A Quick Break

10 August, 2012

We arrived in our old region after a 12 hour train ride.  The ride was uneventful except for one section of track that had the car rocking so severely we thought that we would derail.  Of course we hit this part of the track around 02:00 so it startled us out of what had been a very sound sleep.  Oleg, a family friend, met us at the station and we went to his home for a quick lunch.  It was quick only due to the fact that we had an appointment with the director of our old orphanage, not due to any lack of food.  Elena knows how to put out a spread!!  There was quite the feeling of nostalgia as we made our way to the appointment.  Only nine months ago we traveled that route twice a day, every day for nearly three weeks.  The changes to the orphanage, all good, were apparent immediately upon our arrival.  Several of the projects that the Director had told us were in her plans had been completed and a few new ones had been started.  The Director was waiting for us outside so she could show us what she had been able to get done as we walked to her office.  Once there, with Oleg acting as interpreter, we were brought up to speed on what had happened at the orphanage since we were there last, and we filled the director in on what had been happening with us, it was all polite and professional.  Once we brought out the photo book however, things changed quickly.  The Director alternated from amazement, to disbelief, to gratitude and back again.  She couldn’t believe that these were the same children that we had taken from the orphanage only nine months earlier.  One of the orphanage staff came in to look at the pictures as well.  I’m not sure what was said, but there were more “thank yous” given to us then was comfortable. We also dropped off a photo album for Malachi’s Babushka, which the Director thought was really great and told the staff member to call her and let her know it was there.  The Director called in the doctor and had her take us to “our” old groupa.  Unfortunately it was nap time so we didn’t get a chance to see anyone except for baby Niko.  Was he cute?  Let’s just say I felt it necessary to frisk Erika before we left.  We spent the rest of the weekend visiting with our friends.  There was lots of food, Erika managed a fair amount of shopping, learned to make borsht, and taught Elena how to make banana bread; I managed to get in a fishing trip.   Sunday evening we jumped on the train to return to our current region to pick up our adoption adventure where we had left off.        

In Region Day 9

 

09 August, 2012

I learned something today regarding the can opener that we had at our last apartment that redeemed my honor as a manipulator of all things mechanical …but I digress.  We started the morning off as usual with a trip to the market to get some fruit.  We decided to be a bit creative today and bought plums instead of peaches.  We also picked up some soft toys in hope that we could give them to Caleb’s groupa.  We arrived at the orphanage and went through the usual food check.  The nurse was quite approving of the fact that we had found such large, good quality plums (I think she likes plums herself).  Jessa was brought in first so we spent a little time just sitting with her and talking to her.  Caleb came in a few minutes later and … he was dressed in Boy Clothes!!  He did still have his blue socks, and shoes with dragons on the toes, but we are making progress.  Well today was picture day.  Once Luda had the permission slip we walked the kids out of the orphanage and over to the car.  Jessa was a little nervous but trusts Erika enough to get in.  As soon as Caleb saw the car he was trying to get away from me so he could climb inside.  The ride to the photo shop was rather short but the whole way Caleb was trying to position himself so that he could see well.  When we arrived Jessa was quite happy to get out but I had to hand Caleb over to Erika because he wanted to stay in the car.  There were several steps leading up to the photo shop which was a challenge for Jessa.  She doesn’t seem to have any mobility challenges, but steps seem to spook her.  I had one hand and Luda took the other and we “stomped” our way up one step at a time.  The photo shop was empty except for us, which I think was coordinated, so Caleb and I had a seat while Jessa had her picture taken.  We suspected she was a bit of a camera hog since every picture we have seen of her has a big smile, but this confirmed it.  The girl likes to have her picture taken, except for the flash which seemed to disorient her and caused her to recoil physically.  Then it was Caleb’s turn.  It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I imagined it would be, the biggest challenge being in getting him to look at the camera.  After a quick drive back to the orphanage it was time to play outside.  We had picked up some bubbles at the market this morning and it was rather breezy so things worked out well.  The kids thought that it was great!  It was also another new sensation for Caleb to have bubbles pop on his skin.  We played on the playground equipment for a bit longer, Jessa deciding on her own that she wanted to go down the slide today, and Caleb taking a short ride with Mom on the merry-go-round.  11:30 rolled around and Caleb started to exhibit his normal “I’m done” behavior so we went inside for Banana Time.  While I broke pieces off for Jessa, Erika worked with Caleb.  Today she was not only putting pieces deep in his cheeks, but also pressing pieces gently against his palate so that he had to use his tongue to move the food in two directions before he could swallow.  After eating his banana, he settled down in Erika’s arms almost as if he was planning on taking a nap.  Jessa and I looked at a magazine and she was back to “brat” and “sistra” for the pictures of men and women, however, she did resume “man” and “lady” after only one reminder from me.  It was time for the kids to go back so we brought Jessa back to her room and then went upstairs with Caleb and the soft toys we had brought.  Luda let the caregivers know that we would like to give the toys to the groupa and we were invited into the common area.  Now we had seen the common area before from the door, but this was the first really good look that we had.  In the middle of the room is a large (12ft X 12ft?) play pen which, in typical Ukrainian practicality, is made from welded steel and painted a bright white.  There was a large rug on the floor inside of it and several children were playing with each other.  The room itself is bright, clean, and well ordered.  The caregivers took one look at the soft blocks that Erika was holding and very enthusiastically told her it was ok to give them to the children.  One of the caregivers even asked if it would be ok for her to take some to the back so the children could have some toys in their cribs.  All of the caregivers that we have interacted with since we started visiting the orphanage have seemed to genuinely care for the children in their charge.  We have heard that there are a few who, because so many families are coming so quickly, are afraid all the children will be adopted and that they will be out of a job, but those appear to be the minority.  Unfortunately, it seems that due to a lack of knowledge, training, or because of social norms, there is no expectation that these children can develop any further.  However they show up is believed to be the status they will have for the rest of their lives.  If they make gains on their own, this new level of ability is accepted as their new “normal”, but no effort is made to help them achieve.  There isn’t anything intentionally sinister or malicious going on, it is just the way their culture has taught them to view these children.  I think once we can begin to send pictures and reports of how well these children are doing and the advances that they are making once they are given expectations to meet, that we may see a change in attitude among many of the caregivers.  There is a need for developmental toys here.  It would make a huge difference if we could get at least a crib toy for each crib.  After leaving for the day, we began getting ready for the trip to our old orphanage.  We have a day-long train ride ahead of us so I’m not sure when I’ll be posting this update.  Oh, and the opener … was for bottles, not cans.  Reputation intact!

