Back to the grindstone...

Hello everyone!
How are you all? I hope no one has been snowed in already (Apparently, last week that did happen in a village in Devon. Luckily not ours!)
Durham is getting cold. And in true student fashion, you do see the most incredible sights entering the college bar. Last night, we witnessed a guy walking in in a bikini and cling film. Crazy or what. We have had a warning from our Senior Tutor about not wearing warm enough clothes outside, and about getting enough sleep. In true Russian fashion I have been crossing my scarf properly, so as not to leave a cold bit at the front, and wearing enough clothes to make any babushka proud. And, so far, I have been getting (just about!) enough sleep...
Work has started to get serious. Already, it is almost impossible to do the amount of preparation for each class, before you even start thinking about "independent learning" things. Motivation at this point is obviously key. Tim's wii is obviously not.
I had my first bassoon lesson the other day - it was good fun. Apparently, I have picked up a French accent in my playing. My teacher put that right straight away! I have just officially been granted permission to keep my car in Durham this year as well, which will reduce the journey from a 2 hour slog with about 40 mins walking to a nice comfortable 35 minute drive. Nice.
We have had two formal dinners so far - the first was a slight disaster as far as we were concerned. Not only did they run out of food (in particular the College chocolate cake which is gorgeous, and that we have managed to just miss another 4 times :( ) but also they didn't have enough seats for everyone, they didn't tell us what time it started, and they didn't tell us the dress code. We successfully guessed the start time, but we were sent back to smarten up a little (it was a Sunday formal, for which the dress code in 1st year was very casual - we used to go in our slippers!). But it was all fun in the end. And we were all sorted for the second one.
The new freshers are a bit of a rough bunch. They push into the dinner queue and steal food. And they seem to love queueing. Sometimes, the queue for a meal will start about half an hour before the meal. This has a knock-on affect for us, as it means that we spend a lot of time in the queue as well, otherwise, (and this has happened!) College runs out of food. We decided to liven things up a little in the first week, and get the queue to join hands and sing Auld Lang Syne. Unfortunately we chickened out. But it would have been hilarious.
Talking of food, it is nearly tea time, so I had better go.
Have a nice week!
Lots of love
Sarah
xxx

The Sarah List

Hello
Well, I thought as the year abroad has come to its end, I thought it would be a good idea to make a list to remember all the other Sarahs/Saras that I met during the year. I personally think it was quite impressive really. I hope I haven't forgotten anyone!


Me (obviously!)

Sarah Mullins (Another Agape worker, in Oxford. I met her originally at the staff training conference before I went to Russia, and then she came to visit us on the Winter Vision trip)

Sara Jeangeorges (an Agape intern in Newcastle - I also met her at the conference, although we had met before)

Sarah Walker (A STINTer, in the Russian city of Ekaterinberg. I met her at the conference we had in Budapest in January. Before that I do seem to have had a fairly Sarah free time)

Sarah Hole (A Durhamite, who came to St Petes in February for her year abroad)

Sara Huxley (Another Durhamite, who came in Feb

Sara Pikora (The American girl who shared my landlady in Grenoble)

Sarah Hellewell (Yet another Durhamite, this time at Eau Vive)

Sara Townsend (Another American girl, at Eau Vive

Sarah Brook (Someone in my Russian class here)

The girl with Sarah on the front of her hoodie last night in tea....



Have a good weekend!
Lots of love
Sarah
xxx

Mamma Mia

Hello everyone!
Well, it has been a quiet few weeks since I last updated this. Mostly, I have been working on my year abroad essays (possibly not really enough, but there you go), and restarting work with the return of 2 girls and the arrival of another. Three out of the four young'uns on the team go by some variation of the name Sarah. I think that is the highest percentage I have ever come across. But it is a good name, I will say that.
We celebrated going back to work again by going to the cinema on Saturday night to see Mamma Mia. Although highly cheesy, it was great. Now we have been singing along to Abba songs all week, and listening to the cd as we cook and wash up. Its good fun. The only problem is that one of the girls is really not at all a fan of anything remotely cheesy, but she didn't want to seem fussy so she came along anyway, with the hope that, being in French, it would be at least "educational"! We have had a lot of fun winding her up about things being educational (usually in a very scathing tone) this week. Unfortunately, she didn't really learn much from the film, as most of it was based around the Abba songs, and although there were French subtitles for them, I guess they weren't especially academically challenging.
I went shopping in Aix today, which was nice. I went with Rebecca, the daughter-in-law of the director. She is the mother of Noa Eve, who is about 14 months, so she welcomed the opportunity to leave Noa with Granny and moosey around the shops for a bit. The weather is much cooler now, and a bit more cloudy too. We had a lot of wind (the Mistral) at the weekend - it was amazing to feel the difference in temperature. We almost never eat outside anymore, which is sad.
But what is really sad is that on Friday, I'm going home, and this whole year abroad thing is coming to an end... This summer has just flown by. But I can't wait to be back up to Durham again (having finished all my essays!) and to get back into things properly. It will be strange though of course.
Talking of going home, I really need to go and start packing. I'm hopefully going all the way home on the train. If Eurostar decides to behave itself. There is a possibility that I might be stranded in Paris or London but I'm hoping that most people will have cancelled their travel. Fingers crossed. And maybe some toes as well.
Have a nice week!
Lots of love
Sarah
xxx

