It was terribly cold in Kyiv today. Around 5F or so. A cold, penetrating wind welcomed me to the streets today. Though my earache still bothers me some, I had to go outside to buy food. While we were in America, it seemed that food was just always there. My parents were good about keeping the refrigerator stocked and taking us out for several meals. When were in Nashville, Paul was always in the kitchen cooking or taking us out to some very nice places. Jonathan took us to a fine but very loud Mexican place. And then there were all the times we were driving around or shopping or what-not and we would just stop to get something to eat.

But now we are back to life in Kyiv where it seems food is much more difficult to come by. Well, food is available, but meals aren't so easily available. So I was back at the grocery store. I forgot our discount card so I didn't get my 5% off. I was looking for things that required little preparation and not much thought since we are still jet lagging, not a whole lot of higher cerebral functions working yet. And the kitchen it seems is out of everything. So I bought some chicken, still waiting to be cooked, and some potato chips (always seem old for some reason) and some sushi for Lena and a frozen lasagna thing for me. And that's just about it for quick meals. There's McDonalds, of course. We had pelminy last night and there is a frozen pizza in the refrigerator but that's a last resort item. Needless to say, I miss not having to think about food. I realize people in America have to think about food. But since the gathering process is so much more difficult here, it seems that much more effort is expended in eating.

I did have some culture shock (or reverse culture shock) in the store. It used to be that the stores in Kyiv (early 90s) had nothing in them. Now, there is plenty of stuff but it seems at times it's a war zone. And for some reason, the store we go to is always restocking. It makes going down the aisle with a cart almost impossible. And the workers never seem to think that they are in the way or that they need to move when you are trying to get your cart through. It's a far cry from Americans in the South who say "Excuse me" if they come within a meter of you. I felt like I was in a battle tonight. I quickly returned to my survival-of-the-fittest mentality and was knocking people out of the way with the best of them. If you don't shop in Kyiv as the Kyivites do, you won't ever eat--you will be stuck somewhere in the back waiting for someone to let you pass.

Lena and I have different ways of coping with jet lag. We always ending up sleeping at completely different times. To cope, and as a transition back into life in Kyiv, I generally read a couple of books. One I just finished about the medieval mind and the Renaissance. Can't recommend it. A little to patronizing and anecdotal for me. Now I am reading Lauren Winner's book Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity. She calls it a little book. I read it almost in one sitting. I am glad I didn't pay much for it. I guess publisher's print such small books and charge lots for them to make money and it makes consumers feel good about having read a whole book, while in truth it's nothing more than a large essay, if that. I read many bloggers who praised her book but so far I haven't been that impressed. Maybe it's because I often feel that young people shouldn't be writing books. Kind of ironic in that I am now righting this blog assuming someone will read it. But it's free, mind you. I think someday I am going to write something but I guess I just don't want to regret having written before the time was right, before I was ready to say something of substance. Maybe that day will never come for me. Francis Schaeffer didn't start writing until his 50s. Lewis wrote early on but his poetry is generally not very good and can we really compare The Problem of Pain with A Grief Observed?