Circ Du Nizhny

Wendy and I have been in search of really fun things to do out here in Nizhny. For those who read our post about the endless winter, well... it is still a blizzard outside. So as of right now a lot of indoor activities are what appeal to us.Our new friend Fransisca suggested that we all go to the circus, we had wanted to go earlier this year when they advertised that they had "boxing bears" I thought it would be so cute but we never ended up going. 

 This is the outside of the circus building. Some people told us that it went under a 20 year remodel, which by Russian standards seems fairly reasonable. The latest and newest metro stop took something like 16 years to complete.

 Here is Wendy with our German friends Fransisca and Sven. They are from Frankfurt and are going to be here for another 2.5 years. We really like them and had a Hobbit party with them last Friday.

 So the idea of the circus was 5 continents... A king lost his crown and we had to go to 5 continents to help him find his crown. This was the Arabian part I suppose, sometimes it was a little hard to tell where we were in the world. These camels were really cool and I wondered about how heavy they are. Could they kill you if they stepped on you?

Our favorite part was the bears. They had four bears running around the arena doing tricks. I wanted to take one home with me, but seeing as we are taking care of other people's cats and this might cause problems, I decided against it. The bar in the far middle is doing summersaults. All the animals in the show were spot on with stunts until a big crane looking bird flew into the crowd and a staff guy had to come collect it (oh and a pigeon did the same also).

Here is a big dog in a hamster wheel walking while a little dog on top is walking the opposite way. We really liked the dog part and they had a bunch of dalmations (not 101) but still like 10 or something. 

All in all our circus adventure was a success and even though we might not make it back, we were really happy we decided to go. So if you find yourself in Russia with not a lot of things on your schedule, you might think about giving the circus a try. 

Ice and Snow

One can always pick out the cars that haven't been driven all winter long. At this point, I think it would be difficult to drive them anywhere without some serious tools to get them out of the snow!

Brian and I  walk by men and women who are pounding away at the snow on the sidewalks. Actually it is more like ice! They have a tool that breaks up the ice and then they can shovel it off to the side. Sometimes we would rather do this job than go to our own work! Quite silly I think. Anyway, here is a picture of how deep some of the ice/snow patches are that the workers have to pound through sometimes!

Another month and I will start labeling my blog posts "sun and flowers" or "heat and fun". But not yet. :)

Shopping in the Market

Brian and I went to one of the market's in our area today to have a look around. They sell just about anything in a cluster of booths and indoor stalls. Each booth has something a little different. Some are full of food products, some have veggies and fruit (more of these when it isn't winter), some are like a superstore, full of soap, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, tools, makeup, tooth brushes...you name it, you can find it. 

And of course, like most countries, they have a meat section. I don't really feel comfortable buying the meat here, makes me a little nervous, being so exposed to people and bugs and who knows what!

Fancy dresses! Whoohoo, watch out ladies, a new fashion is coming from Russia! Just kidding, most younger women don't shop at these markets. They save up their money and come to American to shop in our stores. 

Below is one of our favorite finds so far. Value Village meets Good Will meets a garage sale. Perfect. Although every time I go here it is freezing outside and there is no heat inside, so searching endlessly through clothes while my hands start to freeze doesn't appeal to me. Today though, Brian had a good find...see the last picture on blog. 

This particular booth focuses on noodles, pasta and some canned goods. In general we haven't found food to be a better deal to buy at the market. We go to the big supermarket (like Winco or Walmart) and buy our food. But we are able to find some things like cilantro and cumin powder! That was my new find today, cumin powder! They actually do have it here. 

Brian really surprised me today. We went into our little second hand clothing store and he starts looking through the jeans! Okay, well we didn't have any luck, but on our way out he stops by this jacket. And ended up buying it. So, finally, after four months of crazy cold winter, Brian has an appropriate jacket to wear. Now all the Russian people with stop fussing over him. And it cost a whole $2.50. Sweet deal, and totally a perfect price for my husband. 

Spring is here?

So by calendar standards, all the Russians are telling us that Spring is finally upon us. However, one were to look outside it is hardly anything that even remotely resembles spring. 

Life for us here is still somewhat basic, we must work during the week and then on Saturday, Sunday we try to find something fun to do, or just stay at home and relax. Wendy secretly in her head counts down the days until we finally get to go to Jerusalem, she checks the weather there almost every morning and usually yells something like " UUUUGGGGGHHHH, it is 68 degrees in Jerusalem!!!" meaning " UUUUGGGGHHH, I want to be there in the sun and not in a Russian snowstorm." All in all she is a trooper. 

Snowflakes

Have you ever seen a snowflake? I mean, actually looked at one up close? A few weeks ago, one of the English teacher's asked me, "have you seen the shape of the snowflakes?" I looked down on my black scarf and was amazed at the shapes I saw! 

The weather was about 4 or 5 degrees F, and it was a beautiful blue sky; just a little moisture in the air and that was turned into snowflakes. Each flake was tiny and perfectly formed. Check out some of my pictures!

I would love to have some better pictures than this, but I don't have the right lens to get close ups! These pictures will have to do. 

I am constantly amazed at God's handiwork on our Earth. 

Olympic Spirit

Wendy and I were invited to dinner over at the French teachers house last Friday. We gladly accepted, since they are pleasant people. The girlfriend of one of the guys mentioned that they were going to see the Olympic Flame at a mall the next day. Russians are very into "Sochi 2014" many many many things advertise this event.  We both thought this could be our only chance to see the torch so we had better go for it.

 We were able to see all the torches all the way back to Atlanta in 96'. Vancouver is the second on the right and I think that was London next to it on the left. It was cool to see this little exhibit and we were not expecting it so that was nice too.

 It was fun to see all the torches together and judge who had the best artistic style. Hint... we decided Russia does not.

 Here she is in all her glory, the Russian Olympic torch. It sort of reminds me of a Lazer Blaster from Star Wars or something. There is also a strange hole in the middle which doesn't see to make sense. But hey shouldn't be too critical, right?

Here is Wendy and I with our Russian Olympic spirit faces. If you didn't look closely at the exhibit, you would think it was just a Coke booth. They made it very well known that they were the Sochi sponsor. It just goes to show, no matter where you go in the world, you can't escape McDonald's and Coke.

Wendy and I are totally in the routine of life out here in Russia. We don't really have any fun trips planned for this month, so we are somewhat biding our time until Jerusalem. I (brian) work a lot, and Wendy works and has some fun afternoon activities with some people here in Nizhny. Trying to find purpose in what we are doing is our main focus. We hope to feel as if we made something of a difference where we have been living.

Still Alive...

We are still around! We just haven't done anything too exciting the last few weeks! Except get the flu, and some nasty colds. Brian and I both got sick at the same time and got to stay home from work for three days! We only went outside twice in four days. Yikes! I'll admit, I did get a little bored.
It actually warmed up for a week or so. We had 30 degree temperature! And even 34 one day! It felt so warm compared to what it has been. Almost like spring. But, I know that spring is still a month or more away.
It is not as wet here as Oregon or Juneau and we have had a lot of grey days. But, lucky for us, we have some sunshine this week! Brian and I went on a walk yesterday and I took a few pictures just to let you all know we are still kicking. Literally.

I was attempting to photograph Brian in mid-air, but I timed it wrong. 

The sky was so lovely yesterday.

And, last but not least, our roommates until May. They put out more hair than any other cat I have ever known. Buffy, Meska and Jasper. 

Happy Valentine's Day! 

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

1 John 4:10-11