"Tonight, public transportation's my private ride..."

     That's right folks, I'm writing today about public transportation. For the past week, I've been partaking of the other white mea...I mean, the other kind of wheels. Specifically I've been doing a lot more of it.

She was actually thrilled that I was there, despite the look on her face.

     OK, that got out of hand quickly. Let's start over. Since I've been taking care of the Eide's cat and dog, I needed to use the marshrutka and metro more than normal. Usually, I'll take the screeching, yellow, short bus two days a week to get to my language lessons. But this week with my temporary relocation, I needed a quick and convenient option and the marshrutka was it. It's shown me how comfortable my regular trips really are.
     I've written about public transportation in several posts in the past. I've said at various times it's uncomfortable (in terms of personal space) or it can be harrowing (driving like, what most Americans would consider, a maniac). And for the uninitiated or unfamiliar, it is those things. So I want, today, to talk about a few ideas about the ubiquitous little yellow (or red or orange) buses to remember on your next visit to Ukraine. Maybe in the future I'll talk about the metro or trams.
     First, ask a local what the best marshrutka option is for getting to a certain place if you've never been there before. A couple of weeks ago when I went to the Country Boys concert, I had a plan for what my route and transportation would be. My language teacher told me a different option that would save me some money on the whole trip and would be less hassle at the same time. It turns out she was right. It saved me from getting off and going down to the metro. I've been learning that I like riding above ground more than in the metro. It's much more interesting.
      Second, learn to say "Na astanovkye, pahzhaluhsta!" without discomfort and then actually use it on the marshrutka. For those who don't speak Russian, it basically means "on the stop, please!" It's how you tell the driver that you want him to let you off at the next stop. I learned the phrase the first Sunday I got here. The I promptly forgot it for about a month. It wasn't until about 3 months ago that I actually said it on the marshrutka. Yeah, I know, I know. But I have started using it more now.
     Third, understand that there is no personal space on a marshrutka at peak travel hours. Twice this week while going to the office, I had to stand in the stairwell of the marshrutka until I got to my stop. I actually got off early because I didn't want to stay on board any longer. I was standing at the stop and when the doors opened, I saw a person standing where I would need to stand. Basically, you just need to push in and make room. Then, just be happy with the fact that you're rolling and not walking.
     In all likelihood, during peak hours you'll be jammed up against someone else, side-to-side or back-to-back if you're lucky. If you have a love of personal space, a few rides at peak hours and you'll be cured of it. And if you're standing in the middle of the marshrutka, not near an exit, you'll have to negotiate your way through the wall of humanity toward one of the exits. Basically, this involves a series of place-swaps with people along the way. It's better if you can follow someone to the exit. They'll clear the way and get the idea into people's heads that they need to move.
     Thus ends the title-related part of the post. Thursday evening was Bible study. My translator couldn't make it so we had an interesting evening. But I think it turned out alright. We had eleven people total. Friday, after the language lesson and returning to my apartment, I went out for an evening of Walking English. It's been too long since we've done one of those. This one was really popular. About twelve people showed up at various times throughout the evening. We walked around downtown. The main purpose of the evening was to show the new MTW intern around the city. She's here for the month and will be learning about how missions works here in Kiev.

     Saturday was a busy one. I mentioned a little bit ago that I was asked to teach a group how to make Penny Hockey boards. Saturday was the day. It went really well. We had enough materials for about five complete boards but only finished four. The rest will get finished another day. It was a really fun day. I finally got wood glue on my fingers and saw dust in my nose again. I really miss that. I'm also really please with how the boards turned out. One of the people who came took video of the event so they can make more in the future. By the way, the girl holding the board in the middle is the intern with MTW. You can see more photos from the event here. Events like this are a really good opportunity to see one effective method of outreach. One way I've seen that works really well is by starting friendships and inviting people to non-church events where church members are present. It goes a long way towards showing that Christians aren't weird.

     I didn't find out until the penny hockey build-party was finished but there was a picnic planned for the evening. Apparently it was announced last-minute. I almost didn't but I'm glad I went. It was a good chance to get out into nature again. There actually is a lot of forested area around Kiev. This was located west of the city about five minutes drive from Akademistechko metro station. We had a fire and cooked shashlik and marshmallows over it. Tons of mosquitoes though. I could do without them. We had about fifteen people. I took another photo-sphere there. You can see the picnic going on in the background.

     One quick programming note. If you post a comment, don't click the back button in your browser after clicking "post." I think that's the cause of some of the double-posts in the comment section. Next time, try clicking back to the home page through the "Brian and Ukraine" banner at the top.
     OK, I'm off to take a shower. I feel sweaty, dirty and gross. Have a nice, relaxing Sunday.