Happy Easter! April 12, 2009

Sunday April 12th Happy Easter to everyone!

It is currently Saturday night around 22:00 (10 pm) and 8 degrees Celsius or 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit. After today’s second visit we decided to go straight to the market and then home…no internet café today. I will post twice on Sunday. Today is Easter Sunday in the U.S. Ukraine does not celebrate Easter until next Sunday.
Our translator Natasha will be returning to Zaporizhzhia tonight. She called Friday night and told us she would be back late Sunday night….Now we can find out what Nicholas has been trying to tell us the past couple of days!
Yesterday (Saturday) Lisa and I went to lunch after our morning visit with Natalie and David from Michigan. They are the super nice couple I mentioned in the previous post. We had a great time trading stories and experiences and getting to know each other a little better. After lunch we all went to a nearby outdoor market and did some shopping. We were all able to find some clothes for our boys. We bought some shirts, socks, shoes, a pair of overalls and a hat for Nicholas. We discovered the shoes were too big, but better too big than too small…he will fit into them soon. When we were done shopping we all went back to their apartment. They are staying very close to the children’s home…about a two minute walk! We on the other hand are staying about 15 minutes away and must be transported at high velocity twice a day by Speed Racer.
David and Natalie are staying in the apartment of a lady who is staying with family for the time being. She has two children that are currently living in the U.S., so she knows some English. The only rule they have to follow is that everyone must remove their shoes as they enter the apartment. It was very nice inside and all the photos and decorations really made it feel like a home. Natalie also told us a story that shed a lot of light on the way the kids are dressed at the Children’s home. Soon after arriving Natalie sniffled! Once their land lady heard that she immediately went around the apartment and closed all the windows and told Natalie she needed to wear a sweater and slippers. She then went on to explain that “drafts” are what cause people to get sick. This explains why all the kids are kept bundled up at all times when they are outside. I think it also explains why the cars and trains and buildings are kept so warm. Did I mention our current apartment recently turned off the central heat?? We have been raiding all the blankets in the house…we currently are sleeping with 13 blankets!!

We had our favorite meal for dinner….Ham and Chicken sandwiches with cheese, a bag of potato chips, bottled water and a coke!
“That sounds like a delicious dinner…but what do you two usually have for lunch?”
That’s a great question regular follower of the Blog….
We usually have two cups of instant soup and some bread with peanut butter. We brought our own peanut butter straight from Texas!

We hope to stay in touch with Natalie and David and their son. It will fun to see how the boys are adjusting to their new lives in the U.S.