Lena and I just returned from our insanely intense 2-week recruiting trip across Ukraine. This is the first time we drove. What a difference! No crammed mini buses, no trains, to buses, no sleeping in trainstations, wonderful! Just a lengthy argument with the border guard (which was not helped by having just finished a liter of Mountain Dew) and another lengthy conversation with some traffic policemen a week later. Oh, and perhaps a couple of speeding tickets in Poland which is loaded with photoradar and cameras. Overall it was uneventful transportation though.
It was a farewell trip as well to many friends across the country. There were quite a few tears shed from us, from teachers, from directors, some students... overall, it was very emotional. Once again though, we appear to have excellent students applying for the university and we just accepted our first student. A young man from L'viv who is full of expression and was quite upset to discover that we were leaving at the end of the semester. Our tv interview with the vice mayor of Cherkassy region (central region of Ukraine). My job was easy, just sit there and try to look pretty while Lena spoke. I say I performed rather well and Lena was magnificent. Her composure and interaction was absolutely superb. She has quit a bit of charisma that keeps developing.
We are now back in Klaipeda. I am back teaching classes and Lena is back in the office preparing for another trip. She is about to go on a longer trip that neither one of us is excited about. She will be in Moscow for a few days, then a week in Odessa, followed by a week in Chisinau, Moldova where she will hook up with another coworker. 2 1/2 weeks away. We are not looking forward to this. Please pray for us, and especially for Lena as she will be on her own for 1 1/2 weeks. It will be difficult.