Sunday April 25 Oops, the Day isn’t Over Yet

So we’re chillin’ in the room thinking about going to dinner when our door gets attacked by a flock of woodpeckers. Of course I can’t find the key but eventually the door gets open and there stands Alona Rebenok with Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Wowza (at least that’s how it sounded). Alona had dressed up for the occasion and she looked really beautiful. So we hugged her and much awkwardness ensued because Alona’s English is pretty weak until she’s been with us a few days. We talked, or tried to, for a while and then they invited us to their house. Diane thought her Grandpa seemed really emotional. He seems like a really nice guy and I later found out he’s only 56 however the years wear a lot harder here.

We accepted the invite and I’m thinking to myself there’s 6 of us and unless they have the only big car in Ukraine this is going to be really interesting. Somehow we jammed in the car and Uncle Wowza was off dodging potholes, driving on the sidewalk and other entertaining stuff. He’s pretty funny though because he made some comment about a Ukrainian Roller Coaster.

We got to the apartment and they started preparing a feast in our honor. They were frustrated we couldn’t communicate very well so they went and got Alona’s English teacher Larissa and she helped a lot. Somewhere along the way I got a call on my cell phone and it’s Julianna. She’s like “Hello Father, how are you? What are you doing? Thank you for shopping today, I really like. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was listening to music but the battery went dead. We gave her a small Ipod today with Russian and American music on it. I told her we would charge it tomorrow with the computer and she said “Good night Father, I love you.” I told her the same and hung up. I told Diane I’m not sure how much more I can take in one day.

The visit with Alona’s family was very enjoyable. The hospitality is unbelievable. They wanted us to sleep there but given the size of the apartment that was more of an adventure then I was ready for. They got their other son Roma to bring us home and Grandma and Larissa escorted us to our door. Roma wasn’t as cheerful as Wowza but he spent slightly more time on the road so I liked him too.

I think I’ll remember my 50th Birthday.