Email from Bethany:
Hello!
Ok, we do need some more supply things, like ziplocks. We have none. Maybe some balloons, for both supplies and prizes. I also need more tissues, I only brought 2 packages and I've already used most of them! And some scotch tape, we could always use that, and maybe a small jar of peanut butter. I'm really missing that! lol That's all I can think of right now.
After I was done talking to you guys on Monday, I had the most amazing experience on the Metro! I was sitting there minding my own buisness, like normal, when I turned to look to see what the people next to me were doing. They were both reading, but one I understood. It was in English! So I started reading what she was reading, and it was talking about how to get a guy, like what kind of perfume to wear and what you should feed a guy to make him fall in love with you! I was laughing so hard on the inside. It reminded me of the "Pink Bible" from the Mormon version on Pride and Prejudice. So I read the bottom of the page to see what the title of the book was called, and it said "The LDS Girls Guide to Getting a Man." I was like, Oh my GOSH is she a member? And then I saw that she had a CTR ring on! So I sat there thinking about whether I should talk to her, and I kept getting the feeling that I should. So I leaned over to her and asked her if she could speak English. She looked at me with a odd experession, so I asked again pointing to the book. She then said yes, and so I asked her if she was LDS. She looked at me with a worried experession then. (One of the Sister Missionaries told us on Sunday that the Saints here get a lot of persecution for being members. She said like the pioneer presecution! SO I'm thinking she was worried about what I would say to her.) She looked at me and kind of nodded and said a quiet yes. I said "ME TOO" Her face then became so relaxed and said "REALLY?" and I answered, "YUP" Then we started talking. She asked where I was from and how come I was here. She's from Russia, only one stop away from where I live. And she's going to California in March! She's visiting her friend that lives there, who I found out was her companion on her mission! She goes to a different branch than I do, so that's why we haven't met. She gave me her number so that I could call her! It was so amazing! Who knew? I love that this gospel can bring two totally different people together. I mean, I would have never said anything to her if I hadn't seen her book, or her CTR ring! I'm thinking about calling her and having a couple of us go do something with her. She was so cool, and she spoke really good English! I really do love this gospel!
Also, yesterday was my Russian class... I went. I talked to the teacher before class and I apologized for walking out of the class and for not listening, I did tell him again that I was very sick and so that's all I was thinking about. I asked him if I could have the homework from the last two classes so that I could catch up. And he said of course. So everything is going good now in the class. In this last class I actually understood what he was talking about. For the first time it all made sense. Prayer really does work!
Oh, guess what?!?! I ate a bird! I don't know what kind it was, though. Vova said to me, "You know the woods?" And I answered, "Yes." He said, "You know the deep woods?" And I answered, "Yes." Then he said, "I shot a bird! A big bird! I hunt. My father taught me to hunt." So Vova asked me if I wanted to try some. Dad, you'll be proud of me, I tried it! I didn't like it though! lol It had a weird taste. Vova didn't know what kind of bird it was. But I did try it!
We're leaving for Moscow on Friday, at 1 in the morning!!! Jeshua said that those were the only tickets available because of the Holiday! It's a 10 hour train ride down there. So we'll arrive sometime in the morning. Watch out money cause here I come! lol This is going to be my big spending trip! We aren't going back down to Moscow, so I need to get everything now! Luckily though, we are going to be staying in the Head Teachers apartments while we are there, so we won't have to pay for a place to stay.There are lots of schools down there, so we are going to be splitting up and going to two of them. For some reason, the Moscow teachers aren't leaving, we're not sure why. I am so excited to get out of here and do some shopping! I can't wait! I am sad though, because I won't be able to talk to you guys while I'm there. So don't get worried if I don't call til the middle of next week. But since we are staying at the Head Teachers, we might have the interent, so I might be able to give you a quick email to let you know that we got there safely. I'll try to see what I can do.
Well, I think that's all for now. I miss you and love you more and more each day!
-Boo
PS I still haven't shaved my legs! lol
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Some pitures from Russia
Me and Ula, my host sister
my kitchen
the living room
and more living room
me and Sveta, the ILP Principal
in the St. Peter and Paul Fortress
the Singer and Co Building
The Church on Spilled Blood
Slumber Party!!!
where my family sends me when they go to their summer home... lol :-)
in front of the Church building
riding the Metro with the girls
My very first Metro ride...
in front of the Hermitage
and inside the Hermitage
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Skype conversation with Bethany (written by LeAnne):
I woke up this morning to find an email from Bethany, which is below. And as I was reading it, I saw on Skype that she was online. Just as I was getting ready to call her through Skype, she called me!!! It was so wonderful to talk to her and SEE her!!! She looks really good!
She has been trying to figure out how to get her computer online at her house, but has not been having any luck. So she's thinking of just taking her computer over to the boy's apt and leaving it there. They bought a bunch of cords so that everyone can hook up their computers at the same time to go online. There is also a McDonalds close to the boys apt that you can go online for free.
This morning she was online at the Pizza Hut just a few minutes from her house. She was able to go online on her computer there.
She is doing really well, but misses everyone of course! That is the only hard part of this whole experience.
