October 12, Friday - Part I

This is my entry for Tuesday - Thursday. We just got internet around 8:00 PM tonight.

Wow, what an introduction to short term missions and life in a different culture. As I mentioned earlier I wanted to tell you more about Vlad. We are staying in maybe 40-50 year old apartment building 45 minutes by car from Vlad. Let me bullet point my early observations:

• Sister City: Vlad's American equivalent would be San Francisco. Lots of topography, steps, winding roads, etc. 
• Wealth: There is very real poverty but also evident signs of wealth and economic progress. There is heartbreaking poverty (i.e. beggars and men eating dog food), but I sat in the slickest mall you ever saw yesterday in downtown Vlad. Super trendy and very expensive merchandise.
• Dress: Russians appear to be very fashion conscious. The women dress well with lots of high heels, knee length boots, hair coloring (lots of black and orange), nail polish, designer labels, etc. Men and women wear lots of black - almost no khaki. But I see very little indication of joy in spite of the all the fashion, though I make allowance that that may be a cultural thing. 
• Outward demeanor: Middle age to older Russians appear sad, stoical, expressionless, and make minimal eye contact. Few Russians want to return my attempt to make eye contact. This pains me because I want as many opportunities to talk with them as possible.
• Shopping: Luda walks almost every day to the market to buy eggs, cheese, bread, milk, kielbasa, beef/chicken/pork, rice, pasta, butter, cabbage, onions, horseradish sauce, prunes, nuts, dates, coffee, etc. There are multiple vendors from which to buy. Purchases are rapid, impersonal, and in rubles. 30 rubles = $1. The clerks are efficient, but hardly effervescent. Even in cold weather I have noted plenty of flies. The meat market is an open deal with much of the offerings meat un-packaged and unidentified. That says nothing of the fish...
• Cars: There are a ton more than there used to be, but the infrastructure is lacking for parking. There is one main highway into Vlad which is new and very adequate. Traffic is daunting at rush hour. Many people still take advantage of the bus and train systems.
• Children: Cute, lots of them, dressed warmly, many with phones and skateboards, etc. Yesterday I asked a father with a very cute 2-year old daughter if I could take their picture together in front of a memorial. He answered nyet (i.e. "no") with a wave of the hand.
• Meals: Eating with Luda and Alexi is a little bit of hospitality heaven on earth. Luda is very accommodating, but quiet. Think of an 8'x12' kitchen modestly furnished but with the warmest hospitality you can imagine. There is chai (tea), fresh percolated coffee honey, butter, sliced crusty bread, sliced tomatoes, perfectly cooked eggs, sliced cheese, sliced kielbasa with horseradish sauce, chicken drumsticks roasted in the oven, sour cream on feta cheese, the smell of sauteed vegetables in a very small apartment (550 SF is my guess)...you get the picture. I am afraid I will gain weight while I am here.  There is a simplicity of life here I have never experienced before. The average Russian person does not have a lot of this world's goods. But in a small apartment on the 9th floor overlooking a bay in the Primorsky-Krai region of southeastern Russia - I am okay with simple. Proverbs 15:17 says,  Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it." We have a living picture of this with Luda and Alexi in their $500/month flat.
• Language: The Russian language is difficult but rich and fascinating. For example, you can see similarities between it and Greek, Hebrew, and Italian. Having just enough proficiency in Hebrew and Greek to be dangerous has been helpful! :) The Cyrillic alphabet compares with some Greek and Hebrew letters. The letter for the "f" sound is a circle with a vertical line through it like the "Phi" in Greek. I am attempting to learn and say as many words as possible. Luda and Alexi have been very accommodating, though I don't think Luda speaks much English. Like most people anywhere, Russians seem flattered and amused by my attempts to speak just a few words... 
• Things I have rarely seen or not at all: real estate signs, laughter, clean streets, lawn mowers, college or university clothing or memorabilia  traffic lights, accidents, hitchhikers, bicycles, ambulances, fire trucks, fast food restaurants,Wal-Marts...
• Things I have seen a lot: pot holes, trash, designer clothing, building construction on hold, vegetable stands, street vendors, hi-rise apartment buildings, Japanese autos, students, signs in more than one language.

Enough for now - time to load some pictures...

ESV Psalm 138:8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.