An Exercise in Trust, Love, and Letting Go....

If you know me, you know how much I love my dog, Zoey Adele. She is my child, my buddy, my shadow. I "rescued" her in 2008, and knew from the get-go that it was definitely her doing all the rescuing. The moment I saw her (admittedly horrifying to behold that first day) in the Waco Humane Society, I knew we belonged together. I am unabashedly thankful for her happy little self in my life.

And yes, I can be a crazy dog-mom. I have sewn her clothes (once, matching outfits for the two of us. I know.), gotten her a pet (Lucy), put her on a diet to get her to Sakhalin on the plane with us (and should that have not worked, would have forked over the high price for a pet travel service).

For her happy-go-lucky ways, she as unfortunately had some health issues over the years, earning herself the nickname "Platinum Dog" in my college house. Fall of 2011 brought a new issue- a problem with her glands. The day I discovered the issue, which was pretty painful looking (and really  painful for my sweet girl) I was beside myself. When she had to have minor surgery, I hoped that it was behind us. Then a month later, it was back. Another surgery, more tears, a pouty puppy. But then it was gone. We went for monthly check ups, becoming familiar faces at our home vet office. Zoey made it in for a final check 5 days before we flew. No sign of any trouble.

Until yesterday. I noticed that she was not her peppy self, ignoring her best friend, Lucy, in favor of the recliner. But I didn't see the problem until she cried in pain when I picked her up.

Oh, no. Not this again. Not here. 

I was a mess. Really, truly. I didn't know any vets here, there's the language barrier, my access to medicines (or at least my knowledge of access) is limited. I can be fearful when it comes to the things and people that I love. And I just felt so alone. 

Boy, was I wrong. The outpouring of support, from new friends here, and those on the other side of the world, did so much to assuage my fears. People helped me get a vet set up to come to my house. My Russian teacher, Elena, came to translate for me, since the vet didn't speak any English, and even offered to go pick up the medications that the vet prescribed, a huge help since I wouldn't have known where to go, what to ask for, or have been able to communicate with the pharmacist!

So, thank you, friends. It's good to be reminded of the things I love deeply, and to know that I have an amazing support system, all over the world.

Everything is going to be ok. Everything. Trust, trust, trust. Dig deep, find it, hold onto it, believe it. Then live as a person who is connected with that truth. 

Bad Hair Day...

So, with my newly short hair, there are less options for ways to wear it. Bored one day, and uninterested in blow-drying my hair (which is necessary with the below freezing temperatures) I decided to see what would happen if I put my hair in pincurls. It's something I had to do for theatre all the time, and it always made my hair super curly. I was hoping for a cute, short bob situation. Unfortunately, my cut doesn't lend itself to that look....I got more "mad scientist." Enjoy.

Snow Festival!

Writing this from my hotel lobby in Sapporo, Japan! Carrie and I made it on a charter flight at the last minute to come to the 64th Annual Sapporo Snow Festival! (http://www.snowfes.com/english/event/index.html)  This business is UNBELIEVABLE! There were multiple times yesterday that I did double takes, originally thinking that a building was real, only to realize it was made of snow or ice. I'm talking palace-sized building, people. And there are sculpture contests, and ice carving displays- it's about as different from Houston, Texas as you can get, really. The festival doesn't technically start until Tuesday, which is great, because we get to watch them building, carving, and shaping everything, and then we will see the final products in a few days.

Sapporo itself is a really cool city- we have had fun exploring. Last night we had dinner at a place that could technically be considered a buffet, but instead of getting regular food, you are grabbing skewers of different meats, veggies, etc, and cooking them in the built-in fryer in your table! It was like fondue, but cooler, and it was nice to be able to see exactly what we were getting:) In addition to many soup and salad options, and and array of interesting dipping sauces, there was a chocolate fountain (with all the fixings) and froyo. Seriously, I was in heaven. And super stuffed!

I'm largely using my big camera, so I don't have pics to post from the iPad, but get ready for when we return to Sakhalin on Wednesday- you will be amazed!



On the bus to our charter flight- so excited!

Around Town....

Just some random pictures from our adventures around Yuzhno!

Checking out the food court at the mall

One plus of Russian Christmas being later - decorations were still up in mid-January!

This horse KNEW how awesome he looked - he kept posing. The guy tried to make me pay for taking pics. I pretended I didn't hear him.

Just chilling with my sweetie in Lenin Square, sitting on a massive ice sculpture!

SO. MANY. PIGEONS. I *may* have freaked out a bit....

presh.

These slides were pretty legit.

Carrie wasn't ready for the speed.

Yeah, we live by mountains.

NOMNOMNOM

Hi, ice three little pigs. 

Sweet track suit, babe. I'm married to this man.

Obligatory picture of Zoey in a sweater dress.

Happy.

Dinner with new friends at "Old Friend"

Reunited and it feels so good!

