Kemerovo- day 15

Today has not been too exciting really but I wanted to keep up the trend and write something every day. Honestly, it gives me something to do. I have forgotten how much joy writing gave me as a child when I wrote stories. Ah, in another life with more time maybe I would have found a niche as a writer. These days everyone has blogs and some “unprofessional” bloggers are really good. So, I woke up without an alarm or a child whispering “mommy” two inches from my face. Actually, I really miss Callie’s wakeup call. I especially miss her hugs. At breakfast “kasha” (oatmeal) was served again. So, I ate one piece of toast and returned with the oatmeal to my room. I always flush it down the toilet but I don’t want to appear wasteful here as they are definitely not people to waste food. I don’t want to be rude either and tell them I really don’t like it. I will never see these people again, but I still finding myself wanting them to approve of me. Hmm… interesting tidbit.
After coming back to the room (and yes the walls at times seem to be closing in) I watched a movie I had downloaded on my Ipad. I have been saving it for when I was so bored and today was a good day to take advantage. Oh, the joy of actually UNDERSTANDING a movie without having to guess the storyline! I have to admit, it did take some of the creativity out of it for me though as Chad and I can make up some pretty awesome plots for the Russian reality shows. Anyway, the movie was typical romantic comedy fare but enjoyable none the less. After the movie Chad got up and was HUNGRY. We walked to Traveler’s Coffee as they have a very reasonable breakfast . I got a two egg omelet and gave half to Chad. I really haven’t been eating near as much as usual. I always knew I ate when I was bored and filled up on empty calories such as my Mt. Dew. We also walk a TON here cause there is no other way to get around. Americans are LAZY when it comes to walking; and I am definitely in that category as well. Part of our day is spent walking to different places which can take up to a half hour to get there. When there is not anything else to do, it is entertainment. I think Chad might be losing weight too as we had to buy him a belt for his pants.
We went to an interesting market today. You walk in and there is long rows of stainless steel tables with women cutting up large carcasses of meat. They have huge meat cleavers and axes as they get the different pieces of meat from the hogs and cows. The extra carcasses are hanging around. That is really fresh meat! It seems this is the place a lot of the townies go to get their evening meal. The market also has a huge selection of fruits and vegetables and is very appealing to the eye with the many vibrant colors. While there we saw a small booth of toys with a couple of cars. The boys were playing with the little Matchbox type cars we got them but this booth had a little larger car that we thought they would like. The doors opened too, which Pasha kept trying to do with his little car yesterday so we thought he would like it. Hopefully they don’t use them as a weapon in battle against each other cause they have some weight to them. I have noticed when Ruslan gets the urge he just pitches the toy in his hand high into the air without concern for where it may land (it often hits him on the head on the way down). Chad wonders how he has all the bruises on his body (hmm, a few too many cups of tea and a flight of stairs?). I saw yesterday Pasha had scratches on his face that looked very much the shape of a small hand. He will fit in just fine at our house as Callie often gets these too (and I am sure she hands some out occasionally as well).
Okay, so back to our day. We checked out some second hand stores. I tried on a couple of skirts but they were both too big; this was a surprise to me as it seems everywhere I look there are tiny Russian women in skirts. Maybe they were leftovers from some Americans? Chad found an Iowa Hawkeyes Ping Pong tshirt. Too funny; he wanted to buy it but it was a small. There was also a Special Olympics shirt from Pennsylvania there. Its like; what story does this shirt have to tell? Maybe they were just extras left over from some sweatshop in China?
We also shopped for some traditional Russian souvenirs. In Moscow they are all overpriced. We picked up four different things to give to the boys for future birthdays etc. and a gift for Amanda and Chad and my parents. Chad doesn’t think my mom will like our gift because it won’t match with her décor (for those of you who don’t know my mom she has amazing taste with mostly items from garage sales). Her home is beautiful and always changing. I got it anyway cause its practical with some Russian flair.
Today as we were walking around we found a Subway, so we walked back there for dinner. Prices weren’t bad and it was okay. We think it was across the street from the University here. We are in the capital of the region of Kemerovo. The city is also called Kemerovo. There are actually a lot of younger people living here. It is the largest city in this region, with a population over 300,000 I believe. The region appears to be bigger than Illinois, but I am not sure. The city the boys live in is the 3rd largest. It is much different than Kemerovo as it just isn’t as developed.
So, tonight we are excited to watch another episode of America’s top Model. Yes, even Chad is excited. If we are lucky we will catch a movie on TV later as well. Last night we watched the movie with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Robert DeNiro where he is in the military. I fell asleep halfway through and thankfully slept pretty well through the night (loaded up with ibuprofen). Tonight I am going to try and attend my grandfather’s funeral service via Skype. It is at 1pm there so it will be 1am here. Tomorrow we don’t have any plans but will probably head out somewhere to get out. I hope the weather holds up, today was beautiful today; I only needed my light hoodie. Das vadanya!