The Great Freeze - Part 8

So now we are getting down to the last days of our trip. I know that some of you are asking where Norway is and when am I going to get to that part but unfortunately we were not able to make it there on this trip. The flight situation in and out of Minsk in terrible. If you are luck there is one flight out to where you want to go each day. There are usually stops, large layovers, and a possibility of the flight getting cancelled. To add to that our flight home was still out of Stockholm so we had to get back there which isn't really that easy either. In the end because Belarus wouldn't let me extend my visa two days so that Igor and I could travel to Sweden together, I got to add another destination to my trip but that will come later.

After the baptism we stayed in Minsk another day and then headed back to Zaslonova. Aunt Zena and Uncle Vasil came and we had another banya. All the ladies got in this time, which is rare since Igor's mom almost never joins in. Every time I am in the sauna with aunt Zena it is always eventful. I don’t know why but it is. This was no different although slightly more painful. When I am in the sauna I usually like the contrast between the hot steam and dowsing myself in cold water. However, when you are in the sauna with a bunch of Russian women they don't let you make it very very hot and they don't let you poor ice water over your head (lame). I did try but was yelled at. Not sure what they said but I got the message. I did however manage to pour scalding hot water on myself. My shoulder hurt for the rest of the night but it ended up being fine the next day so it wasn't quite as bad as I initially thought. Just to clarify this has nothing to do with Zena expect that she was there.

We got to see the school participate and crush everyone else in a mountaineering competition. I got a bunch of good pictures of the kids. Igor even got to help out with the event.

The competitors

pretty cool slide, hu?

The course

Allena (she won everything)

Kyril (he is the best, by far he was almost 2 minutes faster than everyone else)

Igor assisting one of the coaches who decided to run the course

Allena and Kyril are far and away the best climbers out there. Not only that but they are involved in everything. Kyril is a really good goalie for the school team. They both play basketball, and volleyball. All these kids are just fantastically motivated. I would like to note that there really were not many parents there even though it was on a weekend. Also, the kids here have an opportunity to come and do sports at the school ever evening. No one has to come and no one gets left out. Not even the old farts like Igor and I who come just to play and have a good time. How cool is that. What a great way to get kids to really want to participate.

After the competition we had to go to the village because it was -22F and the dog was freezing and Igor's grandmother needed help bring more wood in the house because it was so cold. So we went and Igor finished chopping that whole pile of wood. I helped for a little while but then got too cold and went back inside to snuggle up on the over with the cat.

The next day Igor and I said goodbye to his mom and dad, took the train to Orsha where is mom's sister and his grandmother live.

saying goodbye

Goodbye Zaslonova

 It is only a 10 minutes walk from the train station in Orsha to Igor's grandmothers house but let me tell you that was one of the longest 10 minutes i have ever spent anywhere. It was brutally cold, windy and after dark.  Being Belarus they had shut the heater off in the train about halfway through our 3-4 hour trip, not to mention the fact that the doors on the train don't close all the way. So we were already cold by the time that we stepped off the train. Then walking out in the snow and wind. I thought that my toes might actually get frost bite if we were out there much longer. There was not sweater relief than walking into the Igor's grandmothers house taking off my frozen boots and sticking my feet inches from the open flame stove in the kitchen. ahhhhhh so good!!! It did take a good 20 minutes to thaw my poor feet but they did thaw and there was no damage done.

before the train got cold

We spent the night at Aunt Vala's house across town. It was warmer and if you remember from the summer neither grandmother has an in door toilet....so the choice was a no brainer, although I will say that Igor had to point this out to me...I blame the cold, it made my mind all fuzzy. The next morning we took the train back Minsk since I was leaving on Monday for Vilnius, Lithuania (remember Belarus wouldn't let me add two days to my visa).

At Orsha Grandmother's

The train ride to Minsk was much warmer and yes they kept the heater on the whole time. Igor's brother picked us up. Igor had made plans to see one of his old college buddies that evening so Vasil and I dropped him off and then got lost trying to get out of the maze of apartment complexes where we had left Igor. Vasil ended up have to reverse down and extremely narrow "street" where there was barely enough room for one car to fit through. He did such an excellent job, I was really impressed. We did eventually make it back and I had dinner with Marina and Vasil while we waited for Igor.

In the morning Igor escorted me to my train which was pretty packed. Strangely they did not have a luggage area for people to store their large bags so they were just laid out mucking up the center aisle. But anyway. Igor got on the train with me, made sure I had the right seat and that everything was ok. Then he got off and waited right by my window until the train slowly pulled away running  along side until the train accelerated. And that was the last I saw of Igor until I met him at the airport 2 days later.

