Day 9

Sleep is getting easier. I slept without ear plugs. We were able to open the bedroom window, so the temperature is bearable.

The morning schedule got compressed. We were supposed to have breakfast at 9, meet Tanya at 10 at the internot, go to church, come back, check out of the hotel, and go back to the internot. Instead, we had to be at the internot at 9:30, and we had to check out before that, since church was supposed to be an all day event. So again, we quickly packed some things for our 2 or 3 or 4 day trip to Kiev. As we finished packing, the laundry came back. Hooray for clean clothes. We got everything we needed into one duffel and two backpacks. We wolfed down our breakfast (bilini, rolled crepes). We stored the luggage at the front desk of the hotel. The poor clerk was expecting a couple of bags, she got 4 large pieces. They got stored in the bathroom of the office. We caught the trolley to the internot. Nastiya was not yet dressed, but that did not take long.

The taxi we took was a larger variety, like a mini van with seating for 8. We needed a vehicle this large, because our local translator Anya and her sister were coming with us. Anya is the daughter of the director of the trade school. We headed out of town, going up hill. There are mountains near by. Not huge, but big. Many pines. Some of the roads had signs saying 10% grade. And the roads were covered with snow and ice. 45 minutes later, we arrived at a monastary complex. The monastary is one that the girls have been to before. We had seen pictures of it on Google Earth, and it is east of Slovyansk. We snapped a lot of pictures, and walked around in a lot of cold wind.

Back in the taxi to the top of the mountain, to see a war memorial. It was a statue of a big hero of Ukraine, done in cubist style. Back in the taxi to Slovyansk. We tried to eat lunch at a cafe where Tanya does practice cooking for her trade school, but it was closed, so we ended up at the pizza place. Trolley back to the internot.

It is hard to be at the internot. Many kids are coughing. Drug resistant TB is spreading through this country. Also, on Sunday at least, most of the kids are completely bored. Some are in rooms with music turned up very loud, the kids are just lying on the floor. Other rooms with TVs also have the volume up all the way. Bigger kids, 16 years old, slam open the doors to the common rooms, look around to see what's going on and who is in the room, the leave by slamming the doors. We sat with Sasha and Nastiya and watched some movies. Sasha is not a TV watcher. She fell asleep sitting next to me. Vika and her new parents came in. Vika now had a camera, so she took several pictures, which was fun for the TV watchers since the room was quite dark. At 5, it was time for dinner. I had some candy out, which I slipped to a couple of girls before they left. Earlier, I had given candy to a couple of boys, one named Fedya. He seems very bright, kind of quiet, very much in need of attention. I wish I could do a lot for these kids, but they need so much.

(Eileen)
The monestary was very beatiful. The main chapel is the pride and joy of the region. There wasn't a church service. People walked in, took a very skinny taper, lit it, and placed it in a skinny brass candlestand. There were people waiting in line to enter some sort of wooden shrine. This building had the biggest brass chandelier I've ever seen, maybe 10 feet tall. Behind each bulb of the chadelier was a small brass angel. Photos were not allowed inside, so I bought a small picture book. We made our way down to a river that was at the foot of the complex. Some deeply devoted person had carved two 4 foot high ice crosses out of the river ice to commemorate Jesus' baptism day. I think Sasha was a little frightened to stand on the iced over river next to the crosses.

At the monestary, all the women wear head coverings, even Nastiya. I had bought a scarf yesterday for this purpose. Women must also wear dresses or skirts. If you don't do that, you must wear a scarf around your waist over your pants to act as a kind of pretend dress. This was common. My scarf is heavily fringed. It was cold. Nastiya's fingers were cold. She was wearing a different coat from yesterday and far too large. Tanya had requested a hand warmer hottie earlier in the day, so I had the girls pass it around. Want to make friends in Ukraine in the winter? Break open a hottie. You will instantly become everyone's friend. Nancy, was it you who ditched the oatmeal for the hotties? Smart.

For dinner, I think we crashed a wedding party at the Chinook. Usually, the place is almost empty, tonight they seated us at what looked like the last table for two, then pull out another table and set it up for two. There was live music. The movie "Speed Racer" was described by Roger Ebert as having "eye lacerating visuals." The music at the Chinook was unbearably loud. Fortunately I have my trusty ear plugs. I can still feel the bass rattling my chest. This must be a common way to spend evenings. We've been hearing loud music from our hotel restaurant in the evenings. We noticed music stands and sound equipment. Also at the restaurant at the Hotel Ukraine.

The charming part about the music at Chinook is that people dance. It's so good to see people celebrating life. It's more comical to see it here, because the setting is so rustic. There is even a spinning disco ball over the singers. No band. Karaoke style with trained singers.

Tany called 4 times very quickly. We couldn't hear the phone ring. I stepped outside to talk. Were we communicating? Tanya, 8, Chinook, internot, Igor, Da? I think I'm missing home. The routine there is a bit boring, but it IS a routine. Here, everything is different every day. It's tiring, always trying to figure out what's going on, or if we are getting into trouble.

(Eileen)
I think Ro is needing a shot of faith. Felix? Are you praying? It's been pretty chaotic. I konw things will settle in once the 10 day wait kicks in and we aren't clearing new paths every day. It's intense and stressful when you are pushing your comfort zone every day.

(Rolan)
A couple of annoyances. I made a call to Adoption Alliance that used 60 of my 100 Gry on the phone. I need to buy more time. And my razor died. I tried to use it before we went to the monastary, but no response. Almost certainly the thing was turned on while packed and the batteries discharged. I did not bring the charger, because it is brittle plastic and could break easily while packed. I guess now is a good time to try to grow a beard.