Yesterday was another wind down work day. We finished off the bathroom and basically did cleaning all day. Sergei took us on a walk to a lake. He had Amanda try some berries which were bitter, as a joke. We all had a good laugh 
Then we went with Dasha to a spring, which looked really clear. We were advised not to drink the water.
I’m going to really miss hanging out with Sergei and Dasha! Today I got to talk to Zareef a little bit and he gave us some Ukrainian coins to add to our collection of foreign money.
Today was Amanda’s birthday and Dasha and Cinda planned a little celebration for Amanda. It was sad, though, because apparently birthdays are pretty big in Russia, and Dasha was sad because she wished someone would do that for her. Hopefully we’ll be able to send her something for her birthday.
When we woke up, there were flowers outside our door, and the main hall had “Happy Birthday†written out in english (dasha did them all by hand) on individual pieces of paper. Sergei had gathered a bouquet of flowers and put them on the table. I had to learn some song that I guess was to the tune of a popular Russian pop song. Verna made a cheesecake. Amanda and I had to do this little dance, sort of like musical chairs, on a small piece of paper, which is the tradition. It was an awesome birthday I think, and Amanda really appreciated it.
I’m going to be very sad to leave here and go back home. We are going to swan lake tonight and Sergei, Rema, Olga and Tasha are also going.
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The ballet was a very different experience, but pretty cool. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Olga, Tasha, Sergei and Rema. Sergei gave us a kiss on the cheek, and Rema, teary eyed, gave us a big hug. No words were needed, but it seemed like we touched their lives a little bit.
Tags: travel
