We got ready for the day and made our way to the train station. We took the bus there to save money and even though Darren was stressing about the time, we were able to get our tickets and still have time to wait for the train. Vitaly had planned to join us so the four of us found seats together and rode along. Darren listening to music, sharing with Vitaly, Yarik listening to his music and I started playing Angry Birds to pass the time. Darren was also watching a father and son playing some type of card game. He could not figure out what it was or how to play. Yarik said what it was called, but he did not know how to play and thought it was dumb. I shared the Angry Birds game with Vitaly and Yarik. It helped pass the time.
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| Kirikivka Train Station |
When we got to the train station the taxi guy was not there, so we had to call him. Before we called, we purchased our return tickets. I am glad we did, because the 5:20pm ones were sold out. The only tickets left were at 9pm! We had to take them, as we had no other choice. After that we waited a bit in the cold and loaded up when the taxi arrived. Once we got to the orphanage, Vitaly headed over to his friend's house. The other three of us went to find Sergei. He was just inside the gate walking by, so it did not take us long! We decided to play some soccer to get us warmed up. Sergei went to his sleeping building to get the ball. The balls we brought as donations did not hold up well to orphanage play. The cover was peeling off after just a few days. At least it still held air.
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| Sergei with the tattered ball |
We did have lots of fun with it anyway! We played in various team arrangements. Darren and Sergei with a couple other kiddos and then Sergei with me and a couple other kiddos, but this time Darren and I were always on opposing teams. Which handicapped both teams equally. These kids love to play and they don't care if you aren't that great. No one says, "get off the field, you are no good." They smile and give high fives and just love the game. Even though we were cold when we arrived, we sure warmed up running on that field. I shed several layers until I was down to my light sweater. The kids did the same. They were down to their t-shirts. We played for quite a while, until the younger kids had to go get their lunch.
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| Darren vs Sergei |
Once we stopped playing we cooled down pretty fast. I had some snacks along, so we ate some of those. Later the kids came back and we played a little more. But the weather was pretty chilly, so we decided to move indoors. We brought the laptop this time and I had translated a letter for Sergei.We put in a movie, then I remembered the letter and showed him before we continued with the movie. We watched all of Fifth Element and then started Princess Bride until the battery died half way through. We had different kids come in and out and watch with us a while. After the battery died, we resorted to the old stand-by of Uno. We had one of Sergei's classmates, Boris, join us for a few rounds. He was hesitant at first, but I pretty much dealt him in and he took the cards. We had lots of fun with the kids that day, and we could hardly believe it was almost 8pm and soon time to say good-bye again. At least we would see him in court in 2 days! We could hardly wait. We were to meet Vitaly at 8:30pm when the taxi was to return to pick us up. We went outside and said our good-byes. Zhennya was out there, so we got to say good-bye to him and Boris snuck outside as well, so we gave him hugs. Then long hugs for Sergei and we were back on the way to the train station. We had a little time to wait, so we went into the little store to stay out of the cold. A few minutes before the train was scheduled, we went outside to join the others waiting on the platform. There was an announcement and everyone moved to the next platform.
When the train pulled up, we could not find our car. It was way down the line. We did not have time, so we went into car number 2 and made our way through all the cars to number 14! That was an adventure, open a door, and another door, then wade through people sleeping and sitting on either side...feet sticking into the aisle. Then open and close two more doors to the next car and on and on as the train lumbered down the tracks. I felt like I was on a boat trying to get my sea legs. By the time we finally got to the right car, the train was about at the next stop! We found seats kind of close together. Yarik and Vitally laid out and slept, Darren and I sat in seats with a table in between and talked for a while. Then he listened to his music and I played Angry Birds. I am not nearly as good as TJ. He had most all the levels unlocked on my old phone. I had to start over with the new phone, and I am not getting too far!
We got into Sumy around 11pm, I was really tired. The guys were hungry. We took a taxi back to the hotel as there were not many bus options and the one that was there was completely packed. I stayed at the hotel and the guys made a run to McDonald's. They brought a cheeseburger back for me. I was not too impressed. The boys had to be at school in the morning, so they got to sleep pretty quickly on our couch. Darren and I crashed as well. It was a long, but very good day.
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