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?"

Beginnings are Good...

2007-01-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

The best thing about breaking resolutions is that you can make them again... as long as it's all on New Year's Day. Did I just make that up? Oh well, I've already drunk champagne, bitten a fingernail, and eaten some cookies. But hey, I did exercise!

December 31, we did some non-tradional things. Considering we are not in our native country, what wouldn't be non-traditional? Well, first of all we went to Babyn Yar. Joe asked me how I was going to blog about this being such a "heavy" topic. Well, I think it's important, and I'm going to try.

The Nazis were really really evil. That's not news to anyone; but we finally went to Babyn Yar, the site of where hundreds of thousands were executed and thrown into a ravine, little children included. It's hard to recognize such a place here, as it's not clearly marked. You take the metro further than we've taken it before, get out and see a park. You wander around the park wondering, "Did they actually kill the people here, and did they throw the bodies here?" The answer is yes. Shockingly yes.

I had never been to a "holocaust" site before and it was really strange, espcecially considering that big streets and block apartment buildings surround the historical area. It was intense, namely because it looked so ordinary. Nothing special. I guess I want to remember that places, and things that don't look so special, can be incredibly full of experience and many people's stories. I read a website that was pretty poignant and tragic; if you want to know more, wikipedia gives some frightening details.

So, we paid our respects to a very sad and historical event. Somehow, I didn't feel depressed though. I felt somewhat hopeful. Ukraine is struggling with its identity and past nowadays, but I think that it's really the first time that they are able to "create who they really are." I feel a lot of soul here, albeit under the surface. I feel it though and am optimistic.

On a lighter note, we went down to Maidan as planned and saw more Father Frosts than we ever imagined. It seems you pay your "dime" and spend some "time" (or, rather you get a picture) with Santa and Snegurochka. It was interesting and put us in the mood to miss the evening crowds, go home, eat leftover spaghetti, drink some dark beer, and see some fireworks from our balcony. A positive start to a new year! A little soul goes a long way!

Who is Father Frost?

2006-12-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

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

2006-12-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

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

2006-12-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

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

2006-12-08T01:12:00.000-07:00

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?

2006-11-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

"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

2006-11-16T10:08:00.001-07:00

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!

2006-11-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

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

2006-11-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

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

Podil - Our Neighborhood

2006-11-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-25T12:46:00.000-06:00

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

2006-10-15T12:50:00.000-06:00

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?

2006-10-12T09:42:00.000-06:00

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”

2006-10-08T07:23:00.000-06:00

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

2006-10-01T04:31:00.000-06:00

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.

"To speak... or not to speak... or which to speak?"

2006-09-21T08:47:00.000-06:00

Ever since we arrived the true "bilingual" nature of Ukraine has been apparent. I guess I knew that people had all spoken Russian under the Soviet Union, but I figured that now most people spoke Ukrainian. Well... it's a bit more complicated. We made the decision to buy Ukrainian language books before leaving the States and learned how to say "please" and "thank you" and a few other critical utterances. People smiled when we said them, and seemed to appreciate our efforts. However, when we first started looking for an apartment and went out with various rental agency representatives, we could not recognize one word they said in "Ukrainian". Especially, when they would thank the owners of the apartments for showing them to us. They said something that sounded like "placebo" (actually 'spasibah')... nothing like the "d'yakuyu" we had so diligently practiced. Well, turns out they were speaking Russian - not Ukrainian at all! Then it started to click, that often when people speak to us and each other, they are speaking Russian. Another example is when we learned the word for "together"..."rah-zom". When we got to the cashier at the local cafeteria, we waited to hear some version of "are you together" .... but nothing registered. They were using a completely different word which, again, was Russian. It is a bit disheartening to get less than a little comprehensible input as a language learner.

Not to mention, the debate over which language to speak has become a heated political one. The country is somewhat in the throes of deciding whether to identify more with it's former Russian sphere, or move in a European direction. Therefore, it has become quite the point of discussion in the newspapers. At my university, the president has officially declared that students and teachers will speak Ukrainian and English. (In which case the choice is easy!)

