It doesn't happen often, but I sometimes have a sudden realization that I'm living in a foreign country. Yeah, shocking, right? I think I forget it sometimes. I don't know why. It's something that I never thought I'd be doing. It's mainly a I-never-thought-anything-would-change-and-now-it-has thing. After six years of sameness, everything is different. Living in a foreign culture/country/city brings in a huge batch of changes that I've talked about somewhat over the past 65 blog posts.
I also had a series of thoughts about things that have changed about me and wanted to share a few of them that have been running around my head lately. It's often hard to see gradual change. Parents see this most with their kids. Children are born and before long, they're celebrating graduations and weddings and the birth of a new generation.
I've seen it in just the past five months that there have been big changes in me (personally, spiritually, physically). Some things are still the same. I still have a lot of the same dislikes (situations, food, places) but I've also grown in a lot of areas.
I've seen it in just the past five months that there have been big changes in me (personally, spiritually, physically). Some things are still the same. I still have a lot of the same dislikes (situations, food, places) but I've also grown in a lot of areas.
Drinking habits:
No, not that drinking.
“You want the taste of dried leaves boiled in water?”
- The Nutro-Matic from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyI've always liked iced tea. But unlike Arthur Dent, hot tea wasn't really a thing for me growing up. I never liked coffee. Every time I tried it, the brew always tasted burned. Usually, I preferred hot chocolate with some cream. But here, almost everyone drinks tea. As such, it's widely available in many different flavors and varieties. I've since taken a liking to fruit-infused teas and a particular brand of mint as well. Also, through Bible study, I have been able to introduce a few people to the interesting taste that is lapsang souchong tea.
Although while we're on the subject of drinking, some people might be interested to know that at Big City Church, they do use wine in Communion. I was told about it before coming here but it still surprised me when I saw it at church. I've even made the mistake a few times of taking the cup with wine instead of juice. It's not really important whether it's wine or juice. But for someone who has grown up drinking juice at Communion, it's a very big surprise to get the taste of alcohol in the Communion cup.
Cooking:
Yes, I'm finally doing some real cooking. I've shared a few of my successes on the blog already. I can now do a really good omelet (usually meat and cheese filling) along with a gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich. Last week I succeeded in making bacon-fried-rice. That will make a repeat appearance for Christmas brunch this Friday and possibly even for the English club Christmas party on Sunday too. The next place to branch out is veggies. For the most part, I haven't had a big problem with vegetables. I just prefer that they are cut up small and cooked soft. Soup, salsa, etc.
At the Liberty planning meeting last week, I volunteered to cook something for the Christmas part. In the planning group for the party, this was written about me. "Браяна я намеренно добавила сюда, так как мною в несколько раз за последние месяцы замечены в нём задатки шеф-повара." That translates roughly to, "Brian, I deliberately added here, as I have several times in recent months seen in him the makings of a chef." I'm not sure about the chef comment but I am learning to like cooking or at least the experimentation process. I'll give an example. Back in August, I could cook potatoes but it was simple with no flair. Now I've added seasonings, meat, cheeses. I've learned that cooking with oil makes things stick less (obvious, right?). That might be the next thing to get veggies.
I also discovered a couple of weeks ago they have Jello here. It's not the Jello brand but it tastes and works the same. Jello is a term like Zerk or Kleenex. It used to be a brand name but now is a general term for a gelatin food product. In the UK Jello is called "jelly." In Russian and Ukrainian, the word is желе which is pronounced roughly "zhel-ay." It's super-easy to make but was a hit the first time I served it at Bible study. One of the girls who came, Zhenya, wanted to stick her fingers in it. I just have to make it earlier in the day. It takes a while to completely thicken up.
Weight loss:
Someone asked me this during the first Skype chat with church. Back then I wasn't really sure. But it's been commented to me several times now that I have lost weight. Now that I think about it, yes I have. Some of my clothes definitely sit a little looser. My dad brought a pea coat with him that I've had for a couple years. I could easily fit another half of me inside it. I haven't gotten on a scale to find out how many kilos have disappeared. One of my (unstated, personal) goals at the beginning of the trip was to get below 200 pounds. I think by now I've done that. Hopefully I can find a scale and see how much it really is. I mainly attribute the weight loss to the activity level I have now. I think I still sit a lot but most of the traveling I do is by foot or involves a lot of foot-travel.
This actually started way back in the Fall/Winter of 2014. As part of the preparation for this trip, I started teaching the young adult Sunday School at church. I used the same Intervarsity Press books as I do for the Bible study. But that class helped me on the path toward being comfortable in front of a crowd.
I find it's strange that the nervousness happens so rarely now. During the few announcements I made to the church before I left, my hands would shake like I'd drunk too many cups of coffee and my throat would go dry. Now, I get none of that. You'll see a little of the improvement in the video clip below. Yeah, I still stumble and stutter occasionally. But I'm learning how to think on my feet and explain better.
My group on Monday is a good example of that. I've done this enough now that I have a process and method to my madness. I've even figured out that some of the people in my group like self-deprecating humor. So I guess that's the take-away from this lesson. Humor and experience help a lot in making me comfortable in situations that used to terrify me.
That about covers all the ideas I've had for this post. These ideas tend to rattle around my head until I let them out to play here. I'll work on a new batch and have something new in the next few days.
And to help you get into the Christmas spirit, here is a clip of the Big City English club singing some Christmas carols. We needed to introduce a few songs to get them ready for next week's Christmas party. We'll be singing a few there. I don't know if I should admit to being the person playing the cajon (box drum). But, yes, it is me. I'm still learning but it's getting better.
That's all I've got for now. If I don't write any more posts before Friday, have a Merry Christmas.
Woah, what a leader!
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