Ramble On

     I had it again. That realization. I was walking to the office Wednesday morning for a meeting and I realized that I'm living in a foreign country. I think it's my subconscious trying to keep me from getting too complacent. Not in Kansas any more, through the looking glass, down the rabbit hole and all that.

     Like the title says, this will be a bit of rambling. Although of a different kind than the title is actually referencing. 

The Northern end of DreamTown 2.

     Wednesday evening I got to participate in the first Walking English of the year. It's been too long. The last one was way back before Christmas. I've been out a few times since then but not with big groups. This time we went to a place called DreamTown. It's a pair of malls on the north side of town. Same place where I was Santa for an hour. Someone from English club asked if I wanted to go out for Walking English on Thursday but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on the point of view, more on that in a moment) I couldn't do it then. I though Wednesday wouldn't work either but the Liberty team meeting didn't meet. So I got to go out and have fun.

Kakao with whipped cream and a giant cookie.

     We met at the northern-most metro station on the Blue Line and walked a little bit to DreamTown 2. We just strolled through the bottom floor there and then back outside. Another short walk and we came to DreamTown 1. It's a similar setup there with shops and restaurants. We went up to McDonald's and had some drinks and snacks. I had the biggest cookie I've had in Ukraine and kakao It's kind of like hot-chocolate but without most of the sugar. Still, it was way too rich to have with the cookie. I'm glad I had some water to wash it down. 

One of three antique cars on display in DreamTown 2.

     So we sat and talked and played some word games. There were eight of us in total. Half from English club and half from Big City. We finally got up and started moving toward the exit around 22:00. I finally made it back to my apartment about ten minutes after 23:00. Just in time for a late snack (not sugary) and then off to bed well after midnight.

     So, that point of view thing. My mom is coming to visit this weekend! My dad was here back on Thanksgiving and that was a great time. I'm really looking forward to this too. She'll be here for the same amount of time as my dad (Thursday to Monday). However she's been here three times already so I've got to get creative with where we go and what we see. I do have a good Saturday planned. We'll see what else I can come up with. She'll also get to help out with English on Sunday evening. There's still a bit of cleaning and shopping to do before I go pick her up at the airport. 

     The airport-pickup will be really easy. The metro system has a station just outside the main train stop (called Vokzalna) here in the city. There is a group of shuttle buses that travels between Boryspil Airport and Vokzalna every fifteen minutes or so. It's cheap too; 60 Grivna per person, per ride. A taxi for the same ride would cost you about 200 Grivna and twenty grey hairs. The bus is big, roomy, and comfortable. And since I'm going during the early afternoon, it's unlikely to be crowded. Last time, I was one of about seven people on a bus that could hold forty. On the way back, we'll take the bus again and then head down to the metro. Like when my dad came to visit, we'll go right from Vokzalna to the Eide's house for dinner. 

     Speaking of the Eides, I should write a little about them. I've really appreciated the way they've helped me in my time here. Even though I'm not part of MTW (their organization), they still tend to look after me like I'm working with them. They are one of the missionary families that my home church supports and have been for many years. Way back in 2003, my first trip to Ukraine was led be Jon Eide. He's been very helpful for advice and help when I've needed it. I also appreciate the way they open their home to me for visits. It's great to get a little bit of America home-life whenever I can.

     I'll probably update a little as the weekend goes on. If I have time that is. Saturday will likely be very busy. We'll be meeting up with some of my mom's friends for sightseeing and then dinner afterwards. Sunday we'll have a little down-time after church but then English in the evening. Friday will likely be the least busy owing to the jet-lag recovery.

     In other news, I'm in another Youtube video. Nathan Crane's vlog from Saturday, Feb 27 has me in it for a short bit. He asked me to help out in an audio-drama comedy project that he's working on. Not sure when that'll be out but I'll post a link when it's done. 

     That's all for now. I've really got to think of some better concluding sentences. But that's all my sleep-starved mind can think of at 0:40 at night.