We decided that this would be a great way to share our experiences while we are in Russia by showing "At Least One Picture A Day." We hope you enjoy your part of this adventure with us.
May 29, 2012 Water bottle pump and learning the microwave
This may not be a very exciting post today but it is what it is -
Since the water is not drinkable, and not even suitable to cook with we have to buy bottled water. To make it easier it is common to get these big bottles instead of buying and hauling smaller bottles. So when our translator called to see if we wanted to start having big bottles delivered we were more than happy to do this. When we asked him the cost we were very surprised - For 2 - 18.6L bottles (approx 4.9 gallons each) it cost about (180 rubles) $5.78. For those of you who use these bottles, isn't that a good price? $2.89/5 gallon bottle of water. The expensive part is the pump, but it is a great way to get the water out easily. One time purchase and it is (400 rubles) $12.84. So there you have it, our bottle water story!!! Exciting huh?
Next time you get an appliance or an electronic and you are looking through the instructions, don't get too frustrated with the "other languages" that are included with English. We learned when we got our microwave that having an English speaking section was very helpful. Although it is not real clear, at least they are readable to us. So the following pictures let you see the challenge when operating something that is bought in Russia. I decided to practice the language a bit and type some of these words into my translator app.........
Since the water is not drinkable, and not even suitable to cook with we have to buy bottled water. To make it easier it is common to get these big bottles instead of buying and hauling smaller bottles. So when our translator called to see if we wanted to start having big bottles delivered we were more than happy to do this. When we asked him the cost we were very surprised - For 2 - 18.6L bottles (approx 4.9 gallons each) it cost about (180 rubles) $5.78. For those of you who use these bottles, isn't that a good price? $2.89/5 gallon bottle of water. The expensive part is the pump, but it is a great way to get the water out easily. One time purchase and it is (400 rubles) $12.84. So there you have it, our bottle water story!!! Exciting huh?
Next time you get an appliance or an electronic and you are looking through the instructions, don't get too frustrated with the "other languages" that are included with English. We learned when we got our microwave that having an English speaking section was very helpful. Although it is not real clear, at least they are readable to us. So the following pictures let you see the challenge when operating something that is bought in Russia. I decided to practice the language a bit and type some of these words into my translator app.........
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| Above the clock it says High, The Average (medium), and Low On the bottom it says Defrost and The Finished Dish (not sure what that means) On the right side it says kg and I don't know the next two words The six buttons say - 1st one I have no idea, 2nd says Slide Menu (?) 3rd says Inverter Firing (?) 4th one says microwave, 5th one says The Finished Dish and 6th one says Inverter Turbo  The dial says Time/Weight 1st button "Saving the Recipe" 2nd Timer 3rd Watch 4th Stop/Reset 5th Start
Now that everyone has had their Russian lesson for the day, here is another food picture. This is something we got the very first shopping trip we went on. Konstantin said that it was really good and that all you have to do is warm them up in the microwave or cook in some oil in the frying pan.
 At the time we didn't have the translator app. When we ate them the other day we both said it tasted liked ham and cheese crepes. Today when I translated the words on the package low and behold, this is what came up. Left upper corner - Just Reheat Middle of Package - Jack Frost (brand name) Pancakes Bottom left corner - Ham and Cheese Not too bad tasting......  |
May 28, 2012 Bathroom dual faucet and a good rain
We had a surprise this morning......no hot water. We had heard that some towns turn their hot water off for the summer. We asked if Velikiye Luki did that and were told no, but some apartment buildings do. I started to do the dishes this morning and no hot water came out at all, Lewis checked the bathroom and none there either. I can do the dishes in cold water......and did!!! I can do the clothes washing in cold water........and usually do!!! But showering in cold water is not appealing at all!!!
Thank goodness about an hour later the hot water started working again. I am thankful that we made the "no hot water" discovery while doing dishes and not while in the shower.......that would have been a real shock to the system.
Here is an interesting set up in the bathroom. Kind of smart in some ways.........
