Hello my fellow Homosapiens

Its that time of year again!

Merry Christmas!

I have had a time to reflect on everything that God has blessed me with, and am completly convinced that he is not only in control of everything, but also enjoys making these some of the best days of my life. Sometimes as I meander down the lonely streets of St. Pete, I have to stop and remind myself where I am. It suddenly becomes very surreal to me, and I am agast in amazement. It all started when I was a young kid, and God has carried me through it all, and has brought me here just like he said. I am completly in love with this country, its traditions, its people. Yes, I still stand out as the ugly American. Many have described me as dirty, rude, weird, and crazy. Many say I smile too much, or I have too many fantastic days. They say I am crazy for not owning a coat. I say they are all overdressed. Some say I am too honest when making friends, and that I should just keep to myself and ignore the problems around me. There is one problem with this. I have a joy in my heart that many do not have here. I have a joy that I can't hide nor keep to myself. I think of Christmas and all that it entails, and have to thank my Lord for what he has done. For without his birth, we would be alone. In some ways, I do not miss the glorified shopping season of Christmas in the United States. I am here in Russia, where most do not celebrate Christmas. I have a ten inch Christmas tree, some Christmas music, and friends. It seems that in missing Christmas, and my desperation to celebrate it some how, I have reached out and grasped the bare essentials. The true meanings of Christmas - the saviors birth, friends/family, and a joy filled heart. My heart breaks when I see the hopeless faces of the many people on the streets. I am spending this Christmas with good friends that I have been blessed with. I miss you all very much. I pray that you all have the most terrific Christmas that you have ever had. Please keep me in your prayers, I need everyone one of them. I love you all. Merry Christmas.

Peter

hello earthlings

hi everybody! I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I will have a full update within the next week. 

bye bye now

pete

life is crazy

"Russians show their tears to the world, and save the smiles for their friends - Americans show smiles to the world, and save the tears for their friends."

I am thinking I need a change in my clothes. I never wear a jacket/coat and everyone thinks I am crazy. Because of it, people think I am homeless. Many scatter as if I have the plague. 

However....Life is good.

pete

A Full Update of All my Doings

Well, its that time of year again. Christmas! Its the 9th of December, and I look forward to a great Christmas break. I don't remember the last time I sent an update, but I can say its long overdue. So much has happened, and I've changed so much. To begin...

We had a great Thanksgiving dinner! We invite about 20 people over! Thanksgiving is not celebrated here, so we did our best to show it off. Putting tables together, gathering the chairs, we tryed to set the mood with everything we could. With our humble kitchen, we managed to cook two turkeys, green bean cassorole, mash potatos, muffins, cookies, apple pie, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. It was a marvelous time! The next day, we jumped on a bus for 7 hours and left the country! We went into Estonia! The capital of Estonia, Tallin. We spent 4 days there, making all of it again and having another wonderful dinner. This trip was with only my team mates. It was a good time to reflect, and reboot. Tallin is beautiful! I know like the back of my hand now. Jeff and I walked the streets many hours, exploring its many avenues, and alleys. The people there were completly different, and gave me a new perspective on the Russian soul. I must confess, as welcoming and safe Tallin was, I missed Russia. There is just something about the attitude in Russia, that my heart clings to. Now, I have school only until the 19th of December. I start back up again the second week of Febuarary. Very long break! Within that break I will be teaching in Hungary! Every week I still have English Club, and enjoying every second of it. We still have a bible study on Fridays combined with a sports night at the gym - which is very popular with the students. My team mates and I still have our own bible study every Friday morning. And Church is always a good learning experience on Sunday. The days here are becoming shorter and shorter. The sun doesn't seem to rise until about 10 am, and it sets at about 3 pm. I haven't really seen the sun for a month now, it always dark, raining, and gray. This crappy weather has really affected my students attitudes, in many negative ways. However! I am as cheerful as ever. I have come to the understanding of Gods great plans, as I see why he did some things as he did. I have a 4 year degree in Mechanical Engineering. Currently I am not using it-or so I thought. My mood has been higher than ever lately, because of the numerous resources God has given me. When the weather is horrible, or I seem more tired than ever. Walking through the streets, I can always  - always change my way of thinking....and become an Engineer for a few minutes. Since becoming an engineer, I have had this unique admiration for the world around me. For how the city is structured, why things are the way they are, or why people are the way they are. I always enjoy watching the world around me and absorbing it like a sponge. I love this majestic world, and I am lucky to be living in it! In everything I do, I give God the Glory. Furthermore, my relationships with my students have become stronger. I don't think I could be here without them either! I have also become very relaxed, and have never had so much patience in my life. I am looking at the world differently now. I am constantly trying to learn Russian! Its very hard. Recently I have been studying the grammar rules! BAH! I have taken many trips to the post office to pick up packages! It feels like Christmas everytime! I now have 6 jars of peanut butter in my room and two packages of oreos. I keep them under lock and key. hahahaha. I have told ESI, my teaching organization, that I feel I need to come back a second year, begining in August. I think God is leading me in that direction. As many of you know, I am still very short on funds. This is one of the most expensive cities to live in, and the small stipend I recieve for food and living, is hard. I am still $4,000 dollars short in paying for my plane tickets and various costs. Please, if you feel you can help me out, anything and everything will be appreciated. Well, thank you all for listening. Here is a bit of Russian for you... "YA VAS LYUBLYU" - I LOVE YOU ALL

With all my heart and my best wishes for Christmas,

your petey