Saturday, July 19, 2008
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A week from now, at 8:00 AM, we'll be several hours down that oh-so-familiar road to Kiev on our way to a new life across the ocean. I'll never forget our arrival in the Kiev airport 12 years ago: we walked straight into a stereo-typical Soviet Union "movie set". What is now a 6 hour trip for the 250 miles, was then an 8 hour trip partly due to the road conditions and partly due to the fact that there were road checks every once in awhile. I was terrified of those road checks. It was nighttime, at the checks the only light was a hut with a naked bulb hanging in it, our driver would disappear into the darkness for long minutes before reemerging saying "Everything is OK. They just want to see my papers and know where are we going [sic]." But I just knew that some police officer would want to search our 12 pieces of luggage, confiscate whatever he wanted to, take our driver, and leave us stranded. But praise God, we arrived in our city just after day break without any of my imagined horrors coming true.
What decade-leaps of change have happened in this fledgling country in the 12 years since then!!! But on the other hand, some things haven't changed much -- our street for example. The holes have been getting worse and worse over the years. Finally some people on our street with nice cars that are always bottoming out, got together and solicited funds from up and down our street to pay for repairs ourselves. However, the prep work is being done, not by a road crew, but by our "street people" themselves. They have a small jackhammer with a long cord that is plugged into different houses as they move down the street, and with that, spades and lots of sweat, the holes are dug out -- which doesn't leave much area that isn't dug -- and prepared for repaving. Hopefully the paving will happen before the holes fill back in again.
Well, I didn't intend to ramble.
It's a busy time and I probably wont be updating for awhile. We have a Canadian couple living with us this month, doing short-term ministry. On Sunday after the parenting class/wild kid party :) we're hosting our farewell party (yea, it just goes with the territory) and we have friends coming over most evenings as well. I started this site as a cultural-interest site. So, I'm not sure what will become of "prissywillow62" when I'm not in the Ukrainian culture anymore. Maybe I'll morph into a lurker.
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Comments (2)
But Prissywillow, you have a whole new adventure in front of you -- and I've observed that "settling back in" takes about as much grace as settling in there did. I would be interested in hearing your heart in the months ahead. Where is your husband going to work? Where will your family go to church? What about school for the girls? Are you planning to work outside your home? Where are you going to live? Methinks you've got plenty to blog about.
YOU are not allowed to be a lurker. No. I am the big sister. And I say so. You are way too observant and way too good a writer to waste all that talent lurking!! That could go for our mother as well, but she shall not be moved. *_* You on the other hand, are young and pliable. heh We have a pothole in the church driveway right now...when I hit it, I'll think of you. LOL