Filling in the holes!

Events of July 10th:

It rained all night and rained all day! There was a CRASH sound near midnight which sounded like a car had crashed nearby. There were excited voices and other vehicles approaching quickly, but I could not see it. (The next day there was auto glass broken all over a walkway - another day there was a report of a stolen vehicle. ???)

No running this morning in the rain. Zaftrak was tea, strawberries, cheese, kleb.

We had a class on food and words dealing with things around the table.

We visited a dentist's office that has been a private dentist and has been open for 11 years. Since they offer better service than the state-run dentists, people are willing to pay for that better service! They have thrived! Private Medical Enterprise in Russia!

We visited an open air market with all kinds of fresh cut meats some cut with a BROAD AXE!! All the red meat, chicken, pork, and fish you could imagine. Some of the sights and smells were a bit on the not-so-pleasant side of things. In another building, there was another open air market filled with fruits, spices, nuts, veggies. Great smells here!

We also visited a photography studio, specializing in portraits for special people and for those who could afford it - the wealthy and the connected!

To eat lunch today, we had to buy our own food on a scavenger hunt with the goal to build an American style sandwich for all to eat. Dierdre, Audrey, Katia, and I took off and tried to figure just what kind of sandwich we were going to be able to build. We finally decided on a ham and cheese sandwich. I used a little of my Russian language skills to buy ham, cheese, mustard, lettuce, Dierdre bought the bread. We were one of the first teams to return to the American Home and construct our sandwiches. We won a bottle of champagne for our efforts!

Percy came back for another fascinting talk and discussion on recent Russian Politics!

This was to be our last night in Vladimir. My host family took me out to dinner at a fine restaurant that was close to the American Home. Dinner was very nice! Chicken Salad, wine, water, Chicken wrapped in bacon with rice. Green tea. We went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream - I'm in the US here - Jamocha with almonds covered in hot fudge sauce! YES!
At home we exchanged more gifts and coins of the old Soviet Union.