JenFX

Independence

2007-07-04T17:54:00.000-06:00

I didn't mean for my last entry to land on the 4th of July, i.e. Independence Day. However, after opening an email this morning with the following message, I reconsidered.

The message was from some of my Ukrainian colleagues:
Happy Birthday of your great country! In many ways independence is one of the most important and symbolic things for what the USA is all about. For us, Ukrainians, it is very important to learn about independence (from our American friends and colleagues, too,) and experience real independence here in Ukraine! May your home and your heart shine with the warm light of freedom.

It moved me a bit to see "independence" from this angle. I also choose to see "independence" on a personal level. I vow to maintain my desire to "create my own reality" independent of what kind of social pressures my country presents. On our international flight, on the headphones, I heard a Stevie Wonder song: "Don't you worry 'bout a thing. . . ". I found myself bopping and rocking in the plane seat (with my seatbelt fastened, of course!). I realized that I hadn't done that for a while . . . and it felt good to have the freedom to do so. I am now listening to "oldies" on the radio - it is great to hear them again and they seem to represent the kind of freedom I like - the freedom to express and feel good about it.

Ukraine did have its effects on me. There, I felt like people could really see who I am; I can't really describe it, but I really felt free being myself and training teachers with my personality full-throttle (well almost). It gave me such perspective on who I am and who I want to continue to be. I have been back in the US for less than a week and I find myself still digging in my purse to find exact change for shop clerks, standing in line closely behind the person in front of me, reprimanding myself for not bringing my own bag to the grocery store, and rolling through stop signs . . . little things I became familiar with in my previous life :)

Now in New Mexico, Joe and I have eaten at the Frontier Restaurant twice, we've loaded up on our favorite food items at Trader Joe's, and we've already hit a couple of garage sales (I bought a shirt for fifty cents!). I've run into a gal I used to work with when I waited tables way-back-when, and yesterday I found myself driving on the freeway right along side of my friend Carol (waving at her madly through the tinted windows of my mom's car - duh! No wonder she couldn't recognize us at first!). Also, when my mom and I were buying cosmetics (the Dr. Hauschka ones I've been craving) we saw Ali MacGraw (remember the actress from 1970's Love Story?). She was buying some products at the register, and my mom started up a conversation about me being freshly back from Ukraine. Ali said, "Oh did you get any facials while you were over there? I hear they are WON-der-ful!" I said "no", but then I rambled on about how my friend Melissa used to get great massages in Ukraine. Speaking of rambling . . . how am I doing? Not bad, I'll bet. Happy travels and keep in touch!

"Everybody's got a thing . . . But some don't know how to handle it . . .
Everybody needs a change . . . A chance to check out the new . . ." - Stevie Wonder

Like any good "telenovela" . . .

2007-06-28T00:15:00.000-06:00

. . . my stay in Ukraine must come to an end. I can still remember the first time I actually became addicted to a Mexican soap opera - it was called "Sin Ti" (Without You). I didn't realize that unlike American soap operas that go on and on forever, Mexican soaps or "telenovelas" actually come to an end after a few months with all the loose ends getting neatly tied up. I feel kind of like that here in Ukraine these days. It has been so pleasant and challenging professionally, that I didn't really realize that time was passing so quickly.

In the "final episodes" the loose ends seem to be finding closure:

One of the teachers just received the permission she has been waiting to get from a publisher to use a textbook excerpt in her article

I just received a copy of a journal with an article I submitted for publication months ago
Teachers I haven't seen for a while have been coming by to say goodbye, leave me thank you letters, stuffed animals, and flowers

The last few boxes we shipped home (including "Quilty") that have been flying over Europe for weeks have found their way to my mom's house
I gave my last interview to TESOL-Ukraine for inclusion in their newsletter
My friends from Dnipropetrovsk just happened to to be in town for my last workshop and I was able to spend time with them
Our two favorite channels on the satellite just went ka-put

I finally the found the perfect Ukrainian souvenir I have been searching for for my mom
I had a wonderful farewell party in which teachers sang, they shared teaching ideas, we had a raffle, people made speeches, drank champagne, and I got lots of sweet gifts.

Tomorrow morning early early we will fly out of Kyiv. Everyone asks me, "When are you coming back?" It is hard to say that I have a full-time job back in the States with both a Fall and Spring timetable already scheduled; I even know that I will be teaching Advanced and High-Intermediate students. But I always add that you never know . . . I will make every effort to stay a world citizen even though I'll be living in America.

On one last note, speaking of closure, the Ukrainian Observer, an English language magazine published here came out with a funny short piece called "Only in America." It made me laugh (and cry a little too!) to read it while I thought about once again having the things I haven't missed at all for the last year: a car, a clothes-dryer, an oven, a bathtub, a dishwasher, a disposal, and a mail-box full of catalogs.

I'll post again once I get home. . . stay tuned for impressions of my return!

Back in the USSR

2007-06-19T11:07:00.000-06:00

OK, we're not really in the Soviet Union, but so much of what we are seeing in Crimea is a throw-back to the old days. Some of the street vendors tell the prices in "rubles" (they don't use them here in Ukraine anymore!!). We are staying in a beach town called Alushta which is just up the coast from Yalta (where we were in December). The water is pretty and fresh (Black Sea) and the beach, although a bit rocky (smooth small rocks not jagged ones), is full of tourists. There is a strong Russian vibe with many ethnic Russian people and not much of any traditional Ukrainian feel. Not to mention, "CCCP" items are all-the-rage (that is USSR stuff) and you can find the "CCCP Disco", "CCCP ice cream", "CCCP t-shirts". CCCP standing for United Soviet Socialist Republics, by the way. You don't see these things in Kyiv and definitely not Western Ukraine!

We are staying in a type of resort called a "sanitorium" (yet another one of those words that doesn't get translated when people speak English). It's actually 'sanitoriya' in Russian and they are all over the coast of Crimea. The particulary one we are staying in was the "sanitorium" for the Soviet Army when they needed to 'take a rest'. It consists of leafy grounds with a guard that checks you in and out of the gate (making sure you are wearing a shirt on the sanitorium grounds if you are a woman!), many square concrete buildings with motel or dormitory-style rooms (the buildings are called "corpus" - we happen to be staying in "corpus one" - check out the view from our 6th floor balcony), and 'activities' and 'services' availabe like tennis, ping pong, billiards, massages, and cafeteria. Some great examples of the "socialist realism" manifest themselves in the fountains, sculptures, and architecture. It is directly uphill from the beach, so although our view is pretty, we get quite a workout coming back to the room. The classroom I train in is on-site (also quite a downhill incline from our "corpus").

