An Ivanyenko Christmas!

Aside from this year, I've only been away on Christmas once in my life.  In 2007, I spent Christmas in Vietnam while on a mission trip.  It was a weird experience to be honest, nothing like Christmas at all; the palm trees, the tropical heat, the absence of a family atmosphere, all of this distracted us from being away.

This year, I wasn't sure how I was going to handle it, because it was a very different story: I was in a family now, with their own holiday traditions and way of doing things.  I wasn't sure if this was going to make it harder or easier for me to be far away from my family.

God is good.  Being with the Ivanyenkos on Christmas was wonderful; of course I missed my family, but I was also overwhelmed with thanks to God for the family he has brought me into in Russia; a family that loves me and treats me like their own, that supports me, teases me, laughs and cries with me, and a family that I was truly happy to celebrate Christmas with.

The family Christmas Tree in our cozy new kitchen

Uncle Ilya repeatedly demanded to be photographed with both the duck, and his woman

The stove-top doesn't work, but the oven sure does!  Grandma is Queen of the Kitchen

All fancy for Christmas

And lest we forget what Christmas is about, here's my homemade nativity scene

For most Russians, of course, the biggest holiday of the year is New Years; they typically don't celebrate Christmas until January 7th, which is Christmas according to the Orthodox Church's calendar.  Everyone worked and went to school on the 25th, it was so bizarre!  Tomorrow, everyone's two-week holiday vacation starts, and the country basically shuts down.

I've got New Years with friend to look forward to, and on the 2nd, English camp begins!  We're starting the year off with a bang, and I can't wait to give a full report once I've recovered.

I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones.  Enjoy New Years (and Christmas again if you feel like it!) and God bless you in 2014!

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

Grandma moves in; my second expat Thanksgiving

A lot has happened here in Russia in the last few weeks!  Our little region is going crazy getting ready for Sochi (which is a mere 280 kilometers away) and at our little house, changes are underway.

First things first, Grandma Vera has moved in!  Tanya's parents lived in a big house with a big garden in a town about 5 hours from here, where the Ivanyenkos are originally from.  When Grandpa died a couple of years ago, the house became too much for Grandma to take care of on her own.  She put her house on the market and finally, after about a year of looking for buyers, the house sold! 

Enjoying tea on moving day

Grandma came with a mini van packed full of stuff.  Aside from the usual things like clothes and furniture, she brought her refrigerator complete with a freezer full of food, light fixtures, fruit trees and plants from her garden, and dirt.  I kid you not, the woman brought bags of dirt from her garden.  Tanya was in a panic about all the things Grandma Vera was bringing and kept saying, "it's going to be like a train station in our house!" but Baba Vera is nothing if not industrious. 

See the fridge back there? Full of food

Kostya and Tanya hard at work

Baba Vera's moved into Masha's room; Masha is in my room until her room is finished

Boxes upon boxes

Grandma's washing machine headed up to my room

She immediately brought order and food to our household.  Her biggest joys in life are feeding people and spending time in the garden.  She's already planted most of her garden (yes, in December, because the climate here is a dream) and busies herself cooking and cleaning.  Grandma is a wonderful blessing for such a busy household, and as a girl who misses her own grandmas very much, having her here is a great encouragement.

The next big even was last week: Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I'm not about to sit around and mope because I can't be with my family!  This is the second year I've whipped up Thanksgiving dinner by myself, and I really do get a lot of joy out of cooking.  And feeding people, I love feeding people! Baba Vera and I are not so different after all...

Photo courtesy of Nastya

In attendance was the Ivanyenko family minus the boys (Tima was in India serving the Lord, Kostya was in another town getting his driver's license), my dear friend Vasil, Kostya's girlfriend Nastya, two girlfriends from English club, and a couple friends from Masha's church that were in the right place at the right time!  We all thanked God for what he's done this past year and enjoyed the feast together (in the new kitchen, by the way). 

Left to right: Nastya, Baba Vera, Alina (Russian Jane and Uncle Ilya in the background)

My friend Katya and her little baby Toma

(I brought gravy packets from the US specifically for Thanksgiving this year, and I have to say, what a difference gravy makes!  It's the one thing I just can't get right from scratch.)

Camp is just around the corner, in less than a month.  Andree, my boss, had emergency eye surgery this last week (a few months ago he had a really serious injury and almost lost his eye), so we've been getting ready for camp without him, which is a little scary!  He won't be able to look at computer screens for a while, so I'm in the process of teaching myself Photoshop.  Instead of little books for English Camp like we usually do, we're making a map.  I'll be sure to show you the finished product!

That's all, friends!  It's a beautiful day out, 43F if you can believe it!  I may go on some kind of excursion today, it seems like walking weather to me!

I hear it's freezing cold in Montana; bundle up!

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

Things that Russians just don't get about America

I recently read a very interesting article, "16 People On Things They Couldn't Believe About America Until They Moved Here", and while reading the article (including an entry from someone whose Russian in-laws couldn't believe that nobody stole packages off of your porch when the UPS made deliveries and were blown away by all-you-can-eat buffets) I began to think about the things that I find myself repeating when I talk about America.

