OCT 31, 18 .. IRKUTSK (ИРΚУТϹΚ) RUSSIAN SIBERIA .. WOW .. PINCH ME, I MUST BE DREAMING (Part 3 of 3)

We have now come to Part 3, the final Post of this series of three Posts.

I hope you have your popcorn, I think that this will be a long Post.

Please keep-in-mind that I am still discussing, and showing photos about Monday, the 29th of October, 2018.

Three kind gentlemen met me at the Irkutsk airport.

Sergey, who I mentioned in my previous Post, is in one way, My Main Man here in Irkutsk.

The other two kind gentlemen who met me were Mike and Constantine.

Mike, age 68-years, an MD who specialized in gastroenterology. Mike and I will be joined-at-the-hip because it will be Mike who translates for me.

At this writing, Mike is the only living human being here in Irkutsk with whom I can speak English. So in his own way, Mike too is a Main Man along with Sergey.

Sad-to-say, My Main Man Mike is going blind.

Constantine furnished his car and drove us around.

After all of our greeting one another, off we three went to find me a place to stay.

I was shown one apartment. It was nice, but it was up on the 4th floor. I simply can not be walking up nine flights of stairs.

We then looked at (what is to be) my own apartment here in Irkutsk.

I will be paying US $15 per day, US $450 per month, Russian Rubles 30,000 per month for my apartment here in Irkutsk.

My apartment is located very close to (but not actually on) the Angara River here in Irkutsk.

Below are a few photos that I snapped of the Angara River looking across at another area of Irkutsk.

I am ‘panning’ from left to right in the below 5 photos.

Very nice!

Now turn around 180 degrees and face away from the Angara River and you see my apartment building in the distance. It is sort of pink in color.

Now we will walk up closer to my apartment building and have a little look-see.

Now we will walk up the above walkway and we will then ‘look back’ at my apartment building from that viewpoint.

Now we will walk around my apartment building to the other side, to the back side.

The first five photos below show the exterior of the back side of my building.

My apartment is on the second floor of the back side of my building. I only have to walk up three flights of stairs. Five stairs from the entry level floor to a landing, then ten stairs to a second landing, and nine stairs to my floor.

A closer look at my entrance into my building.

The windows you see in the below photo are those of my apartment. I am directly above the entry door to my end of the building.

The next two photos show my building as viewed from its other end.

We now walk inside of my building. Ahead of us are the first five steps which I will be walking up and down while I am here.

The first level of apartments in my building.

Turning the corner, we are looking up at the next ten stairs I will be proceeding up.

Below we are looking back down upon the first level of apartments that we saw from the entrance into my building.

On this second landing are the mail boxes for the residents of my section of the building.

The next photo below was snapped from the above second landing which looks up the last set of nine stairs to my apartment on the second floor.

The below photo looks back down (on the above mail boxes) from my apartment landing on the second floor of my building.

The door to my apartment is open to welcome us inside.

In the below photo, on the left, is the door into the toilet.

Clean and well lit.

Past the door into the toilet (on the left foreground below) is a nice closet.

My suitcase has snuggled down into his home here in Irkutsk.

“Oh Captain! Don’t tell us! We are finally going to see your actual apartment’s living area.”

The photo above shows my bedding. The below photo is with my bedding put away. Notice in the top photo, the televsion set in the corner. I moved it (see the below photo) to clear the counter top in the corner.

Again, with and without bedding.

Again, in the below photos, notice that I moved the television set in the corner to get considerably more counter space in the corner.

The below photo shows the wall closets with their doors closed. The mirrors really open up the room don’t they?

Two close up photos of my really great easy chair. I really like kick-back and relax in him when talking to Patti.

This is my view, through a not-so-clean window, beside my chair.

Below is the above view from the entrance to my building.

A view of my kitchen from the living room. Notice if you will, in the lower left foreground of the below photo, you can see my computer work table. To the right, you have a nice view of my luxurious chair beside the window.

In both the above and below photos, out in the kitchen, on the floor, do you all see THE FIRST THING that I purchased for my new home here in Irkutsk?

YES! Six (count them) 5 litre bottles of water.

I have an electric kettle in my kitchen.

I fill him with 1.5 litres of water, turn him on, and he brings the water to a full rolling boil and then shuts himself off.

