In Between Times

Since I'm embarking on my next great travel adventure tomorrow, I thought it might be good to fill in with what I've been generally up to since my Bukovyna trip at the end of January.

Basically, I had a bunch of misunderstandings with my university that made life really complicated. We had disagreements over my schedule. They wanted me to teach three three-hour night classes each week, and nothing else. I said this was unacceptable to me for many reasons, not least of which that it is hard enough to have any sort of life in a foreign country, let alone try to do it while working nights and twiddling your thumbs all day while everyone else is working. It was also a problem because the class they wanted me to teach on Thursday nights was at the exact same time as Mila's English Club in the center which I try to go and help with. Apparently they had never expected that I might object to this schedule, so it became a huge fiasco complete with crying on my part and some really un-called-for insults to my character on their part.

So I had to get the Fulbright Ukraine office in Kyiv involved. The new Fulbright director was really helpful though, and (I hope) everything is straightened out now. I think the biggest problem was that norms for scheduling work and norms for the relationship between employees and employers are very different between the U.S. and Ukraine.

This was compounded by the fact that I was sick for about a week after coming back from Chernivtsi-- I think all those nights of poor sleep, sleeping on trains, sleeping in a dorm room at the hostel, and spending lots of time in enclosed spaces with lots of people just did me in. Whatever, for my first week back in Vinnytsia I was basically useless.

Was really glad I bought that Carpathian Herb tea in Kosiv! Kinda just looks like someone went outside and grabbed a handful of leaves though, doesn't it? :)

Does your herb tea have grass, sticks, berries, and flowers? Because mine does.

 In the midst of the scheduling mess, I took a weekend trip to Kyiv for the Fulbright mid-year orientation. This is for those who are only doing half-year Fulbrights, or for those who for whatever reason didn't come to Ukraine until January-- and then for those of us who are already here and would like to meet the new people. It was no big problem for me to go, since Vinnytsia is not far from Kyiv by train (about 2 1/2 hours if you take the fast train). As it turned out, most of the current Fulbrighters had decided not to come-- just about the only out-of-towners who came into Kyiv for this were me and Joel, who traveled all the way from L'viv. This worked out marvelously for our though, because it meant Fulbright could afford to pay our full accommodations which it would not have been able to do if more people had come.

Joel and I met up on Friday, stowed our bags at the hotel, and had time for a little sightseeing before we joined everyone else for the reception in the evening. Since neither of us had been to Kyiv's legendary Lavra, we decided to head there. The conditions for this trip weren't really ideal, though-- it was pouring down rain, and so foggy you could barely see across the street. So while my photos aren't actually informative, they are pretty haunting.

I couldn't believe how ridiculously foggy it was. This is the entrance to the park with a Holodomor memorial.

Fortunately we were able to follow the signs and maps, because the Lavra is a "main tourist object"

Because we were so late in the day, we only got to see one set of caves. But it was neat to wander around and take pictures of the churches, too.

 

Down the hill to the caves

I love the flying buttresses

Like the liberty bell, but newer. Hahaha

Really impressive artwork on this one. I don't know how it survives the elements.

We were soaked through after that excursion!

On Saturday night, after our orientation was over, we went back out with a few other Fulbrighters to meet one of my Ukrainian friends, Mykola, from the ESS (the one with the cute baby!).

During our seminar, I watched the rain change over to snow through the window. By the time we got to Maydan Nezalezhnosti, people had already built snowmen. Or as they're known in Ukraine, snow grandmas.

The bar was busy that evening and had to break out some old glasses...

The next morning, I got up to meet my friend Halya (another of my former students from ESS) for church.

After Mass, there was a Christmas concert! "And you'll be starting Lent this week!" Halya laughed.

(I wanted to put in a video of the concert here, but it seems that every time I try to insert a video, blogger crashes! They really should do something about that.)

If you look closely, you can see that these pillows are actually made out of tile! Pretty cool. I wanted to take more pictures of the artwork, but my camera battery died :(

Back in Vinnytsia, I tried helping Anna with her English club on Tuesday afternoons. It's not for me-- she works with much younger kids who know almost no English, and anyway I'm starting up an English club of my own that night at my university.

Other things that happened in the last month... hmmm...

I got my first lucky tram ticket...

