Tuesday

After showering and getting ready for the day we walked to the bakery that we had eaten at the morning before but they were not open yet, what bakery is not open at 8:30? We didn't have a lot of time so just decided to walk and see what we could find. We found a coffee shop that seems to be a chain here. It is very yummy, and worked out better, because they were able to do my cappucino to go. We got a pastry that has berries and one that had ham and potatoes, both very good. There was a young man working there that spoke a little English and you could tell that he was very proud to be the one to step forward when we asked if anyone spoke English.
From there Oksana and Sergey picked us up and we drove to the orphanage, we have been very fortunate with the traffic, it can take up to 3 hours to get to the orphanage from the city center, but it has not taken us more than 1 hour and 15 minnutes, good not only because we are not stuck in traffic, but we would be paying our driver for that time also.
Also I have to give our driver Sergey props, he has got some Mad Driving Skills!!!
The driving here is crazy. I asked if there were rules and Oksana said yes, but that people just don't follow them. What looks like 2 lanes is often made into 3 or 4, with cars trying to get around each other. And Sergey is very good at getting around other cars, cutting them off in as safe a way as possible. We have seen what I call a "crunch" at least once a day, it is basically a minor accident caused by two cars cruching into each other because they just haven't given in, and noone gets the right of way! The cars drive very close to the pedestrians as well when they are crossing. There are very nice crosswalks and light to let you know when to cross. But for the most part Russians do not look at each other-you know like the other people they are walking near or the cars. So when they cross they just walk and the cars will drive very near to them, but not hitting them-not sure if this happens very often. So that is why I say you can tell I am an American because I actually look-and hurry when I see a car coming too close-although I am getting better at it.