A day for play!

Today (actually it was yesterday)  Mick, Janel, and I took the kids out for a day of fun...


Andre (our driver) came to pick us up right on schedule and we were off the the children's home for the kids!  When we got there, the boys were working on their weekly showers--a shower base with a hose coming out of the wall that has a hand shower nozzle attached to the end.  They washed themselves, then while still in the shower area, grabbed their socks and underwear from the week and began to wash them, then the boys ran out for their fresh socks and undies!


(No, I'm not some kind of wierdo--the teacher was standing there watching the boys go in one by one, and she motioned me over)  While standing there, I had a disturbing high school flash back--Mr Gallager screaming BEAR and WET to the entire gym class, and all the guys lining up for inspection!!!

  

Vika and the gang were in the small room with Luba having their English lessons, she was just getting the class started and had their books along with some snacks on each of the desks ready for the kids. Luba holds two classes per week, one for the older kids and one for the younger group.  It was good to get to meet Luba because she and the team of missionaries she works with have been so important and instrumental to all of the the kids...when we first started this process, they emailed us several pictures and video clips of Dema when he was younger.

Andre took us to a huge building that looked relatively new compared to most in the city--we learned that Krivoy Rog was a huge WWII battle site because of the large concentration of iron ore deposits and the smelting facilities that are spread all over the city.  The German's wanted it and Russia had it!  We were told that 99% of the city was destroyed in the battle, so most everything was built or rebuilt since 1945.  Through WWII, there was not a single family in Ukraine that did not loose either a father or brother to the war.  Every town and city in Ukraine has an eternal flame to remember the fallen and commemorate their loss.

 The building we were entering was huge, it housed a bowling alley, a fitness center, a 6 theater movie cinema, a kind of food court, mini bars, and an ice skating rink, and the place was packed!  When we arrived, the bowling alley was full, and there wasn't a very good selection of ice skates.  Dema's skates were probably 3 sizes too big, and I think Micks were 2 sizes too small!   Ice skating didn't last too long though--Dema wasn't as good as he had hoped, and when I went to help, we both ended up on the ice--he'll learn quickly that papa isn't the most graceful guy around!!

  
We left the rink and headed for the bowling alley where we found an older gentleman working the desk--probably the owner, but thankfully he spoke English!  He helped us with the shoe size conversion from American to European, and we were off to our lanes.  None of us were going to make the PBA tour, but we had a good time until the 6 pound ball got to be too much for the kids.  We definitely got our 126 grivna's ($15) worth for the hour.

Our next stop was a mall complex where Vika got to do what little girls like to do best--shop!! Yesterday, Svetta took us there and showed us a play area where Dema might want to go...He seemed to have more fum here than with the bowling and skating combined!

When we went in, I recognized a little vioce, but thought--no way, it couldn't be!  Sure enough, Nastya was there with her new Italian mama.  It was good for me to see their interaction, Nastya is happy and her mama is a very nice lady!  After the two kids had played hard for a little while and were sweated up, her mama spoke to me in Italian, motioned to the kids and walked out the door, I figured she was headed out to pay 2 grivna to use the public toilet in the mall, but she returned with 2 drink boxes for the kids! 

My Italian is pretty much non existent, but I was able to say "gratsi" to which she responded "your welcome"!  I thought "great!" she speaks a little English, so I tried to convey just how I knew Nastya, but it didn't work.  Maybe someday, Nastya will tell her mama how she knew the American in the mall.  I had hoped for a picture of Nastya, Dema and her new mama, but Nastya would have no part of it.  But, I was glad to be able to see that Nastya was happy, and her mama is a very nice woman!

The day ended with a very short trip to the children's home where the kids had a chance to Skype with their friend Liliya in America.  On Monday, when Dema leaves the orphanage to come to the apartment, he will be Skyping with Liliya so that she can begin to prepare for his English lessons that will start Saturday after he returns!   He and I will spend the day playing on his new Leapfrog with a game designed for 4 year olds teaching them the basics of reading...we're not wasting any time breaking down the communication barrier!