Monday, November 30, 2015

A Case of the Mondays (Updated 12/1/15)

     I'm finally back in my apartment. It was a long ride from the airport. But my dad is now winging his way back to the US.  Gonna try and get a few more hours of sleep.
      For now, enjoy these pics of the snow.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

First Snow (and other things)

     Well, I've got some catching up to do. The last three days have been jam-packed (but sadly, no jam was included). My dad and I had a lot of fun seeing Kiev and some of it's museums.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Turkey Day part duex

     So, did everyone have a good Thanksgiving Day? I know I did. There was lots of running around and some stress, but in the end, it was all worth it. MY DAD IS HERE!!! OK, I'm calm now. Lemme tell you about my day.
     I knew that Thursday was going to be busy. My list of tasks wasn't very long but there were a lot of details to get right. In the morning, I needed to do a load of laundry, some cleaning, and shopping. I'm used to only shopping for one person. I'll pick up other things for Bible study but that's not like shopping for a person who is staying for a couple of days. I needed to think about, basically, double the meals I eat in the same period of time. However, that all got done just in time. I was able to drop off and put away the groceries with a few minutes to spare.
     I was out the door again and off to the metro. If anyone wants to follow it on a map, I got on at Zhytomyrska metro station and then off at Vokzalna. Vokzalna is right next to the main train station in Kiev. It's a huge hub of activity even on a slow day. People rushing everywhere. It's a place to be careful too. I came up out of the metro and had to walk through the train station.
     Fun fact, I've been to the train station before. And not just on this trip. Back in 2003, this was where we left out of to go down to Mykolaiv. There is a church right outside of the station that I recognized. The inside of the station has had a lot of work done since then and I didn't recognize any of that.
     On the other side of the station from the metro exit are the local transportation options. Marshrutkas, taxis and buses are all lined up waiting for passengers. If you look like a foreigner, it's likely that people will ask you if you need a taxi. I found the bus I needed and after a little hesitation, got on board. It's actually really easy. But since I've never done it before, I wasn't exactly sure what I should do. All I had to do was get on the bus, find a seat, and pay the driver. It was only 60 grivna for a one-way trip. Not as fast but a whole lot less than a taxi.
     The bus is just a shuttle between the airport and the city. It follows the M03 highway. The trip takes a little less than an hour and we got dropped off right in front of the departures entrance at Boryspil Airport. I was about thirty minutes early so I had time for some lunch and to relax. My dad's plane was delayed about fifteen minutes but that wasn't a problem. I waited for him at the exit of the baggage area.
     When he walked out, he looked at me and then promptly kept looking around for me. I guess I really look Ukrainian now. My coat and haircut really sell the look. I just started walking along side him until he noticed me. From there, we found the bus back to Vokzalna and got on. It was another uneventful ride.
     Although, I should note something about taxi drivers. If you look like a foreigner or someone who doesn't know where they are going, they'll bug you about driving for you. One of them latched on so hard, we had to keep walking to get him to go away. "No" just wasn't a good enough answer. The upside is that at Vokzalna, they weren't nearly as insistent. A simple "нет" worked there.
     From there, it was a short ride down the metro to Nyvky station where we were picked up by David Pervis and taken to the Eides for dinner. Thus ended our traveling (mostly).
     Dinner was awesome. Wednesday I helped Jon dig out all the parts to the table and yesterday it was all put together. The table worked out really well. It held up to seventeen people and several huge dishes of food as well as the biggest turkey I've seen in a while. It was great to share that meal with everyone there.
     After dinner, we had a short worship service (still seated around the table). Jon asked some of the younger people there to read several passages from the Bible. We also sang several hymns. [Side note: I didn't realize until last night how much I miss hearing classic hymns. We don't sing them here very often.] Most of us shared some of the things we are thankful this year. After the service, I made a fire and some of us sat around it and sang songs. Some were from English club but we managed to find a few that we haven't sung before.
     I truly appreciate the invitation from the Eides for my dad and me to have dinner with them. I'm also thankful to my mom for letting my dad come visit me on one of the biggest holidays in America.
     Speaking of which, my dad and I got to use FaceTime to talk with my mom for a bit. It was good talking to her again "face-to-face." It looks like the weather there is still nicer than here.
     The weather here the last few days has been cold. Last week was rainy. After the weather finally dried out, it took the last of the warmth with it. I don't think it's gotten over freezing since Wednesday afternoon. I've seen several places with ice on the ground. I'm glad I have some warm clothes now. Speaking of which...
     Thank you to everyone who sent something along in the care package. I now have a cabinet full of goodies that will take me about a month to go through. I greatly appreciate the love and support shown with every cookie and piece of candy. The travel mug was a nice addition too. I've been wanting to get one (or have one of mine sent over) ever since the weather started turning cold. As my dad kept pulling stuff out of his luggage, I kept saying "wow!" And with every successive item, I felt a little more and more overwhelmed. Either I'll have to share some of it or I'm going to gain back all the weight I've lost in the last few months.
     We finally made it back to my place around 21:30. Despite being tired, my dad and I still talked for a while. Until about 23:00. He finally got to bed around then after a really long two days. He's still sleeping now and it's 10:30. I'll have to wake him up soon to get some breakfast and get ready. We've got a taxi coming at noon to take us to the State Aviation Museum. That's our only plan for the day. The big stuff comes tomorrow.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Turkey Day!

