Girl Meets Globe: Back in Time Series

Showing posts with label Back in Time Series. Show all posts

31 January 2014

Back in Time: Apartment Living & Culture Shock in Bryansk, Russia

Tina @ Girl-Meets-Globe January 31, 2014 0

I realized in my previous post about Bryansk that I hadn't shared much about it's history. Archeologist believe that Bryansk (Bre-ANSK) dates back to 985. This area has seen many different rulings over it's time. During the 17th-18th century it evolved into an industrial center and remains so today. In 1941 Bryansk was captured by the German army. During that time the city was damaged due to heavy fighting in the area. About 60,000 Soviet partisans fought around Bryansk inflicting heavy losses on the German army. The city was returned to USSR forces in September 1943. That's quite a condensed version of all this town has seen. You can check out an array of websites to read more if you are interested. Our time in Bryansk was a very difficult time for me. Culture shock came on a whole new level. Gone were ANY conveniences that we were accustomed to, even from our time in Moscow. I felt my level of security went way down. I was not comfortable going out alone and there were weeks where I didn't go out but once on Sunday for church and once on Thursday to teach English. My solace was my wonderful Russian teacher and friend, Inna. She came to our apartment twice a week to study with us. She became a true friend.

Now, our apartment wasn't much to look at on the outside. Typical Russian standard.

Our entrance is on the right (below). See the big gaping hole underneath the concrete? Stray dogs lived under there. I remember them being harmless, but they were a poor sad bunch.

Our entryway. Occasionally we'd come in and the power was out. Think about navigating that in pitch black!

Our elevator. Oh how the graffiti kept us entertained!

"It's my live," "Gud Lak" along with misspelled curse words. Hey, we had to have some kind of amusement in our lives!

Our apartment on the inside, as far as the furnishings, were nicer compared to where we'd been living in Moscow. They were fairly new and had been purchased for colleagues that had lived their previously. We couldn't drink the water straight out of the tap. You might understand why.

The water didn't always look like this. Just every single morning. The water was turned off every night from about midnight to 5 am. We had to let the water run for a few minutes every morning until it was no longer rust color. We had a hefty duty water filter in the kitchen for drinking water and tooth brushing.
On two different occasions we witnessed a funeral from our apartment.

It was one of the most eerie, but sad things we've witnessed. A truck leads the way laying branches down as family and friends carry and walk the casket on a final journey through town for the deceased before being laid to rest. A band follows the family playing eery funeral music as the family cries accompanied with waling. The sites and sounds are sorrowful.

Remember how I referenced roaming horses? Here they are in front of our apartment building.

The horses belong to the Romani people (Gypsies) that lived in Bryansk. They would shackle the front legs in a way that the horse could still walk, but wouldn't wander too far. The Romani's main mode of transportation was horse and cart.

Bryansk was quite an experience. There were days of major culture shock, tears shed, isolation because I didn't feel safe going out alone, domestic violence happening above us and I was helpless to do anything, the government officials knocking on our door to "check up on us," poverty, remnants of Chernobyl and feeling uneasy about local foods sold (The Bryansk region received the highest level of radioactive fallout from the nuclear power plant accident in 1986.).

Through all this I knew it was where God had placed us for the time.

The plan was for us to be there a minimum of 2 years. I was finally at a point of acceptance with where we were and working through the difficulties. We were there just 6 months when we had a job change. Those 6 months felt like a life time. It was a difficult time, but I wouldn't trade that time for anything. It was valuable in so many ways and has allowed me to be able to relate to other expats in similar surroundings.

I'll be sharing more about some areas of Russia in the future. Jerry visited these areas on media coverage trips and has some amazing photos about some areas westerners know little about.

July 2001 takes us to our next location, Prague, Czech Republic. I can't wait to share. Prague holds a special place in our hearts for many reasons.

