Cracking A Smile.

Last night, I was on the metro headed home when I witnessed what I would like to call the evolution of a drunken man.

I entered the metro car and pretty quickly noticed a man kind of slouching in the seat with his face awkwardly pressed against the hand hold. His body position looked extremely uncomfortable, but he was passed out and oblivious to the world. After a few stops the people who were sitting directly next to him stood up to get off. As they exited the metro it became obvious that they had been acting as a prop for him … because he began to slide further and further out of the seat. I pointed him out to my friend J, and we (along with the rest of the people sitting in his direct vicinity) waited and watched to see if he actually fell off the bench. He tried to adjust himself on the bench so as not to fall off. Finally after a few flailing movements with his arms and legs he got himself upright in the seat. But then, as happens regularly with the motion of the metro, he started the lean. The lean is when a person who is drunk cannot sit upright because of the constant moving of the metro car. He leaned to the left and once he got his upper body past that middle point it was not so much of a lean as it was a slow motion fall over. He simply slid down into a prone position on the bench. He kicked his feet up on the bench and comfortably laid his head in the lap of the guy sitting there.

It was at this point I laughed and told J, “I should take a picture.” As I was contemplating how much trouble I might get in for taking a picture on the metro (in theory it is illegal); the poor guy with a drunk man laying in his lap kept shaking him trying to get him to wake up and get out of his lap! There was never any response from the drunk man.

The crowning point of the whole scene came when the man who had the unfortunate luck of having some random guy lay his head in his lap handed his bag to his lady friend, whipped out his mobile phone and took a picture of the guy passed out in his lap. His lady friend was laughing out loud, he was laughing so hard he could hardly stand up to take another picture and I pulled out my camera to get a few pictures myself (though it is as hard to hold a camera still on a moving metro as it is to sit upright on the metro while drunk).

As all this was going on, several others in the area were laughing or at least smiling at the scene. Then the more conscious drunk guys standing on the other side of me pulled out their mobile phones for pictures too! Except they did not stop with just taking the guys picture and laughing … no, they were laughing hysterically as they posed with the passed out guy. They took several turns of getting everyone’s picture.

The initial commotion eventually died down, but there was still a lot of head shaking, chuckling and quite smiling going on around the drunk man sleeping on the bench. As we exited the metro car, J and I could not help but chuckle again. Until that moment, I had never seen a stranger here laugh out loud in public – it is nice to know that they do.

A Whole Bottle of Anti-Acids.

That is what I am going to need by Saturday of this week ... a whole bottle of anti-acids. Maybe two! Why?

It goes like this. When you take your supervisors to the airport for their five day business trip and you walk away with something that looks like this (as well as the car they go to), the level of responsibility changes drastically. It is a responsibility I have not had since coming here. It is one I have not missed much. I cannot help but need a whole bottle of anti-acids!

I drove myself home from the airport (a quick fifteen minute trip) and all I could think was how weird it felt to be driving. I have not driven for seven months!? And to be driving in a strange city that I have never paid that close of attention to while driving because ... well, obviously I do not drive here much. Then the ever present realist in me chimed in.

What if something happens to the car while I have it? What if someone steals it while I have it? What if I get in an accident while driving it? What if I get stopped by the police? Plus, there is all the new things I have to adjust to ... new street signs I have never paid attention to, speed limits, lane changes without marked lanes, figuring out how to get where I am going all over again, stop lights that flash yellow twice, etc ... What if I park it wrong and get a ticket? What are the rules of driving around here - are there even rules to driving here?

Then there are all the thoughts like ... where should I go? What have I been wanting to do that required a car? What big things do I want to buy that I would like to have a car to transport them? Oh my goodness, this could be fun!

But those thoughts stem off in two directions. Do I have enough money to do all the shopping that I have been storing up this whole time? And, if I drive to much then I have to put petrol in the car! Haha.

Maybe you can understand why I am going to need so many anti-acids. I may just drive the car to and from the airport and call it a week!

