At 9:45 we go down to meet him, but he has sent his backup driver (must be his day off). Sergei is there waiting for us patiently - they really are quite efficient with the timing. Might be the big American dollars that cause this behaviour. Sergei is a young buck with zero English, but his driving is considerably saner.
The boys meet us with open arms and hugs, as the morning session begins in it's typical manner. This is really going to be hard when we have to leave them on Monday ;^(
 |
It appears that they have been told off by the nurses regarding yesterday's little event, as they are much calmer today and very well behaved. Noticeably different in fact. We stay in our 'assigned' play area as they immediately attack the grapes and bananas, but in a much more controlled manner. It's a lovely morning; the boys cuddle up to us and let us hold them as we read from the book and sing songs to them. David does his 'funky' dance while Max runs around the play area stuffing apricots into his chubby little cheeks. David takes the camera and takes dozens of pictures (thank God for digital!), most of them pointing to the ground or with his finger in front of the lens. Hasn't quite mastered the point and shoot concept. I'm pretty much okay with him using the camera (his brother Vanya loves it too), until he starts using it to smash conkers lying on the ground under the tree! I grab it back from him and say "Nee!" and take his camera privileges away from him. He completely understands and gives me this sorry look on his face. Slightly different to what his brother Max would do!
 |
We have a wonderful morning and the boys are very well behaved. I hope they didn't do shock therapy on them last night...(just kidding ladies - if you're reading this!). As time approaches to leave, I coyly start the process by kicking the ball in the direction of the office. David follows along, but Max isn't playing this game - not at all! He immediately starts his tantrum as Emma drags him along, kicking and screaming all the way back to the office. We need to find out the 'secret of Max' before we leave, because the minute he is surrounded by 'the white coats', their attitude changes and they are brought to attention and polite. Maybe I need to get one of those white coats! We say goodbye, as they walk away all charming and docile - taken down the hall to their 'other life'.
Time for lunch - you guessed it. Sergei drops us off at our favorite restaurant, Camellia's and we order our usual fare. I know, we tend to be creatures of habit - but when the menus are in English and the food is great and cheap - why go anywhere else? After lunch we walk back to the flat to take a power nap and get ready for one of our final visits with the boys. Only two remain - this afternoon and then the big goodbye on Monday morning. Sergei is waiting for us at 3:30 and he calmly drives us to the orphanage. On the drive thru town, you can tell the townsfolk are gearing up for Saturday night. All of the woman are dressed to the max, with high heels and flowing hair. Emma points out that all the women here are beautiful and skinny, but all the men are big and ugly. Hmmm - can't say that I really noticed...
 |
Our afternoon visit with the boys is very relaxing and quite pleasant. Once again the boys are on their best behaviour, so we just hang out and enjoy each other's company. It seems like we are finally getting used to each other and now we have to leave them! It really feels like we are becoming a family unit - I can see it! We sit in the cool breeze watching them play, pushing them on the swings; our minds wander to visions of how this will all play out back home in Henderson and it just makes sense!
At 5pm sharp, their nurse comes out to meet us to come and take the boys so that they can join the rest of their group playing nearby. It must be some special Saturday evening outdoor event - either that our they just can't stand to watch us drag Max back to the office again. Either way, it's a nice and pleasant goodbye. We try to tell them we won't see them tomorrow, as we are going to visit their brother Vanya, but nobody understands. Why can't we all just speak the same language!!!???
 |
Back to the flat - tonight we plan on painting the town red (no pun intended), and 'pushing the boat out'!! We get changed into our Saturday night Kirovograd outfits and stroll down to the main center of town to a large beer garden to enjoy the atmosphere and chat about our little adventure. It's a pretty calm crowd, filled with men and women of all ages - I believe they are mostly locals as I doubt this is much of a tourist town. We enjoy a few beers and watch the girls strut their stuff while the boys appear not to notice. All partied out and ready to go home, we stroll through the park and come up to the big scary Russian hotel we've seen every day. They tell us not to go there to eat, but we decide to venture in for a look. We take the lift up to the second floor and walk into an empty bar with a scary looking Russian woman behind the bar. We order a beer and she invites us to the nice terrace where there are a few people enjoying the evening speaking very quietly - probably some KGB spy activity going on. It's an interesting vibe and we make jokes about it and sing Simon and Garfunkel songs;"...careful his bow tie is really a camera...". Actually it's a bit sad that they don't get many people here as it's a very nice bar and a huge hotel! One more for the road and then we stumble home, admiring the architecture, taking silly pictures of me with the statue of the original mayor (he has a chair right next to him for that purpose!) and Emma with her Opera house marble. Up the four flights of stairs, we fall into bed for a good night's rest.
 |
Tomorrow we get to see Vanya!!! Good night "My Three Sons"...
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment