Still Alive

     As if there were any doubt.......I know I felt it this morning. Pro tip, when traveling abroad (or anywhere for that matter), drink lots of water. It's no fun thing waking up in the middle of the night with a headache from dehydration. I knew this already but rehashing old lessons is even less fun. I'm feeling better now though. Another day and I'll be right as the rain we had this morning.
     Anyways, updates. Sunday was supposedly the hottest day here in almost 80 years. I know this because I was told it at least 4 different times. For me, it felt like any other hot day. I've spent the last six summers working under a hot metal roof in a state where the humidity regularly hovered around 99%. So the drier heat felt less oppressive than what I'm used to. Today was a comfortable 21C (70F) with mild humidity from the rain. But yesterday the temperatures hit almost 35C (95F). Just being outside was tough. The apartment was a sanctuary from the heat while I was in it. Church in the morning was very warm. The three (three!) air conditioners on the wall were only effective for those sitting directly under them. But enough about the difficult things.
     At church, Pastor Max called me to the front to do an interview for the people who didn't know me. He was basically introducing me and why I am here. Not being big on public speaking, I was typically nervous but it went well. Before the service I met David Purvis. He is a missionary from the States who focuses on ministry through Big City and Liberty's English clubs. He will be flying back home for a while but will be back in early August. So unfortunately, he won't be here to help with the camp. But after he gets back, we'll dive back into the English club ministry.
     Speaking of which, I though that's what was going to happen last night. But it wasn't so. As an indication of how oblivious I've been (I'm blaming it on being jet-lagged), I failed to guess that they were planning a surprise/welcoming/initiation party for me. There is probably some very embarrassing and incriminating evidence on Facebook for those who care to search for it. Basically it involved a lot of Ukrainian traditions. I was schooled in the "finer" points of Ukrainian food, dancing, singing, and public transportation. Some of the food wasn't bad. If you have the chance to try Ukrainian-style dried fish, pickled peppers, or sallow, do it. In the future, though, I'll avoid the салат (salad) because of the copious amounts of mayonnaise. The purpose of the whole event was to introduce me, in a humorous way for the students, to some of what I'll encounter here over the next six months. For the privilege of passing the tests, I received the diploma pictured below. It's all in Ukrainian (except for my name) so if you can understand it, great. For everyone else who can't, including me, you will have to wait until I get a good translation.      Since it was held at the same time as English club, a lot of the students I met last year were there. There were also a few people I did not recognize. They are mostly new people to the club. Several regulars invite their friends to join in on the fun Sundays and Tuesdays. That meant Sunday was far from normal. Usually there is a mix of games, lessons, and discussion. But not yesterday. The post-initiation was more food with some normal drinks and a lot of conversation. Conversation is something that the English clubs help to work on. Students here learn English in school but it's often the same quality as we get in Spanish or German in America. We know a few words or phrases but we're far from conversational unless we work at it. Most of them know a few words or phrases but need help on stringing it all together into a sentence or question.
    Following their dinner and my snacking, we went back to the main room for an interview. Max had the plan to reveal a little more of my intent and motivation for coming to Ukraine. It was good, both for the students and me. I think they got a better idea of why I'm back and it also helped me with working though my reasons. I've thought about this trip for almost a year but never really locked down all of my reasons into one package. Until last night, that is. I hope they got as much out of it as I did. 
     So that's my week so far. Or actually, the end of one and the beginning of another. Sundays are the last day of the week here. Monday was a relax/catch-up day for me. Seeing as I wasn't feeling well last night, I needed the day to get over all that. But now I think things will go a lot better. Just need to stay hydrated. The rest of the week looks mostly like more settling in until Thursday. The team from church will be leaving the US then and, here, we'll be getting things ready for their arrival. I get to play pack mule when we go shopping Thursday for camp.