Who is Father Frost?

Give up? Well... he originates from a Russian fairy tale, looks a little bit like Santa Claus, has a granddaughter named Snegurochka (Snow Maiden), and delivers presents on New Year's Eve (I have yet to see him; hence, this photo was snagged from the Internet). Why New Year's Eve and not Christmas? Well, in Soviet times people were not permitted to practice their religion or celebrate religious holidays. But... people used to buy trees anyway and exchange gifts. So the government officially encouraged people to buy "New Year's Trees" and exchange gifts on that day making it non-religious (this is how I understand it). I asked a local how Father Frost managed to get the presents under the tree on December 31 while everyone was waiting to ring in the new year. In her experience, she is now in her 40's, she said that "Ded Moroz", as he is called here, either:
(1) hid the presents under fake snow that was laid under the "New Year's Tree" or
(2) he brought a bag of presents to the house and knocked loudly. As the children ran to open the door or window, Father Frost ran off to deliver presents to other households. So they children never caught a glimpse of him.
No, she had never heard of him coming down a chimney - she said they "don't have chimneys here." This whole scenario begs the question: "Why does Santa Claus deliver presents on Chrismas Eve and not New Year's Eve in America?" The logical answer is that he needs time to get from one continent to the other - that's my answer anyway.

New Year's Eve promises to be interesting as there are supposed to be numerous Father Frost and Snegurochka lookalikes mingling with the mere mortals in Maidan - Independence Square downtown. I'll make sure my digital camera has new batteries...

By the way.... where is our snow? All this talk about Father Frost and Snow Maidens.... we are, up to this point, having the warmest winter in 120 years!!! Crazy! I just saw photos of New Mexico - the amount of snow Santa Fe has gotten was incredible! Who-da-thunk that Kyiv would be less snowy and warmer?

Recycling... and cycling

This week I observed an "open lesson" at the University of Food Technologies. This is like a demonstration lesson that a teacher prepares for their supervisor, but other teachers are welcome to attend. Good idea, huh? I was invited by a teacher who regulary attends my workshops, Galina (far left in photo; notice we are all holding a piece of trash). The theme was recycling and the students had prepared presentations on how to use different pieces of garbage (that was just one part of the lesson). It is always fun to observe teachers and also get a feel for the students they teach.

Another part of the lesson involved the students conducting a survey. The instructor chose me to model the activity in front of the students. The questions got me thinking about recycling and how much more conscious of waste I am here in Ukraine. She asked if I recycled here and in the US. I mentioned that back home we tend to recycle clothes (as in donations to places like Goodwill and shopping at second-hand stores), but we tend to be bad about bringing our own shopping bags with us. Here, each time you buy something, especially at places like the grocery store, they ask you if you want a plastic shopping bag because they charge you for it. Most people say "nyet" and dig in their pockets for a wadded up bag they unfold and fill up. Joe is very good about always bringing an old bag with us so we don't have to buy one. I mean they are pretty cheap, but it's the principle of the thing.

I was also looking for little X-mas boxes to wrap stuff in. When I asked someone where I could find one of those cute X-mas boxes, she said that you "Just take any box." I said that I wanted the cute X-mas boxes... she said just "take any box and glue paper on it - make it." Not a bad idea, but I was certain I could find them ready made.... so last night I made one last attempt at finding these boxes. When I finally did, they were like $1.50 each (I mean these are small earring-sized boxes!). So this morning, I found myself digging through the wrapping paper my mom had used for my birthday presents in October (I guess I knew I'd be needing it...so I saved it!) and reconstituted it for my little x-mas presents. They actually look pretty good.

Another thing they do, it's not exactly recycling but saving energy, is that they don't use electricity unless it's absolutely necessary. In classroooms, they let the natural light come through for as long as possible before turning on the overhead lights. This means I had to change my usual teaching technique of flickering the lights to get the group's attention. You can't really notice the lights... so I have taken to using a little bell one of the teachers gave me.

We went to the ballet last Saturday - Carmen-Suita - it was very entertaining and not too long. I can't even remember the last time I saw a ballet. It was a full house at the Kyiv Opera House. As soon as the performance ended and everyone was piled up on the stairways to the exit, they turned off the lights! We were just near the door when this happened, but I was shocked that no one panicked but just kept plodding toward the door. I guess it isn't unusual.

