Blogs from Obninsk, Centre, Russia, Europe - page 5

I just wanted to post a Merry Christmas greeting to all of my readers. I attended a wonderful Christmas Eve service yesterday in Moscow. There was no doubt being so far from friends and family, I was more emotional yesterday and today, but when we said the Lord' Supper in everyone's native tongue, it really hit me God is every where and is for every one, not just one country and/or one race. There was something about hearing several languages all at once speaking the same thing. It was not an elaborate church, but was nice. Behind the pulpit at the top there were several windows in the peak of the arch. When the service started, it was still light outside so you could see the snow falling but by the time we got to the ... read more

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I am off to bed, but I did go to Moscow with Michael and Alan for a "traditional" American feast. It was missing a few things and a few things were a little different, but to be honest, it was not bad for being 5000 miles away from home. So we did have turkey, yams, and pumpkin pie. Sort of surprised there were no dressing/stuffing and/or gravy and if you wanted mashed potatos, they came with a chunck of fish on top so I passed! All and all, very good and it was a fun time. It was also the most English I have heard all in one place, outside of the Embassy, in a long long time! You would have thought you were in a restaurant ... read more

I made it back safely on Monday. We had some good tail winds and actually landed about an hour earlier than scheduled so I sat in the coffee shop waiting on my driver to show. He was actually an hour early so I did not have to wait long. Of course, I landed back to snow. It was not much, but today it snowed all day long and we have several inches on the ground again. It is suppose to continue through tomorrow, but then get above freezing for the next couple of days before getting colder again so that means ICE! Tomorrow, I head to Moscow to see a performance at one of the theatres. As stupid as it sounds, I do not even know what type of performance it is, but I wanted to ... read more

Okay, several things to note from the past week. I guess today was the most "exciting" in that I had to go to the local hospital for all of my tests. I had a chest X-ray for TB and then blood drawn for the rest of the tests. You are not going to believe this, but it cost me two chickens and 948 rubles. Yes, I am serious, two chickens! I will get all of my results back in two weeks. This was needed for my work visa. I just hope they let me back in Russia after coming home this next week! Last night I worked night shfit to see my sanitation team. We have a long ways to go, but the good part, they seem interested in wanting to learn. It is just my ... read more

Coming home in just over a week! The first question, what are the rules about liquids in your carry-on and/or checked luggage for international as well as domestic flights? I know there were some changes, but I also heard they relaxed them a little so I was not sure what to expect when I get to the airport. How about the lines at the airport? Are they about the same or do I need to plan extra time? Second set of questions, I need your help with how to make peanut brittle without corn syrup. While I am home, I plan to get some but does anyone have a good recipe that does not use corn syrup? For those in the Gainesville/Oakwood area, I will be at Buffalo's on Thursday evening after business hours if anyone ... read more