You look like a cucumber today.

2011-11-13T06:55:00.000-08:00

Today is my final Sunday at site and next Saturday I'll be heading to Kyiv for the last time. I'll start packing and saying my goodbyes this week at school, hopefully escaping without too many tears. I was hoping that this weekend would be filled with quality time with my host family, but there is illness and a lot of work-related issues to be taken care of. The weather has been gray and cold as well, limiting random strolling and conversation. So, I'm pacing my room trying to prepare everything that I can think of to make my next transition as stress-free as possible. I jotted down a list of things I'll miss that I wish to share.

Things I'll Miss

- Tomatoes. Pickled tomatoes aren't that bad, but that first crop in June makes all the waiting worth while. Ukraine has killer tomatoes for three months.

- Words being a gift. As I've stressed countless times, Ukrainians love celebrating. They celebrate births, weddings, name days, birthdays, national holidays, Soviet holidays, Saint days, and occupation days (Nurse Day, Teacher Day) to name a few. Typical gifts are flowers, chocolate, and cognac that are always accompanied by a short speech. I guess in a country that has suffered so much, words are one of the more original, thoughtful, and inexpensive ways to show someone that they are important to you.

-Time to think. Like today, I have had more time to just be than I probably had in a month in the states. Life is much slower here for me.

- The spring awakening. Ukraine resembles northeast Ohio for its winters. It's cold and gray for weeks on end. I can't get warm no matter how many pairs of tights I put on. Sometime during April there is an overnight change; green grass, buds, blue skies, and a deafening din of animal husbandry.

- The joy of getting water. Almost every week our water is turned off. Sometimes just for a day but more often for two or three. I hate cooking when there's no water, it slows down the process and I get headaches from dehydration. When the water gets turned back on, I do a little dance and thank the water gods. It's a simple pleasure that never gets old.

-The 6th form. The students in the 6th form can make me smile even on the worse of days. They aren't necessarily a smart class, but they're witty and enjoy a practical joke.

- Naps. What else am I supposed to do in winter?

- Escape into the simple life. There are so many problems and injustices, however people that I interact with daily don't always put their energy into complaining about these things. I never hear conversations about the future, philosophy, or character development. Most of the time I find this frustrating, I wish to hear something more complex and thoughtful. I'll miss being around people that cope by focusing on the simple things and daily life.

- Summer outfits. I've often joked with Americans about what it would be like if What Not to Wear came to Ukraine. Granted, the culture barrier and spending money on useless accessories would ultimately cancel the show. I thank the local interpretation of globalization for the incredible originality that shines through women's fashion, particularly in the summer.

- Babushka waddle. Women over the age of fifty have a distinct universal walk. It involves short steps or shuffles with the weight being passed onto the forwarding foot. It appears as though it's a natural part of the aging process, of becoming a babushka.

2011-11-06T07:15:00.000-08:00

Earlier this summer I listened to an interview of Abhijit Banerjee on Econtalk about poverty. I found myself agreeing with what he was saying, particularly in regard to education and health for developing countries. His descriptions of programs never mentioned Eastern Europe, but parallels to Ukraine were made again and again. Below is an excerpt of the interview where he talks about education. What he is describing here is exactly what I've experienced during my Peace Corps service:

Let's turn to the role of education, which is often thought to be the biggest single barrier to development; and as many have pointed out, there have been some dreadful results and attempts to improve education. This isn't only true in developing countries; it's true in developed countries as well. I always find it ironic that people look at the ineffectiveness of government spending on education via aid and forget how ineffective American spending on education often is in our own country. Let's talk about the big picture first. You contrast what you call the demand wallahs and the supply wallahs, where wallah is a term that means "provider of." Some people suggest we need to build more schools, create more teachers in these poor countries. Others say that unless there's a reason to go to school, a reason to invest, all the schools and teachers in the world won't matter. Talk about what's true and false about those views and what we do know that can make students better educated in poor countries. We know that the demand method--when it's clear that there are benefits from education, people put more effort into it. Also the supply method--when people have schools to go to, they learn more. It's not true that you can just tell people that you should want education and then magically schools will appear. There is a lot of clear evidence that school construction and more generally making schools more available does affect the educational level. Having said that, the reason why that debate is a bit besides the point is that if you look at where the big failures are, they seem to be inflated with our putting effort into sending these children to school and schools are there and still true that people aren't learning. That's the most striking thing. The striking fact is the lack of learning in settings where there doesn't seem to be any obvious lack of demand, or any lack of supply in the sense of there being a school, a teacher, etc. I think what makes it really interesting is that fact. You see a lot of private schools in developing countries. Interesting there are private schools that the poor send their children to, $1 a month or $2 a month kinds of private schools. They are all over the developing world. These parents are very poor and for them, $2 a month is a lot of money, so they are putting effort into this. They are making sure that their kids are getting something that they value. Yet even in those schools, you see slightly better results than the government schools, but still very disappointing results even in those cases. The average kid there isn't studying at great levels, either. The problem seems to be attitude of the entire education system--the teachers, the parents, and even the children toward what the goal of education is. They seem to have the idea that the goal of education is to get through some difficult exam and get some job having got through that. And that's something that only a few people can do it, what we call a winner-take-all education. It's like education is some long large gamble, something everybody should try, but it can't work out for everybody or for most people. Whereas in fact we know that most people get something out of being educated. Even if you can read a little bit you understand what these instructions are from the doctor; you do a little bit better in bringing up your children. The benefits seem to be much more widespread than people assume. The teachers seem to assume that most of these kids are hopeless; there's no point to trying to teach them anything. They just teach to the top of the class. And the parents don't complain, because they also think that the goal of the whole system is to train somebody, to find out whether your child is one of those few lucky geniuses who is going to go on to get a good education and a fine job; and if he isn't, what's the point of educating him? Everybody is much more pessimistic about the education outcomes of the median person than they should be. So, based on that, the curricula are way too hard, the teachers don't pay any attention to any of the children falling behind in class, the parents don't complain when the children fall behind in class--either they assume that there is some rough justice there, either your kid is really smart and the education is worthwhile, otherwise there is no point. So, everybody kind of colludes with that, and the kids very quickly lose hope. They kind of figure out that they are not one of these anointed people, and they start giving up. You see these children sitting through class after class where they understand nothing. They are in fourth grade, they can't really read. They are teaching history, they understand nothing of what's going on, but they sit calmly through school and start kind of dropping out. They vote with their feet. When they are in fourth grade they are too young; maybe keep coming. But by the time they reach sixth or seventh grade, they know the school thing is not working out for them, so they just drop out. You see this pattern over and over again, of unreasonable expectations that then are effectively used to clean out most of the people in the education.