In a daring experiment, yesterday I posed a question to my workshop participants, teachers of English from various institutions throughout Kyiv, as part of a "problem-solving" activity. After a couple of activities in which I introduced myself, I mentioned my dilemma: "Which language should I learn first, Ukrainian or Russian?" As you can see from the photos, they had little trouble engaging in discussion with their peers. In the end, I had a representative from each group present their advice... and opinions were truly split. They ranged from, "You should learn Russian because everyone understands it and you can visit other former-Soviet Republics without a problem" to "You should learn Ukrainian because you are in Ukraine; if people don't understand you, you will shame them for not knowing the language." Interesting stuff. Fortunately, everyone was quite respectful of others' opinions and it turned out well to illustrate the technique - even though I'm not sure that the problem is truly solved. I think one gentleman's advice probably makes the most sense: Your husband should learn one language and you should learn the other! We just may do that!!

Oracle and Odyssey

2006-09-16T04:59:00.000-06:00

First of all I have to mention that the title is an homage to one of our favorite albums, “Oracle and Odyssey”, by the Zombies (which is actually misspelled on the album; we don‘t remember how). Anyhow, it’s one of the few CDs we downloaded before we left the States.

Before we moved here, I was under the impression that the “typical” Ukrainian was blond and fair, maybe blue-eyed. I thought I was going to stand out. But there are really a lot of dark-haired dark-eyed people. There are even a few Asian-looking people probably from other former-Soviet areas. Recently, I was told by a colleague that I have a classic Ukrainian look. Since then, or even before I had heard that, I was approached by 4-5 different people a day asking for directions, for me to take a photo, and whatever else they were asking me. I just say, “I only speak English” and they look disappointed and walk away. Hence, Joe addresses me as the “oracle” even though I never know nor understand anything. I did, however, end up helping the people who asked that I take their photo, and, I might add, I was able to help a woman who asked “Do you speak English? Where is the supermarket?” Thank YOU!

Joe doesn’t have traditional Ukrainian looks but blends in pretty well. We try to act fairly native by eating the local food, taking the metro, and learning a bit of the language. It’s curious that we still don’t know which is more practical to concentrate on, Russian or Ukrainian. I will pose that question to local teachers in an upcoming workshop and let you know the outcome. We do occasionally drink coffee at McDonald’s (even though we never go there in the States). Maybe it has something to do with the clean bathrooms or the view from the parking lot in our neighborhood (see the photo with drive-thru, alias “McDrive”). Although Ukrainians seem to be much more animated and open than many of their Eastern European neighbors, they are not too demonstrative toward strangers. While sipping a beer in a local cafй the other evening, Joe saw the Japanese tour bus passing by; in order to make them feel welcome, he waved energetically. They enthusiastically returned the wave so happy to see such a “friendly Ukrainian”. We also decided to go “walking” the other day for exercise and were the only ones, save for two bicyclists, one jogger, and two “strolling” couples that passed us on the river walk.

Although they don’t seem to be especially athletic, I wouldn’t say that Ukrainians were heavy or unselfconscious about their appearance. If fact, he women are typically quite slim and very eager to express their fashion ideas. There is truly a wide range of outfits on the streets - enough to merit a separate blog entry - I’ll work on that one. The men are much more conservative and hardly seem to notice the skimpy and often outrageous outfits their female counterparts wear.