So, now you are wondering where the cycling reference comes in... am I right? Well, I did a couple of presentations in Pryluky which is a town about 2 hours from Kyiv by car. You get to go through the countryside which is great for me... see the little villages along the way, the "black" soil that Ukraine is famous for (hence the "breadbasket" claim to fame), and you get to see babushkas on bicyles! They all (BA-bush-ka = grandmother) ride around the villages on bikes. It is quite a sight; I wish I could've stopped for a photo. Apparently, the fields are full of "sunflowers" in the summer. I can't wait to see that.

Speaking of babushkas, they are an interesting population here as they represent a generation that has been through so much in the last century. The grandmothers of the future will not have lived through such a time... many of the current babushkas are widows as their husband's may have died in war, and many of them have lost their pensions so you see them selling flowers in the underground shopping areas or begging. Joe always gives his extra change to them. The other day we were in a coffee shop - kind of a fancy one with capuccino and pastries. In a corner table, a babushka sat drinking her coffee. She seemed a bit destitute with no teeth, but the staff were very kind to her. When it came time to pay, she handed the waitress a clear plastic bag full of change. The manager came over, took the bag, escorted the woman back to her table, dumped the change on a tray, and started to count it out for her. She sat there as if she were an aristocrat of sorts, and her accountant was assessing her fortune. It was a very touching sight.

Well the Christmas season is upon us... although I'm not the best at being a holiday "participant" , I'd like to say Happy Holidays! May you recycle something and give to a person less-fortunate! Thank you for the warm wishes you have sent us... they are much appreciated!

Art 'n' Architecture

So Ukraine, Kyiv especially, is full of artists. As this week was a business-as-usual type of week, I decided to dig into my photo files and post some of the arty pix I have taken. The first one (green wall) was taken in Kyiv on a little street called "Andriyvsky Uzviz". It's full of crafts and arty things, modern as well as traditional (see Ukraininan embroidered fabric). I went to an artists' sale over the weekend and saw some really cool modern art. Most of it was the kind of stuff you hang on the wall, but there were some especially beautiful handmade weavings (see Valentina showing off her wares).


Thankfully, the Christmas buzz is not too intense here as the Orthodox Christmas is January 7.

One of the absolute "coolest" architectural attractions is the building I've included. Although it was built 1900-03, it is incredibly fantastic and creative with rhinos, frogs, fish, and mermaids adorning the tops and side of the building. It is called "House with Chimeras" - chimera meaning fanciful creature (new vocabulary for me!). Apparently, it was made with a lot of cement promoting its benefits back in the day.

Finally, my ode to "Madonna" - a billboard in Kyiv. I can't say I'm a true Madonna fan. But... I am finding her latest hit and a particular oldie of hers hard to keep out of my head. We hear them on European VH1. I even went to "youtube" and found a couple of the videos. Click if you dare... don't worry - nobody's watching....
*Jump
*Bad Girl

P.S. Speaking of art (ha, ha), my teacher development workshop was videotaped this morning. A professional from Ukrainian Channel 5 was hired - Anatoli - to record our training for distribution to more remote Ukrainian schools. I hope it turned out - unfortunately he only brought 60 minutes worth of tape, and the workshop was 90! We'll see how it turns out. Keep watching "you tube"....

Crimea: A True Melting Pot

We are back in Kyiv after five (5) days in "The Autonomous Republic of Crimea" (no rain!). I gave workshops at the Crimean University for the Humanities in Yalta, and the Crimean In-Service Teacher Training Institute, in Simferopol (Sim-fe-RO-pol). This region is particularly unique because it was historically part of Russia, then part of the Soviet Union, and only became part of Ukraine as a country upon independence in 1991. It is truly a melting pot with Russian, Ukrainian, Tatar, Armenian, Bulgarian, Georgian, Turkish, Greek, and other peoples that have settled there over the years, the common language being Russian. At the Ethnographic Museum in Simferopol, you can see a display of hundreds of wooden figures representing all the peoples of the area (the couple in the foreground are Ukrainians).

First stop was Yalta. Yalta, on the Black Sea, is historically a Russian resort area and still is; we saw a poster of Putin frolicking with dolphins. It is small and charming, the pizzeria "Capri" was a memorable highlight due to the fact that the waitresses give customer service! They even saved a table for us near the door as they knew we wanted to be away from the smokers. Yalta doesn't have a beach - they claim it is their French Riviera - but there are charming sights along the boardwalk and toward the mountains that were snow-capped for our visit. The university provided some great student-guides who translated for us and even accompanied us to the famous "Livadia Palace". Even though Joe wasn't feeling 100%, he had to come along and see the 'round table' where Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin divided up the world after WWII at the Yalta Conference. It had also been a summer home for Czar Nicholas and his family before they were executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918 during the Russian Revoution. Seeing pictures and items of theirs was a bit sad and creepy.