Pincus the Peddler

2011-11-06T07:06:00.000-08:00

I found this song by Benny Bell to be quite funny: Pincus the Peddler

Fall Break

2011-10-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

This past week was fall break for schools across Ukraine. After taking care of some business in Kyiv I visited a friend in Crimea for a few days. Crimea is beautiful all year, but I especially enjoyed the changing leaves this time. We hiked around Bahcisaray, a Turkish settlement surrounded by mountain caves.

Almost There

2011-10-30T10:11:00.001-07:00

My friend Karen sent me this card for my birthday. It almost made me emotional. This evening I spoke to my parents about an outing they had this weekend in Cleveland and now I can't wait for cold December weekends of shopping and drinking milkshakes. I'm almost home, Ohio.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

11th grade's jack-o-lantern for the school's dance party

Let Me Count the Ways

2011-10-18T07:23:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy period for foreign correspondents in Ukraine with Yulia Tymoshenko's trial. I was a little surprised that no one has mentioned to me the results in the past week. The teachers' room, birthplace of all my gossip, has been completely silent about this issue. Perhaps I missed the conversation but I'm more inclined to believe that it hasn't occurred for two reasons. First, my colleagues are refraining in order to avoid a heated debate. It's not in their nature to discuss politics. Second, it is too distant from their day-to-day lives.

Hence, I was surprised today to overhear a conversation I never expected. Most conversations in the teacher's room are about the personal lives of students, the weather, when it will be pay day, and how much everything costs. Today's conversation took the typical route. First, they stated how cold they were and asked each other about the temperature in their classrooms. Then, they asked each other if they were heating their homes (it's in the low 40s). This was followed by what the price of Russian gas is and what each of them heard on the news the night before.

The next comment I'm still trying to process, translated from Ukrainian, was, "I like the system in Belarus, people are satisfied there. It's good that the president has all the power and that the media is censored." Bam.

This wasn't said by a babushka, but a woman in her early thirties. Everyone in the room (except for myself) agreed with her. It goes against everything Peace Corps is trying to promote in Ukraine (democracy, freedom of speech). It hurt to hear after spending so much time working in this community.

The Lost Town fo Trochenbrod

2011-10-10T07:25:00.001-07:00

I listened to this story today from APM: The Story about a Jewish town outside of Lutsk during the war. I wish I were a little bit older so that I could have interacted with this generation that immigrated to Cleveland.

2011-10-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last month I received the best birthday gift of getting to meet my brother and sister-in-law in Copenhagen. It was truly undeserved and I'm forever in debt to my family for all of their love and support. One of the most difficult to describe experiences I've had as a Peace Corps volunteer is jumping from my everyday life in rural nowhere to being my former self. Leaving Ukraine, for me, is about freeing myself of this altered reality. The point of which I go from being the Amerikanka under constant pressure to be the perfect example of my citizenship to the self I'm comfortable as is a draining exercise. It's why going to Kyiv to be anonymous is so refreshing. Mentally leaving Ukraine is going to be difficult. I realize how none of this is earth shattering.

The physical point where I will leave Ukraine for good will be Boryspil, the main airport in Kyiv. Some of my peers really like Boryspil, especially after its reconstruction, because of its modernity. I despise this airport. In the past it was ridiculed for its chaotic format, unwelcoming feel, and dirtiness. Though the word to describe my opinion of the old airport isn't "like" I appreciated it for having something becoming more infrequently occurring in a globalized world. It had an identity; a lively, greasy, corrupt spirit.