The faucet for the sink and the bathtub are the same!!
Early afternoon we had a good rainstorm and it seemed to make everything feel very fresh!
Thank goodness about an hour later the hot water started working again. I am thankful that we made the "no hot water" discovery while doing dishes and not while in the shower.......that would have been a real shock to the system.
Here is an interesting set up in the bathroom. Kind of smart in some ways.........
The faucet for the sink and the bathtub are the same!!
Early afternoon we had a good rainstorm and it seemed to make everything feel very fresh!
May 27, 2012 Cottage cheese/candy/mt dew/a cage
It seems like we put a lot of food pictures on here, but that is because most everything is so different. For instance, we both like cottage cheese. We asked our translator about it and he showed us what he thought we were talking about, it wasn't!!!
Here are 2 familiar items.........the Mountain Dew looks like it is glowing!!!
Here are 2 familiar items.........the Mountain Dew looks like it is glowing!!!
Took this picture on the dairy the other day. Lewis said it is where the workers go if they don't do their job right.............
May 26, 2012 Pictures at one of the dairies
Just another day at the dairy.......well, at one of the 4 anyway!!! Now, remember, I did not grow up on a farm or around animals, so some things I find very adorable and other things......well, not so much!!!
There are 4 dairies at this time, 3 male managers and 1 female manager.........Guess which one manages this dairy!!
They make their own brooms......I guess when one wears out they just take the broom handle out and stick it into another one of these and start sweeping again!!!
Now for the adorable.......I love these baby calves!!! They are so cute when they are eating too, just like a baby.....this one even stopped and looked up so that I could take a picture of her!!!
This is the "not so much" adorable. While I was standing there, waiting for Lewis to do some measuring, I was obviously a little too close to this bull. It licked my hand or something, whatever it was it was not too desirable in my eyes obviously!!!
There are 4 dairies at this time, 3 male managers and 1 female manager.........Guess which one manages this dairy!!
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| By the way, that little car is what we are driven around in all day long!!! |
They make their own brooms......I guess when one wears out they just take the broom handle out and stick it into another one of these and start sweeping again!!!
Now for the adorable.......I love these baby calves!!! They are so cute when they are eating too, just like a baby.....this one even stopped and looked up so that I could take a picture of her!!!
This is the "not so much" adorable. While I was standing there, waiting for Lewis to do some measuring, I was obviously a little too close to this bull. It licked my hand or something, whatever it was it was not too desirable in my eyes obviously!!!
May 25, 2012 Balcony clothes line
Today Lewis took down the old ragged clothes line and put a new one up so that we don't have to hang our clothes on the drying rack in the living room all the time. Here is a picture of the first "load" of clothes that dried on the new clothes line on our fourth floor balcony in the country of Russia. Yes, that is a "full load" of clothes......2 pairs of jeans, 1 shirt, 1 pair of socks and 2 kitchen hand towels. We will be washing every other day!!!
May 24 2012 Children in a shopping cart
This afternoon when we were at the store I saw these children and thought it was so cute. I was trying to be discreet to get a picture and it was good timing because the parents weren't looking and both of the children were looking right at me. So cute.......but I was thinking that those reading the blog may think we were at a store that you can buy "babies"..........
May 23, 2012 Gas pump and outside of the apartment building
I thought this picture might be interesting so I took it at the gas station. The top number is amount in Rubles, middle number is how many liters and the bottom number is price per liter of gas. We are not really used to the metric system so we have a converter on our phone that is constantly in use. Also the numbers are a little hard to get used to because the commas are where we would put a decimal point and their decimal points are where we would normally place a comma. So we have to think differently in that way along with all of the other differences. Sometimes it is overwhelming. So for this particular fill up it cost 248,64 in Rubles which is $7.89. 9,33 Liters of gas were used which is about 2.46 gallons. So gas is about $3,22 a gallon. The price per liter is 26,65 rubles which is about 0.85 American per liter.
