Something Cheap and Something Free

Last week, I wrote about what we teach our kids on money. There are many creative ways we have taught them about it and still continue to do so on a daily basis, but for last week I shared about one perspective  that The Hunny talked about frequently to our kids. On the same vein, it has become a habit of ours to hunt for things cheap and things free anytime we are given the opportunity to travel. As parents, we learned that it's fun when we're intentional in hunting for such goods with our kids because they're engaged most of the time, thus, fostering a culture of gratefulness and contentment in our family. 

When we moved to Moscow almost a couple of months ago, we were sure to embark on a mission to debunk a myth that Moscow is an expensive city to live in, perhaps, when possible, one blog at a time. Expensive it may be on some areas of concern like the cost of apartment rent here, but it holds true the same way you would discover living in Manila, Singapore, Jakarta, or HongKong, just to be fair.

Back home to our beloved Philippines, sour dough breads are pricey and you can only find them at delis and high-end specialty stores. The prices range from PhP 200 - 400 for a loaf of bread ( USD 4 - 8 / RUR 300 - 500 ). Incidentally, I have a little sister who ferments our own yeast and bakes our own sour dough breads! 

I think my little sister who happens to be  the third registered nurse among my siblings is a gifted baker. Sour dough breads are hard to handle especially on humid places, but she's handled our home-baked sour dough breads well. Her breads take center stage at our family get-togethers and we're dipping them in olive oil and vinaigrettes. Our working-class taste-buds have leveled up to that of the elites and we've become a brood of spoiled siblings now that we can't stand an ordinary white, tasty loaf of bread by the name of... it shall remain un-named. Below is her specialty focaccia bread sprinkled with chopped rosemary freshly snipped from my herb garden. ( RIP - my herb garden. )

See below photos: 

Your shelves of freshly baked sour dough breads of different sizes and shapes which we discovered at one of our favorite grocery stores in Moscow named Auchan! The breads are still warm to the feel. It's like stepping in the winter wonderland of all breads sour dough.

For the price of RUR 43 ( PhP 30 / USD .65 ) per piece, that's almost a give-away! If you will zoom in further to the left, the tag reads, RUR 25 ( PhP 18 / USD .37 ). I can have a truck-load of these sour dough breads shipped to the Philippines! Be still my OFW-heart.

Look closely at this photo below. Have you seen how The Hunny holds his bread in his right hand? It's a parmesan roll and he's taking his time, relishing every bite because it was served to us for FREE.

 In fact, we had a basket-full of F-R-E-E starter "khleb," Russian for "bread."

Which reminded me of what we've had in Le Bar at Sofitel Manila a few years ago. Their version of complimentary basket of bread, over-the-top serving, the French way.

But my favorite part took place recently, when we received our free sandwiches, much to our surprise, from the coffee shop we go to almost everyday to have our online homeschool done. What a way to experience their pabaon or take-away present, a genuine Muskovite generosity  ( for being their loyal customers, I suppose. ) "Spasiba, spasiba, spasiba," meaning "thank you" in Russian. That's all we could say that afternoon as we parted ways with our barista, a talking Barbie. Take note that the croissants and lettuces still looked fresh, the two large slices of ciabatta breads were neatly tucked inside the styro container, enough for the four of us to have a feast. But we've been so much blessed this day and decided to take the opportunity of sharing one of them with our Babushka at the concierge to our apartment. Did we make one Babushka happy when we handed her a pack of this, see below.

I love the famous adage that says, "when it rains, it pours." This particular day was a proof to that. It literally rained and poured on a late summer afternoon here. 

Which brings to mind that back to our beloved Philippine Islands, it is the rainy season already. And when it's raining and cold outside, for our merienda, we would wash our pan de sal by dipping it in a steaming cup of kapeng barako.

PHOTO BELOW: Presenting, the delectable coffee Java-ness of Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago. And speaking of Indonesia, I remember taking this photo at exactly the same time last year right in front of our villa in Bontang Island where we stayed for a month. Though we have lived in our suitcases during the entire duration of our stay here, who would forget the friendliest and most hospitable people of Bontang, Balikpapan, Jakarta, and Bali? It was a quiet Sunday evening as all other evenings of the entire week. We've enjoyed our unlimited java coffee. Ha! For free. And that is deserving another blog entry my dears, Lord-willing?