In Region Day 8

08 August, 2012

We changed apartments today.  The one we are in now is much closer to the river (yeah!) and our favorite restaurants (YEAH!!).  We were picked up a little earlier this morning so that we could bring everything to the new apartment before we left for the orphanage.   After dropping off all of our worldly possessions, we went to a different market for our daily fruit pick-up.  We grabbed our required number of peaches and off we went.  After going through the normal food inspection routine, I think the nurse likes us, we waited for the kids to come in.  Since it was a cool morning we decided to play outside for a change.  A group of volunteers had recently finished adding some ramps to a giant playground set so that all the children could have access.  Jessa had so much fun stomping up and down the ramp.  We finally got her to slide down the slide … she didn’t seem overly impressed.  Caleb was content to just wander around with me for a little while, then have a seat on one of the benches and look around.  We think he may have some trouble seeing right now and probably needs glasses.  When we went back inside it was banana time!  As usual, Jessa finished her banana in just a couple of bites.  Erika was feeding Caleb his in some fairly large pieces in order to try and stimulate the chewing reflex.  While he didn’t actually chew, he did pause before swallowing which is definitely a step in the right direction.  Erika started placing the pieces deep in his cheeks to make him use his tongue to manipulate the bites so that he could swallow them, also good practice for chewing.  After the bananas, we broke out the balloons.  Jessa does not like balloons!  She wouldn’t come anywhere near them and it didn’t matter if they were inflated or not.  Caleb thought they were pretty cool.  I think he could see them because of the bright colors.  One of the things he really seemed to like was when I put a balloon against his ear and tapped my fingers on the outside of it.  I got several smiles that way.  He also had fun when I would bounce the balloons against him; unfortunately, like so many other things, he lost interest after only a short time.  After the balloons, Jessa and I were looking at a book while Erika and Caleb went for a walk in the hall.  I was able to get Jessa to start identifying the pictures of men as “Man” and the pictures of women as “Lady”; we’ll see tomorrow if she remembers.  Erika and Caleb finished their hallway walk, or so Erika thought.  That little guy decided that he did not want to come back in the room so every time that Erika got close to it, he would reach out and close the door!  She made several attempts to get him back in, but he was as determined as she was.  That was the most definite and determined action that we have seen him perform thus far.  Erika and I swapped out and I took over Caleb and the hall which is when I met … the Wheelchair Posse!  This is a bunch of 8-12 year old girls, all in wheelchairs for various reasons, who patrol the hallway like a biker gang.  They rolled up to me and their leader said “priviyet” which is like “hi” in Ukrainian.  I answered “priviyet” and smiled.  She then hit me with a flurry of questions, in Ukrainian of course, so fast that to me it sounded like all one word.  I shrugged my shoulders and held my free hand out palm up in the intergalactic sign for “What?!?” and said “priviyet?”  I thought that they were going to hurt themselves they laughed so hard!  Then there “leader” said to her gang “Amerikanski” which started the laughter all over again.  And that became the game.  She would question me in an ever more mirthful manner, I would shrug and look confused, and she would state “Amerikanski” and the Posse would break out in laughter.  We must have done this a half dozen times.  By then Caleb was getting to his usual “I’m done” behavior so I brought him back into the room so we could wait for the caregiver to come and get him.  When she showed up Erika, through Luda, explained his behavior to the caregiver.  Her response was along the lines of “Of course he wants to come back to the groupa, 11:30 is snack time”.  Mystery solved.  We had lunch today in a restaurant that recently opened.  I had rabbit, Erika had borsht, and we shared a Greek salad and a really delicious potato dish.  We seem to be falling into the Ukrainian eating pattern of moderate breakfast, large lunch, and light dinner.  I’ve heard so much from the other RR families about the “Ukraine Diet” and how effective it is at knocking off 5, 10, and even 15 pounds while you are in country.  