Almost home

I can't believe my time is coming to an end again. But that is one thing we can always count on, right, time passes. This trip has been so eye-opening.

There is still snow on the ground. Some days it still snows but the days the sun is out the tops layers melt. Those of you that don't live in snow areas might not know this so let me explain. The top melts but then re-freezes at night. That means ice and slippery paths. The path is very treacherous. I have fallen 3 times THIS WEEK and this week is not quite over. Luckily, I learned a long time ago to laugh at all my embarrassing moments. Wed night, Ilya dropped me off and the car was full of people. Janet wanted to wait and see if I got to the door ok. Of course, that would be one of the times I fall. She so nicely rolls down the window and yells to see if I was ok. My rear was not as injured as my pride. hahahahaha Then Thursday night I was walking to the bus with a group of people that live in my neighborhood. Luckily one of them was walking close enough I could grab onto him so I didn't fall on the way down. But I made quite an entertaining show with my arms flying about and my feet slipping over and over. When I finally pulled it all together everyone was laughing (including me) and one of them shouted AGAIN! and another said For the camera. Ugh. hahahaha. Actually, a lot of people are falling. I see at least one a day. It is so so slippery. Today is nice and sunny so there is a little more slush than the past few days. Spring is coming, ever so slowly. I am only wearing one shirt under my giant coat. :-)

There are more teams coming so we are super busy and it takes everything in me to get Joseph to finish his school. I get called the mean teacher be/c I am "torturing" him to read so many pages. Luckily I was raised by a woman that knew being the bad guy is part of being an adult. So, I don't mind being the bad guy so much. I know that in the end he will appreciate not having work, he just doesn't know it yet. hahahaha THANKS MOM! :-)

I will be seein y'all in a couple of weeks.

Uhhhh???

I only have a few minutes to write this but I wanted to tell you guys briefly of my experience with the Russian medical system.

I started the process of applying for the 3 yr temporary residency status. Well, before you can send in any paperwork you much get 4 tests done: HIV, drug, STD and TB. All of these are at different places and you don't have to make an appointment. Every place we were able to walk in and get it done right then. Walking up to the buildings was a little creepy. They looked so run down and sketchy and of course, the first place we go to is the HIV place. As soon as I saw the building, I started praying. It looked so dirty and they were going to take my blood! Whoa!! So, we get in there and the hall is lined with people waiting. Luckily they kinda pushed up to the front of the line. I go to the window and she tells me the price. 245 rubles and that comes to around 7 American dollars and they told me to come back in the next day around 2. Can you believe that?! 7 bucks for an HIV test and there was not even a line and I got my results the very next day. It may be a shady building but it beats the American system in cost and speed! The next place was the drug test. We had to go to a different part of town. There was a little bit of a wait there and of course, I really don't know what exactly is going on. I just do what Olya tells me to do. We go into an office and then follow a woman down the hall to another room. Well, this room was the toilet and I had to pee in a cup, WHILE Olya and the woman were in the room waiting for me. Just a wee bit awkward. hahahaha. And again, right then I got my results. Didn't have to wait or anything. Paid my bill, which was a little more than the HIV. It was 300 rubles. The next stop was the STD place. Apparently this was the building for all communicable diseases. Olya was very uncomfortable in there. She is one of those germy fobes. :-) This place we had to wait an hour and when we finally get into the room, they told us we were in the wrong room. The correct room there was no wait. Got my finger pricked and in 15 min, I found out I was STD free. Not that I was really worried. :-) Lastly, the TB test. This was probably the most awkward of all the tests. In the states, they just give you a shot. Well, in Russia, you have to get a picture taken of your insides and this meant undressing. So, Olya was standing at the door with her hand over her eyes translating for me. It was kinda funny. I would randomly see Olya's hand sticking out pointing. She reassured me I still had my dignity..... I could not imagine having that job and seeing everyone. YUCK! Anyways. That only cost me 60 rubles. I mean really. WOW. Just under 2 bucks. This is crazy stuff.

Yet, after all this I decided not to apply. I am not 100 percent sure this is where God wants me to be and I do not want to hurt my chances of ever coming back at all.

:-)

Oh what a difference......