What We Teach Our Children About Money ( With a Little Help From Uncle Scrooge Towards the End)

Some Interesting Stats Here

Based on a survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority ( PSA ) which they published on their website, there is an estimated 2. 4 million total number of Overseas Filipino Workers ( OFWs ) as of September 2015. Those with existing contract comprise 97.1 % of this total number while the remaining 2.9 % are the ones working without contract. The survey also showed that the highest number of OFWs come from the CALABARZON area ( Calamba, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon).

Saudi Arabia has remained the top destination for OFWs over the last few years where one in every four would get sure employment. Other Asian countries on the top list were United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore, and Qatar. The survey further showed that one in every three workers is a"laborer" or "unskilled" worker. Other working categories were named as follows: service workers, shop and market sales workers, plant and machine operators, and other related industrial trades. The survey showed that female workers out-numbered the male workers at 54. 5% where more than one half of this number work from the household sector. The survey did not specify other highly-skilled and professional OFWs like engineers, teachers, nurses, oil and gas specialists, seafarers, and the like.

When it comes to the total amount of remittances sent to the Philippines, the survey showed a whopping 180.3 billion pesos. This amount may not reflect the entire income of OFWs as the money that they send to their families may just be a part of their salaries. Then, two in every five OFWs were able to save from their cash remittances. The stats end here :)

How blessed is the Philippines that besides having rich natural resources, it is  also endowed with hard-working and resilient labor force that is sought-after the world over. As I was looking at the survey results done by the PSA, my mind's eye keep seeing a picture of your peso and dollar bills falling from the sky. Some of them landing where they should be and some of them running along a current towards the direction of the shopping meccas. That's a huge amount of disposable cash entrusted to OFWs and their families. In fact, the Philippine economy relies so much on the collective remittances sent home to keep its foreign-exchange reserves strong. And hence, OFWs are also regarded as Mga Bagong Bayani for their valuable contribution to making this nation progressive.

God Owns Everything

Let's go back to that picture of 180.3 billion peso-dollar bills falling from the sky and how as parents we utilize cold stats like this to discuss and educate our children about money. And better yet, educate ourselves how we look at money.

"The earth and all that's upon it belong to the Eternal. The world is His, with every living creature on it." Psalm 24:1 ( The Voice )

All things belong to God, and therefore, He owns even our hard-earned money-  hands down. Everything on earth, big and small,  are proofs of His faithful provision. We are just stewards of what we may have now.  And so, it is a matter of faithful stewardship on the taker's part how we're going to use it to honor The Great Giver and trusting Him for every decision we make on money in terms of how you're going to circulate it. Whether we give it back to Him in a form of tithing ( a tenth of your income ) to your church, save it in the bank, buy stocks, put up your own traditional business; help feed the poor in your community, donate an "X" amount to help establish homes for the homeless, or maybe build your own dream-home. Really, there are countless ways to make God's money circulate through our hands that are not just for our own consumption but for others as well, ones that are life-changing. God has peppered the earth with OFWs in mind for many reasons. One of them is to make a difference in the lives of others through monetary means. But for now, I'm leaving a room for your imagination to make sense of being an OFW more than just accumulating money. 

Viewing Money the Way God Views It 

The Hunny explains it well from a perspective that brings sparks in our kids' eyes and, well, that includes us, the parents, too. He explains that since everything that you see around you belonged to God our Father in heaven, His children on earth,  get what they need (and many times even what they want) for free! He alone is the source of good health to be fit to go to work, the knowledge and the skills to qualify for the job; even the enablement to rise up early in the morning to report for work, the Lord is the one Who causes it. Oh, the unlimited access we have to all freebies we can think of because of our Rich Father in Heaven; free air to breathe, free water to drink, free homes to occupy, free vehicles to bring you to distant places, free education for your children. Freebies of a lifetime, in that we don't own any of it and because God generously provides the money for His children so they can afford to have them!  But, he is quick to reiterate that receiving your "freebies" have its conditions. First, you must acknowledge that God alone is the source of everything. In Tagalog words we say pagamit  or pahiram lang lahat ng Diyos. Consider what the man of God, the Apostle Paul said, 

"Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him." 1 Corinthians 8:6 ( NASB )   

And second, you must allow Him to control your finances and commit to honor Him in every centavo or cent that you spend. How marvelous it is to understand that there is a higher purpose for being OFWs, even much greater than its monetary gain and fancy Facebook posts we make. It is to honor Him! Ughh. That was tough talk. I love this verse from Psalm 127:3 ( The Voice ) that says,

"God provides for His own.