The new terminals, hundreds of millions of dollars, look no different than any other budget addition to any other regionally significant airport in the world. There is no way of knowing you're in Ukraine in this glass and steel skeleton. There are English pubs and duty free shops, void of Ukrainian goods besides some vodka and chocolate. There isn't even a welcome sign in Ukrainian. To my mind, this is the perfect analogy of where Ukraine stands today to the outside world; lacking an identity and willing to scrape any leftovers to make it look like a legitimate player. Ukraine is constantly looking to the outside for guidance, never looking internally to see what's missing.

I was thinking about this as I was enjoying a blueberry smoothie and pecan pie in a pleasantly dim lit lounge of the Riga airport on my way to Copenhagen. Much to my surprise, a discussion on this very topic of globalization and the airport has come to the forefront on design sites. Here's an interesting article.

200th Post!

2011-10-09T03:51:00.001-07:00

I admit my last few entries have been weak and I blame the ticker for entries on my blogger account. Every 100 entries, yes, twice during my service, I celebrate with pandas, this one courtesy of Boing Boing.

Thanks everyone (Mom) for following me over the last two years!

being the toast of your next tea break

2011-10-09T03:48:00.000-07:00

I recommend SovLit.com to freshen up on all of your twentieth century based conversation topics.

PGH

2011-10-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

Bridges of Pittsburgh

Circa 1905. "Pittsburgh from Mount Washington -- Monongahela River with Smithfield Street Bridge and Pan Handle Bridge." Panorama made from two 8x10 inch dry plate glass negatives. Detroit Publishing Company.

PGH: 1905

1905. "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from Mount Washington." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.

I love these images of Pittsburgh too much not to share them. I look forward to crossing a bridge or two in a little over a month.

The Time Change Stresses Me Out, Man

2011-10-02T04:04:00.000-07:00

I like the autumn time change. It usually comes at a much needed time of the year when I could use that extra hour of sleep. That first Sunday strikes me as crisp and sunny.

For some reason, Ukraine is taking Russia's lead and isn't going to change back an hour like most of the world. The best worst part of this update is the reasoning for the lack of change, as stated in forUm:

As reported earlier, the MPs believe that annual time conversion from winter to summer time "causes time stress and has a negative impact on the psychological and physical conditions of people, which results in greater loss than an insignificant energy saving."

As for me, the one word that doesn't come to mind with time change is "stress." If anything, if I were a government official I'd be more worried about other stresses that impact the psychological and physical conditions of people such as the tardiness of government paydays, the lack of medical supplies, poisoned water... What loss are they speaking of?

Facial Tic

2011-10-02T03:44:00.000-07:00

The last full week of September I went to Copenhagen to meet up with my family for the UCI (Cycling) Worlds Championships. It was awesome.

On the way back to Kyiv I had a layover in Riga, Latvia. I noticed that several Israelis were getting on my flight. I immediately realized that it's Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Many Jews make a pilgrimage to Uman, Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah because it is the burial site of Rebbe Nachman, founder of the Breslov Hassidic movement.

I was nervous about landing in Kyiv because there have been some recent changes to the visa regime and Peace Corps has warned us that we might experience trouble re-entering Ukraine with our documents. Luckily, I blew right through passport control and customs. Upon whispering a "Slava Bo-hue" (Thank God) under my breath I raised me head up high, free from the lines of inspection.

In a period of my life when I'm constantly dwelling on social cues and overhearing conspiracies, I had to wonder if I'd just gotten through because I look rather Ukrainian. Yes, my freckle count is much higher than the average, but in general I look pretty similar. Behind me over the barrier were Russian nationals waiting to get their stamps, making sour faces at the hordes of inflowing Hassidic Jews. At the customs counter every single Asian looking person was being pulled aside and asked what his or her official business was.

Boryspil (Kyiv's major airport) has a lot to learn when it comes to being less evident in its racial profiling. I left the experience a little disappointed, but relieved that there is national dialogue about racial profiling this very week. Here's an article in forUm.

Uh Oh

2011-09-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

Last week Dolce & Gabbana announced that they are killing their D&G line because of "price wars" with the other line. This is sad news for former Soviet states everywhere, home to counterfeit D&G products. I can't imagine walking through a bazaar without stockpiles of sunglasses and perfumes. What are men between the ages of 20 and 30 going to wear when they go clubbing? Ed Hardy? What self-respecting 6th grader will replace his D&G socks for Armani?

Can't say no.

2011-09-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

My last year of college while getting my thesis bound at the copy shop I sighed with the relief of knowing I wouldn't need to hunt down or buy any more obscure magazines or textbooks about urban planning in Eastern Europe that I couldn't afford. I could stop. Of course, I didn't know that in less than four months I'd be moving to Ukraine where there are large used book bazaars on the weekends. I'd be in the mecca of socialist planning, of predetermined industrial cities that were calculated to the exact number of cows per hectare. I'm afraid to say I'm not stronger than the temptation and am trying to think of creative ways to tape these books to my body since my suitcases will be borderline overweight.

What progress are you speaking of?

2011-09-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

Not much changes in my village. The weather, yes. The sort of tomato seed planted or the state of a lampost. This has been a big year then by these measures.

This past spring one of my favorite garbage dumps has miraculously been transformed into a new building. It's yellow! It has curves! It's so obvious that someone somewhere abused funds and the political party in power is trying to mellow disapproval!

Meet our new "Building of Work/Labor." The old site was a first floor apartment, so I don't know what all they'll do with this space. I dream of workshops and trainings. Childcare.