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We have previously added pictures of the inside of our apartment, so here is a picture of the outside. The RED circle shows the living room windows. You can kind of see the middle window that has the screen on it (of which, yes, Lewis was hanging out of to install this screen). The BLUE circle shows the part of our balcony that we come out of the kitchen to get to, and then walk down to the part of the balcony circled in PURPLE to hang up the clothes to dry. The window by that part of the balcony is in the stairwell.
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May 22, 2012 How do I use the washing machine?
May 22, 2012
I tried to figure the washing machine out since it is coming on 2 weeks since no washing of clothes and this machine is so small it will take forever to accomplish the task. So I tried to remember what Konstantin had told me last week, but it wasn't making much sense. So I scanned some pages of the instructions to Yulia and asked for some interpretations. It is still different the way they word things and do things, but I think I have it figured out. It will probably take about 20 loads to catch up and then I better do it every other day!!!
The clothesline outside need replacing so the clothes are being dried on a drying rack in the living room for now.
I tried to figure the washing machine out since it is coming on 2 weeks since no washing of clothes and this machine is so small it will take forever to accomplish the task. So I tried to remember what Konstantin had told me last week, but it wasn't making much sense. So I scanned some pages of the instructions to Yulia and asked for some interpretations. It is still different the way they word things and do things, but I think I have it figured out. It will probably take about 20 loads to catch up and then I better do it every other day!!!
The clothesline outside need replacing so the clothes are being dried on a drying rack in the living room for now.
May 21, 2012 The screens are installed/HOME sign
May 21, 2012
The days are getting a bit warmer here and today there was little to no breeze coming through the windows. But the bugs were still coming in and also these little white things we are guessing from a plant or trees outside, but what we do know is they don't belong inside. This afternoon Konstantin came over and he and Lewis measured the windows. Then they stapled some screen material to a window in the kitchen, bedroom and living room. It made me very nervous since we are 4 stories up and they were hanging out of the window stapling this screen to the outside. I wish now that I had gone outside and taken a picture for a better perspective. We also got an oscillating fan so the air is moving better and no more bugs or little white things floating around. It's the little things that make you smile!!! Air conditioner would be nice, we may be looking into that in the next few weeks.
Looking down from the 4th floor -
The days are getting a bit warmer here and today there was little to no breeze coming through the windows. But the bugs were still coming in and also these little white things we are guessing from a plant or trees outside, but what we do know is they don't belong inside. This afternoon Konstantin came over and he and Lewis measured the windows. Then they stapled some screen material to a window in the kitchen, bedroom and living room. It made me very nervous since we are 4 stories up and they were hanging out of the window stapling this screen to the outside. I wish now that I had gone outside and taken a picture for a better perspective. We also got an oscillating fan so the air is moving better and no more bugs or little white things floating around. It's the little things that make you smile!!! Air conditioner would be nice, we may be looking into that in the next few weeks.
This is a sign I brought with us from the states and hung on the doorbell outside of our apartment. Does this make it obvious enough that Americans live here? But if they can't read English who knows what they may think it really says...........
May 20, 2012 Recreation on Lewis' birthday
May 20, 2012
Lewis' boss has a friend that owns a large piece of property about an hour drive from the town we are in. He invited us for Lewis' birthday to join him and many people from the office and some of their wives. There were several activities to participate in and they were all very hospitable to us. Everyone had a great time, and at the end of the day went back very tired but refreshed. The following are pictures of some of the activities and the scenery at this place. Also there is a motor cross track and we took one of the 4 wheelers out several times on it, Lewis had a good time driving. I didn't want to drive, happy as a passenger. One of the videos I took is included. (It would not download unfortunately but I will keep trying) It was tricky holding the camera in one hand and holding on with the other hand. The passenger seat belt didn't work!! So I had to feel safe with a "net" door!! Ha ha, good thing I trust Lewis so much!!