     Happy Thanksgiving! I just wanted to give a little update of what my day will be like. I'll give a better writeup about it later. Consider this a teaser.
     First off, as I'm writing this, my dad is flying across the pond to France and then on to Kiev. He'll be in town for a few days The plan is to do some sightseeing Friday and Saturday. Sunday we'll be at church in the morning and then he gets to see what English Club is like in the evening. Then we get to wake up at some unnatural hour on Monday morning to get him to the airport on time. Fortunately I don't have anything planned for Monday except English in the evening. I can sleep as much as I need before that.
     Second, I saw this article today in the Kiev Post. I already know where I'm celebrating Thanksgiving but it's interesting to see that they have an article about it. After my dad gets here, we'll be heading over to the Eide's house to join the crowd there. They have a group over every year for dinner and fellowship.
     Yesterday, I helped Jon dig out all the parts of the big dinner table. Every year he builds the table for everyone to sit at during dinner. I didn't get to help him build it because I left before it was finished. But I can show what it looks like as we take it apart tonight.
     Also, a little update on what's happening in the country. You may not have heard, with the war in Syria going on, but Crimea has fallen under a blackout. A group of people blew up the electric transmission lines going to the peninsula. That is starting to raise tensions again. The situation in the east is deteriorating again too. The rebels are acting up again and have killed several soldiers over the past few days. So please continue to keep the country in your prayers.
     Alright, I've got to keep moving. I've got cleaning and shopping to do before getting on a bus out to the airport to meet my dad.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

The Thanksgiving Party

     Well, that was fun. I just got back from the Big City English Club Thanksgiving party. I mentioned it yesterday but here's the real post about it. I'm still processing all that happened so this may take me a while to write out.
     To start off, here are the highlights: I cooked 8 kilos of meat on the grill, we had about twenty-five students from the club plus staff there, I banged on a bongo drum and made some noise, and my coat smells like a cooking fire. Got that? Good. Here are the details.

Friday, November 20, 2015

Week-ender

    So, the weekend. Do you have anything planned? I know I do. Saturday evening will be a big event for me. As part of the continuing outreach to the students in Big City English Club, David will be hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at his house.
     Every year, Big City English has a Thanksgiving party. Since it's at David's house this year, they're trying to limit the numbers to keep from being overrun. We'll see how it turns out. I'm in charge of games for the evening. I have to be there at 3PM tomorrow to help set up. I'll let you know how it turns out.
     I forgot about these few pictures. I took these back when the trees were still green with leaves; September or so. File them under "OSHA-smosha."




     One quick programming note. The keen-eyed among you may have noticed the new addition on the right side of the screen. Sorry, it's desktop-only for now. I finally figured out how to get a feed from my gallery here. Clicking on any of the photos will take you to a larger version on my Ukraine album page. From there you can see some of the others I've taken.
     OK, that's all I have for now. Hopefully I can update soon to let you know how the party tomorrow goes. Have a good weekend.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Какой ваш родной язык?

     I was thinking Tuesday morning about my language lessons and decided that it would make a good post. This thing that's been giving me so much trouble would really help put into perspective, for some people, one of the things that missionaries face on a daily basis. I also realized that I never properly explained what all goes into my lessons and what I'm getting out of it. I've said many times to people that I'm done with complaining about it. That's not what this post it. I just wanted to show you a little of what I'm learning and going through. I promised myself that I wouldn't complain about it any more. Complaining doesn't make me understand it more. Studying and practice does.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Mittwoch

     I wanted to write today's update mostly about last night's meeting. It was a night of two firsts for me. It was the first time being at one of the Big City English evangelism team's sushi dinners. It was also the first night for my Bible English class.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Sunday's Activities

     Sunday was a special day for Big City Church. For two reasons. It was their 11th anniversary as well as the day to elect new elders.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Friday Update

     Alrighty folks, time for an update. I really like writing these but sometimes it's hard to find the time or inspiration to write. The first thing most experts tell aspiring writers is "write something every day." I'm not going for a career in writing but I do like it. Either way, it's good advice.