I have to say I'm impressed with the construction. There are five air conditioner units on the back of it. It also has the first parking spaces I've seen anywhere in my town.

Ingenious

2011-09-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

Patriotic Horse-Drawn Taxi near the Belarusian Border

Map of Ukrainian Dialects

2011-09-11T05:47:00.000-07:00

Molochansk

2011-09-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

The school year is off to a good start and I'm glad to be busy with the students and preparing for what comes after November 23rd when my service ends. I've got a running list of topics I wish to write about and share that I'll hopefully get to the next few weeks.

In August I had the pleasure of visiting the Mennonite Centre in Molochansk, a town in Zaporizhia Oblast. Molochansk was one of the central Mennonite settlements in the nineteenth century. It was founded in 1804 as Halbstadt, Molochansk refers to the river that runs through the area. Originally I thought this center was under the direction of the Mennonite Central Committee that has operations in Ukraine but I quickly learned that it is independent of this organization. I'd been wanting to visit this part of Ukraine since receiving my Peace Corps placement, hearing about it historically through church publications and college lectures on Russian imperialism.

After winning land from the Turks, in 1763 Catherine the Great sent a decree inviting German settlers to the vast plains of Ukraine to colonize it. She promised them religious freedom, greatly sought by the various sects of Christians who had fled parts of Prussia and the Netherlands. Mennonites built over fifty villages in the Zaporizhia region, having important roles in the politics and business of the cities of Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk. They were respected for their work ethic and agricultural skills that blessed the empire with grain, greatly pleasing the Czarist family who would visit on their trips to and from Crimea.

With the upset of the First World War, the Second World War, and Stalin's campaigns; almost all Mennonites left Ukraine by the 1940s, some being deported to Kazakhstan. Mennonites from this region were greeted in Canada, parts of South America including Paraguay, and the plains of the United States. During the rest of the 20th century, the settlements were Ukrainianized, changing names and collectivized. With their love of history and ancestry, many people with roots visited the region over the years. Today there are popular Mennonite tours through Russia and Ukraine to look at former settlements. It was during one of these tours that a group of Canadians took great interest in the overall deterioration and poverty present at the birthplace of their parents. Thus, in 2001, The Friends of the Mennonite Centre in Ukraine was established and the Mennonite Centre opened. A group of directors from Canada rotate, supported by a local staff that run the center.

I was extremely impressed by their operations. The Mennonite Centre offers community development programs; providing health care, farm assistance, meals, youth programs, and scholarships. The Mennonite Centre acts as a base for historic preservation of the area, including a library of books written by Canadians and Americans about the former colonies. It was interesting to look through old photos and note that services available back then are still needed today in modern Ukraine but are lacking: schools for the deaf and blind, training schools, lush farms.

During my visit Linda and Ben Stobbe, whose parents came from this area, took me around Molochansk and villages in the area. It was the only time I've been in a car while passing through vast fields, so it was fun to stop and take pictures of interesting buildings and characters. I learned so much from them on this tour. One thing that I had no clue about before this was the great cultural differences between the Mennonites that came to the Russian Empire and the ones that came directly from Switzerland to the United States like my family did. The Mennonites that came directly west are much more socially conservative than the ones that headed east. They were much less inclined to have public roles, have excess wealth, or heaven forbid listen to music. Thus, I was quite confused when Ben and Linda would point out a huge structure as being a former Mennonite mansion, complete with a concert hall.

One of the most amazing parts of their tour was stopping by the home of a woman named Margarita. Margarita is believed to be the last remaining German, she is in her 90s. Much to her parents' disapproval, she married a Ukrainian (outside the Mennonite community) and after both were sent away to different labor camps after the war, they relocated each other and moved back home. She lives in the same house she was married in some 75 years ago. She was delighted to see Linda and Ben who spoke to her in German, immediately raising her spirits. She was confused by my presence, being able to speak Russian and Ukrainian. It was good that I was there though because I could translate what Linda and Ben wanted to tell her caretakers.

Dutch-Curved Window of a Former Mansion

The brickwork on these structures is nearly impossible to undo, thus many still stand.

Ben Stobbe pointing out the brickwork pattern which marks Mennonite era buildings.

A Plaque for a Former Church that was used for grain storage during Soviet times.

A windmill of Dutch design that was used to make flour.

Inside the windmill

A former mansion that is now the local hospital.

Gate to a former home

A former home that has been remodeled into an Orthodox church.

Former Home that is now a post office.

This was a church were several Mennonites were shot during the Second World War. It's had different uses over the years, currently someone is living in the back and vines cover the bullet holes.

The Molohchna Hill that divided Mennonite settlements from Lutherans and other groups.

A monument built after Independence by Ukrainians, remembering disabled children who were rounded up and shot in these fields during the Second World War.

I now forget which school this was, but it was used as a community center until recently, it's in need of renovation.

Survivor 2011

2011-09-04T06:54:00.001-07:00

Survivor Camp 2011 was a success! Roughly fifty of us camped on a wildflower covered mountaintop several kilometers away from the closest market. Yes, we were rained out the first few days but 4th July celebrations and Ivan Kupala made up for that.