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21 January 2014

Back in Time - Bryansk, Russia

Tina @ Girl-Meets-Globe January 21, 2014 0

I'm finally moving along in my "Back in Time" series. You can see my previous posts here.

In January 2001 we packed up our belongings and moved from Moscow to the town of Bryansk(Брянск).

Bryansk sits in the west corner of Russia on the borders of Ukraine and Belarus.

It is the halfway mark between Kiev and Moscow on the train route. Russian trains in 2001 left much to be desired, maybe they still do! Train tickets were fairly inexpensive compared to other parts of Europe and any time I traveled with Jerry between Moscow and Bryansk, we would take an over night train and ride first class. In first class there are only 2 beds per coupe. Standard class was 4. We felt it gave us a degree of safety and comfort to travel this way and it really was that much cleaner and more comfortable. I am such a light sleeper that I never slept any way. Sorry for the blur, remember, early days of digital cameras.

Let me take you on a little tour around town. I don't remember what everything is. At least you can get an idea of what it was like living in Russia, outside of a main city.

Below, the univermag, a large market place.

Snezhka River

Those photos look like they're out of the 1970s!

Here we are with Lenin.

Our favorite cafe, below, with some American friends that came for a visit.

Oh how we looked so young and skinny!

I think back and wish I'd taken pictures of things like sides of beef hanging in an open air market with no refrigeration and flies buzzing all around, grocery stores where carts did not exist and shopping consisted of paying first, then taking your receipt to pick up your purchases at the specific counter (dairy counter, meat counter, fruit/veg counter, etc.), and buses moving around horses in the road because they roam free.

Next I'll be sharing with you where we lived in Bryansk. You won't want to miss it! It will give you a good dose of Russian living!

I'm linking up with Bonnie again for another Travel Tuesday.

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15 October 2013

Back in Time: St. Petersburg & Suzdal

Tina @ Girl-Meets-Globe October 15, 2013 0

I'm back with another installment of my new series, Back in Time, featuring the places we lived and visited in our early years of moving abroad. If you missed the first one, you can find it here. Please remember that my photos are about 13 years old and our digital camera held about, oh, 15 pictures! Hopefully you will still enjoy what you see.

We had a chance to visit Saint Petersburg on two short trips while living in Moscow. I wish we could say we saw different things on each trip. However, we were traveling with different people, so we mostly saw the same things.

Saint Petersburg is a great place to visit if you are wanting to experience the touristy side of Russia with a hint of the culture.

If you ever have a chance to visit you must take a stroll around the Hermitage and don't miss the inside!

I'm not so interested in walking through a museum full of art. It just doesn't capture my attention for long. If I get to view things such as ornate carriages,

and opulent rooms of a winter palace then I enjoy taking it all in!

The photo below is to commemorate the time, 2:10 am, early in the morning on 26 October 1917 when the ministers of the Provisional Government were arrested in the Small Dining-Room of the Winter Palace (you can also see the clock in the photo above on the mantel).

Can you imagine living here??

The rest of our time we explored by foot.

The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood.

One of the many water ways of St. Pete (as we lovingly call it).

Kazan Cathedral

To see an extensive view of Saint Petersburg, Russia check out Selena's recent visit to this beautiful city! Her pictures are amazing! Much better quality than our photos from 2000!

Another day trip we took outside of Moscow is to the village of Suzdal, one of the villages that makes up the Золото́е кольцо́, or Golden Ring. The Golden Ring is a ring of towns northeast of Moscow. These ancient towns played a role in the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church. Suzdal is known as the Pearl of the Russian Golden Ring and is now a UNESCO world heritage site. There is so much rich history in this area and definitely worth a look if you go to Russia.

Suzdal's Kremlin is the oldest part of the town, dating back to the 10th century.

I wish I had more pictures of these wooden structures in Suzdal.

I believe this is the view of the interior of the wooden church, but I'm not certain. Sorry for the blur, but I still wanted to give you a peek inside.