A Semester in Ukraine: Kangaroos in Tutus and Flesh-Eating Fish

Well, during these past few weeks, I've realized 2 things: 1. I really, really love America and 2. Five and a half months in a foreign country is a very, very long time. So yes, the honeymoon phase of Ukraine is definitely over. Going to the grocery store used to be an adventure all on its own, now I just sigh as I see struggle to translate Russian labels and deal with grumpy cashiers. People here don't smile or laugh in public...the other day a group of us were walking down the street laughing and these teenagers scowled at us and even spit on one of the girls. I guess I didn't realize how friendly people are in the U.S.

In a city of neutral buildings, this beautiful red university really stands out :)

A few of us decided to scout out a good Russian museum here in Kyiv. We found one that had an art exhibition of old soviet-style paintings, it was beautiful. Unfortunately they took away our cameras at the start of the tour, but I found my favorite piece on google images. It's of King Solomon and his judgment of the two mothers. Seeing this really struck a chord with me, so I went home and read the passage in the bible. What a beautiful illustration of a mother's love. What I love most about this painting is the look in the real mother's eyes, her unselfish love.

Nikolay Gay, The Judgment of King Solomon

In other news, me and Denay decided to do this new popular thing called 'fish massage'! There's a certain kind of fish that feeds on dead skin apparently, so they made a business out of it! It was fun, but it tickled sooooooooo badly (as you can tell from these pictures).

On Saturday, a group of us got to go to the Russian Circus! I'd never been to a circus before so it was quite the experience. There were leopards, ribbon dancers, acrobats, and a kangaroo in a tutu. It was almost 4 hours long! Here are some pictures :)

Have you ever seen a Kangaroo stand on its hind legs? He's taller than a human! Freaky thing.

Okay, it was been REALLY cold this week. I'm talking -29 degrees cold! Most schools in Kyiv were closed, but of course our little English school had to stay open.....so in some of my classes there'd only be one kid that showed up, sometimes nobody would show up. But nevertheless, we were there every single day, ready to sculpt these young minds!

Also, as ashamed as I am to admit it, this week I ate rabbit.....And I LOVED it! It tasted like turkey, but more flavorful and tender. Anastasiya said it was domesticated, farm-raised rabbit, that's why it was so tender. I'm sure Libby was rolling over in her grave as I ate it :(

"Libby" stew..... YUM!

I just want to take a minute and say how much I love going church. Living in a foreign country has really made me appreciate it even more. By the end of the week, I am soooo exhausted, mostly because I'm not very good a disciplining yet, and my kids know that and take advantage of that. So by the time Sunday rolls around, I am more than ready to make the long trek to church. And each time, I try to get as most as I can out of it to last me the week until I can finally go again :)

Well that's all this week, folks. I miss everyone back home, and I hope you're appreciating you 'wussy' winters :-) And here are the "photos-of-the-week"......