Our Survivor Fashion Show

My wreath for Ivan Kupala that took way too long to make

Our kitchen set up with local teacher and guide Oleksander

Morning Exercises

Doing what I do best, embroidering during a break.

First Bell

2011-09-04T05:08:00.000-07:00

Thursday, the first of September was First Bell or Day of Knowledge all across Ukraine. It's estimated that there are about 4 million school-aged children in Ukraine. That's a lot of hair bows.

I have a good feeling about this semester despite the guilt that I won't see it to the end. I'm excited about the variety of grades I'll be working with and the new blood at our school. Above is a picture of my counterpart, Alla, with her new class of fifth formers. Her seniors graduated last May and as a class teacher she's been nominated to be in charge of "5a" until their graduation. I love the girls in the left column. They're my personal cheerleaders.

Half of Ukrainians cannot afford necessity goods

2011-09-03T01:10:00.000-07:00

A constant topic of conversation for volunteers and their family and friends that come to visit Ukraine is the gap between the have and have nots. A two-week tour of the country leaves a great impression of beautiful countryside, hospitable people, and lots of potential. It's difficult to understand why Peace Corps is operating in this country in comparison to images sent to us from parts of Africa and Asia. I don't want to start a rant about why Ukraine needs love and attention, but I'd like to say that so much of what is presented to visitors to this country is a facade. On the surface, despite the political and economic headlines, the country is working. You can see with your own eyes renovated apartments, nice cars, and talented children.

Simplifying a complex issue, Ukrainians have been taught to show their best face to outsiders. The Soviet system was all about showing off the wealth of the country, there are stories of foreign correspondent visits to kolkhozes of utopian quality. Only, the people were given food and pressed clothes for the day that were taken away once the media left. This reaction of presenting the best side has trinkled down to the individual. On the one hand it's upsetting because it creates a false impression that can cause others to take advantage. It delays attention to much needed help. On the other hand, it has taught me how to present myself despite some missing pieces.

from ForUm-

The results of a household opinion survey conducted by the State Statistics Committee showed that over 40% of Ukrainian families cannot afford even the most necessary goods. Though the results showed a certain positive trend, on the whole they are unfavorable. It turned out that 40.6% of Ukrainian families constantly refrain from buying the most necessary goods (this figure was 43.6% last year). Of them, 3.1% cannot even provide enough food (3.4% last year) and almost half of the polled (47.8% against 45.3% last year) said they have enough money for daily expenses, but do not have any savings.

Only every ninth family (11.6%) has the possibility of putting away money for a rainy day, Kyivweeklyreported.

Rural families were more optimistic about their well-being, which experts attributed to the lower cost of living in the rural areas and that fact that these people live off their private farms.

Pollsters asked how respondents would spend additional incomes and received the following answers:

medical treatment and recreation

improvement of living conditions

purchasing clothing and footwear

purchasing household appliances

improvement of nutrition and education

education

putting away savings.

COS

2011-08-31T10:03:00.000-07:00

My amazing summer wrapped up with a Peace Corps conference for my group's COS (Close of Service). It was a wonderful time of remembering what we've accomplished and commenting on how much we've changed. Now it's on to goodbyes, paperwork, and finding employment.

For over the past year I've been dreaming of finding a "COS outfit." Luckily I scored this number at a bazaar this summer. It has all the elements of a boardwalk along the Black Sea: rhinestones, parachute pants, animal print, tropical elements, neon, and of course flammable spandex.

Zaporizhia

2011-08-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

On the way to Molochansk and my last camp I passed through Zaporizhia, home of the Zaporozhian Cossacks and the DniproHES hydro-electric dam, once labeled one of the wonders of the world.

The Zaporozhian Cossacks have an interesting story, today there is a museum where they once lived.

Chotsky Time

2011-08-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

Last week I attended a friend's language camp held at a sanatorium on the Black Sea. He works at a pedagogical college where young people learn to become English teachers. Part of their practicum is leading summer camps, a huge business in Ukraine. The last three weeks of this particular summer camp focused on English and his college invited some volunteers to help with activities. Once again it was nice to meet new children and see a different part of the country.

Sanatoriums like the one the camp were held at struggle to become privatized, some Peace Corps volunteers work with these organizations to make them less dependent on government contracts. This particular one appeared to have a contract with the Russian government, so there were two large groups of children from Internats. An Internat can be translated as orphanage but really it's home to many youth. In Ukraine children are sent to internats by families who can't afford to raise and feed they're children. Children with special needs are also sent there. My experience with these groups has been limited, but I'm amazed to learn about these children's lives and how different they are from those taking part in government programs in the US.

The group from Moscow seemed to be an exception to the norm. They were well dressed and opened up about events and special programs they had attended. They had many questions for me and the other Americans, like what Russian TV shows are popular in America. Knowing very little English, our time together consisted mainly of children's songs and UNO. They were adorably sad to see me go, gifting me with handicrafts they'd made. The best present though was a set of spoons, as shown below. The children have been playing spoons since elementary school and put on a concert for us. They played rhythmically to folk songs. The next day a group of them gave me an individual lesson, leaving me with slightly swollen hands and light bruises along my legs and arms. I feel as though yet another level of cultural integration has been checked off my list.

