Interlude

**Still on dial up, so just throwing up a couple of posts w/o trying to take the two hours it would require to load the 246 photos I've snapped in the last two days. Hoping to have high speed access this afternoon, and if so, I'll get some pics linked!!***

It’s 10:40 a.m. at home – 12:40 a.m. here. We just got back from Yelena’s dascha (country home). So, really didn’t have much time to write earlier, and nearly wiped out now. This trip is definitely go, go, go. Tomorrow morning we’re off to a local hospital – one of the surgeons there is a Rotarian. After that, we have some free time in the afternoon, and Mark and I are going over to Elea’s house. Elea is Natasha’s nephew.

The bana (at Yelena’s dascha) was amazing. First, we all went in the sauna and Yelena’s husband poured water on the stones. After I was nearly to the point of having to excuse myself, I followed Natasha out and we doused ourselves with ice cold water. We all came out and sat in the outer room for a while. The boys took a turn, Then, the women went back in and Natasha used three different kinds of branches to beat on my back, then front. There is a ritual to the order of the branches and rhythm you are hit with. After that, she and I ran out to the ICE COLD river. (btw, it’s been in the 40s the last couple of days, cooler at night)

The boys took a second turn, then the women went back in and Yelena used the branches on Natasha. While we waited, Yelena’s husband had brought beer and shrimp. After all of that, we went into the house and ate and drank some more.

There is so much more to tell – this has been an amazing day, including a tour of 300+ year old village, smoked fish and Russian vodka on the shore of the largest fresh water source in the world (the world’s well – if all the other water in the world disappeared, Baikal could supply water to all the world’s residents for 40 years), and an evening in a Russian bana. Wow. Just wow.

I’ll fill you in on Monday and some more details about today after I get back from Ol’han. (This assumes that I’ll be able to get this post up before we go, and that I won’t have the time to write again until we embark on our 7 hour journey…)

Quick Note

We leave for the bana (sauna/bath house) in 10 minutes, so I’m going to have to make this quick. I know there is no way I can do justice right now to all the amazing, breath taking, varying sites I have seen in the last two days – more than many will see in a lifetime. I hope we get back early enough tonight that I can try and get more down. If not, I’m going to go ahead and take the computer with me to Ol’han so I can spend some real journaling time. I’m going to start now with today while it is still fresh in my memory. I just learned on the way back here that Irkutsk is 345 years old on June 4. That means the city was founded in 1661. That is crazy to think about.

I’m picking up a few more Russian words every day, but I still wish I could learn more and faster. My host family is so nice – and I’m so fortunate that Sasha’s English is so good, but I wish I could speak better with Natasha and Babushka. Today, I learned da zaftra (until tomorrow), and kolodnya (cold). There was no hot water this morning – so that was an important on to learn. Also, it was ochin kolodnya (very cold) today, so it was used frequently. We bundled up and headed out to Lystvitanya. After visiting Tultsi (outdoor museum of a village from the mid-1700s), we went to a museum of Lake Baikal. They had a live aquarium, too, with Omul and nyerpa (seals – the only fresh water seals in the world, according to Itkutsk natives).

At long last

I just uploaded all these photos through dial up, so sorry I'm too worn out to add any descriptions!

Backtracking

Since so much happened since I had a chance to sit down and write anything, I’m going to attempt to dig back through a memory hazed by fatigue to fill in some of the blanks from Thursday to now…

The flight to Atlanta was completely non eventful. The flight to Moscow was a typical 10-hour flight – way too long to be sitting in one place, but balanced by the anticipation of what is waiting at the other end. I will say, though, Delta could learn a thing or two from Quantas. When we flew to New Zealand, the seats had special headrests that folded in on the sides, so you could lean your head against the rest if you didn’t have the window seat to lean against the wall. Quantas also gave us a little goody bag with a bunch of snacks, little socks, a sleep mask, all sorts of cool stuff. Nothing like that on Delta. I read almost all of Bad Twin, watched Rumor Has it, and listened to about 6 hours of Prior Bad Acts, a book I downloaded from audible.com and put on my MP3 player. So, not much sleep.