And then there were 2

Hello!
Well, it has been a busy few weeks. I survived my week of slavery in the kitchen here at Eau Vive (and didn't burn anything - it was the chef who burned the Tarte Arlesiennes - I just had to scrape off the burnt bits and make them look good...) whilst practising my bassoon madly as I was preparing to head to Nice to do a music course there for a week. In the process, I found some more bassoon enthusiasts, in the form of 2 boys - one 9 and one 11. The 9 year old had a very impressive mullet, but I won't hold that against him. They decided it was a really cool instrument, and sat and listened while I played some of the more painful bits without complaint. Actually, I think that the only complaint will be from their parents....
I had an amazing week in Nice. I was having lessons from Laurent Lefevre, who plays in the Opera National de Paris. I ended up having between 40 mins and an hour lesson each day that I was there, and we also could sit in on other people's lessons. There were 9 bassoonists there in all, although some of them played the French instrument, which is slightly different to the German system instrument that I play. I was told that I should be practising for 5 hours everyday, and of that, at least 2 hours should be on scales. Hmmm.
The conservatoire at Nice was a really modern building, and our bassoon room had a lovely view of the sea, and all the planes taking off from the airport. It also had the much needed air conditioning after the walk up the hill. We discovered on the penultimate day that there was also a bus that we could have got up there, but by then it was too late. The hill was far worse than anything that Durham has to offer (except Cardiac hill...) and when you added the heat of at least 30 degrees plus the bassoon on your back....
Unfortunately, as I was working hard at the Conservatoire each day, I saw very little of Nice itself, but did manage to get out for a walk along the Promenade des Anglais with a friend from Eau Vive who happened to also be visiting Nice (he also tried to take me to a football match - but didn't succeed there!)
I returned to Eau Vive last week, and got straight back to work for a "stage" which was training people who work for the church here in France about the law and accounts and that sort of thing. It was fairly complicated, intense and heavy going from what I can gather. I was no longer working in the kitchen but was moved onto watering the flowers and doing some other odd jobs, including washing walls and preparing breakfast. I spent a lot of time catching up on sleep as well, especially by the pool.
The stage ended at the weekend, and slowly, the rest of the team have been leaving for the 3 week shutdown. I decided to stay and attempt to write my year abroad essays, and do any odd jobs which need doing around here (so far, lots and lots and lots of washing, which is about to develop into lots and lots and lots of ironing!) There is another guy who has stayed, as well as a young couple and their daughter Noa Eve who live here. Even if this will make you sick, the weather here is amazing - there isn't even much wind right now.
Exciting events of the last week include a trip to the beach on Sunday (after church), me attempting to drive the Peugeot 106 here to go to the post office and not hitting anything, and a lizard falling into the washing up. (The lizard survived - luckily I had already pulled the plug.)
Right, it is getting late, so I need to go to bed!
Lots of love
Sarah
xxx

Eau Vive again!

Hello everyone!
Well, I have now been working hard at Eau Vive for a week - it is the Christian holiday/retreat centre in Provence where I spent 5 weeks last summer. I'm working as a kitchen slave under Cyrille, the chef. I mostly end up chopping tomatoes, peeling potatoes and washing salads, but its good fun, as we have the radio on at the same time, so we can bop along to Nostalgie - a local radio station which plays cheesy classics. I will be here (and enjoying the good weather and the swimming pool) until the middle of September, but I am leaving for a week on Monday to do a music course in Nice.
The weather has been lovely and very hot so far - apart from a small blip yesterday afternoon. We have a group here at the moment of about 50 people, which means that we have a pretty much full house. Some of the people here are the same as last year, which is interesting. There are also a few people on the team here who I worked here with last year, so it is good fun to see them as well. It was like coming home when I got here last Friday! There are also some new people on the team here, including two girls who have just finished their first year at Durham. I symphasised with them for being in St Aidan's college though.
The other night, I had to do a 45 minute presentation in French about my time in Russia - it was a challenge, and I think my French was absolutely appalling, but the main thing is that I did it, and people seemed to be interested. They liked the photos anyway.
Right, I can't think of much else to say, so I think I will leave it there for the moment, although I will try to add some photos later.
Lots of love
Sarah
xxx

Another week...

