Happy Borschday

Day 8 – Sunday, 20 December

And on the seventh day, we rested.

Well, ok, really the 8th, but you get the idea. After a week of running around and traveling and stressing out and running around some more, we finally had our first totally “down” day. The weather warmed to just above freezing and a light fog filled the streets around our apartment, giving us a cozy, cocooned feeling perfect for a lazy Sunday.

We slept in. I made a pot of really strong coffee. I read while Mark played with the internet sharing on our computers and did a bit of work. We had planned to get outside for a walk around town, but as the sky began to darken, we realized it really would be great just to keep puttering around the apartment.

We had one item on our to-do list for today (if you remember, two or fewer items is likely to be a successful day in Ukraine…): Make Ukrainian Borsch. Borsch is a tomato-based soup with pork and root vegetables, including beets; every Ukrainian woman has her own special Borsch recipe. Last time we were here, we learned one. Today, we learned another. Different, but equally delicious.

Mark parked himself with his laptop in the corner of the kitchen while our translator directed me around the tiny kitchen, grating and chopping and peeling. All the while, we chatted and sipped vodka and had a great time. We are so blessed to have a translator who is quickly becoming a friend.

After dinner, we sat captivated for a 3-hour showing of Ukraine’s equivalent to American Idol. Lena had shared her favorites with our translator yesterday, and we chose our own favorites as we watched. The show is a little different, as they focus as heavily on the stage performance as the singing; the performers are accompanied on the stage by dancers and wind machines and pyrotechnics. They are down to seven competitors, and are holding the finale next week.

We know that tomorrow will be a very busy day for our translator, as she has to do about three days’ worth of paperwork in one day to meet the deadline to get onto the court schedule before the holiday break. Our role in the day will be mostly to wait, appear at the right time to sign everything, and then wait again until she gets the court application submitted. With an important and busy day looming, bedtime sneaked up on us quickly. After a short call home to Masha, we stumbled off for a good night’s rest.