Fun In The Bell Tower.

I spent the afternoon and evening Friday with my friend S. We went and hung out in the bell tower at St. Michael's monastery. The bell tower was added to the Economic Gates (wall surrounding the monastery) circa 1716–1719.
Do not worry ... we went other places than the bell tower ... we did not spend all afternoon and evening just there! It is just the only place I have a picture of. We also wandered the park and ate ice cream, walked to several overlooks across the city and had dinner at a local place called Pazata-Hata. It was a wonderful evening.

An Altercation.

This post comes with a disclaimer. Do not call me up concerned for my safety walking to and from the metro. This is the first time in six months I have seen something like this and I am sure it will be another six months (or longer) till I see it again. The walk to the metro is quite safe and lots of people go that way. Now that being said … I am still laughing about what when down!

The other day my friend S and I were walking towards the metro station from my flat. The most direct path includes an alley. If you are picturing a long, narrow pathway flanked by tall cement walls with one little street light at night, you are picturing this alley exactly as it is. As we entered the alley, there was a group of five men walking in front of us. All five of them were at varying stages of drunk. They were being very robust in their conversation and actions … it even looked like one of them had already been in a fight since we could see where his fingers were bandaged. As we continued on the path behind them one guy started yelling at the man with the bandaged hand. Bandaged hand guy yelled back and lunged at the other guy. Before we knew it the other guy had his hands firmly wrapped around the throat of bandaged hand guy; he was shaking him, choking him and yelling at him. S and I slowed our pace quite a bit trying not to run face first into whatever was about to transpire. The rest of the guys jumped in and broke them up. They continued on – yelling at each other, fake lunging trying to get the other one to come at them again. Trying not to draw attention to ourselves, S and I walked slowly behind them without saying anything.

The guys exited the alley before S and I did and we let out an audible sigh mixed with a chuckle at the drunk guys.

As we exited the alley, we walked right into another scuffle between the same two guys. This encounter included some fists flying (and missing) and then poor bandaged hand guy got his neck locked into the vice grip of the other guy again. The others managed to break it up. With some yelling and blocking they were managing to keep the guys apart. As this exchange occurred, S and I skirted around the group and exchanged humorous, eye-rolling looks with each other; thinking we had gotten by the rowdy group.

Not quite.

Having separated the two, the guys picked their up their pace and passed us. They tried to keep the trouble makers separated by forcing half the group to walk on the sidewalk with vice grip guy and the other part of the group walked with bandaged hand guy on the street next to them.

And then it happened.

Bandaged hand guy stretched his arm out and wiggled his bandaged fingers at vice grip guy. At this, vice grip guy reached out and took the hand of bandaged hand guy and they held hands! There they were walking along … swinging their arms in joyful restoration and smiling at each other! It was all S and I could to do stifle our amazement and laughter! At one point, S had to actually turn around to be able to at least let her face show the laughter she was trying to control. The group of guys went on happy as they could be and we managed to control our gut busting laughter until we had left them far behind in the metro station!

Oh how I love Ukraine and her men.

Dancing.

While I was waiting for my midnight train home, my friends and I found a little traditional entertainment! It was fun to see Ukrainian dancing and get to listen to the music ... although all the whirling and twirling makes me a little dizzy. Do not say I did not warn you! Haha.

The Faces To See.

Their beautiful faces tell such stories; eyes full of hope and desperation. I cannot help but wonder... how will their stories end?

The Words To Tell.

I had a long, challenging, arduous, wonderful, brilliant, heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, faith growing, joyful, laughter filled, taxing, testing and blessed time in Rakhiv. Okay, I just was trying to think of how many adjectives I could come up with to describe the past ten days … because I really just do not know where to start. There are so many images and memories running in my mind; some of them are wonderful moments of peace and others could not be farther from that.

I rode a train alone for sixteen hours (over the course of two days). I prayed for a safe arrival in Rakhiv. God listened and answered.

