"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.