Moscow, Russia Camp July 20-Aug.2nd

Paul & Kate, a youth leader> her mother, Svetlana was the person that got the 3 boxes that I mailed & delivered them to me at the airport as well as take me back to the airport after my touring days.

I left for Russia July 19th 6am & arrived at the airport July 2oth 10am & then the camp at noon. It is a completely security gated fenced in "Terratory"(sp) There was a grocery store right outside of the terratory that I visited almost every day to buy my bottled water, pop, banana, & ice cream on hot days. I had my own room (which was good for I had so much stuff that I had sent to use as "tools" for reinforcing the concepts hopefuly taught.) The people were friendly & very helpful. I even met & talked to some of the other guests (for the place is used by the people as a place for vacationing & rest & relaxation.) Some differences> they wear their wedding rings on the opposite hand but same finger, they play with their babies by rolling their r's, their toilets are cool> you pull a knop on the top & the flush hole is in the front instead of the back & seems to really work better for keeping it cleaner longer, the meals to me were not as bad as I've been told: each food item is on it's own plate & never on the same plate with another type of food, I could not use the water from the faucet for drinking, but I did resolve to boiling it when I ran out of bottled water (I never got sick, but did immediately get a couple of cold sores) The person I was paired with, Rick, was an absolute God send> who helped me have the right persepective for different issues that arose & helped keep me balanced as far as my imperfections (yes I do have some lol) The traffic is so bad that it takes 2-3 hours to go what would normally take 1/2 hour due to so many cars & it is said that the Moscow roads will come to a screeching halt within the next few years due to the growing number of car owners (Moscow has at least 15 million & growing population)

Nastia & friend, I have found out that after 2 weeks I have already started forgetting the kids names. I am so very sorry. If any of you see these, please leave me a comment with your name to which picture. Thank you for your forgiveness.

Sasha & Valery
The 3 Musketeers
Pasha & Friend

I planned and did 10 days of 3 groups each day with a day off after the 6th day. I had a totally awesome time of playing with the kids & seeing them form friendships, learn how to work together well in groups, support & keep each other safe during challenging activities and just have loads of fun!!! I will forever remember this experience and oppurtunity of a lifetime in my golden years.

Well that is all I can remember for now, will post more later,

Paka Paka