Getting Over the Revenge

I'm getting over the revenge of the food poisoning (I've yet to see Revenge of the Sith, by the way, or most other movies released in 2005). Still not back to full strength but the fever is gone and almost all the pain. Here's a picture from last week of Polina. Pretty funny, huh? She's had a hard time sleeping so pray for mother and grandmother.

Since I haven't been out of the apartment for a while I can't say much of what is happening in Kyiv except for the view from the tube. Ukrainian television still has a long way to gone. Mostly, there are just too many very bad movies from the US. They are just such poor quality. I wonder what people must think of the US if their primary source of info is these movies. Generally every week some kind of huge alligator or shark goes around killing a lot of people. That's a popular theme. There is also a weird combination of US TV shows that get translated. Right now we have Oprah, JAG, and Baywatch. Of course, there are also the German and French shows and films. Then there are the classic Soviet movies and the stuff Russia is starting to produce. It all makes for a very odd mix.

I just finished a book by a social anthropologist on a way of viewing cultures through what roles people are expected to play and on what kind of playing field. Constantly being made aware of your cultural assumptions is kind of like someone constantly reminding you to breathe--you just wish they'd stop!! But maybe we need it. Actually, I know we need it. We need it to become more effective instruments in the hands of God because our world is ever shrinking. This next generation will definitely need more of these skills than ever before. We've included a pic of Lyuda showing off their new shower. Lena went to see them Friday and work is progressing well on the renovation. We are again thankful for all those in east Tennessee who contributed to this effort.