Baby gets new shoes!
I
finally made it to the shoe store.
Janeen’s friends are kind enough to indulge my need to shop and I manage
to find three pairs of girlie shoes to give my feet some ease and brighten my
day.
After
a day of shopping and talking we attend a local performance of the musical
“South Pacific”. The cast was excellent
and obviously enjoyed themselves during he performance.
I
will stay the night here in the ‘burbs and hopefully head back to the hotel for
some serious rest.
Another Day, another
Doctor…or Back in the Saddle Again
Today
I sleep in. I have no commitments except
an OB/GYN appointment. Might as well get
all my medical needs met while I have the chance.
I
read e-mail, shower, and relish time alone.
It is a short break because tomorrow I will visit Janeen and her friends
in the suburbs.
More breast groping…
Janeen
and I dined at an Ethiopian café today.
This
Following
lunch I made my initial visit to the surgeon who will remove the lump in my
breast. Once again I bare my breasts to
strangers.
Surgery
will take place in a week.
In
the evening we take the metro to the last stop on the line and meet one of
Janeen’s circus band friends. He is a
man with a sense of humor and makes delightful conversation as we eat Chinese
food.
Following
our meal we have a private concert (we attend band rehearsal). I doze shamelessly though the music is
wonderful and very lively. I am just so
very tired from constant activity, late nights and so much stimulation, and of
course the underlying anxiety I seem to suppress…I need some quiet and time
alone, but I love the people I am spending my time with. There are always tradeoffs!
My sister arrives for a
couple days of playtime …
My
big sister Janeen arrives today.
This
is her first experience traveling on a military HOP. She goes first class: somehow she manages to
board a leer jet with a General and a couple other officers.
Janeen
knows how to live. She plays trombone in
the circus band. This after a military
career and law studies. Her example
reminds me that we need to sing and dance.
It is part of gratitude and it simply makes life better! 8-)
Her
trombone is red.
We
visit
We
walk up to the Kennedy resting place and are inspired by the quotes chosen to
mark this site. The view is also
inspirational.
JFK
influenced our Mother in many ways and perhaps because she was so awed by him,
I feel he has effected who I am. As a
Peace Corps trainee, he represents a significant influence to me.
We
take photos and continue to walk. We
leave
A
group of young Marines jogs past us.
They are in formation and make running look beautiful. They chant a jodee that echoes among the
monuments and reminds us what it means to serve.
There
are many ways to serve.
My
feet are aching and I am still sleep-deprived and dazed, but we continue to
walk and talk and stay in the moment.
Tonight I hope to sleep until I wake – no activities tomorrow.
We
visit a few more sites and enjoy seeing a duck nesting under a tree on the edge
of the White House lawn. There is a
small fence around Mama Duck and signs say “Do Not Disturb the Duck”.
The
duck is a local celebrity. During recent
landscaping activities the duck decided to make her nest and lay her eggs in
the mulch under a tree in the midst of the project. Rather than disturb her, the decision was to
let her remain there until the ducklings hatch and can be safely relocated.
A
nice story in a city where laws are made and individuals are sometimes lost in
the shuffle.
Still sleep deprived &
initial appointment with PC nurse..
After
my initial appointment with the PC nurse I continued to enjoy my mother-in-law
and sister-in-laws company until around mid-day when they headed off on the
Metro to the airport. I accompanied them
as far as the
Back
home, my room mate (also from
The death march walk
begins…sightseeing in DC
Of
course I use the term lightly, but we really trekked around the city
today. My feet were bleeding and raw at
days end. I could use more comfortable
walking shoes.
We
enjoyed a wonderful visit to the
Later
we wandered into
Lots
of good conversation and fun.
4 AM trip to the airport…
For
the third night in a row, I am awake at
Actually
this night I did not sleep at all. I was
afraid I would fail to awaken in time for my
We
drive through the dark streets of
The
first leg of the journey takes me to
This
time, I am among the last people to board the plane. The overhead compartments are full and I must
negotiate with people to squeeze my only bag into a compartment far from my
seat.
My
seatmate is a young woman. We begin a
conversation and I do not volunteer much information about my situation or who
I am. Soon I learn she is a medical
student returning from an internship in
With
so many things in common, we talk away many hours. I do not have time to become frightened or
angry at this turn of events that takes me back to the States and makes me miss
training and my spouse.
Still
no sleep.
The
plane lands in DC and since I have only a carry on bag, I have no delays
getting through customs. To my surprise
I see a familiar face smiling at me when I come through the door ahead of the
rest of the crowd. There was Jim S.
waiting to drive me the hotel.
What
a good friend.
