1pm Saturday. I was still in the bed. That kind of sums up the day that we had. Today was a day of rest, a little bit of learning, and a chance to emotionally recover and recharge for the upcoming days. Our coordinator did some traveling around the region conducting some business on our behalf but the work did not require us to go.
No big news today so I am going to use this time to just catch up on some odds and ends from the last couple days. Been trying to think of a way to tie it all together today but couldn't think of one. So, I am just gonna let it flow.
I think we have finally adjusted to the time change and we have had 2 complete nights sleep in a row. We heard from many families that traveled before us that the hardest part of the process is the emotional journey and that it takes a toll. I think we have experienced that to its fullest extent. The emotions have been flowing and I think unconsciously we were drained. Physically ok, just the body was tired from all the effort it takes to travel this emotional roller coaster.
LA and I watched a DVD on our computer this afternoon to try and escape for a bit. For a brief 2 hours, we didn't think of the process or being in a new place. We just spent a couple mindless hours laying in bed watching a movie together. Hadn't done that in years! It was pretty neat. I got myself thinking that I wasn't even overseas a bit during the movie. Felt right at home.
We are trying to learn a couple words and phrases per day to help us communicate with Nastya. Our broken Russian is indeed very broken and it makes the kids laugh when we use our Engligh southern accents to pronounce the words...but who cares. Laughter is universal. Today's goal was to conquer "I love you". I think we got it down and are ready to throw that one out there tomorrow when we see Nastya again.
I took over the cooking duties today. Believe it or not, LA has been doing all the cooking since we got over here. I know right? For those of you that know us best, LA's can cook a mean bowl of Rice Krispies and maybe some Kraft Mac and Cheese and that is about it. She has cooked us fried eggs, cheese sandwiches, white rice, ham sandwiches, etc. Get my drift? She is really working hard and I appreciate her efforts. Been a nice change for a while.
We haven't really been adventurous with the cuisine options over here yet. Our initial goal was to get what we knew would be easy to buy, cook, prepare, and digest. Very simple and very minimalist. Yesterday for lunch we ate out at our first restaurant that the menu was completely in Russian. Fortunately our coordinator was with us and read the menu to us word for word. Didn't get adventurous either, but it was a start.
Luckily we brought a couple items with us to make sure we were safe. Some oatmeal, granola bars, drink mix packets. I sure wish I had brought some ketchup! The plain boiled potatoes, eggs, ham slices, rice, oatmeal and bananas are slowing getting plainfully old. Thankfully we figured out the ground pepper and salt at the last market trip as that has made everything just a little bit better than wallpaper. Seriously, its not been an issue. Coca Cola Light (i.e. Diet Coke) is readily available and a Big Mac in Kiev broke the pattern.
At our current apartment we do have a satelite tv and we have found 5-6 channels that are in English. Currently, in the background on CNBC, watching the Jay Leno show. Not current ones, but a series of re-runs from earlier this week. We also have the British version of the Travel Channel, ESPN Classic from Europe that carries a whole lot of soccer and grand prix, and a couple news and info channels from various parts of Europe. We also are fortunate to have internet access. Granted its not as good a connection as we had in Kiev, but connection none the less. Its a great way to pass the time and stay in touch with everyone back home.
LA took a brief walk to the local market today, just a couple hundred feet down the street. Its a smaller version that what we had visited before. Just a private local owned grocer smaller than a convenience store we are used to. But produce, fresh meats, breads, and some common staples are available. Good to have such a place close by just in case.
Its 11pm local time, so gonna sign off for now, quit rambling and get prepared for tomorrow. We are scheduled to go see Nastya sometime tomorrow and are just chomping at the bit to wrap our arms around her and use our newly learned Russian I Love You! Maybe a little chuckle will result, but that is completely ok! Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment