Top 10 Surprises

As you probably already know this was my first trip outside of the United States and it was also my first mission trip.  Many of the people that have previously gone on this trip did a great job preparing me for this journey.  I heard stories about every step of the trip, so I may struggle to find ten things that surprised me but here goes nothing....

10. We did not fly straight across the Atlantic, we flew along the east coast of the US, Canada, then across the Atlantic to Germany.  

9. After about 4 hours on an airplane I start to go stir crazy and I do better if I am sitting with someone I know.  

8.  Several of the girls that Rachael and I became instant friends with can quote Friends episodes as well as and often times better than we could.  (I have all 10 seasons on DVD.)  We had several quote/laugh sessions surrounding Friends episodes.  

7.  At the flat we stayed in there were rugs covering all the sofas and chairs.  I thought it was strange until we visited someone else's flat and they had something similar.  

6. Disposable dishes are really hard to find. If/when you do find them, they are really thin but surprisingly durable.  Russians often reuse their disposable dishes, but then again so did my grandmother.  

5. The toilet (or Water Closet) is often separate from the bathroom, and their toilets use very little water.  They also often have two buttons, one for small flushes and one for big flushes.  I thought this was pretty efficient.  

Street sign

4.  It was very difficult for me to learn how to navigate the city.  I am pretty good at navigation here at home, but I learn that is because I CAN READ.  When I cannot read, apparently it takes me much longer to get my bearings.  Although, in my defense, for the first couple of days I was working off of very little sleep.  But by the morning of day two Rachael and I were dipping our toes in navigation alone.  It took both of us, but between the two of us we could remember enough landmarks to navigate.  

3. I grew to really like tea.  Tea is a staple in Russian households and by the end of the trip I was completely hooked.  Now in the morning instead of coffee I have black tea.  I also REALLY enjoyed coconut cappuccino's there, but nothing is quite the same here.  They serve their coffee at a drinkable temperature, and I am certain there is something different with their milk.  It is probably less pasteurized and much fresher, so even though they used whole milk it did not upset my stomach at all.  

2. There are almost no preservatives in their food, so nothing keeps for more than a couple of days, but it tastes SO MUCH BETTER.  The produce was much tastier too.  

and the #1 surprise while in Russia....

1.  I felt the Holy Spirit's presence stronger during a church service where I could not understand a word than I do at home where I can understand every word.  It was a beautiful experience.  


That was actually easier than I expected.  I may even come up with a few more later.  

Can you find the surprise in this picture?