Merry Catholic Christmas

I wish you a Merry Catholic Christmas, I wish you a Merry Catholic Christmas, I wish you a Merry Catholic Christmas, and a Happy New Year! As most Belarusians are Orthodox, December 25th isn't that big a deal. All but one of my friends are Orthodox so they don't do anything special for Catholic Christmas. However, there is a large Catholic population here, as Belarus used to belong to Poland, so everyone gets December 24-25 off work. My supervisor, Lyudmila Milhailovna, was kind enough to invite me to her flat and she prepared a wonderful dinner just for me. I spent Christmas Eve with Cbeta and Nadia and we had a great time playing with two Santa hats, sparkles, and some other decorations. We also visited the New Year's Trees that are located in Lenin Square and Soviet Square.

By far, New Year's Eve is the biggest holiday here. Father Frost comes and brings gifts with the help of his granddaughter, Snegurochka (Snow Maiden). I'm very excited because I will spend December 31st with Cbeta and her family, so I'll get to experience a real Belarusian-style holiday! I'll tell you more about the traditions next week...

Orthodox Christmas is on January 7. But like Catholic Christmas, this day is only a big deal for the religious folks and many people simply enjoy having a day off. I finally learned why the dates are different, 13 days to be exact. The Orthodox church still follows the Julian calendar for its holidays and the Catholic church uses the Gregorian calendar. This difference also means that the Old New Year falls on January 13, so they leave all the decorations up until mid-January when the holiday season is finally over. Overall it's kinda cool, they have two Christmases and two New Years. December 24-25, January 1-2, and January 7 are vacation days too. So basically the holidays are just getting started here! (Go to My Christmas under My Photos for a few more.)

Winter Solstice

Oh gloomy day! One of the hardest things about living through the Belarusian winter is the darkness. Today is the shortest day of the year with only 7 hours, 23 minutes, and 59 seconds of daylight, if you can call it that! The sun rose at 8:26am and will set at 3:50pm. For some comparison, back home in Texas they will have 10 hours, 14 minutes, and 1 second of daylight today, with the sun rising at 7:13am and setting at 5:27pm. It's amazing how much our bodies and minds are influenced by the sun. I am now a firm believer in circadian rhythms, as mine are definitely out of wack! All I want to do is sleep, more like hibernate, and hope that one day the sun will peek out from behind the thick layer of clouds. On the rare occasions that the sun does break through, I always go for a walk so I can soak up the fleeting rays, just like a lizard. On the bright side, the cloud cover is keeping me warm and it is kinda nice to sleep until 9-10:00 am without the sun streaming through my windows. Also, tomorrow we will have 5 more seconds of daylight. Oh happy day!

My Food

In my last post, I showed you what I typically buy when I go shopping. I also make several small trips each week for fresh bread, milk, and bottled water . . . and sometimes for beer. It’s hard to resist when a liter of good beer costs about 50 cents. Processed foods are rare as are preservatives, which means the bread and dairy products only last 2–3 days. BTW, the best dairy is located in the city of Brest, so the label says “Brest Milk” hee-hee! When I tell my friends that we can store milk for 1 week they are shocked. They also find it strange that we can buy so many ready-made products. People cook the majority of their meals from scratch and it took me a few weeks to adjust as it definitely takes more planning and time. For example, I make pasta with meat sauce at least once a week and I have to create my own sauce starting with plain tomato paste. After a few attempts I managed to create my own recipe. Onions, garlic, potatoes, and cabbages are available year-round and many other fruits and vegetables are too, but they are harder to find and more expensive. For the most part, people eat what is in season or what they have stored in their root cellars or canned for the winter. Pickling is also very popular.