Donbass Tour

2011-08-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of entries lately. ABC and scattered Internet connection have been my excuse for not writing. I've been jotting down in my notebook daily amusings that I'll hopefully compose during language camp this week.

After ABC I took a quick tour of the east to Lugansk and Donetsk, which comprise the "Donbass", the industrial and coal mining heart of Ukraine. Before arriving I assumed that it would be coal-dust covered with not so warm people, using the retold stereotypes. I was quite surprised at how beautiful the area was. Much like America's rustbelt, the Donbass has had a difficult time restructuring itself beyond energy and manufacturing. Factories have closed and oligarchs fail to invest in their properties. On the one hand, this causes unemployment. On the other, the environment is much cleaner. In fact, I found it much easier to breathe at my friend's site than at my own, perhaps because there isn't trash burning in the center or animal waste everywhere. I enjoyed the remnants of soviet planning of company towns and tried to imagine them at full capacity.

Being in the Donbass, I didn't feel like I was in the Ukraine I know. Lugansk is an 18 hour train ride away from Kyiv. The area is historically Russian and I heard very little Ukrainian on the street. I found it amusing that at the train station the map of routes didn't have a line dividing Ukraine and Russia, as though Ukraine is indeed part of Russia.

Ancient fertility goddesses found in the area displayed in the courtyard of Lugansk's pedagogical university.

I love the socialist sculptures.

Gas Lines to Russia

Me posing with one of the great tourist attractions of the east, a terakon. A massive hill of coal waste. They dot the countryside, forming alien landscapes.

Ideal Body of the Soviet Female

Pun of the Week: Chai Coffee+ski (Tchaikovsky)

Okay Sara, Don't Hyperventilate

2011-07-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

The camp I was at last week was close to Kosiv in the Carpathian Mountains. Luckily, we had the opportunity of going into town on Kosiv Day (though us campers must have looked like savages at this point, caked in mud). Kosiv, near Kolomyia, is famous for it's crafts and sense of nationalism. On Kosiv Day people come out to celebrate in the center, wearing traditional shirts and costumes. I wanted them all.

Kolomyia

2011-07-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

On the way to Survivor Camp I spent a day in Kolomyia, the center of Hutsul culture. It's a large town near the Carpathian Mountains, home to a number of cultural museums including the Pysanka Museum. Ukraine is about the size of Texas and has such great diversity from region to region. Kolomyia's language and culture varies greatly from my region of Odessa. In Kolomyia people seemed more open and have a different outlook on what it means to be Ukrainian. The town was dangerous for me, as I kept on finding embroidery shops and stores of handicrafts.

Here are some pictures from Kolomyia. The women lined up along the side of the street are selling dairy products. It's typical to see on market days women standing outside for hours selling reused plastic bottles of milk. It's something I've grown used to but I found it funny to think that in most states this act would be illegal, especially since it's unpasteurized.

Ukraine or Greenford?

2011-07-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm back at site for a few days after Survivor Camp which was a great success. Upon entering my village yesterday by minibus I was welcomed by sunflower fields. Sunflowers remind me of home, of my grandparents' place in Greenford. This evening I went out to the fields to reflect on my family and how grateful I am to grow up close to so many cousins and other relatives. I hope in a way my reflection and mourning upon this sunflower hill is felt back home.

Link

2011-07-11T01:03:00.001-07:00

Photography by Sergey Maximishin

Quick Tips

2011-06-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

Quick Tips from the Village Better Business Bureau

Don't make an end-of-the-world facial expression if your customer doesn't have exact change.
Lay gravel or a path to your business so that customers don't have to leap across puddles. Bonus: this will help with your dirty shoes problem!
Unless deaf or belligerently drunk, there is never a need to yell at your customers. In fact, greeting them and saying 'please' or 'thank you' will likely cause them to come back again.
If you sell perishable goods, try to cover them. Look into communicable diseases some time.
With food, don't greet flies and other insects.
It's good to vary your selection. Having the exact same products as your neighbor and the other 5 stores on your street is not an advantage.
If a customer enters your store, please acknowledge them in a timely manner. Don't ignore them for more than 2 to 3 minutes. End that conversation on the phone with your sister.
Smile
Know what you sell. Mark your inventory.
Don't hire your mother. Though she might work for free, her inability to move and lack of interest in selling is a hinderance.
If a customer comes in, points to something and asks to see it or wants to buy it, don't say "no." Trust me, if you want to make a profit, you're going to have to have some transactions.

Access Camp

2011-06-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

Last week I had a great time in Crimea taking part in Access Camp, part of the Access Program sponsored by the United States Embassy. The Access Program began in Turkey and it's a 2 year program for high school students to learn English and about American Culture for free. The Ukrainian program takes place in the cities of Luhansk and Sevastopol where English Language Fellows are located (ELF's are kind of similar to Fulbright teachers).

During the camp, participants got to take advantage of the awesome weather and sea and had lessons on civil society, media freedom, and healthy lifestyles. At the end of the week teams presented projects related to these themes.

I love summer because I get to interact with some of the best, sweetest, most motivated students. I also enjoyed this week because I had a double bed with a real mattress to myself. Yes, I'm that easily won over.

They're not necessarily pretty, but poppies have become my favorite flower in Ukraine.

