One Year!

It has been one year since I arrived in Slavutich and a touch more than six weeks shy for the girls; I can tell you a lot has changed.  It’s amazing how familiar something can become after being so difficult and well, foreign.  From getting in trouble for carrying my backpack into the store, to not understanding a single word of Russian (written or spoken); initially life here was quite painful.  Now I can navigate the stores and know what it is I’m looking for (note the word “looking”) to even understanding enough Russian to hold a simple conversation or being able to ask for help finding something.  We have all adapted to our new surroundings to the point that we are comfortable walking around town, walking into stores and living life as if we were in the States.  Our discussions changed from dealing with our basic needs (buying milk and eggs…how and where do we get them) to walking through town discussing our current and future life plans, while enjoying a delicious M-Joy (the best almond milk chocolate bar ever) or a fresh baked treat from the bakery, life has hit a new level of “normal” and we are very comfortable with it.  Don’t get me wrong, we are still faced with a huge language barrier that makes anything “out of the ordinary” very difficult to deal with, but we know with our new found friends that help is just a phone call away.  And that our day to day living is difficult dealing with the constant walk-and-shop routine.  However, this adventure has enriched our lives more than we thought possible.  Our eyes have been opened to a different world, although the world is big, it has become much smaller and has been a privilege to see and experience it in this way.  Living in a new culture has taught us how amazing and adaptable life can be and how people are people, all of us with times of sorrow and laughter in our lives.  We realized how truly blessed we are to live in United States; it has revealed to us all that we had taken for granted and has taught us many great life lessons.  Our new friends have made our life here so much easier and if it wasn’t for those who were willing to embrace us and become intimately involved in our lives, I know our experience would not be as wonderful as it has been.  Of course the loving support of our family sending care packages and skyping with us weekly has brought much needed moments of love for us to know that we have not been forgotten.  We are so blessed to have all of you in our lives and we thank God for this amazing journey that has opened our eyes to an amazing world and an amazing people. 

Enjoy a year in pictures (it's not long): the music is compliment of our Neighbor's daughter Tania Filimonov