He
drove for about ten hours to be here for me.
At
the hotel I find my mother-in-law and sister-in-law waiting for me in the
lobby.
My
arrival feels more like a celebration than the start of a potentially difficult
medical journey.
I
have so much to be grateful for.
A reprise of the blackbird
singing in the dead of night…
Again
I awake at
I
stay in bed and just listen. I do not
sleep. I take pleasure in being next to
my husband. I watch the sky grow lighter
and when Mark wakens, we whisper to one another about life and birdsong and
things that matter.
Mark
says his goodbye to me and goes to his technical training. The PC driver will come for me so I remain
with T. and N. I feel drained from so
little sleep and from the alcohol I ingested the past two nights. I do not indulge in drink like my host family
does, but I participated for a number of reasons. Now I have regrets as my head pounds and
nausea is an issue.
The
PC driver picks me up and drives me into
Shortly
after my fellow trainees depart, I receive a cal from one of them: would I like
to attend the opera? Despite my queasy
stomach and my need for sleep, I accept and hastily change into something more
suitable for a nigh at the opera.
We
saw Madam Butterfly. When I joined the
Peace Corps, I never thought I would be in a beautiful city like
Blackbird singing in the dead
of night…
At
Before
I am truly awake I find myself gazing out the window into the backyard of my
host families’ home. There is a thick
blanket of fresh snow covering everything where just the day before the countryside
was verdant green and spring flowers blossomed.
The
lonely bird continues to sing.
It
is an almost magical scene and I wonder if I really am dreaming.
I
stand gazing out and wonder why this bird sings. I feel like the only one alive on an empty
planet. I wonder who else may hear this
bird’s song. Will it give them
courage?
The
bird sings. It does not know or care
that anyone is listening. It sings
because that is what birds do.
Why
does it sing tonight? Why did I wake to
its song? Why does it give me hope?
I
think of the lyrics to the Beatles song:
Blackbird singing in the dead of
night,
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Blackbird singing in the dead of
night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.
I think about the lump in my breast and what it can mean.
I feel lonely as I listen to the bird and continue to gaze out
at the snow covered hillside. In a
matter of moments my loneliness turns to joy.
I feel a sense of gratitude for this birdsong on this dark night when I
am dealing with fears, disappointments and things unknown.
The unexpected snowfall is a thing of beauty and I consider it a
gift too. The beautiful view of the
snow-covered trees on the hillside and the lake below take my breath away. I am
glad to be alive and glad to have had this nighttime epiphany.
When I crawl back into my warm bed and my husband’s strong arms
embrace me I feel a profound bitter-sweet joy.
Though things do not always unfold in the way we plan, life is
so good.
In the morning I have
language class. I say my goodbyes. We all lunch together at our “favorite”
(ONLY) place in town: a local dive bar where rough and tough locals arrive
early to drink and talk. A heavy spring
rain washes away the snow and floods the streets.
I pack my bag. Though I have little to pack, it takes me a
long time.
Mark has little to say.
In the evening there is once again a special dinner. This time T prepares all my favorite
foods. She takes care of me. She sings to me and calls me sister. Again there are mandatory vodka toasts. We stay up late.
Mark returns from site visit:
hello & then goodbye…
Mark
arrived home from his big adventure in
I
will be medevaced to DC this weekend. I
don’t want to say this goodbye. The plan is for the PC van to pick me up
Saturday afternoon and return me to
It
takes all day to get paperwork done and to finish work related to site visit
and a video project Mark is working on.
We finally metro/bus and walk home arriving at our host families’ home
as the sun sets, the temperature feels bitter and snow flakes begin to drift
down from the sky.
We
delay telling T and N about the trip I will be taking. They are excited to see us and wan to
celebrate our arrival. They have a
beautiful table set and are eager to hear more about our wonderful assignment
to
We
stay cheerful and manage to share lots of information despite our limited
Russian skills. T. is excited about a
surprise she has for me: they are getting me a puppy! He will arrive on 1 May when the family comes
to help celebrate Orthodox Easter and May Day. All my talk about cats and dogs
motivated this sweet gift. So many
delightful plans and I will miss them.
It
feels good to be “home” and I regret that I will have to give them frightening
news.
I
delay telling them until our instructor calls to check on us. I ask her to please relay my news to
them.
The
rest of the evening is a blur. There is
much conversation and there are condolences, reassurances and advice. And there are shots of vodka… T and N are worried and we stay up late
commiserating.
Being
medivaced - not how I imagined my Peace Corps career would go…
I will be medevaced –
It
is certain now; I will fly to DC and spend a few days (maybe weeks) there. I will leave this weekend.
