(Wo)Man on the Street

So after waiting in the apartment most of the day, we decided at 3pm that we wouldn't be going to Cheremkhovo that day so we had to get out! The walls tend to close in a little after many hours of the grey walls. I had cleaned the apartment some earlier, we had had lunch, played games, listened to music and read but we needed to go outside! The TV said it was -16c today so we thought it would be warmer – WRONG! There was a wind and it was still as cold! But my feet were warm in my new wool socks!

So we headed to try and exchange some money. While Brian was in the bank I looked at the auto teller (ATM) and there were English directions so I thought we could do it on our own. When he came back out and the answer to changing our USA$ was the same as the other day – shaking head "no" – we decided to try the machine. It was so easy!! So now we have a way to get our rubles!! But it spit out 1000r bills, and I think you've heard us tell how hard it is to even spend the 500r's so we then went back into the bank and asked them to break them down into smaller bills – no problem doing that! So now we're flush for awhile – LOL

We were in a little different area than we usually walk but there wasn't much to see but we wound up on Karl Marx St again anyway – all roads lead there apparently. We were getting cold so we thought we'd go to a café to warm up a little. But we couldn't decide where to go so just headed back toward the river. We got close to the "Souvenirs from Irkutsk" store (yep, says that in English!) when two young ladies came up behind us. They said "excuse me, you're speaking English" – so we stopped! They studied English and wanted to practice talking it! So we went into the store, out of the cold, and visited with them a few minutes. Maria was the one who talked the most – she graduated the university last year after studying economics and English and was now looking for a job. She said she had never been outside Irkutsk but when we asked where she'd like to travel to she said "Sweden" – I said I had been there so she asked if there were "tall, blond boys there" – I said there sure were! Her friend, who had a really pretty name that I can't remember, studied English and Spanish and wanted to visit Spain one day! They asked what we were doing in the city and then asked if there was lots of paperwork to adopt! I said we were finding a few places in the city where English was spoken and she was a little surprised – she said it was more like "go away, we don't want you here" attitude (then laughed). We actually have felt very welcome this trip – maybe we're just getting out and about more. Anyway we told them to stop us anytime they see us out and that we walk that street everyday! I said to Maria that maybe she should get a job as a translator – her eyes lit up and said she'd love that but those jobs are hard to get. After we said goodbye I said we should have gotten her name and number – we could use her to order us a taxi or be our personal translator when in town! Maybe we'll run into her again and we'll get the info. I think she really just would love to be able to practice her English speaking! (She said she stopped us because she has a "radar" to hearing languages and besides, we didn't look Russian!)

So we still were on the hunt for a café and stopped at one on the same block as the souvenir store – just a non-descript door that had a picture of food and coke outside it. (next to the really expensive looking one).. The counter was way in the back and I was just about to ask for English Menu or if she spoke English when Brian said "it's on there" – the whole menu was in Russian AND ENGLISH!! The first time we've seen that! I was so excited. They have a little of everything – salads, main dishes, baked goods, etc. We just were in for our afternoon snack so I had an apple puff and Brian had a cheese puff – and we both had tea (Brian's going to try and start to like it – it's cheap and easy to order too!). We paid our 85r (under $3) and she brought our food to our table. My apple puff was delicious – I said I might need one every day! The cheese puff was good too but I didn't think as good as mine – LOL… So we did our little walking break and stimulated (such as it is) the economy and headed back outside. We love those little stops – even if there isn't the English menu we can point and order tea now! We did a quick stop at the store across from the apt and got more water – I can order it in Russian now (vada biz guzza means water, no bubbles) – and two ice cream bars for a little dessert later. After not eating sweets for almost a year I'm making up for it now. But we're doing a lot of walking in the cold and eating pretty good so as long as my clothes continue to fit – even with the long johns underneath – I'm continuing what I've been doing!

Brian is trying to master Spider Solitaire and did win a few times now at beginner and intermediate levels. I've been reading – trying to read slowly to make the books last! I made a dish of chicken and rice pilaf for dinner and soon we'll start our nightly movie – I think it will be Moonlighting, Season 1, tonight!

We're trying to guess when we'll hear from someone to find out our plans for tomorrow. I said I don't care what they are or aren't but they could just let us know! I'm hoping that the papers from the USA either came today or are coming tomorrow (they left Wed I think) so he's busy translating and giving to the court… Maybe he's making nice to the prosecutor also. But a call would be nice, and to let us know how Genya's doing AND to tell us if we'll ever gets lights in the bedroom again! Oh well, we're surviving but not quite the American way! Ha,ha

The phone just rang – but it was an automated voice on the other end talking in Russian! We get that about every other day… well we at least know the phone rings!