I just finished my first week of work at the university and two days of orientation at the Embassy. We’ve come up with a variety of interesting project ideas which include:

weekly teacher development workshops
short-courses for teachers
a conversation club
videotaping seminars to increase outreach to rural areas
training Peace Corps trainers
observing teachers
collaborating on testing issues with the British Council
presenting at conferences
meeting up with a local author to work on a textbook for the seventh form (like seventh grade)

I should be making a trip out to Odessa at the beginning of October. We met up with the other fellow who is based in Odessa; he’s in Kyiv right now for orientation. We ate out near Independence square (see second photo) in the center of town - very impressive tall historical buildings and always lots of activity; people are milling around taking the metro on weeknights until midnight! This square heads up a boulevard of sorts called “Khreshatyk“. It’s usually quite busy with traffic but gets closed down during the weekends and turned into a pedestrian area. Public drinking is common - it’s very typical to see people walking around, at all hours of the day, with a beer bottle in hand. It’s weird for us to see… still haven’t gotten used to that. This weekend we plan to see some art at some of the art museums near the center.

P.S. 10 of our boxes came! Yay! “Quilty” is very content is his new home. Who’da thunk anything could match the rainbow curtains and pistachio walls!!!

Down by the Riverside

2006-09-08T01:06:00.000-06:00

We are so happy to be living in Europe again. The lifestyle is quite different than the US. People walk everywhere, and the food is so fresh and good! I haven't been to a gym in weeks and I feel very fit... we feel like we may be losing weight even though we are eating a ton! I will say more about the food in a later post, don't worry Carol (have already been collecting pictures). But today I want to announce that we have an apartment!

We looked at no less than 20 places with about 6 different agents with our kind contacts at the university and embassy acting as translators. The place we ended up getting was the one I mentioned earlier that mysteriously went up in price by $300! Well, the owner called back (as I predicted) a few days later and said that we could have the place for less and he would provide for the cable-internet connection and a satellite dish (400 channels). Also, he would have blinds installed. We signed the contract yesterday and paid the agent 50% of a month's rent - that's customary around here.

So last night we dumped out our suitcases and filled all shelves and cabinets organizing our stuff. We are still lacking in hangers, some kitchen supplies, a broom, and a drying rack (remember, there are no dryers here), among other odds and ends. We'll have to buy that stuff on our own, but maybe the owners will buy it back from us at the end of the contract. It would be a good way for them to have the place fully-equipped for the next tenant.

Our building is a 6 1/2 minute walk to the university, it's on the Dnipro River (which completely freezes over in the winter!), it's "pre-revolution" construction so we suppose it was built around 1910-1915?? It is very cool! Our flat is directly above a fancy resaturant with valet parking people milling around our building entrance. Although the street is quite busy, when our windows are closed it's hard to hear the traffic. Kyiv (the Ukrainian spelling) is really a big city (around 3 million), but our area is very neighborhood-like and only two metro stops to the center. Our one-bedroom apartment has a European-style shower, a boiler (hot water heater in case central heating goes out), centralized heating (which comes on throughout the city on Oct. 15), a nice new bed, a couch, TV, and a little dining area in the kitchen (which also has a fridge, microwave, and small washing machine). We'll have to dig up a bookshelf and a desk to make it complete.

I think I forgot to mention that we also have a balcony from which you can see the neighborhood buildings in one direction and a beautiful little chapel on the river in the other. More news to come!

"The Day of Knowledge"

2006-09-02T02:51:00.000-06:00

We are now in Ukraine - our trip was without much drama save for the $50 "heavy luggage" fee and the incredibly turbulent flight from Frankfurt to Kiev - the only bumpy flight we've ever been on where the bumpiness continued all the way down to the ground! The plane even lurched a little to the right once on the runway!! The wind must have been strong as there aren't many mountains to cause weird air pockets.

Yesterday, September 1, was the official "Day of Knowledge" which occurs before the first day of school every year. The children from 6 to 18 dress up to attend a ceremony at the school. Their parents come, their grandparents come, and their great-grandparents come (and this year the American Fellow and her husband came too!). The kids are given flowers and march into formation to stand, squirming in their suits, while the principal gives a pep talk to ensure success in the coming school year! We atteded the ceremony at the "English School" which focuses, from an early age, on teaching English to all the kids to prepare them for their future.

