Shopping!

No plans until 11:00 when we expected Andre’ to come with the “extension couch”. I was up at 8:00, rested and eager for some quiet time to knit and read from one of the many medical journals I brought along. Sasha rose around 9:00, John shortly thereafter. While waiting for the couch and our ride to the open air market to shop for the children, John and I went out seeking pastries. It took a couple of tries, being rather late in the day for breakfast (and possibly because it is Saturday), but we succeeded, and bought some desserts for the next few days, too.

Andre’ arrived, along with the apartment manager. Bringing the couch into the apartment proved much easier said than done. There is an inner and outer door separated by about 8 inches. Each door has a 12-inch extension that can be opened for moving larger objects in and out. This was such an occasion, but the last time not so recently. The lever that moves to open the outer door was a large bolt, and hadn’t been moved in a long time. But with a closed-end wrench around it, it was able to be moved. The bottom was missing such a lever, and the top bolt would not work in the bottom as they discovered after removing the top bolt while standing on a chair.

The inside door has the same kind locking mechanism, but not as strong, which holds the door in place. The top one on that door works as designed. The bottom lever doesn’t, it seemed to be broken. Removing the mechanism while the door is close doesn’t work, they discovered. There is a screw on the bottom of the door which needs to be removed. Removing the door from its hinges requires removing the top molding. (It seems to be screwed in for easy removal.) The inside door is now fully open, but the outside door still a problem. A little cooking oil didn’t help the problem. A bent screwdriver or two later, it was decided to try moving the couch with the outside door only open 5/6 of the way. The four-piece sectional barely fit. Now Sasha will have a bed that is long enough for him. He is a fairly tall Ukrainian.

We still don’t have a second key for the apartment. That hasn’t been a problem since Sasha has been with us almost constantly, but tomorrow we will go to church with our friends Alec and Nadya (friends/interpreters from mission trips who live here in Kharkov) and Sasha has declined our invitation to join us. The Protestant services are not to his taste, being of the Orthodox tradition. The key may be delivered later today. Or may not!

That all gave me plenty of time to review the clothing the grandmothers had sent along. Based on the measurements we took yesterday, we should be able to use most of the boys’ clothing except half of the 12-month sizes. The sandals will just fit Denis, the little socks Denis and the larger ones Nick. Most of the clothes are for warmer weather, though.

Shortly after noon we were able to begin the shopping venture. Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine, with 1.5 million people. Andre’ and Sasha were taking us to the open air market – the largest in Europe. It took 20-30 minutes to drive there, then another 15 to find a parking spot. Andre’ led us to the “best” part of the market, meaning it was indoors, so cooler, and not so crowded. It was like a mega-mall with many corridors all on one level. At three different shops we picked up several t-shirts for Nick, two for Denis, shorts for both and a pair of shoes each. (Tracing their feet had been tricky because they both proved to be ticklish.) Each shop gave us a small discount when asked (we were told bartering is expected). John also found a t-shirt for himself, more casual and comfortable than any he had packed.

We left the market then and went to a department store for non-clothing items: a dish towel, a hand towel for the bathroom, a sauté pan (with glass lid), a cheese grater (anticipating lots of spaghetti while here), and a large ceramic mug so Sasha can enjoy a proper cup of tea!

At 2:00 we went to a “traditional” Ukrainian restaurant for a late lunch. We were the only customers for most of the meal. They promised that our food would be very fresh, the green borscht John and I ordered was made for us, not already standing ready. Meals in restaurants, Sasha and Andre’ explained, are not just about eating, but about “resting” and enjoying the time. We did wonder if “only the freshest” meant they were out plucking the chicken, harvesting the wheat for the bread and pasta, picking and preserving the cherries and currants for the various dishes we ordered! Andre’ and Sasha had a cold soup with meat, cucumbers and dill as the predominant flavors. We were allowed to sample it and it was quite refreshing as well as tasty. I also had a “Cossack Salad” with tomatoes and warm chicken. John ordered a dish with chicken and mushrooms in soy sauce. We two shared an order of black currant vereniki – I was glad I didn’t need to eat it alone since I was quite sated by then.

Then back to the apartment. John took a nap. Sasha went for a walk, I proofread the journal so far. Then John reached Alec to confirm time and location for tomorrow, working out the Metro stops with the street map from Andre’ and the Kharkov Metro map we copied onto the computer while in Kyiv. We will attempt to them at 9:45 tomorrow morning. John went out to time the walk to the Metro stop he/we plans to take a 15-20 minute walk. Alec and his wife may have other plans for the afternoon, but will get together again before we leave.

It’s almost 7:30 now – perhaps I’ll try a load of laundry.