All I can say is that it either doesn’t work for guys, or I’m doing it wrong ‘cause I’m heading in the other direction! After lunch I went back to the new apartment while Erika got a Ukrainian style pedicure.  Luda recommended that Erika go to the shop that she uses.  90 minutes and $10USD later Voila!! Purty Toes!  This is one of the reasons that I recommend that you set up a separate account before you travel.  Erika’s toes, my suit, some chocolate for our driver’s wife (today’s her birthday; remember that gratitude thing …?), and our trip to our old orphanage all comes from our personal account (the trip comes from our family vacation fund).

Our new apartment has one thing that our old one did not … a Can Opener!!!!  Oh yes, pineapple slices, tomorrow at breakfast you are mine!!! MUWAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!  

In Region Day 7

07 August, 2012

We resumed our visits today, which meant no sleeping in.  I was a little hungry today since we had run out of milk so I couldn’t eat my bowl of “Start” as usual.  For those of you who haven’t been here yet, “Start” is a kid’s breakfast cereal, the one with the soccer playing lion on the box, that is what Cocoa Puffs used to be thirty years ago.  Put that in a bowl with some 3.2% milk (I was able to find 4.8% last trip) and you can’t help but “start” the day right!  We went to the market first thing in order to get some fruit for the kids and their groupas.  Peaches are in season right now so there’s plenty and they’re cheap.  Today’s visit was going to be a little different since the Director was going to be on vacation and we didn’t know who her replacement was going to be.  It had also been three days since we had seen the kids … would they remember us?  After what is becoming the normal first stop at the CSO, we arrived at the orphanage.  Question one was answered shortly after our arrival when the Deputy Director met us and let Luda know that he was in charge while the Director was on vacation.  I would have assumed he would have been the guy, but this isn’t the U.S.   Question two was answered a few minutes later when the kids were brought into the psychologist’s office.  Jessa just walked on in and sat down next to Erika; Caleb came into the room and held his arms out to me to pick him up.  We spent the morning playing and looking at books.  I discovered that since Caleb is sensory deprived he prefers rough contact to gentle touch (i.e. he is much more comfortable with my arms wrapped around him then if I place my hand on his back).  That is a good thing since I’m sure his brother’s will want to wrestle as soon as we get home.   We tried the clothes that we had bought on the kids and Jessa’s were pretty close, Erika had guessed a size small.  It was a bit sad with Caleb however when the 4T shirt was too big and the 24M shorts fit.  As usual, right around 11:30 Caleb began to get restless and acting as if he wanted to go back to his groupa.  It’s been the same each time we’ve visited; I guess his tolerance for activity is only about 90 minutes. After leaving the orphanage, we tried a new restaurant recommended by Luda’s brother.  It was billed as having “American size” portions.  The food was excellent, but if those were American sized, we eat waaaaaay too much.  Erika and I could have easily shared either of our orders … with a third person.  We took our usual evening walk to dinner a little bit earlier than usual out of deference to Luda.  I have to make a clarification of an earlier post.  Although Erika and I were walking home at 23:00, it was due to having missed the last bus for the night.  In general, it is not a good idea to be out that late and Luda prefers if all families in region are at their apartments by 22:00.  She says that she doesn’t sleep when we are out later.  Because of our backgrounds Erika and I are probably a bit more comfortable being out late than we should be.  We went to a different Celentano’s Pizza for dinner and had a great time with the English speaking members of the staff.  One of the waitresses had a sister who lived in Buffalo, NY so she thought it was pretty neat that we had lived in NY (upstate) as well.  I had the lasagna, which turned out to be a meaty marinara and pasta tort.  It was good, but I don’t think Don Corleone would have approved.  We got back to the apartment early (20:00) and watched the first Sherlock Holmes movie online, called the kids back home and hit the sack.  We move apartments tomorrow.   