Bethany told me that the most amazing thing about being in Russia is how much praying she has been doing! She said that she has never prayed so much in her life, never read her scriptures so much, never relied on the spirit so much. When Rudi gave her a Father's blessing before she left, he said that Heavenly Father would keep her safe and send angels to be with her. Well, she told me that has been so true! She prays everyday before she leaves her apartment that angels will attend her and walk with her and that she will constantly be prompted to know that right things to do, the right choices to make. She bore testimony to me that she knows she has had angels walk with her. She feels them constantly, especially when she is having to go to school or home by herself. She has been prompted many times on simple choices, such as which way to walk home from the metro. But they have been very distinct promptings. She also told me that she is constantly reading her scriptures. She constantly has the desire to pick them up and read them. She thinks she's read more in the past 2 weeks than she's read in her whole life!
She's still struggling with learning Russian, but one of the other teachers, Heather, is going to help her. Tonya, her mom, is going to help her also and Bethany is going to help Tonya with English.
Bethany made her first purchases yesterday. She bought a couple of presents for her cousins in Utah. (Yes, Val and Abby...that's you!) And she bought herself a CD of some type of church music. She said it reminded her of the beautiful music in the movie Ever After that the monks sang.
The teachers are going to Moscow next Friday through Tuesday, so she is looking forward to that.
Her iPod lost all of it's songs! She said she cried when it happened. Somehow the got deleted. So I'm going to burn her a copy on CD of her list of songs and mail them to her on Tuesday. She said that her music has helped keep her from getting too homesick. Especially listening to the songs which the family recorded. Bethany said that whenever it got really bad (the homesickness), she'd listen to her Dad and brothers and sisters singing and it really soothed her.
Well, that's about it. Like I said before, she is doing great, and asked me to give her love to everyone.
Bethany's email:
----- Original Message -----
From: Bethany Eller
To: Mom
Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2010 6:17 AM
Subject: Hello
OK, so I'm online at home. The thing is though, that I'm on the girlfriends computer! The Nephew said that it won't work on mine, I'm not sure why though. And she doesn't have Skype downloaded and so I'd feel weird downloading something onto her computer. I'm not sure how this is going to work. I'm thinking about going to a store and seeing how much a satellite thing would cost. I had one in Corona and it worked really well. It might be worth it if I bought one, though I'm not sure how it all works. I'd have to ask one of the boys. I'm really getting tired of not being able to talk to you when I want too. I really miss you guys and I want to see your faces!
Also, teaching is going better. We got evaluated on Thursday. I was ready to poop my pants, I was so nervous! I did not want Jesh in there listening to me and writing things down on a piece of paper. But I said a HUGE prayer beforehand. I asked that I would be able to teach the way I normally do, so that Jesh could see what I was doing and fix my real mistakes. I was afraid that I'd be so nervous that I would make bunches of mistakes that I normally don't make. I also asked Jesh if he could sit behind me so I couldn't see him. And he did! I wasn't that nervous when he was there. I played it cool! After teaching he pulled us into one of the rooms one by one to go over how we did. As soon as I walked in I asked if I failed, and his answer was "No, actually I think you did the best." lol I was so relieved! I couldn't believe it! Of course there were things that needed fixing, but nothing too major! I need to go into more detail about things, and use the BMC's more often and tell the kids the rules of the games that we're playing... lol which I usaully do. I just didn't do it that time because we ran out of time so there wasn't even time to play the game, let alone tell them the rules! lol So I think over all it's going well. I am running out of ideas for kids games though. I have to do the games section for a month before I can change. But that's only 2 more weeks!
The kids have their moments, somedays they are good, somedays not so much. I think they are starting to realize that we're not here to play though. So that's good. And of course I'm starting to have my favorites and not so favorites! lol There is one little boy that I'm trying to figure out how to fit him in my suitcase without getting caught. Though I'd have to fight to get him because all the other teachers want him too! lol He's the smallest in the class and he looks like a baby, but can talk! It's crazy! lol
Yesterday we went to the St Peter and Paul Fortress. It's a mausoleum for dead rulers/famous people. lol The Romanov (spelling?) family is buried there too. I got lots of pictures to show Val and Abby. We also went to a prison. That was so creepy. Syveta (our ILP Principal) said it was the scariest prison in Russia. It was only for bad political people, not criminals. And you had your own room with a bed and small table. You couldn't talk to anyone. It was just you by yourself. She said that the guards used to wear things on their shoes so that the prisoners couldn't hear anyone outside. She said people went crazy in there. And it completely creeped me out! It was so scary!
That was about it for yesterday. Also, I'm sure you'll hear that the group is going to a festival tonight. It's the end of winter festival where they burn a doll of a lady. I'm not going, I planned on it, but I got this icky feeling that I shouldn't go, so I'm not.
Well, I should end this letter, I love you so much and miss you even more! :)
Love Me
PS are you watching the olympics? I saw some, but its just not the same without you! I don't like it!
I woke up this morning to find an email from Bethany, which is below. And as I was reading it, I saw on Skype that she was online. Just as I was getting ready to call her through Skype, she called me!!! It was so wonderful to talk to her and SEE her!!! She looks really good!
