Every Wednesday here at the Passport, we like to introduce a Colonist and discover what makes their world go around, and how far they are around it already.   This week, it’s Emily’s turn: pull up a chair and pour a glass of your particular poison.  Are you sitting comfortably?  Then we’ll begin. 

Let's start with the basics: where are you originally from?

St. Cloud, Minnesota (it's close to the Twin Cities).  Born and raised there.

Which country is currently blessed with your presence?

Belarus! It's a small country that is only 18 years old since it split off from the USSR in 1991. It's situated by Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and obviously Russia!  If you want to read more about my new home go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus

The country has about 10 million people in it, and the city where I live, Minsk, has almost 2 million.  Belarus is considered by Europe to be the last dictatorship, and it has been trying to recover its image over the last several years after being scorned by many western countries.  Some progress has been made (especially since the 90’s), but the country is still very socialist.

Dear lard! That's 4,800 miles from home! What prompted your move?

To understand why I moved here, you have to understand that I am a Christian and that being so is core of all of my beliefs.  As such, I have always been willing to go wherever God wants me to go.   Then you would also have to understand that I have never wanted to live an “ordinary” life. So when I began to be interested in a Belorussian who went to my college, well, you can see where it went from there!

My husband (of 5 months), Ales, went to high school and college in the States, but always knew he would come back to Belarus. Staying in the States would have been easier, but he loves the people of his country more than choosing the easy road, and he wanted to help them have a better life. As we got to know each other and dated - over a long distance, as he graduated and came back to Belarus – I knew that if we got married I would be moving here.

I came over here the summer before we got married because Ales wanted to make sure I would be able to live here. I felt a tug on my heart and knew this was where I would live – and so we got married and moved here and live happily!  But it’s NOT the end of the story by a long shot.

How long have you been living in Belarus?

3 and half months

Which other countries have you visited?

Germany, Israel, Poland, Luxembourg, Canada, and Costa Rica. My husband and I love to travel, so my list will be much longer soon!

Where’s next on the list of places to see?

I might go with a friend to St. Petersburg soon, and Germany again soon as that is where my husband’s brother is living! Also there is much of Europe I would love to see.  I have always had a fascination with Paris and would love to see it!

OK, now for something with a little more juice: what has been the biggest challenge to living in Belarus?

Well, obviously language is hard.  Russian is a very difficult language, although I am blessed with a husband and some friends who also speak English, I have had to learn to be dependent on others when it comes to communicating. This has been very hard for me as I've always been very independent.

I also miss a lot of amenities that we are so blessed with in the United States. There is no Wal-mart. No Starbucks, Target, JCPenny's or malls. In fact I have not gone shopping since getting here! Everything is very expensive, which is hard for us, let alone the people here who only make about $300-$400 a month. Basic things like milk and bread are cheap, but anything food wise out of the ordinary is very difficult to find.  If you can find it, it will cost you an arm or a leg whichever you can let go of first. They didn't even have brown sugar here, until about a year ago, and the brown sugar they have now is more like raw sugar rather than what is in the US. Also if you are a peanut butter lover - beware! You won't find any such thing here.  There are so many things we can take for granted living in the States.

There are many things I am still getting used to here, just the culture and daily living. Also being just married has been an adjustment as well. Even though the people are amazing, I don’t have a lot of close friends yet, as language barriers make that hard. So I have been missing my friends and family A LOT.

Tell us something you adore about your new home.

THE PEOPLE. They are so kind and friendly to me, especially my husband's family and friends, and our church. I feel like I belong because of them. Obviously not everyone is like that, but the people I know are what have made my living here wonderful!

What's the biggest local news story in Belarus right now?

“Belarus works out terms for 2010 gas price talks” – here the government determines what price the gas is.

If Oprah comes good on the Women's Colony funding, and we could pay to ship you a crate full of stuff from home, which three products would you ask us to fill it with?