We had flown into the airport in Simferopol. You have to take a 90-minute taxi ride to and from Yalta. Our plane was of "medium-size" and although it looked pretty old, the flight was quite smooth. The coolest thing about Simferopol is that it is a real city. There is not a tourist in sight! And you really see all sorts of people. The Tatars (Originally from Central Asia) lived in the area for hundreds of years but were forced out after WWII - deported en-masse by Stalin to places like Siberia. Over the past few years, they have been returning and trying to re-establish residence. Anecdotally, I heard that many of them are just "reclaiming bits of land" and starting to build their small brick houses. Sounds like it may be a type of "squatting", and they say it is posing problems for the local government.

The city looks a bit industrial, but the people were friendly, tried to speak English when they could, and pretended to understand my Russian. The food was super-cheap, plentiful, and good. I presented at a "school" - which here means primary and secondary together. Teachers from all over the region were going through in-service trainings that they receive only every five (5) years. This means that there was a lot of variation in their language ability, but because of my previous experience with village teachers, I think I was able to deliver the workshop a lot more effectively. My guides here were two teachers shown in the picture in front of "School #25". They accompanied us to the Ethnographic Museum.

Crimea is an interesting place. I still don't know exactly why they call it "Autonomous Republic" when it is, in fact, part of Ukraine. Maybe the name is just a holdover fromt the past. Anyhow - Simferopol gets my vote as "Best Real City" and Yalta gets the "Best Student Guides" award.

Should I wear the hat?

"Of course!" I told Abe. I mean, if your blog is going to be quirky, best to get President Lincoln with his trademark top hat. Ironically, we had never crossed paths in the USA, but here in Ukraine you never know who you might meet. In fact, I met a whole slew of Americans this week. I'm not one of those people who seeks out my countrymen/women because I feel lonely for my culture, or whatever. It's usually the opposite. I mean, we tend to do local things with local people (that's what we like about being here!). However, it is entertaining to meet up with expats like us.

Earlier this week, I gave two workshops at the Peace Corps training center (I'm not sick anymore, by the way). They have 101 new English teaching volunteers that will go to their posts, some in remote parts of Ukraine, in December. Most of them were quite young with little to no teaching experience. They are all in the middle of a three-month training program that aims to prepare them for their 2 year assignment: they learn Russian or Ukrainian (depending on where their school will be), and they learn how to be teachers. Sounds like a tall order, but I got a glimpse of the program and they just may end up being more equipped to teach in Ukrainian high school than I was following my Master's. Practical activities will take you a long way!

Thanksgiving day I was invited to the Fulbright office for a 'turkey feast'. Although there was no stuffing or pumpkin pies, two of my very favorite items that I wish my mom could've sent, the turkey and cranberry? (maybe sultana raisins?) sauce was good. I made the rounds introducing myself trying to recruit "native speakers" for our conversation club at my English Resource Center at the university and meeting a few really nice people. Our bi-monthly conversation club has been going well, but the more native English speakers we get, the more excited the participants (who range from students, to teachers, to other professionals) are. Keep your fingers crossed for next week. Ah, next week...

Next week we are going to Crimea - Yalta and Simferopol. It's a part of Ukraine in the South that looks somewhat like an island connected by a little sliver of land. It has a strong Russian influence - so my smattering should come in handy. What is your first name? What is your last name? Do you have...? (are you impressed yet?). It is a resort area in the warmer months; although it will probably be rainy for us, it will be different and interesting. And I love going to new places! We will fly - wonder how big our plane will be? You'll have to stay tuned...

P.S. Today there were special commemorative events to honor hundreds of thousands that died in a Soviet-induced famine 73 years ago. It made the Yahoo! News headlines: Ukraine Marks 73rd Anniversary of Famine. . . very sad to know that this "mass starvation" was man-made. More on... Kiev Ukraine News Blog.

