Happy Birthday N and Kesha the bird

We let Kesha fly around the room yesterday. Here he is sitting on top of his cage.
N with Kesha on top of her head.
N(16) & N(17) with L in the background at the birthday party.
N (8 today) with his friend S from school and her mother.

N turned 8 years old today and we had a big party to celebrate tonight. Here he is with the birthday cake and some of his friends and family. I made 2 chocolate cakes but couldn't find ingredients to make frosting so used powdered sugar sprinkled on top. This was the first time I made a cake from scratch and it turned out well. I organized 2 games for the children which were Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Treasure Hunt. They liked finding candy at the end of their treasure hunt.

I'll be home for Christmas...

you can count on me. That song has popped in my mind several times since I've been in Russia. Now that the time is drawing near to the end of my stay I find myself counting down the days to leave. I have to be honest that although there are many things I enjoy about being here there is no place like home. At night I often dream of home and people there but don't recall dreaming about Russia.
On Sunday I went to a mall that was very modern and nice. It reminded me of home a bit. There was an IKEA store where I ate swedish food and several other stores that we have back in the States. There even was a food court. My search for brown sugar has continued but I did find vanilla powder and cinammon. I even found bouillon cubes!
Here is a picture of my American friends as we were riding the bus back to the city from the Gulf of Finland:

Gulf of Finland

Me and my puppy friend I found in the woods by an old earthen house.
N and S by the Gulf of Finland in freezing temperatures.
A Russian city off in the distance.

This past weekend our group had a fall retreat by the Gulf of Finland. It was brrr very cold and rainy. We spent most of the time hanging out together and having tea. Let's just say my stomach didn't feel so good the next day after all those sweets. I got to talk with a couple who run an art studio in the city and twice a week host kids from the orphanage in their classes. I will try to visit this program sometime this week.
I continue my weekly visits at 2 orphanages and helping with English lessons at the transitional home and a Christian school. I have less than 3 weeks to go before I leave for Sweden.

I'm thankful for

Here are some more pictures from last weekend. A new friend N took us all out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. They even had live dancers to enertain us with Mexican dancing. We all ate fajitas and chips with guacamole and salsa.
My host parents V & V. Far left is M & A. M is the director of the program.
N & A run a home for boys. They looked great in the Mexican sombreros.


Today I'm thankful for...

Finding the train to the town outside of the city so I don't have to sit in a crowded bus for 2 hours.

Having Internet after losing it this morning.

For a good healthy dinner fixed by my friend and it wasn't pork.

For the friends I have made while here.

For a nice sunny pleasant fall day.

For finding something important that was lost.

Rainy weekend but restful

A side view of Church on Spilled Blood.
An earlier picture of me standing beside the canal with the Church in the background.

I am resting today after a week's worth of activites. I was happy to join a team from Texas to visit another orphanage. It was great to work with the same group of kids every day this past week. I hope to go back and visit them before I leave next month. The group from Texas was awesome and so well organized. The kids really loved their crafts. I was thankful to get some replenishments of medicine, cough drops, toilet paper(Charmin), and lithium batteries. Thanks y'all.
Today I went inside Kazan Cathedral and Church on Spilled Blood. I loved the mosaics depicting Jesus' life inside the last church. It was really beautiful. Checked out the marketplace again for souveneirs. Went to 3 bookstores and bought a bible for a friend I just met recently. Sorry I forgot my camera but it was super rainy and cold. Plus, I was tired. I'll do better next time.
N from Louisianna treated me to a Mexican dinner the other night at Tres Amigos. Thanks N for the dinner and supplies.
For all you Americans don't forget to vote this year.

Quick update

My friend's congregation at worship service.
My friend's cat Marsik.
My group at the orphanage visits this week with our interpreter.

I haven't had Internet for about 5 days so will just shout a loud Hooray to be able to have it back. Still need to figure out why the router isn't working correctly. I'll be volunteering with a team from Texas this week so will try to upload pictures later when the router works. Tomorrow I will try to make meatloaf. I can't find any canned soups over here to make tuna noodle casserole. Meatloaf is a good American meal so hope they like it. I'm doing better now that I've had 2 good nights of sleep in a row. Over the last weekend I couldn't sleep hardly a wink and got really crabby. The weather here is still pleasant to me around 50's. I get so hot walking around and in the metro, bus, etc. so only wear a windbreaker. English lessons are going well and last night I taught them to play Bingo. They liked my prizes which was gum and American pennies. Only one month left to go as of today. It seems like I've been here longer than a month. I am speaking much better now but not as good as I would like. School is so helpful. It is a really challenging language to learn. I visited a different church this weekend and spent time with my Russian friend. I love her Russian blue cat. Yesterday I fed some stray dogs my cat food that I carry around with me in my backpack. At first it was passed over by several dogs but one willing fellow was up to trying it. Keep thinking and praying for me. I'll write more later.

Busy busy, busy...

Busy, busy, busy that is me. I'm a busy as a bee. I'm definitely not slacking over here. Now I've had another English teaching session added to my schedule. So now it is Russian class Monday and Thursday mornings. Then, I help teach English Monday(family home), Tuesday(orphanage), and Wednesday(children's school). Wednesday is cooking and babysitting night for me. Tuesday night is now counseling. Friday is volunteering at the intake hospital. Sunday is church and orphanage visit. I will definitely have to take it easy on Saturdays to have some rest time.

I got some bad news yesterday about my car. It was taken in for an oil change and comes out needing new brakes and rotors. Plus, it will need 4 brand new tires! I am not a happy camper.

Tonight at the family's request I made lasagna. Everyone liked it except for 2. Apparently, cottage cheese is not something that is well liked here. Maybe, next week I will make either tuna noodle casserole or chicken noodle soup.

Party for kids from orphanages

I was in charge of games so I taught them Spoons and
...
Pictionary!

The Hermitage Visit

Looking inside the inner courtyard.
These are the arches you walk through to get into the courtyard.
This is the view right outside the Hermitage.

Today I took advantage of free admission and went to The Hermitage which is housed in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. I decided not to pay the money to take pictures inside as I didn't have the stamina to stay very long. I focused my time on the Russian culture and state rooms. I did manage to take some outside pictures and views around it. Really it is impressive. I have never been inside a palace and I tried to imagine what it would have been like 100 years ago. I read a bit about the history prior to my trip so that helped me to put pictures to the words.