Movin' on Up!

[Robin]

Those of you who grew up in the 70s (fans of George and Weezy) will understand this reference. We moved today from the hotel to Colleen's apartment. Our level of happiness at this event is pretty funny. We call this place the "palace" since it has a real couch, big TV, queen-sized bed, and wonder of wonders, a hot plate! Moving was kind of a pain, as it took two trips back and forth across bumpy pavement with our luggage, leftover fridge items and my flowering plant.

We made spaghetti in the apartment tonight. My only mistake was getting the tomato sauce. They put some funky spice in it and it ended up being kind of sweet. I tried to camoflauge it with some red pepper, but it didn't quite mask it. Needless to say, we ate it and enjoyed not having to go to a restaurant to eat for the first time in almost a month.

[Phil]

Yes, walking down the street carrying a suitcase and a potted plant could not help but make me think of that scene in "The Professional" when Leon and Mathilda were fleeing to a new hideout and she had to carry the beloved plant. Speaking of movies, tonight we finally get to see a DVD on a TV instead of a tiny laptop. Right now, however, we're listening to the ipod stereo while watching "Minute of Fame" on Russian TV. It's basically a more upscale Gong Show. Some of the outfits are fantastic, especially when it's a magic act.

Not much to report on the adoption front. Ana has been really good lately and seems to have shed some of her anxiety (but not all! -- she's a moody one, much like her parents). Yesterday I talked to Lillia, the orphanage psychologist, about Ana's fear about leaving the orphanage. She said that it was completely normal, and that of course we should expect her to miss her daily life and her friends. The caregiver Lydia Alexandrovna also suggested to us that we take Ana away from the orphanage in stages -- first to the gate, then a block away, then to the next street, etc. It makes sense.

[Robin]

After moving and then visiting the orphanage this morning (where we played inside with Ana in their ballroom), we went to the bus station to buy tickets to Donetsk. We are going to travel about and hour and a half south tomorrow morning to visit the largest city in this area. We will meet our translator and his family there. He suggested this as a way to break the monotony of our wait. I'm really grateful for this diversion. Even the orphanage caretaker asked us today if we were getting tired of it. Don't get me wrong, playing with Ana is fun. It's just that it's in the same little playyard and there is only so much that we can do there. We do have a little routine for the slide that illicits some good giggles from Ana. I'll help her climb up (actually she really doesn't want help, but I'll be damned if she falls and breaks her chin/tooth on my watch) and then when she gets to the top she sits and waits before going down the slide. Phil, meanwhile, will stand with his back to her toward the top of the slide and says stuff like "Where's Ana. Is she in the tree? etc." Then while his back is turned, she will try to scoot down the slide as fast as she can. But he always catches her before she hits the bottom and scoops her up and whirls her around. She giggles delightedly the minute Phil grabs her. It does a heart good to see this in action....

[Phil]

Yeah, she loves anything that seems like a game, especially if involves being grabbed and snuggled at the end. That's one reason she loves the "catch me if you can" game with Robin. She'll usually flee to a bench and lie face-down, after which Robin will pounce on her and tickle her while nuzzling the back of her neck and making funny noises. I think she's going to love playing with Lola once she overcomes her fear of animals. Which reminds me -- today in the midst of swinging she stopped and pointed at the ground, shouting. I looked down and saw a hornet on the ground under the swing. I stomped on it repeatedly, until it finally went to insect heaven.

What else to tell... Have we mentioned that we eat at the pizza restaurant (http://www.pizza-celentano.com/) pretty much every day? The waitresses all know us by now and tease us for ordering the same thing every day. Cultural observation: Ukrainians take a LONG time to order. Seriously. The guy in front of me took at least 5 minutes to order for him and his girlfriend. Ukrainians will typically hem and haw and ask numerous questions about the dishes and ask if they can make substitutions. Then the waitress will suggest another item, like maybe a blintz. They'll ask her what kind of blintz, does it come with jam, etc. Then, when the customer finally says "that's all", she'll then repeat the order back to him in great detail, after which he invariably wants to add or remove something. Then she'll repeat it all again. It makes my friend Glenn "No Onions" Boothe's picky-eatingness to shame.

[Robin]

I tried to take a picture of the pizza place staff making a blintz. The average customer seems to order these and desserts more than pizza. These pancakes are filled with fruit or mushrooms and cheese. I like them, but they are no match for pizza slice.

We are shocked and dismayed to find out tonight that the Flying Burritto is closed! How could this happen? We were planning to take Ana there when we got back. Aargh, how I will miss their lime-cilantro salad dressing and chicken enchiladas.

[Phil]

And Margarita Monday! Oh well, if the Flying Burrito is indeed closed, then Ana's first restaurant meal in Chapel Hill will have to be at Pepper's Pizza. I bet she's never even had pizza before. When she took a sip of Fanta the other day, the look on her face was priceless. I don't think there's a lot of food variety at the orphanage, obviously.

Okay, I guess that's all for now. Hopefully we'll have some good photos from Donetsk tomorrow.