Sunday, January 22, 2012

Don't eat the last piece!

When we first arrived in Russia a few weeks ago, I put on several layers to walk down to the store. Halfway to the store I was sweating! Sweating...in winter.... in Russia! Well, that is not the case anymore. We just went from the house to the car this evening and my hands were throbbing. Moscow is not among the worst, but it does get cold. Right now it's around 3*F with noticable breeze bringing the windchill to -13* according to weather.com. I still stand by my claim that I prefer arctic to desert though, but will let you know if that changes! LOL :)

We just finished an English intensive camp today. This one seemed to go a lot smoother than the one we did last summer. Living with the Russian people for several days straight definately gives some serious cultural experience for both Americans and Russians. Jed and Allen, the guys visiting from our sending church, have many stories. Some they probably wish they didn't have! Of course, the reason we do these is to meet people and share Christ with them. We have a preaching/devotion everyday and have opportunities to talk with them during the camp. It takes time to build relationships. Loyalty and trustworthiness is everything to the Russian people, but it certainly does not happen over night. They have a saying that basically means we'll be true friends when we've eaten a bag of salt together. That either takes a very long time or one really rough, challenging experience. I pray Joel and I have many bags of salt and lots of patience ahead of us!

I was listening to a conversation about culture during the camp. It is very rude here to eat the last piece of anything. Someone was saying how Americans don't care if you eat the last piece. One said, "Yes, because Americans are rude." The conversation progressed as the American tried to explain that just finishing the last piece is not rude in and of itself. It is based on culture. The Russian did not understand how anyone could think that was not rude. Culture is such an amazing thing!

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for this blog! I love it and look forward to continuing to read this! Will keep you in my prayers! Love in Christ, Gina E. from Capital City Baptist/Indianapolis, IN

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