It is pointless to get up early, work hard, and go to bed late

Anxiously laboring for food to eat; for God provides for those He loves, even while they are sleeping."

If you have scrolled down this far, you are in for a treat. Come and grab a hot cup of cappuccino or a cafe latte and watch a short Disney movie with Uncle Scrooge talking about money, for FREE, enjoy!

How to See Real Dinosaurs and Enjoy a Birthday - On a Budget

It never fails to amaze us that in Moscow, there's always something for everyone, contrary to what many Westerners say on the blogosphere that this interesting city is one, if not, the most expensive city to live in. We beg to disagree. While it is true that there are commodities here that are ridiculously pricy, like nuts, mangoes, and rice, there are still a considerable number of consumer items that one can buy at the grocery stores that are fair enough for lower-middle income expats to afford.  The prices of goods also depend on one's proximity to kilometer-zero of the entire Russian-dom which is found at Red Square City Center. The closer you are to the City Center, the pricier the commodities may seem including hotel prices and apartment rentals.

A Tangent

May I go off on a tangent and devulge a little secret? A cup of gourmet cafe Americano costs 100 Russian rubles ( PhP 73 / USD 1. 56 )  anywhere in Moscow. And if you're coffee lovers like us, you would quickly agree that this is a competitive price compared to what you'd pay for at Starbucks, say in the Philippines that would cost PhP115 / Russian Rub 155 / USD 2. 40. I once overheard one Russian guy said that in Russia, it's really all up to you. If you want it cheap, they have a plethora of stores for shoppers to choose from where everyone goes home happy. And if you like it expensive, just look around because malls are not hard to find. They are scattered like mushrooms all over the city waiting to cater to the Oligarch in you. After all, some stats read that the highest number of Oligarchs reside in Moscow, particularly concentrated in the City Center area. Hush.

Now For The Blog Post

On this blog post, it's all about persuasion through photos galore. And as I said, there's always something for everyone in Moscow. And that includes the Son, our birthday boy, who turned 10 years old last week. This special occasion proved that, in Europe, it is possible to see real dinosaurs and enjoy a birthday without ripping off your wallet. But first, see photos below. The Son is a true-blue dinosaur aficionado. It seemed he will never outgrow this phase in his life,  the dinosaur age.

The Son "flesh-ifying" his dinosaur with clay that he painstakingly molded around the skeleton structure. Year 2014.

Zoom-in to see that the eyes looked real. 

Here, he was knocked down for working hard till bedtime.

Two Things We Did to Prepare for the Big Day at the Museum

First, we googled for a dinosaur museum in Moscow and we found the Orlov Paleolontological Museum, the oldest natural-science museum in Russia that contains most types of fossils. The main attractions to this public exhibits are the presence of dinosaurs from Mongolia, mammoths from Russia, and fossils from Siberia. It was opened to public in 1987 at the south-west of Moscow in Profsoyuznaya Street. 

We had our doubts that every information written at the museum would be in Russian, including their signages, so, we decided to equip ourselves by pouring over their website the night before. Thankfully, there's an English version to their website, thus, we were able to discuss matters to our kids to be able to manage our expectations ahead of time.  Their website holds detailed information about over 5,500 paleolontological objects that were collected dating back to the founding of the very first public museum during the time of Peter the Great in the late 1600's. The museum is divided into five main halls and each part is dedicated to a certain era of the geologic history of the earth which were entirely based on the evolution theory. This brings us to our second step in preparing for our trip to the museum. We opened the conversation about what to expect when we get there particularly the dating system that they applied in identifying the paleolontological displays.

We thought that it was note-worthy to talk about evolutionism, thus, raising awareness to the contradiction that this great nation has a strong and traditional religion which is Christian / Russian Orthodox. As parents to our homeschooled kids, this was one opportunity for us to galvanize our family value system to them which is based on creationism since we're bible-believing-practicing Christians. Based on the book of Genesis 1:1a it says, "In the beginning GOD..." That behind all of creation, there is a God Who is The Great Engineer and The Great Architect Who designed everything according to His divine plan and for His glory. Nothing occured on earth by chance but everything has a purpose under God's loving care. What a sovereign God we serve! So, if you can engage a 10 and a 15 year-old kid in this kind of conversation, that is something worth all of your time. It had been a deep and meaningful conversation.

