it's REALLY warm here...

Oh my word, it's warm here! Yesterday it was about 104F, and today it's still in the mid-90s. I compensate by eating ice cream (they have bluebery ice cream here) and not doing much.

Yesterday was one of those days when I had to question what culture I was living in. At the Y house after church, we played Twister (in Ukrainian), ate corn on the cob and drank Coca-Cola, and watched the Hallmark Channel films Love Comes Softly and Love's Enduring Promise (supposedly based on the books by Janette Oke, but not particularly) dubbed into Russian. Liza, who is my cuddle buddy these days, decided to curl up next to me despite the heat. I was both touched and well...warm.

I opted out of going to the K's church in the evening, as they have no fans and don't believe in opening windows during a two-hour service (is it spiritual to suffer through church?) and instead went with Vitaly, Vlada, and Oleh Y to a youth group-type thing sponsored by the church in the center (which has a lot of young people and a total congregation of about 200, making it at least double the size of any of the other Protestant churches in town). It reminded me very much of American youth groups...singing praise songs (that were on PowerPoint) with a guitar, a short devotional talk, and a video of the kids' time at Youth Camp. Teenage boys are a lot like teenage boys everywhere, and I felt rather old for it all. :)

Today I was walking to the post office and saw four girls running down the sidewalk. Then I realized that they were four girls who will be in my 5th and 6th forms and they were running towards me to give me a four-girls-and-one-dog-deep hug.

Ihor Y, age 4, yesterday: Where are your kids?
Me: I don't have any.
Ihor: You don't?
Me: I don't. I'm not married.
[Then I told Nadia.]
Nadia: It's a bit early yet.
Me: Yeah. First the husband, then the kids.

Looking forward to finishing my Internet time and going home. As much as I love checking my email, being in public means I have to be dressed appropriately. And living by myself means...well, that I don't!