I
get the all expense paid trip to DC for “spring break”. Mark will stay here and continue training
while I get my medical situation resolved.
Diversions as I wait: off to
the bazaar...
I
am waiting – Mark returns Thursday and maybe by then I will have an idea of
what my immediate plans are. I may be in
DC soon. It is too challenging to send
biopsy tests to DC so I may go there for that.
Meanwhile
I have met a couple other PCV who are ere for a couple days so we are off to
the bazaar. Taking the subway here is a
good experience for me – a challenge for my language skills trying to read the
fleeting signs as the train speeds by and the crowds press hard on me to keep
moving.
We
wander the bazaar for a couple hours and then come back to the PC office. Waiting is hard work.
I flash my breasts all over
My
room mate was up, dressed and on her way to the airport by 4 AM. I slept in a bit longer but eventually got up
and made some tea and toast to start my day.
By now my room mate is somewhere over
I
have medical appointments today.
What
an “adventure” this turns into!
Doctor
V. accompanies me on my rounds to he oncology hospital and then to another
facility where I have an ultrasound and then to a third location where I have a
mammogram. (Ohhhhh how I looove getting
a mammogram!)
I
am glad to have a chance to get acquainted with Dr V. He has a delightfully dry sense of humor and
also a wonderful knowledge of life in
It
is good to have someone with me since protocols here are a bit different than
what we come to expect in the
The
information they collect will be sent to PC in
Meanwhile
my husband is getting the big tour of
Artist’s mart, churches,
dogs, prices…
My
room mate and I set out to find the street market so she can purchase a few
souvenirs before her return to the
Enroute we stop for a breakfast of tea and
pastry.
The
artisans market wends its way down a steep cobblestone street from a hill down
behind a beautiful old church. Andrew's
Descent - a thousand-year old street connecting in the days of Kyiv Rus-Ukraine
the Upper part of Kyiv with the Lower . Today it is the Greenwich
Village or the Montmartre of Kyiv filled with art shops and exhibits, cafes,
beauty and charm. Tourism is not really
developed here in Ukraine
On
the corner at the base of the hill the dog-woman guards 25 well-mannered
canines who pose attentively on a blanket spread over the cobblestones. A tin plate with several coins in it is
positioned so passersby can toss in a donation.
The
dogs are well behaved. They are quiet
and sit very still as if posing for a painting.
There is a sign written in Ukrainian scrip detailing information about
them.
We
continue our trek, exploring many side streets around the area. We put scarves over our heads and enter a
Ukrainian Orthodox Church and watch as others light candles for people and say
prayers.
We
walk down the elegant main street of
Cold rains, a tour of
The
dawn breaks, but it is not obvious because rain is falling. We pack our things and feel the temperature
dropping outside. Yesterday the sky was
blue and it was warm and inviting outside.
Today it is cold and wet and gray.
Mark
will leave for the site visit to
Since
Mark’s train does not leave until late in the day a tour has been
arranged. We pile into the van with the
coordinators and trainees who are also leaving later in the day. I accompany the tour and will be dropped off
at the Peace Corps office when they head for the train station.
The
city sites are beautiful, even in the chilling drizzle. We see many brides at various monuments where
they pose with their new husbands and toss their bouquets or leave them as a
tribute to unknown soldiers or famous poets.
The rain does not seem to bother them.
Cameras flash and smiles flash.
The couples and their friends and family drink champagne and laugh.
Our
coordinator points at a couple brides and indicates they may be pregnant. Some things are the same everywhere.
There
is a saying in
I
know he will be worried as he whiles away the long hours on this trip. He will be on the train almost 24 hours one
way and another 24 hours when he returns next Thursday.
I
sit in the Peace Corps office on this Saturday night and read my e-mail. There are many volunteers here and it is a
chance to become acquainted with others and to learn more about what I can
expect from my assignment here in
Across
the room I notice one of the volunteers is logged onto my website and is
actually reading my Ukraine Journal. My
first instinct is to walk over and introduce myself, but I quickly reconsider
and decide to just let him read. It
feels funny to remain anonymous while someone reads my thoughts.
I
decide to take a shower and call it a night.
I
soon find I have a roommate. She is a
trainee from my training group who has decided to return stateside rather than
continue with her Peace Corps commitment.
We talk. I can see this is no
easy decision for her.
After
while we turn out the lights and sleep.
A visit to the doctor…
I
was whisked off to the office of our dedicated medical staff this morning. After some discussion they determined I
should probably head back to the
Arrangements
are made for me to be looked at by a local physician, have an ultra-sound and a
mammogram. The results will be sent to
It
is too late today to have this work done so I return to the conference and
rejoin my group as they prepare for their site visit.
