Today was an awesome day. I met Sheila, our Peace Corps friend, at 9:30 and got to put in a full day of work in the office of the Ukrainian NGO that hosts her, benefiting from good internet, a good desk, and a warm and smoke-free and quiet office environment. All the staff I met, mostly after 4 pm when they got off their day jobs, were very welcoming and supportive.
Meanwhile, Julie took the bus to Uzhgorod and bought a cute pink down coat for Julia and a couple pairs of girls' shoes and did a lot of good scouting for the rest. She also ran into Oxana, our high-powered hotel manager, who has a friend in the city that will purportedly help Julie finish getting the things she needs at "friend" prices. The clothes were a big hit with the girls and probably are helping the departure date seem more real. All 3 of them spent a lot of time absorbed with videos and photos on the netbook of yesterday's program as well as our early interactions at the orphanage and of our home.
Julie does an amazing job with the Russian she has and is better than I am at learning on the spot. Today after shopping she ran out of mental steam, though, which happens occasionally to both of us, with interesting results like these:
(at Uzhgorod bus station)
Ticket agent: Where to?
Julie: To Uzhgorod.
Agent: You are here. Where to?
Julie: To Uzhgorod.
(at a cafe by the bus station, to waitress sweeping the floor)
Julie: A coffee please.
Waitress: We're closed.
Julie: A tea please.
We love Ukraine, but it will be great to be home again!
4 comments:
Too funny Ju! I am amazed at how much you do know of the language though!
I am sure that is the first of MANY clothes shopping trips for you. After all, you now have THREE girls. Enjoy picking out the clothes while you can. :)
Yay, for the new clothes! Hope it will be a fun process and not a totally exhausting one. And also, yay, for Stan's internet. What a blessing!
I sympathize with the weight and stress that comes from functioning in a somewhat unfamiliar culture. May God sustain you through to your last day there.
We are anxious for you to come home too! We always enjoy the updates and continue to pray for you. Love, Jill R
Was Julia sad that her jacket wasn't black, "like Mom's"? ;)
I can only imagine how hard that is to outfit three girls, without knowing either sizes or locations of good shopping places. Hopefully your help in the city for shopping will, indeed, be "friendly".
I bet you'll really enjoy a trip to Walmart when you get home!
Each day is a step closer to HOME!
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