So, we finally got all of our stuff! What a relief - we had been living with what we had in our suitcases for over a month and we were ready to have some of the comforts of home - little things like our pictures on the walls, and nice sheets and blankets on the bed, and kitchen appliances. The movers came on Friday morning, so I was solo unpacking for a while. Luckily, there was a snowstorm a'brewing, so Matt got to come home early that afternoon. It was exhausting - I unpacked for over 13 hours that day! But I was so excited to have everything that I wanted everything out ASAP! There are still a few things that we need to put out, and some rearranging to be done, but it is starting to feel a lot more like home!

One side of the living room!

Kitchen stuff! My favorite!

Always my favorite thing to unpack!

Russian Baptism

Dobraye utra! (Good morning!)

So, last weekend, Yelena, the Russian teacher here in Olympia, told us all about a special Russian holiday/tradition. Apparently, in the Russian church, they celebrate January 19th as the day that John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ. On that day, water (in nature, not the bathtub or bottles) is considered holy, and many people enter the water. Once in, they dunk themselves three times. This act is said to encompass many holy acts - it is an act of repentance, atonement, and healing. All across Russia, from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, all the way into Siberia, thousands upon thousands of people gather for this sacred day, with large percentages participating.

As an interesting cultural tradition, Yelena thought some of the expats may be interested in observing, and a good group of us attended the larger service, right on the edge of town. Our new friends, Red and Carrie were also along for the experience. We could not believe the steady stream of people who would lower themselves slowly into the water, submerge their whole body (head and all), come up to cross themselves, and do it two more times before exiting the water.

The water is considered holy, so churches and many people will gather it to use throughout the year. It is used for baptisms, annointment, and for illness.

I don't think you can understand how cold we felt WATCHING this!

 After we watched for a while, the four of us headed off to explore the city a bit (more on that another time) and to find a warm place for a little lunch (and to thaw our toes). At some point that afternoon, Red got a call from Anton, a Russian national whom he works with at Exxon. Apparently, Red had made a comment jokingly that week along the lines of "Hey man, if you jump, I'll jump." What Red didn't know at the time was that Anton participates in this tradition every year. So he called to see what time Red wanted to go! Caught up in the moment, Red agreed to go, as long as Anton brought him a towel and some shorts to wear in the water. Always up for an adventure, Matt, of course, requested that Anton bring the same for him.

Carrie and I, the reasonable members of the foursome, could not be swayed. There is not enough money in the world, we said. Or certainly it would take a pretty big room.

We headed to a park a bit further out, where Anton said there was a hole in a stream that he liked better. We got to hike through the woods for a bit - it was absolutely beautiful, and gave the boys a chance to get a little freaked out:) But we finally made it to the spot. It was beautiful: pristine, untouched, nature at it's finest. 

Carrie and I stood well away while the boys prepped. We wanted a good location for pictures and video-taking. From our perch, I took the following video. Enjoy, but pardon the blurriness - my camera sometimes freaks out in really extreme cold. Yup. That cold.
 

 

So now Matt has been baptized as a Russian. I remained happily American. And warm. I was nice and toasty warm. 

FDC: Russia Edition

Sorry for the long absence! We have been settling in nicely, and people have largely returned from holiday, so it's been so fun getting to meet all the Olympia wives! We had a potluck on Thursday, and just about everyone who is in town was there; it was so great to sit around, eat delicious food, and play with all the cute babies - seriously, there are so many babies here - I am having a blast!

Last night, we decided to try the fruits of my gnocchi-making labor. As you know, Matt and I love to cook for a group - food is so enjoyable shared with friends, and making and sharing food has often been a way that I show appreciation and friendship. So Matt and I have been missing FDC (Fancy Dinner Club) terribly.

If you don't know about FDC, this was a self-made club of sorts that we had in Houston with our dear friend Reid and a few other rotating members. Weekly, we would make a fancy dinner, taking turns with who made main, side, and dessert (and adding appetizers, more sides, and/or a fancy drink if we had enough people coming to contribute). Often, these meals would be based around a theme, or area of cuisine. Mostly, it was an excuse to buy exotic ingredients, try really fun, difficult recipes, drink some tasty beverages, and spend an evening around a table of good friends and (hopefully) amazing food.

We are lucky to have many great neighbors here in Olympia, but our closest next-door house actually contains friends we knew before moving over here, Erich and Michelle and their two precious little ones, Ethan and Maggie. We have had so much fun hanging out with all of them. I mean, cmon, how can you not want to hang out with this cutie??

So, last night we braved the cold air for approximately 30 seconds to take dinner over to enjoy with Erich and Michelle. I had the butternut squash gnocchi in a garlic brown butter sauce, and had also made lemon rosemary chicken. The meal turned out quite well, and we had fun just sitting around talking. Michelle brought up some video she had seen of boiling water instantly vaporizing in this cold weather, which had also been shown to me at my last week of school. Of course, we had to try it ourselves, and the kettle was soon on for our "experiment." Lucky for us, it did indeed work, so that was fun. Lucky for y'all, we videotaped it. So sit back, kick off your flip-flops, turn the A/C nice and cold, and enjoy this taste of our chilly everyday!

