Merry Christmas from Ukraine!

I spent a wonderful holiday with my Ukrainian family and another PCV who is living in another oblast. I cooked and baked my way through the weekend and although it was exhausting, it turned out to be the perfect holiday. Being away from my family would have been incredibly hard if it weren't for the people I have come to know and love here. I am truly blessed.

Veronica, Julia, me, Josh, and Natasha. (Max had not yet arrived)

Miss Mouse enjoyed herself as well!

How can I explain the Unexplainable?

It was a sad day for for Americans when the news of the Sandy Hook School tragedy hit the headlines. I found out about his event a little later than most and even though I am not at the moment in the vicinity of my countryman, I mourn no less. I was asked about this even on Saturday in book club and again I spoke about it at English club yesterday. People were naturally curious about how suchs things could happen in America and why.

After all the time I have been in Ukraine, telling everyone how fantastic our country is...how lovely are our people...I could think of nothing to say. A rare moment indeeed as I am always ready to talk.
I remember saying it was not the first time such a tragedy had occured in our county...or in other  countries and that I could only attribute these actions to mentally ill minds.

I simply cannot conceive of ever wanting to do such a thing...or even contemplating doing harm to another person. It is just...unthinkable to me. I have watched the news from my computer, seen the faces of the families and the community, and watched our president speaking to those families in Connecticut. President Obama was distraught with the immensity of this heinous act and overcome with such emotions he could not speak because you see, he a father first.

Were I home in New England right now I would be thinking...2 hours. Just a short 2 hour drive in the car and I could be in Sandy hook. It is that close...and I am so far away, but not in spirit. I will be thinking of those families and the community for a long time, I think.

Hello Winter!

I have been neglectful in recording in this journal and I apologize...it's just that nothing exciting has been happening and therefore, I have little to report that is of any great interest to my readers. Today was rather interesting in that the temperatures were in the negatives all day. At the moment it is 10 below zero (F) on my balcony...it's really windy so the wind chill is figured in. (All you New Englanders reading this know how important it is to have that figured in...)

So, having to get anywhere today without freezing my face off was the challenge. At one point I had my gloved hand over my face trying to keep my nose from falling off. So, here is a photo of me and Veronica after English club today...we are in front of the library. I have fur trim around my hood and I look rather hairy but I can assure you my hair is still short and sassy.

I received a care package from home last week (thanks mom!!) and as always the peanut butter was the main thing. Yum! I'm in heaven. My mom also sent me a solar seasonal ornament as well and it's pretty silly but since I am the queen of silly, I adore it. I call it my "metronome man" because it mimics the movement and sound of a metronome and if it's really sunny in the kitchen it goes like crazy! Miss mouse likes this too...

I'd like to say thanks to my girl Manette back in RI for helping me to apply for jobs at home....I don't have a lot of faith in the postal system here so she has been kindly going above and beyond what a friend should have to do...she's been taking my documents and images from Drop box, printing, and burning disks and then mailing everything all over the USA for me...you rock Manette! Thanks!!!!!

One last thing I wouldlike to mention is that I'll be home in like...5 or 6 months! I still can't believe how fast my Peace Corps service went. I am getting excited about returning to my life in Rhode Island...it's time for me to return to the pool, the studio, and my family.

RIP Pumpkin

Pumpkin found her way into our lives here at #2 Lenin Square back in the summer. She was almost bald on her head and neck and was full of dry scaly patches of skin. I noticed her sitting in the middle of the yard and approached her. Everyone avoided her like she had an infectious disease and I felt so bad for her that I decided to befriend her. My good friend and neighbor Natasha brought her to the vet and got her checked out. The diagnosis was simple: she was starving to death. Natasha and I started to feed her and before long she started to grow her long beautiful fur back. Her eyes cleared up and she had more energy and was like a whole new cat!  It had started to get cold here and we were worried she wouldn't have a place to live for the winter so I started to look for a home for her. She wanted to live with me but Miss Mouse wouldn't permit it. Pumpkin wasn't concerned about her though...every time I opened my door she tried to sneak into the apartment!

