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| Scott entering our flat. |
We arrived safely in Donetsk at 7 AM this morning and settled into our flat. We spent last night on the overnight train from Kyiv and the previous night in Kyiv since our flight came in too late for us the catch the train. It’s a balmy 34 degrees Fahrenheit here and sunny….…woo hoo, it’s warm! We are not even wearing our long johns. The snow is virtually gone which gives the city a very different look than last time. People are out in the parks walking their dogs, jogging and babies aren’t bundled up in 200 layers of clothing, completely immobilized like they were in November (we called them baby loaves). We’ve already been shopping and stocked up on groceries. The trip seems like it will be much easier this time due to our familiarity with the city, our favorite restaurants, grocery stores, contacts here and my improved command of the language. One new thing Scott discovered today at the grocery store was that beer is sold in 2 liter plastic bottles! Now that’s a lot of beer! No, he didn’t buy one.
Today at 3 pm we go visit “S” – we can’t wait!! On the weekends (today is Sunday) we get to see “S” and all his friends up in his wing of the orphanage. Therefore, I’ve loaded up 36 Easter eggs with candy so we can have an Easter egg hunt. We are sending this blog from a pizza parlor where we are waiting for 3 large pizzas to bring to the orphanage along with soda, as a special treat for all the kids!!! (I’m sure their teachers will love us ruining their dinner and loading them up with caffeine……..he, he, he!). We’re also bringing a small gift for “S” ‘s teacher who has been teaching him English for us. We’re going to give all the kids the pictures they took during our last trip. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to see themselves since they loved hamming it up for the camera.
Our preliminary court hearing is tomorrow morning. We have our fingers (and toes) crossed that all goes as planned. We haven’t told “S” what is going on until we get more information and can make a timeline for him.
We’re happy all of you in California are safe now from the radioactive plume! We’ve found a German TV channel that broadcasts the news in English so we’re up on everything. This is the longest we will be away from our son, Gavin. We sure miss him but know he’s probably having the time of his life with his cousins and our neighbors.
I’ll blog more once we get the internet hooked up in our flat on Monday.
Paka! (Bye!)
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| On our balcony |
Hi Dani and Scott,
ReplyDeleteSo excited be coming along on your trip again via your warm and informative posts. Fingers crossed for a happy homecoming for all three of you to make you a foursome!
XOXO
Whitney
Hi Danielle & Scott!
ReplyDeleteWe are so excited to hear that you made it safely to Donetsk and that the weather is treating you well there. Hope you had a blast with the Easter Egg hunt and pizzas/sodas with all the kids. Say "bol'shoi privet" (big hello) to little "S" there and tell him that we can't wait to see him ("mi zhdem vstrechi s nim"). Good luck with the court on Monday.
Natallia, Mikhail & Daniel