We have been to the beach, each sanitorium having a special entry to the beach. We can walk about 15 minutes down the hill through the grounds and reach the "beach" that "belongs" to our sanitorium. We have to show our 'cards' and they let us hang out on the beach. It actually has chairs to lie on, and I bought a raft to float around. Not any surf as it is a sea, so we have just been trying to soak up a few rays. We are at a high latitude, something like Calgary, Canada, so no one tends to get burned that quickly or severely.

There is a boardwalk that reminds me of Coney Island (even though I've never been there!). They have booths with games, peanuts, beer, bacon-flavored popcorn, and the same street food I grew to love in Luhansk. There are people everywhere paying for novelty pictures with a racoon, in Catherine-the-Great costumes, with monkeys, eagles, and even two Black men dressed a natives. Quite an interesting time warp feeling.

The Summer Institute on Academic Writing is going well; the participants are great. We are going out for a group (30 participants) get together for ice cream and wine. It should be fun. The last day is tomorrow - off to Kyiv on Saturday. Our final days in Ukraine are approaching!

Socialist Realism

2007-06-10T07:09:00.000-06:00

The trip to Luhansk, where the 8th Annual Amercian Studies Institute was held, was great. I got back last night after a week-long training that hosted teachers from throughout Ukraine. I saw many familiar faces among the participants as active teachers tend to apply for as many programs as they can. Luhansk looked much different than it did in February, and the weather was wonderfully warm. I took long walks every morning before the seminars started and took lots of pictures of the "Socialist Realism" that is so much a part of this area.

Socialist Realism was the style of art approved by the Soviet Union to "futher the goals of socialism and communisim" according to Wikipedia. It is prevalent in Luhansk and most statues of old-style "heroes" such as Lenin are stil standing. It may be because the area was very active in WWII and maybe people are proud of their history. The people are pretty friendly and I, surprisingly, found a few strangers who spoke English. One girl, who sold me a phone card, helped me put the minutes on the phone and explained how I can do it myself in the future!

The street food in Luhansk is yummy. They have little huts around town called "Blinok" where you can get crepes filled with anything from chicken and cheese to strawberries and chocolate. They also have "Cheburek" and "Pirozhki" which are fried bread-like snacks filled with cheese, sausage, potatoes, or liver. I didn't try the liver one, but the cheese ones are delicious (if you are sure not to get the sweet cheese, but the "sirom").

The plane we took was much bigger and better than the tiny one we took back in February. The difference was that we flew into Donetsk, another city in the east, and then hired a car to drive us to Luhansk. It was much quicker than taking the train, and the plane inspired much more confidence; also, the flight schedule was much more reasonable. On the way back to Donetsk after the institute, we took a detour to one of the famous monsasteries. The tour was very quick, but the location was so picturesque with the church situated on a cliff overlooking the river.

Now, I'm back in Kyiv, happy to see Joe again, and ready to fly out again next weekend to Crimea to co-teach a week-long Academic Writing Institute. Did I mention that Crimea is on the Black Sea and our classes finish by 1pm? Splash!

"Dacha" road, take me home...

2007-06-02T08:06:00.000-06:00

OK, so I'm trying to be clever with a song title again... but the main themes here are "dacha", a word meaning 'summer home' which is another one of those words that is not translated when people speak English, and countryside.

A couple teachers recently took Joe and me on an outing to an outdoor museum on the outskirts of Kyiv. It was very open and peaceful with representative cottages from the different regions of Ukraine. We saw some singers perform folks songs . . . incredible costumes and faces reflecting hard lives and many changes over the years. Also, after one of our friends told the potter that I was a guest from America, I suddenly became the apprentice for a sort of demonstration. I was asked to don a traditional straw hat and change into a Ukrainian blouse . . . very authentic! So after I made my candlestick holder, Mr. Potter (yes Harry has made his way to this part of the world and so has Jennifer Lopez which makes for inter-cultural joke opportunities), showed me a photo of himself hobnobbing with the current president, Viktor Yushenko (a.k.a. Viktor-West). I didn't know I ran in such hip circles...

The next day, Lilia, a Ukrainian friend who works at the US Embassy and helps me a ton professionally, invited us to her "dacha." We got to meet her sister and brother-in-law and charming Vitya, short for Viktor. He was such a cutie! He loves leaving Kyiv for the weekend and playing at the "dacha", rolling around on the grass, watching dad make shashleek (ka-bobs), running through the garden sprinkler, and pretending to drive the car (he even shifts). He is only four years old... but oh-so-clever. We even read a book together with him helping me with my Russian and me asking questions in English. It was so beautiful in the countryside which was less than an hour outside of Kyiv.

Tomorrow I'm headed to the far east... the same place I went in February, Luhansk. The event is a week-long training on American Studies. I'll be joined by Fulbrighters and embassy folk. . . . I'll present on organizing U.S.-style moderated discussions and integrating U.S.-style communication strategies into English language classrooms.

Dog Days of Summer?

2007-05-27T08:39:00.000-06:00

It may not be summer yet, but this heat wave has got everyone out in force with very few clothes on. Yesterday I went to the "island" which lies directly across the river from our apartment. You can get there on foot by crossing a footbridge which spans the river. On the other side is a beach... yes, a beach! I have heard some say that it is far too dirty to swim, but I saw quite a few bathing in the water. Someone told us today that they use the "frog test". If you see a live frog, then it's safe to go in the water. We saw both a live and a dead one. I spent time on the island with a Ukainian friend sketching foresty things. Inland from the "beach" are lots of trees and benches where one can have a picnic. It was charming to look at, but the weather was muggy and hot. This heat wave brought the temperature up to 95 degrees today! Most people don't think of high temperatures when they think of Kyiv. We have finally gotten rid of the mosquitoes by getting a fan allowing us to close the windows at night. Joe says he "is in heaven" (relatively speaking, of course).

The dogs are out too. Kyiv happens to have the healthiest stray population I have ever seen. Most of them are pretty fit looking and not afraid of humans. I think people treat them better than in most countries. I have never seen them be aggressive either. However, recently there was an article in the Kyiv post that says that animal control is not organized or even existant here. When we got home today from an outing, one guy (this time I mean a dog - although in the past it has been a wino) was sprawled on the concrete first-floor level of the stairwell. He looked up from the darkness blinking as we climbed up to our second-floor flat. They are pretty-darned cute, smart, and full of personality. We have even seen packs that regulary hang out together. Cesar Millan was right!

Dnipropetrovsk: Secret City

2007-05-19T06:52:00.001-06:00

OK, Let's talk about the "secret city" that foreigners were not allowed anywhere near until 1989... this is where the Soviet Space Center was located which was very closely guarded. Now, in the same building, the Ukrainians are working on a project called "Sea Launch" ("A project not for war, but for peace," one of the teachers told us.) Dnipropetrovsk (Duh-NEE-pro-pe-TROVSK), the main city of the oblast of the same name and third biggest city in Ukraine, has a history of industry and manufacturing. The banks of the Dnipro River - a more southern part of the same river we live near - provide for a striking night view with lights and factories on the other side.