During the summer I found out Natasha was using her own money to sterilize stray cats. I thought this was such a great thing that I decided to help her. Every week I pass around a jar at the library during our English activities and so far people have been giving about 60 G's a week. One of the students that attends the club found a volunteer organization that shelters, feeds, gives medical care and sterilized stray animals here and in Dnipropetrovsk. I found out they could find a home for Pumpkin and I was supposed to speak with them this week about it but things were cancelled because the woman who runs it was sick. I figured I had a little bit of time yet....

Thursday at 3pm Pumpkin came to my door but I didn't feed her because I usually do so later in the day. That was the last time I saw her. I spent the next 40 hours looking for her and worrying something bad happened. This morning I went downstairs with her breakfast and found her in front of my building in the grass. She was gone. I wrapped her up and put her in the backyard dumpster because I didn't want to see the crows get at her. (I would have been able to see her from my balcony)
I am so very sad...she was like my own.

I'm sorry Pumpkin. I did everything I could...I just thought we had a little more time.

Pictures!

Here are a few new pictures......The first few were taken at "City Day" in Dnipropetrovsk where some of the members of our English club went to meet up with another English club for an hour of talking. Afterward we walked around and enjoyed the sites.

Varonica and I in Dnipropetrovsk

Julia and I in Dnipropetrovsk

Natalia and her son Pasha, Dnipropetrovsk

Alex getting ready to take a ride, Dnipropetrovsk

Julia, Pasha and I, Dnipropetrovsk

Veronica and I, Dnipropetrovsk

Samara Lyceum 9th Form Students




My latest picture

Last Winter at English Club (I am Ruskie!)

Ukrainian Funeral

I went to my first Ukrainian funeral last Friday. My friend Dmitry lost his father, who just happened to be a long time teacher of Physics at the lyceum where I teach.  I was told of his death and asked my counterpart at school if there was a church service and she said no. I was confused and asked her where everyone went to pay their respects and she told me to go to his house!  Hmm. That didn't sound right to me and I chalked it up to another cultural moment but I thought I had better go and check it out anyway. It just wouldn't sit right with me not to pay my respects to my friend. His father lived in the building across the yard from me so I walked over and I saw many of my colleagues sitting outside his building but when I asked about where the apartment was no one seemed to know...or perhaps they just didn't understand my very bad Russian.  I took a chance and walked up until I heard talking. Up on the 4th floor I spotted another colleage who waved me in so I entered the apartment. Sure enough, right there, smack dab in the middle of the living room was the casket with Dmitry's father!  So, there being no cultural moment after all, I went and spoke with my friend who explained to me that there are no funeral parlors or churches involved, and that the priest was on his way. I thought I'd hang around for a while...it was a small apartment and a little crowded but I felt comfortable enough to stay so I did just that. After a few minutes the priest and his aide came, along with two women. They went about their business of setting up things, putting on their vestments, and handing out candles. What happened next was amazing. The priest lit his incense, the ladies started to sing beautiful hymns, and then the mass began. I didn't understand one thing that was said, but I didn't need to. I felt that I was as much a part of this ceremony as the mass, the lit candles and the singing. I felt like I belonged there. It was astonishing to me to feel like I had been part of this rite...that I was part of sending this man on to another plain of existence. It was beautiful...something I never thought I would ever experience at a funeral.  After all was said and done, everyone and the casket left the apartment and then he was laid out on the street in the front of the building so friends and neighbors could say goodbye. When this concluded, they drove the body to the school so the students could say goodbye. I didn't stay for that but I imagine it was the same. I was told that they drove the body to the cemetery afterwards for burial.