The sum of the first three digits= the sum of the last three digits! It's good luck :)

I made some homemade borshch...

Домашний борщик з сметаной та хлів (homemade borshch with sour cream and bread)

Then, last week, I had a houseguest. Deborah, one of the other Fulbrighters who normally lives in Odessa but wants to do research in both that region and in this one, came to stay with me for a few days to start networking in Vinnytsia. Her visit was great-- I got to show her around the city, we ate at many of Vinnytsia's great (and comparatively cheap) restaurants, and she even took me to the central market and showed me how and where to buy the good stuff-- homemade cheese, smoked meat, fresh vegetables, and honey from the villages, and the cheapest and most delicious dried fruit you have ever eaten. I got honey, fresh cheese, some sausage, and a box of fresh dates. It was all phenomenal, and I am totally going back there all the time when the weather gets warmer.

Last Friday, March 8, was also International Womens' Day. This holiday is a big deal in Ukraine, with most businesses having a shortened day or a day off, and all men being expected to buy flowers and candy for every woman they know.

My Russian teacher, Inna, is a teacher of English and Russian at a school in one of the villages outside of Vinnytsia. Last Thursday, the day before Womens' Day, she invited Deborah and I to her school to see her children perform in their school show. These shows are kind of like a cross between a talent show and a recital-- students play music, dance, recite poetry, and so on. They were really impressive, and the school itself was beautiful-- relatively new, huge, and brightly painted and decorated.

The children sat in the auditorium waiting for the show to start

This little girl had an incredible voice. Also, I love her dress. So shiny!

Some of these costumes might look a little familiar...

There was a combination of folk dance and modern dance in their performances.

Inna herself sang a duet with one of her students. It was great, but again I can't post because Google apparently can't handle videos. After the concert, Deborah left for Odessa and I went out for dinner with the village school teachers. All in all, it was quite an experience.

On Womens' Day itself, Mila and Anna, two of the Peace Corps volunteers, came over and watched movies. Then on Saturday, I hosted an "American Movie Night" at my apartment and invited all my friends, both Ukrainian and American. Unfortunately there were only 3 guests this time, but I definitely will do it again because it seemed that everyone had a good time. Anna stayed with me both nights. So basically, I had a houseguest every night last week except Thursday! It was quite a long week. And now this week, it's back to lesson planning and preparing for my upcoming trip this weekend... Kharkiv! Stay tuned for updates about that adventure. :)

ETA Training/Orientation in Kyiv

I have returned at last!

Not much was happening for a few weeks-- or well, things were, but there was not much interesting to report. The weekend after I lost my camera I traveled to Kyiv to attend the regional Fulbright ETA orientation. This was three days of meeting with other ETAs who were sent to Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia, etc.

While I had no camera, with the aid of Facebook I was able to gather some pictures that my fellow ETAs took from the trip.

St. Andrews' Church, at the top of the hill

Vanessa and I walking down St. Andrews' Descent. During the day this street is filled with vendors selling all kinds of crafts and souvenirs... but it was pretty awesome to be there at night when it was completely empty. I think this is my favorite part of Kyiv.

Words to live by. (Shashlyk, for the record, is grilled meat and/or veggie kebabs and is super tasty)

By the time I returned to Vinnytsia I was exhausted after my 2+ weeks of solid travel and very little sleep, so I didn't do much except rest for a week or so. Over the weekend, I went shopping with Karis, one of the Peace Corps volunteers, and we bought a new camera. She took me to the "Mega-Mall" on 600 Years Street.

"Vulnitsa Sheist-sot richya"

We also visited the Silpo in that mall, which we discovered to have a better selection and better prices. I've started going there when I can spare the time to take the longer tram ride.

On Thursday, I took a trip back to that mall and bought a wireless internet router for my apartment. This was really becoming necessary because my internet cable is broken and was continually falling out of my computer whenever I moved. It was a fulfilling venture, because the clerk at the store was perfectly nice to me, and he spoke Ukrainian and I spoke Russian and we understood one another perfectly, and he showed me the correct router for the internet service I have and the size of my apartment. Then I went home and set it up, which ended up being a somewhat complicated process since I have a service you have to sign into... and although all the menus and settings were in Ukrainian, I successfully set it up. I was really proud of myself after that!

