This week was the first few days that we’d taken as complete rest since we arrived here on July 28th. But I can’t say as it was a complete break – we even managed a 500km road trip to another orphanage/school at the end of the week. But there were days when we just took in the sights and sounds of Minsk.
We are staying in the suburbs of the city, but we are within striking distance of the city centre. We still haven’t used the Metro, opting instead for the bus that passes close to the house. We take a few trips in and a few visits to the local shopping centre, the pace certainly is much slower than the past 6 weeks. Everyone in the neighbourhood seems to have a dog (or 6 – that’s the guy across the road). It only takes one to bark to ensure that many nights are filled with disturbed sleep (or windows closed, this doesn’t work as it is still too warm here).
One of the evening trips into the city is full of pleasant surprises. Good food, great company, incredible choral singing, and . . . a few pubs! Yes, I did just say that – there are pubs in Minsk, I was just looking in the wrong places.
We head out and meet Alena (you’ll have met her last week if you read about our trip to Cherven). Alena has brought along one of her English students, Yura – better known as George (it’s a long story but he’s OK with us calling him George). Our first stop is a place called the “Mini Museum”, a place where you get to see all that is great in Belarus in one hall. As the name implies, there are miniature recreations of the great sites and buildings in the country, each accompanied by a story which is available in English on a headset we get as we enter the museum. Fascinating stuff (and a lot quicker than visiting all the sites in person 😉).
Next, it’s on to dinner in Alena’s favourite place in Minsk (has just become mine too!). Azerbaijani cuisine (not for the first time since we arrived) and it is splendid. Lamb plov is my choice for the main course, I’ve already looked up the recipe and plan on offering this to some guests (some might say victims) when we’re back in Ireland.
We pass the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit after we leave the restaurant and Alena leads us in to see (and hear) what’s inside. “No need for a head covering”, she tells Joanne as we enter quietly through the door that leads directly into the nave of the cathedral, it is stunning. Gold icons adorn each wall, and the altar is something very special. I choose not to take any photos (I don’t know if it’s allowed) but as soon as I hear the singing, I must discretely record this. A priest chanting and a group of seven or eight responding in beautiful harmony, it was spine-tingling!
And then, the surprise of the evening – two pubs. It turns out that, despite what I said in a previous post, there are places that are strictly pubs (not restaurants) in the city centre. Most serve food up to a certain hour and then only serve drink after that. Firstly, it’s the Blue Goat (in the Red Yard) for one, and then across the road to Legendar for a couple of cocktails (they set a few of these alight as part of the “show” here). A beautiful evening, and yet home before 10.
It’s our 27th wedding anniversary during the week and we had originally planned to go to dinner somewhere in the city (no firm plan). On our first visit to the local shopping centre, I noted that there are no card shops – there is only one place in the centre that seems to sell a very limited selection of cards. Thankfully (not in my wife’s estimation) Hallmark has not yet arrived in Belarus. But I’m not getting off that lightly, I decide that I will buy flowers at a nearby florist, and I head off, on my own, with my trusty “Google Translate” in my pocket. I managed to buy some beautiful red roses (actually I buy all that the lady has to offer), not quite like the arrangement that I am more used to buying at home but perfect for the occasion. I walk back home with what feels like a neon sign screaming “man with a bunch of roses” over my head (you men know what that feels like!).
On the evening out in Minsk, Alena suggested that we might come to her mother’s house for our anniversary. This is about 40 minutes from the city, but she can drop by on the morning of the anniversary and bring us out to Cherven in a marshrutka – every day’s a school day.
The marshrutka is a fifteen-seater minibus that runs through the city and throughout the country (once you see one you will see them everywhere). The one that we get out, and back the following day, costs less than €2 – that’s the equivalent of a trip from Dublin city centre to Kildare. And with a Marshrutka every 15 minutes . . . great service and value.