Two days after this I went to English club and told my friends and aquaintences what I had experienced and they were shocked! They couldn't believe I would think a funeral was a beautiful experience. I explained the process of death in America to them. It's very clinical and "distant". When someone dies, you called the funeral parlor who makes all the arrangements. You go to a public "wake", speak to (or for) the family or go to a mass. That's it. You are never in the "inner sanctum". You don't see where the person lived his/her life. You don't get to see or experience what was important to this person. You don't get to stand over the casket with a candle or next to the priest. You don't hear beautiful hymns sung by people standing in close proximity to you.  You don't even go back to the persons house afterwards for Coffee-And...the trend now is to have a funeral lunch at a restaurant. It all seems so impersonal, now that I have experienced otherwise.

I was thinking that when my father died it was so sad, but it was all too clean. Why couldn't we have people come to see him in the house he loved and lived in for 50 years? Why couldn't the priest come and wave about some incense and light some candles? We could have said goodbye good and proper and not from a distance, like we did.

I know from stories told to me from my parents that in the old days, it was like what I had witnessed. The dead were waked in their homes and a wreath hung on the door. It's strange to think how far away from death we have become.

Another Milestone

I just had a roomful of people from my English clubs leave my apartment...I didn't know that many people could fit into my tiny place! I thank them all for the bottom of my heart...a suprise party was the last thing I expected!

English Club Update

It's been a while since I posted about our community English club. I thought today was a good day for this as the summer is winding down and I am about to get even busier with school starting in a few weeks. We have named our club(s) "Open Borders" because the group feels that with the ability to speak and understand English there are no borders in the world that can keep them out. I am so proud to be part of this community. Sunday's are my favorite day and I look forward to meeting the members, my friends, and also new members who pop into the club almost every week. We never know who will show up but it is always a surprise because everyone is welcome. A few weeks ago we had a man from England join up...that was a surprise! I happened to be in Romania that week but hope to meet Ted soon.

Some of the core members (the regulars) of the club have become friends and are starting to spend time together outside the library. I posted about our trip to Kharkov back in June, but since then we have gone bowling together and there are plans for future trips such as ice skaing and another "All-English" weekend in Uman. Some of us meet for tea and conversation while others connect through Facebook and the Russian equivilant, Connect. I have nominated Veronica, or rather, she has quite easily slipped into the role of, Social Secretary. Veronica happily plans trips and outings, gathers new members' contact infomation, keeps the group e-connected, and sends out the e-newsletter. Thanks Veronica!

On the marshrutka

In front of the bowling alley

I'm so excited!

Lovely Veronica

I always have my mouth full!

World's worst bowler in the foreground...the best in the back!

Fashion forward

Julia had good form!

Natasia

Julia (Sam, Kathryn, me, Patrick..all PCV's) and Irena.

Alex..the big winner of the day!

English Club in the Library

I am so silly!

English Club

The Wonders of Traveling-Part 4

Now, for the good stuff. Regardless of all the trials I have had to endure for this vacation, I came away with some really nice memories. Seeing my friends and colleagues, and putting up the exhibition at the Constanta Museum of Art...something I had been away from since I started my PC service...was wonderful. I also met people from all over the world when I was staying at the Green Frog Hostel. I never thought I would enjoy staying in a hostel but it was one of the high points of my stay. I always enjoy meeting people from other cultures and I came away from this experience feeling pretty good. Here are a few photos of my trip.

Sabina, Daniela and I out to lunch

Sonia (Daniela's daughter), Daniela, and I in Bucharest park

Some of the artwork (getting ready to be hung)

Big chair sculpture in front of museum in Constanta

Black Sea Port (Casino on right)

Casino (Under reconstruction) across the street from our apartment

Full moon over the Black Sea

At the opening...Daniela's students advertising the exhibition "West Meets East"

Two artists from Constanta, Romania

Me and Daniela after the work was done

Silly us

The Wonders of Traveling-Part 3

The first day I woke up in Bucharest it was still blistering hot. I knew the weather was not going to change any time soon so I decided to bear with it and hope for the best. A Romanian friend and colleage stopped by the hostel at 10am. Sabina and I have similiar interests...not only as artists but as volunteers. We talked non-stop for hours and the time passed quite nicely. Daniela came by to join us at 2pm and treated us to a delicious lunch at a restaurant just around the corner from the hostel. So far so good...right?

