I’m not sure if I’ve ever really discussed parking in Kyiv before. All you need to know is that it’s a free-for-all. Pretty much any place will do as a parking space - the sidewalk…the local park…partially blocking traffic… You get the idea. Today seems to be particularly bad in our neighborhood. Laika and I had trouble getting out of our building because of a car parked on the sidewalk directly in front of our door. Then we had to squeeze by two cars that had left just enough room on the sidewalk for me to pass by sideways (there’s a fenced lot next to our building). And when we got to the grassy area where Laika usually “does her business,” there was a huge black SUV parked in the middle of it.
So I finally have some photographic evidence to share that I have done more than walk the dog and watch television all summer. Although I did do a significant amount of both of those things, I admit.
After some very autumn-like weather last week (rainy and downright chilly some mornings), we’re back to mid- to upper- 90 temperatures (F) this week. This has led to some extremely lazy behavior on the part of Laika and myself. Mosly involving laying on the couch and watching the Olympics. Thank you Eurosport 24-hour coverage.
On Sunday, Shawn and I realized that we had forgotten to pick up any American cheese at the commissary for the burgers that we were going to grill that night. Since the commissary is not open on Sunday, we were forced to rely on our local market, or else go cheese-less. Luckily, we found this:
Every single day I see strange things here. For the most part, I’ve become accustomed to them and generally ignore them while muttering mean things under my breath. (Don’t worry - I mutter mean things about people in the US as well, so don’t you call me culturally insensitive.) However, today I’m either seeing weirder things than usual, or I’m just paying more attention. But it sure has been a strange day.
Yesterday was a good day. We got an amazing care package from our friends Janette and Bill (Thanks, guys!) that included Starbucks coffee, Tazo teas, and a whole mess of yarn. Shawn could hear my squeals of delight from the other end of the apartment.
My parents have come, gone, and survived to tell the tale of their adventures in Ukraine. Well, technically, they are still en route to Indiana, but I told them that once their plane left the ground in Kyiv, they were back to being my brother’s responsibility as far as I was concerned. I think they fared pretty well: there was one twisted ankle and I think all four of us suffered from heat exhaustion one day, but no one got hit by a car or screamed at for being American, so I’m happy with that.
Sorry for the blog silence. My head’s been all over the place lately, causing me to be unable to focus on one thing for more than a short while. Not sure if it’s the summer heat that’s finally made it to Kyiv, or what. Maybe it could just be a few too many days of general craziness. Take last Wednesday for example: I went from a Ukrainian dentist appointment to a burst pipe in the kitchen to having the cable guy come and wire up our apartment. All in a matter of 6 hours. It was a little overwhelming.
Here I am all by my lonesome on the 4th of July again. Last year I requested that someone have a Dairy Queen ice cream cone in my honor, and this year I’m craving a bowl of Hard Times chili and an ice cold Blue Moon. So if there’s anyone in the DC area reading this, indulge for me, okay? Particularly since I’m currently eating what passes for microwave lasagna here in Ukraine. (I know it says “lasagna” on the box and has a picture of a piece of lasagna, but what is this?)
This past weekend was a 4-day-long one for us. Monday was Ukrainian Constitution Day and the Ambassador went ahead and gave everyone Friday off since they will all be working an extra long day on the 4th of July. So as soon as we found out about this unanticipated long weekend, we started trying to plan something to do rather that sit at home and watch tv, which is what we normally do all weekend. However, planning is difficult for us since Laika can’t really be left by herself for more than 7 or 8 hours. Initially we wanted to take a day trip to a city in central Ukraine that has a nice park, but when we went to get bus tickets (a week in advance), they were all sold out. So we spent several disappointing days with absolutely no plans. On Thursday, Shawn’s boss sent out an e-mail begging people to join a tour to “the largest ostrich farm in Ukraine” on Saturday. Apparently they were short a few people and if more didn’t sign up, they were going to cancel it. And Shawn’s boss really wanted to see the ostriches. So we joined the tour.