She has been trying to figure out how to get her computer online at her house, but has not been having any luck. So she's thinking of just taking her computer over to the boy's apt and leaving it there. They bought a bunch of cords so that everyone can hook up their computers at the same time to go online. There is also a McDonalds close to the boys apt that you can go online for free.
This morning she was online at the Pizza Hut just a few minutes from her house. She was able to go online on her computer there.
She is doing really well, but misses everyone of course! That is the only hard part of this whole experience.
Bethany told me that the most amazing thing about being in Russia is how much praying she has been doing! She said that she has never prayed so much in her life, never read her scriptures so much, never relied on the spirit so much. When Rudi gave her a Father's blessing before she left, he said that Heavenly Father would keep her safe and send angels to be with her. Well, she told me that has been so true! She prays everyday before she leaves her apartment that angels will attend her and walk with her and that she will constantly be prompted to know that right things to do, the right choices to make. She bore testimony to me that she knows she has had angels walk with her. She feels them constantly, especially when she is having to go to school or home by herself. She has been prompted many times on simple choices, such as which way to walk home from the metro. But they have been very distinct promptings. She also told me that she is constantly reading her scriptures. She constantly has the desire to pick them up and read them. She thinks she's read more in the past 2 weeks than she's read in her whole life!
She's still struggling with learning Russian, but one of the other teachers, Heather, is going to help her. Tonya, her mom, is going to help her also and Bethany is going to help Tonya with English.
Bethany made her first purchases yesterday. She bought a couple of presents for her cousins in Utah. (Yes, Val and Abby...that's you!) And she bought herself a CD of some type of church music. She said it reminded her of the beautiful music in the movie Ever After that the monks sang.
The teachers are going to Moscow next Friday through Tuesday, so she is looking forward to that.
Her iPod lost all of it's songs! She said she cried when it happened. Somehow the got deleted. So I'm going to burn her a copy on CD of her list of songs and mail them to her on Tuesday. She said that her music has helped keep her from getting too homesick. Especially listening to the songs which the family recorded. Bethany said that whenever it got really bad (the homesickness), she'd listen to her Dad and brothers and sisters singing and it really soothed her.
Well, that's about it. Like I said before, she is doing great, and asked me to give her love to everyone.
Bethany's email:
----- Original Message -----
From: Bethany Eller
To: Mom
Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2010 6:17 AM
Subject: Hello
OK, so I'm online at home. The thing is though, that I'm on the girlfriends computer! The Nephew said that it won't work on mine, I'm not sure why though. And she doesn't have Skype downloaded and so I'd feel weird downloading something onto her computer. I'm not sure how this is going to work. I'm thinking about going to a store and seeing how much a satellite thing would cost. I had one in Corona and it worked really well. It might be worth it if I bought one, though I'm not sure how it all works. I'd have to ask one of the boys. I'm really getting tired of not being able to talk to you when I want too. I really miss you guys and I want to see your faces!
Also, teaching is going better. We got evaluated on Thursday. I was ready to poop my pants, I was so nervous! I did not want Jesh in there listening to me and writing things down on a piece of paper. But I said a HUGE prayer beforehand. I asked that I would be able to teach the way I normally do, so that Jesh could see what I was doing and fix my real mistakes. I was afraid that I'd be so nervous that I would make bunches of mistakes that I normally don't make. I also asked Jesh if he could sit behind me so I couldn't see him. And he did! I wasn't that nervous when he was there. I played it cool! After teaching he pulled us into one of the rooms one by one to go over how we did. As soon as I walked in I asked if I failed, and his answer was "No, actually I think you did the best." lol I was so relieved! I couldn't believe it! Of course there were things that needed fixing, but nothing too major! I need to go into more detail about things, and use the BMC's more often and tell the kids the rules of the games that we're playing... lol which I usaully do. I just didn't do it that time because we ran out of time so there wasn't even time to play the game, let alone tell them the rules! lol So I think over all it's going well. I am running out of ideas for kids games though. I have to do the games section for a month before I can change. But that's only 2 more weeks!
The kids have their moments, somedays they are good, somedays not so much. I think they are starting to realize that we're not here to play though. So that's good. And of course I'm starting to have my favorites and not so favorites! lol There is one little boy that I'm trying to figure out how to fit him in my suitcase without getting caught. Though I'd have to fight to get him because all the other teachers want him too! lol He's the smallest in the class and he looks like a baby, but can talk! It's crazy! lol
Yesterday we went to the St Peter and Paul Fortress. It's a mausoleum for dead rulers/famous people. lol The Romanov (spelling?) family is buried there too. I got lots of pictures to show Val and Abby. We also went to a prison. That was so creepy. Syveta (our ILP Principal) said it was the scariest prison in Russia. It was only for bad political people, not criminals. And you had your own room with a bed and small table. You couldn't talk to anyone. It was just you by yourself. She said that the guards used to wear things on their shoes so that the prisoners couldn't hear anyone outside. She said people went crazy in there. And it completely creeped me out! It was so scary!