After lunch we went to go visit a few galleries but on the way I needed to get some cash from the ATM. Any bank would do as I was using my personal Master Card from an international bank...something I had done many times before. (In fact, before I left Ukraine, I used the card to extract money to exchange for Euros...you remember how that story turned out....). So, needless to say it was not as easy as it sounded. My card was rejected from 8 different banks! Being Saturday none of the banks were open so I was unable to make any inquiries regarding this issue. Feeling okay about it, as Daniela had me covered for now, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon in the city and then made our way back to the hostel where we were greeted like family.  Such nice people who work there I must say! They let me use their phone to call my bank in the US, and also allowed me to call the Peace Corps office in the city to let them know what was happening in case I was unable to get access to my money.

The bank assured me my money was available and the card not blocked. They suggested that sometimes Romanian banks reject cards because there is a lot of fraud here, and so I should enter a bank on Monday to have the teller access my money. They said to have the bank call them if there is a problem. I spoke with the Peace Corps county director who was absolutely wonderful. She assured me I would not be left alone without funds and to stay in touch. I had thought to go to the PC office Monday morning but Daniela had made arrangements for us to be tranported, with all the artwork, to Constanta at 7am Monday morning. Huh. I guess I would have to rely on her for a phone connection, as well as money, until things got sorted out.

Things did not get sorted out too quicky. In fact, I was without money for 4 days. Imagine being in a foreign country with no money?  It was frustrating, to say the least. The first bank took my credit card and swiped it and the same issues occured, and they refused to call my bank. I couldn't call my bank or my PC office because my phone did not work in Romania. Daniela did not have international calling and I had to use her phone to call the PC country director in Bucharest, who would act as a go-between to alert PC Ukraine of my situation. By now, however, my allowence had come in and luckily I had enough money in my account to cover my trip. PC Ukraine assured me that Pro Credit was also in Romania and I should be able to get my allowence from any teller machine. How about...NOT?

Each time I went to use the Pro Credit bank card it was rejected due to insufficient funds. Now I knew there was enough funds because PC Ukraine called the bank to be sure. So, Daniela called her daughter to find the nearest Pro Credit bank and luckily there was one near the museum where we were setting up our exhibition.  This screwed up everyone's timing of course because work was supposed to begin at 9am in the museum but I needed to get  to the bank at that time. After all this time without money I was beginning to get a little upset.  Daniela kept telling me not to worry she would take care of me but I didn't want to be taken care of!  I wanted my own money! Plain and simple.

So, we found our way to the bank (the long way, unfortunately) and sat down with a bank rep who told me my Master Card was no good and she would not call the USA for me. She also told me I had insufficient funds in my PC account. I insisted that I did and she checked her records and said I didn't! So, I got back on Daniela's phone (Did I mention that her phone never stopped ringing?) when it was available to call PC Romania who then called PC Ukraine, who them called Ukraine Pro Credit who insisted that there was plenty of money in there. The women in the bank kept telling me there was nothing she could do...I had insufficient funds. At this point the level of frustration I had been feeling for 4 days came to a head. I simply broke down and cried. I couldn't help it. How can this be happening? How can I have all this money and have no access to it? How can people be so uncaring? 
The women became affected by my distress and took me outside to try to use the card. We tried for 1000 RON, which was what I needed to cover expenses and pay Daniela back (about $270). Card rejected; insufficient funds. She tried 500 RON; same thing. Lastly she tried to withdraw 300 RON...BINGO! I was so relieved!  Money!  I had money!!!!!  I extracted what I needed in smaller increments and felt the weight of the last 4 days life off my shoulders. What a nightmare.

Thank God I had the Peace Corps! I never felt alone in my plight because of them. If I couldn't get any money, as a last resort they said they would wire me some money. I can't image what not having them as a support system would have been like. Hmm. Oh, yes, I can. The last time I visited Romania when I ended up in the hospital....

