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens, van Dyck, Rembrandt, Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Watteau, Tiepolo, Canaletto, Canova, Rodin, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Cezanne, van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso, and Matisse. (from Wikipedia.org)

My favorite was certainly the Rembrandt room. It blew my mind. The Return of the Prodigal Son is one of the most incredible manmade things I've ever seen. It's truly brought about a feeling a reverence and an understanding that G0d will always receive us back, no matter what we do. The thought of that kind of forgiveness was awe inspiring.

I got to spend a good chunk of the day with V, a friend of a friend of Amy (thanks Angie!) She's there studying Russian to be deployed to the interior of Central Asia. And … she has a degree in fine art! Have you ever been to a museum with someone who actually knows about art? It was really cool!

After the museum we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then crossed the Neva River to the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Random aside: did I already tell you that St. Petersburg has the deepest subway system in the world? It's because the whole city is built on swamps. You ride the escalator for 4 minutes before you get down…

Circus Clown

The twists and turns of my life keep on their typical pattern. I am NOT complaining, just amazed at how full and interesting my life can be.

I was supposed to meet a friend of a friend of Amy's (it's fun in Russian this is really cool, but lots of grammar involved: подруга подруги Эми). We discussed meeting between 4 and 4:20. So of course, it was Rush Hour on the subway and I arrived at 4:22. So I missed her. So I decided to make the best of the situation and pulled out my trusting, shiny map. I found my location and looked to see what was nearby. The St. Petersburg circus. Sweet. I was so exhausted at that point - sitting and being entertained sounded great!

Unfortunately, it had already started. And there were no tickets available. I started to walk away - and then I thought to ask again… the Russian way. Were there any possibilities? She directed me to the woman at the entrance. 100 Rubles later ($4) I was in the door. It was almost intermission, and I got seated in the 3rd row - almost dead center.

There were two acts to start the second half and I'm always impressed and the physical prowess of the acrobats! And the clowns are so funny! I kinda get weirded out by the animal acts (although for some reason not elephants). Anyway - the third act of the second half was a clown number. He started picking people out of the audience and suddenly - I'm in a costume and part of the circus! My life is so crazy - sometimes I can't even believe what I've experienced! I was a circus clown in St. Petersburg. That's gotta be a chapter of my life story someday.

No Room at the Inn

Okay - so I can't say that I know how Mary and Joseph felt when they were turned away at the inn in Bethlehem, but I can tell you that I know what it feels like to be turned away from the Inn(s). I've been in St. Petersburg for 4 hours and I still haven't secured a hotel. I've been to the Hotel Russia, the Parkinskaya Hotel, Hotel Russ, the hotel across the street from the Hotel Russ, the Pilgrim Hotel, and I'm sitting in the lobby of the Hotel Sovietskaya (but it has a different name now so when I found it, I thought I was in the wrong place)

… anyway - the woman at the reception desk told me to take a seat for an hour and they would likely have a room for me. So here I sit waiting. 25 people just walked in and have formed a line at the desk. I know that this has already happened, but G0d exists outside of time. Would you pr@y that I'd be able to get a room here? It's pretty close to the best price I've seen too. The rooms have been VERY expensive -- the two places that had rooms were $180 and $220. I just can't AFFORD that. So here's hoping that there will be room here.

The trip from Estonia was fine. Nothing really happened. I also didn't sleep very much. At first I thought it was totally deluxe for sleeping. 5 seats across the back of the bus and I was in seat 1 and another guy in seat 5. But the bus stopped and picked up several soldiers at the border and a VERY large soldier sat next to me. And to be honest, he sorta crushed me against the wall of the bus. So I was uncomfortable. But I was VERY thankful that he used dial. (you know, the old soap commercials?)

Photos of St. Petersburg #1

Photo Set #1 of St. Petersburg, clockwise from upper-left. 1) Statue of Peter the Great on the banks of the Neva River. 2) The Kazakh Palace. 3) The sky the night I was in Pete's 4) The subway in Pete's : note how steep it is 5) McDonald's - it's everywhere.

Photos of Tallinn

A bunch of photos at long last of me in Tallinn.

	Clockwise from top left. 1) Me in the park at the top of the fortress Toompei. 2) Long leg, the longest part of the surviving Medieval wall. 3) the spiral I use in my room to heat water. 4) One of the Meidieval towers: Kiik in the Kook 5) The Old Town meets the New town.

