Простите мне...

Простите мне...Forgive me blog readers. If there are still any of you out there. I have utterly neglected this blog for a while now. Seems like all my posts start that way. :)

There is so much to write home about! Let's start with Christmas. So, I decided to stay in Moscow this year instead of making the day long journey home to the other side of the world. I thought it would be a good experience to see what Christmas in Russia is all about. And plus the plane ticket costs WAY to much this year. I do regret not seeing my little brother like normal. I have never missed a Christmas at home in my life so it was a little strange.

Christmas started with Christmas eve. That day we...I actually can't remember. Those days were a blur of food eating, fun-having, and friends. Well, I do remember the evening. Those of us left in Moscow met at Starbucks that evening before heading to a Christmas Eve service which started at 11pm I think. It was an Anglican service so it was pretty traditional. It was actually kind of refreshing. We got there just as it started so we couldn't all sit together. I ended up sitting alone. It was peaceful sitting there, holding my candle, listening to the liturgy and songs. Eventually my candle burned my fingers though. :) Also during the service, the massive amount of inscence set off the smoke alarm. It went off for at least 10 minutes before they finally got it turned off. That part wasn't as peaceful. But it was over at midnight and then it was Christmas!! 9 hours ahead of my normal Christmas.

The next day started with breakfast at my apartment with a few friends. Then we headed to the apartment of the loveliest British family I will ever know. They invited all of us over to their place for present opening and a huge Christmas dinner. We were all given our own homemade stockings filled with small gifts and candy. It was...it was...(insert appropriate adjective here). I can't even think of a good word for it besides nice. It was so nice. That's just not the best word for it. But it was a great way to spend Christmas. We had a huge feast. We had traditional (British) Christmas pudding. Complete with flames. Then we had (American) egg nog which I had never tried. Then we ate (Faroese) rice pudding made by my friend, Oli who is from the Faroe Islands. If you don't know where the Faroe Islands are, it's ok. I didn't either. They are northwest of Ireland. With 18 different islands and a population of 50,ooo. Known for whaling. :) I think that's all correct. I learned a lot about it from Oli. Hopefully we will be able to visit him there in the future. (Actually we are visiting him in Copenhagen in a few weeks for spring break. Can't wait to get out of this freezing city.) Anways back to Christmas. Oli made rice pudding. It was really good. Inside the pudding is hidden an almond. Whoever is served the almond wins a small gift. A fun tradition to add to Christmas, I think. A lot like the pickle ornament game (which I never win. I was hoping to win the almond gift, but no such luck...) After the feast, we sat around and played some games. It was a very relaxing and festive Christmas. One that I will remember forever.
The next day started, again, with a big breakfast. I went to Amber's apartment and she made us french toast. We sat around all day watching youtube videos and listening to music and drinking tea. Another relaxing day. Discovery of that day: A hilarious video from Conan O'Brien about old-time baseball. I'm pretty sure this is real. You should check it out-> http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x51o16_lnwcob-1864-baseball_shortfilms
That day was also Oli's last. He went back to the Faroes and is not coming back to Moscow. We had to say our first goodbye of the year. There will be more goodbyes coming. But let's not think about that until June...
The following week we (being Sarah and I) tried to see something around Moscow each day. One day we found a sculpture park. This had old statues of Stalin and Lenin. Might be the only place with Stalin statues? I think. That was a cool find. Another day we went to the Mikhail Bulgakov musuem. It was his old apartment from the Soviet Union days. It was pretty cool. I haven't read "The Master and the Margarita" yet but I am inspired to do so now. But...we did some other stuff. Obviously it didn't make that big of an impression on me because I can't really remember. :)
Then came New Year's Eve!.....It started with dinner at a Veitnamese restaurant. I kept thinking about what we were about to get ourselves into. Sarah and I decided a while back to ring in the new year in Red Square. Almost every Muskovite will tell you that it is too dangerous. People told me about all the people there and all the police. I was warned not to do it, but I knew I had to. Spend New Years in Moscow (the biggest holiday in Russia), and not go to Red Square? Not an option. So, Sarah and I made it to the center of Moscow around 10pm. Most of the streets surrounding Red Square were closed. When we exited the metro, we were able to walk down the center of the main street, right to Red Square. When we got there, we were greeted by hundreds of police. We went through two different security checkpoints but finally made it. The next two hours consisted of bitter cold. It was SO freezing. We walked around a little, but ended up playing 20 Questions to pass the time. A Russian guy with four gold front teeth decided to join us. I ended up having a conversation in Russian with him. He ended up telling me that he lost his friends and then asked us for our phone numbers. I said in Russian, "Why?? I don't speak Russian and you don't speak English?" Crazy guy. He eventually left us alone and when continued our game. On Red Square there is no counting down to the New Year like at Times Square. Instead, at 12:00, everyone counts the chimes of the big Kremlin clock. Once at 12..."HOORAH!!" "Snovim Godom!!" Happy New Year! And then the fire works started. We were right by St. Basils.
The fire works were ok. I was a little disappointed. I heard a rumor that they weren't going to be as good this year because of riots that occurred not too long before Christmas. True or not, the fireworks at Canal Park on July 4th were better. :)
The next week, Sarah and I spent 8 days at an English camp outside of Moscow. But I will save that story for the next blog. Now it's time to go teach. (Yes, I am doing this at school.)