In Region Day 6

DONSA number three, thankfully the last for now.  I must admit that having this much unscheduled time is a little hard to deal with, especially today since so many places are closed on Monday.  We started with a light morning snack in anticipation of a late lunch.  There’s nothing quite as eye-opening as having tiramisu and iced cappuccino for breakfast.  Not sure where on the food pyramid you find that but I’m sure it’s there somewhere.  After our morning snack we jumped on the bus to head down to the water.  The plan was to go to the market and see if we could find a can opener.  We have had this can of pineapple slices since our first day in region; unfortunately we have this manual can opener that for the life of me I cannot figure out how to use.  Now I’m no rookie when it comes to manual can openers.  I’ve used the ones on Swiss Army knives, the old Boy Scout knives, the Army issued pocket knife, the old cartoon tuna can opener, even the old Army P-38 opener, but this thing just baffles me.  I’m almost to the point of throwing it out in the crosswalk when the huffy red dude is showing and letting a speeding vehicle pop it open!  Even if that can of pineapple must return with us to the U.S., it will be opened!!!  Well, on our way down we got the call from Luda that the court proceeding for the day were successful and that we would be joining another family for a celebratory lunch.  She didn’t seem to find it the least bit extraordinary that we were on a bus heading downtown rather than at the apartment.  I think she has accepted the fact that after decades of international travel, on both official and unofficial business, Erika and I are quite comfortable out among the population and acting like the “natives”.  Lunch was in a restaurant (remember … “Pectopah”) that had won some high acclaim from a national Ukrainian “food network” type of show.  We get to the table, get handed some English menus (generally a good sign) and discover that it’s … a breakfast joint!?  Good thing Ukrainians eat big for breakfast; not many places in the U.S. do you find Greek Salad on the breakfast menu.  The food was excellent and everyone found something to satisfy their appetite.  After hearing about the court proceedings and celebrating the transition of another child’s status from orphan to family member, Luda let us know that she had contacted the director of the last orphanage from which we had adopted and that the Director was excited that we were here and would love to see us again (we had asked Luda earlier if she thought it would be possible for us to visit).  The amazing Luda had done all the research on the different ways to get there and had a plan for us to go and visit there this Friday.  I know several CEOs that would give their eye-teeth to have someone as competent and proactive as Luda!  Well, the other family had to run off to catch the train to begin their journey home so we walked down to the river again.  While there wasn’t a sequel to “Superman”, I did see a bunch of swallows that seemed to be tearing up a swarm of insects right above a park bench.  I dragged Erika over and we had a seat. It was AWESOME!!!  The closest thing I can compare it to would be floating in the sky in the middle of an airshow.  The swallows where zipping by at incredible speed, making these seemingly impossible changes in direction.  Some passed so close to us that you could hear the feathers vibrating in the wind and feel the air from their passage.  Watching them it was very easy to understand why man was inspired to master flight.   When the show was over we went back to the shop where we had bought clothes for the kids and got another shirt in a different size for Caleb.  We still have no idea of what size he may wear so we thought it best to bring a couple for him to try.  On the way back I came to a disturbing realization.  Since we have been here we have noticed that a lot of the guys seem to be very secure in their manhood since they were holding their wife/girlfriends purse as they walked around in public … or so we thought.  There is a thing here straight out of a Jerry Seinfeld routine that can only be described as a “Murse” (i.e. a Man Purse)!  Now we aren’t talking some big leather bag worthy of a National Geographic exploration team, oh no, we are talking about a  small, delicate, highly decorated shiny leather bag in a variety of colors … complete with a “spaghetti strap” handle to throw over your shoulder.  Just being next to one of those things makes you start thinking pink may be an ok color for your next pair of slacks!  It really looks odd when one is being carried by some guy who looks like he may have founded the Russian Mafia.   I now know why all the statues of Lenin here look so angry!