That was about it for yesterday. Also, I'm sure you'll hear that the group is going to a festival tonight. It's the end of winter festival where they burn a doll of a lady. I'm not going, I planned on it, but I got this icky feeling that I shouldn't go, so I'm not.
Well, I should end this letter, I love you so much and miss you even more! :)
Love Me
PS are you watching the olympics? I saw some, but its just not the same without you! I don't like it!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
I talked to Bethany yesterday on the phone, then received an email this morning. Then shortly after getting the email, she called on the phone again!!!
Yesterday's phone call:
Bethany called crying. She was having some stomach problems. She woke up yesterday morning with severe pain coming in waves. She was bent over sitting on her bed, when Tonya, her mom, came in and saw her. Tonya, in her very limited English, asked Beth what was wrong. Tonya told Beth that she was a doctor and told her to lie down, and then Tonya poked around on Beth's stomach. Beth had no idea her mom was a doctor!!! Tonya gave her a little white pill and told her that if the pain got worse during the day, to call and they would take her to the hospital. Luckily the pain eased up as the day went on. So it might have been something that she ate.
Most of the reason that she was crying when she called was that she was upset. She had been to her Russian language class. She was having a large wave of stomach pain when her teacher called on her to answer a question. She hadn't been listening because of the pain, and trying to decide if she needed to run out of the classroom to use the bathroom, so she told him that she hadn't been listening, with the intention to then tell him why. But he cut her off and proceeded to lecture her on wasting his time and if she didn't want to be there, she could leave. She kept trying to tell him what was wrong, but he kept cutting her off, going on about wasting his time. She finally gathered her books, and left. She was afraid that she would end up saying something that she would later regret. So she went to the head teacher's apt, and that's when she called.
Since she was the only one in the apartment, she could freely talk, and gave me the scoop about the other teachers. She is feeling a little distanced from them. They all come back to the apartment each evening and stay and socialize until about 10:00pm. Since she is the only one that lives far away, and either has to take the metro, which takes 1 hour to get home, or her parents come get her at around 8:00pm, she doesn't get to have that time with them. They have that bonding time with each other that she doesn't get. Of course there are some that she has made friendships with, and others that are little harder to get along with. But she's dealing with it.
She absolutely loves her family. She finally met her little sister, Ula. She is 5 years old, and follows Bethany EVERYWHERE!!! Ula will sit and stare at Bethany as she's writing in her journal in the evenings, or when she reads her scriptures in the morning. Beth said it's a little creepy to be stared at constantly, but Ula is a sweetheart. She will also come into Bethany's 'personal bubble space' (as Bethany put it) , and come right up to Bethany's face and reach out and stroke Beth's cheek. Bethany is definitely not use to that!!! She likes her 'personal bubble space' and often doesn't let even family into it!
This week is some sort of holiday week where the Russians celebrate it by eating bliny at every meal. Literally EVERY meal!!! Bliny, in case you didn't know, are Russian pancakes, sort of like crepes. They eat them with meat, vegetables, etc rolled up inside of them with different sauces on them, or with jam or sweetened condensed milk on them. The meat ones are sometimes served for breakfast and the jam ones are served for dinner. It doesn't matter to the Russians. As long as your eating bliny!!! For dinner the other night, they had bliny with jam, sweetened condensed milk, and nutella! She told me that when she comes home, we have to wait for her to make us bliny. She wants good ol' fashioned American food for the first week!!! Then she'll cook us Russian food.
Here is her email that I received this morning:
Hello, So sorry I couldn't write to you any sooner. I couldn't get on a computer until now. I did find out that my house has the internet because I saw the son on it. But I didn't ask about it, I'll do it soon. My stomach is feeling better, but not great. However, my nose is runny and I keep sneezing. I feel like I'm coming down with a cold, which I probably am since everyone else has it.
Also, I'm not going to be teaching my class with Kara anymore. Jesh said that he was taking it away from me since I live so far away and it ends at 7:30pm. Heather is now teaching it. SO now I'm only teaching the Kindergarten class. I'm kinda upset about that. I understand that he was trying to be nice, but I'm not sure how true his intentions were. I really think that he doesn't like me, and I don't know why because I never did anything to make him mad at me!
I also am not sure what to do about my Russian class. I REALLY don't want to go back, I've been praying about it, and I'm not sure what to do. I wonder if it is mandatory. I really don't think I can sit for 2 and a half hours looking at a man that I hate. He was so rude to me that all I'll think about is how I want to punch him in the face! He shouldn't have treated me that way. He was way out of line! Please give me your opinion?!
We are going to Moscow the weekend of the 19th, so not this weekend, but the next. Jesh is buying the tickets today. So I'm way excited to go down there! I can't wait to go. We aren't teaching on that Monday and Tuesday, so we'll be there until then, so don't get worried if I don't call or email during that time. :) And make sure you remember me in your prayers so I don't get "Taken" :) Though I told Brandon that if any of us get Taken, I expect him to come after us since he's a Marine!
Oh, also, you know how on the departing paper I gave you it said to send things to the school? Well, that's wrong, they told us NOT to send anything to the school, to send it to the boys apartment or my house. So if for some odd reason you feel like sending something to me, don't send it to the school! lol
Well I guess this is all, hope you are all well.
