Thank God I'm a Country Boy

     Somebody shoot me now. I think I might be starting to like country music.

Back In the USSR (UPDATED 4/29/2016)

      Do you know what today is? Some of my older readers might know. It's a day that changed the world's mindset on energy and power creation. Thirty years ago today, Reactor Number Four blew up at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station. The disaster at Chernobyl has had lasting implications across multiple continents and will continue to do so for the next 20,000 years.

The destroyed Number 4 Reactor at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Pink Cadillac

     It's a good thing that I'm widening my view of the world over the thirteen months that I'll be here. Otherwise I would have thought huge car shows were an American thing. It turns out, lots of people in Ukraine love cars and car culture. Yeah, yeah, that's a very American thing to say. But that's where I was raised. I don't know a whole lot about the rest of the world. I'm learning though.

The Spirit of the Radio

      I'm often surprised how Western Ukraine has become. It shouldn't surprise me because I've been living here for almost nine months now. But today while I was shopping at Novus Express, two songs came on over the sound system that surprised me. The first could best be classified as pop-country or country-lite. It's the kind of contemporary country music that gives the feeling of country music without talking about tractors and beer and old pickup trucks. The second was a hip-hop song that borrowed heavily (read as "stole") from Elton John's Tiny Dancer. I used to enjoy some rap back when I was in highschool. But now I don't care for it at all. Especially when they need to stand on the shoulders of musical giants to get their garbage heard on the radio. Can't they come up with something original instead of riffing on other people's work? OK, rant over.

It's Still Rock and Roll to Me

     I said in the last post that I'd write about Saturday. This is that post. Not much to write about it though. KCA is one of the schools in Kiev that serves the missionary community. They students put on a talent show and fundraiser on Saturday. The fundraiser was in support of their upcoming junior/senior trip this weekend.

Ooooh, That Smell

     Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is a poetic post. A collection of familiar fragrances codified into a coherent, combined soliloquy. The smells of the season, the perfumes of the prevailing winds, the odors of the outdoors. Basically, I wanted to talk about the second most obvious change that has been happening over the past week in the city.

Everything's so green!

One (Hundred)

     In honor of the one-hundredth post, here is the third in my series of what I cook. This recipe got rave reviews from my mom. She called it "probably the best omelet I've ever had." Thus I'm pretty confident that my title in the video is absolutely correct.

      The ingredients are simple. Two eggs, a pinch of salt, oregano, and garlic powder, with your choice of meat and cheese. Cook in the typical fashion with some sunflower oil to prevent sticking. Serve with toast and enjoy.

Too Much Time On My Hands

     Well, not really. But Friday is usually a day where I don't have much going on. It used to be one of my lesson days but that's changed. I'm on to a Tuesday/Thursday schedule. So, in honor of my "day off," I've gone and made another cooking video. While the road-repair guys were working outside, I was cooking, videoing, and creating lunch. Now that it's all done, I realized that today feels like Saturday.

Finally fixing some of the potholes. The road was getting bad.

The Pretender

     I thought I'd do a short wrap-up of the three English club meetings that I led. Basically some things I learned as well as general observations for the future.

Dancin' in the Moonlight

     I'll say it now, I wasn't the one doing the dancing. You can't prove it and the cameras my friend claims to have installed in my apartment didn't catch a thing.