I presented at "Secondary School #22", which includes K-12 here; the term "primary school" doesn't exist for some reason. I guess its because all school kids are in the same building. Well the teachers that attended my workshops were not only from that school, but from schools up to an hour away. They were a great audience and did all the "interaction" in a very warm room without a complaint. In fact, it got up to almost 90 degrees fahrenheit that day! In Kyiv right now it is in the 80's. Talk about a heat wave . . . we have no A/C in our apartment.

The 300-mile train trip was pleasant and allowed us to see the landscape and farmland southeast of Kyiv. Dnipropetrovsk still maintains a strong Russian influence with everyone speaking Russian, Soviet monuments still prominantly displayed, and tanks and military equipment in the parks. I caught a few youths conversing on a "mortar". They had started to move away after I said (in good Russian) "Mozhna Fotagrafiravat?". Then, they lit up when I garbled (in bad Russian) that I wanted to take a picture of 'them', not the 'mortar'. An unusually striking site in Dnipropetrovsk was a collection of 11th century statues that had been unearthed in different parts of Ukraine and brought to a kind of small park near the National History Museum. It felt very special there even though it was right in the center of town; people didn't seem to know if this "monument" even had a name or not... The figures looked very 'proud' and 'happy' to be on display. I really liked that place and haven't seen anything like it anywhere else.

Now, back in Kyiv, we are sweating. The heat wave is supposed to break on Thursday. Hope so. The sun comes up at 5am and sets at 8:40pm (remember back in December when it set around 4pm?). I guess our latitude causes the days to get really long and really short depending on the season.

Cigarettes and the Red Army

2007-05-11T11:28:00.000-06:00

Hmmm... cigarettes. No I don't smoke and neither does Joe, but we'll get to that. Now, safely back in Ukraine, I can mention that, while in Poland we did partake of the holy creme cake (pronounced kremkova). I've added a picture at the end of my previous blog entry of the famed "Pope's favorite bakery."

Also, on our trip we witnessed a cigarette smuggling scheme that was pretty crazy. I failed to mention earlier that while walking (quickly) across the Ukrainian-Polish border, we saw hundreds of abandoned cartons of L&M cigarettes. In addition, we saw young men taping cigarette packs to their legs, around their stomachs, up their sleeves, and in their crotches (well, I'm not sure if they used tape there). Anyhow, it was pretty obvious, and we hustled past the hustlers who were literally "gearing up" in the outdoor passage way from the Ukrainian check point to the Polish one. You can legally take one carton through. So, each one of the "guys" dutifully carried their "allowed" carton openly. When we got to the Polish checkpoint, they were asked how many cartons they had. They said, "one"; that was it! I guess it would be too much trouble to shake down each and every one of these guys. Appparently, Ukrainian cigs are way cheaper than the Polish ones.

Not to mention that coming back to Ukraine involves a long layover at the border . . . while we waited, what looked like a workman climbed over our train seats (I thought he was replacing a burned out light), opened overhead compartments and heating? vents shoving some kind of cartons into them. Now wait... this time we were headed for Ukraine... where the cigarettes are cheaper, right? Well, the next step involved the train actually being checked by Polish "officials" who didn't find anything. Then we took off. A woman in front of us hurriedly dismantled her "table" and must have pulled out some ciggie cartons. The climbing man hurried back and pulled the cartons out of the ducts... then everyone proceeded to quickly put them into plastic bags and throw them off the train where other young men were waiting in the weeds. The only thing we can figure is that the cigs came into Poland on the train then stayed on the train until the "operatives" could board and rid the train of the "goods" before reaching Ukraine. I had never heard of "Ma Barker", but after Joe explained why he was calling the lady in front of us that, I thought it was perfect! Before reaching the actually border checkpoint in Ukraine, "Ma" had dutifully reassembled her train "table" with the screw driver and duct tape she had brought along. While officials were checking her passport, she was cool as a cucumber.

Now onto the Red Army in Kyiv ... Wednesday was "Victory Day" when Ukraine celebrates the Red Army's participation in the end of World War II. They were the first to get to Auschwitz and officially liberate the prisoners there. On the tour we took in Poland, we learned that at that point, most of the prisoners were so weak that they had to be kept at the "death camps" while medical aid was sent in to help them get healthy enough to leave.

We walked around town looking for parades ... any kind of ceremony. It was a rainy day and we didn't find much but a few veterans carrying flowers and visiting war memorials. While in the park in central Kyiv, we also saw where the demonstrators hang out in hundreds of little tents. Each political party has its own area and surrounding posters and representive flags. The area with the "red flags" has members of the party that has recently formed a coalition with Viktor-East, hence the poster of Julia and Viktor-West carving up Ukraine (into East and West). "Why can't we all just be one happy county under communism?" is what I think they're trying to say.

Pilgrimage to Poland

2007-05-01T08:14:00.003-06:00

We are in Poland right now - Krakow to be exact - where we are spending our May Day holidays. The trip here has truly been a pilgrimage of sorts: We started in Kyiv on Friday where we caught a train out to Lviv in western Ukraine. We spent the night. The next morning we spent about 2.5 hours taking a "mashrutka" ride out to the Ukrainian border at which time we had to walk across the border to Poland. Sounds easy, eh? My only 'border walking' experience having been between El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico, I was not prepared for what we saw. No less than 350 people were waiting in a long long crowd-like line to pass through the customs checkpoint. Our hearts sank. The Lady was waiting ... who is The Lady you ask?

Well a little over a year ago, I finished a copy of DaVinci's Lady with Ermine. It had been an assignment to copy an old master for a painting class; I came to be obsessed with the painting spending many many hours staring at it and trying to get a good likeness (see photo). When we moved to this part of the world, one of our goals was to go see the original which just happens to be in ... Krakow!

I marched to the front of the "border" line where a guard told me to go to the back of the huge crowd. I asked him if I could just go to the front for a "minutechku"... Joe waited behind. I went straight through a door where I saw a tall official-looking Ukrainian customs guy in a blue military-style suit. I said, "I need to go to Poland." He said, "Passport?" I said, "OK, here" (in my best American accent while waving to Joe to come forth and join me!). The official said, "Oh, America." Then escorted me and Joe to the front of the line - talk about queue-jumping! It was truly divine intervention that had pushed me to pull that stunt and get away with it. Needless to say, we will take the train back across the border the next time through.

