How to Disarm a Drunk

In my nearly five years of living in Russia I have only once wondered if I was about to get punched in the face. That was during my first year and a drunk student took exception to the fact that I was talking  about Jesus. By the end of that encounter he professed to by my most faithful friend and would do anything to take care of me. Oh the wonders of malted beverages mixed with 19-year-old braggards!

This past Tuesday I wondered for a few seconds if I was really going to get it this time.

Our whole team was on a crowded bus - strollers, babies and all. A couple of us were talking in English chatting about our day and trying to stay out of the way of other passengers. That is when a nearby middle-aged man with his shirt needlessly unbuttoned revealing an unimpressive stature leaned over to me and asked in Russian if I was English. No, I said, I'm an American.

"Oh, you American Boy, yes?!" he said loudly in slurred English. I smiled wryly and affirmed him. That's when his face turned sour and I could smell the bitter stench of alcohol in his breath as he said in Russian, "I hate America, I (probably a curse word) will kill the lot of you," then he made a gun shape with his fingers and pointed them at me and said, "I'll shoot your president myself."

Realizing he had probably 30 pounds on me and that I was armed with only a stroller (Charlie was sitting with Jess 15 feet away) and a beginner's class of Tae-Kwon-Do which I failed at the age of 8 my immediate thought was "how do I diffuse this situation?" He looked menacingly at me again and asked if I understood. I replied solemnly and began to turn away. That's when I thought the punch was coming and began to wonder what to do next.

He then went on to exclaim how great Russia was and how amazing the people are. That's when my good friend Dan disarmed the tense situation like an expert on the bomb squad. With a big grin and in clear, accented Russian he leaned across me and into the guy's earshot and said, "Yes, and they are so friendly too."

I should stop here and clarify that this guy is an absolute exception to the rule of how Muscovites are in public and how they treat foreigners. In all my years of living in Russia and interacting with Russians they are almost always without exception some of the friendliest, most devoted and wonderful friends anyone could imagine. Moscow is like New York or Chicago, there's a lot of people, you're crowded and everyone's in a hurry, being polite on a bus isn't a big value. However, being a loving and devoted friend is a HUGE value, it just takes getting past the stranger phase onto the the acquaintance then friend stage to discover this. I've bumped into, stood next to or stepped on probably thousands of Russians and not once has this happened before. This guy was just drunk and wanted to prove how cool he was to the people around him. Anyways, I digress.

After Dan's interlocution the drunk smiled broadly and agreed going on to extol the friendliness of the people of Russia then profusely offered his help with anything we needed. He got off at the next stop and whilst lumbering toward the door offered to shake our hands, again insisting on being available to help whenever we needed it.

I turned to Dan and said, "That's never happened to me here." Dan's response..."I hear it all the time 'Oh I hate America, blah, blah, blah.'...I just smile and say 'Yes, you're right, we're all evil.' then they laugh and we start talking."

How do you disarm a drunk? I never got that far in Tae-Kwon-Do so I'm not sure, but for now I'll just rely on a smile and a sense of humor. 

Water - a ploblem all over the world!

We are privileged to live in a place where we have running water. All we have to do is turn a knob and "wala" water comes out! However, it is far from the water quality we experience in the states.

I have often wondered why do my clothes not last long when I'm in Russia and why do the colors change to strange shades? Here is a hint..















It is usually a pale yellow, but today it was a dark brown! I think I can wait to take a shower :) These pictures do not do it justice!

This is a short video of our friend and colleague, Toshe Temelkov. He is a concert pianist who is also on staff with Campus Crusade in Macedonia. We thought you might enjoy a short video of his amazing piano skills. For more of his music go here to view his webpage

The Road Trip

It all began with the knowledge that we have some good friends and lovely people to see and meet with in Austin and Houston. So Jess and I, never the type to stay in one place for more than a month, decided to pack up our stuff head East and see some good friends and raise some support. Our first stop was Houston where we stayed with one of Jessica's college roommates, Cindy, and her husband and daughter, Lee and Claire. They are a ton of fun to be with and we enjoyed a viewing of "American Idol" with them. We couldn't believe Melinda got the boot!

One of the highlights of our stay in Houston was when Jess and an old friend of hers from San Angelo were able to get reacquainted. Merritt and her husband Brett have been living and working in Houston for the past year and are about to move to Washington D.C. in the late summer. It's a bummer for us that they are leaving the Houston area so soon after reconnecting but also good in that they will live near D.C and left an open invitation to come and stay with them at any time....excellent.

Some of the other highlights included breakfast with Jesslyn and then Jess and Jesslyn and Cindy getting lunch while I chilled out at a cafe and bookstore. Two of my favorite places in the world, doesn't matter what the name is or where it is, as long as they serve coffee and have books I've never seen, I'm happy.

From Houston we went to Austin to attend Jessica's sister's graduation from the University of Texas MBA program. While we were there we were able to see one of Jess's friends from home, Garrett and his wife Natalie. To kill time in Austin we explored the Texas State History Museum and the Capital building. It was actually more fun than one would think.

Then from Austin we headed up to Westcliffe, CO for a 3 day conference with Campus Crusade but stopped in Amarillo for a night on the way. I whole-heartily recommend the Chicken Crepes from IHOP, it hit the spot.

We are learning a number of things about road trips and our personalities. Since getting married in December we have put more than 10,000 miles on our car and spent countless hours together in the car. One thing that really helps pass the time is books on tape or CD. We recommend The Kite Runner by Khalid Husseni and The Last Juror by John Grisham. But some of the greatest things about road trips are the conversations you have with your friend as you travel. Plus it's a great marriage builder. When we get in fights there's no where to go. We're stuck together and have to work it out. If only the Real World was filmed in a car....maybe not....Also the random people we meet along the way are great fun. The dude at Subway was probably the greatest Sandwich artist I've ever seen and the receptionist at the Comfort Inn was the politest and most helpful one I've met in a very long time. It is fascinating to watch the scenery change as one drives from East Texas to West Texas then into Colorado. All in one glorious country.

We are more than a bit tired of driving and putting miles on Judy, our Toyota Camry, but we are also more than grateful that we've been kept safe thus far and have had so many wonderful people to see and spend time with. It is a massive "perk" of the job.

Thus ends our road trip story but we have a couple stories to share from our time in Westcliffe and since then here in Colorado. That for a later post.