Just a few days, weeks or months can make. I was reading my journal entries from when I first got here and I am in such a different place. Life is still hard but God is greater and I am closer to Him than I was and He is still blessing me by allowing me to draw closer and hear Him more. :-) I met an awesome guy who just so happens to be Canadian. It is wonderful being able to speak the same language. But besides the mushy girl talk, I will not bore you with all those details. I only have 4 weeks and I am just getting settled into life here. Here are some mini-adventures for ya.......

My outdoor key was broken and we do not have a intercom/phone in our apartment to call to let us in. Well, there are times when I am walking home alone and that means I have to call some random persons apartment and ask them to open the door for me. By this point, I am decent in communication. I, of course, can understand soooo much more and sometimes even answer people in English be/c I know what they are saying. I digress..... The apartment door. I found one number where the lady was nice enough to let me in, when she was home. When she was not home well, I had to wait for someone going in or out. Not so fun in the snot freezing cold. We eventually got new keys but didn't know a guy had to meet us at the apartment to put the code on, it's an electronic key. Again, I am calling and waiting. This went on for 2 or 3 weeks. We finally get an appointment to meet the guy but he wasn't there when we got there and yet again, we had to call. Luckily this was after church one night and I didn't have to wait by myself. We called so many people. One lady was so angry with us she was yelling at us through the intercom and she said she was tired of opening the door for us and she was going to "give it to us" when we got off the elevator. She lives across the hall from us and you know what, she was out in the hall waiting for us. She was actually changing a light bulb but the instand we got out of the elevator she started in on us. I didn't really catch all of what she was saying but there was three of us and one of her so, I think she decided against "giving it to us" and just stuck to yelling. :-) That next morning the man came and I haven't had to call anyone since.

Last Sunday, my roommate gave her key to a girl that stays with us sometimes. Well, this girl didn't know we don't lock both locks on the door. I don't have a key for the second lock and I got home around 10 and no one was home, and no one but me was coming home. I waited in the hall way an hour until Ilya found the extra key to come let me in. I think I may have even fell asleep sitting on the stairs. He came with one of his neighbors just in case it wasn't actually the lock and we had to do something else. Well, it turns out that this man just had a birthday and was having the Bantseev family over for cake. Since he was there, he invited me to and I couldn't say no even though it was 11 and all I wanted to do was just be in the apartment. So, I went. We were trying to leave around 12:30 when someone knocked on their door. It was one of the guys from the church who happens to be a cab drivers. Well, his car got stolen from him that night from the police! He has a twin brother who is always owing people money and he owed the police some. Since they look just alike the wrong one got beat up and gets that quite a bit. So, there was a little more drama that night. I finally made it home a little after 1. Oh man, there are some crazy times here and then there are the times I sit at home all night and ponder the meaning of life. hahahaha

Today, I did not go to the drug district be/c there wasn't going to be anyone to translate for me. But last week, the couple that we talked to came to the service and both of them were drunk. The guy had the thickest, scariest scars all over his arms and he was broken on the inside. He told us he tried drugs before but just drinks now. Apparently his mom is dying of cancer and he drinks be/c he doesn't know how to handle it. And when these people drink here, THEY DRINK. Friday around 3 in the afternoon, I saw 2 men out the window who could barely stand up. They were talking on the phone and trying to hold each other up. It is so amazing that people can still function in that state. It is a blessing in disguise that they pass out so they will stop drinking. There are a lot of deaths here from people passing out in the snow and freezing. The youth pastor's mom died that way. One of the church members doesn't have hands be/c he fell in the snow drunk. I can't imagine having frostbite. There were several days here that were below -30, even -41 one day, and my hands hurt so bad! Honestly, I can't believe I am living in such a cold place. Crazy.

Well, I am sure there are things I am forgetting but I figure this is long enough to keep you entertained for just a bit. :-)

Spent....