Loves you more and more each day!
Boo
PS Dad, I still haven't shaved my legs! lol :) I'm trying for the whole time I'm here! ;)
My phone conversation with Bethany this morning:
As she said in her email, her stomach is feeling better.
Here are 2 stories that she told me that are quit interesting:
There are wild, stray dogs EVERYWHERE in St. Petersburg. Doesn't matter where you go, there are dogs lying around, following you, etc. On one of her first days there, Bethany and Tonya were out walking with Bonya, the family's dog. Suddenly they were surrounded by a pack of stray dogs, growling and barking. The dogs wanted to get at Bonya. Bethany said that she thought, "I won't look at them. I won't let them see that I'm scared. I'll just keep walking. Keep your eyes away from them." She told me that she felt like a little child who covers their eyes and thinks that if they don't see you, you won't see them. So Bethany and Tonya keep walking with the dogs getting closer and closer when Bethany hears a loud BANG in her ear, jumps a mile high, looks over and there is Tonya with a gun in her hand laughing at the expression on Bethany's face!!! In her very limited English, Tonya points to her gun, saying, "Game. Game." And then points to the dogs and makes a chomping motion with her hand pointing to Bethany. So Beth is assuming it was a toy type of gun and that the wild dogs would have bitten all of them trying to get to Bonya. When she got to the boy's apt, she told the teacher's what happened. Jesh asked her if she thought it was a real gun. She said that she didn't know. She couldn't tell the difference and asked him if it's common for Russians to carry around guns. Jesh's answer was, "Only if they are in the Mafia."
Which brings me to the next story... But first a little background. Bethany was told on her first day there that her family was very wealthy and that her father is rumored to be ex-Mafia. So of course, Bethany has had this in the back of her mind the past 2 weeks. Well, last night, Vova, Tonya and Ula picked her up from school. They usually go straight home or if they stop at at store or anything, they always have Bethany go in with them. Last night they stop at a store, and Tonya tells Ula to stay in the car with Bethany. Vova and Tonya go into the store and come out with a package. They don't say a word about stopping, why they stopped, what they were getting, nothing! Then they silently drive to a building that Bethany has never been to. Once again Tonya tells Ula to stay in the car with Bethany. Tonya gets out, goes into the apartment building. Vova gets out and stands on the sidewalk, looking up and down the street. Then he comes back into the car, gets a cigarette and goes back to the sidewalk. Within a minute, a man dressed all in black suddenly walks up to Vova, lights Vova's cigarette, and walks on. Within another minute, Tonya walks out of the apt building, not carrying the package she took in, but 2 other packages. Vova and Tonya silently get in the car and they silently drive home. By this time, Bethany's imagination is running WILD!!! Of course she's imagining every scenario that she has seen in movies and TV. All she could think about was the TV show Alias, and she is sure she's going to see bullets flying!!!
Bethany is going to try to talk to her brother tonight to see if she can somehow hook her computer up to the internet so that she can email more frequently and upload the pictures that she has taken so that we can see them. She is able to go online when she's at the boy's apt, but she usually only has time to check her email very quickly because all of the teachers are wanting to use the computer.
She would love to hear from everyone. nicknaaronsbabe@msn.com is her email address.
Yesterday's phone call:
Bethany called crying. She was having some stomach problems. She woke up yesterday morning with severe pain coming in waves. She was bent over sitting on her bed, when Tonya, her mom, came in and saw her. Tonya, in her very limited English, asked Beth what was wrong. Tonya told Beth that she was a doctor and told her to lie down, and then Tonya poked around on Beth's stomach. Beth had no idea her mom was a doctor!!! Tonya gave her a little white pill and told her that if the pain got worse during the day, to call and they would take her to the hospital. Luckily the pain eased up as the day went on. So it might have been something that she ate.
Most of the reason that she was crying when she called was that she was upset. She had been to her Russian language class. She was having a large wave of stomach pain when her teacher called on her to answer a question. She hadn't been listening because of the pain, and trying to decide if she needed to run out of the classroom to use the bathroom, so she told him that she hadn't been listening, with the intention to then tell him why. But he cut her off and proceeded to lecture her on wasting his time and if she didn't want to be there, she could leave. She kept trying to tell him what was wrong, but he kept cutting her off, going on about wasting his time. She finally gathered her books, and left. She was afraid that she would end up saying something that she would later regret. So she went to the head teacher's apt, and that's when she called.
Since she was the only one in the apartment, she could freely talk, and gave me the scoop about the other teachers. She is feeling a little distanced from them. They all come back to the apartment each evening and stay and socialize until about 10:00pm. Since she is the only one that lives far away, and either has to take the metro, which takes 1 hour to get home, or her parents come get her at around 8:00pm, she doesn't get to have that time with them. They have that bonding time with each other that she doesn't get. Of course there are some that she has made friendships with, and others that are little harder to get along with. But she's dealing with it.
