Fall in Ukraine

Fall is different here than in Western NY.  The temps are in the same range: cold nights, days fluctuating between comfortable and quite chilly.  The leaves are falling from the trees but we don't have the vivid color displays western NY'ers are used to with the brilliant reds, oranges and yellows.  Leaves just get dry and fall off green or brown or slightly yellowish.

And another difference is that in western NY, gloomy days are really gloomy; rainy days are really rainy.  Here we can get torrential cold rain and then those clouds pass away and the sun comes out again.  There haven't really been any dark and gloomy days.  I think it's easier to stay cheerful here because of the weather.

I'm in countdown mode to home, a mere 4 days away.  Of course I wonder if I will get home without trouble.  I'm going to be optimistic and think that just as I had no trouble coming, I'll have no trouble returning.  Of course, I do have to fly through Paris again where I spent two unwelcome days in June.  We'll see.

As each time I've been here, i feel sad to be leaving.  That doesn't mean that I won't be happy to see friends and family at home; it just means that my heart is in two places.