A Tale of Two Documents

Amy and I must be connected in ways unknown to us already. My visa came today. Amy found out that she's going to Africa today. I've been waiting for my visa to go back to Russia for 3 weeks. She's been waiting for her paperwork to go to Africa since April sometime. And they both came on the same day. Isn't that cool? I love how G0d does stuff like that. Her visa didn't come yet, but her organization decided that she'll just apply for a 3 month tourist visa in Kenya and wait for the work visa to come while she's there. If the work visa still doesn't come in 3 more months she'll apply for a 6 month visa

I've been reading the book of Romans (Amy and I finish it tomorrow actually) and I'm just amazing at G0d's timing on things. Paul wanted to go to Rome on his way to Spain. So what happens? He ends up in Rome. Why was that? Was the plan changed in the middle or was it Paul's plan all along and never really G0d's plan at all? I don't know. I'm not enough of a scholar on these matters to really be discussing them.

But it really got me thinking and so thankful that all throughout the 'judging' as Amy and I call it (M evaluation) and through training with MTI, they stress so much about knowing that you are called to the work and to the place where you're going. It's so nice to have the confirmation though when the actual paperwork comes in and the tickets are purchased.

So we're going to be spending 9 months on different continents and neither one in America. So strange! So put on your pr-yer caps, because I am now going to try and arrange a visit to Africa this winter to see her. I'm sure it'll be complicated, but with G0d - all things are possible.

Losing some of my American nature

I realized today that I am sitting like a European man. My legs are crossed knee on knee and not ankle on knee. It's not as physically comfortable, but it seems more normal. I think maybe it's because physical space is so different here. People are much more likely to sit nearly on top of you as much as next to you.

That's really it. I just realized this and thought I'd share it with you. The proximity doesn't bother me either (as long as they've bathed at least as recently as I have).

Visa

That's all I gotta say. It's in my hand. I leave Estonia tomorrow. I'll update you with more later.

Getting Married

So - the word is out. I think that everyone has officially been told, so the news is now going internet public! I'm getting married… well, really we're getting married. You've been reading plenty about Amy on the blog (especially while she was here this summer) - but now I'm announcing to the world the happiest news of all! We're gonna tie the knot, get hitched, and spend the rest of our lives together! I don't really have words to express how thrilled I am about this (and for me to not have words is, of course, rare). Here's what I guess you could call our engagement picture! The wedding is next summer. I could go on and on… well, okay.

Amy is incredible. We met at training for the field in January. She's a trained junior/ senior high science teacher with her degree in Chemistry. And let me tell you, the chemistry is there! She's got an incredible personality and her smile lights up any room (sorry 'bout the gushy). She's fun loving and very spontaneous. She loves running and did cross country in college and has done numerous races - including a 1/2 marathon. Yikes. Her family is wonderful (4 girls!) and very close knit. She has a huge network of friends and is really well loved and dedicated to her friendships.

Phobias

I don't really have a whole lot in the line of phobias. But let me share a two part story with you about one of my phobias. I kinda freak out about stray, foreign, long hair. Like - someone's hair and I don't know it's origin. I especially fear such hair in food and the shower. I don't know the origins of this fear, only that it strikes deep within my heart to an irrational place.

Two days ago, I was eating breakfast/lunch in my favorite internet buffet. (Yes, you know where this is going.) Well, in order to stretch out the amount of time that I feel comfortable as a patron of said café, I usually eat as SLOWLY as possible. This means that I got my bowl of muesli (granola) and the milk separately. So the milk was in a drinking glass. That way, it's not soggy.

I'm happily typing away on the computer, I half glance at the bowl to steady my spoon for a bite and I put the spoon in my mouth and start chewing. There is a VERY long hair IN MY MOUTH. I have no napkin. I can't just spit, and I have a FULL mouth of food. I'm not sure how to adequately describe it, so let's just say: "It wasn't pretty."

Scene.

This morning, I was in the shower getting ready. Now I'm not a total freak, nor do I think this phobia is completely strange or out of place. But having said phobia, I don't like to touch the walls or curtain in the shower in a foreign hotel room. It's clean in here, but you know what I'm saying I think.

So I'm in a new room the past 2 days and it's not a renovated room and isn't nearly as nice. And the shower is very tiny. You have to stand directly in the center to not touch the walls. I can't bend over to wash my feet really without touching the walls.

