Everyday it's a-gettin' closer Goin' faster than a roller coaster

This week was nuts. I had huge ups and downs filled with frustration and wonderment. Early in the week I was close to breaking due to the extreme strain it takes me to learn a new language. I have so much respect for anyone that has picked up a second/third language. This is by far one of the most difficult tasks I have ever undertaken. The second half of the week was pure joy as I began to be able to express myself in Russian. Three weeks of PC language training and I can now speak in Past/Future/Present tense. I can almost count to 1,000. Asking someone about their age/birthday/name/hobby/mood/life/likes & dislikes. Now I think I'm saying all this stuff but there are so many grammar rules that I am probably just speaking gibberish. It's the conjugation and noun agreement that really kills me. If I can focus and stick the grammer rules now then it will simply turn into a case of adding to my vocabulary. I could not be more excited for what's to come. 

I really didn't get out much this week because we were so busy but I found some nice pictures that I haven't posted yet. There are a few from this week but anything with that looks grey or has snow is older. The weather lately has been absolutely beautiful. The streets are alive and everything is vibrant. As always I love to hear from friends/family back home so please stay in touch and I will keep working hard over here.

 Common expressions for the dinner table

 Chickens I saw while walking down to the river

 The Desna river complete with fisherman

 Staying warm is an absolute necessity here

 Awesome jeep that passed me during one of my many walks

 Crow nests in a tree outside what I believe is a factory

 Some cool stencil graffiti I walked by

 Safety Phrases. Hopefully I will never have to use them but they are mandatory to learn. Papa Sergei (Embassy safety officer) scares me more than anyone else.

 Body weight workout equipment in the area where we play soccer.

 Tvorok(fresh farmers cheese) and homemade jam. My absolute favorite thing to eat for breakfast.

Statue of lenin in the park located in downtown Chernihiv.