Word
is out that something is wrong and I receive a few discreet hugs and comforting
whispers as I go through the afternoon workshops and the evening activities.
There
is a bonfire by the river tonight. We
linger by the fire. We talk and
sing. People drink beer. Mark and I sip champagne. The Ukrainian staff joins us by the
fire. They are pleased to see Americans
enjoying an activity they also enjoy.
Spring is in the air, the moon is bright, it is a beautiful evening.
Hot Water & a Lump/Bump
in the Road…
We
awoke early in the sun filled room at the sanatorium where the Coordinator’s
Conference continues today. After the
recent cold snap, it is wonderful to see the sun and feel the warmth and
promise of spring again. There is still
snow hidden deep under bushes and trees, but singing birds and blue skies are a
promise for the future.
I
made a rather frightening discovery as I lingered in bed this morning. There is a rather large lump in my left
breast. I decided to keep silent about
this discovery for at least a little while and made my way into the shower
where I was delighted to find that hot water was available for early
risers. After a luxurious shower I got
dressed and headed down to breakfast with Mark.
I kept my discovery quiet and decided to share it later in the day when
we had time to discuss things.
The
busy day unfolded day. The training
staff provided many workshops and opportunities to learn new skills. We also spent time getting acquainted with
our coordinators.
Our
Coordinator is also the director of the library system will be working in. She has a sister here in
Throughout
the day, my mind kept returning to the small lump in my breast. When Mark and I were finally alone late in
the day I decided to share this news with him.
Within minutes he was downstairs using the phone to contact the medical
folks at headquarters in
Hot Showers & Site
Assignments – Hopes Dashed & Dreams Come True…
The
excitement for today is taking a hot shower; when we wake at our host family’s
home this morning that is the topic of conversation. We are more fortunate than many of the people
in our training group because we do have indoor plumbing and hot water
available, but our bathing and toilet arrangements are far from ideal. Privacy issues and standards are different
from what most Americans are accustomed to.
Today
we will arrive at the sanatorium where our Coordinators Conference will take
place. We will have a bright, airy room
in a Soviet era sanatorium on the banks of the
But
first we must make the journey. We took
the early train to
The
conference day is well organized and filled with workshops and opportunities to
share and learn. The hot shower dreams
must wait until the work of the day is done.
The
major excitement of the day is site announcement. We are all eager to learn where we will each
serve for the next two years and three months.
All we really know is that we will all be boarding trains or busses on
Saturday to head off on our site visits.
Anticipation is the word of the day.
We are delighted to discover we are
assigned to a library situated in the beautiful and ancient city of
Our
location is somewhat less glamorous than those on the tourist track and more
isolated, but delightful nonetheless. It
was a closed city during the Soviet ere and was the home of a Russian military
installation. (
The Crimean
peninsula is a small
mountainous area. Catherine the Great called
it " … the MAIN PEARL in the Russian empire crown".
The
It
is a long train ride to the location – 24 hours of bouncing along on the
train! We will be a couple hours away
from the nearest PCV.
My
job will be in the children’s library.
Mark will work in the resource center at the adult library. I am delighted.
After
a long day and evening of “work” we spend a little time socializing with
others. Mark plays cards and I
visit. Finally at around
Perhaps
there will be hot water tomorrow.
Perhaps they turn off the hot water for the season when they turn off
the heat for the season. These are facts
of life in this part of the world where some of the simple pleasures of life in
Despite
the disappointment over hot showers we enjoyed the day and look forward to
several days of camaraderie and training.
The euphoria over our future posting site distracts us from the
disappointment. Dreams of
Helpful people…
People
in
Mark
had typed up his introductory remarks in his own version of Russian. When the gentleman who volunteered to help us
get the file printed caught a glance at the content, he took it upon himself to
re-write the whole narrative. With
considerable giggling and snorting, the staff at the hardware store rewrote
Mark’s introductory remarks for him.
About halfway through, I am pretty sure the gentleman typing wished he
had not undertaken this particular challenge, but he never-the-less hung in
there till the end.
It
was a pretty funny experience. Later in
the day we returned with a half-kilo of chocolates to reward our dedicated
staff of local Ukrainians who helped us with our project. Team work is big here.
It
is time to begin packing our bags for our coordinator’s conference – we will be
on the Wednesday morning train and in a few days, we will be in our future
home, exploring the community and making plans for our life there…
We
will be gone about 9 days…rumor has it we may be heading south… We shall see… Check back later for more
adventures…
Train-training & Miss Zoë’s
big turkey dinner…
By
Our
classmates arrive and our teacher, usually very prompt, rushes up, just in time
to purchase a ticket and board the bus with us.
