my father was a wandering Aramaean

Well, it seems I lost a blog day, or you could almost say I lost a day.  Thursday was a day of wandering as in the desert.

But first, a word of differing custom.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I really like my coffee - just about any coffee.  I prefer excellent but will settle for terrible.  Out, I usually have cappuccino.  At home, here is how we make it:  take one spoon of coffee (not instant) and put it in your cup, then pour boiling water.  Stir, add milk (and sugar if you are so inclined) and drink.  Be careful, all the coffee grounds are still in the cup.  If you are lucky most of them will sink to the bottom.  I suppose to most of my readers, this sounds terrible, but it's really OK, and I wouldn't have thought of it on my own.  It is a widespread custom here.

Back to yesterday.  I left to walk to the metro and went to Kiev to meet Anna for a language lesson.  We found a nice coffee shop where we could study.  She is a strong teacher and gives too much homework.  After I finished my lesson, I decided to go back to the apartment for a few hours.  Well, I wandered around the apartment complex for an hour trying to find my building. There are so many buildings, all similar, few with numbers.  By the time I found it, by accident,  I had only a little time before I had to go back out to meet some friends at 6.  It was good to see them and I hadn't seen them since September.  We went to a very interesting cafeteria, they called student cafeteria, that was large, had many rooms, each decorated in some national theme:  a China room, an Indian room, etc.  Each room had pictures and sculptures showing how ALL culture actually originated in Ukraine - even Egyptian and Greek!  Very funny.  Great place and lots of students because the food is cheap.

Speaking of cheap:  subway tokens are made of plastic.  To ride the subway cost 2 Hrivna which is about 25 cents.  It is very efficient and clean and a wonderful mode of transportation.

My friends and I had a beer (a tall beer cost about $1.25USD)  If I had wanted imported dark Belgian beer, it would have been more than double that. After wandering the city for a while, we parted ways at the metro.  At first I got on the correct line (green line) to go home but got on in the wrong direction.  I recognized this immediately and got off at the next stop and got on the right train.   When I arrived at Metro Station Kharkivska, it was raining a cold dreary rain and the wind was blowing.  It was a wet walk to my apartment and I got lost in the dark - again.  I called Kostya, actually Kostya called me because Rostek was worried I wasn't yet home.  I spotted a market, same brand I shopped at in Romania in 2009, Billa.  Rostek came and rescued me.  Now I have map to apartment firmly memorized in my head.  No more getting lost.  I was exhausted and hadn't eaten since morning.  I had some brinza (a kind of farmer's fresh cheese) and bread, some beet salad, some fish salad, and two cups of hot tea.   And I went to bed.

Friday morning, I didn't have to leave early  because Anna was coming here for my lesson.  I walked to metro to meet her and we walked back.  Minor detour because I can't walk and talk at the same time.  We had our lesson and I walked her back to the metro.  This afternoon I took a little nap and I will shower (the hot water to the building was shut off this morning) and leave to Kiev Center to meet a friend I haven't met yet.  His name is Dmitri.  I trust that tonight, I will find the apartment with no problem.  In sha Allah.
Tomorrow is the first day since my arrival on April 28 that I have no schedule!  It will be marvelous.  Perhaps I will get a haircut and maybe find a massage therapist.  All this walking is great and my body feels it.  My jeans are getting looser - that's a god thing.  Oh, and I have to buy a blanket for my bed.  The weather has taken a turn  back to cold and wet.  Next week is supposed to be gorgeous.