tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67365965832611472492024-03-19T10:51:06.248-07:00To Minsk (Минск) and Beyond!Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-8602849468875153432012-08-19T09:15:00.000-07:002012-08-19T09:15:13.405-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last Few Days and Final Reflections</b></span></h2>
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I just wanted to add one more post to the blog to wrap up our final few days, our return to America, and add some final reflections on our time in Minsk. </div>
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Sunday
was a bit sad, as it was our last day attending the Minsk branch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have really enjoyed being a part of this
amazing branch the past 4 months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Minsk branch has definitely strengthened us while we have been so far from
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting to/from church with all of
the kids each week has certainly been more of an adventure than we ever
experienced back in our home ward in Lehi (it takes a little over an hour each
way, including a lot of walking and multiple metro transfers)!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the branch is so strong and filled with
such wonderful, faithful members, who have gone out of their way to welcome and
take care of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of the
government/legal situation of the church in Belarus, which does not allow Jacque
or I to hold callings in the branch or even participate much in the meetings,
we have loved being there with the faithful members and having the chance to
renew our baptismal covenants each week (and our children are very adaptive and
loved primary!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This extended trip
abroad and attending the Minsk branch (with so many dedicated, sacrificing
members) has given me a valuable opportunity to reflect on my love for the
gospel, my service in the church, and my overall faith journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are going to miss our good friends in the
Minsk branch.</div>
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Monday was a packing and cleaning day (at
least in the morning).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were able to
get quite a bit done and still have quite a bit more to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The afternoon was more casual and everyone
had rest time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was super rainy, so we
basically were stuck in the apartment for the day. </div>
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Tuesday was our last full day in
the country so we had to get all of the packing done, which is particularly
tricky when trying to keep the different suitcases under the 50 pound limit!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But by late morning we had everything packed
up and suitcases lined up by our apartment door, ready to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decided to go on one final family outing
for lunch and I must admit that it was a bit sad as we were walking back to our
apartment for the last time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the
lunch the kids had rest time, we met with the landlord and returned keys, we
met one more time with Sergei (from church), and then we had a wonderful dinner
with the Johns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After dinner I helped
them back to their apartment with all of the household stuff would had bought
for our stay over the summer, which we would not be bringing home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We figured the missionaries would be able to
make good use of all of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was
more than I had originally thought, so we were all quite loaded down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily, their apartment is only a 5+ minute
walk, so it wasn’t too bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We dropped
off the stuff and then we said our final goodbyes, which were very sad; we have
come to love the Johns over this summer and they have been great friends to
Jacque and I and like surrogate grandparents for the kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I returned back to our apartment we got
things cleaned up and the kids to bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
Jacque and I Skyped with a friend back home before trying to get to bed
early.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Wednesday started super early and
was a very long day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The alarm went off
at 2:20 am and by 3:00 am we were loading up the U.S. Embassy van and were off
to the Minsk Airport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were there
quite early but it just took forever to get through all of the different
security checks and everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time
we finally got through everything they were boarding the plane and we were off
just 20+ minutes later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our biggest
concern of the day was the transfer at the Frankfurt Airport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had just a 65 minute layover, which may seem
like a lot of time but is not when you are taking various shuttles and trains
to move between gates trying to get 5 little kids and a bunch of carry-on bags
through the security checkpoints and everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were worried that we would miss the
connecting flight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end, we got to
the gate almost exactly 30 minutes before departure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had already given away our reserved seats
and said we would all have to be scattered in seats around the plane (not sitting
together), which of course was not an option.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the end, there were nice people around us who were willing to change
seats so we could all sit together and before we knew it we were on our way to
Chicago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In anticipation for this day of
travel, we honestly were not concerned about the transfer in Chicago, as we had
a two and a half hour layover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However,
once we arrived we found out that the departure time to Salt Lake City had been
moved up half an hour and then just changing terminals, getting our checked
baggage, going through customs, rechecking our baggage, and going through
security (where they let us cut in line with all of the kids) took us most of
that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got to the gate just a few
minutes before boarding, which was a relief, and soon we were on our way to
Salt Lake City.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The final leg of the
flight was just fine and before we knew it we were in SLC with all of our
checked bags and then were able to relax just a little bit before our friends
came to pick us up (since the flight left half an hour early, we arrived half
an hour early too and ended up with a little time).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By around 5:30 pm we were home (just in time
for the buyers of our home to do their final walk through before closing, we
got some food and things a bit situated around the house, and then by 7 pm (4
am Minsk time) we got the kids down to bed; Jacque followed at 8 and I got a
few final things done and was in bed by 9.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a long day, but we were so happy/grateful to be home safely and
to have all of the traveling behind us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Due to the time difference, Thursday morning I
was up with the two little girls by 2 am and everyone else was up by 4 am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By 6:30 we were all dressed and had breakfast
already, so we decided to take a family shopping trip to get groceries! It was
actually more like a shopping spree and we pretty much got anything that looked
good, particularly if it was something we weren’t able to get for the past 4
months in Minsk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once back from the
store, I went to pick up Toby and everyone was excited to see him again!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent a good part of the day just
unpacking and getting more settled in, the kids had a great time playing in the
front yard, and then we had our house closing in the afternoon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
the closing (our house is now officially sold!), we got some pizza for dinner
and by the time we got home the kids were all mostly zonked out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got them fed and to bed, and then Jacque
and I were in bed by around 8 pm, exhausted from the long day and the jet
lag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Thursday night/Friday morning was much better
for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was still up with the
little girls around 3 am, but the older girls weren’t up until 5 and Jacque and
David actually slept until 7 am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got
everything ready and then Les came to watch the four girls while Jacque, David
and I went to look at houses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent a
good part of the summer thoroughly researching houses online and had narrowed
our initial list of 15 homes down to just 7 to look at once we got home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a great time looking at houses, and by
2 pm we were home and had ruled out 4 of the 7, leaving 2 we really liked and a
3 that would be a really good fallback if necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our realtor went to work finding out more
details about the homes/seller situations so that we could consider everything
and ultimately decide which home we wanted to make an offer on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Friday late afternoon our oldest daughter had
an Activity Days activity and had a great time with so many friends she hadn’t
seen all summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had dinner and got
the kids down to bed and then Jacque was off to a book club for the evening and
I was in bed by 9 pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Friday night/Saturday morning was
still a bit better in terms of sleep for everyone (pretty much everyone slept
until 5 am or later).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I played some Frisbee
golf with my younger brother and by the time I got home our realtor had called
with a lot more background details on each of the three homes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jacque and I spent the next while talking
over everything and ultimately we decided on the home we wanted to make an
offer on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After lunch we spent some time
at our next door neighbor’s house with the kids and then by mid-afternoon we
had an offer on the table and a counter-offer from the sellers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By dinner time we had accepted the counter
offer and we are now under contract.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
comes the appraisal, inspection, etc., so we are just crossing our fingers and
hoping that everything goes smoothly the next couple of weeks so we can be in
the new home by the end of September (when we need to be out of this
house).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saturday evening our neighbors had
a movie night in their backyard, but Jacque and I were falling asleep not too
far into the movie so we came home and went to bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a great day, and we are super excited
about the house!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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OK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So that gets us caught up on this busy week;
now for some final thoughts/reflections on the past four months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Basically, the trip to Minsk was
awesome!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aspects of the trip were
definitely a challenge/difficult and as soon as we got home we were quickly
reminded of the many luxuries here in America that we so often take for
granted, which we did not have for our 4 months in Minsk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That said, we do not view the time in Minsk
as a hardship at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, it was a
fantastic learning experience for all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We were able to get back to the basics in a lot of ways, spend a ton of
time together as a family (where we had to rely on each other so much), learn
so much about a different country/culture, and we had the chance to meet so
many wonderful individuals during our stay. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jacque and I both had some amazing
professional opportunities and I hope that I may be able to make future visits
back to the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also loved our
time with the Minsk LDS Branch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Attending
church each week with the faithful and dedicated members was an absolute
pleasure and we all learned a lot from their examples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall, pretty much everything about our
trip (except some frustrations with the government paperwork/bureaucracy and
the negative interactions with our downstairs neighbor) was extremely
positive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We love the country and the
people (who are amazingly kind and helpful) and we count our time in Minsk as a
tremendous blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-9066348326124039122012-08-11T06:00:00.003-07:002012-08-11T06:00:32.444-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">Final Week in Review</span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span></span></i><span>This has been a good
week.<span> </span>Sunday was a pleasant day (warm
but not as bad as other days).<span> </span>Our trek
to and from church was good and we enjoyed the church services.<span> </span>It is weird to think that we only have one
more Sunday at the Minsk branch.<span> </span>After
church we had a typical late afternoon/evening and had a video chat with my
parents.<span> </span>It was a good day.<span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Monday was a fairly casual day.<span> </span>Both Jacque and I spent a good amount of time
working on our class preparation for the upcoming fall semester.<span> </span>We also had the weekly shopping trip and spent
some time at the park.<span> </span>Other than that,
it was a pretty typical day.<span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Tuesday was the big
trip to the Minsk Zoo.<span> </span>We took 7 metro
stops and then walked a kilometer to final get to the zoo.<span> </span>We were pleasantly surprised to find that the
dolphin show is at the zoo too (we had heard a lot about it, but could not
figure out where it actually was).<span> </span>So we
spent most of the day walking around the zoo and seeing the animals, and then
we went to the dolphin show later in the afternoon.<span> </span>The Minsk Zoo is interesting because you can get
so close to the animals.<span> </span>The enclosures
are pretty small in the first place so the animals are close up anyway, but then
there really is not much buffer zone between the animals and the visitors.<span> </span>That made it kind of neat, but also a bit
odd.<span> </span>You could literally stick your hand
in the lion enclosure and touch the lion.<span>
</span>We also saw a lot of overweight animals (probably overfeeding, coupled
with small enclosures with little opportunity to exercise).<span> </span>But it was fun to see the animals and we had
a great time.<span> </span>And while the weather was
mostly nice, there was about an hour and a half where there sky got really dark
and it was super windy.<span> </span>We thought we
would get poured on, but then the sky cleared up and everything was fine.<span> </span>On the way home we got some McDonalds for
dinner and then got home exhausted from a long day of walking.<span> </span>It was a good day. You can see more pictures <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151069513558836.453025.671558835&type=3&l=eaa4304504" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEczg6EKk0pyNFAXiTAU3E1_hgY8B-HswaQTAnmAkRAAs7Jfni_9HKFQpjrvlM8R-McU9wTbiOt3PO13fEY8PApfreoZiJDwDbY0dnOLRlw6K66PX3iYwCKKGEUL88KmHrEq9yG_La3usP/s1600/IMG_2361.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEczg6EKk0pyNFAXiTAU3E1_hgY8B-HswaQTAnmAkRAAs7Jfni_9HKFQpjrvlM8R-McU9wTbiOt3PO13fEY8PApfreoZiJDwDbY0dnOLRlw6K66PX3iYwCKKGEUL88KmHrEq9yG_La3usP/s640/IMG_2361.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxG1pkv4V2H9pr0uSakfiOO7b8_VylYmMfSXODXA0XHtyT7UK2RexDPYaj3yDxFLoCfh_Sigvj7jLeYph95EoF9oTBpTLqt5MPa1xRlL8H4neGaHomrwJQg_x-9cRsfbWoc9qTwFO6R9H/s1600/IMG_2329.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxG1pkv4V2H9pr0uSakfiOO7b8_VylYmMfSXODXA0XHtyT7UK2RexDPYaj3yDxFLoCfh_Sigvj7jLeYph95EoF9oTBpTLqt5MPa1xRlL8H4neGaHomrwJQg_x-9cRsfbWoc9qTwFO6R9H/s640/IMG_2329.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxG1pkv4V2H9pr0uSakfiOO7b8_VylYmMfSXODXA0XHtyT7UK2RexDPYaj3yDxFLoCfh_Sigvj7jLeYph95EoF9oTBpTLqt5MPa1xRlL8H4neGaHomrwJQg_x-9cRsfbWoc9qTwFO6R9H/s1600/IMG_2329.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span></span></i><span>After the big day on
Tuesday, Wednesday was very casual and we mostly hung around the
apartment.<span> </span>We played a lot around the
apartment and probably watched too much Netflix.<span> </span>Then we had a nice Skype session with a
friend in the evening after the kids were in bed.<span> </span>That was about it.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span></span></i><span>Thursday was a rather
casual day and we stuck around the apartment for most of the morning.<span> </span>Late afternoon we met up with the Johns for a
yummy Belarusian dinner and then we took the kids back to the butterfly exhibit
(Sara has been asking to go back since we went the first time).<span> </span>After we got home, we got the kids to bed and
Jacque and I got everything ready for an early departure for Lithuania the next
morning.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span></span></i><span><span></span>Friday morning started early and we got
everyone ready and were out the door to head to the train station at 6:45.<span> </span>Finding the correct train and getting everyone
situated was easier than expected.<span> </span>We
were off by 7:45 and the kids were so excited to be on their first major train
ride.<span> </span>We had our own private compartment
and everyone was quite comfortable.<span> </span>We
had the obligatory stops on both sides of the Lithuanian border, where they
checked passports and such.<span> </span>It added
some time to the trip, but it was still pretty quick and by 11 am we were there
in Vilnius, Lithuania for the day. <span> </span> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRndss2s7AKDkJNW76F5rs6F3UK7TzuRUgsyAAPymxTHXi__wOq9GBmcFMAF2mRX2YvBf2GItLiM9teflNA3WAcarrE_vAyOE1jN15Sz7X1Kv8XmyHP3D8d17yD5rNWQuQV5B_xkgnvXzS/s1600/IMG_2382.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRndss2s7AKDkJNW76F5rs6F3UK7TzuRUgsyAAPymxTHXi__wOq9GBmcFMAF2mRX2YvBf2GItLiM9teflNA3WAcarrE_vAyOE1jN15Sz7X1Kv8XmyHP3D8d17yD5rNWQuQV5B_xkgnvXzS/s640/IMG_2382.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK3IpLiWXnPdBQ7roVbvHBRm3qzcusnqB-mlaKvi4IySuQuc4qz1tp3mbu_78Qnpy9jrfTDsy13cQB1GhFqmgkidg827WjKWoggyH9uQZdmjtHPwQv0Q4V6EmBhnvm1e2_C0RWHGXKRDtC/s1600/IMG_2389.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK3IpLiWXnPdBQ7roVbvHBRm3qzcusnqB-mlaKvi4IySuQuc4qz1tp3mbu_78Qnpy9jrfTDsy13cQB1GhFqmgkidg827WjKWoggyH9uQZdmjtHPwQv0Q4V6EmBhnvm1e2_C0RWHGXKRDtC/s640/IMG_2389.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Jacque
put together an extensive walking tour of the city on her iPad and we spent the
next 7+ hours seeing 20+ historical sites all over.<span> </span>A lot of them were historical churches, but
also a lot of other historic architecture, museums, and monuments/memorials.<span> </span>Over the course of the day we walked a TON and
saw so many great places around the city (both the old and new town areas; my
favorite places were in the old town).<span> </span>We
figure we squished a 3 day trip into one day!<span>
</span>By 6:45pm we were back at the train station and ready to head back to
Minsk.<span> You can see more pictures of the day <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151077328918836.454479.671558835&type=3&l=d773602c75" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWR5Ro4vhD0MFT0mmIGm_i3yo2qMhJqNWhyg4XtvrMx60LVXyZNFT653IoIG_DrLFogzQcG9Bu5SsWRAE89d19hBeQAi6RHBca5kW4sYREZt2XZOonGz5YIMjtO7DUyWutHmAvr0zdU33/s1600/IMG_2424.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWR5Ro4vhD0MFT0mmIGm_i3yo2qMhJqNWhyg4XtvrMx60LVXyZNFT653IoIG_DrLFogzQcG9Bu5SsWRAE89d19hBeQAi6RHBca5kW4sYREZt2XZOonGz5YIMjtO7DUyWutHmAvr0zdU33/s640/IMG_2424.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqje3ABY8dUlz9od5gqrIPWb8IJfRLIOEFeefrDQTueVX7bFCL5Bti-wNTwtNrK59j_gbnm3hqocd_PVrX37n_1spCn6SBJhlPdcSxp1wSFP6G4CWCNMvR7AFRSPw6qXOdauzvYLJVNpJ/s1600/IMG_2433.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqje3ABY8dUlz9od5gqrIPWb8IJfRLIOEFeefrDQTueVX7bFCL5Bti-wNTwtNrK59j_gbnm3hqocd_PVrX37n_1spCn6SBJhlPdcSxp1wSFP6G4CWCNMvR7AFRSPw6qXOdauzvYLJVNpJ/s640/IMG_2433.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEB-9_toFS59PX4wswy_rvdUDqkgtJENInAFV1d7WzDienXZGPMWhBXemyivy6aEHPLpknOJKiQWSpL39Iy_CF8fxGl9HrY0cFotD6C9orrRloXwjvow__luqUHg29WWAPjC5_RAONEsN/s1600/IMG_2452.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEB-9_toFS59PX4wswy_rvdUDqkgtJENInAFV1d7WzDienXZGPMWhBXemyivy6aEHPLpknOJKiQWSpL39Iy_CF8fxGl9HrY0cFotD6C9orrRloXwjvow__luqUHg29WWAPjC5_RAONEsN/s640/IMG_2452.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5Y-qumv7UxknadFO0mnsps0Cu9k2FMIvIeUlyZuSpYQh24hRIJo7zhqTBWwVNOkUzKIOMDT4D6tH7wts37o_83t_M_Ik55HXiofbaI03b3NV65nX7LhINJ3YoLA-U_mcbGyBN3MgCt4a/s1600/IMG_2457.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5Y-qumv7UxknadFO0mnsps0Cu9k2FMIvIeUlyZuSpYQh24hRIJo7zhqTBWwVNOkUzKIOMDT4D6tH7wts37o_83t_M_Ik55HXiofbaI03b3NV65nX7LhINJ3YoLA-U_mcbGyBN3MgCt4a/s640/IMG_2457.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyC8JZ_t1SNfyuqLzrFlu3CWYYlInHxE_KonUJ0TsFO8SHsUZSriiY2CqnZ3__zHQA0sz3sDJdohuGcoNyhhkAgcVQVWnJbFav2Nv9NX5YzOanChw2h0LJ9LYc_fp8yzY9-fnXO_bzVRL/s1600/IMG_2485.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyC8JZ_t1SNfyuqLzrFlu3CWYYlInHxE_KonUJ0TsFO8SHsUZSriiY2CqnZ3__zHQA0sz3sDJdohuGcoNyhhkAgcVQVWnJbFav2Nv9NX5YzOanChw2h0LJ9LYc_fp8yzY9-fnXO_bzVRL/s640/IMG_2485.JPG" width="480" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>The kids were so excited to get
in the beds in our compartment, but first we had to go past the border control
again.<span> </span>The Lithuania side was no
problem, but we were nervous for the Belarusian border check.<span> </span>We have all of the necessary documentation
(and then some), but that hasn’t always worked in the past (and we were
specifically warned that they might give us some trouble at the border upon
re-entry into the country).<span> </span>But we
actually had a very nice lady checking passports/visas, and though there was a
tense moment when they were trying to ask for some other documentation but we couldn’t
understand their Russian (and I must admit, I got pretty nervous at this point),
they finally got another agent come over who spoke a little English and we were
able to show the additional documents and then were good to go.<span> </span>Once we were past the border station, we got the kids situated in their beds!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTfPODqIjfTLElcuZRv6PLVkatM7nGC8hZMJiMXcES0Oi-s6W2SOEB9UAzouLJPVmVDBuZxDewPmsz-kLH0QBe6MpaIsm4ynwzHvfbJ9HrrqS_WQvpL3vYBGsX5AB3wR_pKrCk84xGRMqD/s1600/IMG_2530.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTfPODqIjfTLElcuZRv6PLVkatM7nGC8hZMJiMXcES0Oi-s6W2SOEB9UAzouLJPVmVDBuZxDewPmsz-kLH0QBe6MpaIsm4ynwzHvfbJ9HrrqS_WQvpL3vYBGsX5AB3wR_pKrCk84xGRMqD/s640/IMG_2530.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span>We pulled into the Minsk train station around
10:45 pm and then got back to the apartment around 11:15 and got the kids to
bed.<span> </span>Jacque and I were able to get in
bed before midnight.<span> </span>It was a long, very
good day!</span></span></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOEJZ7lQD8gfJGrou6UGcedDRVZARRDc6WwEVytgUMt7bZHJOMMM_3Mx-c4dkGCcJGPpqIDCS9h1i41iYl2bdtrYP1ZAtZSCreLcGK5heYdaJ8ctIJdT13zrFMUxu7bG-FnrecWwjYc3G/s1600/IMG_2543.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOEJZ7lQD8gfJGrou6UGcedDRVZARRDc6WwEVytgUMt7bZHJOMMM_3Mx-c4dkGCcJGPpqIDCS9h1i41iYl2bdtrYP1ZAtZSCreLcGK5heYdaJ8ctIJdT13zrFMUxu7bG-FnrecWwjYc3G/s640/IMG_2543.JPG" width="480" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Saturday was a casual day.<span> </span>Jacque was up with David for an hour in the
middle of the night and then I was up at 6 am and hung with the kids for most
of the morning to let Jacque sleep in.<span> </span>We
were all still pretty tired from the day before, so today we have pretty much
been bumming it around the apartment.<span>
</span>But it has been a really nice contrast to the long, busy day yesterday.<span> </span> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Now we are down to just our last few days in
the country.<span> </span>We are very excited to get
home, get the kids into school, start the new semester at UVU, find our new
home, etc.<span> </span>It will be a busy time, but
that is the way we like it!<span> </span></span></span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-66866146482139527062012-08-04T00:10:00.002-07:002012-08-04T00:11:53.797-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Week in Review</span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
</h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sunday was another hot day. The air conditioning at church felt very
nice! We had a great day at church and
then a nice evening together that evening.