1) It is possible to learn the Russian language in America.  For those that don't know, I have a bachelors degree in Russian Language, and this boggles their minds.  They can't understand why anyone who speaks English would bother to learn Russian, let alone study it on purpose.  While getting my degree in Russian, I also got a degree in Political Science, which brings me to my next point.

2) Our systems of higher education are completely different.  I was talking with a friend last night who told me that in Russia, a bachelor's isn't considered a completed form of higher education (ouch), but now the education system is changing their standards to meet international norms.  When Russians enter the university system, they choose a specialty and all of their courses are laid out for them.  It amazes them that we get to choose which courses we take and when.

3) Cars are not an optional luxury in most America, they are a necessity.  In Russia, almost every town has efficient public transportation.  It's not especially comfortable or glamorous (unless you're in the subway of Moscow) but it is efficient.  In America, unless you're in a big city, you need a car to get around, and even in big cities it isn't a guarantee.

4) We mostly live in houses, not apartments. Most Russians live in big apartment buildings, even if the town is relatively small, but not us.  We prefer houses.

5) If you get something "Made in China", it probably won't fall apart in 30 seconds; you can rest assured that it's pretty quality, whatever it is.  Not in Russia, let me tell you.  I've never seen such junky crap.  In America, consumers have set the standards of what kinds of goods they will and will not buy, so why buyers go to China to buy wholesale for their stores back in the US, there are certain things they don't grab.  Russia hasn't had time to set those kinds of consumer standards, however, and as a result, you see some pretty amazing things. I bought a pair of ballet flats last summer, and hadn't worn them for that long before the sole started to peel off the shoe.  That has never ever happened to me before, and as I result, I now take all measures to avoid buying shoes in Russia.

6) MacDonald's is better abroad.  It really is.  It's gross and old and dinghy in America, and a fast-food institution, so nobody makes a fuss about MacDonald's (or MacDuck, as they call it over here).  Here, it's squeaky-clean and tastes better.

7) We don't go to the hospital every time we have a tummy-ache.  Russians have socialized health care, meaning that it's free of charge to Russian citizens.  As a result Russians are, in my opinion, pain weenies.  At the slightest hint of anything abnormal many of them will rush down to the clinic and stay in the hospital for a few days.  Granted, they usually don't do much for you at the hospital, but still people flock there for things that Americans would definitely tough out rather than pay for. 

And now, a short list of things Russians are constantly explaining to me about America. 

1) You guys smile all the time, but you aren't really that happy. 
2) You keep thinking up wars to fuel your economy.
3) You guys eat too much junk food, that's why you're fat.
4) Americans love Coca-Cola.  It's in your veins.
5) Our president made your president look like a fool over this whole Syria thing.

Thanks guys, tell me something I don't already know.

There's a little inside look at my life here in Russia.  I'd highly recommend checking out the aforementioned article; I always think it's valuable to get outside perspective on our lives.

And with that, I'm off to the kitchen! Grandma is moving in with us in the next day or two, and while Uncle Ilya and Aunt Tanya are in another town helping her pack up and move, Masha and I are responsible for making things homey for when she gets here.

Пока ребята,
Russian Jane

Gold Rush!

I'm sure y'all are wondering what in tarnation our theme for winter English camp is going to be.  Well, THERE'S GOLD IN THEM THAR HILLS!  And now I'll stop.  But it is the truth, the theme of Route 66 Winter English Camp 2014 is "Gold Rush"! 

As a native Western Montanan, a place that saw it's fair share of gold fever, I'm familiar with the gold rush period of American history and am excited to share a little piece of "back home" with my friends over here in Russia.  At our first camp meeting on Friday, I found myself gleefully explaining what the word "posse" meant, and what a "claim jumper" does. 

A picture from Bannack, MT, during the gold rush of the 1860s

From boom town to ghost town, we plan to go through it all at camp

Our basic plan is to split the camp territory into claims, give the kids some start-up capital plus opportunity to earn more throughout the week (in the winter, the floor in the conference hall always needs moping!) and let them loose to pan for gold and make their fortunes in Boomtown, our camp.  There will be panning for gold, a tavern, an auction, and as likely as not bandits. 

I feel like a kid at Christmas with this theme!  I love Montana and the West, I love history, and I love theatrics, so this is right up my alley.  I'm excited to be back in Russia doing the work that I love, and I'm also excited that this year at winter camp I'll be able to say "howdy" and "y'all" with reckless abandon.  Yeehaw!

Пока ребята,
Russian Jane

PS Andree and Natasha, our camp directors and my dear friends, thought of this theme last month while driving back from our home MT on their way to visit Natasha's parents in Portland.  They passed a semi that had a big mural painted on the side that said "Gold Rush" and had some kind of Western scene painted on it, and began to think to themselves, "now there's an idea...".

Russian Jane is back at it

My six weeks in America have come to an end, and it's time to get back to work!

