Wahoo!!! Christmas in Crimea has arrived. Anne and I have been planning this for months and after weeks of excitement, the holiday has arrived. We both miss our families, but were excited for new experiences.
Blueberry Pancakes thanks to my awesome sister, Laura. She and Sadie sent a care package in July and it had Wild Blueberry Muffin Mix in it. I saved it thinking it would be great for something and then packed it for Crimea wondering what we could use it for on Christmas. And someone suggested pancakes. They were incredible! Thanks Sis…
Anne chillin’ under a clump of mistletoe. The girl is tall, but not that tall. Drew, where are you when we need you…
We had some time on Christmas morning for an adventure and we needed something from the store, so Anne and I headed out for a walk of the center city area. It was wonderfully snowy and a great way to spend Christmas morning. I think the thing that was most shocking was all the people out and about. An American has a natural inclination that the streets are deserted on Christmas morning, but alas, it was not Christmas for Ukrainians. So life was going about the day as any other weekday.
Makes me think of my brother. He is incredibly annoying sometimes, but I love his love of all things motorbike related, especially Harley and Hog related.
One of several New Years trees in the city center area.
The streets and buildings in central Simferopol are beautiful, especially snow covered.
The central oblast administration building and very Soviet looking.
Ah, an empty street. Just what I was looking for.
This tree was wonderfully decorated. And then add some snow. It was pretty fun to photograph.
The red berries were a Russian vocab word from the previous week and made me happy.
While the chicken cooks the PCV’s occupy themselves with an iPad. iPad’s are wonderful here. And more and more PCV’s are carrying them.
Paige, Anne and Colette…and the beginnings of food.
Food…and PCV’s… That is Noelia with the big smile and grey shirt. She was in my training cluster and it was really fabulous to see her again. I think she got tired of my hugging. This party was international in the extreme…Americans, one visiting friend from Texas, Czech, Ukrainians….PCV’s, UN employees…it was a crazy mix!!!
Christmas Dinner!!!
And then it was time for the White Elephant Gift Exchange. This was a wonderful idea that Colette had emailed everyone regarding, so we all came prepared.
Anne’s gift that she received was this adorable white elephant.
No PCV gathering would be complete without an extensive mix of electronic devices…LOL!!!
And dessert….
Makes me tired just writing this…
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