Settled in St. Pete

Pictures of smog in and around Moscow.  Beth took these before we left the city.

Beth and I made it to St. Petersburg early Sunday morning.

Because we bought tickets last-minute, we had a slightly uncomfortable overnight ride there (probably more uncomfortable for Beth than myself).  Most trains were sold out, except for one leaving at 1:30 in the morning and arriving around 10 in the morning.  Beth and I had a four person compartment (called a "купе" -- it sounds like "koo-pay") with two bottom bunks and two top bunks.  When we arrived two men were already asleep on the bottom bunks, so that left us with the two extremely narrow top bunks. Beth and Liam had to share a bunk together, which made for an interesting night.  That, and we were nervous about Liam being a disturbance.  But somehow, some way, Liam was quiet the entire trip (other than his laughs or attempts to talk to us).  It was incredible.  We couldn't believe it.

Upon arriving we were overwhelmed by the hospitality of those with our company here in the city.  We were picked up and taken to where we were staying at a university in the city.  Once we were settled in and thoroughly sanitized and de-smoked, we met up with fellow teammates for an early dinner.

Since Sunday most of our time here has been sightseeing and walking around downtown St. Petersburg.

Leaving Town

Sorry for the brevity.  We just wanted to give you guys a little update on this past week.

Beth and I have been away at an English Camp this week, giving us little ability to be in touch with anyone (phone, e-mail, Facebook, etc.).  Just a couple days ago we did start receiving texts and phone calls (when we actually had reception) about the conditions in Moscow worsening, and people recommending that we leave the city for the time being.  The heat wave has continued, but the smoke from forest fires around Moscow are just worsening.  The last few days have been particularly bad.

So for the last day or so we began thinking about what to do once we returned to Moscow.  Today was the last day of camp, and on our way into Moscow we decided to try to find train tickets to somewhere else in the country (because of Liam's lack of documents, we cannot leave Russia).  We have found tickets tonight for St. Petersburg, and will stay there for at least a few days until the smoke (and hopefully heat) subsides.

While we are unsure of what we would do were it just Beth and I, we are too afraid to leave Liam in this smoke any longer.  It's mostly for his health that we are leaving.  It has become incredibly difficult to breathe while outside, and in our apartment has remained incredibly hot.

Here are a couple news articles that we've seen giving some of the best info on the problem in Moscow to date (thanks Andrea!).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10890557

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/08/06/russia.smog/index.html?hpt=T2#fbid=DknQ0aelK_W&wom=false


Once we have internet access in St. Pete we will try to keep you updated.  We had an incredible week out at camp and can't wait to share all that has happened in August so far.

The Bevens' Last Day

This past Tuesday our friends Eddie and Lisa Bevens returned to the U.S. after nearly two weeks of non-stop sightseeing all around Moscow.  Over the span of 12 days we wore them out and got them sunburned (who would have thought that could happen in Russia??), but we had a blast while doing it.  Most days comprised of heading out around lunchtime to visit different spots around Moscow, getting home around dinnertime and collapsing with a bowl of ice-cream and strawberries (we REALLY take advantage of the fruit produce during the Summer.... you'll find strawberries or raspberries in our refrigerator at ALL times).

I may try to post pictures of the entire week, but I wanted to at least touch on one of the days we spent out on the town.  On their last day we took them to Новодевичий Монастырь (Novodevichy Monastery) -- the third most popular tourist spot in Moscow, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and ironically, a place I had never heard of.  How sad is that??

Beautiful domed cathedrals.

A wall where prayers are written.  I noticed one large inscription in particular, praying for an apartment in Moscow.

View from across the pond.

After our trip to the convent, we met up with Vasya and Masha and we went to a new (and first authentic) Mexican restaurant in Moscow, "Amigo Miguel."  Vasya's girlfriend Vika is a personal assistant/translator for the head chef Alfredo.  The food was INCREDIBLE.

How's the Weather?

One of the questions we get often is the usual "How's the weather?"

It makes sense why we would be asked that.  Russia usually is described as a cold, snowy terrain with little greenery.  But the country is much more bucolic than many suppose.  While Winters here are long and harsh, the Spring and Summers are just about perfect.  Mostly clear skies, thunderstorms here and there, warm tempuratures, and so on.

But for the last month or so, most of Russia has been hit by a drought and heatwave.  Temperatures have hovered around 90, and rain has been extremely rare.  I know 90 doesn't sound so bad, but not only do we not have A/C in our apartment, but we do not have a car to get us where we need to go.  We feel at times like there's no escaping the heat.  And prices of fans and A/C units have now skyrocketed-- the smaller desk fans are selling for around $90!

And according to the above article, this is one of the worst droughts/heatwaves since Russia began recording the weather over 130 years ago!

Sadly the heat has been more than just a problem of comfort.  In a recent AP news article, hundreds of people have drowned since the heatwave began.  The basic gist of the problem is that people seek relief in the countryside during free time, and while trying to stay cool by lake-swimming they also stay pretty inebriated.  The results have been over 400 drownings just since the beginning of July.

We promise we're not trying to complain or garner sympathy.  It's just been a really strange and hot period.  We've never drank more water.  We've never scoped out where to go based on whether or not they have air conditioning (the Dunkin Donuts on Novy Arbat, I must say, has the most astounding A/C we've encountered) until now.

So far there has been no sign of relief.  It looks like temperatures may slowly drop by next weekend, but until then most of Moscow will remain perpetually sweaty.

House Church

This past Sunday Beth and I had our first house church/bible study in our apartment.  Organized and led by Jon Barr, this is the first of hopefully many weeks where we are able to gather with friends to worship and fellowship.  We hope to continue these throughout the Summer and into the Fall.

This week we talked about charity.

Grandmothers' in Town

For nearly a month now Beth and I have welcomed our mothers as guests.  Beth's mother, Barbara, arrived June 3rd and returned home June 24th.  My mother, Adele, flew over on June 18th and will be leaving July 3rd.

Barbara with Liam.

Adele with Liam.

Barbara was here for the delivery!  Unfortunately she was not able to be up in the delivery room, but we were so glad that she could be here for the before and after.  She walked with me every day to and from the hospital (she was so willing to do anything and everything!), and was always there to help in any way possible.

Since this is my mother's first time out of the country, I've tried to balance the time between Liam and sightseeing.  We've spent time out around the town, but also made sure that most of the allotted time is spent with Liam.  It's been so great to show her special places all around Moscow.


They have been such an incredible help at this particular time.  More than they can possibly know.

Another Montage -- Liam's First Few Weeks