Alcohol

This morning on the way to church we had an interesting interaction in the Marshrutka (those vans that run bus routes). There were a couple of guys that guessed pretty quickly that we were foreigners and started to talk with us. They asked what we were doing here in Ulan-Ude, and we shared a little bit with them. Then I asked them what they did, and they simply said, "We drink vodka." That was it! Of course then they tried to pass me the open beer they were drinking on the marshrutka so that I wouldn't be left out. I declined, as I've had to do often here, and then asked if they did anything else and they said, "no." I'm sure they actually do work because of how they were dressed, but it was another reminder of the stark reality of emptiness that consumes so many lives here. So many people live in a state of hopelessness and alcohol becomes their reprieve. Vodka helps them forget about anything else. And it's not just a physical hopelessness either. Alcholism is affecting all strata of society here from the richest to the poorest. It just reminds us that without the knowledge of a good and loving God, there is no option but hopelessness. The above picture, from the stairwell just outside our apartment, is a common sight and one of the least ugly reminders of alcoholism here.