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The early part of the week was enjoyable. We didn’t have much planned, so we just went with
the flow! Monday we actually all went to
the grocery store with Jacque, and while she shopped I took the kids upstairs to
the play land. The kids had a great time
and it was nice to have AC! The early
part of the week continued to be warm, though it was a bit cooler than it was
last week. The kids spent some time at
the park and we played a lot in the apartment.
We also went out to the shopping center and bought a few souvenirs. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikLaYMim3Glz4a6eUdJfZndTRQ1z967XXEqV1SvLa7FGJEQ_5h_GPpEnjHH9QmxLnsnxV3z8rIkcfTyTZNCLRlNUpb_oFmjoLFne5Qq9ARQxrwdUWpXE2K74-P7sJwwvQ1gu4VMVNX_xwA/s1600/IMG_2164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikLaYMim3Glz4a6eUdJfZndTRQ1z967XXEqV1SvLa7FGJEQ_5h_GPpEnjHH9QmxLnsnxV3z8rIkcfTyTZNCLRlNUpb_oFmjoLFne5Qq9ARQxrwdUWpXE2K74-P7sJwwvQ1gu4VMVNX_xwA/s640/IMG_2164.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Tuesday evening a Belarusian friend of mine
took me to the train station and helped me get tickets for our trip to Vilnius,
Lithuania (only took a pile of documents and about 45 minutes to get
tickets!). </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pyIJ2rYy1gFxIlbn2UGQurItlQxfsQUo03Lp0MeK8uqcp3q01N5xb6JgZ7Aca0NEUS9c_V8rQWnSN60t8Dhyphenhyphenq-kdZ3sOwof__F4i6SpR3AzKNCRo0EzYZiHKe0vfBtJtqqNo0nXYsD1K/s1600/IMG_2179.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pyIJ2rYy1gFxIlbn2UGQurItlQxfsQUo03Lp0MeK8uqcp3q01N5xb6JgZ7Aca0NEUS9c_V8rQWnSN60t8Dhyphenhyphenq-kdZ3sOwof__F4i6SpR3AzKNCRo0EzYZiHKe0vfBtJtqqNo0nXYsD1K/s640/IMG_2179.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Also, on Wednesday I had a
goodbye lunch with people at the university (they are mostly all going on
vacation the next two weeks, so they won’t be around for goodbyes when it is
actually time to leave), which was nice.
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">On Thursday I was picked up early by folks
from the Belarus High Tech Park to head out for a two-day trip to Grodno to do
a presentation at Grondo State University with IT/High Tech industry leaders
Thursday afternoon. Grodno is a smaller
city (around 350k population) about 4 hours from Minsk, near the Poland and
Lithuanian borders. When I arrived, I
was surprised by reporters wanting to interview me (one from a local and one
from a national TV station)... first time that has happened during our stay
here (I hope I didn't come across as too much of a fool!)... The presentation
went well (around 20 in attendance) and I think we had some good
discussions. After the session, I had a
chance to walk around the city a bit and then had a late dinner with the
academic director of the Belarus High Tech Park. Grodno is beautiful and the city has much more
of a European feel than Minsk… I wish Jacque and the kids were able to come
with me. See a lot of pictures <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151058568228836.451578.671558835&type=1&l=8d6c8c3744" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151060711568836.451805.671558835&type=1&l=b08c27ed3c" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i></i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i></i>Friday morning I had a yummy breakfast at the
hotel and then I had a wonderful tour of the city with a member of the
Sociology faculty from Grodno State University.
He has lived in Grodno all his life and he took me to the most interesting
historical places, all with detailed explanations (and his English is very good). Around 12:30 we started the trek back to
Minsk and I was home in time for dinner.
Jacque was a trooper, as always, and stayed back with the kids while I
was gone. They did their own Olympics,
played at the park, made goodies, and by all reports had a great time without
me! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Today is another warm day and we hope to enjoy
the beautiful weather outside (cooler than our apartment!). It has been a good week. Now only 11 days to go until the trek home… </span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-41231875588110905642012-07-28T22:44:00.000-07:002012-07-29T05:39:26.475-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Weekly Review</span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i></i>Sunday was sunny with clear skies, and we had
a nice trip to and from church! After church we watched a conference talk
and had rest time and then a yummy dinner before our weekly family Skype
sessions and a quiet evening. It was a
good day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmr8-U5kgVn6TizFFroKCYoFJT92e2JVH2QCDUNVmAj2mO0KdBpCm65JMqyBuVEI9dgNwccDyr3S9NH5eAp6r-oTt3vGfZVaRqIeV8eu9yLkwRBs2uqqHkqs9uYrODumzWeBdSvarBa35B/s1600/IMG_2029.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmr8-U5kgVn6TizFFroKCYoFJT92e2JVH2QCDUNVmAj2mO0KdBpCm65JMqyBuVEI9dgNwccDyr3S9NH5eAp6r-oTt3vGfZVaRqIeV8eu9yLkwRBs2uqqHkqs9uYrODumzWeBdSvarBa35B/s640/IMG_2029.JPG" width="480" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Since my MBA class is now over, I really don’t
have much work at the university. This
means I don’t go in very much and that much of what I do can be done remotely
from the apartment. Monday morning I got
some work done, Jacque did the weekly shopping, and then we went to the
underground mall to look around, get some souvenirs, and mostly to just get out
of the apartment. Our first stop was
actually to stop by the train station to look at getting tickets to Vilnius,
Lithuania. We were hoping to go on
Tuesday and new the times and knowing that language might be a barrier I
pre-loaded my iPad Google Translate app with the phrases/sentences I thought we
would need. It kind of worked, but
mostly the lady behind the counter was just annoyed/upset that she had to make
any effort with me. After I had waited
my turn in line for 5+ minutes, when it was my turn and she saw I didn’t speak
Russian, she was done with me in about 30 seconds and then kept motioning for
me to move away to let those behind me in line get their tickets. However, I wouldn’t move and kept trying, so
she just ignored me and started helping others behind me. After a minute of this, someone from line who
spoke English came up to try and help me, but the lady behind the counter was
not having it. Thus ended my first
attempt to get train tickets by myself.
Tomorrow we will try again and hopefully have a native Russian speaker
there with me so things can go more smoothly.
After the train station, we had a nice time at the mall, got a few souvenirs,
had a good lunch and ice-cream for treat, and then we came home for a late rest
time. That evening we had dinner and a
fun FHE and Jacque and I enjoyed our evening together after the kids were in
bed. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPvsymSrc0hFkK8n-DjwLDPiuwj3OiWOunCKu0YQbvFzbEfYg8PBz2zRTcXhPE_ElN5_973Rf3qms6cWNzN2vnqLN02jI6wRLHP7oitqf6jIPY2gw42EunSLmcfAibUlsP9t2TptSNT0g/s1600/IMG_2042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPvsymSrc0hFkK8n-DjwLDPiuwj3OiWOunCKu0YQbvFzbEfYg8PBz2zRTcXhPE_ElN5_973Rf3qms6cWNzN2vnqLN02jI6wRLHP7oitqf6jIPY2gw42EunSLmcfAibUlsP9t2TptSNT0g/s640/IMG_2042.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Tuesday was another souvenir day. This time we hit the mall downtown and the
outdoor souvenir market, where we got lots of neat stuff. There are so many pretty things here and we
are excited to do a little decorating when we get home. The kids are also excited to have their own
little Belarusian souvenirs! The rest of
the day was fairly typical and we had a nice evening. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdvsHu_Dup2mLMMVWL92eaZ0X3Q-cdjqqC4xNVCeh9T18VxkwPV8SvnzgeL1EQ5pjwzI1ZqsscY0lGj56CpGrycy49B2V98AakjvsuAfXiWAeWt1ludQqxi2AdOSeIKPN3IXgr945szJv/s1600/IMG_2049.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdvsHu_Dup2mLMMVWL92eaZ0X3Q-cdjqqC4xNVCeh9T18VxkwPV8SvnzgeL1EQ5pjwzI1ZqsscY0lGj56CpGrycy49B2V98AakjvsuAfXiWAeWt1ludQqxi2AdOSeIKPN3IXgr945szJv/s640/IMG_2049.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Wednesday was the beginning of the hot weather
(earlier in the week was very sunny, just not as warm). I had a terrible night’s sleep and then was
up super early with David and Kaylie, so all together I was running on about 3
and a half hours. My morning was very
lethargic, but we were able to get some things done and then we had our big
outing in the afternoon’ we went with Sergei and the senior couple to the
Belarusian Folk Village, about 30 km outside of Minsk. We spent the afternoon there and had a great
time. We had an English speaking guide,
which was awesome and she was so nice and super informative. It was really neat to see how the people
lived a hundred years ago and the girls had a great time running around (until
the last hour, by which point they were hot and tired and pretty much just complained!). You can see a bunch of pictures <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151040593638836.449503.671558835&type=3&l=95d954fc03" target="_blank">here</a>. By the time we got home we were all worn out
but glad we had the adventure. We had a
quiet evening and Jacque and I went to bed a little early. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirufxP1erkRpV4w1xV13OcqY5uCpEdc1c_b6vMo6GN3iTl1uWCiaMjm4m9FpqdqHj3iA_LskVTnEeygZfrtSHV9cTZFlsJ1qkvT6Q9RPGmrNvXyTi7y_qHEcAnXnrBd-vMZySY8cdVwQCa/s1600/IMG_2111.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirufxP1erkRpV4w1xV13OcqY5uCpEdc1c_b6vMo6GN3iTl1uWCiaMjm4m9FpqdqHj3iA_LskVTnEeygZfrtSHV9cTZFlsJ1qkvT6Q9RPGmrNvXyTi7y_qHEcAnXnrBd-vMZySY8cdVwQCa/s640/IMG_2111.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6PynZ_Q4wbF1VGZGy9-F63CmUIRpXDP442DKuI-abz8kFD2gupgobsKoaAQN77w3pgszy1Wm72dN75vWXlzNwab11R7MvD7pV2v2Q0Co6yqQ_2-7atP5KiPrDo2GpOb5SbNq38B_SlR_i/s1600/IMG_2112.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6PynZ_Q4wbF1VGZGy9-F63CmUIRpXDP442DKuI-abz8kFD2gupgobsKoaAQN77w3pgszy1Wm72dN75vWXlzNwab11R7MvD7pV2v2Q0Co6yqQ_2-7atP5KiPrDo2GpOb5SbNq38B_SlR_i/s640/IMG_2112.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTiFkP3t88bcMq0ygsmV96razPy1uXGg7YN1YXGf_3w0M7SQcHPJEh8aRjRGR3wxhI0Ro-9Ydr19bTCKSKnzuKqNwkfEpf8Zen90WdhOG0-ae0xMjE7UnqeYqWbkXVqCvR0gRn-azURgZ/s1600/IMG_2144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTiFkP3t88bcMq0ygsmV96razPy1uXGg7YN1YXGf_3w0M7SQcHPJEh8aRjRGR3wxhI0Ro-9Ydr19bTCKSKnzuKqNwkfEpf8Zen90WdhOG0-ae0xMjE7UnqeYqWbkXVqCvR0gRn-azURgZ/s640/IMG_2144.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig69NHZdQvUVSIxTobdv4iRSLyUSChRfIzVtOe907-x7yh_fmdv8dBP28ta0HvrLr17OQAoN_Z85s8NHcBf8H2wn1XHhjIMauwnLA0_0_sXYbylqKpBTATCMUsHA6tac9wG9hOdOVbFyRf/s1600/IMG_2145.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were fairly
nondescript days. It kept getting hotter
and hotter in the apartment, so we tried to get out a bit. We had a nice long picnic on Thursday at the
park and I took the kids to the park for quite a while Friday afternoon. Mixed in there I was able to get some work
done and Jacque and I have been continuously looking at homes online (many very
nice homes in our price range, so we are just hoping there is still a good
selection by the time we get home so we can go looking and put an offer on
one). Saturday we had the Olympics
running on the TV in the background for a good part of the day and we had a pretty
quiet day. The kids have had fun
watching some of the events and it is fun to see them get excited! </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Today is another hot day. The air conditioning at church is going to
feel really nice! Hopefully it will be
working today!</span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-11985809799561694802012-07-21T23:31:00.000-07:002012-07-21T23:31:14.940-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Weekly Review</span></h2>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Last </span><span>Sunday was a bit overcast,
which made for mild temperatures and a pleasant walk to and from church (which
was great as always).<span> </span>After church, we
had our normal rest time for the kids, then dinner, and then we had three Skype
sessions with family back in the U.S.<span>
</span>The kids were a tad crazy by bedtime, as they definitely enjoyed the
Skype sessions!</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Monday was a rather
nondescript day.<span> </span>Other than the weekly
trip to the store for groceries, we didn’t leave the apartment (it was a bit
rainy all day).<span> </span>The kids did have a lot
of fun around the apartment.<span> </span>The girls
spent a good part of the day inventing/testing new models of paper airplanes
and I spent a good part of the morning grading term papers (ugh!).<span> </span>The Johns also came over for a bit in the
afternoon, after rest time, and the kids always love seeing them.<span> </span>After dinner, we had a family home evening on
scripture study and then the normal evening routine before the kids went to
bed.<span> </span>Then Jacque and I had a quiet
evening before going to bed.<span> </span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Tuesday was a
beautiful day!<span> </span>After our normal morning
routine, I went into work for a while (and also picked up all of our finalized
immigration documents—finally!).<span> </span>After I
got home and the kids had their rest time, we went to a live butterfly
exhibit.<span> </span>The kids were in heaven and I
think they could have spent all day there.<span>
</span>These butterflies were ginormous and very pretty!<span> </span>After the butterflies, we went to get some
dinner at a traditional Belarusian restaurant and everyone enjoyed the yummy
food!<span> </span>Then we came home and did our
normal evening routine before the kids went to bad and Jacque and I had a quiet
evening.</span></span></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Wednesday was another
rather nondescript day.<span> </span>The weather was
quite rainy, so we mostly stuck around the apartment and played/worked.<span> </span>Jacque also made a run to the store to get
tortilla chips (the first time we have been able to get them here; thanks to
the Johns for the tip!).<span> </span>So after dinner
and the kids were in bed, Jacque and I enjoyed some cheesy chips and salsa (not
quite the same as in America, but still tasty)!! </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Thursday was a rainy,
quiet day.<span> </span>It was overcast all day, with
heavy rain off and on, so we pretty much just hung around the apartment for
most of the day.<span> </span>It was my last day for
my MBA class at BSU, so I spent a bit of time doing final grading stuff and
getting everything ready to hand back to students.<span> </span>The final class session was basically a final
exam and goodbyes, so it all went well, though it was kind of sad to say
goodbye to my students.<span> </span>The rain really
started coming down as the last couple of students were finishing up their
exams, so by the time I had everything finished up (including probably 100+
signatures the school needed from me on documents related to the course I
taught) it was a huge down poor.<span> </span>I was
not smart enough to bring an umbrella, so I got soaked on the way home.<span> </span>Oh well.<span>
</span>After I got home, I chatted with a neighbor friend on Skype for a few
minutes with Jacque and then we had a quiet evening.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Friday was a quiet day.<span> </span>I had a pretty rough night with an upset
stomach and Jacque was not feeling well in the morning, so we stuck around the
apartment and just tried to get some rest amidst taking care of the kids.<span> </span>I also finalized grades and got everything
submitted to the BSU for my MBA class.<span> </span>In
the afternoon, while the kids were having rest time, <span> </span>I was able to hash out some rough plans with
people at the Belarus High Tech Park to do a workshop in Grodno (about 4 hours
away from Minsk), with managers from High Tech/IT business and faculty/students
from the IT university in Grodno.<span> </span>As it
looks now, the entire family will likely leave on Monday morning (July 30) and
return Tuesday evening after a day of workshops and doing touristy stuff in
Grodno.<span> </span>It should be a lot of fun.<span> </span>Hopefully we can work out the travel/lodging
logistics (which the IT Park will foot the bill for).<span> </span>Friday evening we had a call with our realtor
about property disclosure stuff (quite boring) and we also had ice-cream night,
which the kids always love!<span> </span>Then Jacque and I streamed a chick-flick for a stay-at-home date night!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0p6mWDaPC9qUfzz_ELmj70OfwZ5QGwnZUf4-eyB2i4N_CxsgcHjiUyIEQAKig1FV4iYvYa-m2JAjJ7kPae9rQzVq3lxQDd7AKXvW1nH6WSdLEkopFQB-Ru2-OyAArbhI1Ayk_vStcYcw/s1600/IMG_2024.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0p6mWDaPC9qUfzz_ELmj70OfwZ5QGwnZUf4-eyB2i4N_CxsgcHjiUyIEQAKig1FV4iYvYa-m2JAjJ7kPae9rQzVq3lxQDd7AKXvW1nH6WSdLEkopFQB-Ru2-OyAArbhI1Ayk_vStcYcw/s640/IMG_2024.JPG" width="480" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span><span> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span></span></i><span>Saturday was kind of a dull day; another
overcast day and we spent most of the morning just hanging around the
apartment.<span> </span>The sun came out in the afternoon
and Jacque took the girls to the park while I stayed back with David.<span> </span>Then we had a nice evening.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span><span>Today it is sunny with clear skies, so we are looking forward to a nice trip to church in a little bit! It has been a good week! </span></span></span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-64752962861796991442012-07-15T05:47:00.000-07:002012-07-15T05:50:45.990-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Weekly Review</b><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></h2>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">L</span>ast Sunday was another warm
day. We had a typical Sunday morning and
then our trek out to church. Church was nice as always and afterword we had quiet afternoon and evening. It was a good day.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">After a very warm night
and little sleep, we had a normal Monday morning. We did get a rather heavy rain for about a
half hour, which I think helped the temperature come down a bit, which was
nice. Once the rain stopped, Jacque did the
week’s grocery shopping while I stayed with kids and we made a fort and also
played trains! After lunch and rest
time, I took the kids down to play at the park, where we spent the next couple
hours enjoying the shade, ice-cream, and the kids roaming around the park and
playing with butterflies! We had dinner
and FHE and then Jacque and I had a pleasant evening together. The big news of the day is that we officially
put our house on the market. We have
felt very conflicted as we have tried to make the decision. We will miss our many friends/neighbors whom
we love. We decided that we needed to
get the house listed during the buying season rather than wait until we get
home. <span class="commentbody">I will
still be at UVU, we are just looking to take advantage of low interest rates
and cheap home prices (hopefully the last move we will need to make?!). We
really like the Springville, Mapleton, Spanish Fork area but we shall see where
we end up.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Tuesday was another
warm day and an early morning (up with Kaylie and David at about 5:30). We had a normal morning and then we wanted to
go out and enjoy the weather a bit. We
ventured out to the largest bookstore in Minsk and had fun looking around. The kids each got to choose a book, Jacque
got a book of poetry (all in Russian) by a famous Belarusian poet, and I got a
neat Belarus map. We wanted to also go
to the Belarus National Art Museum, but our efforts were thwarted, as we
quickly found out that Tuesday is the day it is closed (who knows why
Tuesday)… So we went and got some lunch
and then made our way home for rest time.
