Sept 4th

Родина мать (Mother Motherland) viewed from the metro while crossing what I think is the Dniepr river. The statue is 203 feet tall!

Either we've sped up mightily or I overestimated....it's now taking us only about 45 minutes to get to our training. I know this because we booked it there this morning!

A classroom in an elementary school

This little girl came and sat by Cowboy during training

We've eaten at this Ukrainian-style cafeteria several times. The seating area is divided into several international themes....we're in the Egyptian room, of course.

While I was deciphering mysterious food choices for one of the newest arrivals, this random 20-something guy walked by and told me "Miami Vice".... first in Russian, then in English. I was like "Wow, that's great, goodbye" in Russian..... seriously, I'm sorry, but I hardly know what that is- a TV show? He came and sat by us and kept mentioning Miami Vice. He pointed out an article in the local paper, but when I looked at the headline it translated as "God died". He then told me he was a true believer. Then he mentioned that he's an artist and has several pieces of art displayed in a nearby shopping center. The weird thing is- when I write this it makes him sound crazy, but he didn't seem crazy in person. Hmm?

More pictures from after training. We got out early!!!

Yours truly!