knock on marble...

Ok, so I'm sitting here on my marble window sill, thinking about what I need to blog about. I don't really know what to update everyone on. So I guess I'm going to ramble if that's ok with you.
So, I've been back for over a month. Since then I have read 3 1/2 books. I finished The Wednesday Sisters, The Road, A Million Little Pieces, and am currently reading No Country For Old Men. The Wednesday Sisters was an alright book. It was a little too predictable and corny but it was still good. Now, The Road was an amazing book. I can't even say enough about it to express how much it impressed me and broke me heart. I think I feel in love with it and it broke my heart when it was over. :) It was SO well written and I would encourage anyone to go to Walmart right now and buy it for $6. My third literary endeavour was A Million Little Pieces. This book comes with a lot of controversy. Apparently, Oprah loved this book and had the author on the show. Then, it turns out that this "memior" was hardly a memior at all and most of the stuff in the book never happened. So then Oprah, being the sneeky devil that she is, brought the author back on her show and "raked him over the coals" and made him confess to all his lies! I read the book anyway and still was not very impressed. I guess it was a good description of what addiction and recovery would be like to endure, but if he never did all those things, then how would he know?? Where did all the emotion come from if he never really had to experience 6 weeks of terrifying and intense rehab in a clinic somewhere in Minnesota? But that's just what I think. SO, now I'm reading No Country For Old Men which is by Cormac McCarthy, the same author of The Road. It is just as good and well written. An interesting twist on the Western genre.
What else can I babble about? Oh, I recently went to an orphanage 4 hours outside of Moscow. It is an orphanage for children ages 8 years to 10th grade. I think. They live there and also go to school there. Most of them are "social" orphans which means they don't have parents because they were either taken away from them or their parents are in jail. Some of them where found in Moscow, living on the street or in the metro. We left at about 8am with 15 person van and a truck full of clothes and presents. Once we got there, we had a little time to hang out with the kids. They were a little shy at first and I didn't really know what to do. It's hard getting to know someone without a common language. So I tried as much as I could with the little Russian that I know. After lunch we had a huge Christmas/Birthday party. First we played games and then we had a huge dinner. But it wasn't really a dinner it was just tons of candy and cake and cookies. They loved it. It was hard when we had to leave because I felt like we had just started to warm up to each other. It will be great to go back and see familiar faces. It was a very humbling experience to be around children that have been through so much and yet they are still children. They still need love, they still love candy, they still can be happy with a small stuffed animal that most children would toss to the side.
Oh and in about a month from now, I'll be in sunny Egypt for Spring break!! I am so excited! It's going to be amazing and WARM. The plan is to fly to Cairo on the 13th of March. Then I will hopefully meet up with Erik Stapleton who is currently living in Cairo. I am planning on seeing the Pyramids of course and museums and all that stuff. I'm really just going to enjoy being in the sun which might be a bit of a shock to my system. :) Then on the 17th, we will travel to Dahab, Egypt. Here we will spend a few days swimming in the Red Sea and climbing Mt. Sinai! I think I'm most excited about being somewhere that is in the Bible. It might not be the exact place that the Lord parted the sea, or the exact place where Moses climbed to receive the 10 Commandments, but just to be in the place where God freed His chose people is going to be amazing.
School is good and the kids are good. :) I'm getting a little sick, though. The other day I thought, "I'm the only teacher who hasn't been sick yet...knock on wood." I guess knocking on marble just doesn't cut it. cause i'm sick now. Hopefully not for long. I'd rather not have to go to a Russian doctor so he can give me a stamped document saying that I do, in fact, have a cold.
P.S. can someone please send me some peanut butter??.....just kidding....kind of.

