Settling in a little

I don't think you could say that we're settled in yet, but we're starting to feel that way, at least a little.  We're actually starting to have a pretty good time (both of us.)  After several weeks of stress-induced squabbling, we're finally starting to relax and enjoy each other again.  We've set up our little home, after numerous shopping trips, and it feels good to come back to our little apartment, after we've worn ourselves out with all the walking.

Here is David buying vegetables at the meat/vegetable market.  There are lots of meats just sitting out, with the vendors cutting it up for people who want to buy them.  These are large cuts of meats, and a bit intimidating to me, since I wouldn't know what cut I was getting.  You can usually tell what animal it comes from because the hoofs and tail are hanging behind the meat.  We were happy to discover that the grocery store sells meat in small packages, with pictures of the animal it comes from, so we didn't have to try to read the label.  This was after I tried to buy turkey meat at the deli counter, using the russian word for "turkey." Apparently my pronunciation made the word unrecognizable, as the guy gave up trying to figure out what I wanted.  Anyway, this particular market is very colorful, as you can tell.

There is so much amazing architecture here.  I've forgotten the name of this church.  Our translator came to pick us up for our SDA appointment, for our referral, (which we haven't heard if we got yet) and then we walked home, and she gave us a little impromptu tour, with lots of history, stories and legends thrown in.  The churches are very old, and many have been rebuilt several times, but most of the most beautiful buildings were built in the 1800's.

Here we are standing on the steps of St. Andrew's, which is right next to the SDA office.  We went into the church while we were waiting for our appointment, and I got goosebumps.  It is so ornate, and drop-dead gorgeous.  It was really powerful, to think of the hours, pain-staking attention to detail, and pure committment, that would make someone want to create something this beautiful, in which to worship God.  David said it made him want to kneel, and make the sign of the cross, but since he doesn't know how things are done in the Russian Orthodox Church, he didn't want to offend.  Our translator wondered why, in this day and age, when we have all the technology, and labor-saving tools and equipment, we don't create beautiful buildings like these anymore.

I know the photos don't really do it justice, as I've seen photos of many of these places before, and wasn't so impressed, but trust me when I say that they are awe-inspiring in real life.  The ceiling is really tall.