After rest time, I took the four girls down to the park and we played
for a good 2 hours, before coming back for dinner and our normal evening
routine. Before bed, the girls also got
to Skype with friends back in Utah, which they always love! After we got the girls down, Jacque and I had
a pleasant evening.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvqF1K-PbabWgWRc5evU0oI33ELUdCgGXr_kR-cuym55bMrA5zyKp0rx5t8d4juva-h2Kl9Ci2dYNMv3ldRXvXySutSwgUPLO05kCt91xPDaKvXkFUTPXq55MiKaOthEo7XEOkap22IWRV/s1600/IMG_1960.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Wednesday was our
second try at the Belarus National Art Museum.
The first thing we noticed once we got in is that this museum is way
nicer than the Natural History Museum is; the difference is like night and
day. Anyway, we enjoyed the
air-conditioning as we looked at some really amazing art (as well as just
enjoying the really neat building housing the art exhibits). After the museum, we got lunch and desert at
a little Belarusian Deli. It was cheap
and pretty good, but the old ladies who clean up apparently didn’t like us
being there with some many little kids making a mess. So we ended up eating outside. By this point,
David was having a complete meltdown, so finished things up quickly and got
home for everyone to have rest time.
After rest time, I took the kids back down to the park for a while and
then we had a yummy dinner and did the normal evening routine. We also had a Skype session with our realtors
and were pleased to find out that we already had multiple offers on the house
(after less than 2 days of being on the market!). So we had several different potential buyers
trying to decide what they were willing to put as their best offer. It was a very pleasant surprise, as Jacque
and I were gearing ourselves up for a prolonged and stressful attempt to sell
the house. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevKNNiu035V5XLro5iRnYyWwNOZ-4uja5va-v1XbMngsQBSsbWYerosXHvkoEYHR-AOk5tGZm2teIgvRP7C3qm2ulqDxNBRToSsCsmXbmg-o6BrypGcnhHvc8-9-dTvT9acR3FIQjv2u8/s1600/IMG_1932.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevKNNiu035V5XLro5iRnYyWwNOZ-4uja5va-v1XbMngsQBSsbWYerosXHvkoEYHR-AOk5tGZm2teIgvRP7C3qm2ulqDxNBRToSsCsmXbmg-o6BrypGcnhHvc8-9-dTvT9acR3FIQjv2u8/s640/IMG_1932.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i></i></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRJyqyTLFzLlgTWpuc2KEm_UGUv7l3GxTz_-d7k9ueZ6Y3qLzD8_6YbnEjjF5ICHwAHmLsfhhzeF9CphKVqx21AMgKCHsZV0kBzQ2G5d6BFnhuNfLIFRZ23UfB9xs_WtuxoevDiObr7WK/s1600/IMG_1953.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRJyqyTLFzLlgTWpuc2KEm_UGUv7l3GxTz_-d7k9ueZ6Y3qLzD8_6YbnEjjF5ICHwAHmLsfhhzeF9CphKVqx21AMgKCHsZV0kBzQ2G5d6BFnhuNfLIFRZ23UfB9xs_WtuxoevDiObr7WK/s640/IMG_1953.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i></i> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWrIc4FopuidqeAkH_UWUG9L2sE8XWcsyW5J0Fzpy8ibkQrIZy88E8CCHpynDk3EvVqkwEFHZuwPwY2THrM3zp50Yjn_dZGLwn1jAj6ywb3KWa5fmh-grTKgLQfKsW_EMppvyOmyG-S_bF/s1600/IMG_1956.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWrIc4FopuidqeAkH_UWUG9L2sE8XWcsyW5J0Fzpy8ibkQrIZy88E8CCHpynDk3EvVqkwEFHZuwPwY2THrM3zp50Yjn_dZGLwn1jAj6ywb3KWa5fmh-grTKgLQfKsW_EMppvyOmyG-S_bF/s640/IMG_1956.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I was up early (5:30
am) with Kaylie and David again on Thursday (it gets light here so early, it is
just so hard for them to sleep in later).
So I did the normal morning stuff with the girls and after breakfast and
everything was cleaned up, I had to meet with Alexander regarding more
immigration paper stuff. On the way home
I swung by the store and picked up a few food items and then I spent the rest
of the morning working from home.
Thursday is normally my long day, but I did not go in to the office for
most of the day. Instead we decided to go on a picnic... </span>However, on the way out to a picnic, the entire family got stuck in the tiny, hot
elevator in our building... Screaming baby and 2 year-old, crying 4
year-old and 6 year-old, and stressed out mommy and daddy... Our 8
year-old was probably the only one that remained calm... We were
trapped for about 25 minutes before maintenance workers were able to get
the doors open... then we enjoyed our picnic!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvqF1K-PbabWgWRc5evU0oI33ELUdCgGXr_kR-cuym55bMrA5zyKp0rx5t8d4juva-h2Kl9Ci2dYNMv3ldRXvXySutSwgUPLO05kCt91xPDaKvXkFUTPXq55MiKaOthEo7XEOkap22IWRV/s1600/IMG_1960.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvqF1K-PbabWgWRc5evU0oI33ELUdCgGXr_kR-cuym55bMrA5zyKp0rx5t8d4juva-h2Kl9Ci2dYNMv3ldRXvXySutSwgUPLO05kCt91xPDaKvXkFUTPXq55MiKaOthEo7XEOkap22IWRV/s640/IMG_1960.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">We had another Skype
session with the realtors before my class and we found out that we had 4 offers
on the house, the highest being 5% higher than our asking price! The paperwork got sent over, we signed and
returned, and by Friday morning Minsk time our house was under contract! We can’t believe how fast everything went and
now we have to turn our attention to finding a new home (we will be able to
stay in our Lehi home until Sept. 30, so we will have a month and a half after
returning from Minsk to get into the new home).
After the call with the realtors, I had to run off to class. It was presentation day for the MBA students
to presenting the findings from their semester projects. We finished class a bit early and I got home
in time to catch the tail-end of Jacque’s Skype session with our neighbor. Then it was off to bed. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgveo55oHCWgkuRVqvvv_TnHW_Rz_n7726Oz35LsI6pb1MvUqVDvrE_oPMYLf_VeaSSgxL37JjHvilfiwXQahzHDEOVbRjGXQWNo4jYseZZbBJBShzPiigTZ7_gb6l4cpyCIkOj9kCy-ePk/s1600/anniversary.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgveo55oHCWgkuRVqvvv_TnHW_Rz_n7726Oz35LsI6pb1MvUqVDvrE_oPMYLf_VeaSSgxL37JjHvilfiwXQahzHDEOVbRjGXQWNo4jYseZZbBJBShzPiigTZ7_gb6l4cpyCIkOj9kCy-ePk/s640/anniversary.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Friday was our 10-year
anniversary! I cannot believe we have
already been married for 10 years! A lot
has happened over the past decade. We
had a morning outing to the famous chocolate shop and then lunch out (another brief trapped-in-the-elevator experience too!). We came back for rest time and had a quiet
afternoon before Valya came to babysit and Jacque and I enjoyed an evening on
the town! We visited the big bookstore
in downtown Minsk, then yummy dinner, and then we planned to go back to the
botanical gardens, only to find out that the park closes at 8 pm. Instead, we just walked around and talked as
we enjoyed the pleasant evening weather.
It was a very nice anniversary!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-38egEDaYdtdbUkLuZTOvM1zAQRljK8cYdEXLm7YdYzIy5felK31s7bZPnHXLWDF4q-RWQ0dXE61vPHJqEhHjXDgl3SSR8EqRxyuHD-UzL7I7MWRyOQVQX2EKyVI4b2SDZj9D90J3SYmJ/s1600/IMG_1970.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-38egEDaYdtdbUkLuZTOvM1zAQRljK8cYdEXLm7YdYzIy5felK31s7bZPnHXLWDF4q-RWQ0dXE61vPHJqEhHjXDgl3SSR8EqRxyuHD-UzL7I7MWRyOQVQX2EKyVI4b2SDZj9D90J3SYmJ/s640/IMG_1970.JPG" width="480" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGH2HvuYZetUanwlzlH1HGvt4jt3QyPVfBoVTST0vJsVrhPcoVONdX_MK0f2udbosvatvyDahUjHHl12_0C8mpRWZ14n8pYveeDAIV77XReFE_aTDBDFPhX3T_lxPClBJgb5iDf0L79KJ/s1600/IMG_1965.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGH2HvuYZetUanwlzlH1HGvt4jt3QyPVfBoVTST0vJsVrhPcoVONdX_MK0f2udbosvatvyDahUjHHl12_0C8mpRWZ14n8pYveeDAIV77XReFE_aTDBDFPhX3T_lxPClBJgb5iDf0L79KJ/s640/IMG_1965.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkXhq8eSAqczh8WGF_Ck0JEwX9dF969Eu6YI-5i1cXRA_R6gdGZAGo1tceevyA69QwUJQ1vaJu2m7HzqA_ZyRx8Fv6hVFhi4EkjfzwPW4-pUHz3paMp-DnsB4TKGAxe1EYub4MFnXWD5F/s1600/IMG_1975.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkXhq8eSAqczh8WGF_Ck0JEwX9dF969Eu6YI-5i1cXRA_R6gdGZAGo1tceevyA69QwUJQ1vaJu2m7HzqA_ZyRx8Fv6hVFhi4EkjfzwPW4-pUHz3paMp-DnsB4TKGAxe1EYub4MFnXWD5F/s640/IMG_1975.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGH2HvuYZetUanwlzlH1HGvt4jt3QyPVfBoVTST0vJsVrhPcoVONdX_MK0f2udbosvatvyDahUjHHl12_0C8mpRWZ14n8pYveeDAIV77XReFE_aTDBDFPhX3T_lxPClBJgb5iDf0L79KJ/s1600/IMG_1965.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: small;"><i></i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i></i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Saturday was a very quiet
day. The weather was quite overcast (a
welcomed change with cooler temperatures) and we enjoyed a casual morning
before I went off to teach my MBA class.
After returning home, we had a nice quiet evening; a nice end to the
week!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Today is a very pleasant, mild day and we had a great time at church and now are back at the apartment resting. </span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-43825518856026871062012-07-07T09:07:00.000-07:002012-07-07T20:30:58.829-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Week in Review</b></span></h2>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i></i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sunday was a very nice
Sunday. We had our normal morning
routine and the headed off for church.
The weather was nice, so the trip back and forth was actually quite
pleasant. We also enjoyed the church
meetings and the kids had a great time in primary. After church, we watched a conference talk
and then had rest time, followed by dinner and a pleasant evening after the
kids were in bed.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Monday the weather was
gorgeous so we spent a good amount of time playing outside. For the first time, I let the kids take off
their shows and put their feet in the fountain by the playground, thinking it
would be a good way for them to cool down and have a little fun (also naively
thinking they wouldn’t get too wet!).
Within a couple minutes there had been so much splashing that everyone
was soaked! We had a great time and had
to change clothes after we got back to the apartment. The Johns joined us at our apartment for
dinner and brought a yummy Belarusian dish!
We had a great family home evening done completely by the girls
(Lia—music, Amber—lesson, and Sara—game).
It all went great and we enjoyed having the Johns with us for the evening. After they left and we got the kids to bed,
Jacque and I had a nice evening before hitting the sack ourselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVofKjHggFJapa9czcvUH2-Ih7e9C_33_1DI6Zm29X6NEJNbUK0i43hwz4lyB8J-wSXpuVnvmEv96N8FAkdKK7HOVatUFH2Smu098PDBFDDib8PcXGht_6UyqZ4kELLQBsAPBtIkOgw3E/s1600/IMG_1704.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVofKjHggFJapa9czcvUH2-Ih7e9C_33_1DI6Zm29X6NEJNbUK0i43hwz4lyB8J-wSXpuVnvmEv96N8FAkdKK7HOVatUFH2Smu098PDBFDDib8PcXGht_6UyqZ4kELLQBsAPBtIkOgw3E/s640/IMG_1704.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Tuesday was Belarusian
Independence Day. We took off around 9
am so we could get to the big parade, and it was good we left so early. We got there and there were tons of people,
check points, and quite a bit of walking before we finally got to the spot we
wanted. The parade was basically a
display of the Belarusian military and the kids loved seeing all of the
soldiers, tanks, planes, helicopters, etc.
We got back to the apartment in time for lunch and rest time. After rest time iIt was quite warm, so I decided to let the
girls get into their swimming suits and took them down to play in the fountain. They loved it! The water is not the cleanest in the world
(in some ways kind of like canal water), so I was probably a bit overprotective
with them, but we all had a good time and were able to cool off. After dinner we had a movie night with
popcorn and treats and we all had a good time.
Then Jacque and I just hung out and chatted until it was time for
fireworks. We got the three oldest kids
up and took them out on the balcony so we could watch. They were very pretty, but they are also so
loud here (like canons going off every time).
It was a good day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSjuzkEEs5utDTpf8NJZV0sRmohEKIeLxreRdzR_EQDODvbVhIvhjJn1x-fcSgqapo4PLSQhnntTTeuZ-TGX2bSE2kNFVgELApPQ6fK3D4Dk1KYoItgmvGR7mJ_19R3rB1Xuu9AWSmj6O/s1600/IMG_1741.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSjuzkEEs5utDTpf8NJZV0sRmohEKIeLxreRdzR_EQDODvbVhIvhjJn1x-fcSgqapo4PLSQhnntTTeuZ-TGX2bSE2kNFVgELApPQ6fK3D4Dk1KYoItgmvGR7mJ_19R3rB1Xuu9AWSmj6O/s640/IMG_1741.JPG" width="480" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1mhD0wwLei73VWgzHRYlC75zAUCBp1CTZZkL_Wxyv1_tctVJAKE3cWDIBtadRLjsh9VxOo5wtA6MoF5kC8HJLy0zxyVRwvbpZ3uLs2mtHw7sk1fcRxmnuCM45FYSgKSvZh6F3ZgpoCj1/s1600/IMG_1761.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1mhD0wwLei73VWgzHRYlC75zAUCBp1CTZZkL_Wxyv1_tctVJAKE3cWDIBtadRLjsh9VxOo5wtA6MoF5kC8HJLy0zxyVRwvbpZ3uLs2mtHw7sk1fcRxmnuCM45FYSgKSvZh6F3ZgpoCj1/s640/IMG_1761.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aLbGL2AKXzKgf8yd20KzLoQExypU4tDqLP0DOub4k_sAXfAgu3LoimajetiXDLwBCX5jyG_QLQvgKAayWEpacMIxN_U3u-yv0wBRONfhujSopPy5szrHYr1FNXfgQ7Obbr_BQFMIOvfO/s1600/IMG_1808.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aLbGL2AKXzKgf8yd20KzLoQExypU4tDqLP0DOub4k_sAXfAgu3LoimajetiXDLwBCX5jyG_QLQvgKAayWEpacMIxN_U3u-yv0wBRONfhujSopPy5szrHYr1FNXfgQ7Obbr_BQFMIOvfO/s640/IMG_1808.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8wCOAUVkHPPIbEo-pTX2d5SAkz447juTefMtO3uGrfxaZGARCfkcwI8tOakg64l53F-E2hLkcYha6_fYmvzC8kz1e-NXpzvCMVRBZ37rnChyvA3Zizlw04XN8lI8SeqKgDhA4W-3Urqa/s1600/IMG_1755.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8wCOAUVkHPPIbEo-pTX2d5SAkz447juTefMtO3uGrfxaZGARCfkcwI8tOakg64l53F-E2hLkcYha6_fYmvzC8kz1e-NXpzvCMVRBZ37rnChyvA3Zizlw04XN8lI8SeqKgDhA4W-3Urqa/s640/IMG_1755.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zEc1Xf_87GjGCQCDm6IsnYCgDApEtWBQqWcTt0OdifOeTuj9LHL2wbD99jOxTuCe7zDESHHC3VrJq5fIdHUnhRkGb_cx2E13qGCHFnGBUk6GeaNq4yIyvmoCl-ySE5iVHrHFwMVmLzQL/s1600/IMG_1835.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zEc1Xf_87GjGCQCDm6IsnYCgDApEtWBQqWcTt0OdifOeTuj9LHL2wbD99jOxTuCe7zDESHHC3VrJq5fIdHUnhRkGb_cx2E13qGCHFnGBUk6GeaNq4yIyvmoCl-ySE5iVHrHFwMVmLzQL/s640/IMG_1835.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMHDoLbnOBAL3_zMW8K_QxSPkD4fA86ED-VyksTitr-8j-5TcQjhziwbei7t3vpRhhnvoiVaqUSXI557B6oMzqUTuFt4C5KWufy-W0r59erKNTg3mcWRzmpor8DRF50-VKI8EtRW5YqyD/s1600/IMG_1836.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMHDoLbnOBAL3_zMW8K_QxSPkD4fA86ED-VyksTitr-8j-5TcQjhziwbei7t3vpRhhnvoiVaqUSXI557B6oMzqUTuFt4C5KWufy-W0r59erKNTg3mcWRzmpor8DRF50-VKI8EtRW5YqyD/s640/IMG_1836.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3AGKtJOoa4hkd3JCmMQWOuppjsVhEO492_AoI7LH8noetbrhdOwNIbMr8_7Ghqskc43bHMEJOYdrFlTBlgTja0CezL3PZaeTJY9jHF3iBkf9EvjfgFkVQ2i7VqybotS8FLsnQiqyZMu-/s1600/IMG_1848.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3AGKtJOoa4hkd3JCmMQWOuppjsVhEO492_AoI7LH8noetbrhdOwNIbMr8_7Ghqskc43bHMEJOYdrFlTBlgTja0CezL3PZaeTJY9jHF3iBkf9EvjfgFkVQ2i7VqybotS8FLsnQiqyZMu-/s640/IMG_1848.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-XhGblcTPOBhyphenhyphen1MuAMca9jXco_79H7q6sdXsVa8YKg2ykhCzffLH8eowfRjAyhBVmfSjbmPWTJ_MBkXa-MjB7rE3aSc8x_UWNljfI6W6LqVrPcJXJogXJPU_ESiVVN5LtypMaIAm80OA/s1600/IMG_1852.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-XhGblcTPOBhyphenhyphen1MuAMca9jXco_79H7q6sdXsVa8YKg2ykhCzffLH8eowfRjAyhBVmfSjbmPWTJ_MBkXa-MjB7rE3aSc8x_UWNljfI6W6LqVrPcJXJogXJPU_ESiVVN5LtypMaIAm80OA/s640/IMG_1852.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Wednesday was another
warm day. We ventured out to the mall so
Jacque could get some cross-stitching stuff and then found a little place that
had all sorts of little pastries and treats.
We got something for all of us for less than $3 and it was all yummy. After rest time I took the kids to the park
to play and Jacque also did some shopping.