welcome back

So I am writing to you from Russia once again. I flew home for Christmas and am already back in the crazy city of Moscow. Being home was great. I left my apartment here in Moscow at 2am. I trudged through the snow and ice for almost a mile with my suitcase to catch my ride to the airport. My mom was very worried about me walking in the middle of the night with my suitcase, but I made it safely. I shared a ride with my friend Jeff whose flight was leaving at 7am. Later, I found this to be a very bad idea. I stayed awake all night to get to the airport at 4am, to be left by Jeff at 5am as he went through security, and then had to wait until 7am for my airline's desk to open, and then wait another 3 hours for my flight to leave at 10am. It was TORTURE. Ugh, I usually like being in airports but I was SO tired and just wanted to be in Minnesota. My exhaustion got the best of me when I was going through security. I had put my things on the xray machine thing. Then I had to go through the body scan (the same body scans that are in the news right now. My personal opinion is that airports should get them. Why not? They are fast, make us safer, and are way better then getting patted down.) But anyway, I was ready to do my body scan and the lady started saying something to me in Russian. I didn't know what she was saying! I was tired and crabby and thought, "Isn't this an international airport, and isn't this the international terminal? why don't you speak English?? Shouldn't these people speak English??!" Which may or may not to true...But that's what I thought. I just looked at her and said, "I - don't - speak - Russian!!" I was holding up the line all because this woman didn't speak English..haha. Ok...all because I couldn't understand Russian. Another passenger ended up telling me what she wanted and I proceeded to get scanned and headed to my gate where I had to wait 3 more hours.
My plan was to stay up all night and then fall asleep right when I got on the plane. My plan was to ultimately "beat" the jet lag. My plan failed miserably. When I got on the plane I decided to stay up until I ate lunch. So I ate but I couldn't fall asleep! Why? I have no idea. I should have been out right away. So I watched some movies and by the time we got to Houston, I had maybe dozed an hour or two. My next flight was delayed, making my next connection in Detriot a really close one. Once I got off the plane in Detriot I stopped at the desk for my next gate number and I heard, "Kristin Boyd, please come to gate A13 within the next 10 minutes for a timely departure." As I ran through the airport for the next 7 minutes, I pretended that I was on Amazing Race and I had to make it to this plane so that I could win the million! I made it just in time. I was all out of breath and red in the face but I made it. At about 11pm I made it to Minnesota. It was a relief and I slept all the way home.
My time home was great. I saw a lot of people and heard no Russia at all. Some highlights were: coffee time with my best friends, coffee time with my mom and sister, going to a hockey game with my brother (and seeing a brawl, you know the fight the everyone goes to the hockey game for, and all the players on the ice were put in the penalty box. 5 players in each box! I've never seen that), taking a crazy family photo, driving through a blizzard to Duluth, playing with Slinkies with Dexter, and celebrating Christmas with family. I was a nice break but it is also nice to be back. I feel like I will always be torn between two places and like I'm scattered throughout the world. So, I said goodbye to family at 7am on Thursday. Once through security, I had to wait a while for the plane to come in from Iowa. Once on the plane, we had to wait in line to be de-iced. That took a long time. But soon, I was on my way to Houston. Security did seem a little tighter since all the Christmas stuff that went on. Houston was really slow. I even got pulled aside and had to stand up against a wall while a dog sniffed my bag for drugs and bombs. Good thing I didn't bring any of mine...just kidding. I found my friend Julie, who happened to be on the same flight as me back to Russia. Then we boarded the plane and were on our way back to Mother Russia. The flight was not my best. I usually don't get sick but I did this time. I didn't have to throw up in front of anyone but I did in the tiny bathroom. It was not a fun flight. Once we got to the airport, we were welcomed by dozens of cameras and press people. I'm not sure who they were waiting for. We didn't stay to find out but I probably wouldn't have known them anyway. Once we found our driver, we got in the car and thought we would be home soon. That's what we thought. But never think in Russia. Your thoughts never turn out like what you thought they were going to be. When we left the airport, I saw that it was 2:37pm. At about 2:40, I started to feel sick again. I was trying to hard not to feel that way. Mind over matter, right? I tried praying about it, I tried thinking about school, I even tried thinking about what I was going to write in my blog. But it didn't help and I had to make the driver pull over. It didn't help that it was snowing really hard. So we pulled over and it was a false alarm. My stomach changed its mind. So we were on our way again. Traffic started to build up and I made sure my door was unlocked just in case I needed to lean out and puke. Just then, a car tries to sneak out in front of us. Our driver tried to stop but we ended up hitting the other car. Great, I thought. Actually it did help because I now had time to throw up and calm my stomach before we started to drive again. The Russian procedure for car accidents is as follows: once you've been hit or hit someone else, turn on the hazard lights and look to see what damage was caused. Do not move the cars, leave them in the middle of the street blocking everyone else so that the police can come and look at the scene of the accident. So then, you wait for the police to come. This can take a long time! Our accident happened around 3pm. The police came around 4:30. The driver filled out papers and then we drove to the police department so the driver could fill out more paperwork. It's so ineffecient. That's why traffic in Moscow is so horrible. People get in accidents and have to block the road for hours. So we left the airport at 2:37 and didn't get home until 7pm! So now, here I sit, back in my soviet apartment. A friend of mine just walked in and told us that he was pick-pocketed. "Welcome back," I can hear Russia quietly saying, "Welcome back."

Whoa..it's almost that time...