Hello everyone
I hope that you are all well, and that summer is with you, wherever you are. Here the weather is a little on the changeable side, with thunderstorms all day yesterday, and possibly the same later on by the looks of things.
Uni is going the same as ever. I'm exactly half way through my course here now, so I have finished the first elective option which was for the first two weeks, and have just started the second - I chose to do Civilisation. I'm hoping that it will be quite interesting.
Since I wrote last week, I received some bad news from home. One of my friends who I was at school with (at St Swithuns) died after battling with bowel and liver cancer since last September. I won't be able to return home for the funeral, due to being here in France. I'm trying to remember how God is Sovereign throughout all of this - He has been amazingly supportive.
I had a quiet weekend, but one major step forward was that I did manage to get my Russian year abroad essay written so that I can leave it for the next little while, and I can now concentrate on my French one, which I'm hoping to do about Liberty.
Right, I think it might be time to start my homework!
Lots of love
Sarah
xxx

France!!!

Well, I should probably have changed the title of this blog by now, but I think I will leave it…

I made it to France last Sunday. After an epic train journey (French trains, it seems, are unlike their Russian counterparts in that they do not always run on time. Also, unlike in Russia, on a Sunday, there is only a very small chance that there will be someone around to help you) I arrived in Grenoble at 9.30pm to meet my landlady, to unpack a few things and to prepare myself in general for arriving at the university by 8.30am the following morning and facing the entrance test. It was also pouring with rain at this point.

The next morning arrived, still on the cloudy and wet side of things, but despite that I found my way to the university (on the tram – really quite exciting and efficient!) and met what seemed to me to be hundreds and hundreds of Americans and Chinese students, all on a programme for the summer. I think I am the only English person to be studying at the Centre, which makes life quite interesting. There is a fairly huge mix of nationalities in my two classes, from Vietnamese to Brazilian.

The test was fine, and actually I was placed in the highest level available, so I am quite pleased with that. The classes so far have been fairly challenging, but I am happy as I think that is going to be the best way for my language to improve. The Americans are still very keen to talk French all the time, including when they are just with other English speakers – I’m not sure how long that will last for, but it is a good effort at least!

My flat is in the centre ville which is very convenient if a little noisy. I am living with an old lady, who rents out rooms to students to make some extra cash, and an American student, who happens to also be called Sarah. Coincidence that. The flat is very old, and has lovely features such as amazing wooden floors and a very shallow stone kitchen sink. My room is enormous!

I haven’t had a much chance yet to explore a lot of the town, but what I have seen has been really lovely. The weather improved after Monday, and it is now really hot here. I went to see the Museum de la Résistance this afternoon which was really interesting, as it showed how the area had been involved in the Resistance effort through all the different stages of the war.

Right, I think it might be bedtime, as tomorrow is another early start (classes always start at 8.30. Never am I going to complain about a 9am lecture. Or at least, not for a while…)

Have a good week!

Lots of love

Sarah

xxx

Home

Hello everyone! Well, it has been a while, but I have been enjoying myself, relaxing at home! I have now been back in England for just over 2 weeks, and in just under 2 weeks, I will be jetting off to France for the rest of my year abroad. It is crazy! The last 2 weeks in St Petes were amazing. I managed to fit in a quick trip to Moscow, a Church picnic at which one of my East Asian Students was baptised, a leaving party (see pics on Facebook as well as a few here, 2 trips to the theatre, a banya (an extra hot Russian sauna - very nice) and lots of meetings with people to say goodbye. Luckily it was easy to multi-task, and a few of these doubled as meetings to say goodbye, and I was able to meet people for food which helped! I did sleep, if considerably less than usual. A highlight was seeing Jing, one of the new believers who had been away for 3 months on the day before I left.
So, to expand some of that. I decided to hold my leaving party on the Sunday before I left, so that I could arrange to meet some of the people who didn't make it there in the last few days. I decided to give people some activities, so Luke designed a quiz about England for the Russians, Americans and also the British people there. It was surprisingly hard. But then, the Russians got their revenge by preparing a quiz about Russia, and the people there for me. We also made some French bread pizza and had some other snacks. I also gave people a copy of my testimony to take with them, and got them to write me a message in my leaving book. It was all good fun! We also managed a team trip out to Misha and Meredith's dacha (Russian name for a summer house out in the country, with no running water). The weather was lovely, we had shashliki (kebabs) and chicken on the barbeque and afterwards we did some work in the garden (Misha's ulterior motive for the trip). It was brilliant, and we certainly felt very Russian afterwards. The last thing to expand and explain further would be the banya (especially to carry on the theme of feeling Russian). This was my second banya of the year - I think I descibed the first one earlier. This one was a lot less tame. It was a public banya, as there were only 3 of us, and it wasn't worth trying to rent out a private one for that number. The place was very Soviet in style, and I think probably the hottest place I had ever been to. We stood out at the start, as the only people wearing anything at all. Sheets are for wimps! We were soon told off for our modesty by all the old ladies there which was absolutely hilarious, and a good opportunity to pretend that we didn't speak any Russian. It was really bracing, going from the hot to the cold, and I wish I had been there more often during the year. I certainly felt very clean afterwards! Back in England, I have been slowly adjusting to the weather (!), the quiet of our village, and generally the Englishness of everything. I got laughed at on a visit to Durham when I tried to get in the wrong side of a taxi (which has been repeated without the audience a few times), expected public transport to be reliable and operating until late, and scared my hairdresser with stories about the mafia. All good fun. I really miss St Petes though, and all the people there - I did promise Indira that I would go back soon! Have a good day. Lots of love Sarah xxx

Flags, explosions and parties

Hello everyone! Its blog time again!

