It was a hard days night

07:45 6 August 2008

Yesterday I gained a lot of respect for coal miners. My host siblings and their mother went on a trip to visit their father in Russia a few days ago. That means that I am left alone in the house with Mama Luba, my host Babushka, and Papa Kolya, my host grandfather. Papa Kolya bought a huge load of coal yesterday and I helped assist him move it from the place where it was dumped to the storage house, a difficult and dusty task. I took the precaution of wearing a wet kerchief over my face, but even still, it was black when I blew my nose for quite a while. It really made me think about how difficult and unhealthy it must be to work in a mine surrounded by the dust everywhere. It seriously got everywhere outside, the kitchen table 40 feet away had a thin layer of black powder on it. It can’t be healthy stuff.

In other news, I nearly got scared to death. There is one dog that lives in the back yard that hates me and wants me to die (I will post photos later). It always strained at its chain and barked ferociously and growled at me whenever I went out to use the outhouse. A few days ago, his straining came to fruition and he actually broke a link on his chain. I had been discussing this possibility and decided that if he did so, it would be best to either try and kick him if he tried to attack or grab his muzzle if he lunged. The thing I knew I had to do was avoid turning my back, because as soon as I did I felt certain he would attack. Well, as soon as he broke loose, he seemed as confused and bewildered as I was at the occurrence. He ended up just standing there as I slowly retreated backwards from towards the house ready to let loose a kick if need be. Scary stuff.