So, during our first day in Krakow, we saw the amazing original version of the painting. It was captivating drawing commentary and long gazes from each tourist that entered the room in which it stands alone. The museum itself was very good, but it was hard to concentrate after seeing The Lady. The funniest thing was that I felt some incredible sense of attachment to it, like it was really mine or something. Like I wanted to tell the people around me, "I did a pretty good job, didn't I?" It was surreal.

Krakow is really a fun city with a great old town, amazing architecture, and a very tourist-friendly atmosphere. Almost everyone speaks some English... because tourism is rather new here, no one seems jaded or bothered by the throngs of foreigners visiting. We have been enjoying the coffee shops, flea markets, and reasonably-priced Polish cuisine.

We spend the whole day yesterday at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the site where up to 1.5 million people were killed during WWII. I hadn't originally wanted to go thinking that it would be so depressing. However, we decided to go, and we are glad we went. The two sites, Auschwitz and Birkenau, are well-organized for tourists and we took a 3 1/2 hour English speaking tour. I have heard about this site my whole life, especially while in junior high school. The tour was very professional, and the most astounding thing was the magnitude of how many people were put to death by the Nazis in such an innocent-looking area with green grass and big trees. The dormitory buildings at Auschwitz now house museum-like displays, or rooms rather, full of prisoners' shoes, shaving brushes, clothing, and other personal items. It was very sad, but it was done in a way that seemed respectful of those who died. Tourists are not allowed to take pictures inside most of the dormitories and the gas chambers - which we were actually able to enter and see the adjoining crematoriums. Joe took an eerie photograph of the gate at the entrance to the Auschwitz camp, reading "Arbeit Macht Frei", which means "Work Brings Freedom" - truly ironic considering no matter how hard people worked in the camps, they usually lived no more than 2 or 3 months.

Tomorrow we are headed for a small village outside Krakow which just happens to be the birthplace of John Paul II, the pope who recently died. Maybe we will be able to wade through the pilgrims to get a piece of JP's favorite cream cake, served at a local bakery there.

Cherkasy Oblast

2007-04-25T10:34:00.001-06:00

What could be more cute than to have these kids present you with traditional Ukrainian bread? This was my welcome to the village of Chornobai in Cherkasy Oblast. It's about three hours from Kyiv via a combination of metro, "mashrutka" (a type of mini-bus that picks people up at designated stops), and car. I conducted a workshop on interactive methods of teaching polite phrases with a group of about 32 teachers from both Chornobai and smaller outlying villages.

As village teachers often do not have a lot of contact with foreigners and have varying levels of English, they can be a bit afraid of attending workshops. At the beginning of my workshop, I announced that it would take about 90 minutes. A handful of teachers immediately announced in Ukrainian that the last bus was leaving in an hour. I assured them, in English, that they could leave early if they needed to. Well, we moved into a circle for the first "get-to-know-you" activity and threw a teddy bear (well it's really a stuffed dog) around, "Nice to meet you; nice to meet you too" as many of the teachers had neve met each other. We moved to a dictation activity, and then a pair-work speaking actiity.... well 11 o'clock rolled around and I asked, "Does anyone have to leave now?" No one moved a muscle. All the teachers who had said they needed to leave early stayed till the last group-activity and then excused themselves thanking me. I asked the organizer how they were going to get back to their villages considering they had missed the bus. She said, "They will hitchhike along the road." Wow, I felt honored that they had stayed and enjoyed themselves enough to hitchhike back home! They had even used a phrase we had practiced during the workshop, "I'm sorry I have to go."

I also was treated to meeting the 7 and 8-year-olds, university students, the flute-playing ensemble, and the organizer's daughter-in-law and grandchildren. While at the school, I had asked why the older girls at the school were dressed up in such fanciful clothes (school play? celebration? dance?), I was told that this "uniform" (the boys wear suits) is the one that 10 and 11th grade girls choose to wear to school. Apparently, these particular uniforms are modeled after the ones worn in the 1960's. My Ukrainian colleagues concurred that they used to wear uniforms just like these back when they were in school.

Khmelnytsky Oblast

2007-04-17T14:10:00.000-06:00

What is an "oblast" (pronounced OH-blahst)? Well it means region in Ukraine. As they don't have a direct translation, people usually use it when they speak English as well as Ukrainian. So we visited two cities in this western oblast. The namesake of the region, Khmelnytsky, is a small city that seemed quite pleasant and friendly, but is recognized only for having one of the largest flea markets. I presented at the department of Business Foreign Languages there. Down the road a ways, in the same oblast, is the much more famous and touristed Kamyanets-Podilsky with it's larger than life picturesque fortress dating from the 16th century (rebuilt from a 10th century structure). I took this photo with a digital camera! That's how beautiful it is!!! Really!

The train from Kyiv to Khmelnytsky takes 4-and-a-half hours, then you take a bus for 2-and-a-half more hours to Kamyanets-Podilsky - land of the charming 'old town' and castle. There is a 'new town' connected to the 'old town' that is much like an ordinary Ukrainian town with shops (see the clerk with her abacus... you do know how to use one, don't you?), industry, traffic, and people going to work. Our hotel was in the 'old town' which seems to be under restoration as much of it was destroyed in WWII. It will be a lovely historical area when they are finished. I presented at a Pedagogical University in the 'new town'- very active audience! Afterwards, one of the student-participants led us on a tour of the 'old town' and fortress. For one hryvnia (local currency) Joe and the "Cossack" tried to see who could get a bulls-eye... guess who got close? Right, that would be Joe (he's the one in the foreground).

As for my health, if you were wondering, my doctor called me while I was there to report that my blood test showed that I have 'mono'. Hmmmm. We are going to get a second opinion because I actually feel much better. Now, back in Kyiv, Joe's the one 'under the weather' with a severe head cold. He's keeping the Thera-Flu coming!

To conclude, I am currently in the midst of the busiest period in my professional life yet! Having just returned from giving workshops out-of-town, I will give two seminars on "How to Teach Business Writing", travel to a small village on Friday to talk about "How to Teach Polite Phrases", TESOL-Ukraine will be held over the weekend (two more presentations), and Monday I'll head to the Aviation University for a workshop on "Moderated Discussions in US Universities". Yikes!

Circus on Water

2007-04-10T08:32:00.000-06:00

"цирк на водI" (pronunciation= tsirk na vodi) means "Circus on Water" - and that's just what we saw last week. Everyone knows that the circus is a big deal around these parts, not to mention the 'Moscow Circus'. This year it was an extravaganza on water, actually a type of shallow circular pool. The retro nature of the main building, the live musicians in the bandstand, cotton candy, and coat check rooms took me way back (to even before I was born, maybe). I really didn't know what to expect... but I was hoping they weren't going to torture animals. To Joe and my surprise, the acts were very choreography-based with dancers and contortionists in the most outrageously creative costumes I'd ever seen. Cirque de Soleil - eat your heart out! There were a few animal acts with small dogs and seals, and one with some giant snakes and an alligator. But overall, it was not your standard-issue circus. Quite the unusual experience.