It was so refreshing to see such respect for education and the children. Something I think many other cultures can learn from. The kids were so excited too to stand in line in front of the crowd like little movie stars (except for one who started crying and ran to be held by his mom for the rest of the event).

In the afternoon, we went to the university to meet the director and university teachers. My position will involve providing training and development opportunities for teachers at both the university level and at the elementary/secondary level. We brainstormed some ideas for projects to be developed over the next few months.

The rest of the day was dedicated to looking for an apartment. We have seen about 10 so far and actually decided to take one near the river. But... once we finally decided, it had already been taken. Or so the landlord said... apparently, someone offered $300 more than he had originally told us, so if we could come up with that differential, we could have it. HA! We'll keep looking, thank you!

I forgot to mention that the day before yesterday we had a tour of the US Embassy and met our key contacts. Everyone seem so nice. We also went to the English Teaching Center at the University (my principal working area) - the resource room for English teachers is incredible - I will include a photo soon - not to mention the incredibly helpful people at the university. They are all really positive and eager to get started with the teacher training! More news and photos soon!

Routine Different!

2006-08-23T07:39:00.001-06:00

Wow, I never imagined we weren't the minimalists I'd always bragged we were! Moving out of our condo was one of the most surprisingly underanticipated experiences I've ever had. We had SO MUCH STUFF! Most of it went into storage - but... my god we almost completely filled a 5'x10' unit - and we even sold our bed and futon!! Anyhow, by the skin of our teeth we did almost all we had to do and dumped the rest of it in Santa Fe. But, seriously... Joe dropped me off at the airport to catch my flight to DC and immediately drove over to the condo to pass the keys onto the new residents! Crazy!

DC was good - the seminar sessions were as expected. We stayed at the Embassy Suites which was a nice hotel and met some really exceptional people who will be going to Venezuela, Algeria, China, and Mozambique (136 fellows in all!). All was within walking distance to the National Mall so I was able to see the White House, Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and the newest... FDR Memorial. It was a hike to get to all of them but well worth it. I also saw the Vietnam memorial... funny story: When I got there, it dawned on me that I had worn a POW/MIA bracelet my dad gave me when I was a kid. I still have the bracelet and wonder what happened to my guy, Maj. James Dennany. I had read on the Internet that he was missing in action. I decided to see if he was on the wall of the memorial and waited behind a woman to look up his name in one of the "big books" there. When she left, I walked up to the "book" and saw that she had been in the D's. I turned one page back and saw his name in the middle of the page! What are the odds with over 58,000 names on the memorial! We (Erica and I) memorized the coordinates and went to find the column and row his name was on - there it was with a little "plus sign" by his name showing that he was MIA. Very moving... even though I never knew the man. Maybe someone in his family will read this someday...

Anyhow, I'm back in Santa Fe now and trying to tie up all the last-minute loose ends. I still have to call and meet with some friends - hope I can fit it all in!!!! So, to put it in a nutshell, our routine has been turned on its head, and nothing is as it was a few weeks ago. Departure day is next Tuesday... so I've got to get it all squeezed in. By the way, we sent the quilt. God only knows where it is right now!

City Different

2006-08-06T19:55:00.000-06:00

Hi, I don't really have much news but my semester at CNM has come to a close - final classes last Friday, we are closing down the condo, and we are moving to Santa Fe (The "City Different") to live with Meem for the last few weeks of our state-side stay. We have about one more week in Albuquerque.
Here's a photo of National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy; it looks so historical and academic! Can't wait!

To sell our last odds and ends I posted on craigslist.org. What an amazing website! You can post anything for sale. We sold our desk, bed, plants, and coffee table after just posting last night!! It's free too and I highly recommend it. Anything we have left over - like a printer and a scanner - will be posted on freecylcle.org (another great website!).

We got a storage unit and have been dragging anything we want to keep (mostly sentimental value) over there for safekeeping. We got a 10 x 5 foot unit and think that will be plenty to store our favorite stuff. Today we got caught in a major rainstorm taking stuff over - only a few drips inside the building, and they were outsite the unit in the hallway - so I guess I shouldn't worry.