Green beans are good for you

 Spader's back... yay! Our satellite got fixed, well kind of, and we now get all the channels that had mysteriously disappeared (except CNN). It was quite a bummer during the election, but that's where the Internet came in handy. So we are back watching "The Practice" - we are on the Jill Clayburgh episode for those of you who may have been watching this in real time back in 2004. It pays to stay out of the mainstream; now that we are able to watch these old series, they seem brand new to us!

By the way, I'm sick of being sick as a dog! I got really tired of the chronic sore throat and went to the American Medical Center. I think the "American" part just means that it's super expensive... Well we found the place near the Embassy. The greatest part is that they speak English - it comes in handy, especially when you're not feeling well. I went in and chatted with the Indian doctor, trained in Britain, whose wife and kids live in Russia... he tested me for strep - negative. He gave me, or at the last minute had his nurse give me (Joe was in the examination room with me) the anti-inflammation shot. Don't ask... Actually, the shot hadn't been ready - it was in the delivery truck caught in traffic, so while we waited for the drug delivery, the doc showed me how to administer some nose spray he was prescribing for my irritated and inflamed nasal passages. OK, so you're supposed to spray it in a nostril then snort it up. Probably second nature for some people, but for me it was like patting my head and rubbing my stomach, so I had to concentrate. Nostril one was not quite successful... nostril two - WOW! I could tell I had done it "right"... it seemed to go straight into my brain - a combination of eating ice cream too fast and turning a somersault in the pool and forgetting to hold your nose (see suspicious-looking bottle with blue top in photo).

To make a long story short, when I was paying the bill I started to feel woozy. We walked to the metro and I felt HORRIBLE. Actually, I felt positively dizzy and a pain like I had never felt before in my head struck me. I staggered around as we changed trains (thank god Joe was guiding me around and a kind young man gave me his metro seat - I was able to muster the Russian for 'thank you'). I finally made it home and hit the couch, took some Excedrin, and held my head. Joe asked, "What would you like me to do?" I said I wished for an ice pack; I knew we didn't even have ice. Joe thought quickly and ran for the bag of frozen green beans. I put it on my head and it slowly eased the intense migraine I was experiencing. God bless vegetables from the frozen foods section! Joe called the doc and he said maybe I snorted too enthusiastically - he had TOLD ME TO! (the doc, not Joe) Anyhow, I recovered and the shot actually brought down my swelling. I think I may finally get over this "bug" as I have to give trainings for Peace Corps next week!

Finally, I'd just like to say in addition to all the above, I felt smart this week. We watched "Network" - an old movie from the 70's that I had never seen. I highly recommend it and wish they still made movies like this... ones with good acting and thought-provoking subject matter. It's true that the more things change, the more they stay the same... crazy! I've always identified with the 70's even though I was just a kid then. Weird.

More soon...

Viruses, Village-schools, Velasquez, and Victory!

OK, first of all I did not take this photograph... but I did see this painting today; more on that later. The nagging thing about this past week has been the recurrence of that 'dang' virus. They say you're supposed to take "Umcka" (the extract I mentioned in an earlier rambling) 48 hours after your symptoms disappear and I didn't obey. So my sore throat came back after so magically vanishing for a couple days. But I'm back 'on the wagon' hoping to kick it for good this weekend.

Friday I had the unique experience of going out to a town called Nizhyn - 2 hours by car from Kyiv - famous for being the birthplace of a famous writer, Gogol, and for lovely cucumbers. I presented a hands-on methodology workshop twice: once for 'village teachers' and once for 'town teachers.' It was really a learning experience for me. I didn't realize that even though they were relatively "close" to Kyiv, these school teachers had limited to no access nor knowledge of computers, limited to no access to modern English teaching books and tapes, and some of them didn't understand me at all! I had heard that often times, especially in small villages, a math or history teacher may be assigned to teach English in a pinch, whether they know it or not. I felt a little bad that I hadn't been more prepared to handle this... but thought about how one could possibly teach a group something about methodology when some audience members know English and others do not...

To deal with this challenge in the future, I came up with the idea to give the caveat at the beginning of each workshop: "If you feel uncomfortable with speaking English in an interactive environment, you can sit over here and observe." Then, I'll wait for the better speakers to translate to the lower level teachers. This, in fact, would have also helped in Odessa because one French teacher attended my presentation. I didn't realize she didn't speak English until I noticed she wasn't responding to any of my requests to "OK, get into groups of 3 or 4", etc. When I figured it out, we agreed that she would just observe. She was a very cute lady (the one in front with red hair in the Odessa blog entry!) Maybe that strategy will come in handy...