For breakfast I eat oatmeal; cream of wheat; cereal with milk; or fruit, granola, and yogurt and wash it all down with a cup or two of coffee. I was pleasantly surprised to find a small kiosk that sells whole-bean coffee. Of course I brought my coffee grinder with me, as only a true coffee addict would do! I use a coffee press and boil my water in a tea kettle that sounds like a choo-choo train when it whistles. I love it as it adds an extra dimension to my morning ritual. For lunch I eat leftovers from the night before, or have something simple like bread, ham, cheese, and juice. Sometimes I have lunch at the canteen at school where you can have an entire meal for about $2.00. I don’t go out to eat very often, maybe 2 or 3 times per month. I live so close to school that it’s more convenient for me to eat lunch at home. For dinner, I choose from the following ingredients: rice, pasta, potatoes, beans, cheese, bread, ground beef, pork, sausage, ham, eggs, frozen and canned vegetables, olives, and spices. For a midnight snack, I often have pan-fried toast, jam, and a glass of cold milk. It’s amazing what you can create with a little creativity!

When I don’t feel like cooking I just boil some dumplings [пельмени, pil-main'-ee] and garnish them with fresh sour cream or ketchup. They are a basic staple in these parts and are filled with different types of meat and spices. Think of a ravioli minus the cheese. Potato pancakes [драники, dran'-i-kee], often referred to as the national specialty, are also easy to make. Just shred a few potatoes, add some onion, garlic, and an egg and fry them in a skillet. They are excellent served warm with salt and sour cream. I was also very happy to find popcorn . . . no, not the microwave packages, just good ole fashioned kernels. Look under My Photos and then “My Food” for more examples of my culinary creations.

Groceries

I went shopping today and bought two bags of groceries plus 5 liters of water and a bottle of red wine for 37,720 rubles ($17.66 USD). Here's a list of what I took home, not bad huh?

• bottle of wine
• water 5 liters
• milk 1 liter
• tomato juice 1 liter
• pumpkin/apple juice 1 liter - sounds weird but it's actually quite tasty!
  
• bread
• cheese
• sugar
• apricot jam
• olives
• red beans
• spice pack
• candy bar
• sour cream
• dumplings

Deep Thoughts About Money and the Holidays

My last phone bill was 271,020 rubles ($127.00). My dial-up connection cost $25 and the rest was for international calls to США (USA). So what you ask? Well, my landlord’s father didn’t have enough cash to pay the bill. You see he pays for everything and then I pay him back. To put things in perspective you should know that the average Belarusian makes $200 USD per month, and a doctor earns about $400. I was actually embarrassed to have such a high bill even though back home it would be totally normal. When I paid my bill I wondered what the lady was thinking as I handed her my wad of rubles, the same amount that she probably earns in 3 weeks.

When the topic of money comes up, I have to explain how much it costs to survive in the United States so they get some perspective. But somehow it always feels like I’m apologizing… when you’re talking to someone who makes $2,400–4,800 per year, it’s hard to convince them that my $25,000 grant is nothing in the States. After a few of these agonizing discussions, I have learned to steer clear of the subject.

Being here has made me question many things about my life back home; for example, do I really need to wear a new outfit every day of the week? Do I really need all those shoes in my closet? Does every person really need a car? Do I really need to use throw away bags when I shop? How many presents do I really need to receive or give on Christmas? Do I really need a new cell phone or camera just because the newest model is smaller or has more features? Over the past three months, I have learned that the answer to all of these questions is “no.” To blend in with my colleagues, I wear my clothes more than one day; I don’t have a car so I walk or take the bus; and when I shop I always bring my own bags with me. And speaking of technology, I am among the privileged few who have a computer in their homes, let alone a high-speed Internet connection with Skype.

In many ways, living here has been a very liberating experience. Life is simpler, but in many ways it is lived on a deeper level. Many people have to work two jobs to make ends meet, entire families share the same small flat, most people don’t have cars… but somehow they manage to survive. It seems like the little things mean more here. I’m not saying that everyone should sell all their possessions and move to Belarus. I’d be lying if I said this place didn’t have any problems because it does. But what it does have is a version of life minus the commercialism and materialism that surrounds us in the United States. As for me it’s a breath of fresh air, especially as the holidays approach. Do we really need to start hearing Christmas music and advertisements the day after Halloween? If increasing retail sales and credit card debt is the main spirit of the season then I guess the answer is yes. I can’t tell you how good it feels to remove myself from the feeding frenzy that I know is going on back home.

Seeing yourself and your culture through the eyes of others is an intense experience; sometimes you like what you see, but other times you don’t. I’ll leave you with this thought: A fish that never leaves the sea, never discovers water.