My train ride was uneventful. I didn't have any problem with the boarder agents, unlike the guy next to me who was from Oslo who had his bag searched and they asked him lots of questions. Turns out he spoke English and so we chatted for a bit on the last 30 minutes from that point of the train ride until we arrived in Vilnius.


 

The Great Freeze - Part 7

On my birthday we went to the nearest town bought some good coffee grounds to make in our new coffee maker that we bought in Minsk and we also picked me out a birthday cake...birthday log....birthday cake log. Whatever it was good. I was openly wishing for snow on my birthday because it would make it more magical. Sometimes, just sometimes you get what you wish for and this was one of those times. It started snowing quite hard while we were in Lepel picking out my cake and it just kept on going. I was so elated I am pretty sure I told everyone who texted me about it.

Cake log (yeah that is a prune, shh it was awesome)

On my birthday afternoon we went and made banya (sauna) at Igor's grandmothers. While Igor and his dad were chopping wood I went for a walk and got some really great pictures. Oh and this time sauna was extra special. Usually in sauna the men and women are force to go in separately but since it was my birthday we pulled some strings and Igor and I got to go together. And Vicki (although there is no film evidence) I got in the snow like that picture of you from Finland. :p When we got home Igor and I got the apartment to ourselves as both his parents had to work and we spend a nice evening together cuddled up by the Christmas tree and watching a movie.

The next morning was a bit of chaos. We were going to Minsk for a few days to visit with Vasil (Igor's brother) and his family. We got up late and there was a bit of a to do because we apparently need to pack half of the house, half of the farm and pick up a bunch more stuff in the next town over before we went to Minsk. You may laugh but I kid you not we brought with us a huge bucket of apples, a large sack of potatoes, meat, honey, onions, and about 50 other things. There was barely enough room in the car for us. Ok that is a bit of an exaggeration but it was still an impressive amount of stuff. We got to Minsk in the afternoon, there was still light left so Igor went out to meet some of his friends and I took my sister in-law (wow that is still super weird to say) out for a walk around the city (kid free) and a hot cup of coffee.

She and I talked about life and being married to Kuplevich men, about how similar they are lol and about our own families. We had a really good time just hanging out. We made it back after dark and reprieved the grandparents of the two little girls (Rita 3, and Veronica 1). We talked about life some more and difficulties of parenting and such. I wasn't able to add a lot to this conversation just interjected some of the things that Kristin does with her boys and offered some suggestions if I could think of any. Over all it was a nice evening of just down time. Igor texted me and told me that he was going to come and pick me up so that we could spend the evening with Serge and Nastia, our friends that also live in Minsk.

Rita being a goob

Last time we met with them we had just come through London and were sharing all our wonderful experiences there. Turns out we sold it so well that they went not too long after us and loved it, if not maybe more than we did! They shared all the pictures and stories with us and we shared some of our new stories about the first half of our trip. Not sure we did as well on the sell this time but who knows, maybe next year we will hear how much they love some other place that we recommended.

We got back to Vasil's late and stayed up even later chatting and discussing religion a bit because Igor was slated to be the God Father of their youngest Veronica and there were some religious requirements that we were not sure Igor met. But it all turned out fine in the end and I'll share that bit, in a bit. Then finally hit the hay to get ready for another epic day.

The problem with being gone for soo long is that sometimes you get sick. Well I woke up in the morning and immediately knew this day was going to be problematic. Igor and I were slated to go hang out with a bunch of people and Marina and I were supposed to go and do something fun and girly, but unfortunately all that got put on a swift hold. We were able to find me some medicine that made me feel a bit better but it took about 4 or 5 hours for it to work and so I spent the better part of the day on the couch. Igor stayed with me for awhile but it was pretty obvious that there wasn't anything that he could do and when you don't feel well the last thing that you really want is a bunch of people looming over you asking if you are ok or if you feel better ever 5 minutes, on top of which I already had enough of those between Marine (who took very good care of me) and Igor's mom (who is nurse in the military base hospital).
Marina and I were able to go out side for a bit although not long and I felt badly that we were pretty much resigned to the house all day when she doesn't get many opportunities to have others watch her girls for her.

Anyhow, the next day I was a bit better and when we got back to Zaslonova Igor's mom was able to get me even better medicine from the base hospital. In the end it all worked ok and I didn't end up having to use the medical insurance that was required for me to get a visa and I didn't have to see a doctor but all the same being sick in a foreign Country where you don't speak the language is a tough situation and I am very thankful to have a great (extended) new family.

