Tomorrow is another day

I need to write a blog. I have things to say, but I'm not in the mood to write. Maybe tomorrow I'll write something new and original. For now I will leave you with another blast from the past. Here is an excerpt from our Sept 21, 2003 update.


Last summer we met some people while visiting a town on the Black Sea. They had been calling us all year to ask us to come visit them so we made plans to go. We weren't really sure what the trip would look like because Brian had been through their town in June and had seen that their house was only one room. We had visited the wife's parent's house which is bigger when we were in town last year so we thought we might be staying there but we weren't sure. When we got to town we called them and they met us in a parking lot to take us to their new, bigger house. It was one small living area, one bedroom and a kitchen. Plus there was a room that was like a connecting room. It contained a wardrobe and the bathroom sink but no other furniture. After we arrived they asked where we were staying and we said that we hadn't decided yet. Of course at that point they insisted that we stay with them. They gave us their large bedroom which had a queen-sized bed and a set of bunk beds in it. They brought in a mattress like thing to put on the floor for our other two kids. I felt bad for taking their room but we wouldn't have fit in the living room so it was really the only option.
The bathroom in this house was interesting as well. One small room contained the toilet. It was a regular toilet but it didn't flush. After using it you just added water with a hose to flush down what was in the toilet. It never really flushed anything down because there wasn't enough pressure so in the evening they took a large pitcher and poured water in the toilet. That usually pushed everything on through. Whenever you add water to a toilet here it doesn't fill the toilet up. If there is too much water the trap opens and most of it flows through. Another interesting thing about the bathroom is the toilet seat wasn't actually connected to the toilet. Every time anyone would sit down they would skate around the toilet trying not to fall in. Also the bathroom door didn't close all the way. There was a 4 inch gap so that anyone walking by could see into the bathroom. The worse part is the bathroom door was right inside the front door which they kept open. So if you happened to be in the bathroom and someone came to the front door they had a great view of whoever happened to be sitting on the toilet! After using the bathroom you had to go around a corner to wash your hands. The shower was in another small room which was divided into the shower and a storage closet. This room was interesting as well. Half of the floor was tiled like a shower and the other half was concrete. They had a shower curtain hanging down to divide the room. So to take a shower you went into this room and closed and locked the door. I was thankful that the door closed and locked! You turned on the water and picked up the hose and wet yourself. Then you put the hose back on the floor while you soaped off. To rinse....you guessed it....you picked the hose up and rinsed. At the point that I took a shower I didn't care how I had to do it I was just glad to be clean! I did notice that there were several large round holes in the wall near the ceiling. I'm sure they were there to let the moisture escape the room. All I could think was that I was glad it wasn't winter when we were visiting because I bet that room is freezing!

Aww...such good memories! We haven't been back to see that family as a family since that trip. Brian went back one other time on a volunteer trip, and we used to get phone calls from them every now and then. It's amazing how friends pass in and out of our lives here. Just when we think we won't ever hear from someone again they surprise us and call. We'll see what happens with this family!