Man, sightseeing sure does take it all out of you. I am so lame tonight. I got back to my hotel room tonight around 5:30 and I haven't left. I am pooped!! Monday and Tuesday we did bus tours. Those are definitely worth it even though you are screaming to the world TOURIST!! I AM A SUCKER AND WILL PAY TOO MUCH MONEY FOR THINGS. hahahaha Monday's tour was so exciting I don't remember all of it. Hmmmmm... OH YEAH, we went and saw the panda's at the zoo first thing in the morning. Joseph was going crazy! I have never seen him so excited about anything. We stayed there a little longer than I would have liked. There is only so much staring at animals I can do, though I did like walking around the Forbidden City and the kids are quite bored of all the temple stuff. After the pandas we went to one of the most popular temples for worshippers of Buddha. It was crazy seeing all of them lighting their incense and kneeling and praying to the statue. Our guide was telling us that they pray for luck and good fortune. It seems like almost everything they do is for luck and good fortune. It's so empty. I did like the smell of all the incense though. :-) After that we saw Confucius' temple. We ran through that one be/c Jessica was sick and feeling really weak so we had to get back to the bus. Then on to lunch. We ate lunch at a really cool place. We went down a couple of levels and were served a set meal with all kinds of stuff I have not eaten before. While we ate there was traditional music and girls dancing traditional dances on a stage. After that we.......... I can't remember what we did. The very last thing we did was go to a tea shop and had a private tasting. At the end, of course, there was pressure to buy stuff. We caved. Really, I didn't mind be/c there was a certain tea that I wanted.... I just remembered what we did before that. We went to the only part of the old city wall that is still standing. It looks like most forts do. But it is always fun to climb up to the top of things and see the view......... For dinner we went to a popular shopping area called Wangfujing Street. There was another huge mall there! With a McDonald's and I will confess that is what I had for dinner. I am a little tired of foreign food. Tuesday's tour was AWESOME!! We went to the Ming Tombs which really isn't THAT impressive but after that we headed to the Great Wall. I can't believe I was actually there and walking along it. I kinda didn't get to enjoy the view be/c you really have to watch your feet as you walk plus some parts are very steep and the steps were extremely uneven. There were so many Chinese tourists there and our guide was telling us before we got there that most of them have never seen a foreigner except on TV and lots of kids learn English in school but don't get to practice it. We got stopped a number of times by people wanting their picture with us. Especially the Bantseev kids because they are blond and blue-eyed. It is kinda nice to be famous for a sec. There was one particular group that looked like they were in a band. They were very "cool." They were even excited to take a picture with us. They said they were from Tibet. I haven't looked online to see if there is a Tibetan rock band that looks similar to these guys. hahaha There was a girl on the tour with us that was traveling by herself and she and I became picture buddies. The rest of the day we took pictures for one another and then ended the day by having dinner and walking around a hot night spot. The place is called Houhai Park. There are a lot of restaurants and bars that wrap around a small lake. People were ice skating til about 9 or 10. After dinner, we mosied to the Starbucks and chatted over coffee and then decided to check out the opposite side of the lake. On our way we saw this quaint little spot called Guitar Bar. There were a couple of guys playing accoustic guitars singing. We went in and had a couple of pots of Chrysanthemum tea. It was oh so good!!! And I really liked the music. I hadn't heard any Chinese music or singing that I enjoyed but these two guys could really sing. I felt so cosmopolitan hanging out in Beijing drinking some tea with a girl from Mexico that I just met that day. It was a great night. We hung out there for about an hour or so and then walked the rest of the way around the lake. Even though it was 10 at night, I felt safe! I do not feel that safe at 7 p.m. in Russia. This has been such a great trip!!! And it didn't seem to go by super fast. Today I went to the Forbidden City and saw Tianeman Square. I think there were more tourist there than at the Great Wall and of course, we got asked a few times today to have our picture taken. There were four girls that were so excited to get a picture taken with me. We did a group shot and then they each got an individual shot. I saw them a couple more times while we were there and they all giggled and waved everytime. Once we got through the Forbidden City we went back to Beihai Park to do the ice bumper sleds. Instead of taking taxis we got the motorized rickshaws to take us there. (Speaking of rickshaws, I just remembered on Monday we took a rickshaw tour through the Hutong district. That is the area that where the ancient architecture is preserved).....We get to Beihai and go play on the ice for a bit. The find our way to Wangfujing street again for dinner. That is the short version of my trip to Beijing. This is a great tourist city. Even though there are only a few people that speak English it is very easy to get around and if you are not in the markets haggling prices, people are very nice to tourist. Tomorrow I am leaving bright and early for Russia. I can't believe I have only been gone one month. So much has happened I feel like I haven't seen you guys for several months! I have 8 more weeks to go! :-)