New years was up next (just to clarify not the next day but I don't remember what happened the other days) and Igor's best friend from school was in town, so of course he came over. His name is also Serge, and to distinguish between the two were call this one Yoga Serge as he is a professional (and I am told the best) yogi in Belarus. He is also Igor's first chess rival so you know what that meant...yep and epic several hour long chess match that ended dramatically in a draw. After which Serge went home and we ate lots of food.

The traditional New years celebration in Belarus I have decided consists of three things, tons and tons of food (the word smorgasbord come to mind), really crap T.V. which is really just  music concerts for 3 days, and alcohol... and food.

We had just finished eating when another one of Igor's friends came over and invited us to come down to his place (2 floors below us) and join his family. So we did and that mean an already very very full Katie was required out of stupidity and politeness, which in this case are pretty much the same thing, to eat even more food. One thing that no one seems to have is water, and of course that is all I really wanted. There was all sorts of juice and wines and Vodka but water....nope. oh well. After about 3 minutes we carried ourselves back upstairs and plopped down in front of the TV to wait for midnight, when we could open presents.

Igor and I had sneaked some additional gifts into the house earlier when his parents were not home. We even found wrapping paper and Christmas-esk boxes to put the gifts in. Igor had gotten each of his parents a new fitbit, really good coffee for their new coffee pot and we had found a really nice tea (French press) coffee maker for his mom. Overall it was a wonderful New Year/late Christmas for me.

On New Years day we met up with Yoga Serge and his girlfriend to go to the sacred springs (yeah we went back). I know, I know I said I would do it but my excuse is that I still wasn't feeling well and it was really quite cold out.

So you remember when I said that constructing really simplistic sentence in English can be difficult, especially when you are trying to make sure that people understand what you say. Well I am about to do you one better. Serge's girlfriend didn't speak much English, however she did speak German, some French and obviously Russia. I don't claim to speak German, although I know a few words and there are some similarities with English,  I can speak simple French and I know some Russian words. Between French, German, English and Russian Paulina (Serge's girlfriend) and I were able to hold a pretty good conversation and I must say I am extremely proud of both of us. Not many people could make that work and I think, come out understanding pretty well.

Igor and Yoga Serge

The gang

That's Paulina on the left (I am not so good with Selfies)

The ladies

This blog could go on and on and on with the list of things that we did in Belarus, but to be honest I am getting a bit tired of tying all this out. It is like reliving the whole thing again and I feel like I need a vacation from this vacation blog. With that in mind I am going to do the "Cliff Notes" version of the rest of our time in Belarus. If you want more details, call me.

We went back to Minsk to participate in the Baptism of Veronica (our youngest niece). It was in a Russian orthodox chapel and was what I imagine to be very similar to the catholic version of baptism. I did try to explain to Marina that the way that my sister and I were Baptised was in a swimming pool. lol Mine was in my high school swimming pool and a total spur of the moment thing. Kristin probably thought hers out a bit more but I am pretty sure it was still in a swimming pool. Ahhh New age Christians, crazy kooks.  Anyway a bunch of pictures:

the kirk

Do I look Russian enough for you?

Look at this hunk of man

psst...Igor is wearing his brothers clothes.

I think we look pretty good, no?

She's is cute

Marina's sister Svetta (God mother)

Let the Ceremony begin

gotcha

watcha doin'?

awww, not cool man

"I don't know about you mister"

Kind of looks like he's carrying a sack of potatoes

sharing secrets

have to have an arty photo ever now and again

at the market after the Baptism

Its like when you see someone swarmed by puppies

seriously.... puppy tackle

Family

The Great Freeze - Part 6ish

And we are back...
The day after our adventure to the  springs we headed to Igor's grandmothers house to visit, see the new kitten and to get ourselves a Holiday tree. It hard started softly snowing in the morning which I was elated about. I love snow. It's probably because growing up in California you don't get a whole lot of that unless you live in the mountains so it is still very much a novelty to me. By the time we headed out to the village the snow was thick.

If you remember, I am not sure that I ever wrote about it, but Igor's parents didn't have a car when we first visited or even last year. So the only way to get to the village was by motorcycle, not ideal in the winter, walking (which no one but Igor and I are crazy enough to do), or when Igor's aunt Zena comes to visit. Well earlier this year Igor gave his family some extra money so that they could buy a car. This has made a very big difference for his family, especially his Grandmother, since she is older and needs help with the little farm. The car means that Igor's father goes and visits her more often and she loves it.

