It looks as if God wants us back in Moscow, at least for a little while, for here we are.  Our visa came so expediently that an hour later would have been too late; our supporters have so generously responded that, though we left Moscow in May broke, we return in the black; the children were genuinely excited to return once they knew it would happen; Darin now has a work permit so that there is no pressing time limit to get the license process finished... in a word, God has solved every one of our short-range problems and given us hope for the long term.  

 

Approaching the gate for our flight to Moscow, we began to hear people speaking Russian, and I nearly laughed for joy.  Probably most of the Russians waiting at the gate were wondering if they would have to sit next to the moron, and the Americans probably wondered what happy drug I was taking.

 

At the airport in Moscow we were met by a driver.  Once we were all loaded in and luggage stowed, he asked, “Where to?”  Darin joked, “Home, of course!” and the driver countered, “Okay, which floor?”  How nice to recognize that he was referencing a joke from a famous movie.  One of the great things about going back to the States is returning to Russia, and seeing how much we’ve learned since the last time.

 

Just two days after our return I started working.  I am now an English teacher at the institute where we studied Russian.  I’m facing a steep learning curve, as I’ve never taught anything in a classroom before, and I’ve never taught Russian students, who have somewhat different expectations of a professor from what I’ve been used to.  I look forward to blogging a little bit about the cross-cultural experience.  

 

One thing I feared about starting this job (among very, very many) was having all my professional relationships in Russian.  Although I will speak only English with the students, nearly all the faculty are Russian, and meetings and conversations are all conducted in Russian.  Darin has already had this experience in the clinic, but my Russian has been sort of a hothouse flower until now.  I was relieved to get through a series of introductions in the teachers’ lounge, several conversations, a faculty meeting, and a day-long faculty retreat with nothing worse than a headache and severe fatigue.  I plan to keep applying the wisdom of Mark Twain: better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.  

 

Yesterday I took Katia with me to get some groceries.  The checkout lady made some comment to Katia, which she ignored, so she asked, “is she shy?”  I explained that we only just got back from America, and she’s forgotten all her Russian.  “You live here then?  Do you like it?”  “You can’t imagine how much we like it!”  She couldn’t believe it.  She called to the other checkout girl, “Did you hear that?  This American lives here, and likes it!”  To the next customer: “See this woman?  She came from America, and she likes it here!  My nephew lives in America, and when he comes back, he wonders how we can all stand it, but she likes it here!”

 

On Monday Darin will continue his quest for a Russian medical license.  We’re trusting God and trying not to jump to any conclusions about the future.  Right now, we’re just really happy to be back.

 

Photo: Happy travelers, very happy to quit traveling