Today’s lesson: the vocabulary for taking the train.
It
is about an hour ride to
Seventy
kilometers later we step off the bus and head underground to the metro. I am glad I have experience traveling on the
subway, because the Ukrainian metro at morning rush hour is no place for an
amateur. This is no place for someone
uncomfortable around people or indecisive.
You must move forward and be prepared to protect your own space against
outsiders.
The
metro stations in
For
those, like me, who must sound out every word before I can take in the meaning
of any sign, it is a major challenge to get my bearings. I am amazed at the speed with which people
move forward. I try to stop and regroup,
but I find that those who stop seem to be simply dragged along with the people
who know how to manage the metro system.
I let myself move forward. I
feel, somehow, that I am in a film. The
dirge-like music and the dim lighting reinforce that feeling.
Being
in a foreign environment is a good opportunity to practice Zen-like
notions. I mentally step back and
observe. I like the sense that I am
watching a film.
When
the car stops we are belched forth. It
is obvious we have arrived at the train station. Pushing, shoving passengers carry luggage and
those waiting to board are also loaded down with bags. We step out on the platform and walk toward
the train station, moved forward by the momentum of the crowds. Musicians play sweet songs and vendors try to
sell us things as we make our way up toward the train station.
Our
lesson for the day is to learn all we can about how the train station manages
all the demands on it. On Wednesday,
most of us will be heading away from the city to visit our future homes. We will spend many hours on the Ukrainian
train system juggling the challenges of language and the logistics of travel
and the excitement of life.
I
have traveled by train to
As
in other areas, there is a mix of modern technology and tradition in the entire
railroad experience. In a few short
days, I will be traveling on one of these trains as we make our way to our new
home for our initial site visit.
One
of the major challenges for those of us in our training group is that signs and
announcements are made in Ukrainian rather than Russian. We must master many new words in order to
feel comfortable traveling. It is a
humbling experience, but we watch and listen intently as our instructor coaches
us on our lessons.
Once
our lessons at the train station are behind us, we adjourn for lunch and then
head to the PC office where we can check our e-mail. Mark and I catch the eye of the PC’s vigilant
nurse who tracks us down and administers the last of our required shots as we
wait for a free computer terminal. Now
when we travel to our coordinators conference we will not have to undergo
shots.
The
walk from the subway stop to the PC HQ is wet and cold. We are glad to arrive. We spend some time visiting with other
volunteers who are in town for one reason or another. After some time on the keyboard, we head back
to the metro and catch the marchutka back to our village.
We
updated our journals, but reading e-mail and answering it was challenging. It has been about nine days since we read
e-mail and I anticipated sending answers today to the mail I read many days
ago. Unfortunately the addresses are not
available and there were other problems so something that should be simple,
became a sense of frustration. I am able
to stay pretty calm about everything, but I must admit, I do get sad and
frustrated when I cannot touch bases on via e-mail. These lessons are character building for
me. I do look forward to hearing from
family and friends….
I
did get an e-mail from friend-Martha regarding Miss Zoë. I am sorry to report that our dog managed to
catch Mr. Strut (the resident turkey who now seems to be part of the big turkey
dinner…) so now Miss Z. has relocated to a Marty’s farm. She seems to be adjusting well to life at the
horse farm. The horses and donkeys keep
her in line. Martha says Miss Z even
comes when she is called now. Siberian
Huskies are not noted for that kind of behavior. I am grateful she is adjusting well and it
pleases me that she can have more freedom.
I am most grateful to Marty and Pat for allowing Miss Z. and Bubba to
stay with them. I miss them very much.
We
left the house early Sunday and headed over to the bazaar. K. is the regional market so people from all
over the oblast arrive to shop or sell. Now that the weather is so pleasant, the town
is crowded on Sunday mornings.
I
planned to find a pair of suitable spring shoes and so, it seems, did everyone
else! It is fashionable to wear shoes
with very pointed toes. Popular women’s
shoes are also usually high heels; too much drama for my taste. I did not find anything suitable for
myself. If I were in my twenties, I may
have purchased something, but since I am not twenty, I did not find anything I
would care to own.
We
had a lovely lunch with T. and N.
Surprise guests joined us just as we finished our meal so we simply
remained at table and continued to eat delightful snacks. N. pulled out his spirits for everyone and
soon the stories were flying and songs were sung.
Later
in the day, after the guests left, M. and I headed out for a long afternoon
walk around the lake. We found a
cemetery and spent a little time wandering through the site examining graves
and considering the customs and traditions we observe there. At some sites there were rustic tables and
benches provided. Mourners and/or
visitors could relax near their loved ones.
