These were words that we heard every day while in Lucy's apartment in Kramatorsk. Our hosts fed us mercilessly several times a day. There were Blinis, chicken, Palmini, eggplant, rice, cucumbers, tomatoes, borscht, bread, several types of cutlets, sausage, caviar, potatos, cabbage, quail eggs, bacon, and more. Even lunch was a production of epic proportions. All of this was served up with Beer (Piva), wine, and lots and lots of VODKA. In Ukraine as in Russia consuming vodka is as much a part of eating as the food itself. And once a bottle has been opened,, it must be emptied. I stopped counting the shots of vodka I threw back during my time in Ukraine. 
In the photo above, Zach, Dima, and yours truly toast everything from James Bond, Yuri Gargarin, watermelons, Che' Guevara, Lenin, and Mishka the hairless cat. The next day Dima didn't emerge from his room, but I was running on all cylinders. Part of why I was dubbed a "good Russian." Another discovery we made was this absolutely heavenly drink called "Klukva". It's vodka infused with cranberries and there is nothing like it in our world.
Bill, you won the vodka drinking events hands-down, every time. So very Russian of you. You didn't do so bad with the eating, either. Gotta love my big brother.
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