I was pretty beat by the time we hit the Moscow airport. We took a bus from one terminal to the other – which is miles away. Then, the great wait began. At least we were able to get chairs and tables in the outside lobby area. I’m very thankful that we’re spending the night in Moscow on our way back so we don’t have to endure another long layover. We couldn’t check in for the flight until 90 minutes b/f it left. When they called us, we headed over to go through security, such as it was. No pulling out your lap top and running it separately, no random bag checks, though I did still have to take my shoes off. This is also where the worry about the weight of the bags came into play. According to Bill’s information and the website, there was a 44 lb weight limit for both checked and carry on luggage. I’d tried and pulled out as much as I thought I could possibly live without for a month, but I was still at 38 lbs checked plus 18 lbs carry on – and only Mark had packed lighter than me. Bill was able to get us all processed through at once, though, and they only weighed our check bags. With some smooth negotiation, Bill put down 500 rubles to “pay for the overage” on all the bags, and we were good to go.

The flight to Irkutsk was rough. We’d already been up so long, and now we were in for a 6 hour flight on a much smaller, much older plane – that smelled. I decided not to even get out my MP3 player. I was basically sitting on top of the engine, so I hoped the endless drone would help put me to sleep. I put on my sleeping mask, then took it off, and must have fallen asleep, b/c the next time I opened my eyes, it had disappeared. (I was never able to find it, so I’ve been tying a scarf around my eyes to get better sleep since.) I was able to get a couple hours of sleep in on the flight. I already mentioned the Irkutsk airport – very different from anything I’ve seen stateside, and I’ve flown out of Tulsa and OKC. :)

Yesterday afternoon Vlad and his wife Marina took us on a walk down the river and to a Café for lunch. We all had sashleek, which was good, but not nearly as good as the sashleek Mark had at lunch today. We also went on a boat ride down the river. As it was like 80 degrees, the boat ride and wind off the river was quite refreshing.

After another short rest at the hotel, we went to the Bier Haus for dinner – locations in Munich, Dublin, Prague, Brussels and Irkutsk. Luckily, they had menus in both Russian and English, so I was able to pick out my own dinner – Fleischdorf (chicken salad with mushrooms, walnuts and pineapple) and Cheese and Garlic Toast, with Hoegaarden to drink. Mark got a flight of beers to try, and they brought about a dozen different kinds.

At about 10 p.m., Bill asked if we wanted to keep going or head back to the hotel. I was done – I knew if I stayed out any longer I would have been worthless today, and given that it was our first night and we have two weeks here, I threw in the towel. Tracy, Ora and Mark hung out in my room for about an hour, then cleared out and I hit the sack.

I’m sure I’ve missed many, many things – and I hope this isn’t too broad and sweeping. And, I hope once I get the pictures uploaded, I’ve provided enough detail that there is some sort of context.

My host family is preparing dinner, and Sasha is back now so we can all communicate through her, so I’m going to see if I can get this online.

My new home

Yeah, so – I was so beat last night that I didn’t even attempt to start another entry because I new if would be completely incoherent. The good news is, I woke up this morning after 8 hours of wonderful sleep refreshed and ready to go! And what a wonderful day it was.

We met downstairs at 9 a.m. for breakfast. The breakfast at the hotel was actually quite good, and offered many traditional Russian dishes – sliced meat, cheese, breads, kasha (porridge – both buckwheat and another kind), crepes… all kinds of good stuff.

After breakfast, Olga, Vlad and Uri came and picked us up for a quick driving tour of Irkutsk. We saw some really beautiful Russian Orthodox churches, including the first stone building in Irkutsk. I’ve got some good pics – we’ll see if the uploader works any better from here… We also visited a church that has a shrine w/ the body of the first Christian in Irkutsk. It is still an active church, so the girls had to cover their heads with scarves to go in. I didn’t even ask if it would be okay to take photos or not, because it just seemed wrong. It was very dark and beautiful, though, with gorgeous wall hangings and art work. I bought a candle (50 rubles) and lit it in front of a portrait of Christ, and said a short prayer for the health and happiness of my family and friends, and thanked God for the amazing opportunity He has given me to be here.

After the churches, we went back to the hotel to meet our host families. I was scheduled to stay with Yelena, and Mark with Natasha and Sasha (you’ll have to excuse me for not knowing last names – I’m doing good to remember the first ones at this point!) Sasha’s mother and Yelena are good friends, so Sasha, Yelena’s son, Mark and me were all riding together. They took us out to Lake Baikal for some sightseeing and lunch. I had some very good fish and Mark had sashleek (pork shiskabob). Sasha helped me order because the menu was completely in Russian. Then, back to the city to see the Fabriege egg exhibit at the museum. All of the items on display are from the collection of a man here in Irkutsk – the entire collection is valued at $500 million, and the items on display constituted about $70 million worth of the collection. Natasha shared a lot of information about the pieces, and Mark was kind enough to translate for me.