Then, the Thanksgiving festivities began. I attended the local English Club's Thanksgiving meeting. It was a lot of fun, and it was nice to actually eat turkey on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving at the English Club! As you can see, there was turkey, potatoes, cranberries (made by yours truly), and lots and lots of sweets!

You can view more pictures of the English Club's Thanksgiving party here, too. My favorite is the one of Mila posing with my cranberry sauce. Hahahaha...

I had attended the English Club once before but it was like no one had noticed me until this meeting. Several of the members introduced themselves to me, and were really nice people. I will have to go back this week.

On Saturday, Anna, one of the Peace Corps volunteers, was hosting a bigger Thanksgiving party at her home in Vinnytsia Khurota-- one of the villages surrounding Vinnytsia. Unfortunately I had to be late, since I was teaching the class that I teach on Saturdays. This group of students are in the 11th grade at a local high school, and the university offers them these classes to help them prepare for their college entrance exams in the hopes that when they need to choose a college, they will choose this one.

These students are really motivated and enthusiastic and they really work hard-- and apparently they love me too. Before class Oleg was telling me that one of the other teachers had overheard some of my students on a bus in the city talking about how I was the best English teacher around. :o) This week they asked for a picture with me, so here it is:

These students are fabulous!

After the class, I caught bus 176 to Vinnytsia Khurota to attend the party at Anna's. It was interesting because I only knew three or four people there and everyone else was a complete stranger. They were all really nice to me, but as the only non-Peace Corps person in attendance, I felt like a special guest to a group which already existed. Still, I had a really great time and made some new friends in the area.

The food was fabulous. There was a huge spread of American favorites, including macaroni and cheese, stuffing, pumpkin pie, etc. Notably missing, though, was the turkey. Plans for obtaining one had fallen through last-minute, so we ate pork and duck instead.

I should probably also mention that it was an "ugly sweater" party. We don't all have this questionable of a fashion sense on normal days. :P

After dinner we retired to the sauna (a surprisingly nice building with a pool and everything) to drink and play games and chat. After playing a game of Cards Against Humanity (a version of Apples to Apples that is utterly politically incorrect and offensive, and therefore often very hilarious), we settled into conversations.

Around 1:30 we (me and two girls who were planning to crash at my apartment) attempted to call a taxi back to my place... but there were a series of communication mishaps (first we didn't know the correct area code for the taxi service, then we got a number for one which didn't serve the area, except the person who made the call didn't understand that so we waited outside for 40 minutes, then tried to walk to a nearby hotel/bar to get a number and the people there either gave us a wrong number or the taxi service they referred us to didn't operate during those hours... it was a mess). Long story short, we ended up staying the night at Anna's (not that I really slept) and I didn't get back until late yesterday morning.

Now I'm very tired, but I got up to teach a class this morning (well, not really teach. It was a class I had never worked with before, so we just chatted and got to know one another). Then I took a trip out to the fancy Silpo and got ingredients for vegetable soup, which I made for dinner. Tomorrow I have a Russian lesson (only my third one since all this madness started-- I was gone, or my teacher was busy,  pretty much every day since) and I teach an evening class of high schoolers that I've never worked with before from 5-8 pm. It's going to be a long haul but I think it will be fun.

I also made plans for Christmas-- from December 22-28 I will be going to Istanbul with some of the other Fulbrighters, and when I return from that I will go to L'viv for a two-week intensive course in the Ukrainian language and to celebrate Orthodox Christmas at the home of one of my friends. :o) I'm really excited! Better things to come!

Fulbright in Ukraine Orientation

I'm feeling rather lousy today after the Fulbright Orientation in Kyiv. Partially because last night was really stressful, and partially because I seem to have caught the cold that the Fulbrighters in Kyiv said was going around their school- sore throat and runny nose. Today I haven't been up to much except laying on the couch and drinking tea, which, fortunately for you, means I have plenty of time to update my blog.

On my way to Kyiv, I had a seat on one of the new express trains with airplane-style seats. Not bad at all, and pretty fast as Ukrainian trains go. I used the ride to work on my novel, so the time went by quickly. Upon arriving in Kyiv, I followed the directions provided by the Fulbright office to find our hotel without any problems. When I checked in, I was told that I had been assigned a roommate, which was fine until I saw the room...