Okay - so you know what it's like now.

So I'm in the shower this morning and the person who shares the adjoining room flushed their toilet, or turned on their water or something. This jacked up my water supply and suddenly scalding (and I'm not talking hot, I'm talking flesh peeling scalding) water starts jetting onto my back. So here I am faced with the horror of either flaying my skin off with water or touching the walls/curtain of the shower.

Needless to say I survived the ordeal (I flung myself at the curtain). Now I have a phobia about slimy mildew on shower curtains. I showered again.

American laughter

A couple of days ago I realized that there's been something missing from my life for a while. Laughter - good old fashioned, belly rocking yucks. I don't laugh a whole lot when I'm alone by myself. So I knew I had to fix that.

So I went to a web site that's all the rage with college students and looked up funny/humor/cartoon. And I spent about an hour snorting and guffawing to the hysterics of Pat and Stanley (highly recommended) and stupid pet videos. It was so great. I probably lost a kilo (not really) just laughing. It was great. And I wanted to share it with you all.

I'll add a link to Pat and Stanley - it's a French animator - but the Lion Sleeps tonight sung by an animated hippo and dog is worth the watch (if you have a fast connection).

The One Where Jeff Applies for His Visa!

Today at 3pm it finally happened.  Yes, the invitation arrived by courier!  I was bummed at first because the consulate's posted hours are from 9am - 12pm on Mondays -- so I missed the opportunity to apply for the visa today.  But I had a question for the consulate, so I called them.  And they were open for business.

 

So I booked it across town and applied for my visa!  I hardly had to wait at all... to turn in the paperwork.  Then I waited for about 30 minutes for the woman to give me a bill so that I could pay at the cashier.  So I’m all proud of myself, I even remembered to bring extra rubles with me so that I could pay at the embassy.  But this is Estonia.  They don't want rubles - they want Kroon.  So I had to give up my spot in line and walk myself to the nearest ATM and get Kroon.  The woman at the cashier was REALLY nice and it's paid for!!!

 

On Wednesday at 4pm I will have my VISA.

 

Then things get complicated.  The flight leaving Estonia on Wednesday is in the morning.  There is no overnight bus on Wednesday.  There are no flights on Thursday.  So, I'm going to book passage on the overnight bus to St. Petersburg on Thursday.  (that saves the cost of a hotel on Thursday night!)  I'll book a hotel in St. Petersburg for Friday night (that you online booking!) and then I'll have the day on Friday and Saturday in St. Pete's.  My flight on Saturday will be a doozy!  Zhanna and Sergei will work on getting me a ticket to Tyumen, but here's the funny part: the flight leaves at 11:55pm and arrives at 2:55am.  Wow.  Welcome home Jeff!  21 days.  I'll have been gone for 21 days.  

 

In some ways it seems so strange that this chapter of my life is over.  I feel like I've moved to another city or something.  I have only 1 real conversation daily when Amy calls me (and email conversations with you all that are saving my life here).  Will I be able to converse with other people?  Will I be overly clingy?  Do I still know how to speak Russian?  I'm a bit worried about that.  Yeah, I have chances to speak Russian here, but nothing complicated.

 

Thank you all so much for your pr-yers and for helping me through this time.  It has been so much better knowing that you're all behind me and carrying me through.  Спасибо! As we say in Russia!

Liturgy

I found an English speaking Sunday service.  Yes!  It was in an old, beautiful church and they actually had communion too.  The sermon was actually very dry and incredibly short (about 5 minutes) because the entire service was liturgy.  So I just enjoyed the feel of a very old, established place of G-d and pr-yed mostly.  They did offer communion to anyone who is baptized and believes in the Trinity.  So I went.  This is the funny part of this story.  Why didn't I think about the fact that the grape juice was going to be wine?  Why didn't I just breathe in through my nose as the cup was placed at my lips?  I don't know.  But let's just say that when someone gulps and sputters during communion it sort of attracts attention and looks strange.