At a few sites, we observed shot glasses of clear liquid (vodka) left
behind, presumable for the loved one.
More on my false friends…
When
I see a “PH” combination I become confused since the “P” is pronounces “R” and
what looks like and English “H” is pronounced as “N”.
Don’t
even get me started on the backwards letter!
That backwards “N” is pronounced like an “I”. There is a backwards capital “R” that is
pronounced like “Ya”…and there are more.
Frankly, this letter strikes me as something a demented five-year-old
dreamed up.
Yes,
her are several letters that do not hide behind a familiar shape at all. Those letters seem easier for me to
assimilate. New is better than
converting. There are letters I have
known and loved for close to fifty years and trying to change their meaning
really is an up-ill battle.
Once
you get past reading Russian, you still must deal with the spoken word. This is definitely another dimension to
explore. It takes a sharp ear and a
dedicated mind to interpret the language and/or connect it with the written
word.
It
isn’t over until you consider the complex grammar rules that are part and parcel
of this language.
I
am impressed by those who master this language.
It really is an amazing language.
There is more hunger
for love and appreciation in this world
than for bread.
- Mother Teresa
I
think sometimes we forget this (see the quote above). It has been my experience that people who
work in the business community, at least in the American business community,
may not really understand this statement.
I
suspect living in
Friday
was Safety Day for us. Mark and I were
the first to arrive this morning. As we
waited outside the meeting site a babushka struck up a conversation with us. She spoke to us in Ukrainian and we answered
her using our impressive (?) command of Russian. Despite the obvious language limitations and
the fact that she had very few teeth, we managed to have an interesting
conversation concerning local news (a young mother died on the main street – a
fatal asthma attack) and also about life in
When
Ukrainian’s speak they are quite emphatic.
If you do not know what they are saying, you might be concerned about
what is going on. They involve their
bodies in their speech and there is a sing-song quality about their speech
patterns. There is also a sense of
urgency that makes the conversations seem like there may be an interrogation or
reprimand going on. The word flow together
and it is often difficult to follow the flow of conversation.
Today
we received our first pieces of mail since we arrive here. There was a postcard from Vogels and a letter
from Cameron and Miranda which included a lovely crayon work of art for our
bedroom wall.
Getting
a letter from home is quite an event. In
this age of e-mail, many of the volunteers never receive actual letters. Since our opportunities to connect with the
Internet are very limited, relying on e-mail is somewhat unsatisfactory. Besides, there is nothing like a handwritten
letter that you can read and re-read again.
People
who are far from friends and family share in the enjoyment when one of the
group receives a letter from home.
After
a late afternoon technical training session Mark and I stopped at the House of
Culture here in K. N. had invited us to
enjoy a school program that was taking place there. Our schedule only allowed us to stay for
about a half hour, but I am glad we had the opportunity to see part of the
show,
The
theater was full of proud parents watching their talented children perform on
the stage. The level of talent was
impressive and varied. There were
accomplished accordion players and pianists, a laud player and dancers, and
much, much more.
I
left the theater feeling relaxed, but tired, after a long, demanding day. The music lifted my spirits and it was a
pleasure to see the children’s enthusiasm and excitement as well as their
talent.
I
am grateful that tomorrow there will be a change of pace from our usual
language training and technical training routines. Tomorrow we will meet with members of two
other clusters for a Safety Day. It will
be good to see the other volunteers and hear about their adventures in
training. After a day focused on safety
matters, we will relax at K.’s home and watch a DVD on the computer.
Today,
we also had the opportunity to work with some secondary school students who
belong to a business English group. The
purpose of the session was twofold: to provide the students with some OJT on
working as an interpreter and to give us some experience working with an
interpreter. Once we are at our
permanent sites, we will need to cultivate candidates for this role. After we find a suitable candidate we will
train them and work with them and nurture their talents. This will be a mutually beneficial
arrangement.
The
students seem to have a good command of the language, but many of them lack the
confidence to speak. Our trainers tell
us this is because of the rote teaching techniques that are generally used. It was a pleasure working with the students.
·
Do not pride yourself on humility or poverty;
pride yourself on your divine inheritance.
-Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan
Alchemical Wisdom
I was a lady of leisure his morning – no
appointments until 1300. I rose with the
sun (0630) and had breakfast with T. and Mark.
Morning light spills into our living-space and into the kitchen where we
breakfast. The small lake behind the
house has changed overnight. What was a
static, white surface now is dynamic.
