I'm in Russia!!!

Okay so I'm in Russia.  How nuts is that?  It's so crazy to be back.  And let me tell you, its really cold here.  I guess its not too bad, but its kind of annoying not to be able to just go outside without layers upon layers of clothes.  There's probably about a foot of snow on the ground, today it was about 5°F outside.  I'm still trying to get used to the city, I've been here one week today.  The city is just soooo big and streets don't make as much sense as in the States.  But oh well, anyways I don't have much time to write.  I'll try to tell more later.  Peace Out!!

Future plans...

There's defiantly one thing about living alone, you have a lot of time to yourself and time to just sit, and be, and think.  It's really different from dorm life. (So much better)  It's finals week, the end to another semester.  I can't believe it's my fourth year here.  It's just crazy to think about, it feels like I just started school and at the same time it feels like I've always been here.  Anyways, I'm beginning to come to the final stretch of school.  It's exciting and scary.  Don't get me wrong I still have a while to go.  This spring I'll be in St. Petersburg, then I have two more semesters in Norman. 

Studying in Petersburg is going to be crazy.  I'm really excited, but as the trip gets closer I start to get more and more scared of the whole thing.  It won't be easy.  But I love Russia so much.  I feel like I'm in my element in Russia.  I can't really explain it, but it feels right some how.  I think that's another scary thing about school coming to an end, deciding where I'll be someday.  Moving to Russia is defiantly in my mind.  I could see myself living there.  My parents are completely against the idea.  That's very frustrating, but another story I guess.  I hope this semester will show me more about where I should be after graduation, it's a tough decision to make. 

Well, the future is always a scary and exciting topic I guess.  None of us really know exactly where we'll be or how things will turn out.  If two years ago someone were to have told me that I would be making my third trip to Russia, and seriously contemplating moving there I would have thought they were crazy.  So who knows where I'll be in two years from now.  In such a short time, so much can change.  It's an exciting time.  I just have to trust in Christ and hang on for one big ride.

24. It's light for literally 20 hours, and dark for 4.

25. There are metal detectors and guards posted at every door of malls and shops.  The thing goes off on like half of the people that walk through, including me, the guards don't seem to care.  Then why are they there?

26. If you go to a restaurant/cafe and order a cokacola, no one will understand you.  Unless of course you say it with a russian accent, then all of the sudden they magically understand.  What's the difference?

27. You can't actually take your key out of the hotel, you have to check it in the front desk when you leave.

28. There's this guard posted at the front of the hotel, you have to show him this little blue piece of paper to get to the elevator.  You can't show him your key, even though you had to have the paper to get the key, and now you stuck the paper back in the bottom of your bag. 

We have a phrase that we use here in Russia, RR. Which stands for Random Russia.  Here is a list of things in Russia, that just seem random to all of us. 

1. Drinks are not served cold or with ice, EVER.  So that means hot Coke and luke warm water.  They think that if you drink cold drinks you'll get sick.

2. Russians are super cold phobic, they think that if a girl sits on cement, any time of the year, she will become infertile b/c she will freeze her ovaries.

3. Everytime I order a Moca from Max it's something totally different.

4. Our blankets, in our rooms, are more like rugs.

5. Everyone wants exact change, they get really mad if you don't have it.  How can you ever get exact change if no one wants to give you change?

6. Ketchup cost 7 rubles per package at McDonald's.

7. Everyone, I mean everyone wears really pointy shoes, even men's dress shoes are pointy.

8. It rains everyday, and did I mention that it's 43 today but feels like 35, it's really cold, and it's July!!!

9. There are no lines here, just mobs.  The first person in line is the one who makes it to the counter first.

10. There are virtually no traffic laws.

11. The 80s never died, they just came to Russia

12. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way.  Any car can and will run over you without much thought.

13. A taxi is any random car that wants to pick you up.  If you want to take a taxi you just stick your arm out and jump in the first car that stops.  FYI we don't take taxis.

14. If you drive a nice enough car you can park wherever you want; on the road, on the sidewalk, in the park,. wherever.

15. Peperoni Pizza automatically comes with mushrooms

16. People don't sit on toilets they stand on them and squat

17. The showers are desgined so you sit in them

18. Coke tastes like diet coke and Cokacola Light (Russian Diet Coke) tastes more like regular Coke

19. Everytime you get a reciet from anywhere whether you buy icecream or appliances they rip it half way down the middle, why?  No one knows.

20. Dogs are allowed on public transportation, and just about where ever else.  I'm talking big dogs.

21. If you're sitting down on the metro or on a bus and a Babooshka wants your seat, she'll tell you to get up, and probably shove you out of the way.

22. Near the gate to the red sqare people stand in the middle of this gold thing on the ground.  They make a wish and throw coins up over their sholder.  Then, like 5 babooskas fight each other for all the coins, they're brutal.

23. When a Russian speaks to you in Russian, and you tell them that you don't speak Russian, they will repeat themselfs over and over like after hearing blkjsd fjasorud fgaffas iwoej five times you will just magically begin to speak the language.

Greetings from Moscow!!!  I've been here over a month and haven't posted yet, so I thought it fit to update real quick.  I am haveing an amazing time here, I absolutely love it!!!  I feel so at home in the city, I've made some great friends.  We leave in like two weeks, that makes me sad.  But I am excited to go home and put into practice all that I've learned.  God has taught me so much this summer, I don't even know how to put it into words.  I feel like I've grown so much, He's taught me so much about direction and plans for my life.  For the first time full time ministry really seems like an option for me.  I'm not making any decisions now, by any means but I am open.  I feel like God's about to take me somewhere, I know he created me for great things.  I just don't know what or where that is.  But just as it says in Psalms "He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me to still waters."  I feel like God's telling me to just sit and chill in the pasture for a while and it will all begin to make sense eventually.  So that's what I'm going to do.  For the first time ever I'm okay with that.  I've gone on so long demanding that God reveal his plan for me and my life.  I've finially realized that the waiting and the seEking faithfully is so important.  It's not just about the end result, but also the journey to get you there. 

So, I can't wait to see where God will lead me.  I'm excited to see my faith and my willingness increase.  I'm going to miss it here, I will definitely miss my team.  But this is not the end, merely the begining.