 

Hi, I'm Jeff - the American who can't take a drink out of a cup!  Gawsh (that was from Napoleon Dynamite)

Eating Chinese

So I finally broke down and went to the Chinese place that I found about 10 minutes from the hotel.  I ordered take out.  It was fantastic.  And spicy.  Here's the funny story:

 

So I'm walking down this ancient cobblestone street in a medieval town.  It's literally a throwback on this one street - the original fortress wall is still standing.  And then… Mr. Wong's is just there.  Big, hanging, red lanterns and bright colors and everything.  It's like something out of the Twilight Zone!  So the mouth-watering vapors draw me in and I can't resist any longer.

 

"Chicken with peanuts… and make it a little spicy?" I saw in my flawed Russian.  "Does it come with rice?"  She tells me no, so I ask for some rice too.  Here's the part where the story gets both confusing and funny.

 

She says, it'll be 90 extra.  (about 12 Kroons (crones) to the dollar and I'm thinking that she means .90 EEK)  No big deal.  No, I got charged like $8 to have RICE with my CHINESE food?!  Did you already know that I'm horrible at math?  Well, I am - and I didn't really figure it out until I was walking home (I just called my hotel room home - that's pathetic!) happily with my take out.  Eeegads!  But it was GOOD - and the first hot meat I've had in several days.

Legwarmers - a very short blog

Can you believe that legwarmers are in fashion here in Estonia? No joke. Legwarmers. It's like part of the 80's all over again.

That's it.

The sleep cycle of the owl: I'm officially nocturnal

I didn't realize this was starting to happen until it was in full swing, but to cope with being alone all the time, I think I’m becoming a serious night owl (сава) as my Russian friends have taught me.

You see, it's normal to be alone after 10pm at night. Sitting at your desk, reading, watching old episodes of television, practicing typing in Russian. But it's not normal to be alone from say 9am - 12pm. So my schedule has just gradually been shifting while I've been here in Estonia.

Last night it was 3 before I got into bed and it was 4 before I could sleep! So I woke up at 9am when my alarm went off and thought, I'll just nap for a few more minutes… 3 hours later it's noon and I just got up. I'm really not okay with that. Although the same number of hours will be used today for tasks and stuff - it's just too late to get up. So I'm gonna work on changing my sleep cycle back to normal.

PLUS - Tyumen is 3 hours different than Estonia so it's really like going to bed at 6 or 7am. So - I gotta switch back.

Unisex to the extreme

Today I had an interesting adventure. I spent the bulk of the day today planning for teaching English as a second language to University students in Tyumen. It was really quite fun and I liked having not only a 'task' to do today, but a challenge to focus on. I've taught before, but never English. And I want to make sure that my class is interesting and something that they WANT to come to.

At any rate, I digress.

So I spent a large portion of the day (maybe 4 hours) at the internet buffet. Yes, that's right. The internet buffet, it's not an internet café. Look out - the pounds are coming back. And after several hours, I, of course, needed the restroom. But there really aren't public restrooms in abundance in Europe. I was at a shopping mall though, and I thought I'd seen a sign for restrooms.

So I checked it out.

It was one of those outside door, foyer type numbers where you go through a door and then choose gals or guys and enter for 'resting'. Well, that's not really what it was. It was a TRUE unisex. Men and women, boys and girls - everyone in the same room. It was strange enough for me to just walk in the door, let alone… rest. So I notice that all the men are on the left side of the room. Naturally, I move toward that side of the room. That is until I realize that there are only urinals on that side of the room and although I like to think of myself as a liberated, culturally groovy American. This is something that I am still not comfortable doing. So I embarrass myself (the preferable way) and wait with the women for one of the stalls.

Only a few people looked at me funny. But I'm used to that now. I'm a stranger in a foreign land.

Nutella: and breaking down

Well kids. Today I broke down. I have been in Estonia for 12 days. I've been eating bread, cheese, dried meat, fruit, milk, cereal, soda sometimes, and once in a while going to the local internet buffet (yes, internet buffet - I love that). Anyway. Today I broke down in the grocery store. I bought nutella. I don't know what else to eat anymore. It's so - I'm hiking through Europe - but I know what it is! I don't have access to microwave or any way to heat food (I can boil water though). I can't store food for longer than a couple hours - no refrigerator. So I bought nutella today and had it on a croissant as dinner. And some pepsi - mmmm. Pepsi made me really happy today. And I've had ramen noodles 3 times too. So - what are your suggestions? Send me some suggestions - either via email or post a comment to this blog. I'm totally at a loss for what to eat. I'm bored with food suggestions.

Techno-geek update.

