Shopping Spree

1) The hair accessories stall. They are really into putting girl's hair up in bows and ribbons.

2) A view from the outside of the market. Lots of flower vendors.

3) The Chinese restaurant.

4) The doorway into our apartment. Note the wiring!

[Phil]

So the good news is that no one appealed the court's ruling yesterday, and on Monday morning Ana will officially be our daughter. All that's left now is the logistics of getting all of us back to the States. It looks like we have some errands to run on Monday and Tuesday, but hopefully we'll be in Kiev and getting Ana's visa at the embassy on Wednesday. We still hope to return to NC very late on Sunday the 28th,

So today we went to the Big Market and went a little crazy. I'll let Robin explain:

[Robin]

Colleen, Phil and I went to the orphanage and then the Pizza place (yes. they know our order by now). Then we took a taxi to the big market (the small market is by the courthouse). We got there and went on a buying frenzy once we got to a stall that displayed kids clothes. Really cute tights with teddy bears, stripes, hearts, flowers, etc. Phil helped Colleen and I ask questions (Do you have this pattern in a bigger size, etc.) and then with the sales transaction. We walked away with two new pairs of tights and a pink corduroy jumper. Then we walked onward and found another stall with all kinds of slippers. We bought Ana some yellow daisy slippers (for her lounging on the train!). Then we hit the jackpot for DVDs in a stall. The sales person was very friendly and tried to help us buy some pirated Winnie the Pooh.

[Phil]

Oh yeah, that guy had everything. He asked whether I wanted the Russian Winnie-Pooh or the Disney one. I said "Disney". He said that the Russian was much better and started rummaging through is huge cache of DVD's. Keep in mind that none of these were legal whatsoever. They were pirated double-sided DVD's that had like 8 movies on one disk. In any case, he seemed to take a personal interest in our quest for classic Russian cartoons and went through 4 or 5 before he finally said "This is the best!". I also asked him for an mp3 CD of current Russian pop hits, and not 5 minutes later 13-year-old girl tried to buy it. He was all"I'm so sorry; this is the only one." I was like "Score!"

[Robin]

The guy put the pop music CD into his player and ran through a number of selections (bopping his head to the rhythm). Sounded liked all the selections at Restaurant Premier, so we were like "yes, we want it." He also invited us to a DVD party next Saturday that will feature vodka and beer. Then the ultimate sales moment--he sells the stuff to us and tells Phil that I have a "nice smile." This was all translated to me after the fact. I would have bought some more CDs had I been able to understand him :)

One interesting note, every stall that we went into and looked at items was then besieged by other Ukranians. I turned to Phil at one point and said, "Look, anything we (Americans) find interesting will draw a crowd." We started a virtual run on tights and DVDs.

[Phil]

So after the market we walked back to our neighborhood and bought some gift envelopes for the orphanage people that have been helpful to us. It's hard to belive that tomorrow will probably be our last day on the playground.

In any case, Ana and her whole group were in good spirits tonight. We played some soccer, blew balloons and bubbles, played on the see-saw, etc. We then left Ana in good spirits and had dinner at the Chinese restaurant. This time there were a few other patrons besides ourselves. The waitresses were very helpful and steered us in the right direction. Who would have thought Szechuan pinto beans would be good, but they were!

[Robin]

The "satay" chicken was actually deep-fried chicken (delicious!) with a sweet-sour dipping sauce (no peanut butter!). We had a really good time and laughed over dinner. It was nice to relax. When we got back to the apartment, we traded photos on flash drives and talked about trips we have been on (lots of pictures on our laptop from Florence and Berlin, etc.). It was a nice end to a good day.

[Phil]

So tomorrow may be our last full day in Kramatorsk. I'm somehow melancholy about it. (I have now been drowned aut and ridiculed by Robin and Colleen). But seriously, I kind of like it here, but definitely not enough to live here. In general, the people have been very nice, like the woman at the neighborhood shop tonight who asked where I was from after we bought some chocolates. I told her that we were from America. She then asked why we were here. I always thought I would lie about this, but instead I said "to adopt a daughter". She said "Wonderful. I wish you the best." I said "same to you". And she's not at all an anomaly: the people at the market have been very nice and I haven't sensed them giving us the "Foreigner Price".