The "Circus in the Street" continues with no news on the political meltdown yet. Foreign mediators are supposed to step in. Although I see pictures of all the demonstrators, and we actually saw a few "cheaters" demonstrating during the Easter weekend (they were officially supposed to take the day off)... the whole ordeal isn't affecting us much. I had two groups of teachers "graduate" from different training courses, one even on Good Friday, and not one teacher was missing or late. Crazy! Even a revolution can't keep them away. I guess it makes me feel good... However, my regular walking path has recently been packed with about a hundred huge buses that have bussed villagers to the center to demonstrate on behalf of this side or that. It is 'rumored' that they were paid 20 USD each to jump on the bus, come to Kyiv, and wave a flag around. Lucrative, considering what they usually make. Honest... well that's another question.

On Thursday, bright and early, we are headed for the Western part of Ukraine again. This time we are off to Kamyanets-Podilsky and Khmelnytsky (they are very near each other). I'll give two workshops in each town. I am looking forward to it (day train, of course)... now if I could just shake this stubborn sore throat I've been having... time to pop another anti-biotic, Claritin, and Strep-cil.

He did it!

2007-04-02T22:44:00.001-06:00

We just woke up this morning to read that Viktor-West decided to dissolve Parliament. Viktor-East is challenging the decision which will be taken to the Constitutional Court. What will it mean? See Time article for more info.

A Tale of Three Politicians

2007-04-02T05:46:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time in Ukraine, there was a lovely golden-haired woman named Yulia who chose to wear her hair up in a twisted braid, much like Princess Leia. There was a man named Viktor and another man named Viktor. We shall call them Viktor-West and Viktor-East. Viktor-West liked the United States and Europe. Viktor-East preferred Russian ways and customs.

Well, all of these people somehow ended up on the same playground. Viktor-West decided that he would run for President; Viktor-East also decided to run for President. Before the vote, Viktor-West started to look awful – something was happening to his face and skin. Lo-and-behold he found out that someone was poisoning him. Not a moment too soon, he got medical treatment and started to recover.

Viktor-West managed to recover well enough to continue to run against Viktor-East in the Presidential Election, and the people voted. Viktor-East won… or did he? Some people said, “Wait this election was rigged, crooked, unfair. We are going to demonstrate because we want to have a re-vote.” Our friend, Yulia , was one of the leaders of this Orange Revolution and everyone wore Orange and waved Orange flags. Well, the people were allowed to re-vote. Viktor-West was the winner this time and became the President. There was a lot of speculation about who poisoned him. This crime is still unsolved. After a while, the Parliament appointed Yulia as Prime Minister. Something happened, and at some point, Yulia was dismissed from her position.

That left the Prime Minister’s position open and guess who was appointed by the Parliament? Viktor-East. So now, Viktor-West works with Viktor-East as the leaders of Ukraine. Yulia started her own political party, visited the U.S., and got lots of attention for being pretty and pro-Western.

Now there are demonstrations of tens of thousands of people. On Sunday, the Chicago Tribune reported that 70,000 had gathered Saturday in “Independence Square” in the heart of downtown. Each party is represented. The fuss? Well, Viktor-West has the power to dissolve the parliament which would allow people to re-elect the officials, thus making Viktor-East's position precarious. Viktor-West says he’s serious this time… we’ll see what happens. For many, this is the time Ukraine will decide whether it will embrace the values of the “East” or the “West”.
Photos of Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yanukovych courtesy of Wikipedia
Photo of Viktor Yushenko courtesy of WorldPress.org

«Почта»

2007-03-26T08:46:00.000-06:00

Автор: Дженнифер
Мне очень нравится почта на Подоле в Киеве. Она не очень далеко от моего дома. Мне можно гулять там. Я посылаю откритки, письма, и посылки от туда. Я тоже покупаю марки и иногда я посылаю подарки. Например, когда у кого-то из моей семы или у друга ден рождения, я могу купить что-то и послать. Девушка там мне помагает когда я посылаю посылки в Америку. Она мне даёт листок бумага для адреса и мне продаёт ящик. Больше всего, я люблю почту потому что я покупаю марки. Можно купить только одну или много. Я всегда покупаю только одну или две. Я не покупаю конверты на почте. Я предпочетаю купить их в магазине. Один час в день, почта закрыта на обед. Но она открыта ежедневно кроме не воскресенья.
*********************
This is my first (very short) essay in Russian - really! See my tutor, Nina, holding my precious work after her corrections. Can you guess what it is about? Below you will find my translation:

"The Post Office"

Author: Jennifer

I really like the post office in Podil (my neighborhood) in Kyiv. It's not very far from my home. I can walk there. I send postcards, letters, and parcels from there. I also buy stamps and sometimes I send gifts. For example, when someone in my family or a friend has a birthday, I can buy something and send it. A woman there helps me when I send parcels to America. She gives me the piece of paper for the address and sells me a box. Most of all, I like the post office because I buy stamps. You can buy only one or many. I always buy only one or two. I don't buy envelopes at the post office. I prefer to buy them at a store. One hour a day, the post office is closed for lunch. But it is open every day except Sunday.

Mite-y Hospitable

2007-03-19T13:03:00.001-06:00

OK, there's a double "entendre" in the title (gosh, I wish I could say that in Russian, or even Ukrainian for that matter)... so hold tight and it will be worth it. So, we are back from the 'way out west' and it was truly a 'red carpet' welcome. The teachers from the pedagogical university barely let us out of their sight not only organizing a great room for my presentations, but inviting us to a birthday bash (see feast photo), but also escorting us on excursions (in a van!) which included a trip to "Pochayiv Monastery" near "Kremenets" and the small town of "Zbarazh".

The main city of Ternopil is a great hideaway with a lot of potential for someone wanting to get away, be an artist, or just relax. There is a really picturesque church in the center, a lake, and many old buildings crying out for renovation. The first outing was to a famous monastery, about 90 minutes from Ternopil, called Pochayiv. It is Russian Orthodox in the middle of 'very Ukrainian' western Ukraine, however there are famous relics that people come from miles around to see... and bow over... and kiss. The first of these relics is an imprint of Mary's (yes, that Mary) foot. It was apparently found in the mountains, a cast was made and brought to the church. Also, there is a mummified saint (his hand is left out during a certain period for touching, but we were too late) , and a "miracle icon" of the Virgin and Child. It was a more intense experience than we anticipated.