Today I also broke down and replaced my mouse. I've been using the computer a bunch lately -- downloading files for teaching English! Woo-hoo. And I finally figured out how to put video files on my iPod (special thanks to Aaron).

Always exactly what we need.

Whoa. I just opened up my Book program on my computer and it's been a while since I've used the electronic version. It opens automatically with Oswald Chambers' book My Utmost for His Highest, this is the September 6 entry:

“He who believes in Me … out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).

A river reaches places which its source never knows. And J-sus said that, if we have received His fullness, “rivers of living water” will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow—“This is the work of G-d, that you believe …” (John 6:29). G-d rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others.

A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever. Do you see G-d using the lives of others, but an obstacle has come into your life and you do not seem to be of any use to G-d? Then keep paying attention to the Source, and G-d will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of G-d overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focused on the Source. Never allow anything to come between you and J-sus Chr-st—not emotion nor experience—nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.

Think of the healing and far-reaching rivers developing and nourishing themselves in our souls! G-d has been opening up wonderful truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is another indication of the wider power of the river that He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that G-d has developed and nourished in you mighty, rushing rivers of blessing for others.

My Life as a Roller Coaster

Estonia and all is fine. Sorry it's so long.>

Today the happy news arrived! My invitation has come to Tyumen. Zhanna being swift and ever efficient had it scanned and to me via email before I was even awake today! So as soon as I got the email, I sprung into action! The file was copied onto my computer. I rushed back to my hotel room to copy it to my jump drive. The hotel clerk was kind enough to let me behind the desk to print the document! And he's off!

I've been tracing the route to and from the Embassy for nearly a week - so I know exactly where I'm going. I have my forms written out in duplicate, I have my photos, I have my passport (and the photocopy I made so that I still have the info when they have my passport! Here's to good thinking! ) I'm a bit under the wire as the Embassy only accepts new visa applications until 12pm. So I'm close to running across old town.

I get to the embassy and at the last minute remember that I need to use a different entrance in order to apply for my visa. So I go around the back. And I open the embassy door for the first time.

There's a metal detector of course, and a cacophony of Russian. It kinda feels like home to be honest to hear this much Russian all at once. So I go up the first window and start reading so I go to the correct one. It isn't the right one. I try the next one. And the next. Well, at the next one (it's the wrong one too) there's no one there. So I ask. Number 2.

Of course, it's the LONGEST line. So I wait and it really goes relatively quickly. I'm a bit nervous and I chatter a bit with the woman in line behind me. And finally it's my turn!

I push my paperwork toward the official and as soon as I slide my passport through, she looks up at me and says, "Вы говорите по-русски?" I'm so happy that I can answer her, that 'yes, I speak Russian, if poorly" and she says, great. Then she mumbles to herself for a moment and looks up. She says that she's sorry, but they need an original copy of the invitation. And she pushes the paperwork back to me.

That's it. I have to wait. Can you believe it? I don't know why we thought that a copy would be okay, I guess we were just hoping. I even tried to give her what was on my jump drive, but that's the same thing she said. "Wait for the original in the mail, then come back, then 3 days for processing."

To all who have been pr-ying, thank you. The invitation has been issued. To all who still have the stamina, please pr-y for a speedy delivery. I have been able to secure additional lodgings at my hotel until next Tuesday - so there's a place for Jeff to live!

I'm really doing okay. I think that there's been a huge lesson in all this. I'm not in control and it's okay. I wouldn't call myself a control freak ever, but there are those who love me and know me well, who would say that… well, probably not that I'm a control freak, but that I like things to be a certain way. And this has been an incredible lesson for me. It's not about how much I plan and how much I work… some things are really just out of our control. I think I'm going to study this in our favorite Book.

The Third Toenail or how I screamed like a little girl

So tonight the inevitable happened. The third of the blistered toenails came off. It was actually the most painful. I banged my foot into the table of the desk while talking to Amy on the phone. It really hurt, so I pulled off my sock… and then. Well, the toenail ripped off. Luckily I was on the phone with Amy, so I had to be a man about it and I didn't whimper like a girl… but I wanted to. I just lost ANOTHER toenail. I know, it's no big deal to you runners out there - but I've never lost a whole toenail in all my life and in the past week I've lost 3! This one was the worst of the blisters too, so I guess it's not surprising that this is the one that doesn't have a developing toenail underneath it --

I'm so sorry - - how many of you are totally grossed out right now?

