We Made It

After about 25 hours of traveling, Lena and I made it to my parents' home in East Tennessee. It's always something of a shock to return home. They used to call it reverse culture shock, now the euphemism is "re-entry." Whatever terms we make up to categorize experience, there is a great deal of dissonance or disquiet when one lives for so long in one kind of world and in the course of a day is thrown into another. What seems ordinary and natural is no longer ordinary. You especially have to exert self-control. The blank stares we give people in Kyiv are replaced with (sometimes hollow) smiles. Fighting for a place in line is replaced with saying "excuse me" if you get within two meters of someone. Standing in line is not a full contact body sport in the US like it is in Ukraine. And then there is the food difference. After Lena's visit to the Goodwill Store in Athens (we now boast a superstore, by the way), we went to Subway for a long-awaited sub. Fortunately, the place was deserted because I think we spent about 10 minutes deciding what to have. I was thrown by having to choose which kind of bread I wanted and whether I wanted it heated or toasted. I think I had to make 12 or so choices just to eat a sandwich!!!! And then they didn't have what I ordered (which reminded me just a bit of home!) and we got a free cookie out of the deal.

After emailing and calling the State Department, I finally figured out exactly what I should do to get a machine readable passport. That's now in the mail. Lena's mom has been trying to find out some info from Kyiv about registering me when I return. It just turns out that their neighbor's daughter works in the OVIR in Zhitomyr. So she has found out some useful information. There is the possibility that I can get a Ukrainian "green card."

I gave the devotional at church on Wednesday and am teaching the Sunday school class and preaching twice this Sunday. Wednesday night about 20 of my relatives were among the 23 in attendance.

We are currently preparing for Second Christmas--I guess that's right up there with a hobbit's second breakfast. We are having a family meal on Saturday and exchanging gifts. Then, some extended family and a few friends are coming for a New Year's Eve party. Mom has already started making desserts for that.

Tonight was our trip to Old Navy, another long awaited experience. Some success was had and we spent two gift cards we had received. I also went in a bookstore. Just to browse. Books are just too expensive these days. With Amazon used books being quite a bargain, it's hard to buy something new.

We will be in Nashville on the fourth, maybe earlier. We have decided to see Narnia only when we are both over jet lag. So far, we have managed to watch half of two episodes of Judging Amy and that's about it.