So this week we'll be wrapping up in Abq and moving to the "City Different". I'll be going to DC for orientation in mid-August; Joe will go to the horse races on the opposite coast to feed his soul. Don't fear... we'll reunite at the Abq airport August 19 and head back to Santa Fe.

By the way, I finished the quilt (see photo). I'm still trying to decide whether or not to ship it to Kiev. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Signed, Sealed, Delivered!

2006-07-19T18:47:00.000-06:00

I received word from my dean (actually an official copy of the signed letter!) that my leave of absence has been granted! Yeah! She even sent out a nice message to to the Department notifying everyone about my departure. Shoutouts to all for the congratulations. You all are great to give me props! So here's my blog where I'll report periodically on serious stuff and/or funny stuff. Hopefully, it will all be somewhat interesting!

So far, for the program I've:

bought books (that I will ship ahead of myself to Kiev)
gotten a physical (blood tests, TB tests, etc.)
sent a bio to Georgetown
signed contract, etc.

Also, I've bought personal items like

Glide dental floss
some cool suede sub zero waterproof boots
silk long underwear
Sharpies (permanent markers)
1 Gig memory card for digital camera
Modifilan - seaweed anti-cancer extract developed for Chernobyl victims
Multi-vitamins, Cs, Ds, Calcium, anti-flu serum - Sambucol and Umcka (all from Vitamin Trader, of course)

We still need to buy

advil, pepcid, deodorant, toothbrushes, nail clippers - we read they don't have quality nail clippers there??
more methodology books
kleenex packages to double as toilet paper
headphones for the TV
large rubber bands
binder clips, etc.

Now we are working on visas. We got a fax from the Embassy in Kiev and have to send it on with visa applications to the Ukraine Consulate in San Francisco. We still have to secure storage for our stuff and pack everything up. Then, of course, we have to move it into storage.

I should also be getting confirmation of my flight to DC for orientation in mid-July and our flights to Kiev August 29....

Will keep the info coming. :)

By the way above is a picture of our garage sale stuff. We ran an ad for Sunday and will have a sale at Stephanie's house. If you want anything let me know... "good price for you!"

Also, you will see that I am working madly to finish a quilt... relaxing in this time of crazy turmoil! Joe says, "We need to take this quilt with us!!". I'll let you know when it's finished!

Ukraine or bust!

2006-06-23T21:44:00.000-06:00

So, last night I received an email saying I was selected for the fellowship in Ukraine. Although there was a bit of "deja vu" involved, we were thrilled. I can't believe how fast it all happened. Needless to say, I accepted but have yet to hear back from Georgetown. Today we bought the Lonely Planet Ukraine and have already read a few bits, including the history of Chernobyl. Being in Kiev will be good as there is a lot to do and apparently it an art community - exciting potential there. I will email Lisa (the RELO) soon to find out more about the job outline. We are so relieved to have gotten a site that has a high livability factor in addition to a great job description. More to come...

All dressed up...

2006-06-20T20:19:00.000-06:00

OK, scratch that goal. The violence did escalate: a church was bombed and a security warning of suicide bombers in schools went out. Sri Lanka made headlines twice on Yahoo! News...not a good sign. I emailed the ELF people at Georgetown about withdrawing from the post. I was really nervous about how everyone was going to react. I wrote the email on Saturday night (called Magdalena on Monday afternoon). She was so cool and seemed to really "get" where I was coming from. It was such a relief to talk to someone who was so "human" with me. It was great. She mentioned Philipplines and Mongolia as possibilities, but the rosters had already gone out and she didn't know if they had chosen yet or not. She also mentioned Ukraine and Armenia. Joe and I studied the sites last night and emailed her our choice of... Kiev, Ukraine.

