I remember this fun game as a child at most of the birthday parties I was invited to called Limbo! I think i remember it more at the roller skating rink where it got real crazy on wheels and later in life with even our adult friends at New Years Eve parties. Those are actually the most memorable, physically! If you think for a minute the song will come into your head and the sound of the steel drum's will never leave :).
So, i wonder what the correlation is between this fun game with lasting memories i have and the last 5 days i have spent in Limbo in Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia? Maybe Limbo is a place in some remote part of the world where you never get anything done...is it Novo for me? I do have to admit i have created many lasting memories and it was fun for about a day then the reality of being alone set in. If it wasn't for my missionary family here I may be curled up in the corner sucking my thumb crying for Heather. :). Not really, but i like the analogy.
One thing that i have spent copious amounts of time doing is watching people. They say the deaf have much better visual observation skills than those of us that can hear. We'll, i've felt deaf this week and observed quite a bit. The couple of people i have been able to speak to are our coordinators. I want to thank them as I would be utterly lost and scared if it were not for them. Thanks Anna and Katia!
A few observations i have gleaned from these amazing Russian people.
First, a bit of a funny for me and Heather was that many, many of the women here wear very high stiletto boots here all winter long.
I began by making fun of them but learned very quickly that they navigate the frozen conditions better than most because of 'the spike'. I found myself slipping and sliding and watching them seem to dance on the ice. Seriously, its impressive! Everywhere you go you see little divots in the walkways from their heel reminding you that they know what they are doing. I wonder if they have a snow tire comparison where they install a metal stud? That would be cool.
The next observation I made were the fur coats and hats! I have never seen so many...ever. I've seen pictures of them in eastern european countries but thought I was seeing a 1980 pictures. These are stunning however and i think Heather would look foxy in one. No pun intended.
We found a whole strip mall consisting of 10-15 stores all selling fur coats and hats. The whole mall! I looked at the costs and found they go for $1,000-$6,500 each and then there are the full length ones. Gulp! My Walmart down parka has kept me plenty warm even though fashionably i'm sure ive been very embarrassing to look at. If i have any rubles left over i'm going to invest in fur coat stock.
This leads me to the overall fashion here. The Russian people pride themselves on their style and looking their best. They seem to always be dressed up even when i get outside the city in the more rural areas. Its fun to observe.
One aspect of the Russian culture I appreciate is how real they are. If they are mad or frustrated at you they will tell you. There's seems to be no holding it in. They just say it like it is. I was making this observation with one of our coordinators Katia yesterday. She agreed that this is how they are. To bring up Walmart again, you won't see many Greeters at the grocery stores here. They protect themselves a bit more and are careful who they get to know. But, when they do get to know you they are are amazing friends and will do anything for you. You just have to climb the trust ladder. That's what I enjoy about different cultures. We all have a lot to learn from each other. These people have a unique history that makes them who they are. I have enjoyed getting to know them better.
I told Katia that i will really miss Russia when I leave, if I ever leave. :) Heather and I have enjoyed making friends and having those friends to rely on to help us through this challenging time. We will alway cherish our daughter's Russian heritage.
Спасибо ("spa-see-ba") - Thank-You.
Finally, just to make myself feel better about not having learned to speak the language..yet, here is a short list of russian alphabet rules for you to get all confused over. Just for those who are curious. Others can stop reading here.
Love you all! Hope to see you all soon with Hazel in hand!
Russian letters that look like english letters but sound different.
(These are the most important to learn so you don't get them mixed up.)
В в - Pronounced like the "v" in "vet". (Equivalent to the english letter "v").
Е е - Pronounced like the "ye" in "yes".
Н н - Pronounced like the "n" in "no". (Equivalent to the english letter "n").
Р р - Pronounced like the "r" in "run", but it is rolled. (Equivalent to the english letter "r").
С с - Pronounced like the "s" in "see". (Equivalent to the english letter "s"). (It might help to remember that it's used like the "s" sound in the english words "centre" and "cent".)
У у - Pronounced like the "oo" in "boot" or "root".
Х х - Pronounced like the "h" in "hello". However, this is often pronounced more like the "ch" in the Scottish "Loch" or German "Bach", or the spanish "x" in "Mexico".
Russian letters that look unusual, but have familiar sounds
Б б - Pronounced like the "b" in "bat". (Equivalent to the english letter "b").
Г г - Pronounced like the "g" in "go". (Equivalent to the english letter "g").
Д д - Pronounced like the "d" in "dog". (Equivalent to the english letter "d").
З з - Pronounced like the "z" in "zoo". (Equivalent to the english letter "z").
И и - Pronounced like the "i" in "taxi". (Sometimes equivalent to the english letter "i", the short 'ee' sound.). (Note: The hand-written form for "и" looks a little like the english "u").
Л л - Pronounced like the "l" in "love". (Equivalent to the english letter "l").
П п - Pronounced like the "p" in "pot". (Equivalent to the english letter "p").
Ф ф - Pronounced like the "f" in "fat". (Equivalent to the english letter "f").
Э э - Pronounced like the "e" in "fed".
Now you know all there is to know to get really confused. Cheers.
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