"If you were to look at this building, you wouldn't think it's a museum. But it actually is a museum." ~Bethany

"The lighting made our faces look like we're wearing a full-face make-up." ~Bethany

"Here is a picture of a dinosaur. Not the one on the left  but the one hanging in the air to your right. It usually lives in the sea, but it stays on land when oxygen or rest is needed." - Noah

"The artwork of the dinosaurs below literally describes my brother and I's relationship. 😜 I'm the T.Rex and he's... Well... Whatever that dinosaur is called." ~Bethany

"The dinosaur on the left is called a Parasaurolophus." - Noah

"I don't know what this is, but I have a feeling that this creature is a carnivore ( meat-eater) because it has sharp teeth and claws." -Noah

"This is a Mammoth that lived thousands of years ago! And its tusks are about 5 feet long!" - Noah

"These hanging displays look like they're made from porcelain." ~Bethany

"It feels more like a castle than a museum." ~Bethany

"These are the bones of a Parasaurolophus. It's an herbivore ( plant-eater). It's about 20 to 30 feet long." - Noah

"Now this is what I like to see. A giant long-necked herbivore that is called a Diplodocus. It's about 40 feet long and is named by the bones on its long whip-like tail." - Noah

"This is a 4-foot long reptile. I don't know the name of this one but it's like a round-snouted crocodile." - Noah

"Nice to meet you! Hee hee!" -Noah

"Above and below are the heads of 2 T. Rexes" - Noah

"May I touch your tooth?" -Noah

"This is an armored dinosaur. It protects itself from predators like T. Rex. It has a spiky tail that it can use for a weapon."-Noah

"If you zoom in close enough to the picture, you can see a small dinosaur biting onto the foot of the T.Rex." ~Bethany

Mini amphitheatre...

"I had chills down my spine when I saw this scary-looking row of molars. Like, those are actual teeth! I wonder if it's a carnivore or an herbivore." ~Bethany

"It's an herbivore. Herbivores are plant-eaters. It is based on the shape of their teeth which they use to grind plants in their mouths. If it looks like human teeth or something, it's an herbivore. If it's sharp and longer, it's a carnivore." - Noah

"We weren't surprised when we saw these big sea shells. We've seen way more bigger sea shells in Puerto Galera, Philippines." ~Bethany

"It's fun to imagine how big these dinosaurs are if they're still alive up to this day. Just look at those skulls!" ~Bethany 

"Most dinosaur eggshells are half a centimeter thick!" - Noah

"Another T. Rex. Here is a fact that will surprise you. The teeth of a T. Rex can crush bones!" - Noah

Can you count all the red bricks that you see behind us? And the rustic stump that they knocked down to be placed at the entrance of the museum to greet their visitors. Perfect seating area after almost two hours of walking the Jurassic world. Picture perfect almost. But it has its rough edges, too.  Can you spot it?  

Value for Your Cha-ching

Our entrance fee to the museum costs 300 Russian rubles ( PhP 221.00 / USD 4. 70 ) per person and 150 Russian rubles ( PhP 110.00 / USD 2. 30 ) for kids; that's a total of 1, 050.00 Rub ( PhP 776.00 / USD 16. 44) for all four of us. 

Picture below is the birthday boy's take home souvenir, the egg of an Amargasaurus worth 250 rubles (PhP 185/USD 4). Talk about value for your cha-ching there! And wonderful precious memories were made once more, on a budget. As for the value of memories that are permanently etched on our children's memory bank, priceless.

Lessons From A Russian Doll

A Matryoshka Doll, also known as a Russian Nesting Doll is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside another. The first set of Russian doll was carved in the year 1890 by a Russian artist named Vasily Zvyozdochkin (repeat 3x for a quick tongue twist) from a design by Sergey Malyutin. The design principle behind the Russian Doll was patterned after the simple onion bulb with its skin that will reveal the same onion skin within when peeled. How exciting is that.