Hey, I know it's been a long time since I wrote on here. I just haven't had a lot of time lately. With all the Office episodes that I've been watchin' and all....Just kidding. Life has really been busy lately. It's my last official week of school this week. I can't believe that it's almost time to come home for Christmas. Some things that I've been up to? Well, yesterday I went to the Nutcracker at the Bolshoi Theater!! It was really amazing. A little different than seeing the Nutcracker at the Reif Center. :) It was great. I also spent time with the other American teachers and our lone British teacher. We had a Christmas gift exchange. On Friday I FINALLY went to a Russian hockey game. We watched CKA, which is a team from St. Petersburg and they played цска, which is a team from Moscow. I was really excited for the game but was a little disappointed. I love hockey so it was great to just watch a game, but I was expecting more from Russia. Wouldn't you? Come on...no fights? Not that I approve of fighting...but the game was slow and a little boring. I would like to go see some other teams. I would almost prefer to go see a MN high school hockey game. And I think I will when I'm home. Speaking of which...I am coming home on the 22nd! Which is in 8 days! It will be nice to be home and not have all the stresses of living in a city of 16 million. But I also think that it will be somewhat of a culture shock. I won't be used to hearing English all the time. Can you imagine!? It's easy now to ride the metro and think about all kinds of things because I've gotten used to tuning things out. I don't understand what people are saying so my brain doesn't really think about it. Now I'm going to hear all kinds of conversations and it might be a little bit of an English overload at first. It's weird to think about. I won't have to get nervous when I'm about to order food. I will be able to talk to children and they will understand me. I'm starting to forget that children really do speak English. And I haven't ridden in a car in 4 months. I haven't driven in 4 months! Watch out people. I haven't been to Target in 4 months. Oh my....
Well in other news....I have a prayer request for everyone. The church that I go to on Sundays is in need of a place to meet. We have been meeting in a theater school but they have decided to not let us meet there anymore. I'm not really sure what the plan is. We need a new place by the first Sunday in January. It's hard finding a place that will let a group meet in a city like this. I also ask that you would pray for safe travels for everyone who is coming home for Christmas. I always get a little nervous when I have to travel, especially in a foreign airport. I hope there will be no snow storms here in Moscow or in MN while my parents drive to Minneapolis to get me. And that reminds me that we finally got snow! It was such a relief. If it's going to be cold, there mine as well be snow. And now recess is a lot more fun for me. The temperature has stayed around -5 C which is around 23 F. Next week the forecast is freezing. The high is around 5 F and the low is around -12 F. My friends from Texas are in for a shock. The Russians keep asking me if I'm going to be ok or if I'm scared. I have to explain that I'm from almost the same climate. I get the feeling that they still don't believe me. They can't brag to me about the cold. They also keep asking me if I have warm boots. They must think that Americans are just stupid and that I would wear my tennis shoes around. Then I have to explain to them that I have mukluks. THE warmest boots. Oh Russians...they expect so little of me. I'm pumped that my friends get to feel it before they leave for Christmas. It's a good story to tell the family.
So, this week hopefully will go by fast. It's pretty much going to consist of Christmas program practice and Christmas crafts. The kids have been warming up to me more and more each week. There are still the difficult ones that just can't get themselves to like me just yet. But for the most part, the children are asking me things in English. Most of the time they speak to me in Russian and surprisingly, I am beginning to understand them. I am surprised how much I have learned without taking a class just listening to the children, watching their body language and picking up on words. It's pretty fun. I'm pretty sure that I will asked numerous times when I'm home to, "Say something in Russian, Kristin." :) Can't wait to see everyone! Russia's been great but I'm ready for some Grand Rapids. Oh and I'm posting a video of my kids playing outside. This is what I hear all day. It's become almost normal to me now. Almost. :)

hello!

I would like to reserve one post for a special thank you to Olivemae Gebhart. I have heard that you faithfully read these posts and are praying for me every day. You don't know how much that means to me. I can tell that your prayers are working. :) I am feeling a lot better about the death of my friend, Jenna. It was really hard that first couple days but I really feel at peace about it. I looked back at my previous post about her. If you remember, I talked about a dream that I had. I really do think that it was a good dream now. I feel like God was giving me reassurance that she's ok. I thank the Lord for that dream now. School is going good too. A lot of the children were out of the country for Fall Break. Because of this, our first week back we had only a few children in attendance. It was kind of nice actually. We got to plan this next term and start thinking about the Christmas program. Turns out that I am going to be Mrs. Claus. That's just super...This week has been good too. Well, today is only Monday. The children are starting to talk me more and more each day. I can also feel myself relaxing and getting used to the situation. It's still not easy and it's still very frustrating but I think that I'm adjusting. I just wish that I could talk to them and know what they are saying and joke around with the little boys and talk about girly things with the girls. But I have to think about what there is and be thankful and stop thinking about what there's not.
So, Thanks again Olivemae and thank you to everyone else who reads this and is praying for me. Praise the Lord for people like you.

