November in Nizh

Hey! Happy (late) Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a blessed Holiday :) Ours was good. We celebrated by eating at a restaurant called "The Store" with some people from Lee's work. We had turkey, vegetables, stuffing, etc. Of course, vodka was present, as it was a Russian restaurant! I think that is the first Thanksgiving that I have ever had a bottle of vodka sitting on the table next to the turkey!

On Friday night, we celebrated with other Americans at the Crowder's apartment. Grace made turkey, dressing, gravy, cranberry relish, rolls, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, cheesecake, and chocolate chip cookies. I made mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn casserole, an onion dish and a salad. There were 14 people there, and we ate until our stomachs were about to burst! I took a picture of the potatoes that one finds here: they are very dirty, so I took a pic of one before being cleaned, and one after it has been washed. Note: I cleaned, peeled, chopped, boiled and mashed 12 pounds of these suckers!

I also wanted you to see how the kids are transported to and from school! We use a sled!! They love it, but don't really like being on it together---but how could I push 2 sleds?? So, i told them to suck it up :) Where else could you get to school by sled??! Also, I wanted you to see how dark it is here---the pic of emma on the sled alone is at 4:45pm--It is already very dark, as you can see in the pic. Crazy! The pic of the 2 kids and Inna is at 8:00am.

The picture of the people working on the ice, is at the oilman's park in the center of the city where they build the slides and ice sculptures. They are beginning work on the sculptures, etc. and I have found it interesting to watch the progress and to see how they accomplish this! I have heard that the blocks of ice they use are cut out of the river...

Well, we are all doing well. I must run and shower--we have our weekly ladies lunch today!

Love, juli

Wow!

Well, we are finally adjusting to life back in Nizh. The kids are somewhat sleeping through the night, and I am getting used to the pace (or lack thereof) of life in russia. It is getting colder, although we haven't had any snow in a couple of weeks. Today it is -17 degrees celcius, with a windchill of -30 degrees celcius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit). Yikes! It hurts your chest when you are outside and breathe in the cold air. On the way to school today, Emma wore 2 scarves: one to cinch the neck of her coat, and one to cover her face. She was "really puffed up" as she says when she has on her outerwear :)

There hasn't been much going on--Lee spent 4 days in Moscow last week-- and I thought I was going to loose my mind! Not that it isn't already a bit off, but it was pure craziness cooped up with Emma and Paul in our little apartment! Thank God for Chris! He came over every night for dinner--it was the hightlight of our days, as we finally had English conversation :)

I probably don't have to tell you this, but the prices here are ridiculous!!!!! Here are some examples:

**Toilet paper--ok- now, I didn't buy the crepe paper that the ladies on the corner sell, it was somewhat like the kind they sell in the US, but a different brand. "Lambi" . I paid what is equivalent to $11 for 6 rolls! It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "this s**t is expensive"! :)

**Dry cleaning--I took 5 pairs of pants and 2 blouses to the cleaners. It cost me $80!! Insane!!!!!!

**Philadelphia cream cheese--now, granted, this is a "luxury" and isn't found very often in Nizh, but I found a big tub of this, and paid the eqivalent of $30.

**Whiskey-- a bottle of Canadian Club that you would buy in the states for about $20....here it costs $80.

It just floors me, when I see these prices and do the conversion! Oh, and diapers, are very expensive too! the only thing that I have found that is cheaper is bread. You can buy a good loaf of tasty bread for about 50 cents.

Anyway! just wanted to say hello, and vent a bit about the price gouging going on here :) I hope all is well, and that you are enjoying the beginning of the Holidays! Much love, juli

We're Baaaack!

Hello!! Long time, no post, huh?! Well, we spent some time in Oklahoma, and

just arrived in Nizhnevartovsk one week ago today. The flights went pretty well---the kids were great, and cooperated wonderfully!! Thanks for your prayers :)

When we arrived, it was snowing and there was maybe 1/2" of snow on the ground. However, it melted, and we haven't seen any snow since. The locals are saying that it is an unusually warm autumn, and that that means a severe winter---like -50 degrees celcius! I hope not!!!! I am hoping that a warm autumn means a "warm" winter. The temperature has been in the 20's to upper 30's, but this week it is expected to get much colder.

Emma started back to school on Thursday, after we finally got her to go see the doctor. Apparently she has been traumatized by the many doctors she has had to see, and she literally FREAKS out when she has to go. In this case, we bribed her, and finally got her to go, so that she could get a note saying she was well, and could return to school. That afternoon we baked cookies and took them to her class so she could visit. She was sooo excited and ran right in to play! The only thing negative she had to say was, "It's not fair that I don't get to stay at school a long time today!" But the next day, she was able to stay, and played with her friends. They even went to go see a puppet show!

Anyway....just adjusting to the time difference, and trying to get used to the fact that at 4:30pm it is dark! By 7, we feel like it is probably 10, and we should head to bed! I can't believe that in about 5 weeks it will be dark all day long! I will send pics of that! I love you all and hope to hear from you soon!!! Love, Juli

P.S. thought you might like to see a pic of Inna (our nanny) and Ivan on their wedding day!