Saturday, August 16, 2008

What I miss about Russia Federation and the mission!



So having been back only a week and a half I already miss many things about the Russian Federation. Here is my list of the things that I wish were still around or that have been weird for me to adjust back.

My boy Lenin- There are stil statues and pictures of Lenin all over Russia. This always provided for a good photo op while out and about.


One thing that I really miss is the "viewing platform." Now you be wondering what this is. Well, it relates to toilets in Russia. Most toilets are not the same as the ones that we have in America. Instead of the waste matter going straight into the water, it rests on a shelf which does not have water. Not until the flush do things get cleaned up. I've learned a lot about myself. Now this isn't the viewing platform but this is the best you get in public restrooms. We were just lucky that we didn't have to pay to use this toilet.



Russia is a very hot and muggy place in the summer and that meant that there were lots of summer storms. I really fell in love with thunder and lightning storms. Here I was caught in one of those crazy storms that took us by surprise. This was all in a matter 20 minutes.














The sunsets in Russia are amazing! I'm not it's from the pollution or something else. I was able to catch a sunset almost nightly in the summer.



There have been a few things that have made me feel awkward with the transistion from missionary to a regular person.

One of the more dominant is the fact that I do not have someone with me constantly. Sometimes, when I'm in the store I forget that I don't need to take Riley with me to the chips aisle. Every once in a while I feel guilty for talking in english since we were supposed to always be speaking Russian.

There is one thing that I don't miss...the trash. Russia is a rather dirty country and especially where I lived. Here's is one picture from a park in Saratov.



There is more to come.....

1 comment:

Tolman Family said...

Hey Andy! It's great to see you're home. It was great to hear about your mission throughout the past 2 years. You're a great missionary! My brother-in-law, Jordan just got called to Mozambique Africa. He leaves in October. Needless to say, he's a little nervous.

Anyway. I just wanted to say hi. I wanted to head up to Oregon and catch your homecoming but I had several weddings right before and after.

Have fun at school!

Take care.

Libby