The azure water catches the morning sun and makes me think about
painting. Birds sing and all over the
valley, roosters crow and remind us all that the day is at hand. It is time to give thanks, rejoice and begin
the day.
Mark had a morning meeting at the school to
learn about how computers are used in the classroom. I spent my morning transcribing some of my
notes on the Russian language. This is a
good way to review and reminds me that we have covered a lot of territory in
the past month. Outside, N. worked at
chopping down a cherry tree that was damaged during the past winter. The neighbors are also outdoors enjoying the
warm Spring sunshine. When I leave for
my afternoon class, I do not wear a coat – not even a jacket. It feels good to be free of coats, scarves
and gloves.
My agenda for tonight is to come up with a
few proposals to share at my meeting tomorrow.
I will be coordinating a seminar with the youth leadership group. I am also planning to work with several other
trainees to present a community workshop that focuses on providing internships
for youth who are starting out in the working world. This concept is not widely practiced here in
Of course I have some language homework
too.
Our interactions with local people continue
to grow and with those opportunities, our confidence grows too. Enroute home tonight we stopped at the
hardware store and made a couple purchases.
The owners dropped by and chatted with us. Their 12 year old son and I worked together
to carry on the work of translating. I
pulled out my photo album and shared photos of our grandson and granddaughter
to keep the conversation going. Their
son’s English is quite good. Afterwards
we ran into the school teacher who translated for me last week and whom I will
meet with tomorrow when she translates for me again. She is an English teacher and enjoys having
the opportunity to use her skills in a real life situation.
We do not hear much news here so what is
happening in
·
Ukrainian
idioms…
Time to share some of the idioms we have
picked up during our brief time here in
I wish I could share them in native
Russian. Mark has “trained” his computer
to speak Russian, but I am not that advanced yet. So, here you will read the English version of
these sayings. I will refrain from
sharing my interpretations, but I suspect you will agree with these
sayings. Some of these are fun…
·
One is
not a warrior in the field.
·
It is
nice to be a guest, but it is better to be at home.
·
The
house is not pretty with its corners, but with its pies.
·
What
we are rich in, we are happy to share.
·
The
husband is the head of the family, and the wife is the neck.
·
Children
are the flowers of life.
·
Tell
me who your friend is – and I will tell you who you are.
·
Small
children do not let their parents sleep well; big children do not let their
parents live.
·
The
satisfied does not understand the hungry.
·
Don’t
open your mouth for someone’s pie.
·
The
first pancake is a lump.
·
Seven
people do not wait for one.
·
God
likes the number three.
·
A week
without a year.
·
Seven
Fridays in one week.
·
Morning
is wiser than evening.
·
The
darker the night, the brighter the stars.
·
To go
where one’s eyes look.
·
There
will be holidays on our street too.
·
It is
better to ride a donkey than to fall off a horse.
·
Daring
takes cities.
·
What
is written with a pen can not be cit out with an axe.
·
If you
like to go sledding, learn to like carrying your sled.
·
Small
children – small problems, big children – big ones.
·
To
swim like an axe.
I love these saying…I hope you enjoy them…
Today we had the opportunity to tour a milk
production factory here in K. The
director and an engineer accompanied us.
We donned white lab coats and followed along behind our leader, craning
our heads and straining to hear the translator over the noise of the
machinery.
The factory is clean and bright with wonderful
facilities for the employees to eat, relax and to shower and change. The equipment is new and computers are used
effectively to monitor deviations. After
the tour we enjoyed a large cup of rich milk and some kefir too.
I wish my nephew could have shared this
visit with me since he has worked at the dairy in my hometown for many
years.
·
Sunday.
Sunday is market day. The bazaar is an integral part of the
community and is open every day except Monday, but it is at its best on Sunday. K-town is a regional market so the community
fills with people on Sunday. Now that
the weather is warming, even more people come to enjoy a few hours of shopping,
socializing and snacking at the local market.
Today the side-streets were filled with
cars and motorcycles. Men read their
newspapers or stood around talking with one another as they wait for their
wives and family to finish their shopping adventures. The bus station is crowded and busy too.
Since this is a regional market, people
come in from outlying villages to shop and socialize. When a bus pulls in, scores of babushkas pour
out the doors of the busses. They each
carry large bags filled with items to sell.
There are bags with potatoes or sunflower seeds. There are woman toting live rabbits or
chickens. The woman are old and strong
and make quite an image as they pour out of the busses and stop traffic as they
cross the road to get to the bazaar. Each
wears a large, colorful kerchief knotted around her head. Most are stout women, hunched over and close
to the ground. It is hard to imagine
that the next generation of Ukrainian women will ever resemble these
grandmothers who are such a symbol of Ukrainian life.