P.s. sorry there are no pictures. they are all on facebook if you would like to see them!

Yours truly,

Kristinochka

The rowdy ones tend to be my favorites...

Some of you may know about a little boy that I have in my class right now named, Vanya. He is very difficult to deal with. He tends to be violent and cannot control his impulses. He will react in anger, but then will regret it. He knows its wrong and knows all the rules, but still continues to misbehave. He also is prone to using bad words. He knows more than he should for being only 5. We can't seem to figure out how to help him. It's so hard for me because all I want to do is talk to him. I want to know why he's so angry and why he acts the way he does.

I've come to really care for him and I just want to see him get help. I was told on Tuesday that they are going to hire someone to work with him all day. It will be his/her job to stay with him and make sure he does not hurt anyone. If he does, this person will take him out of the classroom so that the lesson can continue. I was SO happy to hear this and I started praying right away. I just knew that God allowed this to happen so that someone new can come and will actually help him. They won't have any other responsibilities. Just help Vanya. Right now, I am praying that the school will find the right person and that the Lord's hand will be in this decision. I am confident that God will use this opportunity to bring someone loving into Vanya's life and someone that knows what to do. Please pray about this too.

Story of my life...

I don't know if it's the sudden drop in temperature or the lack of sun but lately life has been a little...I guess I could say...lonely. I think we're all prone to those times in our lives when we feel lonely, even when we're surrounded by friends. And no, don't go worrying yourself sleepless about me, that I'm sad or depressed. I just thought that I would share some thoughts that I had yesterday. Walking 2 miles in -15 C weather by myself long after sunset, gave me sometime to think. So here's the story...


