Today’s adventure included a trip to a nearby town and village hospital. We went south to the town of Azov and the village hospital was in a village about 10 miles from Azov. Both areas are across the Don river and our guide was sure to point out that we were crossing into Asia. It is interesting how that fits along with the narrative of diversity and borderland that has come up on our trip.
The trip to the village hospital was interesting. It is the basic place where people seek care first. The village hospital we were allowed to visit was just finished in January so everything was amazingly nice and clean, with newer equipment, but still offered only basic services. It had an interesting set up where patients sought care there during the day, but would return to their homes at night. There were also several dentists based there which was interesting.
After that, we stopped by the town of Azov. We first stopped at a great little area overlooking the river. There was a fountain and a walkway down to the river. There were two significant events.First, I was left behind by the group. We stopped at a spot to look at the Don river and I wandered a bit to take pictures and when I returned the group was gone. I decided the best plan was to wait there and after an hour or so they came back to get me. It was a good chance to get some sun, but I missed out on the chance to see the fortress.
There was one other great thing. We ate at an Uzbek Restaurant! It wasn’t a specific choice, but just happened to have it there near where we were. I was sooo spoiled with plov, manti and lagman. Some of my favorite dishes. It was great to be able to share my culinary experiences in Uzbekistan with the group. They all loved the food.
We then went to have Russian lessons. Since, I and another group member have advanced Russian knowledge we were able to opt out of the class today… the director didn’t have any specific plans so we were just told to take a break and wander the city a bit. We were close to our hotel and I knew there was a Baskin Robin’s nearby so I wandered that direction. However, the director did make plans ofr us to read literature tomorrow, so we’ll need to be prepped for a hard day’s work.
We then went to the Ballet ‘Don Quihote.” I was wondering how they would do a ballet about a guy that was chasing windmills, but they incorporated a love story between two young people into it and an airy dream sequence while Don Quihote was sleeping in the forest. Then the final act was a palace scene featuring court performers. It was pretty good, but after a busy full day, I too dreamed a bit during the dream sequence….
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