Our evening routine was normal and Jacque and I had a nice evening after
the kids were in bed. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiac5NMmeHc5ADyIFYXf-CB71__fKfdv5lKt13ovothFjBI6hVKvHdd60SVo5JKm8qvVl0GU413r12oVVDsK95_iVYYNuWZcJcth2-04e4xCRiYzpltudlnKJG59Wg8UnjHX1c29AVPLt3U/s1600/IMG_1855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiac5NMmeHc5ADyIFYXf-CB71__fKfdv5lKt13ovothFjBI6hVKvHdd60SVo5JKm8qvVl0GU413r12oVVDsK95_iVYYNuWZcJcth2-04e4xCRiYzpltudlnKJG59Wg8UnjHX1c29AVPLt3U/s640/IMG_1855.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv79-M1jw1o3m7FOcz5856fd84fQcQWHCE-JztMWDtuhSHvLt4dA17FfycG2oj3U8cmr0IT47iXuwF4GCYIktuVOft-4iBoHtHCK0cXE_wtYa7q-ZhrwyI2rpLDQ20Cg71_Ibfbg2-7Wn1/s1600/IMG_1861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv79-M1jw1o3m7FOcz5856fd84fQcQWHCE-JztMWDtuhSHvLt4dA17FfycG2oj3U8cmr0IT47iXuwF4GCYIktuVOft-4iBoHtHCK0cXE_wtYa7q-ZhrwyI2rpLDQ20Cg71_Ibfbg2-7Wn1/s640/IMG_1861.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Thursday was a warm
day. After a typical morning of work and
playing with the kids, I took off for work and had my long day at the office,
with my MBA class in the evening. I got
home before 10 pm and Jacque and I hung out before bed. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The heat wave continued
into Friday. We had a normal morning and
then I went and spent half of the day dealing with immigration stuff. To say that I am frustrated with the
situation is a huge understatement. It has
been very frustrating as the rules and required documentation seems to change every time I go and meet with
the immigration officials. We are still
hoping that everything gets taken care of in the next couple of weeks (should
have been taken care of two months ago).
We then had a fairly quiet evening in the sauna that is our apartment
this week (thank you heat and humidity). </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZe8_WhnaRNBwir2Q6n2EkUm83vkb8SCDyxLFe0VrRiCkI4tTxl3yNNB-TEpniMprKmABqPiSYdLpQgHl0EyBgQ_wxXkHPucZjgtvmfgZ3M9gF1gVuE73O0OQ09X7DWlYKntsHXHUombkV/s1600/IMG_1878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZe8_WhnaRNBwir2Q6n2EkUm83vkb8SCDyxLFe0VrRiCkI4tTxl3yNNB-TEpniMprKmABqPiSYdLpQgHl0EyBgQ_wxXkHPucZjgtvmfgZ3M9gF1gVuE73O0OQ09X7DWlYKntsHXHUombkV/s640/IMG_1878.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJeF-Cqu8DEQjjCSaKRLFkWrlnyAP4-pDRiHvbCGAYs7KORsIs6Nr6cBQIuA6NCK0-fdGnOKVCekH3sK-fQb5kgbfRrtuJpOTO_q9cNcDekmT_n6JC726D_f29BZNmFEKi5VbN3jfUj5Ax/s1600/IMG_1876.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJeF-Cqu8DEQjjCSaKRLFkWrlnyAP4-pDRiHvbCGAYs7KORsIs6Nr6cBQIuA6NCK0-fdGnOKVCekH3sK-fQb5kgbfRrtuJpOTO_q9cNcDekmT_n6JC726D_f29BZNmFEKi5VbN3jfUj5Ax/s640/IMG_1876.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i></i></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNOHYQ4LuW4_zXUfnMv1FLonhyXGpJNpKIi3TBI6-dRs2VIvpFvbWqRz3PVmMQte0517eD4gSFurda9-3nj225oKiQoiIG28M7ls9Oopvhkbv_bxLRdmHFfin_0QgYHLDkKRvIYVwAHa72/s1600/IMG_1881.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNOHYQ4LuW4_zXUfnMv1FLonhyXGpJNpKIi3TBI6-dRs2VIvpFvbWqRz3PVmMQte0517eD4gSFurda9-3nj225oKiQoiIG28M7ls9Oopvhkbv_bxLRdmHFfin_0QgYHLDkKRvIYVwAHa72/s640/IMG_1881.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiseooo0XThCYxAXN8FE_bdiuyDqoX3IDXqFHG05aaBXbamzpWI5ZmWchFrUoupW0Y0DXYOqxT4IBLhFK9d4rp25Vl48cERTxF6T9rjXxFKfP6WOp165SOUstsXPZDbrrp6pr0AMXnBPGc/s1600/IMG_1899.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiseooo0XThCYxAXN8FE_bdiuyDqoX3IDXqFHG05aaBXbamzpWI5ZmWchFrUoupW0Y0DXYOqxT4IBLhFK9d4rp25Vl48cERTxF6T9rjXxFKfP6WOp165SOUstsXPZDbrrp6pr0AMXnBPGc/s640/IMG_1899.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Saturday morning we
were all up early because of the heat and after breakfast we spent most of the
morning outside in the shade eating ice-cream and playing. We then had lunch and rest time and then we
spend a good part of the afternoon down at the park too. After the kids were in bed, Jacque and I
watched a live-stream on the internet of her uncle’s funeral back in Utah (we
are grateful for technology so we could participate). It was a very nice funeral and it was great to learn more about her uncle, who admittedly I did not know every well before his passing. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Today is another really hot/humid day already (and it is only 6 am). We are hoping it cools down a little soon.</span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-79872425894420857222012-06-30T22:24:00.003-07:002012-06-30T22:24:47.719-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Week in Review</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyc8oXUGDANNLj02JwY1uAGHnmTbtKwlz5iKRyb9sOM8YRYlagS6nJOQPaRuvTXSm8hrbaLwQYfwqlPIMn5ve1lg1KALMGeergmmvTnMVlm3v6LCZTgR0R1pfYquKfem9yDmB6DJcO0K0/s1600/IMG_1559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span></span></i><span>Sunday was a very nice
day.<span> </span>The weather was beautiful (except
for about a 3 minute downpour during the middle of church), so the travel
to/from church was not bad.<span> </span>I didn’t have
much by way of English translation at church, so I spent most of the 3-hour
block reading the lessons/scriptures on my iPad and helping David and/or
Kaylie.<span> </span>After
we got home from church, the kids had a snack, we watch a conference talk, and
then David went down for a nap and the girls had a rest time (Jacque and I
too).<span> </span>It was a peaceful afternoon,
followed by dinner and video chat with Grandma and Grandpa Westover, then the
kids went to bed and Jacque and I enjoyed the evening together.<span> </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span><span></span>Jacque did not sleep
well Sunday night, so I was up with the kids and we had a nice morning of a mix
of playing and work.<span> </span>At lunch time we
went to the playground for a little picnic and the kids had a great time
playing.<span> </span>The weather got a bit worse in
the afternoon, so after rest time we mostly stuck around the apartment and also
did some grocery shopping.<span> </span>We had a nice
FHE after dinner and had yummy no-bake cookies for treat!<span> </span>Once the kids were in bed, Jacque and I had a
nice quiet evening.<span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Tuesday was a good
day. <span>I had my visit to the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Office, where I spoke to around 30 educators from Minsk Regional Retraining Institute (like Jacque did last month). It was a lot of fun! I was home by lunch and then we got kids down for rest time. </span>It was a little more overcast, so
we didn’t dare being too ambitious with our afternoon outing.<span> </span>We ended up at the dinosaur play land on the
top floor of the main train station.<span> </span>The
kids had fun and it was nice to get out.<span> Below are a couple pics and you can see more <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150980259538836.442799.671558835&type=3&l=d193898c79" target="_blank">here</a>.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyc8oXUGDANNLj02JwY1uAGHnmTbtKwlz5iKRyb9sOM8YRYlagS6nJOQPaRuvTXSm8hrbaLwQYfwqlPIMn5ve1lg1KALMGeergmmvTnMVlm3v6LCZTgR0R1pfYquKfem9yDmB6DJcO0K0/s1600/IMG_1559.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyc8oXUGDANNLj02JwY1uAGHnmTbtKwlz5iKRyb9sOM8YRYlagS6nJOQPaRuvTXSm8hrbaLwQYfwqlPIMn5ve1lg1KALMGeergmmvTnMVlm3v6LCZTgR0R1pfYquKfem9yDmB6DJcO0K0/s640/IMG_1559.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span> </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqobfIte5L2r06SVX79FoVoeJ1fBvIK1lB0OIpsaS3Il7izsuhG1voohyB5JOjlDP8Be306qKCzK5OqssqfrIMU2XaOaxfM3yW6o2dcdJ49wnTeG4-qsETgfw4jvlWTpl-dqO8PNvhmxg/s1600/IMG_1565.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqobfIte5L2r06SVX79FoVoeJ1fBvIK1lB0OIpsaS3Il7izsuhG1voohyB5JOjlDP8Be306qKCzK5OqssqfrIMU2XaOaxfM3yW6o2dcdJ49wnTeG4-qsETgfw4jvlWTpl-dqO8PNvhmxg/s640/IMG_1565.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Wednesday was also a
rainy day so we stuck around the apartment most of the day.<span> </span>I was able to get some work done and we also
played a lot.<span> </span>Early afternoon the kids
were all up from naps and the rain stopped and clouds cleared for a little bit,
so we decided to try going out.<span> </span>By the
time we got everyone ready and packed up and outside, it started raining again,
so we changed plans and walked over to the grocery store for a little shopping
and to look around the mini-mall on the second floor.<span> </span>It was raining, so we all got wet, but not
too wet so it was kind of fun!<span> </span>We looked
around the shops for a little bit before heading back home.<span> </span>We had our normal evening routine and Jacque
and I enjoyed a quiet evening once the kids were in bed.<span> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43aiyO4XLQur6k5xmaSLSh4meLv_ur4Mx7k3qWyDy0DGqXZygJuheZd4htn_KGnHTgw599GpQR7q_CpKUwrWyobAmvLeEtP6N4X5UATB_n-QY_PQhucKtDoyPXgV1gnflFsryrZvzswRy/s1600/IMG_1567.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43aiyO4XLQur6k5xmaSLSh4meLv_ur4Mx7k3qWyDy0DGqXZygJuheZd4htn_KGnHTgw599GpQR7q_CpKUwrWyobAmvLeEtP6N4X5UATB_n-QY_PQhucKtDoyPXgV1gnflFsryrZvzswRy/s640/IMG_1567.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span></span></i><span>Thursday was another
overcast day, and also my long work day on campus (with evening classes).<span> </span>So we just hung around the apartment in the
morning and I was able to get a bit of work done before heading off for
campus.<span> </span>Jacque and the kids just stuck
around the apartment and did their thing.<span>
</span>I got home shortly before 10 pm and Jacque and I got ready for bed.<span> </span>It was a boring, yet productive day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Friday was a gorgeous
day!<span> </span>After a normal morning, by around
10 am we headed out for the Minsk Botanical Gardens/Park.<span> </span>It took a while to get there, then even a bit
longer to find exactly where we were trying to get to (a lot of construction
blocked off certain paths).<span> </span>We finally
got to where we wanted to be and spent the next hour and a half enjoying the
beautiful scenery!<span> </span>We grabbed some lunch
on the way home and finally got back to the apartment around 2 pm.<span> </span>The kids had late rest time and then we
played a bit before dinner, followed by Friday ice cream night at the
park.<span> </span>It was a great day! </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span>Below are a few pics and you can see more <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150982818883836.443070.671558835&type=3&l=bc5398e626" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAoMJQzuj0emOXSVi_1ycAroLI7gXT8v_6bsaCLBv6HEj9uc4vhb-w6jQr9DtA9vPwQmIZPHAcqAfnXAD6LeOTS-HEwvpRJXErIAQXJdTCDVSaVYa1iH9IBfMPSkuoAzbQoOsuensFY83/s1600/IMG_1603.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAoMJQzuj0emOXSVi_1ycAroLI7gXT8v_6bsaCLBv6HEj9uc4vhb-w6jQr9DtA9vPwQmIZPHAcqAfnXAD6LeOTS-HEwvpRJXErIAQXJdTCDVSaVYa1iH9IBfMPSkuoAzbQoOsuensFY83/s640/IMG_1603.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2Y7rshPBoexjakRYLVGtpiLQ95MAkbTAOI8_634psqody8hqMrvxXPDr6mh_je9T4IW2Dpn67nd4hUmTOCFMOtVBVNSnPXP1w80UfxEZTE3bAS-x1eio-NuWB9Qg3eKQhdtOZj2FEVB5/s1600/IMG_1599.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2Y7rshPBoexjakRYLVGtpiLQ95MAkbTAOI8_634psqody8hqMrvxXPDr6mh_je9T4IW2Dpn67nd4hUmTOCFMOtVBVNSnPXP1w80UfxEZTE3bAS-x1eio-NuWB9Qg3eKQhdtOZj2FEVB5/s640/IMG_1599.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQ73E_Gc7a8sd5iYqi2zz8jzYfb4bBlI33jQhHmbryNki7MKjD1quW4pdVmOtk63AOaFeQphTRJ4Gqs4_qkKsNIP7jOwAaclUqxyjqTuE7WFms4yhuFj0ubDLmWoZYk883JolJfnGKrO_/s1600/IMG_1594.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQ73E_Gc7a8sd5iYqi2zz8jzYfb4bBlI33jQhHmbryNki7MKjD1quW4pdVmOtk63AOaFeQphTRJ4Gqs4_qkKsNIP7jOwAaclUqxyjqTuE7WFms4yhuFj0ubDLmWoZYk883JolJfnGKrO_/s640/IMG_1594.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span>The weather was beautiful
again on Saturday.<span> </span>We had a rather lazy
morning, but then we ventured out to the circus in the afternoon!<span> </span>The kids were mesmerized by everything (lots
of acrobatics and trained animals).<span> </span>We
got home a bit late, but we did all of the evening stuff and got the kids in
bed and then Jacque and I had a nice evening. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span>Below are a few pics and you can see more <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150985328313836.443376.671558835&type=3&l=8cb7b8148b" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpy-IgzHvAHZtUHSGblsgOxGg9EfZQO08TNX-V_DQJPD_2d1T-XxLAlZgRIAO1RFJ7zqVkyDi-zPMTty-Nt5nMM6vXTbiOpl402ZsGs5KPG_31bA34A2Kl8GXvmVQsIAH5LwVsV873T-l/s1600/IMG_1674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpy-IgzHvAHZtUHSGblsgOxGg9EfZQO08TNX-V_DQJPD_2d1T-XxLAlZgRIAO1RFJ7zqVkyDi-zPMTty-Nt5nMM6vXTbiOpl402ZsGs5KPG_31bA34A2Kl8GXvmVQsIAH5LwVsV873T-l/s640/IMG_1674.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Today is another beautiful Sunday morning and we are just getting ready for the day and we will start the weekly trek to church in another hour and a half. That's all for now. </div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-25978074947156002522012-06-23T22:03:00.002-07:002012-06-23T22:03:41.619-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>Week in Review</b></div>
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</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Monday was a beautiful
day. We have had so much rain lately,
that we almost cheer when we see the sun!
Amber was not feeling well (she has had a mild fever the last couple of
days), so we just hung around the apartment in the morning (I worked, the kids
played, Jacque did some grocery shopping).
After rest time, Amber was feeling well enough that we did go out. Our destination was a shop that sells
Belarusian straw dolls. On the way, we
enjoyed the open plaza and fountains near the metro station, looked at some art
that was on display, and just enjoyed the sun.
After going to the store and getting a souvenir, we then went back to
the open square and enjoyed an ice cream in the shade. It was all very pleasant. We returned home in time of dinner and FHE
and then we got the kids to bed. It was
a very good day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Tuesday was another
sunny day! Amber woke up with a rash all
over her upper body (we think it was sixth disease).
Her fever was almost gone, so we just watched that closely. By late morning we decided to take a little
trek to see a cathedral nearby. The walk
was longer than we had originally thought, but it was a scenic stroll through a
park and along a river front, so we enjoyed that. But by the time we were on our way home, we
were all very warm and tired, just in time for lunch! Also, I had my last of three presentations at
the Belarus High Tech Park and it went well.
I returned home in time to take the kids to the park before dinner and
we all had a great time soaking in the sun.
