Lauren’s Pink Absence

As you may have heard, I injured the ligaments in my knee in April (it’s very easy to fall down here).  The good news is that it’s getting better.  I am now using a walking cane instead of crutches.  This also means no operation!  Today was the last day of school, so we are planning for our summer holidays.  We will be visiting Uncle Scott in Berlin, Paris and provincial France, then on to Milan.  So we are looking forward to that.  It will be much easier moving around with my cane than with crutches (also handy for hailing a taxi).

I am in the land of Chinotto, Caffe and Pasta, Reggio Emilia, Italy.  Am I really here?  I could wake at any moment.  I hope I don’t wake until the plane home on the 19th.  I am here with a friend from work Victoria, to participate in an intensive study course of the Early Childhood centres in Reggio Emilia.  This has been one of my dreams for eight years.  Keep checking out my blog as there is more to come.

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I just had to give making pasta a try.  Ottimo! (Excellent)  I really enjoyed the process of kneading and stretching the dough.  A wonderful basic to master, using a glass bottle worked really well.

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The bonus of living here in Kiev is collecting winter fashion accessories.  Shopping for them is great fun too.   I particularly like shopping at the local markets.  It’s fun negotiating with the local people, it makes shopping an adventure (shopping is always an adventure here).  My tally to date is one hat, 3 Berets, 7 scarfs and counting.  I am enjoying being able to wear winter hats.  Spring is on the way,  Even now at 7 degrees it is too warm to wear my winter boots.  Soon I will bid goodbye to my winter wares to make room for the fashion possibilities of the coming season.

One is a local peanut butter, of low quality and as sweet as nutella, the other is  imported from the states and tastes like the real thing… Spot the difference.

I was in shear desperation, with 6 months with out real peanut butter  I took to buying the local stuff and stirring in salt.  Yet I was not satisfied.  Till a freind at work “aquired” some for us!!  It was great.  Now I can have a peice of vegimite toast in one hand peanut butter in the other.  I’m a happy lady.

Sunday lunch at Pan Pizza.  After a couple weeks of being sick, it was wonderful to go out to lunch together.  We went to Pan Pizza, an Italian restaurant.  While some of the dishes are rather curious (like Italian pasta with chicken curry pieces), one can find edible options.  I had a creamy pasta dish with bacon.  Followed by an espresso coffee.  Lovely!

Just as the lovely design sights of Kiev were eating away at my soul and gauging out one eye at a time, along comes our trip to Berlin.

Architecture, art, design and practicality meet with the past and a look to the future.

I am in visual heaven!!!

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It’s the weekend.. Sunny and cold. ???   My eyes are watering while Paul was taking the photo as the sun was reflecting off the snow.  I’m trying my best to smile.  Needless to say I wanted to make a snow man.  Could the Donald Duck method be true?  Donald and his nephews take a snowball and roll it in the snow until it was of true snowman size.  Cartoon myth or reality?  I walked out side during the week, only to see the images of my childhood, actually happening.  Children rolling snowballs!  Myth confirmed.

I just had to try it for myself.  We made my first snowgirl.  I’m not sure who had more fun… the children or I.  I then started throwing snowballs, only to discover that It was not allowed….ooops!  So much for teacher role modeling.   It was such fun.

The highlight of last week was catching up with Joy Gratez.� Joy and the ladies with her on the ministry trip to Ukraine, so we were able to see them.� We Meet Joy and her two friends from her ministry team at the metro.� Together on the sardine train we headed into the center of town.� It was lovely to walk along the main street arm in arm with Joy.

We arrived at our dinner destination… TGI Fridays.� Were we enjoyed a night of laughs and social commentary’s on Ukraine.� � It was so great to to see Joy and to chat about anything.� As our night ended we caught the metro home.� � I jumped on the train as we waved good bye, with tears in my eyes and a brave smile.

What do coffee and cops have in common? (Apart from the obvious)…

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