Chapter 12 - Dasha at the Dacha

Anya (school secretary) invited me to her dacha (summer home, used for vacationing and private gardens). It was really no more than a shack but it was fun. Saturday night we made shashlik over a bon-fire (the usual drill by now). Serezha and Pasha (Anya’s husband and his friend) started drinking vodka and managed to finish off ¾ of a 2-litre bottle. Impressive. Anya and I drank one bottle of red wine. Then we sat around the fire and told anecdotes. One of the favorite things to do for Russians and Ukrainians. After that we all went to sleep in the same room (different beds).

Next day - Sunday - we got up about 10:30 and made breakfast of eggs and sausage and tea. While we were enjoying priyaniki (sort of tea cakes) Anya’s father came. He’s quite nice, very funny (from what I could understand, which wasn’t much) and obviously a loving and good father. I can see how Anya takes after him. Then after cleaning up and changing clothes, we went to the nearby pond, where Serezha and Pasha (in Speedos no less!) went for a swim while Anya and I watched and sun-bathed a bit. It was a perfect day! Relaxed, gorgeous weather, good company and generally a lot of fun!

After chilling by the pond for a while, we returned home, a.k.a. shack. Then I went with the boys to fetch water from the spring. An interesting experience indeed! After that Anya and I (with Pasha’s help) prepared a traditional Cossack dinner - couscous with carrots, potatoes, and onions. And Anya made a salad of cucumbers, cabbage and tomato with the ever present dill. It was delicious! For the second course we had of course tea, this time made in the samovar - traditional Slavic tea pot. We finished tea and priyaniki and other cookies Anya’s father brought, then collected our stuff and headed back to the city. They dropped us off (Pasha and me) at University metro station. Pasha went home and I went to the internet café. After writing a few emails and blogging a bit I went home, packed and got ready for my trip to Kiev. Went to sleep at about 1am, generally contented with a wonderful start to the holiday and nervous about the next day, about getting to the train station on time, finding the flat in Kiev, finding the bus to take me to the airport, etc., etc. But that is a story for another time… look forward to next week - LOTR: ROTB.