First of all, Joe (knowing that men's heads are NOT to be covered and women's heads ARE to be covered) forgot to take of his knit cap as we were entering one of the churches. A man from across the floor ran toward him saying "something something shopka" reaching for his head. To quote Joe, "his cat-like reflexes" went into action whipping off his own cap before the "devotee" was able to. Not to mention, that before entering I had seen a woman who had just fainted. She was skinny as a rail with a green-blue tinge to her skin. I was really worried that she was, in fact, dying. I called someone to go back outside with me to call someone. But the woman that had been slapping her and throwing water in her face had managed to revive her. Whew... Well, the adventure continued with the monk who was skeptical about selling me holy water (you can buy it in plastic bottles with a souvenir label) and asked if I had been baptized. He finally accepted my 85 cents and sent me on my way. After our church visit, we were treated to, yes, more food at a charming restaurant in the small town of Kremenets.

On our second day, our guides (again, teachers from the university) were eager to treat us to a castle tour. It was great as this castle, in Zbarazh, is also a historical musuem - with many colorful textiles from the region. We then ate delicious wholesome food at a Garden Restaurant. The girls made sure we had souvenirs of Ternopil such as a hardback picture book and a flyer from the famous restaurant (which, I forgot to mention, was owned by the adjoining sugar beet factory). All the teachers met us at the train station to bid us farewell. It was very sweet. I was ready to get back to Kyiv and get back into our routine. But I didn't count on the dust mites.

Well, to make a long story short. We made our beds with the fresh sheets and pillow cases provided (actually the 2 dollar fee had been included in our train ticket price). We fell asleep in our tiny compartment (usually sleeping four, but we had paid for the whole compartment). This is a feat considering that these trains are pretty old, rickety, squeaky, bumpy, well ... you name it. At least they are dark and affordable. In the middle of the night I felt like I couldn't breathe very well. I didn't know what to think so lay very still hoping the pressure in my chest would go away. In the morning, breathing was ever-so-painful and I couldn't breathe deeply at all. I have never had asthma before... but I just know that's what I was experiencing.

When we got back to our apartment, Joe researched on the Internet and we were able to find out that many people are allergic to dust mites that live in "bedding and pillows". According to the Mayo Clinic Website: "Too small to see with the naked eye, dust mites thrive in warm, humid environments — eating dead skin cells and nesting in dust-collecting bedding, fabric, carpet and furnishings." Wikipedia goes on to say, "The... dust mite's partially digested food, and fecal matter, is one of the most significant sources of allergens, implicated in allergic asthma."

Now, two days later, I am starting to feel a bit better; it's easier to breathe and I don't feel so much pain in my lungs. I am happy to know what it was (see evil mite photo on Wikipedia)! I said it would be worth it (reference suspicious looking pillow in the photo). Now, I hope you get the title. Till we meet again...

Go West!

2007-03-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

"Elope, Peter with Natalka" A folk painting by Fedir Pohorilyj
We will be heading by all night train to Ternopil (out west) next week. I'm going to give presentations on "How to Teach Presentation Skills" and "Error Correction: Breaking Bad Habits without Breaking Spirits". I can't help but think that it will look much like the folk art of the traditional Ukrainian folk tales out there. We will see. Apparently, the organizers are planning a trip around the area by car. Wow! a car! I can count the times I've been in a car (it's usually a taxi and the total is about 5) since I arrived here last September.

Anyhow, I'll leave you with a video of the Pet Shop Boys doing "Go West", a song that came out when we lived in Bulgaria (the first time we lived in Eastern Europe).

Marching On . . .

2007-03-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

It's raining outside, not snowing. It also got up to 47 degrees today (Fahrenheit)! Is spring really here? Oddly, this time of year brings a "quarantine" of school age youth, which in turn, brings a sort of vacation for teachers. Let me explain the best I can... when the medical clinics have come to the conclusion that 30-50 % of the school age youth have the flu, the Health Minister is informed and the schools close down for a two-and-a-half-week quarantine. One teacher told me that although kids don't attend school (all classes are cancelled), teachers show up to "do planning and drink tea." I guess that may be one of the reasons that my workshops had high attendance and new faces this past week - teachers were free from some of their usual responsibilities. Apparently, some 'higher-up' has determined that the flu epidemic quarantine will be lifted next week... which conveniently dove-tails into Women's Day which is next Thursday (day off). So why go to work next week at all? I'm giving a presentation to Pre-Service teachers at the Pedagogical University on Tuesday, so we'll see how many 'students' show up.

And now for a bit of "shop talk" - something I try not to do too much of since my life is practically conSUMED by it! I started teaching a seminar course (every Thursday morning over the next 6 weeks) at the US Embassy. The topic is: Publishing & Presenting in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). The first day went great, and I love the group of teachers! They have great ideas, brought me flowers, and are very eager. We talked about submitting articles and presentation proposals, plagiarism, and teachers did demos of pre-writing, including free-writing, techniques - something they had never done but loved! Since we will meet only once a week, and a few of the teachers come from outside of Kyiv, I created an online community on a free website through www.nicenet.org
It's extremely cool and teachers can self enroll, make their own password, etc. It is very low tech, but that only works better for us as some of the computers can be quite slow. So we'll see if we can actually stimulate all to join and discuss online. I can also post homework and summaries of sessions on the webpage. I'm looking forward to my first experience conducting some distance education in conjunction with our traditional classroom activities.

Well, that's about it for now. до свидания! (dah-svidanya): Goodbye!

The Day of "The Defenders of the Motherland"

2007-02-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

Well we made it to Luhansk and back... while there we learned from our new friend and seminar participant, Arteyom, that today was "Defenders of the Motherland Day", formerly "Soviet Army Day". Apparently, it's like father's day except that all men receive presents from their mom's and wives or girlfriends. Considering we took a photo by a tank while on a short tour of the city center, I thought it would be appropriate!

The teachers were great and all workshops went well. It helps that the people in Luhansk are quite friendly. As Joe said, "If Kyiv is New York City, Luhansk is like Allentown, Pennsylvania". Meaning it is more industrial, not as glamorous, but with un-pretentious real people. The organizer at the university, the head of the Philology Department, arranged a few tours on the univesity campus. On the first day, we visited the Science Department and got a tour of the animal museum. Not only was our guide, Sergiy, an actual scientist and professional taxidermist, but we also got to see all the animals native to Ukraine. Bats, birds, giant prairie dogs, foxes, weasels, deer, and giant boars. Admittedly, seeing the animals "live" is always best, but I have to say the collection and his passion for it was impressive. When asked which were his favorites, Sergiy said, "the scavengers" (the organizer translated it from Russian for me!).

Another treat was a trip to the campus observatory. We saw some old telescopes, one giant one that is actually part of an observatory. We climbed through a narrow and ever-so-steep staircase to see where they "observe the stars and planets" 35 days a year - the number of days the weather is clear enough for viewing. Then we went to a mini-planetarium where the lady (actually a lecturer in Astronomy) turned out the lights and pointed out constellation after constellation with a laser pointer. All I could see was black... maybe a few stars after about 10 minutes, but we enjoyed the retro presentation.