I had a wonderful time in America; I saw friends and relatives, spent quality time with my family (I love you guys so much!), saw a dear friend off on his big move to New York City, and did all I could to put the "fun" in "fundraising".  It was a trip full of lots of work and lots of relaxing, a mix of doing things I loved to do and doing things I needed to do but maybe wasn't jazzed about.  All in all, it was a very fruitful time, but all good things must come to an end.

We had a very Bond goodbye for Erick as he left for New York

Wyatt made an excellent villain

Eli and I will miss him especially

I'm giving myself a couple days to adjust back to life here in Russia (I got in yesterday afternoon and still feel pretty dazed) and then it's time to get working on winter English camp!  My head is already full of ideas, and I can't wait for our first planning meeting (as an aside, I'd like to give a shout-out to the Lord who has given me a job I love so much, I look forward to meetings).

So today, it'll be unpacking, organizing, petting the cat, and trying not to go to bed before 7pm.  I have to say, it's good to be back where I know I belong.

Look at these wonderful people! There's no way I would be doing what I do without their love and support

Пока ребята,
Russian Jane

How did you get to Russia, Russian Jane?

It's been a whirlwind of activity since I got back to the States at the end of August! 

I had about a week home before I went down to Redwoods Alliance Conference Center in California, one of the nation's most state-of-the-art campgrounds, to meet up with my boss and pastor Andree, his wife Natasha, and their two kids.

After touring the facility in Redwoods (Andree and Natasha had been in CA for two weeks doing camp training at some of the country's nicest facilities) we road-tripped back home to MT for a little R and R. 

Just minutes ago my friends pulled out of the driveway and are on their way to see Natasha's family in Portland.  It would be a sad moment, except for the fact that I know I'll see them in a month when I return to Russia.

So what am doing with that remaining month?  Well, it's a working trip for me, and I'll be spending the remainder of my time fundraising so that I can stay in Russia. 

How did I get to Russia anyway?  I'll be giving all the details tomorrow night at MAC!  I'll be speaking tomorrow at Third Service and 6:00, and I'd love to see you there!  MAC is located at 100 E. Foss Ct. in Missoula; there's parking available in both upper and lower parking lots.

I hope to see you there tomorrow night! You can get the whole scoop on Russian Jane.

I'll try not to spend the whole time talking about my cat.

Пока ребята,
Russian Jane

Logos camp Fear Factor: there were bugs

My life in Russia has me constantly doing new things I never thought I'd be doing, and working at a kid's camp adds a whole 'notehr level of, how do I put it? Weird.  But don't think I'm complaining; one of the things I love most about my Russian life is that it's always an adventure.

Logos camp began on July 29 and it's two sessions ran until Aug. 18.  The first ten-day session was for kids, the second session was for teens.  What, one might ask, does an American do at Bible camp in Russia?  In English camp, my special skill-set is more obvious, but what do I have to offer Logos? As it turns out, my American-style organization.  Somebody had to organize our very own Fear Factor, and the task fell on me.

All-camp picture of second session at Anya's baptismE

very day we picked 10-12 kids randomly from a box to participate in our own version of the reality show, filmed everything, and then watched the results at our evening meeting.  At the end of camp we took all the winners (a boy and girl won every day) and they competed in a grandiose, terrifying, dive-in-a-pool-of-milk eat-pig-feet final.  The two ultimate champions won free tickets to next year's Logos, which is a really sweet prize if you ask me.  I was the Fear Factor Coordinator.  This means that I thought up all the games, gathered the supplies (I had two fantastic helpers, Lena and Camila, who saved me bacon numerous times), coordinated the participants and took the blame for making kids put boiled chicken heads in their mouth.  Chicken heads in their mouth? Yes.

Let me give you some examples of the challenges the kids had to face: a teetering platform suspended 40 ft in the air, where the kids had 30 seconds to collect yellow flags velcroed onto the board; transporting boiled chicken feet in their mouths from one table to another; finding the keys to  padlocks enchaining their wrists while sitting inside a closed box in the dark, and the keys are, of course, in an aquarium of cockroaches.

Water games quickly degenerated into mud games (this is Ernie, we first met him last summer at English Camp!)

The kids in first session took it pretty much in stride (though Revekka, my pastor's daughter, burst into tears and refused to compete in the crawdad-catching round) but the teens were hilarious, especially the girls (as is to be expected).

On a more serious note, the theme of fear was really well thought out.  There was a sermon every night about different kinds of fear; fear of failure, fear of punishment, fear of God, and it was good to see the kids and especially the teens learn about overcoming their fears.  I'd by lying if I said I didn't come away with a lot of great insights for my own life.

Pulling names out of the Fear Factor box; it made me feel very Hunger Games

Well, I feel like I just got back into "normal" life and I'm already preparing for my trip back to the good ol' USA! I'll be home until mid-October, so I hope to see as many of you as I can before I come back to Russia and start planning winter English Camp (if you have any theme ideas, send them my way!).

See you stateside!

Пока ребята,
Russian Jane