I've seen two queens or a single king, but how about a perfectly good full-size bed cut in two?

Uh-huh. Cozy... I guess.

After checking in, I went outside to meet Halya, one of my Ukrainian friends from the English Summer School. She took me to her parents' apartment, where she had cooked a delicious dinner of Borshch, roast chicken and potatoes, and salad, with cake for dessert. It was all so good, and I enjoyed a nice evening catching up with her, helping her practice her English.

Beautiful mosaic of St. Volodymyr, Baptiser of Rus', in the Universytet Metro Station

The hotel provided complimentary breakfasts, so after dining there with a few of my fellow Fulbrights, I met up with Halya again and she took me to her family's church for liturgy. It was the first Ukrainian Greek Catholic liturgy I've made it to since being here, and I was most happy. :)

Halya's church was modern, but still beautiful-- a balance which many American churches fail to find.

Even better, after Mass, Halya took me to the church bookstore and helped me to buy a prayer book which contains the entire liturgy and all the offices in Ukrainian. I was so excited! It will help me to not only follow along with the liturgy in a foreign language, but also to learn lots of new vocabulary :)

After church, we returned to Halya's family's house and ate a delicious lunch. Her parents didn't speak much English at all, so I had only a little conversation with them with my limited knowledge of Ukrainian and Halya's help. They were so kind and gracious-- they even gave me a bagful of apples to take home with me, and when it looked as though I would not be able to get to the orientation on time, Halya's father drove me straight to the apartment of the director of the Fulbright Program in Ukraine, where the meeting was being held.

The orientation was great-- it was nice to meet other Americans who share my love of Ukraine, and to put faces to names I've seen on contact lists. They all seemed like pretty nice people, and we got along well. While enjoying appetizers of fruit, cheese, and crackers, and drinking wine, beer, juice, and water, we saw presentations on the education system of Ukraine and the elections in Ukraine by the former Education secretary of Ukraine and by the dean of the law college at Mohyla Academy, respectively. Then we enjoyed a tasty dinner of blyny, shashlyk, varynky, and many other foods while milling around and chatting. After that day I was so tired I returned to the hotel and went to bed at 10 PM. It was probably for the best, though, because the next morning's events started early.

After breakfast at the hotel, a series of cars collected us and took us to the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. Security was tight-- we had to turn in all our electronics and medications, and we were not allowed anywhere without an escort, including the bathroom. A day full of presentations began, all by the staff of the U.S. Embassy, including things like health in Ukraine, the Ukrainian economy, security in Ukraine, and so on. At the end of the day we were fortunate to have a visit from the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, John Tefft. He was a very nice guy, who chatted casually with all of us about our work in Ukraine.

Following the orientation we took cabs back to the hotel, and four of us went out for dinner in the time before we had to catch our respective trains. We enjoyed pizza and drinks at Oliva, a chain of Italian restaurants in Kyiv. Around 8 PM I caught my train (and yes, I caught it this time!) back to Vinnytsia, which put me back around 11:30.

Now, I had thought I might be able to take a tram home, but a look at the sign outside the tram stop told me that they had stopped running around 10 PM. The buses were still running, but I didn't know which number to take and I didn't want to end up God-knows-where. I would have called Tanya or Svitlana, but unfortunately when I had turned in my phone to security at the U.S. Embassy they had made me shut it off, and when I turned it back on it demanded a PIN which I did not have in my possession. Therefore, my phone was useless. I looked for a pay phone at the station (they are more prevalent in Ukraine than in the US) but could not find one. Despite the panic rising, I could not resist the urge to laugh. It was such a perfect storm of misfortunes, each so unlikely that their convergence was frankly absurd.

My next idea: take a taxi. I waited until one pulled up to drop people off, thus signaling to me that they were from a reputable company. I asked if he was free, and he said yes, but when I told him my address he could not understand me, so I got frustrated and got out.

Now I really didn't know what to do... so I sought out an employee at the Ukrainian train station, and tried to explain to her as best I could the problem I was having. Although I'd tried to explain to her in Russian, she took me to another employee who spoke English, who asked me to explain in English. I told her that I needed a taxi to get to my address, and she asked if I was staying with friends. "No, I live here!" I said. She was surprised, "You live here and you don't speak Russian!?" So I told her in Russian, "I speak Russian, but very badly!" I think the taxi driver didn't understand my request because of my accent.

