It is a cultural thing: When an American sets up a date and does not cancel it, it will happen. When a Russian sets up a time and does not confirm it, it is cancelled. Guess what I have been doing for these last days before my next trip? That’s right: sending out confirmation messages for each event of my upcoming, very busy teaching schedule in Russia.
First I am flying two time zones east of Moscow to the city of Ufa, the capital of a mostly Muslim enclave within Russia called Bashkortostan. There I will present the FaithSearch Discovery curriculum in the state universities and in local churches. I will then be moving around the Ural Mountains region for five more days, teaching in Sibay, Magnitogorsk and Chelyabinsk, before flying back to Moscow and then on to St. Petersburg for the second half of the trip. I am presenting every single day, and even twice a day on a couple of occasions.
