They really know how to start the day off here with a good breakfast. We had cucumber, potato, tomato, and egg salad chased by a cup of tea. Then we took in a movie (okay we watched a DVD) before heading out for a long walk around town. Stopped in one of our favorite shops called Smak on the way back to the hotel and picked up a snack lunch. Valentina dropped by to introduce us to our substitute translator, Urah. He is a nice young man who grew up in the village where the orphanage is. His summer plans include a trip to the US to study and work in Indiana. We don’t have a lot of info to share on that state. It was starting to cloud up by the time we made the trip so we opted for indoor play. The children were quiet this afternoon. Rinat seemed very tired and the girls were a bit wary of Urah. The Leapster was a big hit with Zarina and she did well with the color and alphabet games. We’re trying to sneak in a little learning when they least suspect it! Rinat showed his artistic side with his painting of a dom (home) beside a Birch tree (Petro is famous for the Birch forest). Notice that when he was asked to sign it, he chose to write his name in English. Sholpan made a mystery painting that she would not show us. Our bag of tricks is starting to run out of new things to do. Of course, we could not let a day go by without a few rounds of cards. Both Crazy 8’s and Hearts were played. Rinat can play cards while simultaneously playing with a computer game! He did not want to waste time on just one thing! The rain came just us we got back to town. Which interestingly we realized is only about eight miles from the village. We have been trying to pronounce the name of the village all week. It is Arkhangelskaya and it does not flow well out of an English speaking mouth. It is just a matter of “you can’t get from here to there” without taking the scenic 35-minute route. Something about a river and a bridge (sounds a lot like Richmond).