It was another good day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Wednesday was another
nice day. Amber's rash was almost gone and she was feeling much better. We had our normal morning
routine and then we went to visit a different mall downtown. Jacque and Sara found some crochet stuff and
we got the kids so sidewalk chalk and coloring stuff. It was fun to look around and souvenirs too,
though we didn’t buy any this time. After
shopping/looking around for a while, we got some lunch and then headed home in
time for rest time. I got some work done
while everyone rested and then I took the kids to the park to play afterword’s. After dinner we were able to Skype with a
friend back home (the kids loved seeing/talking to their friends too!) and had
a very enjoyable evening. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The weather was not
quite as nice on Thursday. I was able to
get some work done while also attempting to watch the kids. After lunch, I went in to campus for the
afternoon and I got a lot of work done, while Jacque was home with the kids and
they did some crafts and she made some yummy chocolate chunk cookies. She then had a branch Relief Society activity
to go to (I think they tied quilts) so I got the kids dinner and did the
bedtime stuff with them. If was not an
exciting day, but a productive one nonetheless.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The weather was good
again Friday morning so we ventured out to another church and cemetery. The cemeteries here are much more woodsy and
rustic; a very natural setting. It was a
nice walk and visit and then we came back for lunch and rest time. It was raining in the afternoon, so no park,
but we all played and enjoyed the afternoon together. After dinner and the kids were in bed, Jacque
and I splurged and rented a streaming on YouTube.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfv9url7uvFnohSB3o10VUuO6nPWVswH0lOs97PjriRn_gqWMXNI5RLr86z5Ep0FdQ8A0Qd07LofKzvD5FLhtjCTVzgFk5a_K0ycyiGHF-994DxkACZ1HhTfCLAIWuOLsYg7I7V8DUXW5I/s1600/IMG_1550.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfv9url7uvFnohSB3o10VUuO6nPWVswH0lOs97PjriRn_gqWMXNI5RLr86z5Ep0FdQ8A0Qd07LofKzvD5FLhtjCTVzgFk5a_K0ycyiGHF-994DxkACZ1HhTfCLAIWuOLsYg7I7V8DUXW5I/s640/IMG_1550.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUf-xkBziuK43j19DMuWDCheDdhratEx-JXIV7VbjAnMJLEoP0MN9iqWEjmlk64yM6T4wOgeSS0zU-oQH2wlUKl_6OF8oN53UH7sLS2qLJH04dRFCtFnXYNUUctT_ywawPQYO2xmnfnwL2/s1600/IMG_1552.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUf-xkBziuK43j19DMuWDCheDdhratEx-JXIV7VbjAnMJLEoP0MN9iqWEjmlk64yM6T4wOgeSS0zU-oQH2wlUKl_6OF8oN53UH7sLS2qLJH04dRFCtFnXYNUUctT_ywawPQYO2xmnfnwL2/s640/IMG_1552.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Saturday was another
bad-weather day, at least in the morning (the sun came out for a little bit late afternoon). My scheduled got
changed, so I didn’t teach my MBA class until Saturday afternoon. So I hung with the kids in the morning and we
played a variety of games (including, but not limited to: Simon Says, Hide and
Seek, Fashion Show, etc.). After my
class in the afternoon, I got home in time to join Jacque and the kids in the park, then dinner and our normal
bedtime routine with the kids. Then Jacque and I had a nice evening
together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Today is a normal Sunday morning and we are looking forward to church in a little bit and then a quiet evening together as a family tonight. </span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-49709816269100137122012-06-23T01:24:00.002-07:002012-06-23T01:25:20.163-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Third Presentation at the Belarus High Tech Park</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">On Tuesday I had my third presentation at the Belarus High Tech Park as part of my Strategic Human Capital Leadership training series, entitles: "</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Productive Work Environments: Creating a High
Performance Work Culture." You can see a write-up on the visit <a href="http://itmarketing.by/2012/06/20/htp_19june/" target="_blank">here</a> (in Russian, so use Google Translate to see in English if you are so inclined). In addition to the 60+ in attendance in person, the presentation was also live streamed to participants in Brest. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD_jhB3hQuYUK6UM65kMijVE0OLmfCWNmrUhSROJTbf_5eWue6zOWXPIIEI8s35xz-NmxL2Sk4TAMwtUq4iREXL8iOmje9NQ-lFXrYkbAMDOgbvu9KP3IslVtWZEbBU4gN4Wv1t510OpRq/s1600/HPT+session+3+pic+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD_jhB3hQuYUK6UM65kMijVE0OLmfCWNmrUhSROJTbf_5eWue6zOWXPIIEI8s35xz-NmxL2Sk4TAMwtUq4iREXL8iOmje9NQ-lFXrYkbAMDOgbvu9KP3IslVtWZEbBU4gN4Wv1t510OpRq/s1600/HPT+session+3+pic+2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UCC9JkzfEP_sOXOKqeMYGAjEW1KUSeukM81LsUTplyd74A3gZPLL8LNLKq1y8IkkiWV8jP5bjsKwLKE5NUaOQW4mRGTlAoFDW_rjkE7iidt-4XC8dMzj6ig3cLKzcBmuMNEyuEQSyFMF/s1600/HPT+session+3+pic+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UCC9JkzfEP_sOXOKqeMYGAjEW1KUSeukM81LsUTplyd74A3gZPLL8LNLKq1y8IkkiWV8jP5bjsKwLKE5NUaOQW4mRGTlAoFDW_rjkE7iidt-4XC8dMzj6ig3cLKzcBmuMNEyuEQSyFMF/s1600/HPT+session+3+pic+3.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">All told, leaders and executives from more than 40 Belarus High Tech/IT companies attended these three sessions. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am still in discussion with the Belarus High Tech Park about doing sponsored visits to other cities around the country to do similar seminars with management at other companies in the Belarus high tech/IT industry. We shall see how that all gets worked out.</span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-76987785057217879672012-06-17T06:15:00.002-07:002012-06-17T06:15:41.368-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Weekly Update</b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Monday was a good day. Jacque was still not
feeling well, so we let her rest while the kids and I played and I got some
work done.<span> </span>Also, the weather was nice we
were able to spend some time outside at the playground.<span> </span>Jacque also did the big shopping trip for the
week.<span> </span>In the evening, we had a yummy
dinner and then had family night, before the kids went to bed.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Tuesday morning we had
our typical routine and we let Jacque sleep in a bit.<span> </span>I also got some work done in the morning
before getting picked up for my second presentation at the Belarus High tech
Park (which I posted on earlier in the week).<span> </span>It was very well attended and I
think it came off quite well, so I was pleased.<span>
</span>I got home in time to take the girls to the park before dinner.<span> </span>Then Jacque went to her English class.<span> </span>It was a good day.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfxSsguNSoNLWptbZKSUeSxVsvlcJLR43WDe-mb-ddfjQMPqhXR3m0wfKz_rP6FiD83sTgrzhIVJ1o53RaYxKo686LGRnhmpPworq6XfsXDPJKjoH_KN7ram7JVDrVKN2nqspZGoxZoYI/s1600/HPT+session+2+pic+7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfxSsguNSoNLWptbZKSUeSxVsvlcJLR43WDe-mb-ddfjQMPqhXR3m0wfKz_rP6FiD83sTgrzhIVJ1o53RaYxKo686LGRnhmpPworq6XfsXDPJKjoH_KN7ram7JVDrVKN2nqspZGoxZoYI/s640/HPT+session+2+pic+7.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span></span></i><span>Wednesday was a very
rainy day.<span> </span>It was basically a downpour
all morning.<span> </span>I had a series of meetings,
presentations, and workshops at BSUIR in the afternoon (which I posted on earlier in the week) and everything went
well.<span> </span>Jacque had her English class again
in the evening and by all reports it went well.<span>
</span>It was her last day and she is sad to been done.<span> </span>She has really enjoyed her time with the
students.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span></span></i><span>Thursday morning we
had the typical morning routine and then I took off for my long day at the
university.<span> </span>I was able to get quite a
bit of work done and then I had a good class with my MBA students in the
evening.<span> </span>It was rather rainy all day, so
Jacque was stuck in the apartment with the kids all day and I think they all
went a little stir crazy.<span> </span>I got home
from work a little after 9:30 pm and Jacque and I relaxed for a bit before it
was time for bed. <span> </span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Friday was
another really rainy day, but Jacque and the kids were dying to get out, so we
just went out anyway.<span> </span>Of course we ended
up getting soaked by all of the rain, but it was fun!<span> </span>We went to see the Afghan war memorial, commemorating
fallen soldiers from Belarus, who died in the USSR/Afghanistan war between 1979
and 1988.<span> </span>We then made our way over to McDonald's for our weekly fix!<span> </span>When we
got back, we got all of the kids dry and they had rest time.<span> </span>When the kids were up and about later in the
afternoon, I took them to the playground.<span>
</span>It was very wet, with puddles everywhere, but they had a great time and
even made a new Belarusian friend.<span> </span>We
had ice-cream sundaes for ice-cream Friday and then Jacque and I had a nice
evening after the kids were in bed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span>Saturday
morning I was off early for my 3-hour MBA class.<span> </span>Everything went well and by the time I got
home the kids were down for naps.<span> </span>The
sun was shining, so around 3 pm when everyone was up, we took off to do some souvenir
shopping (they also wanted to get me a present for Father’s Day).<span> </span>We found some fun traditional Belarusian
souvenirs and then had my Father’s Day dinner at TGI Friday’s (right in
downtown Minks).<span> </span>They were quite accommodating
to the large family and even had English menus!<span>
</span>Unfortunately, several of the things we wanted to order from the menu they
did not have after all.<span> </span>But by the end
of the meal we all were stuffed silly and we had a great time!<span> </span>We got home in time to get the kids to bed at
the normal time and Jacque and I had a nice evening together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span></span></i><span>Today is a super sun, hot,
and humid day!<span> </span>We will take that over
the rain, but it did make for a less pleasant trip to and from church.<span> </span>Now we are back and enjoying a quiet
afternoon.<span> </span>Jacque made me a nice Father’s
Day breakfast and I am sure we will have something delicious for dinner (we
always do)!</span></span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-65670029372095384912012-06-14T04:24:00.000-07:002012-06-15T05:36:57.495-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>Presentations this Week</b></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This week I have been busy with more presentations. On Tuesday, I made another trip the Belarus High Tech Park for my second presentation in the Strategic Human Capital Leadership training series, entitled, "</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Employee Motivation</span><span style="font-size: small;">: Leveraging Employee Capacity to Optimize Workplace
Potential." </span><span style="font-size: small;">The training was attended by more than 60 heads of HR departments and recruiters in High Tech and IT businesses in Belarus.</span></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAoJbsr8VHfgrx-kWwOw8hTBSJ1TzX41AivaPMnJJFFErWlgaq5F0PoP0EIVIxBk8ztkxZtIJcXRyONuupl1_RStCRrUysQHGwkVMhS29BBLcllGNcbHoqR6nSuRQuBccK8N-UWPQOMRU/s1600/HPT+session+2+pic+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAoJbsr8VHfgrx-kWwOw8hTBSJ1TzX41AivaPMnJJFFErWlgaq5F0PoP0EIVIxBk8ztkxZtIJcXRyONuupl1_RStCRrUysQHGwkVMhS29BBLcllGNcbHoqR6nSuRQuBccK8N-UWPQOMRU/s640/HPT+session+2+pic+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11pt;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">You can find blurbs of this visit, as well as a brief follow-up Q&A narrative at the following links (the first two are in Russian, so my U.S friends and family will need to use Google Translate to read): </span></div>
<ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.park.by/post-484/?lng=ru" target="_blank">Belarus High Tech Park Website Post</a> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://itmarketing.by/2012/06/12/employee_motivation/#more-346" target="_blank">Belarus IT Marketing Website</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.park.by/post-485/?lng=en" target="_blank">Brief Q&A Narrative </a> </span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Also, of possible interest may be a video clip summarizing the vast research on motivation, which I showed and we discussed as part of the training:</span><br />
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iXV6SYrQ_IE" width="800"></iframe>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Additionally, yesterday I visited Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics for a series of meetings with school administrators, a tour of the facilities, and a presentation to students and faculty, entitled, "</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Effective
Personal Branding and Skills & Competencies Required to be Successful in
One's Professional Career." I really enjoyed the visit and presentation and I appreciated the opportunity to see another Belarus university campus and talk about educational/teaching issues with faculty and administrators. You can see a blurb about this visit on the university website <a href="http://www.bsuir.by/online/tnj2/one_article.jsp?PageID=88970&resID=100229&lang=ru&tnj_id=10852&rid=102243%20" target="_blank">here</a> and at the Belarus IT Marketing website <a href="http://itmarketing.by/2012/06/15/personal_branding/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oif4KVWkbGHIVNE_P61uKvcgSTHKdo6TehzNlA_cJnD9uIhSmBebyxHPHKMnP-xykkMElZSKU1-71BPy7PFU7_icCFQbrwTIaYGLdjth2L_eV12YcYMzSr2gJhFd6qCwcSQ5nKow1Ev8/s1600/BSUIR+pic+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oif4KVWkbGHIVNE_P61uKvcgSTHKdo6TehzNlA_cJnD9uIhSmBebyxHPHKMnP-xykkMElZSKU1-71BPy7PFU7_icCFQbrwTIaYGLdjth2L_eV12YcYMzSr2gJhFd6qCwcSQ5nKow1Ev8/s640/BSUIR+pic+2.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYohsaAQzxuwyQz_0OBwZAO6uVEUa26BzOCoYNWn3kf_7Lv6j2qHZNmJ4SoaOppA-Rx8mIB-Mudh0cCww2ZFcB84mf-xRG3Cq2Km5Bs6YLfpJu1P72yn4a8yAlqUr8-Qb_lz608Spyka6/s1600/IMG_5561.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYohsaAQzxuwyQz_0OBwZAO6uVEUa26BzOCoYNWn3kf_7Lv6j2qHZNmJ4SoaOppA-Rx8mIB-Mudh0cCww2ZFcB84mf-xRG3Cq2Km5Bs6YLfpJu1P72yn4a8yAlqUr8-Qb_lz608Spyka6/s640/IMG_5561.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Now I am back in the BSU MBA office today preparing for my MBA class tonight. </span></div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-36242589893173516802012-06-09T22:35:00.001-07:002012-06-10T06:57:44.573-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Week in Review</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbndR4wJalh8sjcqjKLT2RILRlkp8Vltgzp_eFbuGD3YZXLwAoXT7GGI9S1L9VID-KCsXi4ADyG59JGut6cwGShoLG2ZsM2yPICQ7O050BYX8pa3tzjje9LZuOTAMpWArAMTWnmyTH8tR/s1600/IMG_1289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbndR4wJalh8sjcqjKLT2RILRlkp8Vltgzp_eFbuGD3YZXLwAoXT7GGI9S1L9VID-KCsXi4ADyG59JGut6cwGShoLG2ZsM2yPICQ7O050BYX8pa3tzjje9LZuOTAMpWArAMTWnmyTH8tR/s640/IMG_1289.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Monday was a very casual day. We had our normal morning routine and I
worked most of the morning and afternoon from home. Around 4 pm we got picked up by Sergei and
went to his family’s home for dinner and family home evening. They are such a friendly, happy family. Dinner was delicious and we really enjoyed
our time with them (and the kids loved playing with all of the toys!). We arrived back home around 9:30 and got the
kids to bed and Jacque and I enjoyed the rest of the evening together before
crashing.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">On Tuesday morning, I
was with the kids until about 11 am. We all just did the normal morning stuff and
I worked some. At noon I got picked up
by a HTP car and arrived early for my 1 pm presentation. There was a pretty good turnout, and despite
some technical difficulties with their equipment, I think it all went very
well. I then came home and we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon together before dinner and Jacque’s English.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The weather was bad again on Wednesday but we
were all getting a little stir crazy so we decided to just go out anyway. We ended up at the mall (the underground one
beneath Independence Square). We had a
lot of fun walking around and looking at the kiosks mostly. They have some fun souvenirs (we didn’t buy
any at the mall because everything is expensive there, but we got some ideas). We grabbed some lunch and then ate an
ice-cream outside before trekking home for rest time. While everyone else napped, I got some work
done, we had a nice evening, and then I held down the fort while Jacque went to
English class in the evening. It was a
good day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We had a typical morning on Thursday (me
helping the kids/working, the girls playing/reading/etc.). I went in to work after lunch and had a busy
afternoon of whatever it is I do! Later
in the afternoon I did a presentation/workshop with the BSU business school
faculty on preparing students for their future careers. It was a lot about teaching methods, but also
what we teach and a discussion of the skills/competencies the students need to
be prepared with. It was a rather
interesting discussion/exchange. After
that, I came home, we did dinner and got the kids to bed, and then I went off
to English class in the evening. At
English class we discussed everything from politics, to the economy, to the
business environment, the education system, families, etc. It was an extremely interesting discussion
(almost like a focus group for me!). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We had a casual morning around apartment on
Friday, followed by a picnic at the park (the weather was gorgeous and sunny
for the first time in a long while!).
After rest time, I took the kids back to the park to play, to get them
nice and warn out, and then we had the male young volunteers (the elders) over
for dinner. That was a lot of fun. The girls just love them and I think the
volunteers enjoyed having an evening of English interaction!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Saturday was a full day of work for me. I taught my MBA class in the morning and then
sat in on a bunch of MBA thesis defenses in the afternoon. The program is looking to change the way it
works the thesis defense process and they asked me to sit in, provide feedback
to the students, and provide my thoughts to the program. Following the defenses, we had a rather long
discussion regarding everything and I hope they found my input useful. While I was gone, Jacque took care of the
kids back home. They played at the
apartment, went to the park, and also walked over to a nearby Holocaust
Memorial, where 5000 Belarusian Jews were killed and thrown into a giant
pit. Those remains have long since been
moved and the spot is now a memorial to them.
I have just seen pictures and heard Jacque’s description, so I will have
to go and visit myself one of these days.
After I got home around 5 pm, we took a walk and ended up eating dinner
at McDonald's (our weekly American fix while we are here!). We got back and the kids to bed a bit late
and then Jacque and I had a nice evening. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Today is a beautiful, sunny Sunday and we are
looking forward to church in a little while.
</span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-52885625177673368012012-06-07T01:51:00.004-07:002012-06-10T06:50:50.749-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>A Week of Presentations and Publications</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I have been rather busy this week with different presentations/workshops I have been preparing/giving. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">On Tuesday afternoon, I gave my first of 3 presentations as part of the Strategic Human Capital Leadership training series at the Belarus High
Tech Park. The session was entitled “Strategic Employee Selection: From Effective
Interviewing to the ‘Moneyball’ Approach to Selection." The following three links provide a review of the session (both in Russian, so my English speaking family and friends will need to use Google Translate to read it): </span></div>
<ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.park.by/post-481/" target="_blank">HTP Link</a></b><a href="http://www.park.by/post-481/"></a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://itmarketing.by/2012/06/06/westover_htp_belarus/" target="_blank">External Marketing Link</a></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.mba.sbmt.by/en/life/news/seriya_master-klassov_professora_djonatana_vestovera_o_razlichnyih_aspektah_upravleniya_chelovechesk/" target="_blank">BSU SBMT Link</a></b></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I think the session went very well and I am looking forward to session two next Tuesday. Also, as a result of this presentation, I have been invited by the chair of the economics department to come and do a series of presentations/workshops at <a href="http://www.bsuir.by/index.jsp?resID=100229&lang=en" target="_blank">Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics</a> (BSUIR). We still have to work out the details, but this should be an interesting opportunity to interact with a different kind of faculty and students. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Later this afternoon I will also be making a presentation to the BSU SBMT faculty entitled, "P<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">reparing our Students with the
Skills & Competencies Required for them to be Successful in their
Professional Career." The session and discussion should be interesting. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvyT3Q2fxwMdNCiMgWuuL-JpFw-JggxV6lLzAooIDjpE7GmQKU8nyqfCUVb-0QaWHmHiA88fWW_GIopWEAxFL6pNFkuR6ckTxCKS8bhvFdRTwgMKCQHmN-SEfEgZPrw5Huq0KowUzctMF/s1600/e350b37f-5ad3-d423-49f5-4e320d93a8ff.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Also, today marks the national release of my new HRM textbook, </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><a href="https://titles.cognella.com/human-capital-leadership-9781609277901.html" target="_blank">Human Capital Leadership: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Workplace Potential</a></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. </i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The publisher had been working on negotiating some of the national copyright releases for quite a while now, so the national release has taken longer than we all had hoped, but I have been using it in my classes for the past year and it seems to have been received well by students. I am excited for the national release!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvyT3Q2fxwMdNCiMgWuuL-JpFw-JggxV6lLzAooIDjpE7GmQKU8nyqfCUVb-0QaWHmHiA88fWW_GIopWEAxFL6pNFkuR6ckTxCKS8bhvFdRTwgMKCQHmN-SEfEgZPrw5Huq0KowUzctMF/s1600/e350b37f-5ad3-d423-49f5-4e320d93a8ff.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvyT3Q2fxwMdNCiMgWuuL-JpFw-JggxV6lLzAooIDjpE7GmQKU8nyqfCUVb-0QaWHmHiA88fWW_GIopWEAxFL6pNFkuR6ckTxCKS8bhvFdRTwgMKCQHmN-SEfEgZPrw5Huq0KowUzctMF/s400/e350b37f-5ad3-d423-49f5-4e320d93a8ff.png" width="309" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Also, I found out that one article stemming from my dissertation research just got accepted, and another just got published. The newly accepted one is "The Impact of Comparative State-Directed Development on Working Conditions and Employee Satisfaction" in the <a href="http://jmo.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/18/issue/4/article/4742/the-impact-of-comparative-statedirected" target="_blank"><i>Journal of Management and Organization</i></a>.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> The newly published one is "Comparative welfare state impacts on work quality and job satisfaction: A cross-national analysis" in the <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=17036066&ini=aob" target="_blank"><i>International Journal of Social Economics</i></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">So it has been a good week for publication news and for some interesting presentations/workshops. I will be helping out with an English class tonight at the BSU English Language Institute and then I will have my normal MBA HR classes as well. Good times!</span></div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-46839714710642657862012-06-03T05:39:00.003-07:002012-06-03T06:32:36.845-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Week in Review</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sunday evening we had David’s family party. We had chocolate cake for David’s party,
which he loved, and then he opened his presents and the kids all played until bedtime </span><span style="font-size: small;">(no wrapping paper, so he just took it out
of the bag!)</span><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Monday was a good day. Things started out normally in the morning and
then I had a car pick me up at 10 am to go and meet the director and deputy
director of the Belarus High Tech Park. We
had a very interesting discussion about their ongoing education and training
efforts, they showed me around, and we also discussed my involvement in
providing workshops to organizational leaders both in Minsk and at other
locations around the country over the next couple of months. I am looking forward to this
opportunity. After I got home, the kids
had rest time and I worked while Jacque did the grocery shopping for the week.
Last night I had an idea for a Harvard Business Review article, so I spent some
time working on a short proposal, to float the idea by the editorial
board. Likely nothing will come of it,
but at the very least it was a useful exercise for me, and if they are not
interested I have something I can publish someplace else. I took the girls to the park in the afternoon
but we were only there for 15 minutes before it started to rain. So we promptly came home and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in
the apartment. We then had dinner and family night. It was a good day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Tuesday was a good
day. We had our normal routine in the
morning, but then around 9 Jacque left for her trip to the U.S. Embassy Public
Affairs Office to give her presentation to 30 Belarusian teachers from the
Minsk Regional Teachers Retraining Institute (teachers of English from rural
schools in the Minsk region). She had a
great time and she was home around lunch time.
After lunch, the kids had rest time and I worked prior to being picked
up to go meet with management at ScienceSoft, where I spent most of the rest of
the day yesterday meeting with the CEO and other company
leaders/employees (I posted on this earlier in the week). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i></i>Wednesday was a very
casual day. Jacque was nice enough to
let me sleep in a bit, and then we got ready and ventured out to visit the
Belarus National Library (a really cool building and one of the places Jacque
absolutely wanted to be able to visit during our time here). We couldn’t go past the lobby, but we bought
some cool souvenirs and got some pictures.
They have an observation deck up on top, but that was not open until
noon, so we decided to try and do that another time. Instead, we headed back into town and got
some McDonald’s for lunch. After lunch
we came back to the apartment and got the girls down for rest time. Jacque took a luxuriously long nap and I
worked while the kids played and colored.
It was a nice afternoon! After
dinner, Jacque went off to teach her English class and I stayed with the kids
and watched a movie. It was a good day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Thursday was my big
work day. I had a lot I wanted to get
done, so I spent most of the morning working and then came in to the office
after lunch. I worked on research on
some other workshops I will be doing in the next couple of weeks and I met
again with Vladimir (director of the business school) to talk about strategy
stuff. I had a short dinner break and
then taught my MBA class (went well) and then got home a little before 10 pm.<i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Friday was a rather relaxing
day. Much of the morning and afternoon
was devoted to playing with the kids, reading, and otherwise hanging around the
apartment. Shortly before 5 pm, Valya
(from church) came to babysit the kids and Jacque, David, and I left for the
Fulbright reception at the U.S. Embassy.
