On top of that, we feasted on Velveeta Shells & Cheese for dinner. It was one of the things that my parents had brought with them assuming that my dad would refuse to eat anything else while they were here. Lucky for us, he decided he could eat Ukrainian food, and when my mom saw how excited Shawn got over the cheesy packet (”That’s fancy mac and cheese!”), she left the box behind for us.

Oh, we’re so spoiled!

Last weekend we all took a trip to the Crimean Peninsula. We flew the unfortunately named Wizz Air, which allowed the four of us to fly for the price of one on the competitor’s airline, but being a budget airline it meant we did not have assigned seats. So the parents got to see just how pushy and obnoxious Ukrainians can be. Shawn and I impressed them by pushing our way far enough up to be in the second group allowed on the plane. (When in Rome, right?) That was only the beginning of our weekend experiences with Ukrainian transportation. We had several white-knuckle taxi experiences, including when our driver decided to pass a car while it was passing another car - on a two lane country road. And we checked out the bus stations in Sevastopol, Yalta, and Sudak - including their squat-toilet restrooms. (I thought they weren’t so bad, but my mother, having never been to China, did not agree.) Shawn did a good job describing the various locations we visited over the weekend, so I won’t describe it all here. But here are some photos:

The Khan’s Palace and Holy Assumption Monastery in Bahkchisarai

The “beach” in Yalta

The ruins of a Genoese fortress and the Black Sea in Sudak

Back in Kyiv, we did a tour of Pirogovo, which I had visited before, but it was nice to have an English guide this time. And we also took a walking tour of “Old Kyiv,” which happens to be the neighborhood we live in. Once again, our guide was great and pointed out a lot of things that I either had never before noticed or had no idea what it was. So I felt like I learned just as much as my parents. Our final adventure was souvenir shopping along “The Spusk.” Until my mother said, “Whoa, I need to catch my breath,” I had forgotten that my parents would not be used to the art of bargaining for souvenirs. But besides the first booth where she paid full price for everything, she did really well. It helped that we went at the end of a really hot day and the booth owners were desperate for sales at that point. I even managed to get myself a little something.

So now I would really like to know exactly what my parents have to say about Ukraine. Besides the fact that we’re crazy for living here. It will be interesting to see what stories they tell and what really left an impression on them. Maybe it will be that the police wear big hats. (Dad, I honestly don’t know why — maybe they have big heads?)

And there will be more silence to come. I’m currently preparing for my parents’ arrival on Thursday. They’re here for a week, during which time we will spend a weekend in Crimea and tour a couple of sites in Kyiv. And, I’m sure, spend countless hours trying to convince my dad that Ukrainian food is the same as food in the Midwest - bland meat and potatoes - and it will not kill him to taste it. (I’ve already been informed that he’s bringing his own jar of peanut butter and loaf of Wonder bread along with him.)

Oh, and speaking of that dentist visit last Wednesday - my advice would be to never go to a dentist in Ukraine. Lesson learned.

Shawn was in charge of planning this year’s Independence Day celebration at the Embassy, so the past few weeks have been a little stressful for him. In fact, last night I could tell he’d reached his limit when I found him staring off into space with this look that just said he was done. And I practically had to push him out the door to take Laika on her post-dinner walk. So I know he’ll just be glad when this evening is over. And he can sit back and pass the planning for next year off to some other junior officer. Ah, the circle of the Foreign Service life.

If you’re in America, enjoy the festivities. I’m sure I’ll stand out on our balcony to watch the fireworks when they inevitably go off around 11pm tonight. Why, you ask? Because it’s a summer night in Kyiv, silly. And fireworks and drunkenness (particularly in combination) are plentiful here.