Traveler, Writer, Aquarius, Peace Corps Volunteer
The evidence
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Dobreii Dehn! Or for those reading this back in the States, Dobreii Utra (since it's noon here and just coming up on five a.m. there). I just finished teaching my first two English classes to the tenth form -- or tenth grade. In a word -- awesome. The kids were so psyched to learn English, to ask questions, to get involved... All the girls wanted to know how old I was and if I was married; all the boys wanted to know if I played football and what I thought of Ukrainian girls. But the teaching came naturally, and I know I'm going to be good at it. The main thing for me to get is talking slow and engaging the kids so they aren't just getting a lecture but actively participating. I'll get better...
So I've been here almost a week now. I was way off when I wrote that there are 75,000 people here. It's 14,000. Yeah, it's a SMALL town, and from what I can gauge, pretty standard of many places in Ukraine. It lies on the banks of the Dniper, the main river in Ukraine, and it's actually quite scenic. The leaves have changed and there are trees everywhere. Unfortunately, all the buildings are very old and run-down. But as one of the Ukrainian facilitators said during staging when there was supposed to be hot water and there wasn't, "Things are such in Ukraine." The good news is that I have hot water in my flat, and there are actually two Internet cafes in town (the one I'm at now is high-speed cable), so I'm not totally without some comforts. And it only costs 4.5 grivna's for an hour, which is a little less than a dollar, so that's fairly groovy. But the town is littered with half-finished projects that they didn't have money to complete -- sports facilities, churches, etc. But people go about their lives and deal with the constant reminders of their situation. It explains a lot about Ukrainian perspectives on life.
Now, my babuska Claudia. She's terrific. She's 57, has a daughter Oksana, who lives in Rio (yes, Brazil) a daughter Natalya, who lives in Kyiv, and a husband Nikoli, who I think works in government and is away much of the year. Claudia is a hefty, strong woman with blonde hair and these huge hands to go along with her hearty laugh. It's really funny to see us interact. She really speaks no English. We sit there at the breakfast and dinner table, me with my dictionary and class notes, and have normal conversations, except that we probably only understand about half of what we're saying to each other. The good news is that I'm cranking on my Russian. I can't believe I've only had four and a half days of it, and I'm already able to get by. The full immersion is going to pay off exponentially. There are three other volunteers in Ukrainka (my town), and they all live with full families with kids who speak English, so they're having a very different experience.
Little by little, though, I'm becoming more a part of Claudia's family. The other night, after dinner (an amazing meal of some of the best chicken soup I've ever eaten with baked chicken and potatoes), she asked me to come downstairs with her to pay a visit to a family that apparently had two kids in college and who spoke a little English. When we got there, it turns out it was some sort of wake for the woman's father that had just passed away. There was a full -- and I mean FULL -- table of food and five people sitting down, none of whom spoke English. But it was my first real "Ukrainian" experience and believe it or not I got by pretty well. I think they wanted to set me up with their daugher, Anastasia, who's in college in Kyiv for speech pathology. Okay, she was actually really cute, but there's no hooking up with the neighbor's kids. I also had my first shots of vodka with them -- three to be precise. Considering I haven't really been drinking for awhile, I was excited to see that I could still drink a bit and be fine (and still converse in Russian). I then had three hours of Russian homework to do when I got back upstairs...
Oh, and about the food :) So, here's what I usually eat for breakfast: two pieces of toast with butter, cheese, and either ham or kielbasa, a banana, tea, and fresh apple juice. When I say fresh, I mean fresh. Claudia presses the apples herself and adds nothing. It's absolutely delicious. But it's been a total adjustment getting used to eating that much for breakfast. The other day, she served me that plus four sweet potato dumplings covered in sour cream. I had to explain that there was no way I could eat that much. It was ridiculous when she wanted me to eat at the neighbor's house after I just had a huge dinner! But again, things are such in Ukraine. Put it this way: I ain't starving. Also, she served me homemade pickled tomatoes one morning. I guess she had them marinating for almost a year, and I didn't know what they were, but I followed her lead when she picked up a tomato, peeled back the skin, and sucked the inside out. Needless to say, I was more than pleasantly surprised. Everything is so fresh and natural. If it wasn't for the heavy creams, I'd be in heaven (for a salad, she either just puts slices of tomato and pepper out and dips them in salt, or makes a salad with them and heaping spoons of sour cream...).
Russian class is intense, but I have a great teacher and I'm loving it. Four hours a day, six days a week. Plus my homework and studying the vocab. By the time my three months are up, I should be ready to do whatever is next. I was talking with a guy the other day who is just finishing his service and who went on the Trans-Siberia express end-to-end. Since I'm learning Russian and not Ukrainian (yes, they are quite different), I think I'd like to do at least some of the trip. Anyway, I'm happy with my progress and although I'm still screwing simple words up a lot, I keep it in perspective that I've been studying it for less than a week. I forget how many hours the total training is, but the three months in the classroom here corresponds to something like over two years of university study.
What else? I went for a walk the other night with Claudia and her friend who teaches English in Skola Odyn (school one -- there are two in the town). Her name is Valentina and she is lovely. She's quite nationalistic, though, and was noticibly irritated that I was studying Russian and not Ukrainian since I'm living in Ukraine. I've gotten that a lot, actually. Also, I met (well, me and the other three volunteers) with the town mayor and lead journalist yesterday to introduce ourselves. It's pretty funny. We're all treated like celebrities here. But of course it's all taken with a grain of salt. Many of these people have never seen an American before and the only exposure they have to us is "Friends" and "Baywatch". So it's very cool to be an ambassador in a way.
Anyway, that's it for now. I'm really enjoying it here so far. I haven't partied at all, so no good stories on that front, but all in good time. I'll venture to Kyiv after October 18th -- we're not allowed to go until our language skills are solid enough to help avoid trouble. In the meantime, more class, teaching, and inordinate amounts of food (every day's the same thing: "Claudia, paijalusta... Ya chachu nemnoga kushat. Spaceba." And then she just fills my plate up anyway).
Do svedanya...
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