Drive to Ivanovo

Moving on to our 325 mile trip to Ivanovo to meet our host families I sat in the front in hopes of keeping my cookies in my stomach. We drove in a little yellow bus along a road kind of like Route 6. It took about 5 hours to get there. We had to go to the bathroom so we stopped along and went in the woods. Special thanks to Cheryl for telling me to pack extra tissues and Diana for warning me about the woods! We stopped again in a little market place (think Mexico) and Sarah tried to pee in a hole in the ground and was accosted by the bathroom attendant because she forgot to pay to pee in the hole.

We finally arrive and meet our host families. They are so kind and wonderful. Sarah and I are staying with a mom and her 15 year old daughter (more details to follow about them). They carried our bags up five flights of stairs. Here is another outline of our first night:
1. Yes they have a toilet and it is free but they have no tissue paper just a shower head which the host mother showed us what to do with it and Sarah and I just looked at each other and tried to think of an alternative. Needless to say we have been squirting water in places where water should just not go and then using the same towel we shower with to dry off. Any suggestions???
2. We had a wonderful dinner Sarah and I have both decided that we will not be losing any weight because butter, cream, and mayonnaise is put on everything and it is sooooooooooooooooooo good!
3. At dinner we asked in our broken Russian what they do for work. Victoria the daughter told us that her mother is a private undertaker and we kind of looked at each other and were like okay she works with dead people. We translated and they looked horrified. Sarah’s translation consisted of her using her hands to dig a hole and then put he3r hands around her neck. You just had to be here for that one. We were all crying as I am crying now just repeating it! We finally cleared is up and found out she owns her own business don’t even ask how that comes out to be a private undertaker because I have yet to figure that out!
4. We stayed up until 1 a.m. showing photo albums and talking using six different translation books. Sarah brought a stick figure of her boyfriend Peter and they thought that was a hoot. Basically she has a flat Peter not a Flat Stanley and she will be taking pictures of him in front of interesting sites.
5. 1a.m. - first sleep for me in 32 hours… Sarah and I slept like a baby!


Shout out to my moosh Mike (husband) and Peter. We miss you and sorry but do not have phones that work yet! But you will here from us soon!!!!!

Love,
Jen and Sarah
Co-Editors in chief!

Any suggestions for our trip so far???