Speaking of retro, while in Luhansk I happened to run into my workout pal Cindy. Just thought I'd throw that in there. So the 35-seater plane took us safely to the Russian border and back. It was an experience, not to mention we endured the "coldest day of the year" so far- 5 degrees Fahrenheit and minus 10 wind chill. Brrrrr!

Chornobyl and Churches

2007-02-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

Ukraine is full of really beautiful things... and some tragic stories. The small but arty Chornobyl (Chernobyl) Museum is in our neighborhood, and we recently got around to seeing it. Although most of the text was in Russian and/or Ukrainian, it was very moving. You could see hundreds of pictures of what looked like plant workers, and other walls full of children's pictures. We could only imagine what all those head-shots (looking like school photos) could mean. Hundreds of names of villages that just don't exist anymore were hanging from the ceiling. Very eerie. According to wikipedia, the Chornobyl disaster "was an accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26, 1986 at 01:23 a.m., consisting of an explosion at the plant and subsequent radioactive contamination of the surrounding geographic area." The accident was not released by the Soviet government for some time, so the real effects are still unknown. Apparently, there was not systematic study of what the radiation actually did to people. We've talked with some people who were students at the time. They were in Kyiv, and while many people left, they stayed. They say they didn't suffer any ill effects except severe sore throats for months.

As an aside, we couldn't find the museum right off. I asked a guy in Russian if he knew where it was. He said he didn't know (in Russian, of course) - another older man on the street must've overheard because he said "I know" (again, in Russian, of course). At which point, I was obligated to try to understand his explanation. Luckily it wasn't hard, "Go strait, turn right, go 50 meters, and it's on the right." We found it! Damn, I'm fluent!

On other outings, we have visited some amazing churches (disclaimer: most of these pictures were taken in warmer months and all are orthodox churches). One is viewable from my university, and others are easy to walk to. The religion is Eastern Orthodox, which split from the catholic church some 1500 years ago. I've been inside some of them... lots of candles and colorful saints and holy water. If you are a woman, you're supposed to wear a head scarf. I'm not sure how they are different from Catholics - I just know that they are. One thing I noticed is that they do the 'sign of the cross' the opposite way I learned in church school. I noticed as it was always hard for me to remember: top, right, left, center (or is it left right?). Anyhow, we learned to reach first.

To my surprise American and other English speaking evangelicals have made a mark here. Many Ukrainians go to non-denominational churches headed up by Americans, Australians, and other imports. Some of the churches offer "free English classes" and "conversation practice with native speakers" (and bible classes). I have been invited 'to church' on about 4 or 5 different occasions. My first question is always, "Oh an Orthodox church? Is that what you mean?" and they say, "No it's a different kind of church... very interesting and not boring - they sing nice songs there." Personally, I have nothing against religion, but I believe it's extremely personal. Joe was talking to a teacher from the Eastern part of Ukraine. Apparently, a very conservative branch has started a following which forbids reading Newsweek or National Geographic as they are too liberal. Hmmmm... I'm just a reporter here, just observing. I have really never been overseas and seen people embrace something like this so wholeheartedly. It makes you think.

Speaking of Eastern Ukraine (closer to the Russian border), we have tickets to fly to Luhansk (Lugansk in Russian) on Sunday. I'll be giving a week's worth of seminars/workshops as it is a high priority area for the US Embassy. We have found a picture of the hotel on the Internet. Needless to say, it's somewhat industrial over there, and they speak almost exclusively.... Russian. Yay - I'll get to practice more. When we asked at the travel agency about flights to Luhansk, the agent said, "Oh it is very problem." I said, "What do you mean?" She said, "There is very small plane, and there is only one flight per day." She forgot to mention that there's also a beef about gas prices and flights have been cancelled left and right due to no gas for the planes. Good reason to cancel, I guess. But to make a long story short, Joe and I are both confirmed on a round trip flight. A 90-minute plane ride versus a 15-hour train ride. I guess it's worth it.

No Time for Bad Habits

2007-02-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

Kyiv has a reputation of being decadent in some ways. There are English language magazines targeting foreign businessmen advertising all kinds of fancy restaurants, discos, and casinos. Not being "rich" and not being businessmen, we don't embrace these activities. Not to mention, it's 7 degrees outside, Fahrenheit that is, with a wind chill of minus 2, how much trouble can you really get into? Finally winter is here and we are adapting to our environment. Not having a car, we have to walk everywhere, so whether or not our shoes have good tread becomes a major issue. Also, deep slushy puddles are an obstacle, so the pair of shoes that most prevents cold water from soaking your socks is favored. Although it’s chilly, we have managed to build a daily/weekly routine.

I continue to exercise in my own way. When I first got here, I discovered that gyms were way too expensive to join not to mention too far from my neighborhood. I heard about some exercise classes, but they, again, were not in a convenient location. So in desperate need of an exercise regime, I came up with this back in November last year: Walk along the river 4 mornings a week (you can see my walking path being overtaken by a car which often happens unexpectedly), and exercise with Cindy. Cindy Crawford that is… the coordinator at my Resource Center at the University gave me a copy (and I mean 'copy') of an exercise video circa 1990. The quality is not bad and neither are the exercises, but what makes this tape unique is the voiceover of a man translating all the instructions into Russian. I guess it helps me with the numbers :) in addition to making me more fit.

Speaking of Russian, or should I say speaking Russian, has become more of a reality as every Thursday evening I’m taking a Russian class. There are usually only two or three other people in the class, an American English teacher, a British lawyer, and a Portuguese manager; our teacher, Larisa, is good and she is helping me so much with Russian pronunciation (which to me is the hardest thing after learning the alphabet). When an “o” is unstressed, it sounds like an “a”, and sometimes the “g-sound” is really a “v-sound” – make sense? Anyhow, I’m feeling more confident and look forward to my trip to Luhansk (on the Russian border) later this month to try out a few of my phrases.

As for work, I’m still leading our English conversation group at the Resource Center twice a month. Also, I’m continuing with numerous training projects. Recently, I conducted workshops at the Kyiv teacher in-service training for primary and secondary school teachers. They were a lot of fun and very eager to participate in the “communicative” demonstrations. Next week I will return for two more trainigs, plus I'll be giving a workshop at the Polytechnic university, finishing up a Business Communication seminar at the Resource Center, and giving another workshop on "Error Correction". It will be a busy, but I look forward to it.