While in Nizhyn, we attended a nice little museum commemorating Gogol's life and Nizhyn history; we also visited a little gallery where a woman with six fingers made sure I only took one photo of her (yes, my batteries died right then - it was a little spooky).

Today, in Kyiv, we saw a Diego Velasquez (see painting at very top)! Las Menina's is one of my favorites and I couldn't believe that an original "Portrait of Infanta Margaret" - Circa 1659-1660 - was housed here at the Western Museum of Art in Kyiv. It is a wonderful, cozy museum that I highly recommend.

And we voted this week! Absentee, of course. We got the coordinator of our English Resource Center to be our witness - she loved helping us. We scanned our affidavits and ballots and emailed them back. Maybe we helped make a difference!!! I hear they are still counting ballots in New Mexico!

P.S. I finished my first Chapter in my Russian book! Yay! It's surprising how knowing "your" "this" "name" "my" in addition to "thank you" "OK" and "please" can at least double the length of your conversations!

Snow

It's 10:46pm and the first snow is on the ground... evidence from our balcony!

Podil - Our Neighborhood

We are back in Kyiv. November is upon us and I had all these plans of exercising and studying Russian everyday. Well, a sore throat took hold and even sent me home early from work on Friday. My herbal specialist is making sure I take my South African and Israeli elixirs... So today, we took a break from our incredibly warm apartment, and I mean it gets pretty toasty in here!, out into the world for some fresh air and 30F degree temperatures. The sun sets at 4:29pm these days, so daylight is scarce! Our neighborhood, Podil, was having a special kind of Farmers' Market. It was great to see all the people out on such a cold day buying and selling "salo" (a Ukrainian delicacy of pig fat - I tried it in Odessa - even with garlic on top... not my cup of vodka), other meats, sausages, and stuffed animals. Oh, and mustn't forget the fur coats. By the way, my ankle-length leather coat I got secondhand at "Double Take" in Santa Fe is coming in really handy. Well, based on my low energy and need to go eat dinner (these pictures make me hungry!), I'll leave you with my photojournalism.

"Lviv" in my Heart Forever

Impressions
Look no further. The best kept secret of Eastern Europe is about to be shared... Lviv! This city is so incredibly charming - they say it's like Prague long before the tourists came. The architecture is amazing with sculptures of dragons, geese, goddesses, gargoyles, and other fantastic images adorning the sides of buildings. I presented a "How to Teach Business Communication" seminar over 5 days to a group of teachers from the Commercial Academy - kind of like a Business University - and they said that you have to be sure to 'look up' when walking around Lviv, or you'll miss the details. We didn't have to be told, and had a blast spending the whole free weekend wandering the cobblestone streets.

We poked around many of the Euro (think Vienna or Rome) -style coffee shops with magnificent cappuccinos, ate in great restaurants, made a pilgrimage to the historical cemetery, climbed "castle hill" which really has incredible 360-degree views of the city (not much castle), and hung out in some great beer dives - note the picture of the knight we ran into in one of them. From the castle photo, you'll be able to see the Soviet-style "block" apartment buildings in the background. However, the center is relatively untouched by this influence. The Russians didn't make it to Western Ukraine until the 1940's, so many of the original buildings and statues are intact. Also, Lviv just celebrated its 750th anniversary, so the city got a mini-facelift I'm told. Prices too are WAY lower than Kyiv. In addition, being in Western Ukraine, almost everyone speaks.... Ukrainian! Finally, Joe and I got to use a bit of the language and have people understand and respond appropriately! They seem to just be overall more influenced by Western Europe than by Russia - they are not far from Poland. Many of the graves at the cemetery are written in Polish as it was once part of Poland.

H2O
The day after we arrived was somewhat memorable... To get to Lviv from Kyiv, you can take a "fast train" which leaves at 5pm and arrives at 11:30pm (Check out the cool retro outfits!) A driver met us which was really nice as we were quite pooped and took us to the university dormitory where we were slated to stay. Well, the downside of Lviv, let it be told... is water. Many homes/businesses don't have hot water. And, if you don't have a tank, running water is only available from 6-9 in the morning and from 6-9 at night... Needless to say, good old running water was a problem in the dorm, and we were hard-pressed to find the heating system. So, the next morning the school arranged for us to rent a flat from one of the teachers' friends. It was right in the heart of the old town center near the opera house... in a building with a courtyard very reminiscient of Italy - hanging laundry included. That worked out well and served as a great base for our exploring.

