Like any good "telenovela" . . .

. . . 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

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

The trip to Luhansk, where the 8th Annual American 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 "further the goals of socialism and communism" according to Wikipedia. It is prevalent in Luhansk and most statues of old-style "heroes" such as Lenin are still 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 monasteries. 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...

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.