“Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning.” Frederick W Faber
I don't know who Frederick Faber is but we like this quote, especially since we have no eloquence right now! We are starting to get more opportunities to relate to people and try out our limited Russian, which has been encouraging. When we're idiots hopefully we can at least be kind, smiling idiots!
A typical day for us starts with language school that lasts 3 hours. We study at the seminary which is about 1 ½ miles away. Sometimes we are able to take the bus and other times it breaks down and we walk. We live on the extreme northern edge of the city, so on our walk to language school we leave the city and enter a village. You always know when you're leaving a city because there is a sign of the city's name with a big X through it. It's quite subtle. Odessa is a city of about 1 million people, so there are many people from these nearby villages who come to sell their items at the renok (which is like a flea market).
After language school one of us goes to the store. We have to go to the store more often because you can only take back what you can carry and sometimes you are walking up to a mile with your groceries. I learned that one the hard way! Then we come home and unwind a little because your mind can only handle so much Russian. Because you walk more you are able to observe interesting aspects of the culture. Most people don’t have dryers so you either hang up your clothes on a rack or on a line in your balcony. Well, sometimes you end up finding pants, shirts etc. in the trees because the wind blew them off the line. The other day I actually saw a rug up in a tree!!
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