When we last posted, we had made it back to the states and were isolating in NH after our international journey. We now write from Kazan where we are wrapping up our mandatory quarantine after another whirlwind journey back to Russia. Though there were many uncertainties and inconveniences this summer, we are grateful for the good times we had reconnecting with our family and friends in the States.

We spent two weeks in Amherst and after our first coronavirus tests came back negative, we were able to give hugs to Nana and Poppy and relax together. We hiked, watched birds in the yard, biked, played croquet, picked strawberries and had a fun visit from Emily.

Our next stop was home to Portland where we were kindly hosted by Bonnie, Israel, Noah, and Isaac. Top memories include: playing basketball, furikake breakfast buns with kewpie and teriyaki sauce, creepy baloney faces, building forts in the basement and in trees, scootering and biking around Cherry Park, backyard feasts, park picnics with Sky, and late night game sessions with Bonnie and Israel. We had lots of backyard hangs with friends as well, though we seem to have neglected to take many photos of anyone but the cute cousins.

We took two camping trips with the Frumkin/Morales clan. The first trip was to Detroit Lake, a huge reservoir which was recently impacted by devastating wildfires. Despite a mysteriously vanishing sleeping bag and a capsized canoe, we had a fabulous weekend on the lake.

In August, we headed out to central Oregon to the Newberry Crater National Monument and camped on private land owned by an interesting fellow named Dave whose family has owned the land for generations. The family had sourced pumice to Levi’s for their stone-washed jeans back in the day. Our campsite was right on East Lake with a beach rich with obsidian and pumice. It was a beautiful and relaxing way to unwind.

Towards the end of the summer, it became clear that it might be even more challenging to get back to Russia than it was to leave. Russian borders had reopened but only to a handful of countries, and it was looking like we would start the year online while our students returned to classes in person. This meant that we were expected to teach online during school hours, which is the middle of the night in the US. We weren’t sure how this would work- teaching all night, homeschooling our kids, and somehow managing to sleep. My principal agreed to let me work a half day so that I could spend time working with Mila on her school work, but the hours were better if we were on the east coast. So, we decided that for a couple of weeks, Mila and I would return to NH while Simon and Alden stayed in Portland.

Two days before we were scheduled to leave for NH, we received a call from our HR that they had been given special permission for us to return and that we needed to book tickets to return ASAP (apparently Putin himself signed off on this special arrangement). Mila and I headed to NH and booked tickets to return to Kazan via Boston while Simon and Alden flew from Portland. Though our visit wasn’t as long as we had hoped, we were both happy to get to spend more time with Nana, Poppy, and Emily.

One complication for our return was that we needed to show documentation of recent negative Covid tests in order to board our connection in Istanbul. This proved difficult, as most places in the US do not guarantee quick results. Mila and I managed to get timely results in NH, but Simon and Alden decided to take their chances and get their tests in the Istanbul airport. They had a 5 hour layover and we had been told that you could get test results in the airport in 2-3 hours. Unfortunately when they arrived in Istanbul, they found out that the only place to get tested was outside the transit area and you needed a Turkish visa to get it. After a stressful 5 hours, they were eventually allowed to board the plane and made it back to Kazan. Mila and I returned a few days later. We were quarantined in our apartment for 7 days and had two negative Covid tests conducted during home visits before we were allowed to return to school.

Though online teaching in the middle of the night and the whirlwind return to Russia were exhausting and stressful, we are so happy that we came home. Though we missed hugs, eating out, music fests, and bigger social gatherings, we found plenty of ways to enjoy life with our friends and family. We miss you already!