We then headed to our host families’ homes. There was a little bit of shuffling, and Mark is staying with Yelena’s son and I’m staying with Sasha and Natasha. Sasha speaks English, Russian and German – and is only 19 years old. She did a year study abroad in Germany and learned English in school. Right now, though, she’s not here, and neither Natasha nor her mother (who also lives here) speak English, so there’s a bit of a language barrier… good excuse to finally take some time to blog, though!

The apartment is very nice – the outside belies how beautiful the apartment itself is. Mark said these apartments were probably built in the 80s, but to remember that at that time, they were running about 30 years behind us here, so from the outside it looks like the units would be very stark and poor. In reality, I’m in a room by myself, with beige, textured walls and hardwood floors. The entry way is a diamond checked marble, and the other rooms are also hardwood.

So, this is my new home for the next five days, and I think it’s going to be great!

A couple of things

I have a feeling I'm going to be doing this combined post thing a lot. The hotel we stayed in for the first day here in Irkutsk has a business center, so that's where this is coming from.

I'm hoping to get a more lengthy post pre-written on my computer and posted here in the morning. But, we're going out to a Beer House for dinner, so we'll see what shape I'm in when we get back...

3:45 a.m.

At least that’s what time it is on my internal clock. Here in Moscow, it’s 12:45 p.m., so you’ll excuse me if this is some what discombobulated. It’s a cool 14 degrees C outside (about 60 F), but quite a bit warmer inside.

Well, you didn’t know it, but I just took a two hour break for Cognac, chocolate and Coca-Cola light. And, I’m actually feeling much better now! J It’s cooled off inside, a welcome relief. My phone isn’t working – despite T-mobile’s coverage map, but Tracy’s (on Cingular) is. She sent a text message to her brother and I sent one to G, so at least a couple of people state-side know we’re alive.

Songs I’ve heard while waiting include: Stupid Girl (Pink), The name of my band (Eminem), Ludacris, Backstreet Boys – I feel like we’re tuned into Kiss FM!

So, about five more hours before the next leg of our journey.

In Irkutsk.

Well, we’ve settled into the hotel in Irkutsk for a day of “rest and acclimation”. We got in about 5:30 a.m Irkutsk time, and had a wonderful drive through town. I don’t know exactly what I expected, but the city is very eclectic. The airport is very old, and very small. I felt like we were in a cattle barn after we got off the plane – all wood building, with something like large chicken wire... (BTW, in Moscow, we took a bus out to the tarmac to get on the plane. No pretty pics from the window of that plane, b/c here is my view:
We drove through the oldest area of town, were Irkutsk began. Very old, interesting buildings. We also drove by a new children’s hospital, which was a modern, beautiful building. There were also some old buildings that Vlad described as very typical structures from the Soviet era. Hopefully I’ll get to take some pics later today. We had about an hour to get settled in our rooms then met for breakfast. Now, we have five hours to rest before we go on a walking tour. I wish I had the energy to write more, but hopefully later I’ll get to do some back tracking and filling in. Going to try and get a brief nap in, despite the fact that my sleep mask disappeared on the plane shortly after leaving Moscow… Then, there’s an internet center on the second floor, so my hope is I’ll be able to log in and get these posts in before we head out, so everyone who checks here will at least know I’m alive and well!

It’s now 9:15 a.m. on Saturday here – 7:15 p.m. on Friday back at home.
**
So, now in reality, it's 6:40 p.m. here, so the middle of the night back home. I was trying to get some photos uploaded, but am having some issues, so hopefully tomorrow... One thing of note - it was 80 degrees when we went out this afternoon! :)

A comedy of errors

First entry not composed in DFW – from the floor in terminal E4 of Atlanta International. Not quite as exotic as you might be hoping for, but a sure sign none the less that the adventure is underway!
We started off bright and early this morning. Our flight was scheduled to leave DFW at 10:50 a.m, but Bill had suggested we arrive no later than 8:15. We were able to check our luggage all the way through, since we’re on Delta all the way to Moscow, so I was glad we did get there early. Plus, they stop accepting ticketing and taking checked baggage at 9:30. Our first worry began when Mark was running a little behind, but he beat the 9:30 mark and all was looking well. Then, we got the next bad news – Ora wasn’t coming with us. Here Visa (which she just received on Friday) was wrong. She’d have to wait a day and meet us in Irkutsk. Thankfully, it turned out the ticket agent had just looked at the wrong Visa (we have two in our passports because of a mix up on the invitation letter), and all was well. Ora got re-ticketed, checked, and we were good to go!
So, just killing time now at the airport until the next leg of our journey begins. We take off at 3:50, and after a short 10 or so hours will arrive in Moscow.
Wonder if they have wireless internet in the airport there... :)

My life in pictures

One of the suggestions we were given was to take a photo album to show our host families our family and friends. Not being very good about keeping up with photos, I didn't actually own an album with very many recent pics. So, I used the wonder that is www.picaboo.com to put together this dandy album. It includes pictures of Texas in general, Fort Worth, my friends, family and hobbies. Enjoy!