Since I last updated the blog, things have changed slightly. Due to various reasons, chiefly that I don’t have anywhere concrete to live for the rest of my time here in Russia, and also that there will not be any other staff around for 2 weeks in June, it has been decided that I will come home earlier than originally planned. It means that I will have a bit more time to spend in France this summer, and also that I don’t need to worry about finishing my year abroad essay before I leave Russia, as I won’t be heading to France straight away. The upshot of this is that actually I am coming home on the 5^th June – or, in two weeks! It was a bit of a surprise, but I think that it is the best situation, especially given the fact that no one else will be around in June.

So, things are all over the place – I am trying to pack my stuff, visit places for the last time, and see people before I go. I have made it into the Hermitage and the Russian Museum again, and we went to watch the bridges go up (at 1am – it was only just dark!) We were given a 30-day plan for what to do for our last 4 weeks here at the debrief conference– it turns out that I’m already about a week behind!

Housing-wise, I am sorted until I leave. I am currently staying in an amazing flat, on Nevsky Prospect, the main street in the centre of the city. It is rented by a German couple that go to our church, but they have gone away to Switzerland for 2 weeks, so they have let me stay with my friend Beck who is from Australia. The flat even has a dishwasher! Next week, I will be moving one last time (but with a quick visit to Moscow thrown in for good measure!) to the flat where a former staff member lives. I’m looking forward to spending some time with her too.

Work is going as normal, with a lot of advertising for the English Camp which will be part of the summer project that will arrive at the end of June – students from England coming to do a short term project. This involves for the most part standing outside one of the many universities here (yesterday it was the State University of Refrigeration and Food Technology), wearing a British Flag we painted on some card, and handing out flyers. I spent some time yesterday convincing someone that the flag that I was wearing was not the American one – somehow I don’t think she will make it to the camp!

Also yesterday, I went to the orphanage. We had good fun, although the kids were going wild as they finish the school year today. The staff told us about an explosion that had happened somewhere near St Petes, and that apparently it is better not to spend a lot of time outside, or to have the windows open. Apparently, the advice is to drink milk with iodine in it. The only news story I can find about it is that Iodine supplies are running out, due to an excessive demand as people are panic buying. However, people are on the streets still, and life seems to be normal, so I really don’t think we need to worry…

On Tuesday we had a final girls party for the year. We decided that as everyone was working hard for their exams, that it would be best to have an “exams de-stress” session – we made face masks, let people paint their nails, and eat healthy snacks like green tea and carrot sticks. It was really good fun, and although we had fewer people than at the other parties, the people who came seemed to really enjoy it. Jiyeun shared her testimony and how she copes with stress, which people related to very well.

Right, language homework time!

Lots of love

Sarah

xxx

The lake that we never made it to...

Hello everyone! How are you? I hope the weather isn't too atrocious with you - it has been around 25 degrees here, although apparently tomorrow it will return to 4 degrees, with the possibility of snow...I really don't know if I should trust the BBC! We had a lovely day on Friday - it was a Russian holiday from Thursday to Saturday, although Sunday then had to be a normal working day. I went with 7 other students to Lake Ladoga for a day trip - we went on the train, and it took 2 1/2 hours to get there. It was a really lovely day all in all, despite the fact that we never actually saw the lake, apart from in the distance at one point... We got within 10 minutes walk, but we had to turn back to make sure we caught the bus, and then the train! We stopped first in a place called Staraya Ladoga, where there was a really beautiful fortress on a river bank. We looked round there, some of us did a tour, and then we had a picnic lunch while waiting at the bus stop! We then went on to Novaya Ladoga, in the hope of making it to the lake. It was all so beautiful though, that it didn't really matter that we never made it in the end. Next time! Another exciting happening of the last week is that I have moved out of my lovely flat, and am temporarily residing with some friends who conveniently live near Nevsky Prospect (the main road in the centre of the city). I came to the decision after having been unable to find someone to share the flat with (and it wasn't really a good idea to live on my own here!) and only having a short time left in the city. It is all good fun at the moment, as I am sleeping in a bed above the kitchen in this flat (a sort of loft place but not quite - maybe a cross between a loft and a cabin bed). I have a few other friends who I can stay with, so for the next little while I will be moving from place to place. It will certainly be an interesting time! What else has been happening? We are trying to recruit people to come on our English/British Camp in the Summer - we need about another 40 students or so... I think we may need to come up with some wacky ideas, as posters in the toilets at the uni don't seem to have come up with anything! Had my first ice cream of the year on the beach the other day, watching the sun (not really even setting yet - it is setting really late these days!) Had a great Easter service at Church (the Church was packed - it was such a contrast this week when hardly anyone was there as it was a normal working day!) Right, I think that is all for now. Have a good week! Sarah xxx

Another week has flown by...