2011-06-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

Little things that I wish to share because of the warm-enlightening flash felt includes some insight I’ve received from listening to a lecture held by the CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies). The CSIS hosted a conference in 2010 about the current mortality crisis in Russia. Many of the factors that contribute to the demographic crisis in Russia are relevant to Ukraine, though alcohol and narcotic use is much less severe in Ukraine. In both countries, finding men over the age of 60 has an almost Where’s Waldo quality to it. My vocabulary on cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure is quite advance.

The part of the conference that I found the most revealing was a session on healthcare in Russia. Ukraine (as well as Russia) has always played a captivating role of not being quite Western nor Eastern. The cultures in this region of the world are a blend of several influences. The debate on West versus East causes a lack of an undisputed center. One way this dispute bares itself is in healthcare practices and how health/proper care is perceived by people in Ukraine (particularly conversations I have in my village).

There is no right answer, but often what I’m ordered to do in the name of my health causes me to tilt my head to the side like a confused dog. Sure, eating heaps of garlic, onions, lemon, and honey will help fight against colds. However I’m not so sure that eating lard will “help clear my blood transport system”, sitting on a cold surface will freeze my ovaries, genetically modified foods will leave me sterile, or that leeches are good for cleaning blood (though I’ve read that this practice is all the rage in Europe).

According to the CSIS lectures, healthcare in Russia and Ukraine has changed very little in the last 20 years. Hospitals are used for acute diseases and traumas, little attention paid towards prevention. Typically people don’t have a specific family doctor, they only interact with a doctor at a hospital or clinic.

Up until the 1960s, Soviet healthcare was on par with Western Europe and the United States. One of the lecturers, Martin McKee, mentions that in the 1960s Western pharmaceuticals started to produce drugs for hypertension, Parkinson’s, mental disorders that lead to the “mass medication” of the diseases of aging. This didn’t happen in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union never produced a modern pharmaceutical outlet, and in any case didn’t have an efficient way of distributing medications. This is in part why preventative care is so limited today in Ukraine. Medication is reserved for severe treatment; for example blood pressure medicine is only taken after an episode in some communities like mine. The lack of monitoring and safety concerns of pharmaceuticals sold today in Ukraine is a whole other issue.

Another interesting fact mentioned in the lectures was that the Soviet Union never administered random trials or study groups to measure the effectiveness of treatment. In a way, this allowed people in charge to never have to admit how ineffective their system was. Therefore, “treatments” were performed (and still are being performed) that have no benefit such as magnetic therapy, light therapy and so on. This was highly functional for the regime and doctors because they could charge informal payments for these things (unlike drugs taken at home). Patients enjoy these treatments because they often take place at spas or sanatoriums for weeks at a time. A few weeks off work displaces the thought that the treatment might be ineffective. Besides the lack of funding and loss of talented professionals due to low salaries, care in Ukraine looks uninviting and scary to me. A birth of a child which in the U.S. calls for a day of recover in a hospital takes two or three weeks in Ukraine. Outbreaks of TB and cholera are common.

There is some light. The medical professionals I’ve met love what they do. In the past few years groups like Peace Corps and the WorldBank have promoted healthy lifestyles through campaigns in schools, public places, and the media. Hopefully with economic growth and the filling of the information gap Ukraine will become healthier.

2011-06-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

This evening the 9th form had its graduation. It's typical to have two graduations in Ukraine; one after the 9th grade and one after the 11th grade (there is no twelfth grade in Ukraine). These students took standardized tests and will either continue on for two years at our school or will move on to technical training or an institute. It was a fun ceremony, a lot of sizing-up each other's dresses and karaoke.

Afterwards I walked home with my landlady and her grandson. He wasn't in the best of moods while waiting to leave. The picture taken below was a major moment for me. It was the first time I'd seen V ever do a "Dima Squat". A "Dima Squat" is the nickname volunteers have given for this very low to the ground stance that men hangout in for incredibly long periods of time. Though it's second nature for V and all men of Ukraine, it's quite hard to do if you haven't grown up with it (because your feet are flat). I've discovered that my yoga routine has blessed me with the ability to do the "Dima Squat", surely a victory of my Peace Corps service.

Go Youngstown!

2011-06-17T06:36:00.001-07:00

Thank you Woolworth

2011-06-13T02:06:00.000-07:00

Not just for the Icee beverages that made going to the mall much more palatable as a toddler but also for coming up with the idea of allowing costumers direct access to products. None of this behind the counter, pointing at what you want businesses.

I'm listening to a Planet Money podcast about failures in New York and they are passing the Woolworth building. The guest mentions that Woolworth was the first company to have what is commonplace today; aisles of goods that a costumer can pick up and touch and put into his or her basket. Before this practice, everything was behind a counter.

One of my guiltiest pleasures in Ukraine is supermarkets and chain stores in the major cities. I love the freedom of browsing instead of my process in the village where behind-the-counter is the norm. In the village, I never go into a store without a mental list of what I want, making sure that I ask for what I want in an order that causes the least amount of movement from shelf to shelf for the employee because otherwise I'll get grunts and flat out "net"s if it's too much of a trouble to serve me. Luckily people know that I'm a guest and look after me, but on occasion it doesn't work out as planned. I especially hate this process when it comes to buying perishable goods. I can't tell you how many times I've bought spoiled yogurt because I can't handle the container until after I've paid for it.