I've decided that it's time to go see a hockey game again. Even though the last Russian hockey game that I saw was a big disappointment. You would think these Russians would be fighters..but there were no fights at all. Not that I go to hockey games to see fights...but I think we all enjoy a friendly hockey tussle now and again, know what I'm sayin? :) But I digress...So, I was on way to buy tickets. I went alone because frankly no one wanted to go with me. lol. I mean...who would want to walk 2miles in the frigid Moscow air for hockey tickets? So I got there and realized I had no cash but I thought, "There's always ATMs in the metros." But...there wasn't. I walked outside and saw a bank across the street. "Perfect," I thought. "This is going to be easier than I thought." I walk into the bank and the ATM is broken...of course. I ask the woman if there is another one nearby and she says no. Then I think to my rational self, "Since I'm already here and it took a little while on the metro, I mine as well walk to the arena. It's a big arena...they have big events there...surely they will take cards." I thought this to myself as if trying to reassure myself that this was a good idea, knowing fully in the back of my rational mind that they probably would not take my Visa. But, I walk on. 15 minutes later, I get to the arena. I ask for 6 tickets for 300 rubles for the Ak Bars Kazan game on Saturday (feeling very proud of myself for being able to do this in Russian.) I take out my card and she says in Russian, "I'm sorry, only cash." I think she felt bad for me because she told me their working hours and told me to ask people where an ATM is. At this point, I can't feel my legs and I would rather not walk any more miles. So I ask if there will be tickets on Saturday and she said, "Yes, I think, yes." So, I walk away feeling proud of my conversation in Russian...but also a little degected. I told everyone that I would by tickets for the game and I didn't. This was not a huge deal but seriously, stuff like this happens to me ALL the time. Ask my mom. She'll tell you. My taxes get messed up and now I'm being investigated by the IRS...I accidently get in a car ACCIDENT and the guy sues me for $50,000...I'm sick for one day after my trip to Egypt and the school doesn't let me come back for 2 weeks. I'm forced to go to the hospital 8 times, having blood drawn, samples taken, an ultrasound, and some other stuff...only to find out, when I return to school, that the Russian government no longer pays foreigner's for sick days. That's another story...but it's just an example of the story of my life. Haha..oh man. What a crazy life it is. But back to the first story...so I was walking in the Minnesota-like weather back to the metro. I started thinking. (Keep in mind, I am not sharing these thoughts for you to feel sorry for me. I hate when people feel sorry for me. Also keep in mind that my pity-party self was exaggerating, but I really did think this. Just keep reading.) I started thinking, "This stuff ALWAYS happens to me. Nothing EVER works out. What am I supposed to learn from this stuff happening ALL THE TIME? Here I am again, like ALWAYS...by myself. Not just today but in life I'm always alone. (Note the exaggerations. :) ) I went to college alone. I went on all my mission trips alone. I came to freezing cold Russia all alone. I just wish...for once...that there was someone who always wanted to spend time with me. Someone who I am completely comfortable with and tell them anything." And as soon as these selfish thoughts streamed through my head...my selfishness turned directly into guilt. I heard the quiet voice of the Lord saying, "Well, what about Me?" I stopped...sighed...and felt like an idiot. How could I say those things with God standing there right next to me? It was like I was saying those thoughts out loud and God was standing next to me and I didn't see him there. And he was like, "Hello...what about me?"

God wants to spend time with us. He craves it. We should crave Him to. Sometimes we think these thoughts: Why is life so hard? Why don't I have more money? Why don't I have a family? Why don't I have a husband or wife? But really...when you get down to it...All we need is Him. That is hard for our puny human brains to fully be content with, however. We know this truth, we study it. Maybe your pastor will speak about it on Sunday. We will get teary eyed and nod our heads in agreement. Thank the pastor afterwards and then we go home and balance our checkbooks and think, I need more money. Right?

It's a difficult thing to do. To be completely content in every situation. Paul claimed to have attained it. Job must have mastered it a little. But still, we are human and so were they. The Lord knows this and forgives us for it.
I share these thoughts because some of you may by feeling the same way. Life gets hard or life gets lonely...but He's there. I'm praying that I may understand this idea. I'm praying that you will too. I'm praying that the Lord will bring me contentment...even as I'm about to stand outside in -20 C weather, waiting for the bus. Lord help me. :)

Thanks for reading.

yours, Kristin

oi, oi, oi...

I don't know why I'm finding it more difficult to keep this updated this year. Sorry to my couple of faithful followers.

