Aspirations

Exactly five years ago, we were in Ukraine, just two weeks into our five-week adventure for Masha’s adoption. For the next few weeks, I’m posting excerpts and a photo or two from each day. Sometimes funny, and sometimes proof of how naive we were, I hope you’ll enjoy our little trip down memory lane…

Wednesday, 30 May, 2007 – The Rain In Ukraine Falls Mainly…Somewhere Else?

Air conditioning is a blessing from God. Each day here has been hotter than the last, and we are very fortunate to be staying in an apartment that is air conditioned.

We learned that the girls had a dance rehearsal at 3:00, so we would only be able to take them to lunch, and then return them to the orphanage. Today, this was a good thing, because it rained for the first time since we’ve been in Ukraine…and it rained HARD! It had been getting a bit dusty and the pollen and flowers from the trillions of chestnut tress were all over the place, so a good hard rain was just what we needed. It cooled things off just a little bit, too! We were actually pretty happy to see the clouds forming!

After lunch, we lingered at our table in the cafeteria and asked the girls to each give us three words or phrases they wanted to learn in English (they were to tell Sveta in Russian, and the Sveta would tell us in English). Amina immediately told Sveta she wanted to know the English word “lawyer.” This kicked off a discussion of what the kids wanted to be when they grew up. Amina she confessed that she didn’t want to be a lawyer, just know the word. She actually wants to be a doctor.

Masha’s first three answers to the question were “I don’t know.” Finally, she told Sveta that she wanted to be a teacher of Russian Literature. Kewl. Now we just have to pack a whole suitcase full of books to take home with us.

2012 Note:  this is just hysterical.  I have to remember to ask Masha about what possessed her to tell us this bald-faced lie.

It was just about time to go when a strange old man at the table behind us fell off his chair and lay unconscious on the floor under our table. We were all concerned that something might be wrong (oh, like I dunno, be dead or something), but even the girls looked at him and said “Oh, he’s just drunk.” With the reports of rampant alcoholism around here, and the dirt cheap liquor prices, I almost expected to see more of this, but honestly, this was our first real drunk of the trip. We all vacated the restaurant, and the manager and a security guy dealt with him quickly.

What did you dream of being when you were a kid?  Leave a comment…