She absolutely loves her family. She finally met her little sister, Ula. She is 5 years old, and follows Bethany EVERYWHERE!!! Ula will sit and stare at Bethany as she's writing in her journal in the evenings, or when she reads her scriptures in the morning. Beth said it's a little creepy to be stared at constantly, but Ula is a sweetheart. She will also come into Bethany's 'personal bubble space' (as Bethany put it) , and come right up to Bethany's face and reach out and stroke Beth's cheek. Bethany is definitely not use to that!!! She likes her 'personal bubble space' and often doesn't let even family into it!
This week is some sort of holiday week where the Russians celebrate it by eating bliny at every meal. Literally EVERY meal!!! Bliny, in case you didn't know, are Russian pancakes, sort of like crepes. They eat them with meat, vegetables, etc rolled up inside of them with different sauces on them, or with jam or sweetened condensed milk on them. The meat ones are sometimes served for breakfast and the jam ones are served for dinner. It doesn't matter to the Russians. As long as your eating bliny!!! For dinner the other night, they had bliny with jam, sweetened condensed milk, and nutella! She told me that when she comes home, we have to wait for her to make us bliny. She wants good ol' fashioned American food for the first week!!! Then she'll cook us Russian food.
Here is her email that I received this morning:
Hello, So sorry I couldn't write to you any sooner. I couldn't get on a computer until now. I did find out that my house has the internet because I saw the son on it. But I didn't ask about it, I'll do it soon. My stomach is feeling better, but not great. However, my nose is runny and I keep sneezing. I feel like I'm coming down with a cold, which I probably am since everyone else has it.
Also, I'm not going to be teaching my class with Kara anymore. Jesh said that he was taking it away from me since I live so far away and it ends at 7:30pm. Heather is now teaching it. SO now I'm only teaching the Kindergarten class. I'm kinda upset about that. I understand that he was trying to be nice, but I'm not sure how true his intentions were. I really think that he doesn't like me, and I don't know why because I never did anything to make him mad at me!
I also am not sure what to do about my Russian class. I REALLY don't want to go back, I've been praying about it, and I'm not sure what to do. I wonder if it is mandatory. I really don't think I can sit for 2 and a half hours looking at a man that I hate. He was so rude to me that all I'll think about is how I want to punch him in the face! He shouldn't have treated me that way. He was way out of line! Please give me your opinion?!
We are going to Moscow the weekend of the 19th, so not this weekend, but the next. Jesh is buying the tickets today. So I'm way excited to go down there! I can't wait to go. We aren't teaching on that Monday and Tuesday, so we'll be there until then, so don't get worried if I don't call or email during that time. :) And make sure you remember me in your prayers so I don't get "Taken" :) Though I told Brandon that if any of us get Taken, I expect him to come after us since he's a Marine!
Oh, also, you know how on the departing paper I gave you it said to send things to the school? Well, that's wrong, they told us NOT to send anything to the school, to send it to the boys apartment or my house. So if for some odd reason you feel like sending something to me, don't send it to the school! lol
Well I guess this is all, hope you are all well.
Loves you more and more each day!
Boo
PS Dad, I still haven't shaved my legs! lol :) I'm trying for the whole time I'm here! ;)
My phone conversation with Bethany this morning:
As she said in her email, her stomach is feeling better.
Here are 2 stories that she told me that are quit interesting:
There are wild, stray dogs EVERYWHERE in St. Petersburg. Doesn't matter where you go, there are dogs lying around, following you, etc. On one of her first days there, Bethany and Tonya were out walking with Bonya, the family's dog. Suddenly they were surrounded by a pack of stray dogs, growling and barking. The dogs wanted to get at Bonya. Bethany said that she thought, "I won't look at them. I won't let them see that I'm scared. I'll just keep walking. Keep your eyes away from them." She told me that she felt like a little child who covers their eyes and thinks that if they don't see you, you won't see them. So Bethany and Tonya keep walking with the dogs getting closer and closer when Bethany hears a loud BANG in her ear, jumps a mile high, looks over and there is Tonya with a gun in her hand laughing at the expression on Bethany's face!!! In her very limited English, Tonya points to her gun, saying, "Game. Game." And then points to the dogs and makes a chomping motion with her hand pointing to Bethany. So Beth is assuming it was a toy type of gun and that the wild dogs would have bitten all of them trying to get to Bonya. When she got to the boy's apt, she told the teacher's what happened. Jesh asked her if she thought it was a real gun. She said that she didn't know. She couldn't tell the difference and asked him if it's common for Russians to carry around guns. Jesh's answer was, "Only if they are in the Mafia."
Which brings me to the next story... But first a little background. Bethany was told on her first day there that her family was very wealthy and that her father is rumored to be ex-Mafia. So of course, Bethany has had this in the back of her mind the past 2 weeks. Well, last night, Vova, Tonya and Ula picked her up from school. They usually go straight home or if they stop at at store or anything, they always have Bethany go in with them. Last night they stop at a store, and Tonya tells Ula to stay in the car with Bethany. Vova and Tonya go into the store and come out with a package. They don't say a word about stopping, why they stopped, what they were getting, nothing! Then they silently drive to a building that Bethany has never been to. Once again Tonya tells Ula to stay in the car with Bethany. Tonya gets out, goes into the apartment building. Vova gets out and stands on the sidewalk, looking up and down the street. Then he comes back into the car, gets a cigarette and goes back to the sidewalk. Within a minute, a man dressed all in black suddenly walks up to Vova, lights Vova's cigarette, and walks on. Within another minute, Tonya walks out of the apt building, not carrying the package she took in, but 2 other packages. Vova and Tonya silently get in the car and they silently drive home. By this time, Bethany's imagination is running WILD!!! Of course she's imagining every scenario that she has seen in movies and TV. All she could think about was the TV show Alias, and she is sure she's going to see bullets flying!!!
