First Day in Pokrov

After a two hour bus ride we arrived in Pokrov and are staying at a very nice new hotel. It has wifi, and I am connecting at about 11:30 at night.

We had an amazing day at the orphanage and have a great plan for the rest of the week. All of the new team members fit right in, making new friends and getting involved in music, games and sports along with playing with some of the preschool kids.

We had mostly free time today and will begin our program tomorrow.

The kids planned a competition for us to watch. It was a sort of beauty contest that also involved several small competitions, such as the momma competition where the contestants had to put diapers on one of the American team members.

The older girls also planned a dinner "cafe" for us that they prepared and served. Of course, the dinner was accompanied by an appropriate selection of music that included rap and Russian techno. It also included an OLD MC Hammer song, "Can't Touch This."

So, I think that this will be a great week. Tomorrow is a competition planned by the orphanage and our first lesson on love.

We look forward to the four days ahead.