So I've been back in Moscow for 3 months now. I can't believe that it is going by so quickly. I feel like we just got here. I haven't told you about the new school year at all. I am still in the kindergarten. It's been great working again with the same teachers and most of the same children. It's also been great because the teacher who did not like me very much quit over the summer. :) I think she moved to America actually. I hope she realizes now how hard it was for me to be living in a new place and not being able to speak the language. She gave me a hard time but I think I'm definitely growing from every difficult person that I come across. I hope she's doing well in America but...I was also very happy to hear that she was gone. :)
I am working in the same grade as last year, but they have also made me the native English speaker for the Preschool as well (which is the same age as American kindergarten.) So the children that moved on to the next grade still get to see me every day. I felt a little overwhelmed at first when I realized that I would be running around all day in two grades. But it has actually been good. It is a little crazy and I feel like I don't have much time to plan, but it's good to see the children grow and learn more and more English. Whenever I come to the 5-6 year old class, they run up to me and ask (in Russian), "I am in your class today?" (Because I only work with a third of them each day.) They actually enjoy being in my lessons. Possibly because they know they can get away with a lot more...but still. It's nice to feel like a teacher and that the children want to have English.
My Russian is coming along. I'm still just teaching myself. I understand most of what the children say to me. If I don't understand a word they will ask, "You don't know that word?" and then I say, "No." And then they will try to explain, still in Russian but with actions. :)
Work has also been great because of new friends that I have made. Our little group consists of 4 American teachers and also 2 new Russian teachers. It is their first year at the school. They speak English very well so it has been great getting to know them. I like that us, Americans, don't just hang out with each other or just eat lunch with each other. Their names are Lelia and Vitaly. They are fun to have around and also good for my Russian. I am constantly asking them questions about grammar or for different words. I recently asked them to speak to me in Russian. I really need practice speaking. I've gotten to the point where I can almost evesdrop on their conversations in Russian. They will look at me and say, "You know what we're saying, don't you?" :) It's fun. But I'm still a very long way from knowing the language.
Being back has been strangely comfortable. I am familiar with Moscow and I have a routine here. There's not as much culture shock or adjustment involved in a second year overseas. It is still difficult at times, but I know what to expect and I don't let things bother me. I know that if you don't have exact change, the woman at the cash register will get upset. I know that in some places, if they hear you speaking English, they might follow you around the store. I know that if you're on the bus with other teachers, you don't let your shoes touch the seat because you will offend the old ladies. I also know that some days are harder than others. Some days you just want to stay in or some days you just want to talk to your family. The hardest adjustment for me, I think, was not having 2 very good friends from last year here with me again this year. I was used to going places with them and seeing them. Different places around the city brought back memories from last year and I would wish that they were here. But..that's life. We are always missing someone somewhere right? Once I leave Russia, I will miss the good friends that I've made here too. Speaking of leaving...No, I don't know about next year. I haven't decided. Three years in Russia? Maybe...maybe not. But you faithful blog readers will definitely be informed. :) Thanks for reading. Type at you again soon!

it's strange isn't it?

Walking to school one day, the following string of thoughts wound their way through my head:

Behind me, I can hear the footsteps of someone I don't know.
The footsteps of high heels. I can tell.
Have you ever listened to high heels marching behind you?
Isn't it strange they have two differnt sounds?
Same person. Same feet. Same shoes. Two sounds.
The stranger behind me bought the shoes at the same store.
These shoes were made in the same far away factory.
What makes a shoe have a higher pitch and another lower?
So I walked, listening to this two tone cadence behind me urging me to walk faster.
Next time you hear them, listen.
It's strange, isn't it? It is.

Ladies and gentlemen, yes it has been a long break. Since my last post, I was in Oklahoma for a week and then in Minnesota for the rest of the summer. I meant to blog over the summer, but it just didn't happen. Summer was good, relaxing, a little stressful too, and really fast. I spend most of my time hanging out with my brother who was out of school. I guess you could say it was babysitting, but he's really not a baby anymore and if you have seen him you would agree. Instead of watching cartoons...ok wait, I take that back. We did watch cartoons. Spongebob. Ok, instead of doing the things we did when he was a toddler, we went to Target together, went to Starbucks and Caribou. :) He got smoothies. We went mini-golfing. We sang songs in the car, driving down Pokegama. We joked around. He is seriously one of the funniest people. It's strange that he's not so little anymore. He's in 6th grade now. Officially a middle schooler. Alex was good to have around. Coming home, I was a little sad thinking about how I spent the past 3 summers. I worked with an amazing girl named Jenna. We became best friends, but last fall she passed away. I kept thinking of all the things that we would do together and all the laughs we had. It was hard not having her in Grand Rapids. But I am so grateful for all the time spent with Alex. As my mom will tell you, Alex and I do not always get along but any time spent with him is good time. Since he was 5, I have been away from home. We only see each other over summers and Christmas. Whenever I come home, he is taller and older and different. I'm just waiting for the day when I come home and his voice is low. ugh....

I also got to spend time with my amazing sister. Having a sister is a very special thing. We shared a room together and shaved our eyebrows off together. She is the only person I have been in a fight with and the only person I have called a curse word to their face. She is my best friend and I miss her all the time. I am so happy that I got to go out for coffee with her, go walking with her, and watch movies with her. Toward the end of the summer she and Jason made the big move to Colorado for grad school. It was sad to see her move but I'm super proud of her. But honestly, I am kind of used to goodbyes. I don't know if that's good or not. maybe not? i don't know.

