We went to Zhitomyr to see Lena's family today. It's always a little adventure. My legs and body in general are just too large for these little vans Ukrainians cram into to get from one city to the other. And of course, we had to wait for a while because the driver only leaves when every seat is full. And of course, he refuses to drop us off where people thought they were going to be dropped off. At least he wasn't smoking or driving wildly. The layer of thin ice and snow on the sidewalks greeted us in Zhytomir. Sidewalks aren't ever cleared there. Polina, Lena's niece, has grown so much since I saw her last. She is getting some personality. I was calling her King Kong. The big surprize for me was being served roasted wild goat for lunch. I didn't even know there were wild goats. How did I miss that? After ten or so years in Ukraine, you would think I would be ready for any cultural food matter. But it seems the surprizes are endless. We had a nice time, though. Besides the goat, all went well.

Sunday was a good day as well. We celebrated two birthdays at church, which is always fun. Much more than Americans it seems, Ukrainians are ready to celebrate. Today was even a holiday--St. Nicholas Day. It seems this holiday is being adopted along with other western holidays (maybe he was also an Orthodox saint, I'm not sure). What's next, Kwanzaa?

At least we don't have this stupid debate about whether or not you can say Merry Christmas. I read on one blog that some guy felt Jesus would not say Merry Christmas. Can you even say "Merry Christmas" in Aramaic?