Stardate: 11/26/2007 He Can Open the Elevator Doors with His Bare Hands

Returned from work today carrying my coat, the weather was warmer than I thought it would be…Anywho, I bought some bread, cookies, little triangle sweet bread with apple butter baked in the middle and some cinnamon rolls for Maddy (those things are not as sweet here as they are at home-thankfully. They are not drenched in sugar!). So, I was carrying my heavy winter coat, my purse with computer in it, a loaf of bread, one package of cookies, and 2 sets of sweet bread and a hot tea I bought from the nice lady at the bread stand. I walked home and got into the apartment only to realize that the elevator was broken again! I was already sweating, and didn’t relish climbing 10 flights to the apartment hauling all this stuff. So, some neighbor of mine comes into the hall and asks me in Russian if the elevator works, I replied “no” in Russian. He and I both heard men’s voices on the inside of the elevator, so he leans over and pries the elevator doors open enough to ask the guys what was wrong and when it would be ready. They told him, but I couldn’t catch it. I asked in Russian if it was broken, and he said yes. We both then proceeded to climb to our lofty apartments (he lives either on the 11^th or 12^th floor). I wasn’t thrilled to go this with such heavy burdens, but there was no alternative. During the whole climb, he spoke to me in Russian as though I could understand him. Some of the time, I could. I think I replied with appropriate laughs, grunts and das at the correct moments. Nonetheless, it amused me on the climb. I cannot tell you how heavy those things were though! I thought I would die on the way up. To top it off, the apartment heat was raging and we had to open all the windows when I got there.

I took a walk in the rain tonight with Maddy and Vasilisa to Schevechenko Park. I pushed Maddy on the swing for a good long while. Then, we moved to a cute little rocker, you know the kind that have the giant spring in the center and the rock back and forward? It was in the shape of an airplane, so Maddy loved it. Afterward, we went inside the circular café in the park to sample the famous ice cream. Maddy and I had a vanilla with chocolate sauce and nuts on top. Vasilisa had Jello with fruit in it. The ice cream was delicious and lived up to the hype! It was a pleasant walk home in the drizzle; I’ve always liked walks in the rain.