1. Ohmygoodness - coffee. Starbucks coffee. Boca Java coffee. I love coffee and good coffee is super insanely expensive here. 
2. Books – in English – I love to read and it’s obviously hard to find books in English here.  
3. Cosmetics and hair products (can that be one?) Also expensive here.

(I would list cooking things and other food products such as peanut butter, vanilla extract and brown sugar, just to name a few, but then I’d have to choose which one I wanted! So my wish list will have to make do.)

Who’s your secret boyfriend/girlfriend?

Definitely would have to say Cary Grant. I have always loved his movies since I was a kid! I love his acting: I remember watching "Charade" on TV as a kid, and I didn't know if Cary Grant was good or bad, and my aunt and mom kept asking me - "Is he the bad guy?" and I finally declared, "No, he can't be the bad guy - He's Cary Grant!"

He plays in almost all of my favorite movies (sorry I’m an old movie buff!).

[Sigh.  They just don't make them like they used to, eh?  Suave doesn't even begin to cover it.]

All this talk of Cary is making me hungry. What's for dinner?

Draniki (aka "Potato Pancakes")

8-10 medium potatoes shredded

1-2 eggs lightly beaten

2 tbsp flour

1 small onion shredded

¼ cup kefir (kefir is sour milk; if you don’t have this just substitute buttermilk, or milk soured with a little lemon, or just milk if nothing else)

Salt and pepper to taste

Sunflower oil for cooking (sunflower is best as it lends an authentic taste, but if none is available then vegetable oil will do)

Sour cream for serving ( I think it’s the best part. The sour cream here is a little different than in the States. Try finding a thicker sour cream, not watery. In the States the ones that work best are a little more expensive. But trust me, it’s worth it.)

If you want to make stuffed Draniki see note.*

Method

Heat up a pan on medium high heat with 2 tbsp of sunflower oil. You want it to be good and hot when you put the Draniki in. Also when you do put the Draniki in the pan be careful not to burn yourself as the oil spatters easily.

Go ahead and shred the potatoes and onion either with a cheese grater or with a food processor. Use a medium or small shredder (not largest) – you want finer strands of potato so that they will soften properly when cooked.

If your potato is overly watery you can squeeze out some of the moisture.

Add flour, eggs, kefir and salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

If you have a larger pan, try making three Draniki fit – four if you’re really good. Lay down a pancake sized layer of batter and then press on with your spatula, you really want them to compress. They will cook for about 5 minutes on each side. Sometimes the heat needs to be turned down a little, but you need it higher at the beginning to get a good color. Just check on it and when it gets golden brown to dark brown they are ready to flip or are done. They stay pretty hot for a while so don’t worry about them getting cold while the others are cooking.

Serve with thick sour cream.  MmmHmm! 

*Note: if you want to make stuffed Draniki this is also an easy way to make a whole meal out of these guys. Just prepare your meat (ground beef with some seasonings and onions works well) ahead of time (you can also do cheese or whatever you want) and make sure it has cooled by the time you will be using it. Then lay down a thinner layer of the batter, layer with meat/cheese on top, then add another thin layer of batter and squash a little with a spatula. Then cook a few minutes longer than plain Draniki.

Thank you, Emily!  Yours is already a fascinating tale, and it sounds like it's only just getting started.  If nine tenths of the battle of living in a challenging environment is having the right attitude, I'd say you're going to be just fine.  

Colonists, you can read more about Emily's life at Ales & Emily's Travels, and (as ever) leave your questions in the comments section!  

If you would like to be interviewed for World Wide Woman Wednesday, and you are a woman who either lives in a country other than your home country, or who is not originally from the USA, simply email womenscolony@gmail.com and put “WWWW Interview” in the subject line.  Please also tell me which category (expat, non-USA, or lard help you, both) you fall into.  If you blog, we’ll happily link it for you at the end of the post. Thanks for reading!

Urban Cowgirl is a regular contributor and you can read more about her here.