The reception was very nice and David was the life of the party (he
pretty much entertained everyone!). We
arrived back to the apartment around 8 pm, got the kids to bed, and then
finished the night off with a treat and a movie. It was a good day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Saturday was a very relaxed day. I actually spent most of the day reading a book ("Defending Jacob") and hanging out with Jacque and the kids. It was nice! Today was church, which was very nice. However, it was a bit rainy on the way back, which made it a bit interesting! All part of the adventure! Now we are back and warm!</span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-49966248913764539772012-06-01T00:15:00.001-07:002012-06-01T00:20:22.049-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>More on my Visit to ScienceSoft</b></div>
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A couple of days ago I briefly posted on my Tuesday visit to ScienceSoft. Yesterday, the ScienceSoft PR director sent me this intranet post related to my
visit, as well as a few other pictures she took during the presentation
and Q&A. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After a one-on-one with the CEO, I had a training/Q&A session with 30+ members of the ScienceSoft management team, where the topic of the presentation was "Strategic Human Capital Leadership: Leveraging Employee Capacity to Optimize Workplace Potential." We had a great discussion and there were many very good questions about how what I was emphasizing could specifically be applied to the IT outsourcing industry in Belarus (which is what ScienceSoft does). </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_JohxAI4u3M7M40JdtgMbe9u4H8efem-_W9cVYc_68Szk_teYYu3elCxsUQDpwlVcViKBT_9gAeM3w6E9OTCWKJHWcVNanN1CGsA1COTIxbRKJxwM9yeCGSGUL_WCtaYR_w0nTtL41Lk/s1600/hr_presentation_note_intranet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_JohxAI4u3M7M40JdtgMbe9u4H8efem-_W9cVYc_68Szk_teYYu3elCxsUQDpwlVcViKBT_9gAeM3w6E9OTCWKJHWcVNanN1CGsA1COTIxbRKJxwM9yeCGSGUL_WCtaYR_w0nTtL41Lk/s1600/hr_presentation_note_intranet.jpg" /></a> </div>
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It was a fun visit and I am looking forward to having similar opportunities in the future. </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Also, since my visit Monday with leaders at the Belarus High Tech Park, we have formalized details for my </span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">"Strategic Human Capital Leadership" training series, which will begin this coming Tuesday and be offered on three consecutive Tuesday afternoons to management of the more than 100 High Tech Park companies. It should be quite the learning experience for me and hopefully I can add value to these business leaders who will be taking time out of their busy schedules to come and participate. We still have details to work out on my visits/presentations to leaders in other cities around the country. It should be interesting! </span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-35613095871025604072012-05-30T04:59:00.002-07:002012-05-30T05:02:36.931-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meeting with Belarus High Tech/IT Industry Leaders</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The last few days I have had a series of meetings/discussions with Belarus High Tech/IT industry leaders, starting with Valery Tsepkalo (Belarus High Tech Park Director) and Alexander Martinkevich (Deputy Director Marketing and Business Development). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is a great deal of government support behind the high tech industry in Belarus and it is a top economic development priority. In 2005, the Belarus Hi-Tech Park was established with the main goal of supporting the growing software industry, complete with an entirely different (and by contrast, very business friendly) corporate regulatory environment and tax regime. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Starting in 2005 with just 4 companies, it now is home to more than 100 companies, which employ more than 12,000 Belarusians, at an average salary of more than 5 times that of the typical Belarusian worker. You can find out more about the Belarus High Tech Park </span><a href="http://www.park.by/" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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In these initial meetings, we discussed the industry and its growth within the context of the broader Belarusian economy. Particularly, we focused much of the discussion on the IT labor shortage and issues with the higher education system in the country. I have agreed to <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">do a series of workshops for the High Tech Park business leaders (based on their feedback regarding which topics they are most interested in), including: </span></div>
<ol style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Effective Interviewing and Employee Selection</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Employee Motivation</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Creating a High Performance Work Environment</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">These three training/Q&A sessions will be held at the Belarus High Tech Park (in Minsk) in its large auditorium, as well as be provided virtually via the internet to individuals working in other cities around the country. We are also continuing discussions about them sending me to other cities</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> around the country to do face-to-face sessions with business leaders in the outlying parts of the country. I am very much looking forward to the opportunity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I also spent a good portion of the day yesterday meeting with the CEO and other company leaders/employees at <a href="http://www.scnsoft.com/" target="_blank">ScienceSoft</a>, the oldest IT firm in Belarus (dating back to before the Soviet Collapse). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I had a lengthy one-on-one with the CEO, Nikolay Kurayev, followed by a training/Q&A session I did with about 30 of the company managers (the topic was human capital leadership). Then Nikolay and another ScienceSoft employee (Maxim) took me to a nice dinner, where we continued our discussion on the nature of the IT industry in Belarus.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I mentioned above, the high tech/IT industry provides a very stark contrast to all other industries/sectors of the Belarusian economy, which just fascinates me. I look forward to having the continued opportunity to meet with/learn from the various corporate leaders here and better understand this contrast and its impacts on employees in the workplace.</span></div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-65649549698196467792012-05-27T06:26:00.001-07:002012-05-27T06:27:40.053-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Week in Review</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Monday was a good, typical day… nothing
exciting. The weather was beautiful so
we spent a lot of time at the park. The
excitement of the day was when Jacque went shopping and the debit card didn’t
work at the register. She ran to what
she thought was a ATM, but the card didn’t work there either (turns out it
wasn’t an ATM), so I got a frantic call and left the kids alone in the
apartment for 10 minutes while I ran to the store with cash for her. We still don’t know why the card didn’t work
on that occasion. The rest of the day
was relaxing. I got lots of work done
and we enjoyed a lot of time together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Tuesday morning I got
up early with the kids and we did the normal morning routine and then left for work at 9:30. When I
arrived, I was frustrated because the MBA Office door was locked and no one was
there. I ended up waiting there for 30
minutes before someone let me in (luckily I had my iPad and was able to pick up
some WiFi so I could do emails while I waited).
I got lots done in the morning and then I met with a BSU MBA faculty
colleague to discuss research, consulting and general HR practice in
Belarus. It was very interesting to hear
her perspective on things. After that, I
grabbed lunch and then went back to the office to work some more, before coming
home. When I got back, I picked up
around the house, did dishes, and did laundry, and then I took the kids to the
park. We had a great time. After dinner, the kids went through their normal
bedtime routine and then Jacque left for her English class (where they discussed
comparative rights/restrictions in the U.S. and Belarus; Jacque said it was
very interesting). It was a good
day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">On Wednesday, we all spent the morning at the
apartment together. The kids did their
school, I worked, we did some cleaning around the apartment, and we had an
otherwise casual morning. I made some
Romen Noodles for lunch (the girls’ favorite) and then during rest time Jacque
and I had a great “Mormon studies” discussion while the girls rested, and
before we knew it, it was time for me to leave for my class and workshop with
BSU undergrad students. When I got
there, it turns out that there was some scheduling mistake with the class and
the room had been double-booked (in Belarus, they schedule classes on a weekly
basis, rather than for the entire semester) and another professor was there
with his class. I think what actually
happened was that the director who set up my class forgot to actually schedule
it and advertise it to the students, so not only did I not have a room, but not
a single person was there. I went to an
open room to wait, just in case someone came, but I just ended up working for
an hour until it was time for the workshop session to start. In contrast, the workshop went very well and
was well attended. I was done by about
6:45 and got home just a little after 7, just in time to help tuck the kids in
bed. The kids did not want to go to bed
and were basically up and making noise/causing trouble until after 9 pm, but
eventually they actually went to sleep.
Jacque and I watched a couple shows and then went to bed. It was a good day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Thursday we had the normal routine in the
morning and then I was off to do office hours at BSU in the afternoon. It was also the girl’s last day of home
school, and they are now officially on summer break (Jacque is very relieved!). I worked on a few projects during my office
hours and then came home for dinner with the family. After dinner, the kids had their normal
evening routine and after we got them to bed I took a turn helping out at the
BSU Language Institute for a class. When
I first got there it took me a while to find the room (the room numbers are not
all in order) and when I found it, the door was locked and no one was there. At first I thought maybe I had remembered the
wrong room number and I wasn’t sure how I would find the correct one. But then a minute later the instructor showed
up and told me the room had changed and she took me to the new room. Basically I had a discussion with her class
for an hour and a half. I told them
about myself, my family, work, and things back in the U.S., they asked me lots
of questions about the U.S., and I asked them lots of questions about
Belarus. It was a lot of fun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">After a normal Friday
morning, we decided to take a trip to the Belarus National History Museum
downtown. It was a little mini trek to get
there, but we finally did and then it took us a while just to figure out how to
look at stuff. All the exhibits are
locked up in different rooms on different floors and you need a ticket. But no one speaks English and everything is
written in Russian, and we couldn’t find where to buy a ticket. Finally we found a place in a back corner in
the basement where we could get tickets for everyone (after all of that
trouble, it was less than $1 total for the entire family!). Once we had tickets, everything was
great. We were literally the only people
there, and the novelty of having a large American family visiting seemed too
excited all of the old ladies who worked there.
They took us from room to room and we got to see lots of fun
exhibits. They also kept nagging us about
taking pictures in front of just about every exhibit. We humored them on some, but after a while I
think we started disappointing them. The
museum was a lot of fun, and then we hit McDonald’s on the way home. After rest time, I took the kids to the park
and we fed the birds. Then it was dinner
and time for a movie night with the John’s (the senior couple). We watched “Akeelah and the Bee” and the kids
loved it. The Johns enjoyed it too and
we had a nice time visiting with them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhXYT2v4ANxMMk0U2KmtiO6rPWsY4W0Bqthfdtv3cThXqU4TPuZzcb1rIwIFdWEzbfu824-SaH1oWKaDg48ckv60w0G4SGdVlDaDVGErhDTZkui6lvV00XQauIqy1wS6U_pQQD7spDHbSA/s1600/IMG_1131.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhXYT2v4ANxMMk0U2KmtiO6rPWsY4W0Bqthfdtv3cThXqU4TPuZzcb1rIwIFdWEzbfu824-SaH1oWKaDg48ckv60w0G4SGdVlDaDVGErhDTZkui6lvV00XQauIqy1wS6U_pQQD7spDHbSA/s640/IMG_1131.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Saturday was the day of
the big Minsk Branch “picnic”. We had to
take the metro to the train station, where we took the electric train for 40
minutes or so. By that point we were out
in the middle of nowhere and there was then a 40-minute walk to the picnic site
(luckily they took mercy on us and one of the members transported the family in
his car so we didn’t have to all do that walk).
We were out in the middle of the woods and it was gorgeous! For the
first part of the day, it was mostly us, the missionaries, and a bunch of the
branch youth and other non-member youth and young adults. We ate, they played lots of different sports,
and it was just fun, in the perfect weather.
By early afternoon, other older branch members started showing up with
their families and the girls had primary friends to play with (up to that point,
Sara and Lia were primarily playing together and Amber was hanging out with the
teenager/young adult group). The food
was yummy, the company was great, the weather was perfect, and it was just a
very nice, tiring day. It also happened
to be David’s first birthday, so we counted that as his birthday party (we will
do cake/ice-cream/presents later on Sunday).
We started the trek back around 4:30 and finally got home around 6:30,
in time for a quick dinner and baths, before bedtime (and we were all
exhausted). Unfortunately, David was
over tired from not really napping all day, so he had trouble getting to bed
(finally falling asleep for good around 10:30).
It was a great day. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Today was a normal
morning and then a good day at church.
We are all now back at the apartment and resting, before dinner and
David’s family party. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">You can see more pics <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150904345653836.433829.671558835&type=3&l=6f0aba24c2" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150906905008836.434143.671558835&type=3&l=fe811898f7" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-67155999479288456622012-05-25T06:22:00.005-07:002012-05-25T06:25:50.613-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>The Impact of other Individual Factors on Belarusian Life Satisfaction</b></div>
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I have already posted on differences in self-reported Belarusian life satisfaction levels based on <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">profession/job type, education level, and age. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today</span><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I
wanted to look at the role of other individual factors on life
satisfaction in Belarus (Note: The following tables of descriptive statistics represent those factors that are available in the World Values
Survey data for Belarus).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 1 below (followed by Figure 1: Belarus Province Map), shows comparative life satisfaction of Belarusians by geographical location (province). Those living in Gomel and Vitebsk provinces (4.7 and 4.6 respectively) had the highest mean life satisfaction scores in 1996, while Mogilev (4.0) had the lowest. In 2000, residents of Vitebsk province (5.2) had the highest life satisfaction in 2000, followed by Minsk, Gomel, and Mogilev (each with 4.9), while residents of Grodno province (4.2) had the lowest mean life satisfaction score. </span><b> </b></div>
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<b>Table 1:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hkx4-DfYdOp8Hrn2uN4wbsHSjXm2SFHDBRZBg3aQ72DET4_9opDAcbKfyl7MWZJEzOzCjv92ErDN4D72FrIXJjlXSHBujDdbYpEdM1Z8-2MshCx7gg_WD4ZMzLoxnutaSHs2s_jZGCg1/s1600/lifesat+by+geographic+location.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hkx4-DfYdOp8Hrn2uN4wbsHSjXm2SFHDBRZBg3aQ72DET4_9opDAcbKfyl7MWZJEzOzCjv92ErDN4D72FrIXJjlXSHBujDdbYpEdM1Z8-2MshCx7gg_WD4ZMzLoxnutaSHs2s_jZGCg1/s640/lifesat+by+geographic+location.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Figure 1: Belarus Province Map </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9sKCWw075k8eej5qpjxg8qrVl4HH3CmxBDZAJEb6aq386S89sf0zp3rSd367ZpUu29Ld7zxlZHvP3790PXV0TjA0OJeqTa9ZQozFeP-ZWO9NL5fwlyiAPOATMdh2-zniSNQqE6SUXSBT/s1600/Belarus_provinces_map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="547" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9sKCWw075k8eej5qpjxg8qrVl4HH3CmxBDZAJEb6aq386S89sf0zp3rSd367ZpUu29Ld7zxlZHvP3790PXV0TjA0OJeqTa9ZQozFeP-ZWO9NL5fwlyiAPOATMdh2-zniSNQqE6SUXSBT/s640/Belarus_provinces_map.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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While Belarus is not a very ethnically diverse nation, Table 2 shows that ethnic Belorussians experience the lowest self-reported life satisfaction, save those of Polish ethnicity. </div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 2: </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 3 shows that female Belarusians have slightly lower overall life satisfaction than their male counterparts, while both genders saw significant declines from 1990 to 1996, with a modest rebound and increase in life satisfaction from 1996 to 2000. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 3: </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio8QAjZ0JEuKgUtI6LqSv40RhGmbhIdI5bqW9-e4Uh5yUbpSh31x7WODe8Pvk7NlsZO9jd0M7YBZKrI551egmOkXa8ZACVCLNfb_331rxX-r4zw8QdV8SMCuSi0jrsDyiIy7S0nXxPaVyR/s1600/lifesat+by+gender+and+year.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio8QAjZ0JEuKgUtI6LqSv40RhGmbhIdI5bqW9-e4Uh5yUbpSh31x7WODe8Pvk7NlsZO9jd0M7YBZKrI551egmOkXa8ZACVCLNfb_331rxX-r4zw8QdV8SMCuSi0jrsDyiIy7S0nXxPaVyR/s640/lifesat+by+gender+and+year.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 4 </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">shows an overall decline in life satisfaction from 1990 to 1996, and then an increase (though still significantly lower than 1990 levels) from 1996 to 2000, with this pattern applying to each of the different marital status categories. The highest life satisfaction is found among married and single/never married individuals, with divorced and separated individuals experiencing the lowest life satisfaction level. </span></span><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 4: </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DrXEOx605looA9kHw6XI4wASuv3Y_ibp1bfXMVRVhr2kjCiINpMxbfwZZLWF8AMMVKCkO-eCDxHrke4DJB06f767k3tqeoFyp23m0jKioifQY3rt4yI1CfeSrLwxeTzGDMflz36QMn-5/s1600/lifesat+by+chief+wage+earner+profession.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzo3c_npTmnKpyXxlZJ-Zs0jwYtSYr6_gSAwhzaHlQ3SANF3P7TpsgxXuULaWScu1e17t_49qLAzyRAC-7antId3jGWvC2fH_TH2GhLPNCEkKuMSD0xvgV3QK2hsgKkbXyo6k3YP-93bC/s1600/lifesat+by+employment+status.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8GO_7Yu8X1SIwjZ8rMTphE2wtx6tWYTuh2BVdyQ1VOb2zb1-U02d59u59eMcqEFU9Xk5WxJX27GXMEuy-9NzvradUn-4n9jKvApOZ77ZgR3lD4tpyGNhoanqLppZrvMkN2xGykIjy4c_/s1600/lifesat+by+marital+status.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8GO_7Yu8X1SIwjZ8rMTphE2wtx6tWYTuh2BVdyQ1VOb2zb1-U02d59u59eMcqEFU9Xk5WxJX27GXMEuy-9NzvradUn-4n9jKvApOZ77ZgR3lD4tpyGNhoanqLppZrvMkN2xGykIjy4c_/s640/lifesat+by+marital+status.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 5 shows that since 1990 (when there was no significant difference between living or not living with parents on life satisfaction), Belarusians that live with their parents experience overall greater life satisfaction than those who do not, with the gap increasing from 1996 to 2000. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 5: </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDFcohPwA8hkL7jvy8jMSQ245HpHMZKCEIv9SEU71K6Xj76apX5CN18qhikizwlTEPVwiHiZcGupDBrJ49xpAuwUAQ6InDSQh4v3tJyTADSbB4HkaTa4TEiYFxm_WQW2uVVRgsMvggJ3W/s1600/lifesat+by+living+with+parents.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDFcohPwA8hkL7jvy8jMSQ245HpHMZKCEIv9SEU71K6Xj76apX5CN18qhikizwlTEPVwiHiZcGupDBrJ49xpAuwUAQ6InDSQh4v3tJyTADSbB4HkaTa4TEiYFxm_WQW2uVVRgsMvggJ3W/s640/lifesat+by+living+with+parents.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 6 shows an almost oddly consistent level of life satisfaction regardless of the number of adults living in the home. There is a large jump from a single adult household, to those homes with more than one adult. Oddly, homes with 6+ adults experience another significant boost in self-reported life satisfaction.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8GO_7Yu8X1SIwjZ8rMTphE2wtx6tWYTuh2BVdyQ1VOb2zb1-U02d59u59eMcqEFU9Xk5WxJX27GXMEuy-9NzvradUn-4n9jKvApOZ77ZgR3lD4tpyGNhoanqLppZrvMkN2xGykIjy4c_/s1600/lifesat+by+marital+status.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 6: </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5W-xyhIai8A1nR9DiIKk6whoSc5iKocjivPgFDjHPaiZQqo2_JFGGn9uIvkFw6UhyphenhyphenRWuZaJ7YRLwJFlYKE6OaoPiVj_L3aFBQduX0gA8ysx9yDt4dRM23aXKjZvsdZ0tLmV5cPU_NGH0m/s1600/lifesat+by+number+18.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5W-xyhIai8A1nR9DiIKk6whoSc5iKocjivPgFDjHPaiZQqo2_JFGGn9uIvkFw6UhyphenhyphenRWuZaJ7YRLwJFlYKE6OaoPiVj_L3aFBQduX0gA8ysx9yDt4dRM23aXKjZvsdZ0tLmV5cPU_NGH0m/s640/lifesat+by+number+18.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 7 shows a very clear pattern of declining life satisfaction with each additional child in the home, with overall self-reported satisfaction levels being higher in 2000 than they were in 1996. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 7:</b> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGugxGqMnautZxSiFBQbv5E-bjoRN_L1tPCnLxxqTY76xUXbd5-QBqTu_zLcj_puCzc0N7Pv08clbWwMic1fAr1Zxe1idWR4SVeQJY7Pmew88wnA4nPDNbBdHFTQbIDvG5wmfa0GPkW00/s1600/lifesat+by+number+of+children.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGugxGqMnautZxSiFBQbv5E-bjoRN_L1tPCnLxxqTY76xUXbd5-QBqTu_zLcj_puCzc0N7Pv08clbWwMic1fAr1Zxe1idWR4SVeQJY7Pmew88wnA4nPDNbBdHFTQbIDvG5wmfa0GPkW00/s640/lifesat+by+number+of+children.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 8 shows comparative life satisfaction by how often the respondent attends religious service, over the three waves of the WVS data. Interestingly, more religious Belarusians (attending a church service once a week or more) had the highest life satisfaction levels in 1990, but then had the lowest levels by 1996 and continuing to 2000. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 8:</b> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOD2gu48-tMvFkj7QLK3ek-4VC_mvkfvnO0FV1HM855cJ0SK1bYySTN8yVuklbxspYZWGqiUMPiDkryzdEqrBJTEzTvRzkdVr5gRmDQJX5DQCWvRP2RxzJGVtc259V9wOyVrVFRaZzX6YE/s1600/lifesat+by+religious+service+attendance.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOD2gu48-tMvFkj7QLK3ek-4VC_mvkfvnO0FV1HM855cJ0SK1bYySTN8yVuklbxspYZWGqiUMPiDkryzdEqrBJTEzTvRzkdVr5gRmDQJX5DQCWvRP2RxzJGVtc259V9wOyVrVFRaZzX6YE/s640/lifesat+by+religious+service+attendance.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 9 clearly shows that social class has a strong impact on the perceived life satisfaction of Belarusians. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 9:</b> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgP5fjjcUduOrQ2FkLBl0twkqwBFqzZH_AtReB-Wh6EZK1cMT04hSTKxr15cCfHOiGCs7JBZT0_IfOCXlTAqWvsQDbf8EX06ljIkxoaPG-3iioA9LzERsel3PxsjbKDaxm1fIR2cEUDKlH/s1600/lifesat+by+social+class.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgP5fjjcUduOrQ2FkLBl0twkqwBFqzZH_AtReB-Wh6EZK1cMT04hSTKxr15cCfHOiGCs7JBZT0_IfOCXlTAqWvsQDbf8EX06ljIkxoaPG-3iioA9LzERsel3PxsjbKDaxm1fIR2cEUDKlH/s640/lifesat+by+social+class.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 10 shows a significant positive impact of self-reported income level on self-reported job satisfaction for Belarusians, with impact increasing with each of the three waves of the data. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 10:</b> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OYXDarR_vTK2HOuGuCPX0cl1GNv7niwF-aEYQ9NW3Z0m98jTW0ZNJFt7WJdSe5c29COGd33lunxSmxX7QmodmRD9WTZCGaQa6g5pvxM3o7orYZKHO2YdNJftXeUhDPxQ2lR7oEIuk9GZ/s1600/lifesat+by+income+level.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OYXDarR_vTK2HOuGuCPX0cl1GNv7niwF-aEYQ9NW3Z0m98jTW0ZNJFt7WJdSe5c29COGd33lunxSmxX7QmodmRD9WTZCGaQa6g5pvxM3o7orYZKHO2YdNJftXeUhDPxQ2lR7oEIuk9GZ/s640/lifesat+by+income+level.png" width="640" /></a> </div>