Today I called her and confirmed that she did send my dossier to Ukraine. We chatted a bit about my withdrawal and she mentioned that the PAO and Richard were concerned. I read an email from the PAO which just reiterated that everyone there was "worried about the situation". So I sent a message to Richard summarizing my reasons. Hopefully, he will know that I really want to be above-board and professional about everything.

Luckily, I will have a chance at another site. We'll see what happens once again... it would be great to live in Europe again, wouldn't it?

Goal!

2006-06-15T19:26:00.000-06:00

News Flash!
We are going to Colombo! I was chosen for the fellowship on Tuesday (2 days ago). I received the email Tuesday night (at my yahoo address and not my CNM address - ??). I accepted and the next day notified my dean (along with my mom, JB, and Carol). So our work is cut out for us... have made appointments for the physical, immunizations, and have much more to do. But I'm looking forward to it. Unfortunately, this morning there was news that there was an explosion (land mine?) in Tamil territory that killed around 64 bus passengers. The army retaliated by bombing some rebel camps... but the Tamil Tigers claimed no responsibility for the explosion. I hope the violence doesn't escalate. It will worry people who care about us...
Now I have to contact embassy folks to try to get contact info for the universities and institutions I'll be working at.
More news to come. Yeah for us... the "lucky people"!

Sinhala Lessons?

2006-06-11T17:25:00.000-06:00

The RELO from South Asia emailed me on June 8 (Thursday) asking to set up a phone interview. All went well on the phone call Saturday night; we talked about my teacher training experience, desire to work in Sri Lanka, and a summary of the position... now I'll have to wait for a formalized "letter of invitation" if they select me. Joe's already bought the Rough Guide to Sri Lanka and is reading it this weekend, so our hopes are high. As soon as I get word that I am officially offered the post, I will buy the CD on Sinhala that I saw on Amazon. How exciting! Now we wait... just a little longer for the final "thumbs up"!

Sri Lanka Roster

2006-06-02T06:46:00.000-06:00

OK, so I called and emailed the EL Fellow folks yesterday and got an answer! It looks as if they have put my name on the roster sent to Sri Lanka. They mentioned that if I wasn't chosen for that one, they'd put me on the rosters for India and Philippines. Don't know exactly how I feel about the last two, but our fingers are crossed for Sri Lanka. Hopefully, we'll know something soon.

No news is good news?

2006-05-19T17:36:00.000-06:00

Hello again... I really have no news to report about the ELF program. The only thing I can say is they are pretty darn hard to get ahold of. I have called and left a message and today I emailed. I reiterated my interest in Sri Lanka and Cambodia, and I asked if the position in Romania was still available. I didn't receive a reply. It is very difficult having no clue where they are going with this. Programs that I have been involved with in the past have, at least, answered my messages (even if they didn't have a lot of information to share). It is a bit frustrating to now know that Peru is filled too (another post I was interested in).

I guess I ought to keep my chin up and know that if it's right for me it will happen.

Post Update

2006-05-06T15:56:00.000-06:00

Well, here we are in early May and the EL Fellow Program recruiter has offered to send my dossier to Bosnia, Serbia/Montenegro, and Albania. Unfortunately, the Bosnia and Albania posts are for regular fellows (formerly "junior") - I am seeking a Senior Fellow post. Although the Serbia/Montegro is a Senior post, the location was changed from Podgorica to Niksic, not a big enough city for Joe to pursue his distance program. Also, that post is mostly direct teaching and I really want to do teacher training. I reiterated my interest in the Sri Lanka and Peru sites as I learned that the Ecuador post had already been filled.

So... we are eagerly awaiting news of whether or not my dossier will be sent to my preferred locations.

More soon!

The EL Fellow Journey

2006-04-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hi. Just wanted to start "bloggin'" about my experience applying (and hopefully getting?) a Senior English Language Fellowship. After talking it over with Joe, we are very interested in the position in Colombo, Sri Lanka and the post in Quito, Ecuador. I have finished applying and interviewing for the program, so now we are just waiting....
We'd love to hear something soon. I will keep you posted.