Camp Mal-kraine

Our nephew Malcolm came to town for a week long cousin camp.  The highlights:

Lawlessness

His entry into Ukraine highlighted the lack of organized rule following. While he was booked as an "unaccompanied minor" & was to be escorted to us, he was sent solo - a lone 13 year old through passport control and customs without question. When we asked where he was over an hour after landing, we were told to check lost and found!  

  (Phew 2 hours post arrival we found each other)

"Even police cars drive on the sidewalk?!" surprised Malcolm 

(we've stopped noticing that)

Swimming in the fountains was enjoyed by all...

Alternative entrances to the botanic garden...

(squeeze through or hop over - there's a well worn sneak in path)

Liberating lack of liability

We enjoyed several fun activities enabled by a lack of personal injury lawsuits...

Ropes course where they tell you to keep one clip fastened at all times and set you free..

A water park wave pool so crowded people literally pummel into each other with each wave...

Longest zip line in Europe. Crosses a 6 lane highway and then the Dniper river.  

(You only have to be 3 to ride)

Quirky

Random rides in the park...

Dolphin show - with a sexy announcer...

and the trainer water skiing on dolphins...

Upside down restaurant 

Anywhere good times

Of course with any good agenda, some of the best parts were the least planned....

Wii fun....

Wrestling...

Jelly making - every 13 year old boy's dream camp activity, right?!

Beef - ok so all it really takes to make a teenage boy happy is low cost tenderloin!

All in all a super fun week - but, now this camp counselor needs to find a staff lounge to go hide in

Happy summer!

Kiev's Circus - sharing the random spectacle

This past weekend, our dear friends the Johnson's came to visit.  Our tour included a stop at Kiev's circus.  Housed in a permanent building, shows rotates ~every 6 weeks.  While the specific acts vary, the 'surprising & random' is constant.

We got random straight away:

Yankee Doodle inspired jugglers....

Inner-tube bouncing biker dudes....

A clown beating innocent spectators....

Xavier especially thought it was hilarious

Even more so when it was his turn to do the hitting...

It didn't take long to layer on sexy:

The dog trainer......

Dancers introducing the bouncing guys....

And some cringe worthy:
Some super worn down looking lions.....

PETA would not approve of these 1 paw in the grave, bored looking lions

The strong man hammering nails with his bare hand....

Sexy ladies show proof....

Next he holds up a van with his legs....

But then goes a bit too far - he lays under the car....

...and proceeds to get run over!

(BOTH tires ran over him!)

So while there were no elephants, we certainly got a big show


Thanks for coming Johnson's - always glad to share the fun

And the views...

(our totally distracting view at dinner!)

Happy Monday

This is Ukraine

Today, I stopped by the grocery store to get chicken for dinner & found only chicken wings.  Spotting a friendly looking meat lady, I asked her if there were any chicken breasts.  

She went into a long explanation - I understood about half & clarified, "so will there be any later today?".  She replied, "there is supposed to be now, but there is not - this is Ukraine!"  

(later hanging out on the loading dock - maybe waiting for that truck)

And OK so things are not 100% reliable here, OR, it's a good chance to practice flexibility....

Another example - last Friday.  We woke to no power.....I heard "it will come back on by 11:00".  With Zoe's birthday party that afternoon, we hoped so.  But alas, still no power.

Not that the girls cared / noticed....luckily you don't need power to make a crown...

Or to decorate cupcakes...

(OK I did have to go bake them at a friend's - THANKS Suzie!)

Only shift required was moving the dance party outside - so we could blast the car stereo

(So maybe 'a little ghetto' like my friend Lexy said - but it worked!)

This past week, I've spotted a few other reminders that this is Ukraine....


No pesky permits
It seems anyone can pop up a food / beverage stand.  My favorite new, random example....a coffee truck with Mojitos!

2 vices in 1 spot & he actually muddles fresh mint - Fab!

Fancy
There is a car wash at the bottom of our hill.  Fab people watching there - and you know you are in Ukraine when someone wears this to the car wash.....

...or this

Hair
But the most certain reminder that this is Ukraine - is when you see this....

So here's to rolling with it & enjoying the scenery!

Getting to know the neighbors

It's not easy getting to know Ukrainians.  I've heard them described as "like coconuts - a hard shell but sweet & soft inside".  While we've gotten to know some incredibly warm Ukrainians, having a connection is critical (no randomly borrowing eggs from your neighbors here).

The hard shell part is certainly visible in construction styles.  Our 3 closest neighbors:

Fortress like walls & guards are common

People don't get out of their cars until they are within their walled property

This morning we had a rare sighting of our next door neighbor!

(still behind her walled property - view from our kitchen window)

However, we have found that critical connection point with the people across the street...

Feeding the strays...

The dogs live across the street on the construction site....

....and now serve as our urban compost receptacles

(who knew how much food we toss?!)  

Best yet, is we finally made friends with a neighbor...

(Valery is one of the guards who lives on the construction site.  He appears to live in one of the portables on site & now that we've joined in feeding the strays is ultra friendly....waves hello, directs me when I'm backing out of our driveway etc.)

So here's to making friends with the neighbors - whether with a batch of welcome cookies or a container of food scraps.