Hello everyone!
How are you? Time seems to be racing past - it seems like it will be no time at all before I am back in Durham!
We had a really great weekend away in Zelonogorsk - we spent one night there, and generally had a lot of good fun. We ran a Soul Talk (an interactive cafe type entertainment where we discuss spiritual ideas in films, art, music, literature...) where we discussed optimism and pessimism - it was really interesting. Then we roasted some sausages on the BBQ, had a chocolate fondue, and played some games. The weather was lovely on the Sunday especially, so lots of people played sport. We also watched the Sound of Music (in keeping with the theme of optimism...), and in general a good time was had by all. We stayed in the hostel type place that we are hoping to hold the English Camp at in the Summer. I'm looking forward to it (although possibly after having solved the problem of only having 4 showers between 80 people...)
I had a great time at the orphanage yesterday. Rather than helping with English homework, I was sent outside to "supervise" the little kids as they were riding round on their bikes, and playing in the sandpit. So I got to make sandcastles! But then the kids were all called in for a meeting about their behaviour (or lack of good behaviour maybe), and we ended up sorting their socks into pairs, and mending any holes...
Language wise, things have been better recently, although it is definitely worse when I am tired! I did also have a funny scene in Chinaya Lozhka (the Tea Spoon - a pancake and tea cafe), when they decided that they weren't going to listen to my Russian, they specially got me an English menu, and failed to listen to what I had asked for. It was really embarrassing, and they would get no points for customer service, as they failed to realise that I could understand what they were saying, and no, I didn't want cheese and green herbs with my pancake. Grrr.
This week, I also seem to have either had a lot of conversations about, or personally encountered a lot of drunkenness here. It is obviously a very big problem, although the good news is that it has affected so many people so badly that they will not drink anything at all - they have seen what alcohol can do. We had an interesting scene on the bus on the way to Zelenogorsk, where a drunk man was removed from the bus by the police because he had refused to pay the fare and had shouted abuse at the conductor. Apparently though, the Russian students near the radio at this point said that he then got on the bus behind and did the same thing. I was also on another marshrutka at about 11.30 am, and someone holding a bottle of beer could barely get off the bus - he then started walking around and singing. It is such a shame that for some people, that is the solution. It reminds me of how much we need to pray for this country!
Right, I need to go now, so have a good week!
Happy Russian Easter!
Sarah
xxx

Hello everyone!
Well, it probably serves me right for writing that Sping was here, but it is now on the chilly side again, with temperatures around 5 degrees again...hopefully in a couple of weeks things will be better again!
As usual, things have been very busy. Jo and Aaron left about a week and a half ago now - life is very strange without them! My friend Eleanor came to visit for nearly a week (actually I only realised that she wasn't coming for a week a couple of days before, and I had to re-arrange some things...a bit embarrassing really!) We had a really good time, doing some ministry together, some sightseeing and one of the best parts of the week was the introduction to sushi for Eleanor. As I considered this an integral part to life in St Petersburg, I arranged to meet some girls who also life sushi. A good time was had by all, and also an interesting conversation about Russian Easter traditions, such as egg-painting.
The evening after Eleanor had left, we had a girls party. Rather than making cards, this time we decided to decorate photo frames, and we did a journey around Misha and Meredith's flat, finding out about Easter. It was good fun. We had about 20 girls there. It was also a good opportunity for the old Polytech team to get to know the girls from our side of the city, and vice versa.
I have been to the orphanage "The Ark" twice since I last wrote. The first time, we were greeted by a total riot in the boys room, but eventually they calmed down enough to do their homework. They really love working with Indira - they will do almost anything for her - it is amazing to see. I helped with the usual English homework, and then went to play with the little girls. I had completely forgotton how important winning or losing is at that age! Sometimes fights break out there, which are almost as rough as the boys are. One little girl in partucular will play a board game by herself, and even if you play too, she throws the dice for you. She will invent the rules (or even the game) as she goes along - it is hilarious. Yesterday there was a group of us playing a German game, so none of us knew the rules, so it was very creative. I can only stay there for 2 hours, as I have to go home for my language lesson with Anya, but I nearly wasn't able to leave last night, as the girls wanted me to stay so much they were clinging onto my legs... I love going there so much - I wish we could go there more!
This weekend, we are going to Zelonogorsk again, for a sort of retreat/fun weekend away. We are deliberately not planning anything so we will see what happens. Hopefully people will come, they will all have fun, and there will be lots of opportunities to share the Gospel!
Lots of love
Sarah

Spring has sprung! (Well, maybe...)