[For some reason the blog doesn't like this link, so you may have to cut and paste it into your browser...]
http://preview.picaboo.com/WebView/CoverPage.aspx?user=0000000000002493EC&album=00000000000024A539&showHeader=1&sessionID=P67IWsJOTbUezu6TFvkUJ%2bKCLdgM%2bnGlneDhftk6fi3FfjnAzBD%2f9tNyKqI%3d&coverPage=Black_Cloth_Die_Picaboo.png

Where we're going

Here's a map with the cities we'll be visiting circled in red:


And, in case you're wondering what the weather is like:
http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/RU_cc.html

Still a little chilly right now, but Garett was looking at the highs and lows from last year at the same time I'll be there, and it should warm up a bit before we get there.

The Back Story

Just over two weeks before we head out! Thought I'd give a little more background on what this trip is and why I'm taking it. In November of last year, I received an e-mail from the director of Leadership Fort Worth (I was going through the training class at that time). She was forwarding information sent to her by a woman on the Rotary Group Study Exchange selection committee for District 5790. They were looking for interested candidates to travel to Siberia, representing Texas and the Rotary District, and learning about their vocations in another country.

Not knowing much about Rotary, or Russia, I did some research. I had a vague idea about what Rotary was and stood for (I'd been a "Rotary Student of the Month" in high school), but I was very impressed with what I learned. According to the Rotary International website, Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 32,000 clubs in 168 countries. The organization has a long history of involvement with world issues, most notably its commitment to immunize children around the world against polio. Much more than a social club, Rotary is an organization with members truly concerned about making a difference.

While I love to travel, Russia had never been a country at the top of my "must see" list. Mostly because it just seemed so far away, and I didn't have a lot of personal connections to the country. I decided, though, that this was in a once in a lifetime chance - an opportunity to visit another nation and take my knowledge of Texas and Fort Worth (two of my great loves) to the other side of the world. To serve as an ambassador for Rotary, and gain an entirely new world perspective. I mentioned the opportunity to a friend over Thanksgiving, and she almost came out of her seat with excitement. She had done a GSE to Australia a few years before, and there was NOTHING that compared to it. She stressed how the experience still makes a difference in how she acts and relates to her world every day. I had to apply, she said - it would change my life.

With an endorsement like that, what was I to do? I submitted my application, and nervously awaited news on whether or not I would be selected for an interview. Not long after, I received the word I needed to schedule a time on a Saturday to meet the team leader and selection committee. Garett and I were planning to go out of town that weekend, so I requested the earliest appointment. I was excited and nervous as I headed to UTA. What exactly would they want to know? Would I be the kind of team member they were looking for? I knew absolutely zero Russian. Would that preclude me from being chosen? Everyone on the committe was very nice - they asked about my interests, my job, why I was interested in taking the trip, what I knew about Rotary and Russia. I was as honest as I could be, and tried to show that if I was chosen, I would be willing to commit whatever time and effort was required to be an oustanding team member.

Later that day, I got the call - I had been chosen as an alternate for the team, which consisted of the team leader and four team members - two women and two men. Honestly, I was ecstatic. I was afraid with my limited knowledge of Russia and the Russian language, I wouldn't be considered at all. Even being chosen as an alternate was thrilling - there would still be a chance I could go, and if not, I was being given the opportunity to learn more intensively about Russia and Siberia than I ever would have been otherwise.

A few weeks later, I met the rest of the team. It turned out that one of the girls going was in my Leadership Fort Worth class, so I already knew her. Not long after that, one of the men who had been selected had a job opportunity out of state come up, so I was moved into the active status. Woo hoo!!! To make a long story short (too late?), the folks you see below will be leaving May 25 on what I truly believe to be the adventure of a lifetime. Hopefully I can convey at least a small percentage of what we experience through this medium, and you can live vicariously through me!


(left to right) Me, Tracy Delce, Mark Moore, Ora Asheton, and Bill Burhans (our fearless leader)