Sunday was quiet in Mariupol. Sasha had to work so I didn't get to see him before the woman who managed the apartment rental came and got the keys. I went over to the market to stock up on food for the train home. This market in Mariupol had the best bakery. The breads and rolls were remarkable. I bought two savory rolls stuffed with cheese and red sweet peppers and one sweet roll with a sweet creamy cheese and raisin filling. The requisite water and juice boxes completed my snacks for the train. I took a taxi to the train station. It cost a whopping $2.75. I was in plenty of time for my train. I was on the same number wagon and berth as coming but it was a different car because this one rode much more smoothly. I had a very nice woman as cabin mate for the trip home. First order of business on overnight trains is always to make your berth up with the clean plastic-wrapped sheets and pillow cases, hang up towels and change into comfortable traveling clothes which for me are t-shirt and loose shorts. I changed before my cabin mate arrived and then vacated so she could change. Then, without conversation, we settled in for the long ride home. I read and dozed and ate and read and dozed and ate. The train ride was much smoother, for the most part and I was able to sleep in fits and starts. I hope I didn't snore. My cabin mate didn't, thank God.
We arrived in Kyiv at 9:38, right on schedule. It was a beautifully sunny cool morning so I decided to walk to the apartment from the train station. Uphill for the first half, level or downhill for the second. Not bad. I took my time and worked out all my stiff muscles on the walk. When I got to the apartment, I showered for a long time. Only having sponge baths for three days was bad with no hot water in Mariupol. I made up for it in spades. I threw in a load of wash and puttered around the apartment and then decided to walk up to Glossary for lunch. I never liked the flavor of fresh dill until I came here. I never was addicted to cabbage salad until I came here. Cabbage salad isn't even on the menu at Glossary any more but they make it for me. I may just have to bring the waiter home with me. I think I talk to him more regularly than anyone here!
Just as I was finishing lunch on Monday, Zoryan called and invited me to come over to see his agency's office. I met him at a metro stop and walked over to the office. A couple of guys who worked there had been at a conference I spoke at in May and it was good to see them. One of the guys just returned from two weeks in China. He went with his mother on a dentist's convention. We had some really good green tea he brought back. After a while, Zoryan and I went out to walk for a while and had coffee and dessert a coffee shop he favors (кафе хаус) which isn't even Ukrainian, it's a poor transliteration of the English Coffee House. He went back to work and I headed home on the metro. Oh, based on my frustrating experience trying to buy train tickets, Zoryan wrote a blog entry about it in relation to the influx of foreigners they are expecting for Euro 2012 next year - major football event. He then translated it into English and I polished it and he sent it to the local English-language newspaper, the Kiev Post.
I had no schedule at all today, Tuesday, so I lazed around all morning, catching up on email, setting up appointments for Skype calls this week, talking to two Orthodox bishops in the US, one in Schenectady, NY, who will write articles that I can use here and the other who is in Quebec and who will visit me when I get home. Around 3 I headed out to Glossary again and had cabbage salad and a bowl of solyanka ( a rich savory soup with various kind of meat and sausage). And that's my day. I'll spend the evening relaxing. Maybe I'll go out to the market briefly to pick up a few things.
We arrived in Kyiv at 9:38, right on schedule. It was a beautifully sunny cool morning so I decided to walk to the apartment from the train station. Uphill for the first half, level or downhill for the second. Not bad. I took my time and worked out all my stiff muscles on the walk. When I got to the apartment, I showered for a long time. Only having sponge baths for three days was bad with no hot water in Mariupol. I made up for it in spades. I threw in a load of wash and puttered around the apartment and then decided to walk up to Glossary for lunch. I never liked the flavor of fresh dill until I came here. I never was addicted to cabbage salad until I came here. Cabbage salad isn't even on the menu at Glossary any more but they make it for me. I may just have to bring the waiter home with me. I think I talk to him more regularly than anyone here!
Just as I was finishing lunch on Monday, Zoryan called and invited me to come over to see his agency's office. I met him at a metro stop and walked over to the office. A couple of guys who worked there had been at a conference I spoke at in May and it was good to see them. One of the guys just returned from two weeks in China. He went with his mother on a dentist's convention. We had some really good green tea he brought back. After a while, Zoryan and I went out to walk for a while and had coffee and dessert a coffee shop he favors (кафе хаус) which isn't even Ukrainian, it's a poor transliteration of the English Coffee House. He went back to work and I headed home on the metro. Oh, based on my frustrating experience trying to buy train tickets, Zoryan wrote a blog entry about it in relation to the influx of foreigners they are expecting for Euro 2012 next year - major football event. He then translated it into English and I polished it and he sent it to the local English-language newspaper, the Kiev Post.
I had no schedule at all today, Tuesday, so I lazed around all morning, catching up on email, setting up appointments for Skype calls this week, talking to two Orthodox bishops in the US, one in Schenectady, NY, who will write articles that I can use here and the other who is in Quebec and who will visit me when I get home. Around 3 I headed out to Glossary again and had cabbage salad and a bowl of solyanka ( a rich savory soup with various kind of meat and sausage). And that's my day. I'll spend the evening relaxing. Maybe I'll go out to the market briefly to pick up a few things.
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