Hello everyone!
Spring seems to have arrived. Blue skies, temperatures of around 12 degrees (big change from last week's minus 5!) and the melting of the snow have led to people crowding the streets, especially young people. It is really exciting, particularly as now the clocks have changed, it doesn't get dark until maybe 9pm. It is such a contrast from the time before Christmas when it didnt get light until 10am!
Talking of the clocks changing, it was really rather funny on Sunday morning when Luke showed up at church an hour late, along with several other people. The church itself was completely packed though - we had a lot of Americans visiting us, as on Saturday night the church put on a rock concert. There were two American Christian bands playing, and an American pastor spoke. Although the crowd that was there was predominantly teenagers, it was really exciting to see maybe 7 or 8 people there trust in Christ. I think my highlight of the week was seeing one girl who had just prayed to accept Christ into her life being hugged by her friend - it was a moment I will always remember.
My flat situation may have changed dramatically, almost overnight. I may not have to move now, as it may be that the American lady will not come back - she is not sure. I am also now allowed to have one or two visitors over, so that should be alright. I think that the hassle and expense of moving would possibly be more than the results that it would give. I can't say for sure just yet though. On Monday I realised that in my rent I am also paying for another mother/grandmother, as I was told to tidy my room. Huh.
Yesterday I went back to the orphanage. I really love it there, and it really makes any problems I might have (especially with moving/accommodation) really pale into insignificance. I spent a little while yesterday trying to get one of the little boys to say the letter w. He kept saying v, and I gave up in the end. Another girl was reading a text about seasons and months in Britain. It was really interesting, especially to learn things I didn't know about April Fools Day, and that they think that Fathers Day is really important, etc... She didn't really want to behave either, so it was good fun. I'm not sure that she will be able to answer the questions in class, but there you go.
Other interesting things that have happened this week involve meeting some Mormons on a mission in Carls Jnr, a burger bar. It was interesting as they we obviously surprised to meet so many people who spoke English there, especially as we also bumped into lots of people from Chruch there too... I also proved myself to be highly unfit after trying to run for a bus. It was really embarassing, as I missed it, and then had to wait at the stop with all the babushkas who had seen my attempt (and were looking disapproving, but probably trying not to laugh!) I was telling Indira, one of the students Jo and I have been discipling, and she suggested that we should go running together sometimes. Sounds like a plan!
Time to go. Have a nice week.
Lots of love
Sarah

Hello!

It is that time of the week again – doesn’t time fly! I hope that you all had a great Easter, and are feeling full of chocolate…

Things have improved since I last wrote, mainly because I have re-gained my trust of marshrutkas, and haven’t been dumped at any more random points in the city. I’m not sure if I am ready to trust the 175a again just yet though.

In fact, it has been an interesting couple of weeks really. We had our Easter break in there and my Dad came out to visit – we enjoyed rushing around the city in between the snow storms, minus 5, and meals. We had a really great time though, despite the weather, and took lots of good photos! I can also now safely say that I have visited most of the sights of the city. We even managed a walk on the ice of the Finnish Gulf at sunset the other night to take some pictures.

Between all of this, there has not been a lot of time for ministry, but we have started to make some plans for the Summer Project that will be arriving here, oddly enough, in the summer – towards the end of June. We are hoping to run an English camp, which we will be inviting Russian students to come to shortly. I also visited the orphanage where Indira has been taking a few students each week to play with the kids there, and help them with their homework. I really enjoyed my visit, and hope that I will be able to go every week. I am of especial use when it comes to English homework!

Accommodation-wise, I have run into a few problems because my landlady has said that she is really not comfortable with me having any guests over at all, so I think I will have to move out – I’m a bit disappointed as I really like living here, but I think it will be really hard not to be able to have anyone around to visit at all. So I’m looking for somewhere to live again, hopefully finding somewhere before Jo and Aaron go, as then I will have an extra pair of hands to help carry stuff!

It is scary that now, we only have one more week really with them here – the last two months have gone so quickly. It will be very strange with them gone though, and life will be very different.

Right, I need to do my language homework. Have a good week!

Sarah

xxx

Marshrutka no 175a

First off, I need to explain what a marshrutka is. It is a cross between a taxi and a bus, usually in the form of a minibus, that you can hail wherever, but it follows a set route. They are much faster than going by bus, although they can be very dangerous as the driver is a skilled multi-tasker, talking on the phone, taking money off people and giving them change, and going round a corner all at the same time. My new language teacher has told me that they will no longer exist by the end of the year, as they are so dangerous. But, they are very convenient, and good for language skills, as they force you to interact, as you have to tell the driver where you want him to stop.

