We saw the sun today! Dan was excited to see it peek out of the clouds in our otherwise overcast sky this morning. He says he’s a Florida boy through and through – has to see the sun every day. We didn’t feel a lot of additional warmth from the sun, but today’s -8 was certainly better than yesterday’s -20C with major wind. There was almost no wind at all when we got to the orphanage and there were 20 or so kids, probably 14ish in age, playing in the snow. It was almost all boys and there was quite a snowball fight going on. We successfully dodged the snowballs and made it safely inside. We asked V and her friends if they ever play outside and they all said no, it’s too cold. For those that have asked, she’s not a fan of snow and isn’t worried about not having any in Florida. Most of our time today was with just V (and Nastiya to translate). Nastiya says she never expected to spend her winter holidays this way, but she is enjoying it… maybe someday she will become a translator. V and I looked through an “Angelina Ballerina” alphabet book together and she said they have the same character here, too. We gave her the choice of keeping the book with her or us bringing it each day and she asked to keep it. That’s a rarity for her to ask to keep something… Papa thinks she wants to study. The English lessons weren’t too long and we quickly switched to playing Uno. Uno was recommended to us by other families that have traveled and I must say it was GREAT advice. The kids all love it and you can play it without a lot of language in common. As the days have gone on, the five girls in V’s group have all learned to count to 7 in English and are getting close on the four colors. Dan even knows his colors and numbers in Russian – at least up to 9.
The roads are still not clear, but were much better today so Sasha said it would be okay to stop at a restaurant for dinner before going back to the hotel. We went to a place that I believe was the most unique restaurant I’ve ever been to – anywhere. We entered what we expected to be the dining room and were given menus and directed to go to number 1. There were a number of small cabin looking buildings and each had two tables inside… little private dining rooms. We discussed the menu with Nastiya and when our server came she ordered for us. We did ask Nastiya if there were any vegetables on the menu, she said “no, just salads.” Salads, remember, do not include lettuce and usually look like potato salad. We passed. It was definitely a traditional Ukrainian meal. I asked for chicken with mushrooms and Dan thought he ordered a beefsteak with a side of potatoes. Both our meals looked very similar. Mine was chicken. It had some sort of thick, mayonnaise like sauce on it which was then smothered with cheese and mushrooms. Dan’s had the same sauce with mushrooms and black olives. He thinks it was really pork. As my sister told me, “Order what you want. Eat what you get.” The potatoes tonight were cut like Steak and Shake French fries, but sautéed in butter with onions. It may not have been what we expected, but all three of us ate, including tip, for about $13 and we got some meat and a change of scenery.Many of you have asked about school for V once she’s home. Right now, our plan is that she will go to public school. As much as the intense instruction of home schooling might help her catch up with the academics more quickly, socially and for the purposes of learning English quickly, we feel the group setting will be better for her. Remember, she’s done nothing by herself for a few years, so having a classroom full of her peers will be more “normal” to her than learning at home. Also, I am not an ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) expert and the public school would provide her with services from someone who is trained in that area. Just like everything else in this process, we will take one step at a time and trust God to lead us.
Special thanks to our friends in the Washington, DC area and our family in Massachusetts for making us feel better about our weather… they are supposed to have more snow than we do!
The next post is a bonus... it was not on the original blog. This one wasn't really omitted for any privacy reasons, it was more likely an internet connectivity (or lack thereof) issue.
Ukraine update 12/21/09
Our story today may sound similar, Dan has said more than once he thinks he’s Bill Murray and this is “Groundhog Day.” We had our standard breakfast (it’s been ham instead of salami ever since the change) and were pleased to find the thermometer outside had a positive number on it. It was only +1C, but still better. (That’s about 34 degrees Fahrenheit.) It rained early this morning which made the world very slushy and now that we’re back down to -8C the slushy has become icy. The roads were surprisingly good today. Still tons of snow banks and you have to drive in the tread marks, but a bit better than yesterday.
Our visit with V started out slowly today because when we arrived she was at dance class. BTW, someone asked… dance class is Monday and Thursday and all the kids take showers Monday and Friday. Guess I shouldn’t complain about the two times since we’ve been in Ukraine that I wanted a shower and there was no hot water. Once she came back from dance class we shared a necklace kit with her and her group. A few of the boys were looking on longingly, so we invited them to join us. (There were plenty of beads to share; they just had to find their own string.) Each of the girls, including our 16 year old translator, made a necklace with the center bead being the first letter of their name except V. She got 2 letters – one for her Ukrainian name and one for her American name. Her current name, V, will become her middle name. They were all thrilled with the beads and wore their necklaces proudly while we, you guessed it, played Uno! After lunch the other kids went to take their naps and we had her all to ourselves for about an hour.
Victor called today. He does have our paperwork back and it is all ready for court. Unfortunately, the judge could not call a jury by tomorrow, so court will remain scheduled for Thursday at 11AM. Merry Christmas Eve. Victor will take the overnight train back to Donetsk tomorrow and arrive Wednesday morning… with the frigid temperatures and potential for icy roads, he wants to be back in plenty of time.
Something I’ve found intriguing… very frequently while we are riding in Sasha’s car the radio station plays American music. It is not remixed in Russian, it is the same songs I’m used to hearing at the gym in my group exercise classes. (No Z88.3 here.) I’ve even heard songs from Zumba! It caught me off guard initially, and Dan thought it odd when I asked if we should be doing bicep curls as we drove, but I must admit it’s nice to have a touch of home. Tonight was the first time we heard a song that we recognized the melody, but it had been rerecorded in Russian – The Lady in Red. I believe that was the theme song from Dan’s senior prom.
Sasha was kind enough to drive us to Pizza Celentano for dinner tonight. Now it is 5:30 and we are tucked back in our room for the night… wild and crazy, that’ us. There really are what appear to be some beautiful parks in this town. Maybe if the temperature stays above freezing for more than a few hours we’ll get a chance to see them or do some shopping.
Thanks again for your prayers. We know God is paving our way each and every day and feel very blessed to be in His protective hands.
No comments:
Post a Comment