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.