Bethany is going to try to talk to her brother tonight to see if she can somehow hook her computer up to the internet so that she can email more frequently and upload the pictures that she has taken so that we can see them. She is able to go online when she's at the boy's apt, but she usually only has time to check her email very quickly because all of the teachers are wanting to use the computer.
She would love to hear from everyone. nicknaaronsbabe@msn.com is her email address.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Another phone call - at 3:AM!
Bethany called home again! But at 3:00am!!! It was 2:00pm in Russia. All of the teachers were done with work, and no one else wanted to call home at that time to wake their parents up, so Beth called and we were able to talk for almost 2 hours!!!
She is doing great!!! She loves it, but said that it is really hard work. Unfortunately, the children are behind in their English because the previous group of teachers didn't put much effort into teaching the children. She also said that American kids are much better disciplined than Russian children.
She works Monday, Wednesday, & Friday from 10:30am - 12 noon and Tues & Thursday 4:30pm - 6:pm teaching the younger kids, ages 5-7 with 3 other teachers. The children rotate to each teacher, so she does her lesson 4 times a day. Then on Monday & Wednesday nights from 5:00pm - 7:30pm she team teaches 16 & 17 year olds. They know English quite well, so it's mainly to help them with their grammar.
Bethany takes Russian language classes 2 times a week, on Tues & Thu mornings from 10am-12:30pm.
Bethany has been enjoying the food. But the Native Co-ordinator has called her 2 times, telling her first that the Grandma that she first stayed with, and now the family that she is staying with, have called to say that she is not eating enough and that she needs to eat more!!! Bethany said they are putting out big buffet type meals and she is trying to eat alot, but they want to 'fatten' her up! She told us that the food is very bland though. They serve meat and bread at every meal. She's had crepes for breakfast with 'some kind of meat', crepes with sweetened condensed milk on them (which she absolutely loves!) and always bread! She had cereal the other morning with fresh cow's milk. Bethany has never had fresh milk straight from the cow and she loves it!!! Her 'mom' found out that Bethany loves Nutella, so she bought Beth 2 big jars. Now Beth has Nutella every day on her bread. She eats lunch at the school, mostly soups. Dinners are usually some type of meat and noodles and bread.
Her clothes have been keeping her very warm. She was surprised at how warm she is even out in the snow! It's very humid so her hair is 'poofing' out everywhere! Bethany was the first teacher to "eat it" in the snow. This morning on her way to school, she slipped and fell into a 3 foot high snow drift, covering herself in snow! Of course, being Bethany, all she did was laugh!
Bethany said that if she has major health problems later on in life, we can blame Russia for them! When she gets lung cancer from second hand smoke...it's because 80% of the people smoke! And they smoke everywhere! There aren't any non-smoking places. She's been told not to drink the water unless it's bottled or filtered. Well, the filters have a 3 step process, first to filter out the dirt, 2nd to filter out the bacteria, and 3rd to filter out the radiation!!!! Beth said that when she goes bald in the next few years, that's why!!!
She absolutely loves her 'parents'. She said they are so nice and kind. They won't let her do anything, even take in her dishes to the sink when she is done eating. Her dad, Vova, drives her everywhere. He said he doesn't like walking or taking the Metro, so he won't let her do it either. She still hasn't met her 'brother' and 'sister'. They both come home this weekend, so she will finally get to meet them. She's excited about the brother, because he is fluent in English and she can ask him if they have the internet. She has taken a lot of pictures, and wants to post them for everyone to see, but can't until she gets online.
She told me to tell everyone that she loves and misses them.
She is doing great!!! She loves it, but said that it is really hard work. Unfortunately, the children are behind in their English because the previous group of teachers didn't put much effort into teaching the children. She also said that American kids are much better disciplined than Russian children.
She works Monday, Wednesday, & Friday from 10:30am - 12 noon and Tues & Thursday 4:30pm - 6:pm teaching the younger kids, ages 5-7 with 3 other teachers. The children rotate to each teacher, so she does her lesson 4 times a day. Then on Monday & Wednesday nights from 5:00pm - 7:30pm she team teaches 16 & 17 year olds. They know English quite well, so it's mainly to help them with their grammar.
Bethany takes Russian language classes 2 times a week, on Tues & Thu mornings from 10am-12:30pm.