We have now produced 5 litres of boiled water. It is safe to drink but I use this water primarily to bathe in, brush my teeth with, etc. I drink the bottled water because I worry about lead from the water pipes over here in this part of the world contaminating the tap water. My Russian friends, with whom I have discussed this issue, also drink bottled water.

I like my kitchen.

A nice mini-fridge.

My mini-fridge now has ten (you count them) fresh eggs, 2-1/2 Snicker Bars, and a bottle of 7-UP to flavor my drinking water.

I needed to ‘balance out’ the 7-UP water and Snickers Bars with some cookies.

Now let’s go back to the below photo for a minute. On the lower right side of the photo, on the floor, you see the 5-litre water bottles. Then looking up, you see my kettle and microwave oven, each sitting on a counter top. Below the microwave oven and kettle you see two cabinet doors.

Voila !!

I have a clothes washer right here in my apartment.

And?

In my closet (it is hard to see but it is on the right edge of the below photo) is a clothes drying rack.

Believe it Sports Fans ..

I AM .. 

Moving into my apartment.

All of the Bobbseys are very happy to be out of their suitcase and getting some space to stretch out.

To the right of the above clothes hanging closet, there is a second closet that stores a spare fold-out bed, vacuum cleaner, iron, etc.

Don’t forget we are still in Monday, the 29th of October 2018.

Now we are going outside for a short walk and a look-see at my overall area.

Immediately outside of my building is a is a very sweet little playground for the children.

The first two photos below are taken near my entrance door.

Now I am going to walk over to the other side of the park, and show you the park looking back at my building.

Man-Oh-Manischewitz. I’ve been here a day or so and I love my digs here in Irkutsk.

Very close to me is a small convenience store where I purchase my water, cookies, Snicker Bars, 7-UP, and of all things, my eggs.

It sounds out to me as .. PRODooKT (I have failed to master the cyrillic БІ at the end).

Last night I was caught with absolutely no food stuffs what so ever in my apartment. I walked over to my convenience store. It was closed because I went over after 9pm and was I ever shocked.

So?

So I went to a magnificent restaurant close by and tried to be seated. They said they had no tables. I asked for soup-to-go. They said fine OK. My soup to go (it was a full 500ml) costs me US Dollars $8.38! I don’t think that I have ever paid $8.38 for a large bowl of any soup. Yes it was good. It was full of fish and a few noodles and other veggies. I have vowed not to let that happen again.

Here we are, inside of MY convenience store.

In the above photo, do you see the eggs? Almost dead-center in the photo. Ten eggs cost me US $1.29. I’ve no idea if this is a good price in the US.

There were a fair number of customers in and out while I was there.

Oh Yes! Yes Indeed. The Russians seem to love their ‘booze’. They have a large selection of it.

The below photo was taken from their front window. Do all of you see my building and also the children’s park in the background?

Monday, October the 29th, 2018.

After getting the rent paid on my apartment, off we went.

I had to get a cell phone. I did. Patti and I are now in-touch.

Then I had to get registered with the Russian Government authorities. I did this.

In-the-Monday-mix was a late afternoon lunch.

I had a Greek Salad with Russian Bread. By this time others had joined us. I seem to attract a bit of a crowd. My other companions had meat dumplings.

And then?

I went back to my apartment and I crashed for one hour of sleep. I slept soundly until Mike and Sergey (who has a key to my apartment) woke me and off we went to a meeting.

To this point in time,  I have never given a better talk. I have been waiting for three years to carry the message that God Almighty has given me to carry.

And?

I went home to my place. I was so tired. I was so absolutely exhausted, that while texting Patti, I fell soundly asleep. I awoke some time later. Then I finished my text to Patti, and again crashed out.

And?

That my friends was that for Monday the 29th of October 2018.

It borders on being a small miracle that I survived the day as well as I did.

I’ll end with my Rhetorical Question :

Would you rather BELIEVE and be wrong? Or not believe and be wrong.

You are all in .. Or you are not. There is no middle ground here.

“God?”

“Ummmm.”

“I feel in the deepest part of my soul, that I am where you want me to be and that I am doing what you want me to do. Helping others. If this was not true, I couldn’t possibly feel as strongly as I do that I am where you want me.”

“I Love You God. Thank You God.”

/s/ me as .. Your Little Captain.

• ← OCT 30, 18 .. IRKUTSK (ИРΚУТϹΚ) RUSSIAN SIBERIA .. WOW .. PINCH ME, I MUST BE DREAMING (Part 2 of 3)
• NOV 1, 18 .. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE →