Sunday Drive

We’ve got our licenses and now we’ve got a vehicle. You may not be able to imagine how much this frees us to live our own schedules! So yesterday afternoon we took a Sunday drive. I haven’t driven at all yet (and haven’t done so since September-yikes) so my hubby took the wheel and headed out of our safely trafficked, gated community into the great unknown of foreign roadways. We weren’t going far, just down a couple of streets, but it felt like landing on the moon of successes.

On roadways in Russia, pedestrians are very common, whether there are sidewalks or not. The gypsy cab is an acceptable form of transportation and so many people walk with their hands held low (about waist-high) in hopes that they may catch a ride. Or, in our particular situation, you may encounter a runaway horse or two on your first drive out. No, you did not mis-read. As we were only about a half mile from our house, there were two saddled runaway horses coming straight at our vehicle. I braced for impact. My calm husband just put on the brakes and sat there so they could pass us. We are always surprised in Russia.

Next we went to the grocery store as a family. We’ve only done this two times here. I have become very accustomed to indifferent looks and limited personal boundaries but I had forgotten that four small children don’t understand---or frankly----appreciate these social norms. I felt like singing a new rendition of the song from Dumbo “pink elephants on parade” (what was that song about anyway?)

We emerged and proudly loaded our items into the spacious back hatch of our
vehicle. Onto another store.

The next store was smaller in comparison, but rarely busy and so we like the process a little more. However, we decided to go up the escalators and see what lies beyond. You also need to understand that every single store is really just an anchor store for several little kiosks. In this one you can get cheap toys from China in a kiosk, sewing notions, batteries, cell-phones, and of course, cigarettes. You never know what you may stumble upon.

But today was a lucky day! We found a clothing store. In fact, it is the first clothing store where there are items for the whole family and for really reasonable prices. I found women’s t-shirts for only 150py which is about $5. I have always hated clothes shopping, but I find that necessity forces me to do it. It’s almost spring and I am running very low on clothes that are appropriate beyond the confines of my kitchen.

We happily drove home anticipating the next time we will need something and will be able to get it for ourselves and maybe even offer to bring somebody else. Of course, I could always catch a ride into town on a runaway horse. Why not? It’s Russia!