Something New Everyday

What a difference since our trip to Vladimir and Suzdal! We're seeing a whole new side of Russian weather now.  About a week after we got back, the weather suddenly changed completely.  We went from day after day of sun and 80+ degree weather to day after day of clouds, rain, and highs in the low 60's or even upper 50s!  It's a nice break from the heat, but it was very sudden, and it makes me a little nervous about what we can expect in winter. 

There have been lots of other changes and new experiences recently too.  I noticed on the way home one day that one of the advertising billboards was replaced with a sign cautioning drivers to give pedestrians in the crosswalks right of way. I was pleased at the thought that my daily commute might be a little safer from now on until I realized that it faces away from oncoming traffic.  I guess I'll still be dashing across the street for the time being. 

Stephanie and I also finally got up the nerve to leave Aiden with a babysitter and go out for a date night.  We found a woman who works as a nanny for another family at the embassy. Stephanie saw how good she was with the little boy she takes care of at the embassy playground, so we decided to give it a go.  Everything was fine, Aiden warmed up to the babysitter very quickly when she arrived, so we felt good about going out. 

For our date, we went to a highly recommended burger joint and were glad we did.  I had a Hawaiian burger with ham, pineapple chutney, wasabi cheddar cheese, and coconut mayonnaise.  It was incredible.  Stephanie had a caprese burger with buffalo mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes and it was also good.  They also had very interesting flavors of lemonade (which in Russia is used to describe any fizzy fruit drink).  Stephanie had one with pear and basil, and I had seabuckthorn and ginger.  Interestingly, I looked up seabuckthorn when we got home and learned that it is an orange berry that we got to try when we were in the Pamir mountains in Tajikistan, where it grows wild. 

After dinner, we went next door to a nice little bakery for dessert - and also picked up some delicious cupcakes (french toast, peanut butter chocolate, and strawberry cheesecake) to take home.  As much as we missed Aiden, it was nice to have a night out just the two of us - the first time since we came to Moscow.  When we got home, Aiden was already in bed.  The babysitter said he was the easiest child she has ever watched, so I'm sure we'll be doing it again in the near future. 

Another recent new experience was getting ice cream in a tube.  We saw it in the grocery store - like the tubes of cookie dough, but several times larger.  It was cheap so we tried it and it actually wasn't bad, although it was a bit difficult to squeeze the last bits out. 

I also had my first experience as duty officer here and luckily it wasn't too bad. The duty officer has to take any calls that come in after hours for a week. A lot of different events can trigger a call on the duty phone, but it usually involves an American Citizen in trouble.  I served as duty officer twice in Tajikistan, but there are so few American citizens there, that it's usually pretty quiet. Moscow can be much busier, but as I said, I got lucky and only had three calls - none of which were in the middle of the night. 

After completing my stint as duty officer, I led my first Conversation Cafe at the American Corner here in Moscow.  The Conversation Cafe gives locals a chance to speak directly with American officers in a discussion style format and the topics vary depending on the questions asked.  It's great practice for answering diplomatically as I fielded questions on everything from the U.S. elections, to the Russian elections, the global economy, and my favorite contemporary authors. I had a great audience and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

One of the perks of working at a large embassy is that nearly every government agency is represented here, including NASA.  Last week, we had a special treat when one of the astronauts in training for a future mission to the Space Station gave a presentation on his experiences in the space shuttle. Astronaut Butch Wilmore talked about what it's like to launch in the shuttle, and life in space, and a whole lot more.  He also shared some amazing video, including one of the earth at night, showing the light from cities across the globe and the Southern Lights over the south pole.  He even signed a picture for Aiden, which I'm sure will be very exciting for him when he gets to be a little older. 

Aiden has also had a lot of firsts.  He has learned some of his body parts (head, ears, feet), and has made his first animal sound.  He picked up my impression of an elephant by blowing air out between his lips and raising his arm like a trunk.  Unfortunately, also got his first black eye while playing on the playground equipment - he turned around too quickly while on the slide and hit his face on the side. I wasn't there, but Stephanie said he was pretty brave about it, and it's already fading.  All part of growing up - which he is doing at an unbelievably fast pace.

And now I'm preparing for my first consular outreach trip, heading to Siberia for a week next week to meet with local officials regarding international adoption.  Things have been busy at work, so it kind of snuck up on me, but I'm sure it's going to be an interesting experience.