Tea and Chinese biscuits

I am very sad to tell you, I am no longer lying but the beach but sitting on my bed in Beijing eating Chinese cookies and drinking tea. I got busy the last couple of days and I wasn't able to tell about the wild Balinese dance we saw. It was actually more like a chanting opera. Maybe there were words but it just sounds like a bunch different clicks and pops made by the throat and it told the story of one of the Hindu gods. At the end there was even fire!!! It was about 45 min long. I do not know how those guys kept that singing/chanting up for that long. After we were able to get our pictures taken with the dancers. That was a mad house...... Geezz, I am forgetting stuff be/c it's been a few days. Prior to the dance we had to enter the temple. No one was allowed to show their knees. Whoever was wearing shorts or a skirt had to put on a sarong and everyone had to wear a sash. We got dressed at the entrance and started in. We were warned about the monkey thieves but nobody really believed until one of the girls got her glasses snatched right off her face. A local retrieved them for her and of course wanted a little compensation for his services. I don't know if someone actually gave him any money though. These monkeys were so use to humans, that you could get within a foot of them. I got some national geographic worthy shots!!! The cliff that the temple was built on was breathtaking!!!! I finally realized where I was. At the bottom of the cliff there were waves crashing against the rock and the sun was fading in the distance. I am so thankful I got the opportunity to go!!! After the dance, our tour bus took us to one of the nice beaches for dinner. We had two longs tables set up outside with flags and tiki lamps and they even put a flower in our hair as we came in the door. But then, the rain came with loud thunder and lightning. We moved inside just before it started to pour! As they were bringing the food out, the electricity goes out too!! It couldn't have been a better time!!!! Though, it was awfully romanticy to be spending it with a bunch of youth. :-) Candlelight dinner on the beach during a thunderstorm. (Everybody say it with me "aaaaaawwwwww.") haha.......................... The next two days I didn't do really anything exciting except work on my tan. Which I am very sad to be wasting in winter clothes!! That brings us back to Beijing. I arrived this morning around 6 to the airport and took a cab to my little bed and breakfast hotel. The cabbie didn't speak English but I had the print out of the address. He looked at it so many times, I was a little worried we weren't going to get there. We finally turn down this tiny alleyway and I see the sign for my hotel. I am only slightly nervous about staying in an alley. Well, I knock on the door and wake up the guy working there. It turns out the heat wasn't working at that place and they are moving me to their other hotel. THANK GOODNESS!!! So, I had to walk to the street and hail a cab to this other address, he had written it down for me. Hailing a cab here is much easier than New York though they seem to not know their city very well. So, my first cab driver looked lost (he even past the place and had to back up down half the alley) and then this guy doesn't know at all where to go. I finally found my phone so I could call the hotel so someone could talk to him. They got it situated and we were off. I finally arrive to the hotel close to 8:30 a.m. but my room wasn't ready. So, I left my stuff here and walked to the market that was 2 blocks away. I am THE ONLY white person around. It is funny getting stared at like you're an alien. I walked up at a pastry stand of some kind and the kid spoke English. I think he was excited that he got to use it. He told me what I bought was good and it was interesting. It looked like a simple roll on the outside but it had all kinds of layers of bread on the inside and the taste was a little strange but I ate it. Then I walked to the fruit area and bought some oranges. I was so proud of myself for just getting out there and doing it. By the time I got back to the hotel my room was ready. I forgot to describe the hotel. It is a traditional Chinese hotel, the street door opens into a courtyard and the rooms all face the stone courtyard. It's very nice! I hung out in my room for a bit and then headed to Beihai Park. If only I was here in the spring or summer, it looks like it could be beautiful. This apparently is a big tourist spot for even the Chinese. So, again, the only white person. I did finally see 3 more couples but it is very interesting how much people stare as if they have never seen the white folk. I spent a couple of hours in Beihai Park and then my battery dies in my camera. It wasn't worth walking around without being able to snap shots. So, I left and just started walking back to my hotel. I thought I remembered what street to turn on but I didn't. I eventually had to get a cab and call the hotel so she could give directions. I had just gone down too far by 2 streets. So, I was almost right. hahaha. Before I came back to my room, I went to the tea store and the grocery to get some sweets. I walked a lot. I deserve it. :-) Sorry this was a long one!!!!

