I had always said I would return here one day but didn't know exactly when that would be. I got the notion from a gal I swim with who was taking a touring holiday to Ukraine in May and I thought to myself that it was high time that I did the same. After mentioning it to mum, she agreed it would be a good time because who knew how long it would be before I was unable to leave her along for any length of time? (Mum is 89 and healthy now but who knows for how long?)
So I made my plans and here I am. At first I wasn't too excited to be returning to my old neighborhood of Novomoskovsk...mainly because one of my dearest friends was working in France and wasn't expected to return home until September. I was planning to travel for the whole month of August and was sad at the notion of not having her to spend time with. Things changed, however, and before I began my journey I learned she would indeed be home in August! I was so happy I began to really look forward to my trip.
While I made preparations for the journey, I also made arrangements to do a project in the library while I was there. Not one to do a lot of nothing, I need a project to fill my time in between visiting with my Ukrainian families and friends. The library was my second home when I served as a PCV many years ago and I wanted to return to the scene of the crime. This project would have nothing to do with English, however (aside from facilitating the Open Borders English Club). THIS time I was going to paint a mural.
The time came to hit the road and I took off from Boston's Logan Airport on August 1st. I had no issues or complications and landed in Kiev on August 2nd. I got the Skybus from the airport, left off at the Central Train Station at 6pm and hit the road to find this disgusting little hostel where I had to spend the evening. I was no sooner there when I had a visitor! One of my English Clubbers has been attending university in Kiev and had come by to pick me up for an early dinner.
Flash forward...after a restful evening I left the hostel and walked back up to the train station to begin the next leg of the journey, which was a 5 1/2 hour train ride to Dnipropropetrovsk. My friend Nik was meeting me at the end of the line because he was the one who found me an apartment in town and he needed to make sure I could find it. When I got off the train the heat hit me like a sledge hammer...it was mid-day and the sun was unreal. When Nik walked up to me he had a puzzled look on his face and he said "What are you doing here"? I just about peed my pants. He has a dry sense of humor and the way he said it just cracked me up. As if he had just happened along and spotted me out of the blue! After a visit to the ladies room (cost: 2.50 G's) where I got reacquainted with squat toilets and the smell of peed-soaked toilet paper (no flushing paper here, people) we walked to the central bus station and I practically melted on the sidewalk.
We bought tickets for the mashrutka ( a mini bus with only the roof window opened for air) and I proceeded to bitch and moan about how disgustingly hot I was and could someone PLEASE take me out of the oven? I looked over at Nik and asked "Do I sound like a spoiled American yet"? He just laughed and said of course. I had forgotten the hot rides in the mashrutkas. When I lived here before I never traveled anywhere in the summer unless it was very early or very late. Everyone at home thought I was nuts for coming in August but I explained that Novomoskovsk in August is like RI in September. Things cool down and it's really quite comfortable. Well, not this year. Apparently the region had experience cool weather all summer until right before I came...then the REAL summer hit as soon as I arrived! So, has it been hot here? GOD YES. Every single day and not a drop of rain since I arrived.
So, 50 minutes after cooking in the mashrutka, we get to Novomoskovsk and walk to the apartment. I arrived at 3:30 Thursday afternoon. That's 2 full days travel folks. Phew. Was I ever hot! But, low and behold, the apartment Nik found me was beautiful and spotless! I was and continue to be very pleased with my rental. For $200 I got a modern apartment, complete with exhaust fans in both the kitchen and the bathroom! Who knew there were such places here? Novomoskovsk is not a high-rent area and most people are working class poor...pretty much like me. I am situated right above the library where I have been painting the mural and that sure cuts down on travel time!
Right, so back to day 1. The first thing I did was take a shower and then run down to The Center to call on my good friend Natasha. She had NO IDEA I was coming. (She knew I was coming this week but didn't know exactly when). I made my way down to my old apartment block (Lenin Square) and as I was walking I noticed things were quite a bit shabbier than when I was last here. There are a lot more holes in the streets and on the sidewalks. Lots of missing bricks from the walkways and missing manhole covers where one can trip and break an ankle or worse. It made me very sad. Since this time I've learned that there is no longer a mayor in the town and the war has sucked up a lot of the money so things have been pretty much neglected since I left.
Onward to Natasha's. (I could walk this route blindfolded!) I arrive at my old apartment block and notice how big the trees have gotten! Also the signs of neglect are evident here too. The 2 benches where the old babushkas sit and gossip are a wreck. The backs have been fashioned out of what looks like an old door that was cut up the center. So sad. Anyway, I climb to the 3rd floor and knock and I hear "kto tam"? (Who's there?) It's Joanne! And I hear loud yelling "Joanne! Joanne!" and a rush of rapid-fire Russian that of course I cannot understand. We cried and hugged and oh what a reunion! It was wonderful. Natasha fed me and made me take food home of course, with a promise of more to come. Her daughter Vala and granddaughter Masha came over as well and it was a grand time. Masha has been studying English quite a bit since I was last here 4 years ago and has learned a lot so it's pleasant to be able to have some translation between Natasha and myself. I also went up to the 5th floor where my old apartment was and knocked on my old next door neighbor Galena's door but she wasn't home. Galena and Natasha fed me regularly while I lived there. In return I baked them breads and cookies.
Afterwards my Ukrainian family and I went to the Kyivstar store to buy a SIM card to place in to the borrowed cell phone they have given me to use. On the way out of the store we went through to Lenin Square (now renamed after some poet I cannot pronounce) and it was simply heartbreaking. The once beautiful park which bisected the town is a mess. Lenin has been torn down (a good thing) and the monument now had a painted picture of the poet on the base. The grass is overgrown and the fountain no longer flows. The walkways are nothing but sand where there were once decorative tiles.
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| Lenin Square Revisited |
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| Natasha and I in the square |
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