It was possible to walk to the school in about 15 minutes from this flat, so we could spend mornings in the "hood" then I could 'walk to work'. The forecast had said that rain was expected for our entire stay... but we beat the odds and had no rain at all, mild temperatures, and two positively "sunny" days!

Our last experience with water was while we were in a McDonald's. As I said before, it's only to get a cup of quick strong coffee, bottled water, or clean bathroom. :) Well, we were in a corner table drinking our brew when a Catholic Priest walked in with his "assistant". The restaurant staff proceeded to come out from behind the counter to stand in front of these "customers." Well it turns out they weren't customers at all but had come to "bless" the new McDonald's. For about 10 minutes the Priest and "assistant" alternated between reading from the bible? and chanting in a low sing-song voice. Then, of course, the water came and he dipped his 'water-thrower brush thing' into holy water (I'm assuming it was holy) and walked around the restaurant flicking water in all directions. Luckily, I had talked Joe into not escaping during the ritual so that we too got slightly sprinkled with water. Not a bad thing to happen a day before my birthday!

Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?
The first day of the seminar (Friday) I don't think the participants knew what to expect. I later found out that most of their previous "seminars" had been listening to presenters and taking notes. Well, after the initial mumbling while moving desks around into semi-circles, they all seemed to warm up. We took a break mid-way through, and the woman who was running the event took me into a private dining room only big enough for one small table. It seemed to have a back door to the canteen kitchen through which another woman (the cook?) came in and out of.

Our first course was coleslaw - delicious as they really do have all the cabbage dishes down pat here. Second course was soup - with chicken maybe - good stuff. Well the third course... was fried potatoes (they make some mean french fries here - very crispy) and some kind of giant mushroom with cheesy garlic sauce on top. I guess I figured it had to be a mushroom - kind of like the portobello kind - because if was round, big, and flat, and had a spongy texture... quite tasty really. I had made the decision to break down and eat this delicacy because I figured we were far enough away from any radiation for it to be OK. But the more I ate, the more I wondered, and finally I asked, "What kind of mushroom is this - it's really good?" A pause... a confused look from my hostess. I looked at the mushroom again and was convinced that my question was legitimate after noticing some organic "fuzz" on the surface of it. I repeated, "What is this... some kind of mushroom?" And she said - "No. It is tongue." I thought fast trying to cover my shock, "Cow or pig?"

Takin' Care of Business
Well, the seminar was a success - all the participants were very gracious at the end of the course and presented me with some nice souvenirs of Lviv: Flowers, a set of a salt and pepper shakers, some nice cards, and a t-shirt that said, "Lviv in my Heart Forever".

Map

Thought this might help see where we are, where we're going, and where we've been: See Kyiv north on the Dnipro River, Odesa in the South, and Lviv in the West... (the spellings on this map reflect the Russian pronunciation, but soon all will change to Ukrainian pronunciation - Joe heard that recently the US Embassy here officially changed the spelling from "Kiev" to "Kyiv").

Work hard, play hard?

The birthday came and went... Joe's that is. We didn't fly to New York like last year, but hey, we ate at a Georgian restaurant! The name of it is Mimino - it's supposed to have some kind of theme based on an old Soviet flick, so the waitresses dress up as airline stewardesses. Interesting! The staff at my work presented him with a CD of Ukrainian folk music - we are listening right now (there's that music theme again!). As you can see from our jackets, it's starting to cool down. Not too bad yet, but we are expecting a cold front next week. I hope it's not too serious as one of my teachers' sons, Sergei, is going to meet us to take us on a tour of the Lavra Cave Monastery.

Yesterday, I observed some classes at the Slavonic University downtown. The students were great and had lots of good questions for me: "Do you like the desert?" "What do you think of the people in your country?" "Who is your favorite movie star?" "What are the students like where you're from?" Some were even AFI fans and said, "Please tell your husband that we like his son's band very much!" It is great to get a feel for what the teachers do by visiting their classes. It gives a more complete picture. That was enjoyable and I hope to do more soon.

I'm really getting into more of a groove with my job, and think I'm getting a feel for what teachers like and benefit from. Historically, a presentation - like a teacher training session - meant that the presenter presents, i.e. reads something or monologues along while the participants listen and/or take notes. Well, up front, I let the audiences know that the workshop/presentation will be "interactive" and a "demonstration". The audiences have adapted quite well and seem to enjoy being active (even after a long day of teaching).

