Hanging Out in Donetsk

The last few days have been a lot of fun.  The weather is much better – temperatures are in the low 50s, and there is a lot of blue sky.  We’ve had the chance to walk the city some more and check out the great open air market they have here.  We’ve also been lucky to get to hang out with another family from the US, so there’s a touch of home mixed in with our adventure.  That has been great for both us and Katya!  We spent Thursday afternoon visiting one of the local parks and taking lots of great photographs.  The leaves are beautiful right now, and we found a pretty rose garden too.   After days of rain, it was just nice to be out and about without umbrellas!  On Friday, we went to the notary to sign some documents for the passport application.  Each time we go, I get excited.  We are one step closer ….

On Saturday, we went to the local movie theater and saw Legends of the Guardian (the owl movie) in 3D.  It was a fantastic theater with very comfortable seats. Ticket prices were 30 hrivnas each (about $3.75), and they had popcorn, candy, and sodas for sale and some tables to just sit and talk.   Katya said the popcorn was much better in Colorado, but you couldn’t beat the whole experience here.    We saw lots of families together, many of them taking pictures.  This must be a great family treat for many of them, same as in the US.

Today, we are going to see Cinderella (the musical) at the opera house.  Ticket prices there were 20 hrivnas (about $2.50 each).  I am still floored by how cheap that is.  We’ve heard the performances are really good there.  Katya’s group at the internat went to see a ballet there last year.  She said the theater was wonderful, but she is not a fan of the ballet!  They look to have a couple of shows a day, so we might be going back.  The performances constantly change too – musicals, ballet, and operas.  Lots of culture!

One of my favorite adventures was the open air market.  You can buy just about anything there from fancy underwear to boots to oranges.   We picked up almonds, golden raisins, sunflower seeds, and, of course, candy.  The candy choices were amazing.  Katya doesn’t like chocolate, but she loves fruit-flavored hard candies.  We found some great pear-flavored ones.  We’ll try to bring some home for people to try.  We also found some candy she calls “cow confetti” – it has a cow on the wrapper.   Some sort of caramel I think.  The market also had the Ukrainian version of “Lean Cuisine” – they had verenecki pre-made that you just cook at home.  For those not familiar with this, they are dumplings filled with cheese or meats or vegetables and often served with sour cream.  VERY good!  I had some great ones with potatoes inside in Kiev and yesterday I had some stuffed with pork at the Donetsk cafeteria.  I believe my entire meal was about $2 (including a diet coke). 

For those reading this from work, I thought I would also point out that I have been busy assessing the quality of the safety program in Ukraine during our walks.  One of the pictures below shows me conducting a hazard assessment on the communication pole across from our hotel.  You may or may not be able to see the numerous candy wrappers inside the box.  Sorry – the geek in me couldn’t resist!

One of my favorite photos of Katya

Matt and Katya on te bridge looking back at central Donetsk

Our favorite notary - working on our passport application

Katya buying seeds at the open air market

Verenecki - ready to fix at home!

Beautiful fruit and nuts at this stand

Conducting a hazard assessment on the street in Donetsk