Hana got the usual staff notice that a new student arrived. She liked to know a little about where each one was from so that she could occasionally try to work some local dishes into the school menu. It was nice to give them a little bit of home every now and then.

When she heard they were getting a student from Russia, she was very excited! Misha had been helping her with her Russian speaking and she'd tried her hand at a few dishes, but it was exciting to get a fresh perspective on her progress. And another guinea pig for her recipe experiments, since the local kids sometimes didn't care much for Russian fare.

Hana checked with Rachel to see where Ilya would be roomed until the dorms opened and popped into the room before he was scheduled to arrive. She left a small, white box tied with pink ribbon on the desk in the room with a note written in Russian attached:

Welcome to Xavier's! I'm Hana Blaire. I run the kitchen here. I hope your trip here was pleasant and I hope you're settling in well.

I'm looking forward to meeting you. I've been learning the Russian language and cooking for a while now. I would be pleased to have a chance to practice more. Feel free to stop by the kitchen and say hello any time!

In the meantime, I hope these vatrushka give you a little taste of home while you're setting in.

Hana Blaire

Inside the box, there were two sweet dough pastries with a rich, sweet cheese filling.