Nothing is ever easy, is it?

The Wonders of Traveling-Part 2

I arrived in Bucharest safe and sound on Friday night. Daniela picked me up and got me to the hostel in good order but not, however, without a few glitches. (What is my life without a few of these after all?) SO.....

I arrived in Kiev Thursday after a rather pleasant 6 hour journey from home. It was the first time I took the day train into Kiev. Normally I take the evening train and arrive in the morning. I splurged and purchase a 2nd class ticket because I heard it was air conditioned and it was.  Ahh.....nice.

I got on the Moscow-Sofia train okay. It arrived early and we were allowed to board and get ourselves situated before the train left. Mistake #1. I had forgotten that the A/C doesn't work when the train is idle. It was deadly hot. Once they hooked up a car for us everyone began crowding into the very cramped quarters all at once. I went to my compartment and there were like 8 people inside....I didn't know who was staying, who was going, who was in the wrong place...I had an old man trying to tell me I had the upper bunk when I knew this was incorrect. I had to get the conductor to straighten things out which he did but boy was it hot! Miserable! So...after a time the train got underway and it did get a little cooler...but not much. The overnight journey was quiet but hot. The A/C in our compartment was not working all that well...in fact, throughout the entire 27 hour journey, it just barely pumped out enough cool air to keep one person cool...let alone 4, and then only intermittently because the train stopped a lot.

So.  The Ukrainian border...mid-day. My best guess would be 94 degrees and climbing outside, and more so inside. We stopped at the border for 3 hours.  No toilet, no A/C, no food from the cafe car. Oh, did I mention that no one spoke any English? Or, that at the point when they took our passports and disappeared for all this time and then started to rip open the insides of our compartment looking for contraband and that I had no clue as to what was happening and I was a bit...freaked out? Bad enough to travel alone and not speak the language that everyone around you is speaking, but to have things happen and you have no idea what it is or why....hmm. Pretty scary. After a few hours of intense worry I met 2 guys who spoke English..one from Ukraine and the other from the Czech Republic. They explained why it takes 2-3 hours at the border of Ukraine. The tracks running from Russia through Ukraine are a wider gauge...the rest of the continent have the "other" size. The trains are crane-lifted and put onto different wheels. Huh. Now I get it.

Okay. So, we get to the Romanian border and have to sit for 1 more hour in the sweltering heat. Best guess: 105 degrees by now. I felt like I was in a toaster oven. By now I am beside myself with the heat..all of us are just DYING in there. The customs officials come aboard want to know if I smoke. In fact, they ask this of everyone. Those that admit to smoking are asked how many packs they are carrying. It turns out, there is a black market for Ukrainian cigarettes in Romania. The cigarettes are much cheaper so they are smuggled aboard the trains during stops. (A spoke to a French girl staying at my hostel in Bucharest and we were comparing our trips on this train line..her just coming into Bucharest from Sofia, Bulgaria. She told me that in the middle of the night the train stopped at a station in Bulgaria and a gypsy woman came into her compartment with a big bag of cigarettes and stored them with their luggage!  I told her what I experienced and we figured that this is how they are smuggled into Romania. Someone must pick up the bag just over the border with no one the wiser. I told her she was lucky...who knows what could have happened if the border guards searched her compartment and found them?)

Okay. So. Onward to Bucharest. A few hours later we pulled into the Bucharest station and my friend Daniela is there with her daughter and her boyfriend. The train was an hour late but I was thankful to get off the thing. It was quite possibly the longest journey ever. Two days and one hour door to door, for a journey that, done by car, takes 16 hours total. Crazy.

So, off the train I go into the sticky heat of the evening (it's now midnight) so happy to see Daniela I forget all about how terrible the train ride was. I am so happy, in fact, the heat doesn't even phase me. We arrive at the hostel a few minutes later and I am pleasantly surprised...it's a lovely old building with lots of kitty cats lounging around. Oh Joy!