We had a meeting last Thursday afternoon on the other side of the city for all the women involved in the student ministry, to keep them up to date. It is a journey that would normally take about an hour. However, I decided that the best option would be to go by marshrutka.
My problems started as soon as I walked out of my flat, as the lift failed to materialise. After about 10 minutes, it finally appeared. I got down to the bottom to be greeted by a lady in a gas mask, who had been cleaning out the shaft. The answer to why I didn't go down the stairs is that they are locked at the bottom, and I don't have a key. I choose not to think about that.
In the meantime, I think I missed at least one marshrutka. I probably waited another 10 minutes for another one, resigning myself to the fact that I might not be early to the meeting, but it would save me walking to the metro. Finally the bus turned up, I got on, paid, and sat down with my book. After a short distance, the driver stopped, I think in the hope that some more passengers might get on. Vain hope, as we waited for about 10 minutes. We got to the next metro stop, where the driver decided to have a cigarette, and a chat with another driver. I kept looking at my watch, thinking I would be lucky if I was to make it on time.
Traffic was not in our favour, and as we progressed further, it began to be plain that I would not make the meeting on time. We travelled further, and I sat comfortably reading. 20 minutes after I was supposed to have arrived, I stopped reading, as the scenery was looking familiar and I didn't want to miss where I was supposed to get off. The driver turned round and said something, but no-one heard except one guy who answered him. Then he almost took off (I think he may have been running late...) I stopped recognising the scenery, and was wondering where we were. Then a lady turned to me and asked me whether Muzhestva had already been (where we were going). I said that I didn't think so, but then someone else said it had. Horror of horrors, I asked the driver. He said that we had missed it (that must have been what he had asked...) and three of us got off, to catch something to take us back. The other two promptly disappeared, and I crossed the road, walking through the mud and the rain, until at last I found something going back the other way. I made it to the meeting an hour late, putting down the delay to bad luck.
On the way home, I decided that the journey on the way was a one off problem, and that it would be easier to go home by marshrutka, as it meant again, that I didn't have to walk from the metro. We waited another 15 minutes maybe for one to come, and were on the point of giving up when it appeared.
I realised after going a short distance that it was the same marshrutka as on the way. My memory was helped along by the fact that the driver lit up as he was driving, and then appeared to stop again. But, as we were waiting to go on again, the door opened, and a policeman came in. We were really worried by now, but he just told us to take our fares back and go. Luckily we were close to a metro station. There was a tow truck in front, so something must have been missing. So we ended up coming home by metro after all, and not only did I spend 2 hours getting to Muzhestva, but we then spent 2 hours getting back. That will teach me to be lazy about walking to the metro!
Aaron and Luke had another bad experience the next day, when the door fell off the marshrutka as they went down Nevsky. I opted for the bus.
Sarah
xxx

Happy Women's Day

Hello everyone!

Happy Women’s Day. This is the Russian equivalent of Mothers Day, and it is a great day, where basically all the men give all the women flowers and cards. It is a bit like Valentines Day, but for everyone, and it is a public holiday and everything. It should be good fun.

Well, this week things have changed a little in our flat. My landlady’s daughter and her family have been staying, as their bathroom has been undergoing “remont” – the general word here for either repair, redecorating, rebuilding, which can be used for anything from clothes to buildings. That has mostly involved her granddaughter Masha, who is 10, and has been off school with sinus problems being home. It has been very funny, especially as she walks around a bit like a model, will disappear up the stairs, and reappear with a completely different hairstyle. There has been the odd tantrum as well, but it is good having more people around. I was asked to speak a bit off English to her, as she has started studying it, so I tried out a “Good Night” the other day, to see what she would understand. She looked a bit confused, and I think she has been avoiding me since…

On to some happy news now. We spent a great weekend in Helsinki (with a few precious hours playing monopoly, because we were locked out of our hostel room as the lock broke, and they had to call out the key company to fix it) and returned to a six month registration. That was what we had been hoping for, and it means we can stay here until the end of the summer project in mid July. Wahooo!

Helsinki was really nice. It was good to get away for a short time, and it was interesting to see another city. We didn’t have time to see very much, and everything seemed to be closed on the Sunday anyway, but we did make it into a few churches, and had a good explore outside, as well as the aforementioned Monopoly. Most of what we did seemed to revolve around food, which was good too – we found a really lovely café, with amazing pastries, and also a noodle bar. It was nice to go out to eat something that wasn’t either a burger, pancakes or sushi!! We got there by train, which was good as the customs people board the train, and so you don’t waste any time there. It was really comfortable, and we even managed to watch the whole of the long version of Pride and Prejudice on the way…

Talking of Pride and Prejudice, the first session hasn’t happened yet, as it turned out that the girls couldn’t come last week, and we haven’t yet pinned down a time when they can all make it. Hopefully we can do it some time this weekend. Ministry-wise, it has been a quieter week, as we had to recover from the weekend, but I went to an Orthodox church youth group on Thursday night, with a girl named Olga. It was really interesting, as it is the week before Lent starts here – the whole week is a festival where the idea is that everyone eats lots of pancakes. Mmmm. The East Asian girls group happened as usual, and apparently an Evening for Hungry Men was a success again, with spiritual conversations sparking off everywhere, without the boys even putting in any special effort!

