Off To Kherson

This is the day we will head for the Kherson region (tonight at 8, our train leaves Kiev).
Yesterday, we were nervous, as our SDA appointment was scheduled for 2 pm, Helen our translator was to meet us at 1:30 and was nowhere to be seen, (she told us to ready on time). 1:30 came and went so we went outside figuring she may have forgotten the code to our gate. Finally she came at about 1:45 and was very calm, because, she said 2 pm doesn't really mean 2pm prompt. Anyway, we walked with her up many windy hills to a very non-descript old building and our appointment was finished in about fifteen minutes. Helen stayed with us during the meeting, unexpectedly. We had thought we would go in alone.

We learned that Maxim was born near the southern coast of the Crimean. We also received his sweet baby picture which will be a treasure.


Above you can see a shot from the underground mall near our apartment. As you go down the sidewalks, you encounter stairways that go under the street to allow safe crossing of busy intersections. But there is also the mall to pass through. Here you see the more open area with western looking mall stores but as you get closer to the stairways back to the street, you pass shops that are about three feet deep. You do not go in. You look at closed displays and then go to a window (small hole?) and tell the vendor what you would like. This could be jewelry, a whole list of groceries, knick-knacks of all sorts, etc.

Here we are in our tiny elevator in our apartment building. This photo doesn't really capture how very small it is. Probably about 3' by 2 1/2', with a mirror on one wall. As we rode in it, I was thinking I'm glad I don't weigh any more and Daniel was looking around thinking about if there was a fire, he would not have the right tools to get us out. Even if we could pry the door open, the floors are so tall, we'd probably just encounter a concrete wall. Encouraging, eh?

The cell phone and wi-fi have been a mystery to us. Helen helped us buy a domestic (Ukraine calls only) and an international calling card but we have not been successful with either one. We can't figure out how to use our world phone to call anyone in Ukraine. What numbers do we include and what to leave off? Whatever we have tried has not worked. Helen is mystified too. Maybe Igor will know better how to help us when we meet him tonight.

The SIM card we bought must have been printed wrong because the pin code to unlock it did not work. This morning we went to restaurant across the street from our apartment, via six blocks of circling :) , and found wi-fi access. This too was unsuccessful. It would not assign an IP address. Oh well, we got a great bowl of chicken soup, borscht, and espresso out of the deal. And there's always the internet access at the post office. So here we are.

We were trying to avoid the post office, because when we use the jump drive, we pick up viruses.

Daniel removed one this morning.

We are having fun, despite issues we run into. We are able to call home (at $2/minute+ or -) so it's not like we have no contact.

We are excited to be going to Kherson tonight. They say we'll arrive around 5:45 a.m. Friday and hopefully meet Maxim the same day.