This seems hard to believe, but, as I sit and type, I am in a McDonald's (fastfood) Restaurant in the capital city of Kiev. I am using their free-access wi-fi. Now, understand, if I were in America I would never be in a McD's as it would not be my place of choice for eating. On the other hand, here in Ukraine, there are some things we can count on with McD's. We know the menu, so selection is easy (I did say, not my choice??), the place is clean and service is fast. That is, after you stand in the long line of everyone else waiting to eat and all cashiers busy. And maybe most importantly, one can count on clean bathrooms, though you may well wait in line for that also. Did I say we've been here 15 years? I can remember when we lived in the little Crimean village of Nikolaieva after we first arrived. That was our first 3 1/2 ('94-'97) years in Ukraine. The day I saw that bright red and white Coca Cola truck come through I almost jumped up and down for joy. I know what most of you are thinking now.... she must be crazy about Coke. Well, on the contrary, I certainly am not, since I am much more conscious of good diet than that. What that Coke truck represented back then was a tie to our homeland. A tie to what was familiar, a tie to our culture.
Well, here I am doing wi-fi at McDonalds and I must admit that Coke trucks just don't do it for me anymore. Yes, things are a changin' in Ukraine. You should see some of our slick malls. They'd give fair competition to anything in America. Life certainly is interesting and it certainly is changin'.
On a chilly fall day these street dogs were finding a warm spot in the sun. I wonder where they go in winter? This is an ongoing problem in Ukraine as there is not the infrastructure to take care of it. Many of the locals help feed these dogs and most are very meek and harmless.
These are two street urchins that tailed our car(pun intended)when we pulled into a gas station not long ago. They were obviously looking for a hand out and the only thing I had was a fresh loaf of dark bread that Jeff and I were looking forward to snacking on later. Often, street dogs at stops like this don't want bread. They are waiting for something a bit more upscale. So I thought I'd tear off a small piece for each. Well, they were so hungry they gobbled it down and all I could do is continue to feed them. I was sorry I didn't have more after they finished off that loaf. There are street dogs like this all over Ukraine and quite a number of people feed them just as I did, but these two were very thin.
I don't know about most folks, but Jeff and I love maps. Our geography got a lot better about this part of the world when we moved here 15 years ago. This one shows where the Ukraine is in relation to Europe. Also, notice Poland next door. That is where we were last week to get a new visa for Jeff's (my hubby) passport. Cracow, Poland is a lovely historical town. We rented an apartment for less than a hotel room and had all the amenities.....except an elevator. We walked up 5 flights daily, but by the time we left it wasn't feeling so hard to do. From this map you can see why they call Ukraine "Eastern" Europe. We border Russia on the east.
Just wanted to share with you this shot Jeff took looking out at the Black Sea on our last night before leaving Nikolaevka. The structures you are seeing are summer slides into the sea for one and another into a big water tub that, of course, is not there right now. As quiet as this village is in winter, it comes alive in summer with vacationers from all over Ukraine and Russia as well.
Jeff's trigger happy finger can't help but stop along the way to capture some of the scenes. The Lord has taught me patience through this as each trip takes longer than for most travelers, but the results are often worth the time. Photography for Jeff is part of recording his ministry, but has also become a hobby for capturing God's beauty.
