Subscribe to Our Blog
Posts
All Comments
About Us
- TeamUfa
- We are a team of people trying to reach people in Ufa and Bashkortostan in Russia. It is no small task and we want your support!
Who's Visited Us
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
The Dacha
8:12 PM | Posted by
TeamUfa
"Dacha" (DAH-chah)
How can I describe the dacha? Everyone here knows what it is
and many people own one. It’s much like a cottage. A small abode outside of a
city where a family can plant a garden. Many people have an apartment or house
and a dacha for the spring and summer months. It is more common now, though,
for the dacha to be the only place of residence.
The older dachas are much smaller than a house, though
modern ones more closely resemble a small house. They are surrounded by plots
of land for gardening, sometimes a wide variety of produce. They look and feel
rustic. The city doesn’t pipe water out to the dachas so families pay for a
well to be dug. At the dachas I’ve visited, there was an outhouse and a Russian
banya.
In short, the banya is a bath house. It’s a place where
water can be heated for bathing and where the residents can sit in sauna-like
conditions. It’s a small building with several rooms. One room is heated to 175
degrees Fahrenheit, sometimes more. Another room is supplied with water for
bathing (or rinsing in cool water after the heat). And another room holds
clothing and towels and the furnace door by which the rooms and water are
heated.
Being out in the country is very refreshing. It’s a break
from the dirt and noise of the city. Families work together during the day out
in the garden, but at a slower pace. I’ve enjoyed delicious barbecue around a
fire in the evening.
And I continue to pray for the salvation of the Muslim
families who so graciously shared with me the dacha experience.
Shawn B.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
An Experience I Wouldn't Change For Anything
I knew my journey in Russia wouldn't be easy, but what I didn't know was that my four months here would change my life so much. From my first steps in Ufa to my last; my body, mind, and soul will forever be different. My walk with The Lord has strengthened, my courage to speak his truth has improved, and I have made relationships with people that I hope will last for years to come. I had personal issues along the way, health problems that I'd never expect, troubles with school and language, but an experience I wouldn't change for anything.
I will miss the simple things like taking the bus to class or walking to a local cafe to study. I will miss the people who became my family, the ones that took care of me when I was sick and fed me meals that made my a little less homesick. I will miss my friends who took me around the city and took me to Russian restaurants, the same friends that let me tell them about God and who he is in my life and how he can be in theirs. I will miss Ufa and it's people who made it welcoming, the same people that showed me the cultural lifestyle, who helped me when I messed up and encouraged me to keep trying.
I am thankful for every single thing that happened and every single person that was apart of this trip.
Russia will forever have a little bit of my heart and I will always be able to call Ufa one of my homes.
Thanks,
Olivia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)