Or...not. My room is being used by someone else, it seems. The Chinese tourists who are sleeping in my bed had an issue with their flight and stayed another night. The only alternative is to stick me into the 8 bed dorm with lots of ...someones. I am not prepared for this. I am upset. I am tired and hot and keep asking 'but what about my reservation'? In this moment I recall that Seinfeld episode where Jerry and Elaine are at the car rental counter and they don't have the mid-sized car Jerry had reserved.
Incredulous, Jerry says "... so you know how to take the reservation...you just don't know how to hold the reservation..." Strange how the mind works when it's over-tired. I ended up across the street in the "annex" which was a nice place too, but I was put into the basement where someone lives. The guy was out partying all night and told not to come in until I had gone.....wow. Talk about strange. I really didn't like the fact that I could not lock the room, but the funny thing was, by this time I was so tired I didn't care and fell dead asleep until 7:30 am when I heard some movement outside my bedroom door.....huh.

I get up and peak around the corner and say "hello? Who's there"? This young man says not to worry...he won't bother me, to just go about my business. Yes, it's his apartment and he has some kind of agreement with the owner that he is some kind of "partner" in the business and that he is tired of all the overbookings...it happens all the time, it's not my fault but he is tired of giving up his bed. He said a lot more but it was incoherent. I asked where he was from and he said the USA...Georgia. I asked him what he was doing in Bucharest and he said he had this drunk driving thing and didn't want to bother with community service. Right away my radar goes up. Who runs away from community service? That's a slap on the wrist. This guy was headed for jail...this much I know without him saying anything more. The more he spoke the more I knew he was lying through his teeth. Boy, do I hate drama and I couldn't wait to get out of there. I packed up my shit quick and went across the street to the main hostel.

Back in the main hostel I run into Mario the night manager and right away I apologize for being such a bitch the night before and he said never mind it was their fault and he was sorry. He made me a lovely breakfast and we sat outside on the pation and gabbed for hours...a super nice man. Roxanna (the owner) came in later and I apologized to her too but she insisted it was their fault and gave me the first night for free. Nice. They are lovely people and I was very comfortable with my new room in the back (the Chinese tourists left) and the A/C was awesome! After spending 3 nights there I got to know these people farely well...I also know that they had been trying to unsuccessfully get rid of the person in the basement who I had encountered my first morning there...he wasn't a partner but a hanger-on of sorts who they couldn't shake loose. I told them he was a felon on the loose and to be careful.

How do I end up with so many crazy things happening?  Is it me? Is it Romania? (Remember last time...) Well, Just wait. I am not finished yet. The best is yet to come.

The Wonders of Traveling

When I say 'wonders', what I really mean is, it's a wonder anyone ever travels out of Ukraine. Or gets back in.

Starting  way back on March, I began gathering information on how to buy international train tickets. I tried registering on the Official Ukraine train site, but for some crazy reason it didn't take my password. I had two different people call the main desk for information and received two sets of instructions...the last one being so absolutely rude I thought my friend was going to cry. As April stretched in May I was nearly out of my mind and then June rolled in and I finally decided to bring in the BIG guns...the travel expert who works in the Peace Corps office in Kiev. Of course, prior to this I didn't know this person exisited. Lyudmila is wonderful!!!! She did some research, made some calls and voila! I received the correct information and I was armed and ready for the next step...purchasing tickets.

I considered myself extremely lucky that I could buy international tickets in Dnepropetrovsk because the first round of phone calls informed me I had to travel all the way to Kiev to do this. I was ready with my friend and community counterpart Julia...I was taking no chances at this point. I had my money, my passport, and all the pertinent information and off we went. We found the ticket office and talked to a very nice young lady, who was very happy to sell me a train ticket to Romania...but that was all. She could not provide me with a return ticket. She said to comeback on Monday to speak with the manager.

