Or more precisely, parents meet each other. It went well! Dad was a good sport with all the food and drink, and he made a good impression as well. He gave Igor’s family a couple picture books about Ohio, which I think we’ll enjoy looking through together another time when I’m in Korosten. He also gave each of the guys (Igor’s dad, his brother-in-law and nephew) an Ohio State baseball cap, which they really liked. The surprise hit was a big bottle of barbeque sauce! I didn’t expect that they would like it, since they pretty much haven’t liked any other American food that I’ve brought them, but the BBQ sauce was the right thing! Igor’s brother-in-law Volodymyr couldn’t get enough of it, and was even slathering it on slices of bread.
The biggest gift was a digital camera. Oksana, Igor’s sister, had asked me awhile back if I could help her to buy an inexpensive digital camera from American, but Dad and I decided to give a good camera as a present. It was a HUGE hit, they tore right into it and are quickly on their way to becoming paparazzi.
Most of Sunday was spent at the table, but we took a break in the late afternoon and we all went to the park in the center of town. Igor’s parents had not been there in years, and had not yet seen the wonderful renovation work that has been done in the last two years. They were very impressed with the park, and I was amazed that they actually joined us for the excursion! They joked about it taking guests from America to get them to see their own town, and Dad told them that despite having grown up on Long Island, he never visited the Empire State Building until he went with my Mom, whom he met in Ohio. Oceans apart, yet so much in common. 🙂
We’re back in Kyiv tonight, bellies so full we probable won’t eat until Thursday. We had a really nice time in Korosten, and we will probably go back one day next week. Igor’s Dad really wanted to take us to his house and land in a nearby village, where, as he says, Dad can see how people lived a hundred years ago. We unfortunately ran out of time (and energy) to go there today, but I think it will be nice to go back next week again.
Tomorro we go to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone!
Anka in Kyiv 