We picked up Yuri at 10 a.m. and headed for the "container market". The market is an asphalt field about 7 or 8 kilometers long packed with thousands of cargo containers. This was not so much a shopping trip as a sight seeing experience. The aisles between rows of containers are packed with people. Some shopping. Some selling. Some pushing carts. Many pushing their way through the crowd as they press on to some other crowded place. Our quest was to find Yuri a basketball. Sasha, our driver, acted as trail blazer. He had no idea where he was going as we snaked, single file (one hand on my wallet at all times) between the bodies. Eventually, we found the "toy" aisle and located several vendors selling basketballs. After comparing quality and price, we settled on a choice ball and got out of there!
Containers are stacked two high. The bottom container is open to the aisle and acts as the display area. The top containers warehouse more goods.
For lunch, we trekked back to the city center and stopped at a restaurant that prepared traditional Ukrainian foods. The wait staff wore traditional costumes and the restaurant was decorated with samples of Ukrainian art and culture. Most of the food was fantastic. Renee, Nataliya and Yuri enjoyed the borsch (I must admit, it's good). We also sampled the Verenike (both meat and dessert types). After stuffing ourselves, we decided it was time to head back to the Internot to test Yuri's new basketball.
The waitress graciously allowed me to take a picture of her headdress.
Back at the Internot, Paul and Yuri shot hoops. Renee shagged the ball and "encouraged" our play.
Well, you get what you pay for. Our new ball does not hold air. We had to stop every 10 or 15 minutes and pump it back up. Sasha felt so bad he said he would return the ball to the container market for us and argue with the vendor. ;-) Even with a bum ball, Yuri really enjoyed himself.
Sasha, our driver, with his Mitsubishi van. We prefer Sasha as our driver because his van offers generous space and he is more reasonably priced than other drivers. Not to mention, he is just a nice guy and safe driver.
We left Yuri at the Internot at about 4 p.m. Yuri is still feeling the effects of his sinus infection. We'd love to get him home and placed on antibiotics! We noticed several of the Internot kids walking around with a sharp cough. No surprise given their close living environment. Before we left Yuri, Renee made sure he was supplied with Kleenex, lip balm, was taking his medicine correctly and drinking plenty of fluids.
It was a very pleasant day. Renee and I are tired from all the walking and the grind of being in what for us is a strange environment. As those of you who have been here know, nothing is easy in Odessa. Everything from safe drinking water, edible foods, laundry and communication come with considerable more effort and planning than they do back home. Tomorrow, we will create new Power of Attorney documents for Nataliya and Oleg. Nataliya will also help the Internot staff complete our paperwork, which we hope will be filed with the court on Tuesday. Thank you for your prayers and emails!
Containers are stacked two high. The bottom container is open to the aisle and acts as the display area. The top containers warehouse more goods.
For lunch, we trekked back to the city center and stopped at a restaurant that prepared traditional Ukrainian foods. The wait staff wore traditional costumes and the restaurant was decorated with samples of Ukrainian art and culture. Most of the food was fantastic. Renee, Nataliya and Yuri enjoyed the borsch (I must admit, it's good). We also sampled the Verenike (both meat and dessert types). After stuffing ourselves, we decided it was time to head back to the Internot to test Yuri's new basketball.
The waitress graciously allowed me to take a picture of her headdress.
Back at the Internot, Paul and Yuri shot hoops. Renee shagged the ball and "encouraged" our play.
Well, you get what you pay for. Our new ball does not hold air. We had to stop every 10 or 15 minutes and pump it back up. Sasha felt so bad he said he would return the ball to the container market for us and argue with the vendor. ;-) Even with a bum ball, Yuri really enjoyed himself.
Sasha, our driver, with his Mitsubishi van. We prefer Sasha as our driver because his van offers generous space and he is more reasonably priced than other drivers. Not to mention, he is just a nice guy and safe driver.
We left Yuri at the Internot at about 4 p.m. Yuri is still feeling the effects of his sinus infection. We'd love to get him home and placed on antibiotics! We noticed several of the Internot kids walking around with a sharp cough. No surprise given their close living environment. Before we left Yuri, Renee made sure he was supplied with Kleenex, lip balm, was taking his medicine correctly and drinking plenty of fluids.
It was a very pleasant day. Renee and I are tired from all the walking and the grind of being in what for us is a strange environment. As those of you who have been here know, nothing is easy in Odessa. Everything from safe drinking water, edible foods, laundry and communication come with considerable more effort and planning than they do back home. Tomorrow, we will create new Power of Attorney documents for Nataliya and Oleg. Nataliya will also help the Internot staff complete our paperwork, which we hope will be filed with the court on Tuesday. Thank you for your prayers and emails!
1 comment:
Aren't the Ukrainian markets "fun"? It is a unique way of shopping! I think we dined at that same Ukrainian restaurant(was there a goat in the window?) and the borscht was really good. Ariana had ordered it and I remember that I wished I had ordered it instead!
Christina told us in Sunday school about the snake Yuri was "playing" with. Neat to see the picture of it. We are enjoying all the pictures. You do a great job with those. I could never get mine in well and it seemed to take me longer than the typing!
We're glad you are getting out and about to different places. I was always thankful for somewhere to go instaed of waiting at the house.
Lokking forward to hearing and seeing more : )
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