Winter and Gas Crisis

Winter
So, it is winter, which means freezing temperatures, cold, snow and ice. Fall was relatively nice and warm, and people were beginning to wonder if winter would ever show up. Christmas lists all included, "Snow, White Christmas and Snowmen." Then, it snowed the weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving (one weekend before the real Thanksgiving). Everyone was very excited and out came all the winter garb. Big fluffy coats, mittens, scarves and hats. But, it warmed up, the snow melted and that was the end of that. Back to mildly cold and no snow. Christmas came and went with no snow. Rain, yes, but no snow. We went to Turkey for our vacation, where it snowed (or rained), and was miserably cold, for our whole trip. Coming back to Slovakia was wonderful because it actually was warmer. But a few days later, came the snow, cold and ice. It started to snow and hasn't let up. We have had snow on the ground for more than two weeks. Just when I think it is beginning to melt, I wake up to a fresh blanket of snow. The canal by our flat is completely frozen over in spots and is being used for ice hockey and ice skating by all the locals. This morning, snow is dusting everything. Not big snowflakes, but tiny little ones, just enough to make everything white. And it is cold. Everyday is in the low 30's or high 20's. Going out means putting on leggings under your pants, 2 or 3 shirts, a jacket, a scarf, a winter coat, mittens, a hat two pairs of socks and winter boots. And even then, I am still cold. Walking to school it is dark, snowy and cold, and my jeans are always wet on the bottom. Coming home, it is dark, snowy and cold, and I can't wait to get out of my cold, wet clothes and change into sweatpants and a sweatshirt. But I am learning to like the snow to. It makes everything glisten, shine and look so beautiful. And when the snow is shining, it is glorious.

Snow and Ice

Gas Crisis
So, about a week and a half ago, I noticed a news story on my iGoogle homepage with Slovakia in the headline. I opened it up to read about a major crisis facing most of Central Europe. If you haven't heard, we (Central Europe) depend on Russia for most if not all of our natural gas supply. This gas provides heat and even electricity. The pipelines for this gas go through Ukraine and the Russians decided that the Ukraines were cyphoning off their gas, and so turned off the supply. Now, as I said above, it is cold. The coldest winter since I have been here. Bulgaria and Slovakia both rely 100% on Russia for natural gas. Maybe not the best idea, but fact. So, now many countries are in serious crisis. Slovakia's president has declared a state of emergency. Some factories have given workers mandatory time off without pay. However, we still have electricity and heat. We have gotten enough gas from neighboring countries to last through the end of January. So, while I am cold, we are not freezing. We keep talking (actually, hoping, for a gas crisis holiday), but so far no luck. Some countries have turned off gas to businesses and schools, so that gas can go to homes and hospitals.
This is a serious problem. The Russians don't really seem to want to budge and the Ukraines are sticking with their story. Central European presidents and secretaries of states have been meeting almost daily to try sort out the mess and get the gas flowing again. The EU is also invovled and it has seemed many times like they brokered deals, but they have fallen through each time. Please pray that an agreement will be made soon. While Slovakia has been able to pull through with little or no discomfort, that is not true of all countries. Some are hurting very badly, especially as temperatures stay so low.