I had to go to plan B.  Well I didn't have a plan B but I needed one, and fast. I was leaving soon and I couldn't leave Ukraine until I bought a return ticket...the reason being is because I also needed to buy a return ticket to Dnepropestrovsk from Kiev...a hard-to-come-by ticket if you are trying to purchase a same-day seat. I can't think of anything worse that being stuck in the Kiev train station. I had a near miss last year and it was not fun, I can tell you.

So, I came home without tickets and e-mailed Lyudmila in the office and also I e-mailed my friend Daniela in Bucharest to see if she could purchase a ticket for me. While I waited for their replies, I looked up the Moscow-Sofia train on-line and wouldn't you know they had a great user-friendly English language website that operated very much like an airline's site...you could book online for your exact dates and use a credit card (yippee!) and print out the tickets. WOW.  Or so I thought.

The cost of a train ticket from Bucharest to Kiev is $242 . This is a one way ticket! Horrified, I waited to hear back from someone. That evening Daniela e-mailed me to tell me she had purchased the return ticket for me. In the end the total cost for round trip tickets: $182.  Bingo!

SO, I decided that I might need some spending money for train travel. I figured I would get some Euros to tide me over because the train trip is 27 hours and I will probably need something to eat that isn't bread, cheese, or water. I couldn't imagine anyone accepting Ukrainian Hryvnya so I took my personal Visa card to the bank and asked if I could get some Euros. The cashier said yes and asked for my passport. The card machine wouln't process my Visa for some reason and I was told to try another bank. I went outside and decided to just use my card in the ATM to extract some money and return to do what I thought would be a simple exchange. NOT.

I went back inside the bank to another cashier and she refused my passport. She said I needed a Ukrainian passport to exchange money. I left there not a little confused because how the hell can people visit here without local currency? I was not happy. I knew something was not right so I came home and called my travel expert Lyudmila and explained what happened. She told me that perhaps the cashier did not understand and to try another bank so I went out again to a new bank and the same thing happened. Huh.  I did get help this time, however, because a customer in the bank understood my problem and exchanged my Hryvna for Euros using her passport. (She was exchanging money for a friend who was from Moldova)

After all the aggravation I have gone through for a simple train trip to the next country over, I think I can say I have been given a new insight into what it means to be Ukrainian and want to visit someplace outside the borders of Ukraine. The iron curtain fell 21 years ago and these good people should have more personal freedom for themselves. If I am having this many problems trying to accomplish the little things, I can just imagine a Ukrainian national trying to apply for a visa of some kind. It makes me sad. These people deserve better. Much better.

Post Script
I had e-mailed the Moscow-Sofia train site to ask about the kinds of currency they would except on the train but did not hear from them until just now. Turns out they do except Ukrainian money so I went though all that exchange nonsense for nothing. huh.

I received a call from travel guru Lyudmila in the PC office and she dug a little deeper into the mystery of how to exchange money in Ukraine. When a visitor first arrives here and exchanges money, they must save this receipt, because without it, they cannot exchange any Ukrainian money back into another currency. It's like presenting proof of where you got this Ukrainian money. I can imagine a visitor coming here and having hundreds of UAH left over because who saves those receipts anyway? Strange.

Bucharest-Bound

Well, it's that time again. I am getting ready to hit to road for a trip back to Romania. The craziest thing I want to mention is that by car I can reach Bucharest in 16 hours, but PC volunteers are not allowed to drive so I am taking the train, which will take 27 hours. (Add to that, 7 hours from Novomoskovsk to Kiev). The trip from Rhode Island took 23 hours door to door. Go figure. Those of you who had followed my studio blog will most likey remember those postings from the month that I spent there in 2010. It was a memorable time for me, but who could ever forget my hospital stay? http://papergirlsstudio.blogspot.com/2010/11/in-my-dirty-hospital-johnny.html What a nightmare!  It's been a few years and I am feeling really good now and I don't plan on visiting THAT place again. I will be visiting with my friends however, and I am looking forward to a fun visit. I'll be in Bucharest a few days and then we'll travel to Constanta, which is a city on the Black Sea. We have an exhibition of our work happening at the museaum of art there and I am happy to be able to help with the installation.  The art work has been touring in Romania since 2010...it's amazing that the show is still strong and gaining many followers. All the shows have been extremely successful. There have been catalogs printed and many articles written about the work. I am happy I have been able to continue with the Cultural Book Exchange while in service to the Peace Corps, and very lucky that my Romanian friend and colleague has been able to continue working and planning the touring exhibition. Take a peek if your interested...
https://sites.google.com/site/theculturalbookexchange/home