I spent the week working with eleven wonderful, laid back and easy going Americans. They managed brilliantly when the schedule changed three times before the day even got started. They were thrilled to simply spend time with the Roma children – nothing else in the world mattered to them at those moments.

I met a young Roma girl. She was twenty-three and had seven children (all single births). She was living in a small dorm type house with sixty-nine other adults and children.

One small girl needed some antibiotics for her bronchitis. When we asked where her mother was the little girl just shrugged her shoulders. After a few more questions of the others in the room we discovered that the girl and her siblings lived in this dorm house completely on their own. Last they heard their parents were living in Kyiv.

The team needed clean drinking water. I prayed that at least one of the shops in town would have some. God listened and answered.

I took pictures of the children in the field every day – only to look at the pictures you might think they were taken all on the same day. They wore the same dirty and worn out clothes every day. One boy wore a heavy winter coat and another boy wore wool knit tights as pants. “You must be so hot” seemed to be the continual question. “Of course, but these are the only clothes I have” was the response.

I watched a grown man, a man called of God to minister to the Roma people, weep with joy and excitement over the help God had brought him from America.

The first believer among the Roma village, K suffers from cancer of the tail bone. He is bedridden and sometimes in quite a bit of pain. K hosts bible studies in his home and he never passes an opportunity to share what Christ has done in his life. He has seen several of his family members and neighbors come to a relationship with Christ. We visited in K’s home for a worship service and one of the doctors asked K “what is your favourite Bible verse, what truth do you read that keeps you close to God?” K answered, “I cannot read. The only way I know the Bible is if someone comes and reads it to me.”

I was honoured to serve this team. It was a brilliant reward to see the looks on their faces when I told them I had booked dinner at a restaurant that would serve them ice!

Over the course of the last ten days I have learned much, loved deeply and been blessed beyond all imagination. God has proven again His love, His power and His majesty. I hope the experiences, relationships and the truths that have been planted in my heart will grow into a beautiful picture for others to see.

Carpathian Mountains.

No words or photographs can describe the beauty and majesty of this place and her people ...

Two Train Rides.

I am in Western Ukraine. Finally. Two train rides, an overnight in Lviv with friends and one sore tailbone later …

The first ride was pretty comparable to a plane trip. Six hours on the express train from Kyiv to Lviv is not so bad. There were three seats on each side of the isle, an overhead shelf for my luggage and a drop down tray table. The biggest difference is that seat designers around here do not like to sit upright – not completely. So the very cushy seats, when in their full upright position are really in more of a reclined state. It made it a little difficult to sit up straight and rest my head against the back of the seat without almost sliding out of the chair. The best position I found was at a bit of an angle; I could watch the world fly past me out the window (backwards, of course) and I could watch the movies to entertain myself. I watched Shrek in Ukrainian (great dubbing job), Home Alone 3 in Russian (not so great dubbing job) and some Russian cartoons from 1949! I arrived in Lviv at 23:40 and enjoyed an overnight layover with friends.

The second train ride, well ... it is an interesting story. Haha. I boarded the plats car at 15:10, as I walked down the aisle trying to find my seat I could already tell it was going to be a very long 8 and a half hours.

Imagine: a small square room with only three of its walls, on one side there are two benches on top of each other with room to sit up under the bottom one. These are normal wooden benches (ten inches or so in width) covered in a slightly padded leather material that has been well worn. The back wall has a window that does not open and a small table jutting out into the open space and across from the first set of benches there is another set. The benches are separated by only about two feet. Go to where the fourth wall should be and it is an isle about two feet wide and then there is a third set of benches and another window that does not open. That is the set up of a plats “vagon.”

