Where have we been since our last post? Busy, I suppose. I guess that means we are settling in. Since writing, we have had a lot of firsts here in Russia: first trip to the central market (if I can ever sneak a video of that place, I will show you why this is a first.), first time to the children's puppet theatre, first time to park our car in the "bomb shelter" car garage, first trip out of the city to see the Russian countryside, and first time to the local ER. When C3 was sick, we called the "Skoro pomosh" - literally "Quick help" or something along those lines. This time it was C8. He fell in the playground running, and we thought he had broken several fingers. Off to the ER I went along with one of Scott's co-workers. I felt like I was in an old Soviet movie. If you have ever seen one, you might envision it well. The white coats, the drab hallways, etc. If you are a nurse or doctor, you would be offended by the sight. The positive side of the Russian ER is that it is 1) free and 2) fast. We walked right into the administration office, registered, saw the doctor, received an x-ray(which we were able to take home as a souvenir), and received a diagnosis within 30 or so minutes. I was very grateful that the Lord protected C8's fingers from being broken, and that they did not try to extract money from as foreigners. My friend that took us to the hospital said that her small son cut his finger while ice skating last year and had to stay in the hospital for 3 weeks! That is no typo - for stitches! Let me explain - this country does not even know what neosporin is. You get the picture.
The central market is a great homeschool field trip. When you walk in to the meat market, there are men behind the counter with a huge ax cutting the meat in pieces for sale as if they were cutting firewood. It sits out in room temperature air all day all neatly organized by animal part. I won't go into further detail. There is a cheese/kefir/smetana (like sour cream) section, a cookie & candy section, a Chinese section, a fish section, and an outdoor fruit & vegetable market along with a flower market, tool section, clothing section and any other kind of Chinese goods that you ever wanted. There are babushkas walking around selling bags, knives, and some begging for money. My husband's favorite part is the fresh honey section where to his delight they sell honeycomb. Basically anything you want you can find at the central market.
If you are wondering why I referred to our garage as a "bomb shelter", that is because it looks just like that. It is underneath a school playground. It is very dark, dirty and drab. There is sweet pensioner that acts as the "security" for the place. She keeps tabs on everyone and knows who everyone is. It takes about 30 minutes for my husband to park the car at night. Car theft around here is rampant. We are grateful to have a car now, though I don't think I will be driving in this city anytime soon. Think something like New York City without traffic rules.
The central market is a great homeschool field trip. When you walk in to the meat market, there are men behind the counter with a huge ax cutting the meat in pieces for sale as if they were cutting firewood. It sits out in room temperature air all day all neatly organized by animal part. I won't go into further detail. There is a cheese/kefir/smetana (like sour cream) section, a cookie & candy section, a Chinese section, a fish section, and an outdoor fruit & vegetable market along with a flower market, tool section, clothing section and any other kind of Chinese goods that you ever wanted. There are babushkas walking around selling bags, knives, and some begging for money. My husband's favorite part is the fresh honey section where to his delight they sell honeycomb. Basically anything you want you can find at the central market.
If you are wondering why I referred to our garage as a "bomb shelter", that is because it looks just like that. It is underneath a school playground. It is very dark, dirty and drab. There is sweet pensioner that acts as the "security" for the place. She keeps tabs on everyone and knows who everyone is. It takes about 30 minutes for my husband to park the car at night. Car theft around here is rampant. We are grateful to have a car now, though I don't think I will be driving in this city anytime soon. Think something like New York City without traffic rules.
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