The Last Supper

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - Sadly, Summer and I shared our first breakfast alone since our arrival in Severodonetsk since Moises and Julia will be with Sergei all day today running various adoption errands on their last full day here :-( ! After breakfast, we once again returned to the classroom in Room 209 for hotel-schooling. Around 1:00 pm, we left to run an errand for Sara. She requested that I have some photos printed that we both had taken during our time here so far that she could give her friends. I was more than happy to do this so Summer and I left the hotel and, on our way, we passed the orphanage so I snapped a photo of Summer in front of a statue that sits right outside the gate. (See photo of Summer at statue with orphanage in the background.) And, at this point, I can go ahead and answer yesterday's teaser. And what do flowers, popcorn, liver and Snickers bars have in common? You should know the answer if you have been keeping up with my blogs because, if you have, you should recognize this question as similar to one from a previous teaser in a previous entry. The answer is...drum roll..."The Market." You know, remember "The Market" where I snapped the photo of the woman holding up a cow's head for sale amongst a variety of other raw meats piled upon table after table after table. The FDA would have a field day at this place! It is nothing like you have EVER seen in America. It is kind of like The Farmer's Market, a humongous butcher shop, Big Lots, Walmart and the Barnyard Flea Market all rolled into one but with everything on indoor tables or crammed in outdoor booths that are jammed up against each other with just enough room between them for a dirt aisle for people to walk. It is oddly fascinating and I highly recommend it the next time you are in Severodonetsk :-).

After a 25-minute walk, Summer and I finally made it to "The Market" where we went to the photo shop and encountered a nice young lady who actually could speak enough English to help us - what a relief! Unfortunately, the photo list that Sara gave me had photo numbers on it that did not match the numbers actually on the photo card. I had them print the photos I could remember her singling out but that left plenty more that I couldn't. We would need to return with Sara in tow to complete this assignment. After a 30-minute wait spent perusing the bizarre bazaar, we picked up the prints and headed back for the orphanage for our visiting time with Sara. We spent our time there hanging out in Sara's room talking with Sara, Christina and sweet Ola. (See photo of me and Ola hugging, as Ola loves to do.) Ola and Summer have become big buddies. Ola just seems to get Summer and loves to have her around. (See photo of Summer and Ola hamming it up followed by photo of Summer scaring Ola after she left the room and returned.) We then decided to play spoons in Olga's room next door. (See photo of Christina, Olga, Sara & Summer on the floor while playing spoons followed by a photo of Sara laying on a bed watching the game once she was out.)

Summer and I left and then met up with Sergei, Moises and Julia for our Last Supper together (boo-hoo!). We went to Brava which is the pizza place that we took 35+ of the orphanage kids to for a pizza party earlier in our stay. We chose this place again because there is nothing like the combination of pizza and cigarette smoke! Ahhhh...I can still smell it - all over me that is! There are no enforced restrictions in Ukraine for smoking in restaurants and this place is the "poster child" for why there should be restrictions. We made it through and even got a couple of good photos that came out despite the cloud of smoke - ha! (See photo of Moises, Julia, me and Summer.)

When Summer and I returned to the hotel room, we did our nightly routine of playing cards for an hour or so before her bedtime. As usual, we first played a single player game that Steve taught us a while back by playing a couple of rounds with her playing, then me, etc. to see who ends up with the least amount of cards, which is the object of the game. The ultimate object of the game is run out of ALL of your cards which is VERY rare. I have been playing this game for years and Summer just learned this game since coming to Severodonetsk. I have never run out of cards and, on this night, Summer RAN OUT OF CARDS! I wish you could have seen her face!! Because I didn't have the camera on to capture the exact face at the exact moment, Summer did a reenactment for you all within minutes of her big win. (See joyous Summer as she relives the moment just for you!) We then played two rounds of "Go Fish" and then had some fun taking photos of ourselves. (See photo of Mommy and daughter - just try to ignore the close-up of my wrinkles - where is a filter when you need one?)

Teaser For Today - Why should you sell your car?? I will tell you tomorrow when I share my sage advice and...the rest of the story...!

Sunny