I also got to see my parents. Of course, that was super. Fishing with the dad, coffee with the mom. OH and before I came home for summer, my parents came to Russia! That was so great. It was good to show someone what I experience every day. It's really hard to explain living over here. And they got to see it. It was fun to see them on the metro and walking around. My mom said that everyone seemed like zombies or robots. "I feel like I'm in a movie," she said. "No one looks at you or says hello." haha. We went all over the place and they wore me out. My dad could have kept going for another week I think. I'm so grateful that they wanted to come and see me over here. It was amazing to spend time with them in my world. It is really another world.

Well, that's most of the summer. I meant to blog about what I'm doing now but that will have to wait. Starbucks only will let me stay online for one hour and it's about that time. Also, I don't know why my background is ugly. I tried fixing it and I couldn't figure it out...so it will just have to be like that for now. thanks for stopping by! more to come soon....

From the 'Cow to the 'Bul and back again....

One of my absolute favorite things in the world is to travel and see new places and I have been absolutely blessed to be able to do so this past year. Some of my friends and I decided to make a trip to Istanbul, Turkey this weekend. (AKA the 'Bul) We left Thursday morning and got back late last night. It was strange, because before I left, I wasn't really excited about it. People kept asking me, "Are you excited about Turkey?" and I would answer yes but I really wasn't. I was excited to go somewhere and not have to work a couple days, but I just wasn't that pumped to go to Turkey. Turkey has never been on my "Places to See and Things to Do Before I Die" List. (yes, i do have one of those.) But after being there, I would recommend it to EVERYONE. It was incredible. Let me tell you a little bit about it....

So we flew in Thursday afternoon, after stopping in Moldova (a country that I, sadly, didn't even know existed). As we drove through the city we saw green grass and tulips and the blue sea. Right when I saw Istanbul, I was finally excited. This is what I love. I love seeing new places and listening to new languages and having to figure out a new city. The first night, we found a unique Turkish cafe with delicious coffees and pastries. The name is pronounced Star-buks. :) Ok, so we went to Starbucks. We decided to go there and figure out the game plan for the next few days. Old Istanbul is a maze of narrow cobblestone/brick streets with shops and cafes everywhere. It was just so quaint and relaxed and happy. It was so refreshing. About ten minutes from our hotel was the Blue Mosque as well as Hagia Sophia. These buildings are beautiful! Even more amazing in person. They are basically across the street from each other and it was amazing to walk by them each day. The Blue Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616. It's nicknamed the Blue Mosque because of all the blue tiles inside. It is still used as a mosque and is closed to tourist certain times during the day.

The Hagia Sophia sits opposite of it. This was incredible to see. From the date of it's dedication in 360 (crazy old!) until 1453, it served as the cathedral of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox). In 1453 it was turned into a mosque until 1935 when it was secularized and made into a museum. 1453 is when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and the Sultan ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. I think its history is amazing. This ancient building was once Christian, then Muslim, and is now a museum. (thanks wikipedia for some dates and what not)

We saw both of these on Friday as well as the Topkapi Palace. This palace was beautiful and was once the home to Sultans and their harems for 400 years, from the 1400s to the 1800s. This stopped when one Sultan decided to move to the newly built Dolmabahçe Palace (which we also saw on Sunday.) The Topkapi Palace was very interesting. It was neat to see where the old Sultans lived and it reminded us of Aladdin. Even though that wasn't even in Turkey we kept singing, "A Whole new world...." Here they had a lot of beautiful jewelry and ornate things. I don't know what to call them. Mirrors, pendants, boxes, swords, water jars, cups, etc. They all had diamonds, gold, pearls, rubies and emeralds. One diamond was the size of a large egg, maybe bigger! They also claim to have the cloak and sword of Muhammed. They also claim to have John the Baptist's skull. The last event of Friday was a visit to the Turkish Bath. I experienced this with my two good friends, Leah and Becca. If we weren't close before, we are now. If you would like to know more about a Turkish bath, I'm sure you can google it. It's kind of like a sauna but also with washing and peeling? I don't know, you can ask about it if you want. :)

Saturday was another full day. We decided to take the ferry to one of the Princess Islands. These islands are not too far from Istanbul. The unique thing about them is that there are no cars. To get around you have to walk, bike, or take a horse-drawn carriage. Of course, it was beautiful. I think we walked like 8 miles here. We hiked to the top of the Island where there was a monastery. Back at the bottom we had ice cream. My friends decided to try the Turkish treat which consisted of waffles, ice cream and many other delicious things. OH, I forgot about my feel good story of the trip. Ok so, when we were on our way to the ferry, we were walking across the street and I saw a camera laying in the crosswalk. I couldn't just leave it there to get run over, so I picked it up hoping that the owner was looking for it. We waited for a while, but there was just so many people and the owner was no where to be found. I didn't know what to do. I felt like if I give it to someone, the owner would never find it. But if I kept it, then what? We decided that it would be impossible to find it's owner and we had to get on the ferry, so we decided to just hang on to it. My friend Leah's camera battery died and she didn't have the charger, so we thought, "perfect, now she can use this and have pictures of Turkey." Sorry unlucky owner. We didn't know what else to do. Well, Leah used it throughout the day and on the ferry ride back to Istanbul (the Asian side) I was looking through the owners pictures. Invasion of privacy? maybe but it was worth it. All I found were pictures of buildings with an occasional finger in the way. We decided that it was an old man who was travelling alone because there were no pictures of other people. Until I found a picture of one man. He had a brown jacket and a grey scarf. I also found videos on there. The videos were only a few seconds. In one, we almost caught a glimpse of the owner but stopped short right at his neck. But we did know what he was wearing. Anyway, we exited the ferry and made our way through a crowd of people. Then I spotted him, the old man in the brown jacket and grey scarf. I knew it was him! I had just watched a video of him! This had to be a friend of the camera owner. We stopped him and he only spoke French. We tried asking him if he recognized the camera. He didn't know what we were talking about. Some of my friends were like, "it's not him, he doesn't know." But I knew. So I took it out and showed him a picture of himself! He was surprised and probably confused. I tried to tell him that it wasn't mine. We found it on the ground. Then he said ami, which is the only French word that I remember from French class. It means friend. I think he was saying, "this is my friend's camera." We were all very happy and he kept saying thank you very much. He asked us if we were English and I told him here were Americans and he replies, "Barack!" And I reply, "Barack Obama?" And he says, "Oui, Oui!" Then he says something about Michelle being beautiful. It was so amazing that of all the places we went, we just happened to be in the same place as this man, the only person in all those pictures. And I just happened to spot him. It was so great. I wish I had gotten a picture of him. But he has pictures of us, from our day with his friend's camera.

The next day, we went to the new palace. This was also beautiful and ornate. It had huge rooms and breathtaking halls. One had a ceiling that was almost 100 feet tall with a chandlier that weighed 4 tons. It was gorgeous! It reminded us of Beauty and the Beast and we kept singing, "Tale as old as time...." Istanbul brought us back to our Disney roots. :) After the palace we ate lunch. I had Iskender which is the most delicious Turkish dish ever! It was so good. Then we headed back to Old Istanbul and had Turkish coffee and Baklava! The coffee was not that good. It's not filtered and all the grounds are at the bottom. The baklava was really good though. After that me and Leah and Becca walked around until we found the sea. And when we did, it was so amazing. (i keep using words like amazing, incredible, beautiful, but there just aren't enough words for it.) Because when we looked out at the sea, we saw DOZENS of dolphins! They were surfacing all over and sometimes jumping out of the water. We sat on the rocks and watched them for maybe an hour. It was such a blessing to be there and to experience that.

Our past day consisted of more sun and last minute seaside sitting. I was sad to leave but really hopeful that I would return someday. It's my new dream to go back there with my sister. She doesn't know that yet. :) Now I'm back in the 'Cow or Moscow. During our travels back here, my friend Rick said, "Home Sweet Home?" and I said, "No, Home Sweet and Sour Home." haha. Moscow is my home right now and I do feel an attachment forming for the city and the people here. I'm becoming more and more used to life here and I am looking forward to returning next year. (yep, I'm going to live here another year. ah!) But it is a little sour returning from a trip like that. And I am starting to get into summer mode. I'm looking forward to my parents coming here and to going back to America. Before I know it, I'll be sitting at Caribou Coffee, updating my blog for all you faithful readers. :) thanks for reading and caring about my life. Sorry this one was so long, we just did so much! If you're reading this from Minnesota, I'll see you soon! If you're my parents, I'll see you even sooner! (sooner?....i teach english good.) Anyways, that's all for now. Dosvidanya, Kristin

to see all my pictures go here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036230&id=79801790&l=ab07643119