We get to resume visits tomorrow.  Can’t wait!!

In Region Day 5

 DONSA number two.  We actually got to sleep in this morning for a change which was really nice since we had taken an evening boat cruise on the Neipper River (costing us only $5 for over an hour of cruising!) with another family that is in region and then had a late dinner.  After getting back to the apartment around midnight local time, we called the kids at home via Skype and talked for nearly an hour.  After getting up, we had brunch at the Celentano Pizza Restaurant (“Pectopah” for those Americans who don’t read Cyrillic).  I had a wonderful ham, cheese, and mushroom “pancake”, Erika’s had Nutella and nuts..  Since it was such a nice day, we decided to walk to the market to look for some clothes for the kids.  The market here is roughly divided into three sections: food stuff, clothes stuff, and “stuff” stuff.  The food section is up front, the clothes section is in the back, and “stuff” is in the middle.  Occasionally you run into areas where they don’t seem to know the rules, but for the most part you have a fairly good idea of where to look for what you want.  Since prices are set by the individual vendors they can vary greatly so don’t grab the first item you find unless you are in a hurry.  The vendors at the market will negotiate for price, but only a little since they price pretty close to their bottom profit margin to begin with.  Since we are unsure of the kids’ actual sizes we didn’t buy anything for them at the market and went to one of the clothing stores in a nearby mall.  While the prices are more expensive then what you would find in the market, the advantage is that you can make an arrangement with the shopkeeper to exchange if it is the wrong size.  However, you must make this arrangement at the time of purchase, and you must do it on the day that the shopkeeper sets for the exchange.  When we were done we grabbed a bus back to the apartment.  You only have three options for getting around when you are in region; walk, use a driver, and take public transportation.  The easiest of course is simply to walk and this works fine if the weather cooperates and the distance is short, but for longer travel, or if the weather is bad you may need transportation.  You can use the driver that is provided for your “official” adoption travel, but that can cost you as much as 700 GVN ($87.50 U.S.) a day, and it not only ties up a driver that another family may need for official travel, but the drivers have lives and families too.  Public transportation here (and in the last region we were in as well as Kiev) is well developed, cheap (2 GVN will get you anywhere in the city), and reliable.  It is no more crowded, hazardous, or dirty then the Metrobus system in Washington, DC.  Each of the major bus stops has a route map that even Americans can figure out, and the busses are clearly marked.  All the numbers are the same as ours so if nothing else you can just see which bus services the stop nearest your apartment and that’s the one you take to get home.  Just like any major city there are “rush hours” where the buses get crowded by people going to and from work.  If the bus is too crowded for your liking, just wait.  There will be another bus in a few minutes.  The only tricky part is when you pay.  What we have learned is that on the yellow buses you pay when you exit, the white ones are pay when you board.  We also learned last night that the buses stop running at 22:00 (I love the fact that they use a 24 hour clock here, although it does drive Erika a little crazy).We are finding that this region is no more expensive than our last adoption and actually the apartments are a bit cheaper. The apartments are, however, very similar to living in an IKEA display.  We went for a walk down by the river in the early evening.  The river is definitely a gathering place for the people who live here as the heat of the day begins to fade.  They go there to fish, swim, walk, or just sit and enjoy watching everyone else.  One of the interesting things that we saw was this young man in his late teens/early twenties go running across the sidewalk, dive over the guard rail along the river edge and, as he was heading for the water, shout in heavily accented English “I am Superman!”  His buddy then ran across the sidewalk but, being either more cautious or saner, stopped at the guardrail, stepped over it and jumped feet first into the river.  After our walk, we went to what is becoming one of our favorite restaurants.  Something to note here is that you do tip here, and 10% seems to be the standard.  One thing you may want to bring with you is a small pocket calculator, not so much to figure tips and exchange rate but to make price offers or have the vendor type in the price for you.  It makes it much more convenient then trying to hold up fingers or read some bad Cyrillic script.