We arrive at Alena’s home to meet her mother, brother, nephew, and son. Her mother (Tatsyana – we “know” her through Facebook) has been cooking and baking all day. There is a mountain of food on the table, another incredible feast. All seven of us sit around the table (even Sergei – Alena’s nephew – joins us from his bed [he has cerebral palsy but is bright as a button]). And then there are drinks, it looks like there’s an endless supply of beer and wine coming from the kitchen. The final part of the feast is a cake that has been baked to perfection (it’s from an original Russian recipe we’re told). Vanya (Alena’s brother) plays the guitar, and the highlight of the evening is a couple of songs in French from Tatsyana. It was a perfect way to celebrate our anniversary, one to remember for many years to come.
We stayed in Cherven that night and headed back into Minsk on the morning Marshrutka. Not quite the anniversary we might have planned this time last year.
Vasha and Artyom are two teenagers that called Gorodishche home for many years. We’ve met them on all previous visits to the Orphanage, but they moved out last year. They are bright young boys and are now at school in Molotkovichi in the district of Pinsk (a good deal south of Minsk and Gorodishche). They are in their final year at school and will be fully independent, and looking for work, next year.
Rosie and Ruth Byrne visited Belarus in July and had hoped to get to meet Vasha and Artyom in their new home. The trip never materialised but the girls left funds to get vital supplies (and a few treats for the boys). Joanne and I had fun one morning as we visited a local market in Minsk to get the best deal for the supplies that we were planning to bring to the boys in Pinsk. A market with everything you could think of; much of it rusted (second-hand tools and screws), packaging that is faded and battered (fell off a truck?), and fruit and vegetables of every variety. I can’t help but wonder how long it might take my dad to make his way through the small nooks and alleys of this permanent marketplace (it opens six days a week). With some local help, we managed to get everything we needed and loaded Yura’s van – ready for the road.
The trip from Minsk to Molotkovichi (and eventually landing in Gorodishche) would bring us more than 500km through Belarus, with the border of Ukraine just 30km away from the school that the boys attend (and of course we were in no danger whatsoever 😉).
Vasha and Artyom had sent a message the night before we travelled, making sure that we were going to arrive the following morning. With Yura driving (he’s the hero of this trip), we safely navigated the 500km and met the boys (who are now young men) in their new home. They were beaming. They’re not the boys I remember, they are now fine young men. Each has a different back (and future) story. Artyom has family and will go to them once his schooling is complete, Vasha, on the other hand, worries about his future as he is truly an orphan.
We eat with them and catch up on what’s happening in their lives (there are rumours of a girlfriend – no Joanne don’t worry – that’s not about me!). They have some English phrases, and, through Irina, we hear that they are getting on really well in their new environment. We also hear this from the Director of the Orphanage as he comes to us to thank the Irish (we hear a lot of this in Belarus) for the supplies that we’ve delivered on behalf of Mama Rosa and Mama Rutha.
This may have been a long trip for a short visit, but it really was an importanter one!
On our way from Molotkovichi to Gorodishche, Irina insists that we stop at her place for “tea”. We must drop her home in any case, so tea in Irina’s it is. She also wants us to meet her cousin, Tamara, who she describes as her best friend. Was it a stop for tea – as ever . . . of course not. The table is laden with food and those magic bottles, that I spoke of earlier, are here once again. We feast, one more time, on amazing Belarusian hospitality. We toast to “new friends”, “old friends”, and “best friends” because we are truly amongst these here this evening.
It’s late in the evening when we arrive back in the kitchen at Gorodishche. Vitalic has been pre-warned that we are heading his way and that the bags will need to be brought in from the van (the amount of stuff that we’re carrying is still growing – I don’t understand how!). Yura still has a journey ahead, so he quickly gets on the road as we head upstairs. And what a beautiful surprise awaits us.
We are borrowing our kitchen from some of the teachers, they will be kicked out for the week as we make this our living room, dining room, and kitchen once again. In the middle of the table is a message, with photos of Joanne and me (and a bar of chocolate) – “Dear friends Joanna and Don! Congratulations on your wedding anniversary!”. A beautiful (and once more, Belarusian-friendly) gesture.
