The people that got us through

Thank you all for your participation in this week’s coffee talk. I know I usually give you a few days to post your responses, but seeing as my family really would egg my house if I didn’t post everyday, you only get one day.

I read the 13 responses I had by this morning and the majority of you voted for option B. So I thought I would try it today. It did not work so well. He had been sleeping for a little over an hour and I checked on him and he was rocking. I went in and put my hand on his stomach like I do at night and he woke up. It may be that he really is one of those children that only needs an hour nap.

Normally he is pretty agreeable after nap time. But oh not today buddy. We had planned on going out to the river this afternoon. CS started to put his shoes on, but the ones he got didn’t fit. So he set them down. Pickle started to cry. Before I grabbed the shoes that did fit I got the video camera to put in my bag. Pickle took one look at it and started wailing. This was unlike a cry we had heard before. It was far worse than we had heard yet. It took a good ten minutes to calm him down.

Once we did get him calmed down we had quite a nice outing. We found stairs that go to no where. We thought there was a way to get down to the river from the back of the war memorial. There were stairs at the back. We ventured down the stairs, but they only seemed to go to a dirt trail. Further down the trial were dilapidated buildings that people really do live in. We never did find the way down to the river. So we thought we would find the Geology Museum.

The Geology Museum is the closest museum to our apartment. It is in an old brick mansion. A stroll down Lenin Street yielded an old brick building tucked away behind some trees. A small sign outside read “Geology Museum.” CS tried the door and as he did two older women came out. She asked if we were looking for the museum. Unfortunately, the museum is closed for remodel. So no museum for us.

Since that is the extent of our life right now I thought I would give some further tidbits for those coming to Khabarovsk for their second trips. If you are with AIA you will be staying at the MarKuel. It is a nice joint with most of the modern conveniences of home. I apologize if I have mentioned these tidbits in the past. I am grasping at straws of stuff to write about.

My favorite thing I brought was my French press. (yeah yeah, I’ve said that) No really! Not only does it make fantastic coffee, it works as a pitcher to pour things. Water comes in giant jugs and is not very portable. So we pour it into the press and then into our smaller water bottles. This works well for Kefir too. Kefir comes in bags and it only keeps for a few days once opened. The trick is finding something to keep it in. We pour it into the press pitcher and then into an empty larger water bottle. Then it will keep for 2 days or so.

There is a little grocery very close to here. Most of what you need is there with the exception of meat. The store doesn’t always have the same stuff everyday. For example, there will be baby swiss cheese one day and not the next.

Other food bits: Bring items such as taco seasoning or chili mix. Buy the butter from New Zealand. It is better with less water. The 3.2% milk is close to what we have at home, but it has a “fresh from the cow” flavor. I personally don’t care for it. Rhonda, when checking for expiration date it is the second date and read month/day/year.

We recommend a stroller as opposed to a hip hammock. I didn’t bring a hip hammock, but got one from another family that was here. I tried it once with Pickle and he screamed. The stroller has been a godsend!

If you come in colder months bring a clothes line that you can use inside. It takes forever for clothes to dry when you put them outside.

There are no wash cloths here. Bring them. They are handy for wiping off sticky faces and hands.

Anyone else have suggestions on what you should or should not bring? I want to hear from those who have been on their second trip with the 10 day not waived. Anything you wish you would have brought or wished you’d left at home?

Only 7 more days until we are home!