I have a new brother. [Don't worry, David, you haven't been replaced.] Actually, two new brothers, but only one is visiting right now. They both live in Russia, one in Moscow and one... somewhere else. They are Valentina's grown sons, and the 23-year old Vanya is visiting for a week. It's actually more a trip of necessity than anything else - he needed to return to Moldova to get some sort of stamp on his passport and apply for a driving license, which is much cheaper here than in Moscow (but I think tranfers between countries).
Anyway, he arrived on Sunday morning around 7am after about 40 hours on a bus. I had been up kind of late the previous night, but that didn't stop anyone from waking me up to try to force some vodka down my throat in celebration of the prodigal son's return. [Note: this drinking large quantities of alcohol early in the morning isn't out of the ordinary. People do it to mark any occasion. In Moldova, locals know that it's always after 5 o'clock somewhere...]
It's been nice having another around, though to tell the truth he really hasn't been at home all that much. There's been a lot of running around to secure the necessary documents, see old friends, prepare for a family visit to Ukraine, and sleep after his long trip. I imagine it's quite similar to my own visits to my parents in America. And even though you'd think mother and son (Valentina and Vanya, and I hope to a lesser extent me and my Mom) having not seen each other for 2 years would be enough to smooth over any problem, there seems to be no end to bickering between these two. "Why didn't you answer your cell phone when I called? Eat something! Did you hear what I said?!" Answered by, "Maaaaaaa!" It's been an interesting learning experience to observe the situation instead of participate in it.
Anyway, he arrived on Sunday morning around 7am after about 40 hours on a bus. I had been up kind of late the previous night, but that didn't stop anyone from waking me up to try to force some vodka down my throat in celebration of the prodigal son's return. [Note: this drinking large quantities of alcohol early in the morning isn't out of the ordinary. People do it to mark any occasion. In Moldova, locals know that it's always after 5 o'clock somewhere...]
It's been nice having another around, though to tell the truth he really hasn't been at home all that much. There's been a lot of running around to secure the necessary documents, see old friends, prepare for a family visit to Ukraine, and sleep after his long trip. I imagine it's quite similar to my own visits to my parents in America. And even though you'd think mother and son (Valentina and Vanya, and I hope to a lesser extent me and my Mom) having not seen each other for 2 years would be enough to smooth over any problem, there seems to be no end to bickering between these two. "Why didn't you answer your cell phone when I called? Eat something! Did you hear what I said?!" Answered by, "Maaaaaaa!" It's been an interesting learning experience to observe the situation instead of participate in it.
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