For Kae

My sister in law is going to Russia tomorrow to visit her parents who are there serving a mission. I'm jealous! I kind of wanted to see my parents while they were serving in Armenia. Kind of. The flight was daunting to me. Anyway, I just wanted to post a few photos of things that they sent me that made me smile. Armenia imports almost everything from Russia, so I thought this might be a good sampling of what she could expect to find that she can bring back for her children.You'll find a lot of cartoon characters that kind of resemble the ones we have here. Note I say kind of. My parents sent back a lot of things with Teletubbies on them. Apparently Teletubbies are huge in eastern Europe. Their take on Winnie the Pooh is, as you can see, interesting.

You'll find a number of things that are, shall we say, lost in translation. This washcloth is a really great example of that. I'm not sure what "Welcome to Polar" has to do with a Summer Ocean, or how exactly we're supposed to "Take our Fun" but maybe someone can explain it. Also, that top left hand square says "Tail of Humpbuck Whale." I've never heard of that species. We also got a t-shirt (which I can't find) that said something about a deer on it, but the picture was of a bear.

You might be tempted to buy some knock-off DVD's. They are about $1-$3 American, so that means cheap, cheap, cheap. However, you totally get what you pay for. As you can see, the cover of 101 Dalmations has not fared use well. Also, on a couple of the ones mom and dad brought home, you can't turn off the Russian. I actually remember one day that Natalee (she was 2 at the time, mind you) wanted to watch Winnie the Pooh and I couldn't get the Russian turned off and I was trying to explain to her that it was broken. She was so distraught that I just let her watch it. The graphics were the same.

So there you have it. A 30 second guide to Eastern European souvenirs, as far as I know anything about them. Enjoy your trip and be safe!!!