Well, it'll be worse once I'm back in Tyumen and I can post the photos… is it weird that part of me wants to save the toenails? No I'm not going to save them… for long. Maybe just a few days. Do you think that Estonia has a Toe-Nail Fairy who will exchange dead toenails for Russian invitations? Maybe I'll try that.

In awesome news - Sergei and Zhanna were able to get my return flight ticket cancelled. So now I'll get a partial refund on that ticket for when I have to buy a new return ticket from St. Pete's! Success!!

An eventful, yet uneventful day

The day here in Tallinn isn't yet half over, and yet, I've already been quite busy. I set an alarm again today. The invitation could be here and the embassy is only open for 3 hours from 9am-12pm - so I have to be up and about checking for it first thing. No invitation today. Check.

But my work doesn't stop there for this momentous day. I go back to my room in Gonsiori 9 to bulk up my courage to call the consulate. I need to find out if I’m required to have an HIV test prior to applying for my visa (we read online that they are required for 1 year visas). I explain that my Russian isn't very good, but he says no problem - that he'll understand me. And goes on to explain that only if my visa is a student visa do I need an HIV test certificate. Yes! I will have a cultural exchange visa so I don't need this test. Check.

Now it's off to try and cancel my plane ticket back to Tyumen from St. Pete's. You see. There's no way I'm flying back in two days, because it's not possible to get the visa and get to St. Pete's in time any more. I've already visited a few travel offices and no one was able to help me - so they suggested I go to the Estonia Airlines. They are very helpful there. No Russian, but nearly fluent English! So I explain my situation, they ask a few questions, I produce my ticket, and again - alas. There's nothing they can do. They say that only the airline that issues the ticket can cancel the ticket. Nothing I can do about the ticket. Check.

So now I'm back in my hotel room (studying Russian comparatives and superlative adjectives) and it started to rain again. It pretty much rains every afternoon here. The pigeons are flocking around the courtyard and making all kinds of noise. I think to myself, "what the heck is going on?" So I go to my window to look.

You know, I never really thought about the fact that animals and birds probably don't like to get rained on either. Maybe they catch colds too? So the pigeons are all swirling around trying to find a place to land that's dry. It may seem cruel to some, but I made sure that my windows were closed enough so that my room didn't become their roost. I like the quiet when I'm studying. The sound of rain makes me sleepy though… perhaps it's time for some tea. Yes - tea brings joy and warmth. If you don't drink tea - you should try it. Really quite lovely on a cold day.

isopropyl alcohol is bad for your health

so my dvd player on my laptop decided that it doesn't need to work properly anymore. I thought maybe cleaning it would be helpful... so like any good American boy - I went to get isopopyl alcohol to clean the optical reader...

4 drug stores later... a woman suggests to me to go to the biggest drug store in town and maybe they'll have it. Mind you that I'm explaining what I need in Russian.

So I talk to the lady there - she says that they don't have it, but maybe if I had a prescription for it, they could fill it! It is alcohol by the way. Then she proceeds to tell me that drinking it would make me sick and I should just stick to beer!

Can you believe it?! They thought that my story of cleaning my dvd drive was to try and get high?! I mean, I know I'm wearing a life is good t-shirt (for the third day in a row) but I don't look like a junkie. At least I don't think I look like one.

So I finally found an office supply store with a cd rom cleaner - I paid my $6.50 and bought the dang thing... and then I went back to the room to check and see if I'm in luck.

... and I'm not. It plays the dvd's - and it worked fine two days ago... I think maybe the problem is that the drive isn't spinning fast enough. Maybe it's a real hardware problem! UGH! And because my laptop is super light and a vaio (sony) I think that to get a new drive won't be all that easy... alas. Life continues to be complicated. But I'm in good spirits.

How do I say this gently? I lost 2 toenails.

Yeah - I finally lost two of the three damaged toenails from the hiking trip. It's pretty sensitive. For those of you who are interested in this type of thing, I took a picture of the nail and the foot. I just went to the apothecary and explained to her that I needed some bandaids and something against infection - I think that I communicated well and that I've got something good for that.

Whoa. The stories.

I'm in a restuarant/cafe right now and my OWN computer works here on wifi! Yippie. The connection is good too.