So we all piled in the new car and although Igor wanted to drive since it was snowing his dad was a bit hesitant. Once we got there we played with the kitten, warmed ourselves sitting on top on the big brick oven, and then headed out to find ourselves an epically awesome holiday tree. (I say Holiday tree here because Christmas is not celebrated on Dec 25th like it is in the US. Belarus like many other countries is on the orthodox calendar so Christmas is really in Jan for them. Thus, our tree was a New Years Tree or Yule Tree, ahh the things you learn). This was a really cool experience for me. I have never gotten to cut down my own tree before. It is so much more fulfilling being able search the forest, select it and then finally cut it put it on your slay and take it home.

It was beautiful out. Not too cold, slightly over cast, with lovely white snow drifts playing in the breeze. We took the dog Bikal with us but lost him not more than 5 minutes into our jount. He decided he didn't want to join us and ran back home to play with the chickens. Silly dog.

Igor looking for Bikal

our little sled

When we decided where he had gone we continued on our way. There were soo many good trees. We must have selected 15 each one we would say "this one is perfect! Look how full it is! Look our pretty! look how happy it is!' and then we would decided that we would keep walking and come back for it. I marked where our favorite ones where with sticks in the form of arrows so we would know where to go. But in the end we decided on this guy. Not too big, not too small, and full enough to hang stuff on.

the prize

Hail the conquering cutter

Taking it home

There was some rather heated discussion between the Family members in Russian of course about whether the tree was going to be able to fit in the trunk of the car or not but in the end it fit just fine and we were able to take it home but not before...

Lumberjack time. Man! look at that pile. 

"he's a lumber jack and he's ok..."

When we got back to Zaslonova it was time to put up the tree. Igor's mom pulled out all the old ornaments and we started decorating. I have to admit it was not what I think of as a traditional tree but I did have fun gussy-ing it up with the garland that we had bought earlier in the day. We even got lights to hang in the window that would cause seizures in all who spent too much time looking at them.

our tree topper

some photo shop action

so dramatic

The next day Igor and I decided that we wanted to play with the kitten again and chop some more wood. So off we went to grandma house. We walked the whole way, still looking at all the really good wild Christmas trees that lined the road and commenting on how good ours was in comparison. I have never chopped wood before so this was my first real experience with it. I am not so good. I did get better with practice but I also nearly chopped my shin in half when I badly missed  the log and got my leg instead.

suspense!

Don't WORRY! I didn't get hurt that bad. I ended up with a little bit of swelling and a small bruise. No blood, didn't even cut my waterproof pants. Obviously the axe was not very sharp (thankfully or this would be a very different story) but it was sore for quite a few days after.  You know that, of course I did this as Igor was trying to take a picture of me chopping.

After hitting my leg, I was rightfully a little put off from chopping so I went back inside and hung out with the kitten. It was getting quite late and dark and cold, plus we still had to walk 6 miles back home so  once Igor warmed up his hands a bit we trekked back to Zaslonova.

Some highlights that are not covered in our day to day events are waking up super late, at you know 11am, yes even Igor. The food his mom made was wall really great. My favorite though by far was her Borscht soup. Man... amazing. So I am kind of a sweat things or eggs for breakfast kind of person, that said I did have Borscht for breakfast more than one morning. I ate so much soup that Igor actually asked me if I was ever going to eat any real food. She also made me Pelmini (like tortalini but different - meat inside usually), mushroom soup, cutlets, smoked fish, fried fish, uuhhhh it was all good. :)

Ok, ok enough about the food. Anyhow, the day after I tried to cut my leg off, Igor's dad had a change of heart about us driving the car and decided to give Igor driving lessons (manual transmission you understand requires more expertise, expertise that I don't really have). But you know, Dad's can be funny about cars sometimes...and apparently we both were slamming the car doors (sound familiar dad???), and we were going to break the car so I decided that I didn't really want. Igor did really well. He only stalled the car one time. Igor drove us out to the local world war two monument to all the village families who were killed and/or burnt in the homes by the Nazi's. Kuplevich family is on the list.

After much convincing I did drive the car a very short ways from this monument to Igor's grandmothers farm. It was less than 2 miles away but still I waas very nervous and conscious of the fact that I had not driven a stick since my great stalling incident in Norway 5 years ago. I did fine. I think I stalled or at least almost stalled once but I still got us there. It wasn't like the other time that I drove a stick with Jamie across the US and got us stalled in the middle of Chicago in rush hour...pretty sure I still to this day don't have nightmares about that.

We chopped some more wood and then headed back to Zaslonova Igor at the wheel.

Get ready because my birthday is next!!!