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Table 11 shows comparative life satisfaction by Belarusian employment status and study year. Students experience the highest levels of life satisfaction across all three waves of the data. </div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 11:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzo3c_npTmnKpyXxlZJ-Zs0jwYtSYr6_gSAwhzaHlQ3SANF3P7TpsgxXuULaWScu1e17t_49qLAzyRAC-7antId3jGWvC2fH_TH2GhLPNCEkKuMSD0xvgV3QK2hsgKkbXyo6k3YP-93bC/s1600/lifesat+by+employment+status.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzo3c_npTmnKpyXxlZJ-Zs0jwYtSYr6_gSAwhzaHlQ3SANF3P7TpsgxXuULaWScu1e17t_49qLAzyRAC-7antId3jGWvC2fH_TH2GhLPNCEkKuMSD0xvgV3QK2hsgKkbXyo6k3YP-93bC/s640/lifesat+by+employment+status.png" width="640" /> </a><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 12 </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">shows a very clear and significant increase in self-reported mean life satisfaction scores for those Belarusian workers who have some level of supervisory responsibilities on the job. </span><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 12:</b> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzfp5OtrAi33j72InBXoibdXYJehE3XAI2gahfOTDgT_PVPgVjDfDNwbPmhv9LUpBqx85mQtc-ckPB6VKY8N1wEWV_HYad-Y4Me8Oa6txiHv7w9gdqTk5iG0BvmJuNAy6RdZ4G6vwZnKL/s1600/lifesat+by+supervisory+status.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzfp5OtrAi33j72InBXoibdXYJehE3XAI2gahfOTDgT_PVPgVjDfDNwbPmhv9LUpBqx85mQtc-ckPB6VKY8N1wEWV_HYad-Y4Me8Oa6txiHv7w9gdqTk5iG0BvmJuNAy6RdZ4G6vwZnKL/s640/lifesat+by+supervisory+status.png" width="640" /> </a><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 13 shows comparative mean life satisfaction scores by chief wage earner profession/job type, with little consistent impact of chief wage earner profession/job type on one's perceived life satisfaction.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 13: </span></b><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DrXEOx605looA9kHw6XI4wASuv3Y_ibp1bfXMVRVhr2kjCiINpMxbfwZZLWF8AMMVKCkO-eCDxHrke4DJB06f767k3tqeoFyp23m0jKioifQY3rt4yI1CfeSrLwxeTzGDMflz36QMn-5/s1600/lifesat+by+chief+wage+earner+profession.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DrXEOx605looA9kHw6XI4wASuv3Y_ibp1bfXMVRVhr2kjCiINpMxbfwZZLWF8AMMVKCkO-eCDxHrke4DJB06f767k3tqeoFyp23m0jKioifQY3rt4yI1CfeSrLwxeTzGDMflz36QMn-5/s640/lifesat+by+chief+wage+earner+profession.png" width="640" /></a> </div>
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So there are some descriptive statistics on life satisfaction in Belarus based on a variety of individual factors/characteristics. Future regression models should take each of these individual factors into account. </div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-83154379301243167682012-05-24T04:50:00.002-07:002012-05-24T04:51:51.697-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>The Impact of other Individual Factors on Belarusian Worker Satisfaction</b></div>
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I have already posted on differences in self-reported Belarusian worker satisfaction levels based on <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">profession/job type, education level, and age. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today</span><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I wanted to look at the role of other individual factors on worker satisfaction (Note: While the job satisfaction literature identifies many important individual factors that may impact worker satisfaction and/or should be controlled for in statistical analyses, the following tables represent those factors that are available in the World Values Survey data for Belarus, limited as they may be).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 1 shows that married and divorced Belarusian respondents experience significantly higher job satisfaction levels than individuals who are separated (by far the lowest), widowed, and single. This is mostly in line with the job satisfaction literature, which has consistently shown that married individuals report the highest job satisfaction levels. However, the high job satisfaction scores for divorced Belarusians is an interesting and contradictory finding and warrants additional examination.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Table 1: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Somewhat surprisingly, Table 2 shows that religious observance has little consistent impact on self-reported job satisfaction levels, while Belarusians who attend religious services once a week have the lowest self-reported job satisfaction and those that only attend on "other specific holidays" have by far the highest. This is at odds with much of the job satisfaction and religion literature, which has consistently shown that higher levels of religiosity often carry over into other areas of perceived satisfaction (whether it be marital, work, or life satisfaction) an </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">warrants additional examination.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Table 2:</span></b> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Table 3 shows a significant impact of self-reported income level on self-report job satisfaction for both Belarusian male and female workers (consistent with existing literature), while Belarusian women job satisfaction is even more positively impacted by higher income than it is for males workers (inconsistent; the literature has shown that male job satisfaction levels tend to be more greatly impacted by income than for woman).</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 3: </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While I already looked at job satisfaction by profession, Table 4 shows comparative mean job satisfaction scores by chief wage earner profession/job type (a slight but not insignificant distinction). We see that chief wage earners working as managers in larger organizations, as professional workers, as semi-skilled manual workers, and as members of the armed forces result in relatively higher job satisfaction scores for the respondent, while junior level non-manual chief wage earners have the lowest. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 4:</span></b> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Consistent with the existing job satisfaction literature, Table 5 shows a very clear and significant increase in self-reported mean job satisfaction scores for those Belarusian workers who have some level of supervisory responsibilities on the job, as compared with those who do not. </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 5: </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another important individual factor that is often looked at in the job satisfaction literature is household composition. Unfortunately, the WVS data for Belarus does not have much in that regard. However, Table 6 does look at the number of adults in the home and shows little difference on self-reported job satisfaction scores by the number of adults living in the home, while there is a significant jump from 1 to 2 adults, followed by a modest decline with each additional adult in the home. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 6: </span></b></div>
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In the existing literature, the size of the organization in which an individual works has been shown to impact overall job satisfaction levels. Interestingly, Table 7 shows little consistent impact of the number of other workers in the organization on job satisfaction. Those individuals in organizations with 500-999 employees have the lowest self-reported job satisfaction (5.2), while those in organizations with 2500 and more employees have the highest (6.7), with mixed results at other tiers of organizational size.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 7: </span></b></div>
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And while it has been noted in previous posts, it should be reiterated that overall job satisfaction in Belarus does not differ significantly by gender, though there are significant gender differences by other individual/demographic factors and certainly gender will be an important individual control variable in future statistical analysis.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My next post will look at <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the role of these and other individual factors on Belarusian life satisfaction.</span></span></div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-27231833345915304352012-05-21T00:51:00.003-07:002012-05-21T00:57:29.550-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Life and Job Satisfaction in Belarus, by Profession/Job Type, Education Level, and Age</b><br />
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Today I thought I would provide a little more detail on self-reported life and job satisfaction levels in Belarus, particularly as each relates to respondent profession/job type, education level, and age.</div>
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But first, I thought I would provide a comparison point, providing a quick look at comparative life satisfaction in Belarus and the U.S., by profession/job type (see Table 1 below), which shows that U.S. employees of all job types are reportedly much more satisfied with their life than their Belarusian counterparts. In both countries, unskilled manual laborers have the lowest life satisfaction scores. </div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 1:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, let's look more at life satisfaction and job satisfaction in Belarus based on profession/job type, education level, and age. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 2 below shows comparative mean life satisfaction scores for Belarus, by profession/job type of the respondent and study year (1990, 1996, and 2000). While overall mean life satisfaction scores have dropped significantly over this 10-year period (from 5.5 in 1990 to 4.8 in 2000), Table 2 shows very significant drops from 1990 to 1996 in mean scores for employers/managers of large/small organizations. There is also a fairly clear pattern of more professional employees experiencing higher overall life satisfaction than those who do some sort of manual/blue-collar labor.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 2:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 3 shows comparative life satisfaction scores by Belarusian respondent education level and age. We see that increased education level contributes to higher life satisfaction scores and that younger Belarusians tend to have higher levels of life satisfaction than their older counterparts (both findings are consistent with many other life satisfaction studies that have looked at the role of education and age). </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Table 3:</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Table 4 shows the comparative mean job satisfaction scores for Belarusian workers, by profession/job type </span><span style="font-size: small;">(I actually have a more detailed table that breaks the job types out
further, but it is quite large and I couldn't get a clear enough screen
shot of it to be able to add a clear picture of it here)</span><span style="font-size: small;">. Though there does not seem to be any clear-cut distinction between professional-level employees and those holding blue collar types of positions, the table below does show slightly higher job satisfaction levels for employees of the professional variety. The more detailed table shows that laborers in mining, construction, manufacturing and transport (mean of 4.4) share the distinction of experiencing the lowest mean job satisfaction scores with life science and health associate professionals (mean of 4.4). Stationary plant and related operators have the highest job satisfaction scores (7.1) and clerks (6.5) have the second highest. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 4: </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 5 shows comparative job satisfaction scores by Belarusian worker education level and age. We see that increased education level contributes to higher job satisfaction scores and that older employees tend to also have higher levels of job satisfaction than their younger counterparts (both findings are consistent with many other job satisfaction studies that have looked at the role of education and age). However, for those with the least educational attainment, those workers from ages 55-65 have mean job satisfaction scores just slightly higher than those of the youngest age group, while it is the 45-54 age group for middle educational attainment employees, and the 65+ age group of the upper educational attainment employees that are most similar to the youngest age group. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Table 5: </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In future posts, I will likely look at how other individual factors (such as marital status, household composition, housing situation, other occupation characteristics, economic situation, geographical location, and ethnicity) impact self-reported life satisfaction and job satisfaction in Belarus.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-39152422784547923862012-05-20T06:13:00.001-07:002012-05-20T23:27:42.529-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Week in Review</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Last Sunday was of course Mother's Day. We let Jacque
sleep in and the girls helped me make her French toast and an omelet for
breakfast (the girls were very cute and very excited to make Mommy breakfast!).
Then it was off to church. It was branch
conference and the Moscow West mission president and his wife (President and
Sister Woolley) attended and even taught a combined Priesthood/Relief Society
lesson on strengthening families. It was
really nice to have a lesson in English!
It was also nice to meet them and get a chance to chat with them a bit
(I had exchanged emails with President Woolley previously, so it was nice to
put a face with the name). After church
we came home and had a quiet afternoon together and enjoyed the rest of the
day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Monday was a very
casual day. Since I was gone all day
Saturday at the BSU MBA faculty retreat, we didn’t plan anything. The girls got up extra early, so I was up
with them at 6 am, but it was nice to just sit around and read and cuddle with
them for most of the morning. Then
during rest time, after lunch, I rested with Lia and then Sara, eventually
falling asleep myself and having a short nap.
We had an early dinner and then went to the park to play after a short
Family Home Evening lesson. The kids
then came back and went to bed and Jacque and I had a pleasant evening
together. It was a nice, relaxing day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Tuesday was another early
start with the kids and then some work until I had to leave for BSU at 9:30, at
which point Jacque took over with the kids. I got lots of writing done on my Belarus
research project and then I met with a potential BSU MBA student that I met at
an orientation meeting last week. He
wanted to take me to lunch and talk about his business and see if I might be willing
to come and visit the facilities, talk to management, and learn more about
their business and the IT industry here in Minsk. It was a very good meeting and I am looking
forward to visiting his business here in the next few weeks. After that, I came home and worked a bit more
until going to the park with the kids later in the afternoon. Jacque had a class at the language institute
in the evening, so I stayed here with the kids.
It was a good day!</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Wednesday was been a quiet
day. I set up an internet VPN service so we can have secure data (and more
importantly access Hulu and Netflix videos… Jacque is super excited to have
American TV, beyond the few channels we get here…!). Jacque took Sara to the store with her to get
noodles for lunch and then we had rest time.
The afternoon was quiet as the kids and Jacque napped/rested and we had
a lot of rain outside (I think it sounds really cool on the many skylights
throughout the apartment!). I have been worked a bit more throughout the afternoon and then had a BSU MBA PR event canceled in the evening so we had a quiet evening at home instead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Thursday was a fairly
typical day with the normal morning routine.
Late morning Jacque took a trip to the store and I watched the kids and
got them lunch. As soon as she got back
I left for work. I had a pretty boring
afternoon at work, just focusing on research stuff and then I was home by
dinner time. The kids had their evening
routine and went to bed, and then Jacque went to teach at the language
institute while I stayed home with the kids.
The weather all day was very rainy and I couldn’t help but notice the
generally terrible road drainage around the city, which made for lots of huge
puddles and lots of wet feet! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i></i>Friday was the first
sunny day of the week and we took advantage of it. We took off around 9:30 in the morning for
Victory Square and the nearby parks. It
felt great to get out and walk around in the sunshine! When we got to Victory Square, there was some
kind of military/political event going on, so we weren’t able to get to the
actual square. So instead we were across
the street watching everything from the sidewalk, taking pictures (that is, until
a plain-clothes officer of some sort came over to us and made us stop taking
pictures). It was fun to see the
official military marching and everything.
There were apparently some very important political figures there doing
something, but we couldn’t tell who or what, and there was nothing in the internet news
about it when I looked later. After
that, we walked around a beautiful park for a while and then made our way to
McDonald’s for lunch (this time we ate inside).
After our morning out, we got the kids back to the apartment for
rest time and I took off for my afternoon class at BSU (which went really
well). We had a yummy dinner and then
walked down to the neighborhood grocery store to pick out ice-cream for ice-cream
Friday! Then we got the kids to bed and
Jacque and I watched a movie (on Netflix!) before we went to bed. It was a great day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Saturday morning I was
up early with the kids and got them all ready before leaving to teach my
morning MBA class. The focus of the class was
labor/employment law in the U.S., as compared with Belarus. It was a rather interesting session for me (I
am not sure how interesting it was for the students). After class, I had lunch with a student and
then came home. The kids were having
rest time, so after doing a little cleaning/picking up around the apartment, I
then joined them and we had a pretty casual afternoon. I then took the kids to the park and then we
had dinner and our normal bedtime routine.