With regard to our free-time activities, I’m sad to report that “Spader” is off the air. Our Wednesday night dose of “The Practice” is no longer. However, we were treated to an excellent interview with Gene Wilder on BBC. Gene is really worth watching – he’s always been one of our favorites and we had just been wondering about him. Great interview – something I can’t imagine seeing in the U.S. due to his strong opinions that don’t agree with the current political administration. I love living overseas. I feel that I get such a better view of the world. We can even watch Al-jazeera in English on our satellite transmission. Occasionally, we go to the movies when there is an original language (not dubbed) English language film (check out the cool TEATR). Last one we saw was "Paris, Je t'aime" - interesting collection of short films depicting 20 arrondissments (sp?) in Paris.

Снег Сегодня!

2007-01-24T04:58:00.001-07:00

Snow today!

Father Frost Still Waiting for Snow

2007-01-21T05:40:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back in the Ukraine groove. On our way back through Madrid we went to the Reina Sofia Art Museum and saw "Guernica" by Picasso (1937). What a cool and huge painting that is. As we were viewing it an elementary school teacher was talking to a group of well-behaved attentive little kids about the painting. I, too, listened in trying to learn something about the painting while getting a bit of Spanish comprehension practice. She was such a great teacher and had all the kids completely rapt.

After explaining that this was a representation of a bombing, she asked, "What do the people have as tongues?"
The kids called out, "knives!"
"What shape are their eyes?"
"They are like drops of water."
"What do we call drops of water from our eyes?"
"Tears!", an eager girl called out.
"Picasso learned of this incident through the newspaper; what colors are newspaper photographs?"
"Black and white and grey!"

I really enjoyed the eavesdropping, and it made the experience much more memorable.

The vacation was a great way to clear my mind and freshen me up for the projects to come in 2007. As soon as we got back, we found that our Internet service had been disconnected for some mysterious reason. Therefore, we headed to the Internet cafe. Once in the center, to our surprise, The giant Christmas... oops, I mean, New Year's Tree was still standing tall with a grim looking Father Frost waving to the passers by. This was January 21st - what's going on! Then it dawned on me... not only had the "Old New Year" celebrated January 15 just passed, but this has been the warmest winter in 120 years (it's 32 degrees as I write and 48 over the weekend) ... everyone is still hopeful that the snow will fall. Where is it? "Eastern Europe" had a horrible storm pass through while we were in Spain - I guess Ukraine was spared.

When our Ukrainian plane landed in Kyiv, a few people clapped as the wheels hit the runway. I noticed that when we lived in Bulgaria too. When the plane lands, people clap. I had a flashback to the Spanish clapping in the streets flameno-style just as they were walking along. Just as most of us casually whistle a tune, the Spanish will clap-clap out a percussion series that makes you think they are going to break out in dance any time.

Here in Ukraine, whistling indoors is very bad luck and makes you "lose your money." Joe has gotten a few reprimands, so while on vacation he was sure to do the "whistle the happy tune" thang as much as possible. He also bought Tabasco while in Granada. We had a close call as the European airports are now doing the "regulations on liquids" thang. So, you have to put all liquids in a clear plastic bag separate from your carry on. The limit per item is 100 ml. Luckily, the Tabasco was only 60 ml, so it made it safe and sound to our kitchen. Ukrainian food is not spicy, so along with the New Mexico chile my mom sent, we should make it through June.

Well, I gave my first workshops of the year today. The topic was "How to Make a Syllabus and a Course Outline." It was really great to be back among the teachers. I presented at Kyiv Polytechnic University and had a total of 75 partipants. The more the merrier I always say!

P.S. I added some of our photos to my two Spain entries below - enjoy!

Zumo, Sí; Humo, No

2007-01-16T06:22:00.000-07:00

I can't really remember where I left off; I guess I should read my own blog and catch up with myself... but now we are in Granada, a unique blend of Spanish and Arabic language, architecture, and food! We had delicious falafels for lunch today with baklava appetizers (I know it's supposed to be the other way around). But the food has been terrific here and everywhere in Andalucia. Here it is not only good but plentiful too. Many places give the tapas away for free with a drink purchase! We didn't even have to buy dinner last night... it was "estupendo"!

The title of this entry refers to our morning quest for a bar/restaurant that offers our daily dose of fresh-squeezed orange juice - called "zumo" with the tongue slightly hissing behind the front teeth, not "jugo" as in Latin America - which is very plentiful all over Southern Spain, AND a minimal cigarette smoke quotient. It's difficult but not impossible. Some restaurants are even smoke free. It seems that now (maybe due to entrance into the E.U.), although employees like bank tellers can't smoke in their place of work like they did when we visited 7 years ago, people can have "smoking permitted" restaurants and bars if they post a sign on the door which clearly states this. Very few establishments have chosen to be "smoke free", but they do exist. We thought it was funny that establishments that don't allow dogs simply state on the door: "Perros, no"

Just to summarize, here's where we've been so far: 1) flew into Madrid; 2) train to Cordoba; 3) train to Sevilla; 4) bus to Cadiz; 5) bus to Conil (small beach town); 6) taxi to Tarifa (jumping off point to Morocco); 7) Train to Ronda (mountain town with awesome views and a great Salvador Dali exhibit); 8) Granada (where we are now).

We will head back to Madrid after a couple of days here which will include seeing La Alhambra... more news soon! Hasta pronto...

¡Vacaciones!

2007-01-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

Hola! Yes, we are in Spain and having a wonderful time. We flew into Madrid and found a great little wine bar. And, of course, we had the first "tapas" of the trip. After one night in Madrid, we took the fast train (called AVE) to Cordoba. We haven't been to Andalucia before, so it was really fun to catch the vibe. "La Mezquita" was really impressive. It is a huge church/mosque that draws tourists from all over. It was built by the Muslims originally, but the Christians took over and built a church right in the center of it. Interestingly, they left much of the obviously Arab architecture in tact. So you see images of Jesus and crosses mixed with striped Islamic-like arches.

Now, we are in Sevilla. What a great place this is! It's bigger than Cordoba and not as sleepy. It has so many things to do. We saw the Alcazar (palace) today - again a collaboration of centuries of architecture with a strong Arab influence. Lots of colorfully-tiled mosaics, large open spaces, arched doorways, and beautiful gardens. We may go into the Cathedral tomorrow which is also an iconic presence here. The Gothic architecture even inspired me to take out my sketchbook and scratch out a rendition of La Giralda - a former minaret of the mosque which is now the church tower.

Lots of cool fashion here in the land of flamenco - very simple tastes but classy. I'm getting into this monochromatic look always with a splash of color, even for the men! Always a surprise scarf, tie, or shoes that is a bright pink, green, purple, or yellow. People too have been very helpful - and for those of you wondering - yes, I have been loving speaking Spanish. "El vino tinto me ayuda mucho tambien!" Well... a couple more days in Sevilla one of which includes a flea market. "Excelente, no?"