The owner of the property has plans to turn this into a winter and summer recreational place. He will have a snow board hill and when the lake freezes they will have motor cross on it as well as skating. He has outdoor badminton/volleyball courts and table tennis and if it is too windy there is an indoor facility that has the same court and table tennis and a trampoline. There are several motorcycles although no one rode them except his girlfriend's son. (He is the one we follow around on one of our trips on the trail)
He is making a speedway track and some other things that I can't remember.
The ladies all prepared food that was brought while the guys cooked the meat (sausage and pork) on the grill. One thing we noticed in comparison to what we are used to in the states is that there was no chips, soda, or "junk food". For the most part they eat alot of fresh fruit and vegetables. We didn't even have a dessert. For drinking, we just had water, which is basically what we drink here. But there is always juices available and of course being that this was a "relaxation" event the rest of the people attending enjoyed beer and of course vodka. It amazes me the amount of vodka they drink!!!
Outside -
Good and Fresh Food along with great tasting meat -
This is what they call a "Russian Sauna". I know there is a female and male side, and from what I gather you are naked in there and you sit in the sauna and get very warm and then you jump in the lake, in this case and cool your body down. It is suppose to be refreshing!!! The girls and guys doing it here were at least wearing swim suits.
This is a picture of a 200 year old Great Pine on this man's property -
Lewis' boss has a friend that owns a large piece of property about an hour drive from the town we are in. He invited us for Lewis' birthday to join him and many people from the office and some of their wives. There were several activities to participate in and they were all very hospitable to us. Everyone had a great time, and at the end of the day went back very tired but refreshed. The following are pictures of some of the activities and the scenery at this place. Also there is a motor cross track and we took one of the 4 wheelers out several times on it, Lewis had a good time driving. I didn't want to drive, happy as a passenger. One of the videos I took is included. (It would not download unfortunately but I will keep trying) It was tricky holding the camera in one hand and holding on with the other hand. The passenger seat belt didn't work!! So I had to feel safe with a "net" door!! Ha ha, good thing I trust Lewis so much!!
The owner of the property has plans to turn this into a winter and summer recreational place. He will have a snow board hill and when the lake freezes they will have motor cross on it as well as skating. He has outdoor badminton/volleyball courts and table tennis and if it is too windy there is an indoor facility that has the same court and table tennis and a trampoline. There are several motorcycles although no one rode them except his girlfriend's son. (He is the one we follow around on one of our trips on the trail)
He is making a speedway track and some other things that I can't remember.
The ladies all prepared food that was brought while the guys cooked the meat (sausage and pork) on the grill. One thing we noticed in comparison to what we are used to in the states is that there was no chips, soda, or "junk food". For the most part they eat alot of fresh fruit and vegetables. We didn't even have a dessert. For drinking, we just had water, which is basically what we drink here. But there is always juices available and of course being that this was a "relaxation" event the rest of the people attending enjoyed beer and of course vodka. It amazes me the amount of vodka they drink!!!
Outside -
Inside the house -
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| The man who owns this place killed both of these bears, a male and a female.
Sports both inside and outside depending on the weather -
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Lewis shooting at a target with a high powered pellet gun -
Good and Fresh Food along with great tasting meat -
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| Green Olives stuffed with Garlic - yummy!!! |
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| Cubed cheese, kind of tasted like mozerella. They always have lots of dill on things. |
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| Marinated garlic, also very tasty......the salad is a coleslaw but very mild and a lite vinegar sauce.
This is Konstantin and his with Kate. Konstantin is Lewis' translator for everything at this time and he also drives us everywhere until Lewis gets a vehicle.
This is Yulia, she has been the translator up until when we got here, now Konstantin is stuck with us and Yulia takes care of the translating for any other English speaking people that come and paperwork etc.
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This is what they call a "Russian Sauna". I know there is a female and male side, and from what I gather you are naked in there and you sit in the sauna and get very warm and then you jump in the lake, in this case and cool your body down. It is suppose to be refreshing!!! The girls and guys doing it here were at least wearing swim suits.
This is a picture of a 200 year old Great Pine on this man's property -
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