It’s back to routine and mayhem, for both will co-exist here for the next week. I’m off for my early morning feeding in the beds and cots and there are delighted squeals of “Joanna” as we walk to various groups on Saturday morning (I must have a very complicated name as they don’t seem to remember that so much here).
We have been two weeks away and we need to restock. Some sweets, some biscuits. Bread, cheese, and meat for our card-playing friends. Oh, and yes, we’ll need some food for ourselves. Two shops later we are laden down with supplies. It’s going to be a long walk back (in reality it’s just 1km, and mostly downhill). A car stops by the side of the road – “Joanna” is the call once again! It’s the “mama with the mullet from Group 4” – we’re saved as we get dropped back to the gate of the Orphanage – phew!
The weather is still good here, it will be 21° today, but many are now wearing jumpers and coats. Many of the “kids” are outside when we do our sweet walkabout in the afternoon. Groups 5, 6, 8, and a mix of boys all swarm for hugs (and sweets) as we appreciate that “it’s good to be home”.
Will I ever learn? The fact that I’ve asked this question means you all know the answer – No! In a moment of madness, I’ve volunteered myself to be on one of the soccer teams that will meet on the field at 4 PM. It’s not even that time when Dima runs into the kitchen – “the game is starting, hurry” he tells me (in his best Russian). I’m not even late, but I suspect that they are afraid that I might not show up (you know what I said about “sense” earlier).
I’ve sold it as soccer, but in reality, it’s akin to what might best be described as tribal warfare. It’s four versus four where it’s always safest to be on Vitalic’s team. That said, it’s really not safe to be playing against Vanya. As these are the two best players on the pitch, it’s clear that I will be opposing one of these two warriors. Vitalic shoots like the ball is coming straight out of a cannon, God help anyone that stands in the way and Maxim, who likes to play in goals, is often the victim. “я в порядке” (I’m okay) he pronounces as he is hammered for the umpteenth time. We are 6-0 up before Vitalic decides to change the teams (and I’ve managed to avoid being ploughed down by Vanya).
It’s five versus three in the second iteration, again I’m picked on Vitalic’s team. Vanya is more determined in this game, and I feel his wrath on more than a few occasions – I’m too old (and unfit I hear some of you saying) for this. But “fun” must be had. I’m encouraging Joanne to shout in a countdown to the end of the game but it’s all on deaf ears. The final two minutes are more like twenty as the game comes to an end. I can’t say that I know all the rules of soccer, but we end the game with three penalties to make sure that Vitalic wins (and that Maxim can go home with the fear of God in him 😊).
Time for some water and a few sweets, thankfully game over.
(Note to Self – don’t volunteer for any more soccer this week). “Same time tomorrow” is what I hear from Sasha. “Over my dead body” is what I say in my head (I can almost hear Vanya whisper “I can arrange that”).
Back to the kitchen on time for a game of cards, a shower, and get set for Ireland versus Tonga. “Shoulder to shoulder”, I do wish I was at home with “the lads” slowly sipping a pint of Guinness.
We’re on the final countdown now, just one more week to go in Belarus before we start our journey home. It’s too soon to start thinking about all that we’ve done since we arrived, that can wait until we settle back in Shannon. Project 2 – Refugee Support Europe – has been confirmed for late November/early December. That’s later in the year than we had originally thought it might be so Project 1.5 is already beyond the planning phase (more news to follow).
For now, it’s a case of enjoying our final week with our Belarusian “family” and making sure that we leave a lasting impression and honour the wonderful words of wisdom that I shared with you last week from Ray Bradbury. “It doesn’t matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away.”
And breathe!
Joanne’s Reflection/Poem Of The Week
Week seven, (can’t believe I’m actually writing this…how time flies) allowed Don and I time to reflect on our riches…. ourselves, our families and friends. We shared dinners with amazing people, this revealed many “Importanter” reasons why we are Blessed.
It’s not What we have, it’s Who we have. “More than Things” expresses my gratitude for this. (PS photo is taken by me from one of my anniversary roses) xx
A Random Selection Of Week 7 Photos
Importanter Stuff 
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