Bethany has been enjoying the food. But the Native Co-ordinator has called her 2 times, telling her first that the Grandma that she first stayed with, and now the family that she is staying with, have called to say that she is not eating enough and that she needs to eat more!!! Bethany said they are putting out big buffet type meals and she is trying to eat alot, but they want to 'fatten' her up! She told us that the food is very bland though. They serve meat and bread at every meal. She's had crepes for breakfast with 'some kind of meat', crepes with sweetened condensed milk on them (which she absolutely loves!) and always bread! She had cereal the other morning with fresh cow's milk. Bethany has never had fresh milk straight from the cow and she loves it!!! Her 'mom' found out that Bethany loves Nutella, so she bought Beth 2 big jars. Now Beth has Nutella every day on her bread. She eats lunch at the school, mostly soups. Dinners are usually some type of meat and noodles and bread.
Her clothes have been keeping her very warm. She was surprised at how warm she is even out in the snow! It's very humid so her hair is 'poofing' out everywhere! Bethany was the first teacher to "eat it" in the snow. This morning on her way to school, she slipped and fell into a 3 foot high snow drift, covering herself in snow! Of course, being Bethany, all she did was laugh!
Bethany said that if she has major health problems later on in life, we can blame Russia for them! When she gets lung cancer from second hand smoke...it's because 80% of the people smoke! And they smoke everywhere! There aren't any non-smoking places. She's been told not to drink the water unless it's bottled or filtered. Well, the filters have a 3 step process, first to filter out the dirt, 2nd to filter out the bacteria, and 3rd to filter out the radiation!!!! Beth said that when she goes bald in the next few years, that's why!!!
She absolutely loves her 'parents'. She said they are so nice and kind. They won't let her do anything, even take in her dishes to the sink when she is done eating. Her dad, Vova, drives her everywhere. He said he doesn't like walking or taking the Metro, so he won't let her do it either. She still hasn't met her 'brother' and 'sister'. They both come home this weekend, so she will finally get to meet them. She's excited about the brother, because he is fluent in English and she can ask him if they have the internet. She has taken a lot of pictures, and wants to post them for everyone to see, but can't until she gets online.
She told me to tell everyone that she loves and misses them.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Phone Call from Bethany
Bethany called her family last night. She is doing well.
She had training on Monday, and started teaching on Tuesday. She is one of 4 teachers in the Kindergarten Program, which are 4-6 year olds, 5 days a week. She is in charge of games this week. (The teachers rotate areas each week.) She will also be team teaching one of the older groups a few days a week, just as a helper. If the other teacher does ok, and doesn't need any help once she gets into the program, then Bethany will only teach the Kindergarten group.
She is finally living with her host family. When first asked about her family, her response was, "They are SO funny! I love them." There is a mother and father, a 5 year old girl and a 20 year old son, who's girlfriend lives with him there at the house. Bethany will be sharing the 5 year olds room. Bethany hasn't met the little girl yet, because she is vacationing at their summer home with the grandmother. And the son and his girlfriend are vacationing in Egypt. They'll all be home next week. The Dad speaks English. Beth said that he doesn't think his English is very good, so he continually does hand signals, even though she understands him! She was told the son speaks fluent English, so she will be happy when he comes home so that she can ask him if they have the internet. The Dad didn't seem to understand the word 'internet'.
Beth lives about 30 min train ride from the school in the middle of the city. She was given a Metro pass to ride to and from school, but her host family has driven her to and from school since she has moved in with them!
She started her Russian language classes on Tuesday night. She couldn't remember the name of the University where they are held, but said it is a very well-known school and many people come from all over the world to learn Russian there. She was told that a decendent of the Romanov family is coming at the end of this month to join their class in learning Russian!
Her phone call was pretty short. She was getting ready to go to work. She just wanted to let us know that she was doing well, and to make sure all of us were ok.
She had training on Monday, and started teaching on Tuesday. She is one of 4 teachers in the Kindergarten Program, which are 4-6 year olds, 5 days a week. She is in charge of games this week. (The teachers rotate areas each week.) She will also be team teaching one of the older groups a few days a week, just as a helper. If the other teacher does ok, and doesn't need any help once she gets into the program, then Bethany will only teach the Kindergarten group.
She is finally living with her host family. When first asked about her family, her response was, "They are SO funny! I love them." There is a mother and father, a 5 year old girl and a 20 year old son, who's girlfriend lives with him there at the house. Bethany will be sharing the 5 year olds room. Bethany hasn't met the little girl yet, because she is vacationing at their summer home with the grandmother. And the son and his girlfriend are vacationing in Egypt. They'll all be home next week. The Dad speaks English. Beth said that he doesn't think his English is very good, so he continually does hand signals, even though she understands him! She was told the son speaks fluent English, so she will be happy when he comes home so that she can ask him if they have the internet. The Dad didn't seem to understand the word 'internet'.
Beth lives about 30 min train ride from the school in the middle of the city. She was given a Metro pass to ride to and from school, but her host family has driven her to and from school since she has moved in with them!
She started her Russian language classes on Tuesday night. She couldn't remember the name of the University where they are held, but said it is a very well-known school and many people come from all over the world to learn Russian there. She was told that a decendent of the Romanov family is coming at the end of this month to join their class in learning Russian!
Her phone call was pretty short. She was getting ready to go to work. She just wanted to let us know that she was doing well, and to make sure all of us were ok.
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