Humidity

I almost forgot what it felt like. It's kinda funny everyone complaining and it doesn't bother me! It's actually not really all that hot. It's only about 85. Oh yeah, I didn't tell you where I was did I. Well folks, I am officially in Bali, Indonesia. We are here for a missions conference with the PAOC. The hotel is very nice. Everything is open. The lobby is all open area with plants right in the middle and by open I mean no walls. There is a roof and bamboo type blinds that can be drawn to separate areas. I haven't eaten in the hotel yet. The past two nights I have had dinner other places. The food is very good! Walking up and down the streets is interesting. Half of the people own motorbikes and the other half cars. A lot of people speak English. I was always a little nervous going to countries where English wasn't the main language but it is crazy how much of the world speaks our language. Though on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to here, the main flight attendant that did announcements spoke in British English. There are a lot of Europeans here and of course, they do not wear the proper swimming attire that fits their body "types". Scary and funny. And also, there are those few old people that have turned into leather............... Last night we were told about a night market. Well, I went looking for it tonight. Someone thought they heard it didn't open til 10. We planned on meeting in the lobby at 9:45 to head down there. I was the only one that showed up. I saw a girl I had already met and asked her if she saw anyone come down there and leave but she hadn't. I still wanted to go and there were a couple of girls about my age standing there that I hadn't met. Well, I quickly introduced myself and mentioned it to them. They were up for it. YES!!! So we started on our way. We stopped a couple of times to talk to some of the other people that were here for the conference. We get all the way down there and ask a woman with a stand. Apparently, it closes at 10. So, we just saw a bunch of food vendors. It was still nice getting to walk and look at things. People here will put little offerings outside their doors. I am not sure what religion that is but I am sure some of you do.... It was nice meeting and chatting with single girls my age. Actually it's pretty awesome to be around so many people that have done so much travelling and live in all kinds of countries.

Toilets around the World.......

They are not all the same. That is all I will say about that. Don't want to get too personal for some of you. Whoever happens to be interested in the toilet parts to my story, just let me know. :-)

Oh my goodness what an eventful trip this has been and I am not even at my final destination yet. I will be here in Kuala Lumpur for 10hrs. Pretty much everyone at the airport speaks English and it's so nice. They all did in Beijing too. I am sitting at a Burger King right now and across the way is another Starbucks. It feels funny! I have 3 different kinds of money on me and I will be getting some more once I am in Bali. How crazy. I want to lay it all out and take a picture of it. Everyone else's money is so much prettier than ours........... Ok my flights. The one from Russia to Beijing. I was lucky enough to get the whole row to myself. I was planning on laying out once we got up in the air but that all changed when the plane drunk was made to sit in my row. He had been up during the assent and walking around. So the flight attendant pushed him into the first available seat. I am sitting there minding my own business trying to get a little sleep when all of a sudden I feel this tapping on my arm. I look up and this mad had moved to the seat next to me and was trying to talk to me. I couldn't be bothered with this nonsense, so I just turned my head and closed my eyes.Well, he didn't get the hint. I was almost sick, he reeked so bad of alcohol!!! Since tapping and stroking my arm doesn't work, he moves his hand to my leg and tries to grab my hand. Well, this time I took hold of his fingers and threw them in his lap. This whole time I kept my head turned toward the window and my eyes closed. Removing his hand did not work. He kept a'tappin. Tried rubbing my leg so more and stroking my arm. Then he leaves for a little bit. I thought it was all over but nope. I feel his head slightly on my arm. He was laid out over the two sits. This is my chance to break. I get the flight attendants attention and ask to move seats. She nods yes and motions me to the row I can go to. Well, he has to get up to let me out. I sit down in my new seat; get situated and I see him standing there out of the corner of my eye. Staring at me. I again, ignore him and get my coat and lay down. The creepiest (and funniest) thing he does is start "petting" my head. I don't know what he was thinking and I don't know why he stopped but finally he did and I got to sleep!

Beijing is really nice. The airport is SUPER clean and nice. The Bantseev's weren't able to leave Beijing til tomorrow. So, they got a hotel close to the airport. I went with them and got to sleep before my flight to here. Well, come to find out (as I am at the airport waiting for the train to take me to my terminal) my clock is an hour behind. Instead of it being one hour before boarding time, it was 5 min. I haven't even been through customs or security yet. But I didn't start to panic then. I started to panic when I finally get through it all and I see on the board it is last call for my flight. Then I start running. A guy driving a cart sees me and stops to give me a ride. Thank goodness he did be/c he told my gate was not very close to where I was. And of course, I had to pay 20 yuan for that, which is only about 3 bucks. I make it in time. And I wasn't the last one to come running to the gate. So, I didn't have to spend a long time at the Beijing airport. I am excited to go back there!!

