Blogs from Minsk Voblast, Belarus, Europe - page 3

Arrival into Minsk The Air Baltic Fokker 50 landed like a World War II bomber and taxied past the usual assortment of old Soviet-era airliners that had been left in a huge field. MИHCK written in large Cyrillic lettering above the terminal confirmed I had indeed landed in Minsk. As I stepped onto Belarusian soil, or rather tarmac, and entered the passenger terminal, I wondered what the country the Americans had described as Europe’s last dictatorship would be like. To be honest, I’d not heard many good things about Belarus, and the things I had heard were mainly to do with its president, Alexander Lukashenko, a man renowned for his poor human rights record and his fondness for rigging elections. This man had once famously stated that if any of his citizens joined in with protests ... read more

Hello everyone! So sorry that we have been out of contact. Everything is fine. It's just that we are feeling overwhelmed with our teaching responsibilities. However, we are finally coming up for air. And we see a light of our first school break coming at the beginning of November. We are planning to go to Krakow, Poland. We wanted to provide a few updates. While life is different here, it also seems very much the same as back home. Especially during the first part of a school year where you work so hard to establish a classroom environment where everyone is working together. Kevin and I are also learning the culture and responsibilities of a small school that is part of a larger, rigorous entity. The requirements and expectations are high here and we are doing ... read more

We are celebrating a week in our new apartment. It is located right across the street from our school. The apartment is nearly 2000 square feet with quaint sloping ceilings on three sides. We are on the top (third) floor up a flight of stairs. Because we are on the top floor we enter through a hobbit door about 5 and 3/4 feet tall (watch your head - George, not Kevin). There are three dormer windows and three skylights. It feels very spacious. There are three bedrooms - one for visitors (all are welcome) and one for an office. The apartment building is small (only six apartments), so we have views out three sides. Most views are of the city skyline. The city is really growing, with many modern buildings, mainly with investment by Russians. I ... read more

Kevin and I made it safely to Minsk and are adjusting well. Everyone is so friendly and it is very safe here. Kevin tested it out by leaving her purse at a restaurant the first night. We hurried back two hours later in a taxi and the waiter just smiled as he reached behind the counter and handed her the purse. We went to a local mall on the first morning to pick up some supplies. A fan was a must as it is near 30 Celsius (90s F). We also picked up a few groceries in the very modern grocery store. The mall was cool because it also has an ice skating arena. We had a Belarussian buffet lunch by the rink. Much fun at the open air market Tuesday , especially with the spice ... read more

Trip to Minsk, enroute fix a flat was required, with some success. We did stop in Branovitch, about 140km from Minsk, where the hotel was a little basic, breakfast - cold fried eggs or garlic & beetroot. Minsk is a beautiful vibrant city, although every business looks identical - no shop windows, as we can't read crylic script, is it a chemist or small hotel? Younger people speak some English, are & like to practise. People come to Minsk too get married, perhaps 50 on one saturday, we saw 7 couples round one fountain getting pictures. More Architecture & statues, perhaps a bit more Russian.... read more