The younger women do not make a public
appearance with out carefully composing their makeup, hair and wardrobe. The current look for the under 30 set
includes stiletto boots and tight jeans or very short skirts (It is not unusual
to see a loooooong bare leg extending out from under a coat. Skirts are short and seeing all that leg
peeking out from under a long coat is pretty provocative.) Despite mud, snow, or rough terrain, these
young women indulge themselves. They are
stunning. Of course such beauty is short-lived.
We attended church today. The Russia-speaking Australian minister is on
vacation, but his associate, from
The Pope is gone. No one mentioned this at the church services
we attended. When we brought it up at
lunch, our hosts gave us blank looks and asked if we were Catholic. I will be interested to see what direction
things go when a new leader is appointed.
On our walk home we passed the body of a
cold, stiff, dead dog. This past week
the local paper advised people to lock up their dogs because those found
running the streets will be eliminated.
The violators are shot with a lethal dose of some chemical. They die and are transported to a dumping
ground. This is a form of population and
disease control that does not sit well with those of us from other
cultures. Here it seems to be a fact of
life.
In the spring, local dogs tend to procreate
and make a nuisance of themselves. They
also join forces and as a member of a pack, do considerable damage to other
animals and endanger people too. We have
observed large groups of dogs (10-15 animals) roaming the streets and
threatening people.
Lunch today was quite a feast. T. prepared one of the national dishes of
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you,
it will be enough.
-Meister
Eckhart
Saturday night in a small town in
We seldom finish a meal with our host
family without Mark striding back to our room to retrieve the Russian/English
dictionary to resolve some conversational issue. Tonight the map of the
Our Saturdays are not our own while we are
in training. We have cross-cultural
training and technical training each wk.
This week the classes were held here in K-town so our cluster-mates had
to take the bus and mashutka to our village.
We slept n a bit, visited the market to stock up on cookies, chocolate
and fruit to serve with tea for our guests.
We arrived at class around 0930.
It is good to see the other trainees and
hear about their recent experiences.
Their post is very different than ours.
They are close to
Our mentor provided additional feedback to
our group at the training today. She is
posted at a remote tourist community in the mountains of western
After class, Mark and I took a long hike
around the local park. The snow is gone,
but the air is still cold and the sky was uncharacteristically grey today. We came into the park through the area
adjacent to the bazaar. This area is
more isolated and quiet. It will be
lovely when he spring clean-up project is complete and the leaves and grass
begin to turn green.
The lake is small and an even smaller
island is in the middle of it. The
island is accessible only by using the hand-powered ferry system (a pulley and
cords which one pulls to navigate the small ferry boat). There are many chickens scratching in the
dirt and enjoying the spring air in the park.
Apparently these birds live in homes adjacent to the park.
We left the park behind us and continued
our walk into another part of town we were unfamiliar with. Many people were taking advantage of the day
to clean up their yards. When the snow
melts, clutter, rubbish and dirt surface so there is much work to be done. Most homes have outbuildings where they may
have poultry or even a small pig or two.
There is usually a main house and often a small secondary house on the
property too. People were cleaning
chickens and drawing water from their wells as we walked by and greeted
them.
After our long walk we had a wonderful dinner
at home and spent the evening reading.
During
diner last night, a large truck arrived and delivered a load of bricks to our
host family. We could not decipher
exactly what the impending project is, but it is clear, the pile of bricks needs
to be neatly stacked.
Mark
invited our classmate T. to come by and help stack bricks after class. When we arrive, N. has already started, but
welcomed the help. Once the stacking was
finished, the three men climbed the stairs to the house and came into the
kitchen. N. and T. quickly set the table
with tasty snacks, a bottle of homemade wine and some homemade vodka too. Two toasts and a sip of the wine made the
conversation flow. I wondered if Tom
would be able to navigate his way home safely.
The
plan for Friday evening was to meet at our language instructor’s home at
Today
was April Fool’s Day, but we did not pull any pranks. Here in
Today’s
language lesson involved a “field trip”.
We were required to approach three people on the street and ask for
directions to a local establishment. I
had no problem stopping people and squeaking out a simple phrase or two
requesting directions. I know that if the
respondent would have actually provided a narrative, I would have had a hard
time interpreting the reply, but my experience was typical. People pointed in the general direction and
provided a few directions such as, “it’s over there between those two buildings”
(in Ukrainian or Russian of course). My
success in this language will be in my tenacity rather than in my ability to
speak it. In any case, I found the
designated store and tackled the exercise with humility and a smile.
The
weekend is ahead. Always a joy.