Boods da Rovia Capa

Boods da Rovia (this is the english phonetic spelling of the phrase) is what the people here in Artemovsk say when you sneeze (like god bless you, salud, salut, gezhunteit (sp?)). It is a fitting title because people have been saying it to me all day because I have withered into a sneezy, queasy mess! Say some prayers for me...so glad I have the weekend to rest and recover and avoid being around kiddlets to pass my germs to.

It is insane how slowly time seems to pass here...I think it is just because my mind is going a mile a minute trying to take in and cataloge each new interaction and experience. Already the craziest things are seeming familiar to me...for example, it is regular practice here for cars to just hop the curb and drive on the sidewalk...they also hop the curb to park in the middle of the sidewalk too when drivers want to go to a shop. Now when I am walking I just have a sense about when to step aside to avoid getting squished.

Next week I will spend most of my days at the infant orphanage just getting the lay of the land and then on March 3 I will start splitting my time between the orphanage and a special boarding school for children with disabilities and/or parents who can't/won't take care of them on their own. This is the only place I have seen (or heard of) in the city that serves children with mental disabilities. I had a long meeting this morning with the school's director and near the end she explained the school's name (pronounced solnitchka) is a term that describes the sun in a loving, nickname sort of way (in Ukraine you will often hear parents/grandparents say children's names with an -itchka sound tacked on to the end of it and it is an endearing sentiment). I then drew a picture for her of the logo for the hospital I worked for in St. Louis (and loved) which is a sun as well. I didn't need the interpreter to understand her response that the connection was more than a mere coincidence. I felt very much at home there, almost as if myself and all the women that worked there had been cut from the same whole. I feel very fortunate that they are going to allow me to spend time with them while I am in Artemovsk.