Jacque and I watched another movie before bed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i></i>Today the weather is gorgeous! We had a typical morning and then headed off to church, which was great
as normal. Now we are back at the
apartment and enjoying a general conference talk and rest time. That's all for this week.</span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-21009277433080859522012-05-17T06:34:00.004-07:002012-05-19T07:02:14.079-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Impacts of Comparative Economic Freedom in Belarus</b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Today I wanted to explore the idea of economic freedom as it relates to the complex geopolitical, economic, and sociocultural
circumstances that have wide sweeping impacts on the workplace and the
experience of workers, particularly with regards to Belarusian organizations effectively
competing in an increasingly global marketplace (both global consumer and labor markets, though most of these impacts will need to be hashed out in future posts). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">One useful definition of economic freedom is as follows: "The freedom to prosper within a country without intervention from a government or economic authority. Individuals are free to secure and protect his/her human resources, labor and private property. Economic freedom is common in capitalist economies and must incorporate other civil liberties to be deemed as truly free" (<a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/">www.businessdictionary.com</a>). <cite></cite></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The most commonly used and arguably the most quantitatively robust measure of economic freedom to date is the Index of Economic Freedom (a series of 10 economic measurements created by The Heritage Foundation and <i>The Wall Street Journal</i>, which purports to measure the degree of economic freedom in the world's nations). The index scores nations on 10 broad factors of economic freedom using statistics from organizations like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Economist Intelligence Unit (for full list of data sources see: <a href="http://www.heritage.org/index/book/major-works">http://www.heritage.org/index/book/major-works</a>), including the following:</span></div>
<ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Business Freedom: </b>Business freedom is a quantitative measure of the
ability to start, operate, and close a business that represents the
overall burden of regulation as well as the efficiency of government in
the regulatory process.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Trade Freedom: </b>Trade freedom is a composite measure of the absence
of tariff and non-tariff barriers that affect imports and exports of
goods and services. Different imports entering a country can, and often
do, face different tariffs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monetary Freedom: </b>Monetary freedom combines a measure of price
stability with an assessment of price controls. Both inflation and price
controls distort market activity. Price stability without microeconomic
intervention is the ideal state for the free market.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Government Size/Spending: </b>This component considers the level of
government expenditures as a percentage of GDP. Government expenditures,
including consumption and transfers, account for the entire score.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Fiscal Freedom: </b>Fiscal freedom is a measure of the tax burden imposed by government.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Property Rights: </b>The property rights component is an assessment of
the ability of individuals to accumulate private property, secured by
clear laws that are fully enforced by the state.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Investment Freedom: </b>In an economically free country, there would be
no constraints on the flow of investment capital. Individuals and firms
would be allowed to move their resources into and out of specific
activities internally and across the country’s borders without
restriction.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Financial Freedom: </b>Financial freedom is a measure of banking
efficiency as well as a measure of independence from government control
and interference in the financial sector.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Freedom from Corruption: </b>Corruption erodes economic freedom by
introducing insecurity and uncertainty into economic relationships. The
higher the level of corruption, the lower the level of overall economic
freedom and the lower a country’s score.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Labor Freedom: </b>The labor freedom component is a quantitative measure
that looks into aspects of the legal and regulatory framework of a
country’s labor market.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The 10 factors are averaged equally into a total score. Each one of
the 10 freedoms is graded using a scale from 0 to 100, where 100
represents the maximum freedom. A score of 100 signifies an economic
environment or set of policies that is most conducive to economic
freedom (for full methodological description, see: <a href="http://www.heritage.org/index/book/methodology">http://www.heritage.org/index/book/methodology</a>). </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 1 below shows a color-coated categorization of economic freedom around the world in 2012, along with world averages of each of the 10 factors listed above. A score of 100-80 (dark green) is considered "free"; a score of 79.9-70 (light green) is considered "mostly free"; a score of 69.9-60 (yellow) is considered "moderately free"; a score of 59.9-50 (orange) is considered "mostly unfree"; and a score of 49.9 and below (red) is considered "repressed."</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Figure 1: 2012 Economic Freedom World Heat Map</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8SiTBIo10bn4bwyZurUGMbKpgPJayU73lGL6X4jAmKIUGqx-TmgpjduyAaKHZA60yKlAHedVqUPhS6dAzRjAZHRm_aIhyphenhyphenflg9pzyxvK7fwpGDLDhvbBtokUaQfo7JpUzMsdyBs9BzmQT/s1600/Economic+Freedom+World+map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8SiTBIo10bn4bwyZurUGMbKpgPJayU73lGL6X4jAmKIUGqx-TmgpjduyAaKHZA60yKlAHedVqUPhS6dAzRjAZHRm_aIhyphenhyphenflg9pzyxvK7fwpGDLDhvbBtokUaQfo7JpUzMsdyBs9BzmQT/s640/Economic+Freedom+World+map.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"2012 Index of Economic Freedom," The Heritage Foundation and the <i>Wall Street Journal (<a href="http://www.heritage.org/index/heatmap">www.heritage.org/index/heatmap</a>)</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Figure 2 below shows a little more detail for Belarus specifically, over the past few years and in comparison to world and region averages for 2012. In 2012, Belarus was ranked 153 out of 163 countries around the world, and 42 out of 43 countries in the region. With an overall index score of 49, it is considered a "repressed" society in terms of economic freedom. </span></span></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Figure 2: 2012 Belarus Index of Economic Freedom</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlz-HRQSduMIP5EpNLnPQ9Jw93Ezj2rHiTrwy1AVcn3aECMVZyYzg2yui0IPphushOZASLy-I8VbDVvAoGG_CxSkbpkq-avMCKZTSuPCp_-WBhsv8ePnLPbl9fQ_IjG-LNKmYWM9j26jZk/s1600/belarus-economic+freedom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlz-HRQSduMIP5EpNLnPQ9Jw93Ezj2rHiTrwy1AVcn3aECMVZyYzg2yui0IPphushOZASLy-I8VbDVvAoGG_CxSkbpkq-avMCKZTSuPCp_-WBhsv8ePnLPbl9fQ_IjG-LNKmYWM9j26jZk/s640/belarus-economic+freedom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Figure 3 and Table 1 below (in case you want to see specific data points) shows 18 years of Belarus economic freedom scores for not only overall economic freedom, but also each of the 10 factors defined above.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Figure 3: Belarus Index of Economic Freedom, 1995-2012</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEysLKLS4qg04gswNJUoHhueKZj9ZhH2k4lai_dUviV2tce12ZplwA7dG0wLqWWwTrwhMj4OiyH8ztzgB9k-atLc_TIpB1aAsL0f3XOb_yx_wK1Xhh4JkN_YMNrgt_Qf-h50TiPb_Z8R6s/s1600/Belarus+Economic+Freedom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEysLKLS4qg04gswNJUoHhueKZj9ZhH2k4lai_dUviV2tce12ZplwA7dG0wLqWWwTrwhMj4OiyH8ztzgB9k-atLc_TIpB1aAsL0f3XOb_yx_wK1Xhh4JkN_YMNrgt_Qf-h50TiPb_Z8R6s/s640/Belarus+Economic+Freedom.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Data Source: "2012 Index of Economic Freedom," The Heritage Foundation and the <i>Wall Street Journal.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">First, it is important to note the overall slight positive upward trend of the overall economic freedom index score over the past 18 years, driven primarily by sustained and dramatic increases in its "fiscal freedom", "monetary freedom", and "trade freedom" factor scores. "Business freedom" has also experienced a steady increase since 2006, but that has only raised it back to the levels it was at from 1995-1997, before the big dip. The "labor freedom" factor started being used in 2005 and has had an overall increase since then, though it has dropped the last two years. "Government spending", "freedom from corruption", "property rights", and "financial freedom" are the lagging factors that continue to hold down the overall economic freedom index score for the country. </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 1: Belarus Index of Economic Freedom, 1995-2012</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JCqfCckaOgbHGh4SXytdRH4dbkLALZ_Y8i7BLQ8nCgNsyGreC1f_NAbPJOENxK7XA_HO4QqHRQ_aKvs2qtZpigvcvi8Vbf5GYAtk_fQRie2m3Gz70znJCG5c7QkBBAmXXuyHzq-KNXMK/s1600/Belarus+Economic+Freedom+table.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JCqfCckaOgbHGh4SXytdRH4dbkLALZ_Y8i7BLQ8nCgNsyGreC1f_NAbPJOENxK7XA_HO4QqHRQ_aKvs2qtZpigvcvi8Vbf5GYAtk_fQRie2m3Gz70znJCG5c7QkBBAmXXuyHzq-KNXMK/s640/Belarus+Economic+Freedom+table.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Data Source: "2012 Index of Economic Freedom," The Heritage Foundation and the <i>Wall Street Journal.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So why is all of this important/relevant? First, some evidence has shown that higher economic freedom correlates strongly with higher self-reported happiness, higher average personal income,
higher income of the poorest 10%, higher life expectancy, higher
literacy, lower infant mortality, higher access to water sources, and
lower corruption (The Cato Institute, 2007; Heritage Foundation, 2012). Secondly, many of these 10 factors of the economic freedom index are related to the comparative international structural theories I posted about at the end of last week, while each clearly directly contributes to the overall country-contextual conditions in which organizations operate and labor and daily living occurs within Belarus. Therefore, I believe that </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the role of global comparative economic freedom levels (and Belarus' specific placement therein) may ultimately play an important role in helping to explain </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">why Belarus has such comparatively low life/work satisfaction and labor characteristics attitudes, and thus deserves additional examination.</span></span></div>
<span id="goog_631360083"></span><span id="goog_631360084"></span></div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-40380121487229253582012-05-15T05:00:00.000-07:002012-05-15T07:07:09.100-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">More on Belarusian Societal and Workplace Attitudes, 1990-2000</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">OK. While I started last week with a few descriptive tidbits about work/life attitudes in Belarus, most of the week was devoted to exploring possible societal reasons for relatively low life/work satisfaction and other labor attitudes in Belarus. Today I wanted to just provide a dump of what I consider to be many more relevant societal and work attitudes in Belarus (all descriptive statistics, most of which are for three waves of the World Values Survey Data; It is important to note that a fourth wave was conducted between 2006-2008, but Belarus did not participate, so unfortunately more recent data is not available). </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Table 1</b>: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 1 looks at attitudes regarding social change. While clearly most Belarusians in each of the three waves felt like society must be gradually improved by reforms, the percentage with this attitude increased drastically from 45.6% in 1990 to 93.5% in 1996, and then declined to 87.1% in 2000. There was a corresponding drastic decrease (and then slight increase) in the polarized attitudes of "society must be radically changed" (26.2% in 1990 to 3.7% in 1996 and 5.3% in 2000) and "society must be valiantly defended" (28.1% in 1990, 2.9% in 1996, and 7.5% in 2000). </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 2: </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 2 shows a rather steady shift in Belarusians' self-reported political
ideology (left-liberal versus right-conservative) from 1990 to 2000. In
1990, the overall mean for Belarus was 3.8 (with woman being farther
right than men overall). However, by 1996, the overall country mean
increased 1.5%, to 5.3%, with men slightly farther right than woman, and
by 2000 the overall country mean was even higher (5.7%) and nearly
equal form both men and woman. The percentage of far-left Belarusians
(responding somewhere from 1-4 on the scale) decreased from over 60% in
1990 to just over 22% in 1996 and then to just over 15% in 2000.</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<b>Table 3: </b> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 3 shows a very interesting shift in Belarusians' attitude on the
general role of government in their lives (whether people should take
more responsibility or the government should take more
responsibility). While significantly more Belarusians in 2000 felt
like they should take more personal responsibility for their lives than
in 1990 (mean of 6 in 1990, compared to a mean of 5.6 in 2000), these
mean scores are still clearly more on the side of government
responsibility (additionally, in each of the three waves, woman had
significantly higher mean scores than men). Interestingly, in 1996
there was a huge jump for both men and woman (from 5.8 and 6.2
respectively in 1990 to 7 and 7.4 in 1996), followed by the rather stark
pendulum swing back towards pro-personal responsibility attitudes just 4
years later. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 4: </span></b><b> </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYoxQFLJzrLudYmVEWSyGyJzRUUHQmNDR0UP-tfWI-oS4sCPcnmCQ1Q9PtsJbakuhaGb4AJ9e7l80tBoWK_eK2wrV6WG8hTBQQXe6XTc8d3bwmP64vIXFbPy50nZSkdvHITwYyZLIpAeNU/s1600/income+inequality.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYoxQFLJzrLudYmVEWSyGyJzRUUHQmNDR0UP-tfWI-oS4sCPcnmCQ1Q9PtsJbakuhaGb4AJ9e7l80tBoWK_eK2wrV6WG8hTBQQXe6XTc8d3bwmP64vIXFbPy50nZSkdvHITwYyZLIpAeNU/s640/income+inequality.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 4 looks at attitudes about income inequality. There has been a
steadily decline in mean scores related to the income inequality
attitudes of Belarusians from 1990 to 2000, with an overall mean score
of 7.3 in 1990, to 6.6 in 1996 and just 5.3 in 2000, meaning more and
more Belarusians are feeling that incomes should be made more equal,
rather than having larger income differences as incentives (in each
wave, woman had significantly lower mean scores than men). </span> <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Table 5:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0DyC75CBQEiYeHzcxmMLGk3KmncZzL8uGszDHOHMG00puFNBkMY4dy-IyrsVEONrEaVHOaQg4stGRXT6GhMol_O5pBOULWIl9ynd0l8exlQTcfhWlUKn2lAROgtb_JyPwbrZr_Q5INVt/s1600/private+vs+state+ownership+of+business.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0DyC75CBQEiYeHzcxmMLGk3KmncZzL8uGszDHOHMG00puFNBkMY4dy-IyrsVEONrEaVHOaQg4stGRXT6GhMol_O5pBOULWIl9ynd0l8exlQTcfhWlUKn2lAROgtb_JyPwbrZr_Q5INVt/s640/private+vs+state+ownership+of+business.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 5 shows a very interesting shift in Belarusians' attitude on private
versus state ownership of business (whether private ownership of
business should be increased or government ownership of business should
be increased). While significantly more Belarusians in 2000 felt like
private ownership of business should be increased than in 1990 (mean of
5.9 in 1990, compared to a mean of 5.2 in 2000), these mean scores are
still clearly more on the side of government ownership of business
(additionally, in each of the three waves, woman had significantly
higher mean scores than men). However, in 1996 there was a jump for
both men and woman (from 5.6 and 6.2 respectively in 1990 to 5.8 and 6.4
in 1996), followed by the rather stark pendulum swing back towards
pro-private ownership attitudes just 4 years later. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 6: </span></b></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Table 6 shows the comparative attitudes of Belarusian employees on how business and industry should be managed (before the Soviet collapse and following Belarus Independence and establishment of the current government). Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, overwhelmingly the majority of employees in Belarus felt like "employees should the business and elect managers," with only 8.2% of male and 7.0% of female workers felt like the state should be the owner. By 1996, attitudes had shifted significantly, with a over 21% of men and over 28% of woman feeling that the state should be the owner (with an overall much more even percentage distribution betwee the four categories, with some rather stark gender differences).</div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<b>Table 7: </b> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 7 looks at attitudes about the role of competition in business. The overall percentage of Belarusians who feel that competition is harmful for society has increased slightly from 1990 to 2000 (3.5 in 1990 to 3.7 in 2000), with a much higher percentage of men than woman feeling that competition is good for society. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Table 8: </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 8 looks at attitudes about scientific advances. While the majority of
Belarusians feel that scientific advances are helpful to society, their
was a significant jump from 1990 to 1996, followed by a significant
decline from 1996 to 2000 (with a higher percentage of woman than men in
each wave feeling that scientific advances will be harmful).</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Table 9:</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 9 looks at attitudes about nationality. While clearly the vast
majority of Belarusians are proud of their nationality, the percentage
is in clear decline (82.3% in 1990, 79.3% in 1996, and 72.5% in 2000),
with an increasing number not proud of their country (17.7% in 1990,
20.7% in 1996, and 27.6% in 2000). </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Table 10: </b></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Table
10 shows that a greater percentage of woman agree that work is a duty
towards society (65.9%) than their male counterparts (59.9%), with a
greater percentage of men disagreeing (25.0%) than woman (21.6%).</div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 11: </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table
11 shows the overall perceived importance of work in the life of
Belarusian workers for three waves of the World Values Survey data
(1990, 1996, and 2000). Overall, nearly 85% of all Belarusian workers
feel that work is either very important or rather importation in life,
with this overall percentage increasing to more than 88% for men from
1990 to 2000, and dropping to just over 80% for woman over the same time
period. However, it is also important to note that while the overall
percentage of men saying that work is either very important or rather
important increased, the percentage of male workers saying work was very
important in life dropped more than 9% from 1990-2000 (presumably most
of that 9% decline selecting "rather important" instead of "very
important" by 2000). Additionally, it is interesting to note that for
woman, the percentage saying that work is not at all important steadily
increased from just 2.2% in 1990 to 7.6% in 2000. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 12:</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 12 shows what Belarus employees deemed to be the most important aspects of their job (from most frequently mentioned to least frequently mentioned), for three waves of World Values Survey data (1990, 1996, and 2000; Note that the 1990 wave precedes Belarusian independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union). For both males and females, pay (an extrinsic motivator) was clearly considered the most important aspect of their job (the percentage actually rising for men from 1990 to 2000, and falling for woman during the same period). The percentage of respondents mentioning interesting work (an intrinsic motivator) as a key job aspect dropped sharply from 1990 to 2000 (by more than 12% for men and 16% for woman). There was then a rather stark drop between the next items mentioned as important aspects of a job. Woman more highly valued good working hours, while men more highly valued good job security (both extrinsic motivators with near-equal total means for both men and woman across the three waves of data). The percentage of workers mentioning having a job that meets one's abilities (intrinsic motivator) as important dropped drastically for both men and woman from 1990 to 2000 (a more than 8% decline for men and a more than 12% decline for woman). Similarly, the percentage of Belarusian workers mentioning having a respected job (an intrinsic motivator) as important dropped drastically from 1990 to 2000 (by more than 9% for men and more than 14% for woman). Generous holidays (an extrinsic motivator) saw a drastic drop for both men and woman from 1990 to 2000, while the percentage of workers mentioning that it was important to feel that you can achieve something (intrinsic motivator) dropped by more than 8% for men and more than 13% for woman from 1990 to 2000. Not having too much pressure at work (intrinsic motivator) dropped the most of any work characteristic, by more than 40% for men and nearly 39% for woman from 1990-2000. Finally, two additional intrinsic motivators (using initiative and having a responsible job) both saw double digit declines for both male and female workers from 1990 to 2000. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 13: </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table 13 looks at additional work attitudes. In 2000, Belarusian workers also
mentioned several additional work characteristics not included in the
previous two waves of the data, workplace relationships (intrinsic
motivator) being mentioned only less frequently than pay for both men
and woman that year. Physical working conditions (extrinsic motivator)
was also mentioned more than 54% of the time, with time off for the
weekends (extrinsic motivator), meeting people (intrinsic motivator),
having a job useful for society (intrinsic motivator), and having
opportunities for promotion (extrinsic/intrinsic motivator) each being
mentioned by significantly fewer Belarusian employees (both male and
female alike). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Overall, Tables 12 and 13 demonstrate that Belarusian workers (men
and woman alike) clearly mentioned extrinsic work characteristics as
being important aspects of work more often than intrinsic work
characteristics, with the largest percentage drops in aspects of the job
mentioned occurring with the intrinsic workplace factors. This shows
that in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarusian
independence, the establishment of the new Belarusian government, and
the intervening economic struggles, that Belarusian workers' attitudes
on the importance of various job characteristics shifted from a fairly
balanced mixed of intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics before the
Soviet collapse to a much heavier focus on the importance of various
extrinsic job characteristics by the end of the decade. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736596583261147249.post-53359206074074986532012-05-13T06:13:00.001-07:002012-05-13T06:37:02.226-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our Week in Review</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">This has been a good week. Monday was a pretty typical day. <span style="line-height: 115%;">The girls did their schooling in the morning and we played at the park in the afternoon. The highlight of the day was after dinner, when we walked down the road to a yummy pastry shop for a fancy
dessert for family night. We then met
with Sara’s doctor (who made a house call to drop off her medicine) and then
the kids got to bed kind of late. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Tuesday was also normal, with the most interesting part of the day for me being when I met
with an MBA student who wanted some advice on an organizational change
initiative she has been undertaking. It
was really quite interesting to hear all that she has been doing, the survey
she conducted, her interpretation of the data and the key issues, and how she
thinks management will respond. It was
educational for me to see how the process might work here and the challenges an
internal or external consultant might face.
And of course we spent some time at the park.</span></span><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Wednesday was Belarus Victory Day, which I posted on earlier in the week. After a fairly quiet day around the house, we
all went out to the park in the late afternoon.
Sara taught Jacque how to make dandelion crowns and the kids
played! The weather was beautiful. Then we had dinner and did the normal bedtime
routine with the kids. Jacque and I
enjoyed the crazy loud fireworks show around 10 pm (sounded like there were
canons going off around the entire city!).
It was a good day.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thursday we found out about Jacque's dad had been admitted to the hospital the night before in serious condition. We were able to Skype with some of Jacque's sisters and get several updates on her dad's condition throughout the day. Fortunately he was able to get stabilized a bit, though he is still in very bad shape. Of course Jacque was very concerned and this is what occupied our attention most of the day. I did have to go in to work in the afternoon and did a session with potential MBA students before coming home so Jacque could do her first session at the BSU English Language Center (where she will be volunteering and working with a classes a couple nights a week). She had a great time and is looking forward to going again next week. </span></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Friday
was a good day. I didn’t have to go in
until later in the day, so we had a morning together as a family. We also received updates on Jacque’s dad and
he seemed to be making slow but steady improvements. After lunch and the kids were down for rest
time, I went in to teach a class at BSU, which went very well. I was able to get back in time for us to get
the kids ready for babysitters (two young woman—sisters—from the ward who the
girls have become quite close to in our first 3 weeks here). Jacque and I then went out on our first date
night since arriving in Minsk (to see the Ari Roland Jazz Quartet at the
Belarusian State Philharmonic)! The
concert was great and we really enjoyed the time out together. It was a good day.</span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Saturday started early and I was up and
helped the kids until I had to leave for work at 8:30. I met the SBMT director and we drove out to
the location of the BSU SBMT MBA Faculty Retreat. We were out in the middle of rural Belarus
and it was very beautiful. We passed many
small villages (200+ people) along the way, until we arrived at the retreat
location (which was in a town of about 4000-5000. We arrived at 10 am and I was surprised to
find out that they had me slotted for the morning session (I had been told I
would go in the afternoon, after lunch).
So we spent the next 3 hours talking about service-learning/experiential
learning and its possible application/integration into their MBA
curriculum. It was all very well
received and we had a very good discussion. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">After my session, we had lunch and then
rejoined for a MBA strategic planning meeting (half in English, for my benefit,
half in Russian). That was an
interesting experience, to say the least.
But I learned a lot through the process.
I didn’t get home until 8 pm (about 2 hours later than I was supposed
to), so all of the kids were in bed by then and Jacque and I just had a quiet
evening together before bed. It was a
long, good day.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">And of course today is Mother's Day. We let Jacque sleep in and the girls helped me make her French toast and an omelet for breakfast. Then it was off to church and we are enjoying a quiet afternoon back home now. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">So that was our week. There are more pictures of our daily happenings <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150870818578836.430405.671558835&type=3&l=86c0023c6d" target="_blank">here</a>. </span> </span></div>
</div>Jon and Jacquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01400316367087970047noreply@blogger.com0