The evenings are cool and the streets are safe, even at 2300, which is when we were finally heading back to the apartment. 

In Region Day 4

04 August, 2012

Today is what we call a DONSA in the Army.  It means “Day Of No Scheduled Activity”.  To normal people, that would mean sleeping in/leisurely “start-the-day” kind of stuff … Nahw! It was “meet me downstairs at 07:30 so we can get to the market” (we had run out of “green groceries”).  A quick bus ride to the city center put us at a HUGE outdoor market.  One of the things you learn pretty quickly here is that if you want good, cheap produce go to the open markets.  This particular one is what all the Farmer’s Markets in the U.S. strive to be! Vegetables, tree fruits, vine fruits, berries, nuts, tubers, beans, grains, herbs, spices, baked goods … whatever you wanted or needed was there and in abundance.  As always the cost of the produce was well below that which I had expected to pay and the quality so much higher than I expected to find.  After taking our stash back to the apartment we were told that around lunch we would take my suit to the cleaners.  One of our drivers had done research on dry cleaners here in the city until he located one that used “American style” cleaning processes and guaranteed that they could have it back by Tuesday (just another example of how  most of the people here are anxious to help and will often go well beyond what you ask or expect).  The cost was about the same as you would pay back in the U.S..  While we are talking about funds let me make this recommendation: at the very beginning of your process set up a separate adoption funds account at your bank.  This is the account that all of your grants, FSP, direct donations from friends, etc. monies will go to.  That way you have clear separation of accounts for expenses that are directly related to the adoption (USCIS, fingerprints, facilitation fees, travel expenses, etc.) and other incidental expenses (toys for the kids, gifts for friends/relatives, a special meal or event, etc.).  This way you can clearly show to anyone who may challenge you that you did not “inappropriately” spend any of the donated funds.  As sad as it is that people would think this way, it does happen.  Using the ATMs here (known as the “bankomat”) is no more hazardous than using the ATMs at home.  They are very convenient since you automatically get the day’s exchange rate, they are never on an extended lunch, and you don’t have to turn over your passport for scrutiny each time you would like to get additional funds.  Do confine your ATM use to those that are either inside a place of business, or one of the major banks here and exercise the normal precautions that you would take in the U.S..  Something to remember while you are here is that a little gratitude goes a very long way.  Always be polite and thank people when they do anything for you, regardless of how small. When appropriate, a small gift (plants and flowers are good choices since they are relatively inexpensive and have no real monetary value of their own) that can be displayed and will act as a reminder to the person of your gratitude can smooth many “bumps” in the administrative road.    Since this seems to be taking on the flavor of an advice column, here’s a couple more:

Eat salads as often as you can.  Not only are they good and good for you, but they will help you remain hydrated and balance your electrolytes.  It is very easy to become unbalanced (in oh so many ways!) during international travel and water is not always conveniently at hand.

Drink the bottled water in moderation.  While it is perfectly safe, it is still different so you need to spread it out over the day so your GI system can adjust.  Be aware that it comes in “gas” and “no gas” so order appropriately.  Your water intake should be about two liters a day (about 64 ozs for us Americans) which very few of us get just from drinking.

Pancakes here = Crepes at home.  They come in sweet and salty/savory.  Do eat them when you are here! (Onion, mushroom and cheese is a personal favorite!)

Order your pizza with ham or salami.  Pepperoni does not seem to have any definitive definition here and you are pretty much rolling the dice on what you are going to get if you ask for it.

DO NOT JAYWALK!!!  Pedestrians in the crosswalk have the right of way; pedestrians outside the crosswalk are aiming points.  The penalty for jaywalking here is death and the sentence is usually carried out immediately!

Jaywalking - part deaux; If the crosswalk does not have electronic walk/don’t walk signs you can cross when you would like.  Even though it may not seem like it, the traffic WILL stop.  If the crosswalk does have electronic walk/don’t walk signs, OBEY THE SIGNS! (see above for penalty of violation)

 All for today, time for dinner … Yum!!