Samara: The Russian Winter Again

Whenever we'd tell people that we lived in Siberia they really couldn't believe it. I think most people in their minds pictured frozen tundra with polar bears walking around. Getting acclimated to winter was real difficult for me and in all honesty I did not look forward to dealing with Russian winters once more.

 As you can see in the picture, the day we left from L.A.X it was 

absolutely gorgeous in L.A. Pretty soon we were going to trade

in sunny skies for snow and freezing temperatures. I don't recall

if we checked on what the weather was like in Samara before 

we traveled but before our plane touched down on the tarmac we

were told it was -36 Fahrenheit outside. Russia was experiencing

it's coldest winter since 1981!

I really shouldn't complain about the cold weather

considering I only had 1 child to bundle up! The 

first few days we didn't go outside though because

it really was too cold to take Josiah out. I did go out

exploring to the grocery stores but I remember being

disappointed at the lack of food and ingredients that

I could find easily in Novosibirsk. I remember

being so discouraged because of the extreme cold,

the lack of food, and the lack of sleep!  Thankfully

the food shortages were due to the cold temperatures

and soon enough I was able to buy the things I needed.