T minus 4 before the big leap to the East !

September 2nd 2019, mark that day, dear Reader, as the day our Siberian adventures start!

After two years of rather calm routine in our European bubble, we are now embarking for Novokutznesk, a "small" town in Siberia, where we will work for a year as guest teachers at International House Continental(1). 

 3h20 flight from Stuttgart to Moscow + 3h45 transit time in Moscow + 4h25 flight to Novokuznesk = Добро пожаловать в Сибирь (welcome to Siberia)

What we know so far

Novokuznetsk is home to about 539 616 (2) souls. 

Now, let's take a minute to consider a very worr--- hmm interesting fact. According to the very trustworthy source of wikipedia, this number has been steadily decreasing for the past 30 years. In 1989 Novokuznetsk's population amounted to 599 947. One can only wonder what drove the poor fools away ? Is it the cold harsh winter? The hungry wolfs and bears driven by the destruction of there natural habitat (deforestation for timber production, mining, and increasing number of fires) to the city to find food ? Or maybe the decrease in local economical activities pushing people to bigger city to find jobs? 

Novokuznetsk lays in the Kuznetsk Basin (aka Kuzbass) one of the largest reserve of coal in the world and the largest in Russia. It has been a major coal mining site since the 1930's (3). Metallurgy, steel and iron, and chemical industries are also leading regional economy(4)

Soon: our very own picture of Kuzbass, watermark-free

As it is to expect from a Siberian city, the weather is generally dry and (very) cold in winter and warm and humid in the summer. On average, temperatures are ranging between -19°C in January and 25°C in August (Nonetheless, Google Weather forecasts 29°C for the end of this week! Climate changes are not sparing Siberia... On the contrary!(5).)

What we expect

Sooo, what is to be expected from such abundant information...

For my part I expect a very Soviet and quite polluted city (especially now that raging fires are devastating the continent causing "a cloud of smoke and soot bigger than Europe" to "choke" cities(6)), cold and loooong winters. I am also worried about the food supply. How can anything grow in such an environment?  Eating local will be a challenge.

Nonetheless I am thrilled about the idea of experiencing life in such a remote place, in the middle of "one the most sparsely populated regions on Earth"(7) 

Frozen Baikal Lake

So close to natural treasures such as the Baikal Lake or the Katun Nature Reserve and Altai Mountains. 

The Altai Mountains

Don't you find these pictures amazing??! Well, they aren't ours (thank you pixabay). But hopefully we will get to visit these places and replace those with our own pictures, however they most likely will be of lesser quality and beauty. (Sidoine, and fellow photograph friends, we are counting on your visit !)

I am also looking forward to bettering my Russian. As some of you may know, I had studied it for several years at university before letting it rot in favor of Arabic. I finally picked it up two years ago while working with asylum seekers in Strasbourg.

I also expect to discover a new culture, world view and all the stuff people say about travelling abroad... you know the deal.

After having asked Alex repeatidly about his impression of our soon to be life, I got the the oversimplified answer of " freezing cold, remote and wild". He confessed to having only a vague picture and unformed idea of how life will be there. His plan is to learn "a bit" of Russian ( "to butcher it" its own words) and to spend his salary on vodka  travelling around the country. He also expects to " be taken for Chinese at least 3977 times -or for some other Asian." He added: "I hope that the pollution won't kill me and to stay clear of bears, wolves and any other vicious Russian wildlife"

To conclude ...

What we offer you in this blog is the opportunity to join us in our discovery!

We will attempt to cover different aspects of our life in Siberia, such as food, hobbies, work,  but also share with you the results of our observations (are people really being eaten by wolfs?) and practical tips for any one wanting to live a similar adventure.

As it is our first time blogging... in this decade (some may remember a certain skyblog narrating my Austrian adventures as a teenage girl), we may need some times before defining our style, finding a rhythm and coming up with interesting content for you, our dear Readers (Hi Mom! Hi Dad!). Feel free to help us in this endeavour by leaving us (constructive) criticism and comments. 

Last but not least, some of our dear Readers (once again Hi Mom! Hi Dad!) are not English literate. (Hence our mission of enlightenment: bringing English to the world, one country at a time) And that's where it may get messy... as we will need to translate and publish in our mother tongues as well, French and Spanish. 

I hope you wont get lost in this "bazaar" and stay tuned.

Пока :)