Guest Post by Mikayla!

Ever since I came to Belarus, I have had lots of new experiences. Some new foods I had here were Crepes, Draniki, and Xaladnik. Crepes are like really thin pancakes that have fillings inside. Some of the different fillings are ham, cheese, and chicken; there are also dessert crepes with chocolate or jam or something like that. Draniki is kind of like a potato pancake. It is served with some kind of sauce. They are kind of small, so restaurants give you more than they would for a pancake. Xaladnik is a pink soup. It is a cold soup, and it has beets, cream, and potatoes.

Draniki with sausage and sour cream sauce

          We have tried Belarusian restaurants here, but we were surprised to find some American restaurants just across the street. There is a Burger King, McDonalds, Dominos, and Sabarros. Just there! The menus are mostly the same as in America, except they are written in Russian, so it is pretty hard to order here.     

Dominoes Pizza 

This cup says McDonalds

There are some stores across the street too. To get to them, you have to go through the underground tunnel that goes under the road.  It is also where we go to get on the metro (subway). There are shops along the tunnel that you can buy things in. There is a coffee shop to get desserts, a cell phone place, a meat place, and some more. 

This is what it looks like in the tunnel under the road.

On the other side of the street, the store we go to a lot is called Rublevskia. Rublevskia is a place that is like a miniature Walmart, and when you buy something, they give you an emoji pen or two. When you go into almost every store there are lockers to put your coats and bags in while you are shopping. (P.S. In Belarus, you don’t have to worry about trying to find fidget spinners! They are there, just look!)

The stores across the street, seen from the front of our building

Lockers to put your stuff in while you shop

          Some of the coolest things I have been to are an American football game (in Belarus), and Gorky park. We took a train to the football game, and the Zubrs (Minsk team) won! We ate cookies, pizza, and corn on the cob. There was even a playground with fun playground equipment.

A quick way to describe Gorky Park is that it is a miniature Kings Island. (Kings Island is a huge amusement park, just in case you don’t know).   At Gorky park, there was a huge Ferris Wheel. 

There are trampolines that you wear a harness to jump on. The harness is connected to a bungee cord and you can jump super high!

There are also the big swings where you go around in a circle. Lots of people go there, and I am in the back. There are other rides too like bumper cars, roller coasters, and even a maze of mirrors.

Here is an obstacle course. I went on the top of it. That was hard, but I made it. 

Miss you guys and we are having fun! See you in about two and one half months! Abby says hi!