Here is a puzzlement:
Plus 1) We wanted to make chocolate eggs in the Internat kitchen. Milana asked Natasha, the home ec teacher, if this is possible. Natasha, a very nice woman who is likely a wonderful mother, lets us use the Rachael Ray Room. No television cameras, but 900 square feet of modern cupboards, appliances, and countertops, and everything perfectly in order. Our U.S.
Plus 2) The Internat has installed air conditioning in every classroom and the auditorium. I can hardly wait to need it.
Plus 3) Expressed in simplest form, three sevenths of the teachers here genuinely care about encouraging the students to flourish. Edik (Edward), an 18-year-old who has been a leader at the Internat in drama and in teaching and in just plain smoothing things over for others, has a remarkable talent for artistic design. The teachers have encouraged him, and have supplied him with books and materials, as well as a room of his own (they give him the key) to work in. He made all the paper sculptures seen below, plus many more, and teaches the younger kids how to make them. A duplicate of his Donbass Arena paper sculpture sits in a glass showcase at the McDonald's downtown. He is a genuinely nice guy, and agreed to help Milana and us shop for 4 hours on Saturday (I liked the idea of bringing a calm spirit along, and we actually bagged some items J). We hope Edik is one of the statistically few who makes it into a university and beyond.
Negative 10) Bedrooms are locked from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm. Boys and girls share the same smelly group bathrooms with no doors or toilet paper (and don't kid yourself—these are the squatty potty kind), as well as rooms where they change after showering, etc.
Summary: We have never seen anything like plus points 1-3 at any other orphanage. Negative 10 seems to be the norm. Now, how can one explain the track lighting in some showroom spaces and yuck blighting in others? Akhmetov. He has a track-lit philanthropic side, to complement his how-did-he-come-by-his-billions besmirched side, and has donated directly to this orphanage.
On a beautiful Saturday morning, in an outdoor program that we recommend should become part of National Lutheran Schools Week, we said goodbye to winter and hello to spring—we celebrated Maslenitsa! We're talking costumes, music, dancing, relays and games, burning the winter scarecrow, and special sweet pancakes covered in sweetened condensed milk and tea for all. And Milana knows how to make these J. I'm thinking you'll be inviting yourself over. That's okay by me!
On Sunday Milana, Anya and we attended another church that some of Anya's friends attend. Jaclyn, a mom from Kyrghistan and Pam's conversation buddy at DCU, and her family also attend here. There were 4 sermons, but this church had heat. Anya sits behind us and translates. It works very well!
We had Milana and Anya over for lunch. She helped make another feast and offered the prayer. Afterwards we older folks kept chatting and playing games in the common kitchen, and Milana got to do something she is never allowed to do at the Internat because the bedrooms are locked—take a nap. She has a bit of a deep cough, so I hope it did some good.
We told her that Anya has many friends in the U.S. , and as a gift we invited her to come to the U.S.
I am now on the train to Kyiv, and afterwards home, so I won't be able to make first-hand observations for about 3 weeks. Thus I may have to make up some of the rest of the story.
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