mail call

Today was a happy day...I think it was the first day that mail has been delivered to this town in a while. Maybe not. At any rate, I got Aunt Donna's long underwear top and picture CD, the packet of menus from Mom and Dad, a letter from Aunt Rebecca, plus a packet from Peace Corps that included a lot of Christmas cards which had been languishing in Kyiv (from Aunt Rebecca, the Bretts, Amy, and Abby). So I am overwhelmed by love and mail. Tifanni also is here visiting me, and keeps reading Newsweek aloud to me while I'm typing, which means I'm definitely typing with a distracted mind.

Tif wants me to add that today is Day 114 that we've been in Ukraine. I'm sure this has a profound meaning. But she hasn't told me what. She says it's for me to discover and call her about it. Which we generally do, anyway. Every day, much to the detriment of our phone bills.

Other than that, I haven't taught since last Tuesday, which means I've been going stir-crazy. I've been reading a lot...sci-fi to Shakespeare to sonnets (poetry, but I wanted alliteration) to Scripture. I've done laundry, written letters, updated my new planner with important dates and addresses, and REALLY REALLY want school again on Thursday.

Pronounciation helps: it's "h'reevnas", not "hereevnas". And the Ukrainian word for "teacher" is uchetl, pronounced "oo-CHET-el".

Oh, and in response to those people who are requesting a book, it may well come at some point. When I got bored on Saturday, I tried to dream up plot ideas for a non-Ukraine novel, but they all seemed rather stupid, so after an hour and a half I gave up. Perhaps, with the way I keep writing letters, the Collected Letters of Sally Jo Behrenwald may be the new bestseller in a few years. I've considered trying a couple of creative non-fiction pieces about life here, but I may be too close to it all to do it justice.