The train was full leaving Lviv so I found my seat in the corner of one of the rooms and tried to stash my luggage somewhere. It was too big to slide under the bench and since the guy who would have had the top bench was sitting on the end of my bench I just threw it up on top. I squeezed into the corner and had no room to stretch my legs out because the older woman sitting on the bottom bench across from me stashed all her luggage in the foot space between the benches. It was super hot on the train when I got on, I could feel the sweat rolling down my back and my legs. It cooled down as we got into the mountains and the sun went down, but I do not think I dried off until I got to my hotel room and took a shower. Gross. The two women across from me stretched out and slept, but the guy sitting on my bench just kept sitting there. My only position changes the whole ride included leaning forward on the little table to give my tailbone a break or to lean back against the wall to give my back a break.

It was a pretty quiet ride … as long as the old lady across from me was sleeping. I suppose it was still quite the first six hours; instead of talking to me she just stared at me. No matter how long I stared out the window or where I looked or what I did, I could feel her just staring at me. Then with about three hours left she decided to start talking to me. At this point, the train had made at least a dozen stops, so it was emptying out some and cooling off, so I felt like I could tolerate her attempts to speak to me. I did my usual song and dance of “da’s” and “niet’s,” but she did not stop talking to me after a few minutes like a lot of people do. She just kept going … I have no idea what I agreed to but when she started rubbing her fingers together with the sign for money I began to wonder how this was going to turn out. I probably had agreed to take her son to America with me or something equally awkward! We made a little progress when I finally realised she was speaking Ukrainian and I told her I only understood Russian. That is when she found out my Mum lived in Las Vegas. “Las Vegas, in America Las Vegas?” she asked. Is there a Las Vegas in some other country?! Hmmm. Well, when she discovered I had been/lived (still unclear what she thought my arraignment in Las Vegas was) she began to announce to the entire train – who knows what about the American girl from Las Vegas going to Rakhiv!

When we finally pulled into the station at Rakhiv she got off the train with me and spoke to my friend who came to pick me up. He just kept looking at her and then back at me. As we walked away, he said to me, “So you will be a student in Kyiv for five years, huh?! Haha.” Then he confirmed my suspicions, “Do not worry, she was drunk.”

I cannot decide now, if I am looking forward to going home next Saturday or not?!

My Favourites.

These are some of my favourite pictures from Athens. They are random shots around the city.There you have it ... my trip to Athens. I hope I was able to convey a little bit of Greece to you in my pictures. It was a wonderful trip and I enjoyed seeing a new place and having some new adventures. Now ... on to the next one!

The Vacation Part. Sunday.

Sunday was a full day. I toured, adventured and wandered from sun up to sun down! It all started at one of the more well known locations of Athens. The Acropolis.

I had to have my picture taken in front of the Palo Verde tree. My parents have one of these trees in their back yard ... it was cool how many plants and trees were familiar to me.

Then it was off to the top of the hill . This picture (and a few others at the end) is part of the Propylaea or the monumental gates.

The Parthenon.

The Erechtheum is a combination of several different temples to various gods.

The Porch of the Caryatids.

The view of Athens from Mars Hill also known as the Areopagus. I got quite the history lesson from a local Greek gentleman about what this place was called and why.

Ancient Agora. This area was the hub of all thing political in ancient Athens. Legal courts and public speeches were just a few of the things happening around this area.

I wandered the town some ... looking for lunch and of course, cool pictures.

It was time to cross the street and find Hadrian's Arch and the Temple to Zeus.

Dinner included an authentic Greek salad, bread and a very sugary desert. It was fun to eat at a little cafe on the street. The weather was perfect for dinner outside. After I ate I decided to try my luck at some sunset pictures from the top of the Acropolis. I was not able to go up there because it was closed for the day ... but I was able to go back up to Mars Hill and get some shots from there. As I was standing there enjoying the view and evening I turned to look back up towards the Acropolis and noticed there were people up there. Turns out each night soldiers go through the site making sure everyone is gone and they turn on the lights that illuminate the buildings. Only on Sunday, it is not the standard soldiers that make the rounds but the special palace guards who do the honours. I managed to catch it!As full a view of the Propylaea I could get. It was spectacular all lit up.