She then went and got me a cab-- I am pretty sure it was the same one, actually-- negotiated the price for me, and gave me her number and asked me to call her when I got home. I offered her a little money for her trouble but she refused it. On the way back, I chatted with the taxi driver in my terrible Russian, explaining my frustration at my language situation and explaining that I *lived* here, I should know my way around! I know he had some trouble understanding my terrible Russian, but he was very nice about it. When I arrived home, I finally put the code into my phone, only to find a text from Tanya telling me which trolleybuses I could take. Lot of good that did me now, haha! I called the train station worker as she had requested. I told her I was safe at home and she responded, "You live alone!?" I assured her I had friends here and a job, that I wasn't just a helpless foreigner. She told me that I could call her any time if I needed anything, whether I just wanted to talk, or if she could help me buy train tickets. I thanked her and asked her what her name was. "Angel." As if I needed another sign that someone upstairs is looking out for me :) Thank God for kind Ukrainians!

That was the longest day ever, and after being so panicked at the railway station it took me a few hours to calm down so that I could sleep. And then I woke up with the cold, paired with a strong sense of discouragement at my language skills after all that had happened last night. Hence, my reluctance to do anything but lay on the couch today. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel better!

The Teaching Experience Begins

First real teaching last Thursday. Nothing exciting, I taught a lesson on personal banking vocabulary to a group of Business English students. It was only for half the class, and Svitlana covered the other half. Next Friday I am supposed to take the whole period, and I am supposed to take this class for one whole period a week from now on. They all seem enthusiastic and friendly, so we should have a good year, I think.

On Friday I had to meet up with Iryna to continue working on the perpetually incomplete visa paperwork. I met with her at the main building of the university, which is just a block or so from my apartment. It's a beautiful old building, like so many in these parts.

With my free time, I've been walking around the town.

This manhole cover is so Ukrainian. Hahahaha

On Friday I also had a chance to remake some of the recipes that Tanya showed me.

A word about Ukrainian produce: That's not a carrot. THIS is a carrot.

Last night I went to a folk music concert with Svitlana at the local theater. She said that it was modeled after the one in Vienna, and was over 100 years old.

It was a really beautiful building.

The concert was nice, too. It was like the Beach Boys singing folk music, lol.

Anyway, it's bedtime for me now. L'viv tomorrow! Hooray!

Life in Vinnytsia

Yesterday was completely uneventful. I tried to post the video tour of my apartment, but it wouldn't work. It seems okay now, though.

Apologies for being a little out of breath, I had just taken out my garbage, and the dumpster is at the bottom of the hill, so I had walked back up the hill before coming back and climbing the stairs :P The tour starts outside, at the cute little cafe I told you about, so that you can see what my building and the outside of my apartment door look like.

Anyway. Today I met with the director of the university *dusts off shoulder* ...for like five seconds. He was super complimentary and so glad to have me here! Everyone is so happy I'm here and I haven't done anything yet, haha. I just hope I can live up to the hype :o)

I also went to the university this afternoon to sit in on another English class. The first half of the class was for the students to ask me questions about myself and the US, which I would answer as well as I could. One of the girls asked me, "Are the men better-looking in the United States, or in Ukraine?" We all cracked up. My answer: "If I told you 'in Ukraine,' would you think that was the reason I came?" XD

So basically, I've started "working" except I haven't actually had responsibilities yet. Tomorrow morning I am supposed to meet with Oleg to discuss "teaching methods" so I hope that means we will figure out what the heck I am actually doing. I know I'll be sitting in on Svitlana's class again on Thursday.

I've also been talking with Father Chrysostomos (one of the priests from the English Summer School I taught at 2 years ago) about making a trip to L'viv, and it looks as though I will be able to go there Monday through Wednesday of next week, if that doesn't mess up my teaching duties too much. I will ask Oleg tomorrow, and then Tanya will take me to the train station to buy my ticket, to ensure we don't have problems like I had in Kyiv :P I'm so excited about the idea of seeing my students and friends from the ESS again! I hope it all works out.