7163-79

I have been writing blog posts for several years now. I have 3 of my own and have participated in others as well. Recently Blogger revised its format for using it and I was browsing through all the new things and noticed they put all the statistics up front and decided to take a peek. I was astounded at the number of times this particular blog has been hit...7163 times!!  I'm shocked!  Who would ever think that anything I had to write was even remotely interesting to anyone outside of a few friends and my family? Then it hit me. People who are interested in serving as Peace Corps volunteers must be the ones reading this blog. When I was waiting to hear about my status as a prospective volunteer I remember spending a lot of time reading other volunteer posts...especially those PCV's in  Eastern Europe where I was nominated to. At the time I didn't know which country I would be placed in so I browsed all of the EE countries. So....

Even more astounding is the number of comments...only 79. 79! And most of those are from my very good friend Manette. (Thank you dear Manette). There is such a big discrepancy that I thought I would reach out to all you non-commentors and ask you to say something....anything! I want to know who you are...what your thoughts are, how you came to find my blog and how you came to be interested in the Peace Corps. After all, we all have our reasons and I would like to hear yours. I can help you as well. Do you have questions? Do you require affirmation? Do you want to know the kind of people who are needed to serve in the Peace Corps? I will be honest and tell you I have met a few volunteers who should not be serving. Are you one of them? Do you think you have the right stuff?  I know you all have questions and I am happy to answer.

So step up, make a comment, ask a question, state your intentions. Seriously folks. Let's talk.

My Novomoskovsk

Weekend in Kharkov

I went to Kharkov (pronounced 'Harcove') with a few friends last Saturday and Sunday...just in time for the end of all the crazy festivities of Euro 2012. I have to say we were all blown away by the city. It was quite laid back, without the usual hustle and bustle you ordinarily feel when visiting a good-sized city (2nd largest city here). It was calm, extremely clean (for all the tourists visiting for Eurocup, we were told by a long-time resident) and a city I would not hesitate to return to. I was told Kharkov was once the capital of Ukraine, so I did a little bit of research and found it to be true. In 1917 the city was the first in Ukraine to acknowledge soviet power and therefore was proclaimed the capital of the USSR (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) until 1934 when the capital was moved to Kiev. It was a 5 hour train ride and we arrived in mid-afternoon. We spent the night in a nice hostel, which was actually a converted apartment in a high rise on the outskirts of the city. It was clean and quiet but a bit far from the center and I quickly found myself exhausted and hot after the long walk to the city center. I think I need to acknowledge my age in these instances because I was with a group of people all under 40 who seem to have no problem negotiating the long trek and the sloping hills within the city. I never felt 53 until last weekend...and it hurts like hell to admit I felt every single year. Never-the-less it was a nice weekend and my companions were just great to travel with. They are members of my English club (some have become good friends) and I always enjoy their company no matter what we are doing. One of the girls went to university in the city and knew her way around and that was certainly a bonus too.

City Center

Cathedral in the Center

Julia and Me

Do I look like a tourist or what?

On the Train

Irena and Veronica

Irena's husband Vlad

A Visit with Friends

Yesterday I went to visit two friends in the nearby town of Gvodiesky, in what they call a "military settlement". It's a Ukrainian version of a gated community. All the residents are or were in the military. I had a nice visit with my friends, both English teachers at School #1 in my city. We were going to go swimming in the lake but the weather wasn't warm enough. Instead we had a pleasant stroll around the community and in the woods. We got caught in a good rainstorm and it was fun trying to dodge the drops.

Irena, me and Valentina