Russian Dolls showcase the artistry and craftsmanship of the Russian people and their love for elaborate designs. Consider the amount of time involved in creating a set of Matryoshka Doll as it is carefully carved out and painted to perfection. Indeed, you can't rush art. And you can't haggle, I mean, it's a shame, haggling on a piece of art. A Russian Doll is priceless, timeless, a thing of beauty to behold, such as these squad of dolls we found at Red Square tiangge's ( souvenir stalls).

And so to you, my favorite Russian Doll, hear me when I say... even with those small crumbs on the corner of your tiny lips...

You are beautiful. You were ready for this kind of life. I was amazed at how well you handled yourself since the day we got here; with ease and no complications. You ate the food they ate here, you wore the clothes they wore here, and you walked the way they walked here, in a stride, in a straight line. And you were enjoying it. Not only were you vacuuming the house and mopping floors but also you were cooking the family's breakfast. All of these, just before school time. Then I see you slay Goliath under the guise of Algebra and Chemistry; with one stone you slew your enemies. And sometimes even with tears on your eyes you recite, "I can do ALL things through Christ Who strengthens me!" Philippians 4:13) How blessed is a mother to have you for a daughter my favorite Russian Doll.

Matipid. You look up the internet for the English translation to this Tagalog word and it generates words like "economical" or "frugal spending." But I would like to bring this word to a higher distinction of Godly character; more than just being matipid, you are a faithful steward. In Tagalog we call it mabuting katiwala, with the perspective that everything belongs to God and we are just carers and stewards of things that are temporal. You look over Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary where he further explains that "it is required in stewards that a man ( or a woman )be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:1)." Look at this picture of your three year-old Stabilo markers and your two-inch long, err, short Faber Castell pencil below. 

The empty marmalade jar that you recycled to be used as your personal effects holder.

This empty sparkling wine bottle that you are keeping for future use.

My dear Russian Doll, it is worth affirming that besides being matipid, you also exuded a certain sense of simplicity and contentment in you as revealed in our conversations a while back. Simplicity in that you repeatedly told your father and I that you're agreeing to go to the mall with us because you had our permission to buy only black outfits. That is how simple you will be.

"Are you threatening us about you buying all black outfits?" 

"No. I'm just informing you so you won't get surprised." 

"But why all black?" "It is called grunge. No pink, no flowers, no frills. It's simple and it's my kind of fashion, please." 

You were contented for the staples you have in your wardrobe, some pairs of jeans, some T-shirts and that you were fine with mixing and matching them every once in awhile. But we've had this kind of conversation before, to the point of  "argue-sation", much like taming a screw. We were informed ahead of time that as expats living in Moscow, while in public places like malls, parks, or in the streets, a politsiya may summon you and ask for your passport. That's all right. Just show them your passport. It's legal SOP even if we're law-abiding expat tax-payers here. Do not panic.

My dear Russian Doll, you were prepared for this kind of life. We all knew that there will come a time that we may face the unavoidable no matter how we shun the possibility of dealing with the politsiyas. It is part of the choice we made as an OFW ( overseas Filipino workers ) family. And so your father and I agreed that we will do our best to look our very best at all times in order to not catch their attention albeit our exotic looks being Asians with our brown skin and dark hair. We will camouflage.

Your father handed you your shopping money and I could tell that you have resolved to not spend all of it on a shopping spree. You knew what you wanted, something cheap but chic, bearing in mind what your father advised you to look out for in clothes to wear; those clean lines that are modest and not frilly, something that befits a stunning morena like you as he winked his eye. You gave your father a dagger look because you couldn't draw the line between awkward and flattery, my Russian Doll. But deep inside, you giggled, because you value every single word your father say about you. Your father has defined for you the true meaning of beauty; those clean lines that are modest and not frilly, something that befits a stunning morena like you as he winked his eye- and his voice always echoed deep down to your heart. And to you that has become your standard of beauty and not based on the number of thumbs sticking up on social media.

You got a few pieces of these for a bargain price of 499 Russian rubles each. Did we agree that these shirts cost cheaper than the ones we have back home at Tiendesitas?

  

It has become a habit of ours to have this handy-dandy currency converter app all the time because we always want to keep track of our spending. 

And Russian Doll, this made you happy and feeling accomplished for the day because you knew that you have contributed something of value to our family; to be matipid, simple, and content. With all my biases on every lines of this post, I would like to tell you that these characters that you showed were admirable, bloggable.