It seems there is a dearth of visual aids today. So, here are some random pictures:

My street (Arhitektora Artynova), which intersects with the main street (Soborna) A pleasant little street...

....but watch your step. (Especially in heels!)

And this one's for my mom, who was worried I wasn't eating enough whole grains: Krupa. This happens to be of the corn variety.

And, just in case you were worried about poltergeists...

These little stickers on each wall of my apartment mean that the building has been blessed. So you can rest assured. :o)

Arrival in Vinnytsia

Internet access at last! It's been such a crazy day today, but the past week or so has been rather ho-hum. Since I don't have my teaching assignment yet, and the only people I know here are other professors who have very busy schedules, I've been mostly left to my own devices. I don't really have any objection to that, though; after the craziness of my last month or so in America, and the intensity of Kyiv, I find the peace and quiet to be more than welcome. I've been knitting, writing, doing crossword puzzles, watching Russian TV, occasionally going out to get groceries and various other necessities... it's been lovely. On a brief tangent: I also finished an excellent e-book I purchased before I left Kyiv entitled "The Meaning of Night"-- a story about revenge, written in the style of a Victorian piece. Superbly written. I kind of wanted to frame some of the passages.

It took very little time at all to unpack my things, and I feel pretty settled in, though I'm always on the lookout for a few little extra things to make my apartment feel more homey. I am really pleased with the apartment, though. It is very close to the university, right at the city center, and the building is clean and pleasant. Downstairs there is an adorable little cafe which sells the most delicious coffee and pastries. It's funny because I'd been joking to Scott and Manda that at my apartment here I'd be able to go right downstairs and have a nice cup of coffee in a little European cafe, but I had no idea that would be the truth! My favorite thing about it, though, is the view from my window.

Only in Ukraine, do people have flower gardens in their backyards in the middle of the city. So beautiful. And the stars I can see at night! This is certainly not Cincinnati!

On Tuesday (the day after I arrived), I met Tanya, who is one of the other English professors at the university. She's about my age, and very nice. On Tuesday she showed me around the city, and we had some delicious sushi for lunch (yes, sushi is very big here). Fun fact: Roshen chocolate is from Vinnytsia, and their main factory/headquarters is located here.

I had no idea! Tanya told me that the company's founder is a big political figure around here, and is very progressive and has done good things for the city. They also have a new mayor here, who I've heard from multiple sources is very young and has also done a lot to improve the city.

On Saturday, we went to the festival that was being held all along the main street of the city. It was all decked out for the День Міста-- literally, "day of the city," roughly equivalent to our "Founders' Day" celebrations. It was quite a party, and the town was all decked out.

On the bridge, with pretty lights overhead

We visited two separate concerts, one classical (which, when we attended it, was all songs from West Side Story :))and one rock (with a local band opening for a more popular Ukrainian band and Russian band), and then went down to the waterfront to see the fountain show.

I was totally blown away by the fountain show. This is only my favorite clip, but the fountains played for a full hour, set to music with lights and lasers and even projections on the water. The Bellagio's got nothing on them!

There have, of course, been other shenanigans over the past week, but I'll talk about those later. I'm actually really exhausted tonight. Things are done differently here-- in order to purchase services like phone, internet, and cable TV, you have to actually visit the office of the providing company. Then, you can use automated kiosks (like ATMS) (located just about everywhere) to pay your fees. These things are also wonderfully cheap for an American-- cable TV costs 60 UAH a month (about $7.50) and internet costs 75 UAH (about $9.50). In order to figure all these things out, Svitlana (my contact at the university, an English professor) has been working with me and my apartment rental agency. Today, though, she had to go before we could finish with everything... so I spent the better part of the afternoon going all over the city with my landlady, taking care of all these services. The best part? The landlady didn't speak a word of English, so we had to make do with my very terrible Russian. It was definitely challenging and a little stressful, but I was actually really glad. Opportunities like this are the reason I came here, and the fact that it ultimately worked out definitely gave me a lot of confidence to keep trying. Maybe I'll actually be able to speak Russian not-so-terribly by next June! :o)

And now, my friends and family, I am going to bed-- but you may look forward to another post tomorrow, now that I am reconnected with the world!