Muse

The girls have poetry at the back of their vocabulary books and I saw this one by Oliver Wendall Holmes I wanted to share with y'all.

O Love Divine, that stooped to share, Our sharpest pang, our bitterest tear, On Thee we cast each earth-born care, We smile at pain while Thou art near!

Though long the weary way we tread, And sorrow crwon each lingering year, No path we shun, no darkness dread, Our hearts still whispering, Thou art near!

When drooping pleasure turns to grief, And trembling faith is changed to fear, The murmuring wind, the quivering leaf, Shall softly tell us, Thou art near!

On Thee we filng our burdening woe, O Love Divine, forever dear, Content to suffer while we know Living and dyring Thou art near!

I just thought it was beautiful. It is hard living a life for Christ. Leaving your home and family and friends but it is the least I can do.  There are days when I complain to God and cry because I miss my family and my home but He is ALWAYS faithful and comforts me very quickly. Y'all please pray that I will be invovled some way in the ministry here. Whether it be with working with the teenagers or ministring at the women's prison. (Ilya mentioned taking me to share my testimony). Thank you so much for your support in everything!!!!!

pop pop

I have completely forgot to mention how stinking adorable the kids look all bundled! I am sure most (if not all) of you have seen A Christmas Story. If you haven't, well that's just un-American. Anyways...... I think he said something about Randy looking like a tick ready to pop. He couldn't have said it better! They look like little blimps about to float off. Some of the parents have sled type strollers. They are a sled with a long bar for the parents to hold on too. There is even one that has rails similar to that of a cradle. They just lay there all fat and cute. One baby even had a pacifer in his/her mouth and all I could see were puffy cheeks and eyeballs.

You guys. It's cold here! :-) But the snow is so beautiful. Sometimes I forget where I am and I catch a glimpse of white out the window and it hits me. I, Kristine from podunk Copeville, am in Novokuznetsk Russia. How crazy. God is soooooo cool.  I am actually grateful that He kept me single so I could experience this. 

Please tell me how you are doing!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Snot freezing cold

Some days it really is so cold that my nose freezes INSIDE my nose. Saturday I was walking to the Bantseev apartment and my eyelashes and eyebrows froze, even my hairline at my forehead was white. The girl I was walking with took a picture for me. Some day I will try and put a picture up on here. Every "town" has a square where little concerts will be held on a holiday or something. Our square is decorated with a giant Christmas tree and lights. There is also several ice sculptures that have slides for the kids to play on. I don't know how well a job I am doing at describing this but I have pictures of that always. They are very pretty!!!!

Not too much is really happening. I am working with the kids and going to church. A week from Friday we will be leaving to go to a conference in Indonesia and stopping in Beijing for 5 days on the way back. I am very excited about that!!!! Though I will be traveling by myself again for a full day and a half.

Saturday was my friend Olya's wedding. The weddings here are so different than ours. During the reception, you have an emcee and your friends will put on skits and games for entertainment. I don't remember telling about this before but maybe I did. Sorry, if I am repeating myself. The kids really like to make up and perform skits at each of the weddings. For Sveta's wedding, they made up a new one and they were also able to come up with an original one for Olya's. Both of them were funny. I participated in Sveta's so, I don't know how many people laughed but at Olya's I got to watch. And let me tell you, there were some ladies I thought were going to pee in their pants. I got some of it on video. The kids bought two old people masks when they were in the states and they had the idea for the skit that they would be Olya and Denis 60 yrs later. It was a riot.

My mom mentioned last time that my grammar was very bad. I am sorry if I am not being very clear when I write. I think sometimes I pick up a Russian/English way of speaking be/c the word placement is so different. Hopefully, y'all understand me anyways.

