The rest of the story

If you haven't read catching up, which I wrote this morning, or Friday, do so before reading this post. It will make more sense.

And now the rest of the story... if you didn't just read it, remember we have caught a bad cold, we'd  promised to teach at an outreach English program for university students called American week in Dnepro that started on Tuesday evening, and we had just left home Tuesday afternoon.

The drive into Dnepro in the little white Geely car revealed a few things, like the transmission or something may still have some problems, which became apparent at a stoplight when Garry shifted and it felt like something had hit us as we were thrown forward in our seats (the seatbelts held us back). We discussed whether we should take the van on Wednesday morning, but Max's brother had asked about borrowing it. Garry said the same thing had happened when he went with Yana to buy the drugs for the calf. So he decided to be really careful shifting, and stop completely before putting it into first (which seems to work) but I said maybe it's time for a new car.

We followed his phone GPS to the building where the classes would take place,  when we were close we had the driver's side mirror knocked back by a car coming twoard us on a narrow street! We had almost an hour so we looked for a place to eat that late lunch, since it would be a late dinner after classes ended at eight pm. We planned on going through the KFC drive-thru when leaving Dnepro on the way home. 

We found a parking place and took a rather cold walk (it was damp and windy out) and finally found a place that wasn't a coffee shop and ordered a pizza. It was a little smaller than we expected but quite good at the Le Silpo cafe (Silpo is a common grocery store chain, but they have a few fancy stores with high end stuff called Le Silpo at malls in Dnepro, this one has a cafe). We returned to the car and thought we'd find a closer place to park (also realized we should have paid at a machine, luckily no ticket, we hadn't seen the sign). It was almost the time we were supposed to arrive, four pm for the first day, so Garry found a nearby parking spot a half a block away, we locked the car and hurried to the building.

So the lessons went okay, it was interesting to meet the young people there and the staff with Campus Ukraine who are running this American week. They had to find local people instead of getting Americans to come like previous years it seems, although they have a few people teaching and attending online.

Garry thought we'd head out a bit early, but we didn't actually get out before eight, and we offered our friend Jessica a ride back to where she's staying for the week, it's a twenty minute walk, not too bad in the day, but not as nice solo at night. We walked to where we'd parked the car. No car. 

Maybe it was the wrong block? We walked around some more. I thought we had the right place the first time, I remembered walking over a big tree root in the sidewalk, how many could there be? There was a red car parked in the place where we'd left the Geely. At least both of us we pretty sure it was the right place. Of course Garry once couldn't find the Lada a couple hours after he parked it years ago, and a couple hours later he found the correct street he'd parked on, so maybe it was wrong. The head of the program stumbled on us looking and helped look for the car. Garry called Victor to see if had been towed, or evacuated as they say. We weren't sure why it would have been, but they do that in Dnepro now, for the last year or so.

Victor didn't know anyone who'd been towed, but he would try to find out. We started walking with Jessica back to where she was staying at Most City apartments, when Garry decided maybe we were parked somewhere further out. He went to go walk around a different block or two, while Jessica and I would continue on to Mc Donalds in the square. Jessica's friend she's staying with phoned, she was at KFC in the Most City Mall eating a late dinner. I started walking with Jessica toward Most City, along with a lady who'd asked for directions there after getting off a bus near where we were standing (a bicycle delivery guy told her how to get there  first). When I could see it a block away, I pointed Jessica in the right direction and headed back to where Garry thought I'd be, since we had no luck getting him on the phone with the change of plans. Jessica said she ended up walking there with the lady.

I got back to Mc Donalds, where I was relieved to pass the temperature check (I was pretty sure I'd had a fever Monday and Tuesday morning) and ordered a hamburger and fries. I found out from Victor that Garry was heading to me, the car had been evacuated accoding to the police, but we couldn't get it til morning. It was 9:30 and we were staying in Dnepro. While Garry was eating the meal he ordered, we messaged back and forth and Jessica tried to book us an apartment in Most City but it wouldn't go through, so we ended up on the 19th floor (top) in the hotel rooms for 900 grivna cash when we got there at ten pm. It had a nice view I discovered in the morning you could even see the river from the far window.

At least we had a place to sleep, bed was good, walls a little thin until our neighbors settled in (some at 2 am, we were awake for a while). We had no phone charger, no cold meds, and no car until sometime in the morning, at least the car wasn't stolen. In the morning we walked over to Mc Donalds for breakfast, Garry bought some ibruprofen at an aptecka, and we waited for Victor to call about getting the car. Apparently the impound lot was on the other side of the river. It would cost 1200 grivna to get it back. We were back in our hotel room when Victor called. Garry went out with him, wearing a mask (one reason we didn't take Victor up on a ride home to the village, we didn't want to make him sick). I had a nice nap in the hour he was gone. Garry was back before eleven, it took a while because the copy of the power of attorney was first deemed insufficent to prove it was ours. Garry and Victor tried phoning the guy we bought it from, they moved to Canada, but are back, but were unable to get him. Finally the guy in charge (or the powers that be) decided it was okay, and they got the car. Victor showed Garry a free place to park. Garry told him if it got evacuated again, he'd have to get it again. 

Checkout was at noon, our phones were in the red, so we bought a charger, and after soup and lunch at Puzata Hata, hung out with Jessica for the rest of the time until class (wearing masks again, we are teaching is masks, I'd said I wanted everyone to ear masks so we wouldn't get sick, now it's to keep everyone else from getting this cold!). We parked in a paid spot Wednesday to insure it was there when we finished, and it was, so we gave her a ride back as we went home. Garry took a phone call from a woman who wanted her cow bred, and told her it would be an hour and a half. We ate KFC as we drove home.

We were a little worried about what we'd find at home, both cats were in the house, but I hadn't fed them before we left, the chickens had not been shut in for the night Tuesday, and we'd been closing it since the two had been killed. We weren't sure if Garry could find the semen tank to breed the lady's cow, but it was in the van, so he went off to do it. I fed the cats and walked over in the dark with Bear's dinner. When I got back in the house, I realized he'd left his phone and the lady was phoning about if he was coming. I said he should be there soon, but had left his phone. Garry checked the chickens on his return, they were safe and he collected the three eggs for the day.

We were wondering how many lights would be on in the house when we returned, since the power was off when we left Tuesday, but only the kitchen light and the office lights were on. The furnace had gone off, but it wasn't too cold in the house. It was easy to reset and warm as usual by morning. It was nice to get clean clothes on, too.

So it's Thursday, we are still pretty sick, but the good news is Valentina and the baby are back home. We got s message that they were home when we got back last night.