that's an idea

Ok so I am at school right now and i just had to come and write this down. I have been put in charge of writing the Christmas program here in the kindergarten. They do not celebrate Christmas here and thought that my input would be very valuable. However, it is difficult communicating and discussing the program with a language barrier in between us.
So, they told me to capture the "Spirit of Christmas." I thought, "Oh good, maybe I can do a play about the birth of Jesus because that really is the true 'spirit' of Christmas." Well, that bubble was quickly burst when I was told that there should be nothing religious in the program. They wanted to have the character of Santa. Santa needed to be in the play. So my revolutionary new Christmas program is as follows: It is a snowy day at the North Pole. Elves are tinkering away in the workshop getting ready for the coming Christmas Day. An elf comes to the workshop and starts talking about some vistors that are in town. These visitors turn out to be missionaries. These missionaries are so good that they come to Santa's house, tell him the gospel and Santa gets saved. In turn, Santa realizes what he has done. He has taken humanity's focus away from the real meaning of Christmas! He quits his job, shuts down the North Pole, and sends all the elves home with New Testaments. He goes public and confesses to the world the true meaning of Christmas. He starts an evangelistic tour around the world.....And that's the play. Any takers?? ;)

Loss of a dear friend...

On Saturday morning, a dear friend of mine passed away. Her name was Jenna and she was only 13. Some of you may know her and have seen me all over Grand Rapids with her. During my summers home, I was privileged to have the best job ever. My job was to hang out with her. I found out that she was in the hospital with pneumonia. They sedated her for something and she never woke up. They ran some tests and found out that she had suffered from several strokes. More tests revealed that these strokes caused brain damage. Her family decided to take her off life support yesterday morning.

We were 10 years apart but she was one of my best friends. We went everywhere together and not because it was my job but because I loved it. She made me laugh every day with her sarcasm and hysterical comments. I remember the first time that I met her. I went to the school to walk with her home. She came out, barely looked at me and drove past me in her wheelchair. I don't think she liked meeting new people. I kept thinking, "This is going to be the hardest job ever!" I tried keeping up with her and talking to her but her wheelchair was always pretty fast. Those first couple of days were hard. But I knew she liked me when she asked me to sit with her on the side of the road while she played her recorder and I held a sign that read, "Tips Accepted." :) I don't know how many times I sat on the side of the road with her, selling jewelry, decorated popsicle sticks and lemonade. Oh the lemonade stands that we had!

I have memories of her in almost every place that I can think of in Grand Rapids. Breaking the heater with her chair at Weight Watchers, playing hide-and-go-seek at the library, finding some inappropiate toy animals at Target, chillin' at Caribou, talking loudly and laughing during movies, getting a free meal at Bixby's, picnics at the Pokegama Dam or at the Veteran's Park (which we had another name for), getting yelled at by a creepy boy at Gunn Park, stealing charts from the hospital so we could legitimately play doctor where she would be "Dr. Volleyball", falling in love with a lumberjack at St. Louis County Fair, constant troubles with Ralph William Wannamaker (the stubborn/unpredictable ramp), accidentally locking her in the hot van outside of the library where she pulled through and reached my purse and unlocked it! I am going to miss her silent laugh, her dance moves, her little hands, her unbelievable ability to improv, the squeaks of her wheelchair, her uncanny MarioKart skills, her lip syncing into the rearview mirror, her facebook updates and photo comments, and yes, I will also miss her attitude.

The night before she was going to be taken off life support I had a dream about her. I dreamt that I went to go see her in the hospital. When I got there, she was awake and was talking. I didn't get to talk to her. I saw her and she got up and walked over to her mom. I was amazed. I started talking to her sister-in-law and she told me that everything was fine. Some kind of miracle happened. Not only did she wake up but she could walk. She walked again for me with the help of her mom. I can't decide if it was a good dream or a bad dream. I was happy during the dream, but then I woke up and remembered. It does give me hope that she is in heaven and she really is able to walk. But it still made me really sad to think that she won't be there when I come home. That I won't be able to have her as a bridesmaid. :) assuming that I get married. I won't be able to spend another summer doing crazy things with her. I am praying that I am able to dwell on the times that I did have and not dwell on things that will never be. It's not healthy to think that way, I've decided.

I looked at her facebook page recently and found a quote that she had put up. I don't remember seeing it before. It said, "“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. i'll always be with you.”♥ I will always remember her and I will forever miss her too. She taught me to be braver. Not care what other people think. Act silly. Speak your mind. Let people stare at you if they want to. And to love life regardless of the one you've been given.

more pictures from fall break