Indian Pomegranate?

Yesterday, Kat and I spent the morning visiting with my friend, Victoria. She invited us over for tea and hang out time.

Kat, me, and Victoria

It was a really fun visit, and when we left, she gave each of us a present. She had to look up the translation for us because a) she didn't know the English and b) we had no idea what it was. The answer she came back with was "balsam apple" or "Indian pomegranate." Has anyone ever seen and/or heard of this creation?

Any ideas on this?

Ok, so you're not supposed to eat it like this. Eventually, according to legend, the outside is supposed to fall off and you're supposed to eat the pods inside.

Also, my friend, Mindy, commented that Kat and Victoria kind of look alike. Any opinions?

Later in the day, we met up with Ira and Tanya and did a speedy tour of Poltava. It was a neat day to wander around because it was a city-wide holiday celebrating Poltava's liberation from the Fascists. There were people everywhere, and it was a really beautiful day. We also were able to visit a museum for free! Kat has been here one week and has been to 3 museums, 2 of them were unplanned. Such an educational place, this Poltava.

We were walking down one of the streets that was teeming with people. We found these little guys hanging out on the side of the road. I'm guessing their names are Olya and Igor. Any name suggestions?

Ira and Tanya in front of Kotlyarevski's house/ museum

Kat in the galushki bowl. If you come visit, I'll take your picture there, too.