Right, time to go, as I need to go to the other flat, where a Women’s Day breakfast awaits…

Have a good week

Lots of love

Sarah

xxx

What is a normal week?

Hello everyone!

I hope that you are all well. St Petersburg is now decidedly not snowy, at all. The sky seems to be leaking a gooey mess that is neither rain, nor snow. In fact, even the canal outside my window doesn’t seem to be able to decide whether it should be frozen or not. (Having said that, some boys were walking on it on Tuesday – it provided an amusing end to my language lesson, as Ludmilla, my teacher could not believe that they could be so stupid!)

Well, it has probably been our first completely “normal” week of ministry since we have been back from Budapest, although it still feels like we have been rushing around all over the place. One of the decisions that we made this term was to run separate events for guys and girls, with the aim to appeal to more guys. So, last week the boys hosted the first of a series of evenings entitled “Real Food for Hungry Men”, which included arm wrestling, chicken, mayonnaise and bread, playstations, and the Gospel. It was a great success, with apparently a lot of discussion taking place and about 10 students there, and the next one will be happening next week.

In contrast to this, we decided to hold a one-off (at least, for the next month or so) Girls Party, where we made pizza and cards, and discussed a short film entitled “If God was a DJ”. We had about 25 girls come, and the flat was heaving! People did seem to enjoy it though.

Everything in the new flat seems to still be going well – conversations with my landlady are getting easier, which is great. I still love the view – I spent about half an hour the other night, just watching the sun set…

Although it seems like I have only just got back, I need to leave Russia again this weekend, so that I can cross the border in order to re-register next week. We decided that the best place to go to would be Helsinki, as it is the nearest, at a mere 8 hour train journey. Luke needs to go to, and we decided to go along with an American girl from our Church, who needs to leave too. I can’t wait!

But before then, tomorrow night, I will be starting a new idea (actually pinched from the team in Krasnodar – that’s what all the conferences are for!). It will be called Pride, Prejudice and People. Basically, we will be watching the BBC film (yes, with Colin Firth, of course) in 4 different sections, and then after each session we will discuss relationships, both with other people, and also with God. If everything goes to plan, there will be 4 different sessions. We are going to start with a very small group of girls, who are already good friends, so that there is already an atmosphere of trust built up between them.

Right, I think I need to get on now, as I have to go to the station to buy my ticket soon!

Have a nice week

Sarah

xxx

And she's back!!!

Hello everyone!

Well, it has been a while I know. First we had Christmas, then my Mum came to visit, and then we disappeared off to Budapest for 2 different conferences, and then to Moscow for a third. We have now been back in St Petes for exactly 2 weeks, which have been spent in lots of planning meetings, meeting students again after the break, and I have also moved flats. Hopefully things should calm down a bit now.

I expect you want to know why I have moved, and why we have had to do so much planning. Basically, Jo is now 3 months pregnant, and will be leaving Russia in April, to go home to prepare for having her baby. Aaron will obviously go with her. This works rather well, given that Jo cannot stay in Russia beyond April with her current visa. Luke and I will be staying on, but we will be working in close conjunction with the Polytech team, which was going to happen anyway, as they are now left with 2 members, as the others are away on maternity leave too.

So that all sounds very complicated really. But I have managed to find myself a great new flat, living with a Russian landlady, and it is only 15 mins walk from the others. She is absolutely lovely, and doesn’t speak any English. And there is a great view of the Finnish Gulf from the window.

The conferences were all brilliant. The first one was a time to relax and refresh ourselves, before we got charged up at the second one. That was one for all the staff of Agape/Campus Crusade in Eastern Europe and Russia, and there were about 1000 people there in total. It was amazing to meet so many people, all so enthusiastic about their work. It was also really good to meet lots of people my age doing the American equivalent of Impact – STINT, lots of whom were also in Russia.

Finally, we travelled to Moscow (via Stuttgart – a really pleasant airport!) for the Winter Bible Conference. This time, we were the ones in charge, and the conference was for all the Christian students in Russia. It was so exciting to see that there are so many (there were about 200 there) Christians here. There were also 17 students from Korea, who were going on to do STINT in Irkutsk (in Siberia). The theme of the conference was “The Power of One”, and the idea was to equip the students to see how powerful even one of them can be alone, if they use God’s power.

Right, think that is probably enough information for the moment – I will try to update this a bit more regularly from now on!

I hope that you are all well, and enjoying the Spring.

Lots of love

Sarah

xxx