WOES AND WONDERS

A year ago when we moved to Novokuznetsk we requested two things for our apartment that we were told weren't necessary: a room air conditioner for our bedroom ("it doesn't get that hot in Novokuznetsk"), and a small water heater for when the hot water pipes get shut down for repairs in the summer ("the city is redoing the system and the water won't be shut off"). Both of those statements were wrong.

We've already mentioned how hot it's been here this year. It's ironic that one of the hottest summers we've ever experienced in our lives has been while we've been in Siberia! As in the US, this has been the hottest summer on record here. Ever. Last year there was only one day over 85 in all of July; this year we think there was only one day when the temperature didn't get to at least 85. We've had a few rainstorms come through that have temporarily cooled things down slightly for a day or two, but the temperatures for all of July and the first half of August have mostly hovered in the 90s and even low 100s. However, Novokuznetsk's fever is about to break. The forecast shows that by the end of this week the high temperatures will all be in the low 70s or cooler. YES!

For the last couple of months we've also had mosquito problems because we chose to keep our windows open rather than cook (if unopened windows are any indication, most Russians don't seem bothered by the heat). However, a couple of weeks ago our landlady got some screens for some of the windows and we are blissfully mosquito free now! The windows had a funny wooden 2.5" lip/wedge on the bottom which made it so regular screens wouldn't work. We couldn't figure out how to put up something ourselves without taking the lip off. The first thing the screen installer did was remove that lip. Staying somewhat cool is much easier with mosquito/fly-free cross ventilation.

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A few weeks ago we saw a lady open her mailbox and take out a bunch of junk mail. The next day we saw a sign above her mailbox and we wondered if the mailman would pay attention to her request for unwanted ads.

When we got back in town from a short trip last month, we were disappointed to find that our hot water was turned off. Throughout Russia the hot water gets shut down every summer in sections of each city to check and repair the pipes and do some maintenance. Someone later told us that the sign above her mailbox was the notice saying the water would be turned off until July 23, not about junk mail. Most of the time they underestimate the length of time the water will be shut off, so we were pleased that it was turned back on by July 25. Here it is up close for those few of you who read Russian:

Fortunately the previous tenants had left behind a coil for heating the water in the bathtub. Unfortunately, Arline didn't know how to use it and fried it the first time she tried heating the water. Apparently there was a run on coils at the stores because we couldn't find a replacement anywhere; however, the missionaries who live on the other side of town found one and brought it to us.

We have screens and hot water. Life is good.

This week's Russianism:
We already told you that Russians LOVE balloons. They L.O.V.E. fireworks. Almost every Friday and Saturday night we can see (or at least hear) fireworks going off. They shoot them off as part of wedding celebrations or for fun whenever they feel like it. No permit or special training is needed, even though they're just like the "professional" fireworks we have in Salt Lake. Here people buy them and shoot them off by themselves. They don't go as high as what we see in Salt Lake but they are still just as spectacular and fancy. Most of the fireworks we've seen here are set off by individuals, but occasionally, like for the city's birthday, there is a major show.  We've seen many of the same fireworks we have at home like "popcorn" bursts, as well as some new ones with flowers and smiley faces. The main difference is that they don't really have a grande finale with a bunch of fireworks going off at once, unless you consider the whole show a grande finale. They just shoot off a constant barrage. It's beautiful and something we'll miss.