The Parties Continue

We got up early and went to the coffee shop. No power outages or mishaps today. Back at the apartment, we ate and played Scrabble and listened to music. I forgot we had planned to be at the orphanage at 2:15 and it was after 2:00 when we left. We arrived about 3:00 but no one was around. I went back outside and found Jessica talking with some guy. We went inside again to the 2nd floor lounge and a teacher went into the computer room and found Kai. He asked if he could finish what he was doing on the computer (5 minutes). So we went down to the classroom and the 3 of us played Rummikub.

An hour and 3 games later, Kai shows up. He appeared stuffed up in the sinuses and a little tired. He denied both but decided against playing outside, instead wanting to play the game. So, he, Jessica, Kevin, and Ludwig played. I helped Kai a little but he knows how to play. It was 5:00 by the time we decided to go to the store and we were hungry. Out of nowhere come Vitaly, Daniel and Andrei and we all went shopping.

The boys knew the routine and we got all kinds of food, including 2 packets of those dried fish things and the yummy cheesecake things for Kevin to try. On the way back to the orphanage Sasha was hanging out the window with a couple of other boys still stuck in the infirmary. He's been there all week, missing out on all our parties. I told Kai to hand him a bag of chips through the window and he did. Sasha and the boys all yelled thank you! As we walked through the courtyard with our bags of food, little Zhenya was hanging out his classroom window calling to us, "Come to our classroom!" Oh, gosh!

We brought the ham salad Kevin had made. Everyone washed hands and Kevin made sandwiches. Everyone had at least 2 sandwiches and we practically fought over the hot mustard. Kevin enjoyed the calamari and fish jerky and I enjoyed my tea and cookies. Everyone had plenty to eat and the boys left to have a cigarette while Kai and Ludwig cleaned up.

Ludwig continued to be attentive to my needs, getting me tea, carrying the groceries, sweeping the floor. He couldn't do enough for me. We had been talking today about how old everyone was, when was their birthdays and what were their nicknames. Ludwig will be 15 this month and everyone else is already 16 or will be very soon. I explained that, because of a rule in America, you can't be adopted after turning 16. When the other boys had left, I asked Ludwig if he wouldn't mind telling me his story. He became very shy, not knowing what to say, and even stammered a bit.

What I got was that his mom died when he was about 1 or so and he doesn't have any memory of her. His dad died a few years later because of alcoholism. He has lived in a series of children's shelters and ended up in this orphanage about a year ago. He is the only one in his class who is the right age for 9th grade and he showed me his talent. It seems Ludwig is quite a good knitter. He knits hats, scarves, socks and I think mittens, too. He is learning to do sweaters now. A sweeter kid, I don't think you'll find anywhere. He is kind and thoughtful, with a real servant's heart. He is darker complected because he is gypsy. His black hair is thick and curly like Kevin's) and in need of a cut. I hope God pricks someone's heart to take him. He really wants to be adopted and have a family.

The others returned shortly and after all the talking, the kids decided to go out and play the Kick the Sticks game they were playing yesterday. Everyone left but Ludwig. He wanted to make sure we had everything we needed before he went out to join them. We said we were all set and encouraged him to go on ahead. Most of the boys in the orphanage were outside as well and the younger ones were running races around the courtyard circle. We watched the game for a while and I timed Roma's race with my watch. We met Dima, who is getting adopted, too. He has been working on his English and was proud of his new dictionary. I gotta get me one of those.

It was 7:00 and the boys had to go in for dinner so we said our good-byes and left. Kevin wanted to have a cigar so we walked to Silpo with Jessica who needed to use the ATM there. We parted from Jessica and caught the bus. We got off at Comfy again and bought TP, Kleenex, paper towels, and a couple of beers. We walked home like last night, Ukrainian style. I got a chance to talk to Nancy Kravitz on Skype because we needed to pay the gas bill and didn't know the account number. Nancy said she mowed our lawn! She is an amazing woman. It was great to talk and hear about life in the "real world". We watched 2 TV episodes and went to bed by 11:00.