Tuesday, December 11, 2012

A New Hemisphere

From here ...


 To here ...

 

So, obviously it's been a long time, and I should apologize, but I'm refusing on principle after I was admonished for continually starting my posts that way.  This is my way of apologizing for the delay without really doing it. :-)

The Wandering Family has been living up to its name of late, managing to go from one continent, through another one, and on to a third.  But before we talk about that, we should cover the last part of our time at home.


Above: I AM the coolest man alive!
Below: Me in my new office, cramming before our departure.


I know most of you won't be able to read this, but I found it a fascinating bit of Russiana.  It's an old Soviet poster that hangs in an officemate's cubicle: "The Moral Code of the Building of Communism."  Fascinating.  It lists the "principles that make up the moral code for the building of communism, according to the party."


A couple of dudes just ice-fishing.  A cold way to spend the day, I've always thought.


I took this picture in the Buddhist temple one day last month; it's where the worshipers come in and light a candle.


They also sell some beads and scarves for worship there in a little booth next to the temple.



The trip here was very, very long.  We were stuck in the airport in Abakan all day with a major delay.  Fortunately, a very nice Chinese lady who didn't speak Russian got my help translating (she did speak some English, though her husband didn't) and in exchange let our boys play with her iPad.


The airline gave us some food, but mostly it was just a long wait.  We sort of made friends with the Chinese couple and spent the day with them.


It was kind of cold.  On the left there you can see Matthew bundled up in a coat and blanket, just sort of waiting out the cold day in the airport.


So, that'll do it for now.  Hopefully soon we can post something about our time here so far, which has been fantastic.  And just as a reminder, we're still making plans for our "tour of America" in February and March, so if you don't live in North Carolina and you'd like to see us, write us an email and let us know and we'll plan to stop by if we can.