I'm baaaaaaaaack

Here I am again on my own..............(are you singing it in your head now too? muah hahahahahaha)..............Anyways..... I arrived safely Monday morning in Novokuznetsk. But I am very sad to say that my big suitcase with the majority of my clothes did get on the plane with me. So, if anyone would like to pray that it finds its way back to me, I would REALLY appreciate it!!!!! I did not tell many of you this be/c it was still a very sensitive subject but I got ripped off big time by a cab driver in Moscow. This missing bag reminds me of that. On my way to the airport in Sept, Olya turns to me and says "Kristine, guess what." Which is never a good thing to hear in the wee dark hours of 6 a.m. She tells me she forgot to call the guy to come pick me up and take me to the other airport across the city. "DON'T PANIC" she quickly blurts. "You are a strong girl, I know you can handle it. You've got some Russian blood in you." I get to the front of the airport and see a proper yellow taxi. I flag him down and tell him where I need to go. Much to my relief, he speaks a little English. We get everything in the car and he starts to write down his wage. It did not occur to me that he didn't have a meter. He then shows me, ever so quickly, what his rate his. I thought I misread how expensive it was. He shows me the odometer and tells me how he gets his figures. I just nod my head be/c I just felt lucky to be in a car with a smiling English speaking Russian man. It takes us about an hour to get to the airport. Which, in and of it's self, is a miracle. Normally, traffic is so bad it can take at least 3 or 4. He even says "It's a miracle." I try to tell him that I prayed for no traffic but I am not sure if he understood me. We arrive to the airport, my e-ticket said I need to be at terminal 1. That's where we go. He stops the car, does his figures and then turns to show me how much it is. I wanted to throw up. The guy Olya forgot to call would have charged me 300 rubles. That is about a hundred bucks. This guy wrote on a piece of paper 8,800 rubles. I stared at him in shock. Of course, he starts acting like he really can't speak English. I tell him that I only have 3000 and he said "You have American money? You can change inside." So, the sweet smiling Russian cabby so nicely let me go inside to the atm to get his dirty money. I did not even think to argue be/c I felt trapped. I am alone and an American girl, what can I do but pay the man. I proceed inside and ask for an ATM, withdraw the money and give it to him. I felt so helpless. He wishes me all the best and drives away. I go inside to find out where I need to check in. I then find out I am at the wrong terminal. I have to take a bus to the correct one. I get to the bus, can't figure out how to put the ticket in the slot thing, once the nice man behind me shows me how to do it, I can't get my fat bag through the turnstile. He so nicely helps me again. The bus starts. We leave the terminal and go through a sort of residencial area and then I see no more planes, just fields. I am slightly starting to panic. My phone I used in Novokuznetsk would not work in Moscow. I had to turn on my Blackberry. I did not have the SIM card in it because the on button is extremely sensitive. Anyone of you that has a Blackberry knows how long it takes to start up. I am almost crying at this point. Just as my phone starts working, we are pulling up to Terminal 2. I was soooooo happy. Now, I just had to wait another 6 hrs for my flight. During that time I did the math of what 8,800 would cost in dollars; $350. That is probably the most expensive cab ride in all the world..................Now I will tell you why it reminds me of the suitcase situation. I felt so relieved sitting in the car. I knew God had taken care of me. Well, on the flight from Moscow to here, I sat next to a very nice Christian British man. It was so wonderful talking to someone in English after almost 20 hrs of not talking to anyone at all. I was so grateful that the Lord gave me someone to talk to and then I get off the plane and don't get my suitcase. It just goes to show we have an enemy who doesn't want us to be happy and will take any opportunity to make our lives awful................So, that is the main thing that has really happened since I got here. Today is Russian Christmas but they do not celebrate it like we do. Their big holiday is New Year's. They give gifts and have big parties that day. Today all we did was have a service and like most people in the states it's customary to go to church on Christmas......... Just in case any of you are worried about me not getting good healthy food here, I had a bowl of borsht, a bowl of cabbage and carrot salad and a potatoe dish of some kind with a single piece of meat. There are oh so many ways to cook vegetables here. And to finish it off, I had tea. :-)....... It was snowing yesterday when I walked to the Bantseev apartment. REAL snow, not just the slush we get in Texas. It was nice. I have not played in it yet. I don't think it would look quite right, a grown woman playing by herself in the snow. I do not know enough Russian to explain to everyone that looks at me crazy that we do not get snow in Texas. :-)

I hope you are all doing well and are staying much warmer than I am!!!!!!!! :-)