Staples
I was waiting for Jon's next paycheck to buy wholesale amounts of several staples. We need flour, rice, salt, sugar, honey, and butter. Some of these items have been lacking for almost two weeks, while others ran out yesterday or today.
The absence of one of these staples bothered some of our children. In fact, one of them walked to the local convenience store this morning to purchase some with his own money. My first guess would have been the honey, but no, the item they can't live without is SALT.
I've written about salt before, if you want to read those posts again:
3/2/07
5/2/08
11/18/09
1/18/10
Life's Different Phases
It's almost impossible to get one child to brush their teeth. Another one doesn't want tuna sandwiches because they make his breath smell bad. What a difference a few years makes!
Watching Movies
We recently watched a DVD on our home television, and the movie included a scene with actors speaking Russian. Even without subtitles, I quickly found out the meaning of the conversation. All I had to do was ask my kids for a translation!
More on Loud Noises
On our very first visit with Kola, the word "airplane" (samalot) was already a prominent part of the conversation (see the blog post on 10/8/08). During our initial months with him, he never failed to hear and see airplanes in the sky, excitedly pointing at them and exclaiming "samalot, samalot!"
In preparing him for life in the U.S., we asked him what he thought a typical U.S. home would be like. "Every family has an airplane, right?"
And guess what Kola wants to do when he grows up? Be an astronaut!
Loud Noises
Or should I say unexpected noises?
The whoosh of a low-flow flush commode.
The sound of a dog tags when our husky Dakota shook himself.
The roar of a plane in the sky.
All of these made Kola jump and then hold his ears at first hearing.
More on Shoes
Jonathan smiles every time someone tells me, "You look just like my ___ [
insert name of relative, friend, or acquaintance]." I must have an "every-woman" face, because this scenario happens to me at least twice a year. With my strong ethnic heritage as a Swedish-American, you'd think I wouldn't look so universal. But I've been mistaken for other Americans, Germans, Ukrainians, and Poles. I was not immune even in the Far East, where someone in Hong Kong thought I looked like a friend from England.
My face allows me to blend in, but my shoes sometimes do not. In Europe, one walks and walks and walks. When we lived in Germany, Jonathan and I each wore out a new pair of shoes completely in only seven months. On our 2008 visit to Ukraine, my right foot was very sore, and I limped along in the only shoes that were not painful--white tennis shoes. Now that's a sure-fire way to look utterly American! And I did see lots of people staring at my feet, which were not stylish in stiletto heels. But at least I was able to walk around, and I'm sure I was much more comfortable than many of the other women there.
Shoes
In Ukraine, Jonathan and I continued our love affair with "Kaffeetrinken," which we started when we lived in Germany in the early 1990s. After our afternoon visit with Kola at the orphanage, we'd go back into town and find a coffee shop or restaurant. One of our favorites was tucked into the back corner of the top floor of a large department store. The waitresses there got to know us, and always treated us very graciously.
The older waitresses wore very practical shoes while on the job. But one day, while we enjoyed our coffee and sweets, the shift for one of the waitresses ended, and she prepared to leave. Off went the work shoes and out came the stiletto heels. Like most Ukrainian women that we observed, she wouldn't go out in public without fine clothes and shoes, even for a simple commuting or shopping trip.
The entrance/exit to the department store had a metal grate over a shallow opening, to catch snow and ice from shoppers' shoes. For stiletto heels, the grate would seemingly make walking as difficult as livestock traversing a cattle guard. But I observed that all the women, without even a conscious thought, tip-toed across that grate without missing a stride. After that feat, cobblestone streets were a breeze!
Telephoning
On our first visit to Ukraine, in 2005, Masha gave us cell phones for communication within the country. Telephone calls back home to the States, however, required a trip to the office of the telephone company. During their opening hours, an employee would assign you to a booth. After completing the conversation, he would collect payment for the cost of the call.
Jonathan usually placed the calls, which took time to get a line out and dial. While waiting, I took a look around and discovered an interesting information sheet inside our phone booth. It was a list of countries and their area codes, but it had been a while since that list was placed there. Every country on the list was from the former Soviet bloc.
Building Blocks
Other very useful sets of toys for our kids have been anything they use to costume themselves or build things. Some of these sets were purchased in stores as gifts--Legos, Lincoln Logs, etc.--but even more are found items around the house. Our stash of rags has been transformed into things like furniture and pirate clothing. Jonathan does get concerned, however, when the contents of the recycle bin start to go upstairs. They are clean enough, but seldom get put away after being used.
Another Great Toy
Another winner in the toy category is interlocking floor mats. My parents gave us a set of twenty or so, and the younger children love to build houses with them. When combined with blankets for awnings and "furniture," these mats provide hours of fun.
"New" Toys
"LeapPad" is a wonderful gift that we received shortly after the kids came. This toy was new to me, but I quickly came to love it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with LeapPad, it's a series of books (with computer cassettes) that provides an interactive learning experience for the child.
The stories are attractive to the children (e.g., Spiderman, Dinosaurs, Thomas the Train) and can be accessed in multiple ways. Besides reading the story out loud to the child, LeapPad also provides games (that support the learning concept) on each page of the book. The series is geared to various age groups, and each book emphasizes a different subject in school (e.g., math, science, social studies).
For our children, who needed to learn English quickly, listening to language on LeapPad was a godsend. Peter still uses it when we travel in the car.
Non Sequitur
To completely change the topic, here's a story from some notes I found recently about our time in Ukraine:Jonathan and I had arrived in Kyiv the day before, and it was now time to take our first taxi ride. We hailed the nearest cab and climbed in.
I reached for a seat belt, but couldn't find it. The driver had hooked them together and pushed them under the seat. I asked him with hand signals and my broken Ukrainian if we could pull the seat belts out.
"You don't need them. I'm a very safe driver!"
Kids' Math
Five pennies is worth much more than
one nickel
$5 to buy a gift for someone = two items costing $
4.99 and $
1.99
1 + 1 = 11
A Compliment
To my family and friends who made my birthday yesterday so special--
THANK YOU!
Also for the comment by an older colleague, who was surprised to hear I was turning 50--
"You certainly are well-preserved!"
Holiday Reminiscing
Our four boys returned to school two days ago. At Kola's bedtime on Monday night, I asked him about his Christmas holiday. "What were your favorite things that you'll share with your class tomorrow?"
Expecting him to say "presents," I was pleased to hear about several activities instead:
"Seeing the Blue Man Group"--a combined gift from several family members
"Celebrating New Year's Eve with poppers and noisemakers"
"Ice Fishing"--part of our four-day vacation to Wisconsin. Because of an unseasonal thaw, the lake's ice was covered with about two inches of water. Kola definitely enjoyed that part of it.
"I'll tell my class that, just like Jesus, I can walk on water!"
