Life in Nizh

Lee and I in some type of Russian hats... Ha!

Hello!  All is well in Nizhnevartovsk :)  The kids are adjusted to school, and enjoy playing with their friends.  Paul is speaking more russian now, and Emma even translates for me :)  I have been going to the gym, cooking and learning to make russian food with Yulya, and lately trying to get over a cold.  

Yulya, Sveta, and I

A good friend of ours, Ksenia, just moved from Nizh to Toronto.  We had a party for her at Lemon, which was lots of fun, and then sent her off to Canada 3 days later.  She is missed, but i am having fun hearing about her adventures :)

Here is a pic of Ksenia and I:

Oh, by the way, I got in trouble at Podsulnuk on Sunday.... Podsulnuk (russian for sunflower...) is the biggest supermarket they have in town.  I would compare it to maybe a neighborhood walmart, with wine and liquor, of course.  Anyway, I went to get some potatoes, and i grabbed two pre-bagged bags.  Now, these are not marked, as you have to take everything like that (produce wise) to be weighed and stickered at a special counter.  Well, I watched the process, and got in line.  As I reached the weigh in counter, a cleaning lady approached as well.  She was talking to the weigher girl, and I handed one of my potato bags to the weigher girl.  As I did this, the dirt on the potatoes fell all over the counter... Well, the cleaning lady started "talking" and motioning to the dirt on the counter, and saying the word "packyet" which i know means sack.  So I assume I was in trouble for not putting the sack of potatoes in another sack so they would not dirty up the counter :)  Well, that is fine, and I said that I was sorry, that I didn't know, and the weigher girl was very nice and gave me a sack and said it was ok.  But I had yet another bag of potatoes, sans the sack..... but the weigher girl gave me one and all was well. :)  It's those kind of things that you don't know that make it funny and hard to live in another country.  Of course, now, i will ALWAYS put my produce in a sack..... and if I could of read the signs, maybe I wouldn't of gotten in trouble at all!  ha ha!  

New Apartment!!!

We finally have a new apartment!!  We really like it and are so happy to have something with more room, and windows that actually open and close :)  The kids even have their own rooms! 

Here is a pic of a street as we are driving... 

Now, for the apartment......

Here is the entryway:

The kitchen and eating area:

Living room:

Hallway:

Playroom:

Bathroom:

Paul's room:

Emma's Room:

Our room:

Views from the windows:

Outside of apartment:

Emma and Paul at school with friends

The kids started back to school, and have so far really enjoyed it!  Paul doesn't usually like it right at first, but by the time I get him undressed and redressed, he is fine.  He tells me that he now "talks russian"... I asked him what he said, and Paul told me that he says "da" (which means yes)! I think he understands most of what the kids and teachers say to him, but he obviously doesn't speak it much :) ha!

Emma adjusted quite well and very quickly!  The first Monday we were here, she was invited to a birthday party.  I took her, and was so mad at myself for forgetting my camera!!!  It was THE most incredible 6 year old birthday party I have EVER seen!  It was held at Malibu, which is a little arcade/celebration station type place.  There were probably 15 or so kids, and their moms.  The kids got tokens to play games, and could also play in the ball climbing pit thing and ride the bumper cars.  Then we all went into this room that was all decorated and set up with about 7 small tables for the kids and one big table for the moms.  The kids tables all had 3 small coke bottles, a tree with fruit arranged on it, fancy straws and juice.  The adults table was about the same.  The kids then sat down, drank their cokes, and then they brought in milkshakes  and fried cheese, hotdogs, etc. on little platters for every table.  While they were eating, they watched a 3-D movie on the movie screen.  After the movie, 2 clowns came in to entertain the kids with games and songs and such.  Then, they brought each child a plate with meatballs and french fries.  Meanwhile, the adults were served on a huge platter in the center of the table with tons of meat and veggies on it.  We were also each given a salad and juice.  Then, it was cake time.....  each of us got a piece of cake, and the adults were served tea.  While the cake was being consumed, the kids watched 2 more 3-D movies.  Then, at 9:00pm, it was time to go home.  whew!  I couldn't believe it!  It would of cost a fortune in the states, and I can't even begin to guess how much it was here!  

ok, back to school.... Emma is having fun, and is already speaking russian again.  She and I are going to "teach English" to a few of her classmates 2 times a week.  She is very excited about this.... we start tomorrow :)

ok, enough for now... I will post pics of the apartment next :)

Love, Juli

Florence, Italy

One rainy day on vacation, we decided to take a trip to Florence.  We knew we weren't going to be sightseeing with a 5 and 3 year old, but we thought we might get to walk around a bit and let them play.  The thing that impressed the kids the most was the carousel!  They loved it and rode it three times :)

 

 

Heading Overseas!!

Hello!  Well, we are now in Nizhnevartovsk, and have been for about a week.... but before we came back, we took a vacation in Italy :)  We flew into Pisa, and then stayed at a house in Livorno, and then an apartment in a small area outside of Piombino, on the Gulf of Baratti.  It was beautiful!!  

First, here is a pic of a sign in the Moscow airport as we were getting ready to head to Italy.... I had "forgotten" how funny things can be here... like the way they spell english words, etc., or translate things... like, shouldn't it be flaming or at least flamin' ??  just wanted to give you a little taste of it! ha ha!

Next are some pics of us in Italy at the beach near our apartment in Baratti....  It is a beautiful place!!!  And the food was INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!  

ok, just checked the photos that uploaded and I can't get them to insert where I want them or in the order that I want them..... agghh!  i will see what i can do for next time....  Anyway!  We are doing well, happy, healthy and getting settled!!  we miss you and love you all!!!!!!!

We seem to have a new pet!!!

Hey!  Well, today I took the kids (my 2, the 3 neighbors, and a friend) on a walk around the neighborhood.  They were all excited and ready with their water bottles and sacks (for whatever "treasures" they might find....) so we set off to walk.  As we made our way around the outer loop, we encountered our neighborhood peacock!  We stopped and looked, and the kids ran all around it... then we proceeded on our walk.  Well, apparently the peacock wanted to walk too!  It followed us all the way around the loop, and down Ann Arbor to the school!  We must of been quite a sight, 7 kids, 1 adult, and 1 peacock!  Cars were stopping and waving, and everyone who passed us smiled!  it was a hilarious sight!  Well, we turned around to walk home, and the peacock continues to follow us!  I think it got a couple of stickers in its feet, because it slowed down and we continued without it.  So, we ate lunch, and then all went out back to play.  Suddenly, we notice the darn peacock is at our back gate!!!  It then flies onto our neighbors roof, where it stays while we swim.  Then, we head back to our house, and soon the peacock is in our backyard!  Apparently, it thinks we are its new family!  As i write now, the peacock is laying down RIGHT outside of our back door!!  crazy!  We are thinking of names.... maybe Bobby, maybe Heather...  but we don't know if it is a girl or boy.... hmmmmmm... could be a problem.......