At home in Romny

While this has been a disappointing day as far as getting ourselves and Julia out of here, it has also been a day that I felt at home here.  I do appreciate so many things about this pretty town.  First, the walking.  I love walking to all the little stores where we buy groceries and chocolate--another thing I love here--and the peace and quiet.  You do not hear sirens blaring or boom boxes rattling our windows.  People dress very nicely --no saggy pants can be seen here!  I do not know how the ladies walk in the shoes they wear-- high heels on bumpy sidewalks or roads with holes or patches-- but they look nice! I enjoy watching the children walk past our window that looks out on a school across the street.  Today I saw two cute little girls gathering big yellow leaves which are falling from the trees and skipping down the street while their mothers walked a little ahead of them.  Even though the weather is mild today, all the children are bundled up in hats and coats. The fun things that happened today are that I read a sign in Ukrainian!  It said Kievstar, which is the name of a phone company.  The other fun thing is that we recognized someone we know from here on the street and we greeted each other in Ukrainian.  The person we met is the adorable waitress at the cafe in our hotel.  She has been patient and kind and always welcoming despite not being able to understand what we are saying.  Smiles go a long way.  She reminds us of Andrea Fretts, so that is another nice thing.  We also have something to look forward to tonight:  the Foxes have invited Andrew, Vova and some other men to watch Ohio State vs. Northwestern and they included us, too.  We love any chance we get to be with the Fabulous Fox Family and Andrew.