Next week we'll begin our first meeting of the Conversation Club. We are hoping some native speakers show up as we invited US Embassy personnel. Ukrainians seem to have a good time no matter what... so I'm not worried. Our discussion topic is "hobbies".

Speaking of hobbies... I haven't quilted or oil painted, but I do have a flute and a beginning flute book. AND... I'm going to receive some books on beginning Russian soon...thanks Mom! (it doesn't mean I've completely given up on Ukrainian) However, just for the record, we found "The Practice" on Slovenian TV (part of our satellite package). All Ukrainian, Russian, and Italian stations DUB the English language programs!!! It seems that only smaller countries, like Slovenia actually keep the programs in the original languague adding subtitles. It was great watching James Spader be so subversive every Wednesday night (I have been a fan since "Tuff Turf"). Anyhow, our CNN and BBC (our only English language stations aside from E!) went on the fritz, so we got our receiver replaced. Well, lo and behold... we now have BBC and Panamanian TV in our repertoire, but still no CNN and no Slovenian TV - which means no Spader! Not to mention they were also showing great US documentaries every week like: Supersize Me!, Capturing the Friedmans, and this coming week was to be Farenheit 911. So our entertainment has been quashed for a while.

I will keep you posted on the 'play hard' front...
Here's some evidence of the 'work hard' aspect - teacher training workshops: Workshop 2, Presentation at the Pedagogical University, Workshop 3, & Workshop 4 respectively - all in Kyiv. Until Lviv...

“Odessa - Port on the Black Sea”

It’s the name of a Bee Gees album I’ve never listened to, but I swear a Bee Gees song was playing when I got into the cab at the Odessa airport. It was a song I’d never heard, so let’s say it was from this album. The following song (again in English) sounded like something from the easy listening stations my parents used to listen to when I was a kid, "Save your kisses for me"- it was very nostalgic. That tends to happen over here; there’s such a surreal combination of old and new bits of pop-culture - western and ex-Soviet. Long ago memories get unearthed by the strangest things! Anyhow, let’s back up a bit.

On Monday Lilia (my Ukrainian US embassy contact, travel companion, booking agent, translator, and liaison to all Ukrainian English teachers) and I took a small plane to Odessa. The trip was surprisingly expensive, about 220 USD, especially considering the size of the plane (4 windows on each side)! Well my worry turned to amusement shortly after the propellers got us off the ground. The hour and a half flight was truly charming - I’ve been telling people that it was a cross between a carnival ride and a crop duster as I didn’t feel that far off the ground. I could see the entire countryside as it was a warm clear day. The Black Sea coast looked very pretty from above, and the houses outside the city had bright green, red, or blue roofs.

The people we met were very friendly - upon entering the first university we were treated to an impressive spread of snacks and some 5-star cognac. How could I say no? - it blended nicely with the Dramamine that was already well into my bloodstream. I am told that Odessa people, in order to show their hospitality, have to make sure that their guests eat well… and are full at all times! Monday night we were treated to a 5 course meal at a traditional Ukrainian restaurant: Salads, soup, appetizers with caviar, fish with caviar, veal, red wine… wow! And all only a couple hours after the smorgasbord of snacks at the university! So much for that losing weight bit I spoke of a few weeks ago! I even tried “salo” which is pure pig lard; it looks like bacon before it’s cooked without the pink bits - you’re supposed to eat a slice of it with raw garlic on top. I’ll have to develop a taste for that. We were treated to a walking tour in the night air afterwards - I counted the “Potemkin Steps” (the only way to count them is to walk or jog up and down them - I’m proud to say there are 192 - and it only took me 4 minutes!).

Tuesday proved to be great day first visiting another university with an impressive little library of English language methodology books (supported by the US embassy), and then heading to the Teacher Training Institute for my presentation. We were running behind, so Lilia hailed a car… I mean when you can’t find a taxi or they want to charge too much, people just put their hand out and point to the side to indicate that they want someone . . . anyone! to stop and pick them up. An older man stopped and we got in with our briefcases - he charged us 10 Hrivnya (2 bucks) whereas the taxis wanted to charge 35 (7 bucks!). It was a deal. The presentation went well and near the end the only male entered to sit at the back. I later found out that he was not an English teacher but a violinist wanting to improve his English. He offered to take us on another tour showing us the “steps” in the daylight! He was quite a character - full of personality… on par for our Odessa experience. His name was Dmitri; he told us his girlfriend is a famous opera singer - hence our trip to the Opera House!