Pree-vet!

Hello from Russia! So excited to get this blog up and running, though I have to admit, I have not been great about documenting these first few weeks.As I went through the camera for what pictures I had so far, I didn't have a ton to choose from:( But I will try to be better, I promise! Now that we have internet, it will be a lot easier. 

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, finishing up our jobs in Houston, saying so many goodbyes that we thought our hearts would break, scrambling to finishing things, and cross items off the to-do list: cleaning, purchases, paperwork, packing; by the time our departure day came around, we were exhausted in every way: physically, mentally, emotionally. But it was wonderful to see so many people before we left, especially the time that we got to spend with our families for Christmas. First, we headed up to the Saunders for our early Christmas celebration. It was packed with all kinds of fun stuff - a wonderful goodbye party thrown by Rachel, one last Texas brewery for Mattie, and Crescent City Classics cooking class with the whole clan - we were stuffed. And then we had our first "Christmas morning" where Santa definitely treated us all well:) Mattie and I got lots of things to help us transition to a colder climate....

But the best present was the fun times together: stories, laughs, countless rounds of Apples to Apples (which got progressively sillier as the celebratory champagne flowed)...

Then we headed back to Houston for Christmas with my side of the fam, which was equally wonderful. It definitely wouldn't be Christmas for me without the 11:00 candlelight service on Christmas Eve (which is my favorite holiday of all). The 25th was spent pretty quietly, and finished up with a massive cleaning at our apartment. Thanks to my awesome mama for helping the kinda sicky Matt and I finish up that job!

The day after Christmas Mattie spent running around Houston finishing a million errands, and my mom and I drove to Austin to get one measly stamp for Zoey's travel paperwork. It was touch-and-go for a while, and I was terrified that we wouldn't be able to get it before our flight, but it all worked out in the end. Thank goodness! We rented a cargo van (since we were now car-less and had to get to the airport at 4 the next morning) since they were out of SUVs at the rental car place, drove to a hotel by the airport, opened the really fancy bottle of wine we had been saving, and promptly fell asleep. Wine rarely goes unpoured in our house, but that night the pillows were calling much louder.

The next 33 hours were exhausting - checking in 4 bags for international flight, along with 3 carry-on bags and a dog, lent for an interesting early morning. But other than a few bumps along the way, we made it, totally exhausted, to Sakhalin. Amid the explorations and excitements of the first few days, Matt and I managed to get at least 12 hours of sleep a night - we had a lot of catching up to do!

Now that we are here, we are overwhelmed by the blessings of this place - our home is more than we could have hoped for, our community is friendly and supportive, and has welcomed us so graciously, and the city promises lots of adventures and new experiences over the next few years. I've made it out grocery shopping a few times (which has brightly illustrated my need for a Russian language class - I should be starting next week), and Monday Matt and I went skiing for the first time ever - an opportunity we plan to take advantage of here - the mountains are gorgeous, and it's super accessible. We've learned to shovel snow, Zoey has adjusted (somewhat) to the snow boots and coat (though she still doesn't like going out on the colder days), we've made snow angels, and thrown snowballs. 

Mostly, we are happy to be together, on this new adventure. We anticipate hardships, of course, and missing all of you will be tough. But this is the opportunity of a lifetime, and we plan to take advantage of the many once-in-a-lifetime things that being on the opposite side of the world offers. 

Now for some pictures!!

Zoey getting one final haircut before her weigh-in

First view of Sakhalin from the plane

Cold. Real cold.

Emmie and Zoey, tired from travel but ready to see our new home! Z was an amazing plane dog, by the way, as I knew she would be.

Yup, those are insanely gorgeous mountains.

Zoey was NOT a huge fan of her first walk in Sakhalin, and ended up tucked inside Matt's coat before too long. Check out her angry eyes.

The view out our front window - we got a lot of snow that day. Most days have been really sunny though!

Ready for some outdoor fun!

My first snow angel!

Pretty good, right?

Off our side yard - I KNOW, RIGHT??

Another angle from the side yard.

Matt getting ready to make his first snow angel - the snow is pretty high in our back yard, so you have to kind jump for a snow angel.

ACTION SHOT

So fun.

Mastering the snow shovel.

Our back porch, complete with firewood and icicles.

Oh yeah, we built a snow sled in our backyard. No big deal.

ACTION SHOT.

Y'all, this is my neighborhood. I LIVE HERE. Who am I?

Next time, I will try to have more exciting stories for you all, but now you know we're alive, not frozen, and are doing pretty ok:) I love you all more than words can say - watch for more posts!

--E