Russian came in handy in Odessa; most people speak it there. I found the inhabitants quite relaxed and a bit warmer than Kyiv… more English too. I guess it would figure as they have historically had foreigners coming in and out of the port there. One of the teachers we met there said that when she was studying English, it was common for students to meet the ships coming to the docks, go on board, and practice their English with the visitors. How bold - I hear they still do it today!

Our trip back to Kyiv was on a slightly bigger plane - 18 windows on each side - I did count a lot of things, didn’t I? Windows, courses, steps, dollar amounts….. Time to count the days before my next out-of-town trip. This time to Lviv (Western Ukraine) in 11 days….

Culinary Commentary

Well this week was a doozy! I gave another workshop, presented at a conference, met with English teachers at my university, observed some classes, and celebrated Teachers’ Day ( a big yearly shindig held near the end of September). I think today is officially the day, but we had our party at the Resource Center Friday evening. All that aside - I want expound on a subject that makes both me and Joe very happy and able to relax after a hard week’s work: food.

As you can see, cabbage, rice, beef, chicken, salmon, tomatoes, cucumbers, dill, potatoes, mayonnaise, eggs, and rice are typical ingredients. Mushrooms are popular, but the guidebook said not to eat them because they retain radiation. With Chernobyl 60 miles away, I don’t tend to eat them. Joe thinks I’m a bit too paranoid. Beets are popular too - so I owe you a picture of “borsht” (beet soup) soon. Chicken Kiev really exists here, and although the guidebook said that only foreigners eat it, we have seen otherwise. Joe witnessed a local ordering 9 of them ‘to go’ the other day. They consist of little fried “footballs” of white chicken meat with either cheese or butter inside. The outside tastes just like the cornflake breading my mom used to make… really! As you can observe, there are quite a few dishes made with thin crepe-like pancakes wrapped around meat or cheese, and even apples (those are served with jam). Every one of these is offered with cream (tastes like a mild sour cream). Very delicious! There are also “vareniki” which are ravioli-like shells encasing meat, cheese, or cherries! The cherry ones are reminiscent of cherry pie and are served with both cream and sugar sprinkled on top (one of Joe’s favorites!).

The reason we have been able to try so many of these foods is due to one sacred restaurant: Puzata Khata! This place is the holy grail of national cuisine, is affordable, close-by, and most importantly - cafeteria-style! So, if you can say ‘this’ (“tse”) and you can say ‘please’ (“bud laska”) - that’s Ukrainian by the way - you can try just about everything! This restaurant is a chain and has at least 3 locations around the city. Their locations pretty much dictate which parts of town we frequent on weekends!

Sometimes we get a taste for something more familiar, like pizza. It is pretty cheap (around $5) but we have trouble reading the menu! So we’ve learned to say a few key ingredients and order the same pizza every time. The beers are big and cost around $1. In our neighborhood there’s a little dive which sells the big beers for 60 cents. I didn’t really drink beer till I came here - can I afford not to?

Back home we eat salad and veggies a lot - here, aside from the aforementioned items, lettuce is hard to find. But we did find it at the “Zhitni Rinok” which is a huge market near our neighborhood in an old soviet-style building. The outside has stalls with people selling everything from eyeglasses to plastic buckets. Indoors they have food, clothes, and some housewares. I actually found masking tape yesterday there! It’s a great place to poke around. Well, to get back to my point. We found lettuce and spinach there - quite expensive (the lettuce is about $2 a head) but well worth it. It’s imported from Belgium, I think. So, Joe is able to recreate his salad masterpieces putting grilled chicken on top. We’ve seen nothing like these in any restaurant.

OK, so that’s an introduction to food in Kyiv. Tomorrow I’m flying to Odessa to give a presentation at the Teacher Training Institute. I’ll be sure to check out the ‘eats’ there and let you know if they’re anything to write home about.

P.S. Today before we came to the Internet Cafe, we ate lunch at McDonald's - really we NEVER eat there in the States, but Joe was craving a fish sandwich. I broke down and had a "Big Tasty" - a charbroiled burger with two slices of yellow cheese, some kind of special sauce, lettuce, and tomato on a sesame bun. I couldn't help but have a vague recollection of John Travolta talking about some similar experience in Pulp Fiction... I forget the details.