Okay, back to being slightly productive.

The Breadbasket

2011-06-08T08:07:00.000-07:00

Since school's out and I've got more time on my hands than I'd ever want to admit, finding ways to benefit my community is quite the challenge. Sure, I've got plenty of other ways to occupy my time. For instance, I'm near the six month countdown until I'm stateside and job search timetables recommend that I get a move on my next step now.

To limit my time in front of my computer, I've hired myself as a farm hand, helping out at a relative's five hectare farm. One thing that Ukraine trumps the US in is produce, when it's in season that is. Farmers' markets abound (called bazaars) where local farmers sell whatever they harvested that morning.

I've got an interest in agriculture, perhaps to honor my ancestors. However, it doesn't go beyond reading reports or articles in The Economist. I can't even identify the leaves of certain crops. The past few weeks on the farm has given me the crash-course education I should've received in self-reliance. I'm not a natural, though. I have a tendency of ripping a few roots, scaring off the chicks, and I'm afraid bee keeping is something well beyond the limits of my intelligence.

Yes, I'm learning a lot, a self-exploration that would make Henry David Thoreau blush. I'm amazed by the stories the farm's owners, Arsen and Halya, tell me about their struggle to maintain the land and turn a profit. Farming isn't their main occupations. Arsen still works part time for the hospital and Halya is retired, the food that they harvest is canned and preserved to feed them and their relatives. The grain is sold to pay for coal. They struggle to water their crops, all by hand. Yes, there are a few hoses but they're useless now. They used to keep a bunch of pigs but are down to only one because the middle man that sells it to the government barely covers the cost of feeding it. I'm amazed by the inefficiency of their farm, so much goes to waste due to a lack of irrigation, manpower and improper seed density and pests. Pesticides and machinery are science-fiction.

They're in the situation that thousands of Ukrainians are in since independence, when larger coop farms were divided into smaller properties that are difficult to maintain without equipment and investment.

Ukraine has great potential when it comes to producing food on it's high-quality fertile soil, chernozem (black soils). I swear stuff grows here like nowhere else on earth. Even little measly shaded plots next to apartment flats bear cucumbers and tomatoes. If anything, Ukraine could be the center of a revolution as our planet's population swells to over seven billion later this year. Everyone knows that during Soviet times Ukraine was known as The Breadbasket.

There are several barriers stalling abundance. The first is land reform which has been encouraged by the international community for years now. Currently, land is leased and can't be sold to foreign agricultural and food industry groups that can offer critical investment. The second is the prominence of government monopolies that set quotas and prices. Other issues I overhear include high-interest financing and lending, poor infrastructure, quality and safety concerns, and the small individual size of land plots. Experts say that with changes to the land-use law alone Ukraine could easily triple or quadruple its output. I'd love to have a conversation about weaknesses in Ukraine's agriculture sector, but personally writing about it does little justice.

So in the meantime I'll get better at milking goats and gathering stories about the glory days.

Village Day

2011-06-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was Village Day. The holiday falls on the Ascension every year. Last year I wrote a rather lengthly piece about how I wanted Village Day 2011 to be completely different than 2010. I didn't follow through on this. When talking to different groups such as my school and the local administration, I found that they had no interest in changing the program. I've learned to respect this wish, as trying anything without support just leads to stares. I'm okay with this. It still was a fun time to see children playing and people joking over lemonade and beer.

A lot of Little Nothings

2011-05-31T06:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know how to describe May. At times it was unrelentingly sluggish and at others too quick to notice the blossoming peonies. Perhaps I should mention the greatest factor to my slight disorientation; a week-long escape to Iceland where I met a friend from college. I didn't need this vacation, nor deserve it, but being in an entirely different (though brutally cold) landscape with someone that knew me before my latest period of pessimism awakened me to the reality that the environment I'm currently in isn't permanent. For those of you who aren't inside my head, basically the last few months at site haven't been as fruitful as I'd like them to be. I'm not going to win any 'super-volunteer' awards for my inspiring service. Though I've had some successes, I feel as though I've done little for my community. Sometimes I feel the only thing I'm providing my site is my presence, maybe this is what they want most out of me. Americans identify themselves through their work and for me, someone with embarrassing amounts of free time, I feel incredibly guilty.

Thingvelir National Park outside of Reykjavik.

So happy to reconnect and breathe clean air.

Last week at school we had our Final Bell, where students and teachers gather outside to ring the school bell for the last time, honor students' achievements, and thank teachers for their dedication. I'm going to miss this year's graduating class, they were a great group of kids. The following day was the 11th form's graduation, where like last year, the students dress up in gowns and shiny suits for an evening of celebration and goodbyes.

Congratulating Seniors on their achievements.

What are these hair accessories even called in English?

Kind of out of order here, V blessing me with the first strawberries of the year.

I love this kid. I'm sorry I developed his UNO habit though.

Kristina is an amazing writer and I look forward to seeing where she ends up.

Victory Day continued

2011-05-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

These are drawings from elementary students at my school in honor of Victory Day. I found them quite entertaining.

Victory Day

2011-05-09T04:21:00.000-07:00

May 9th is Victory Day, a day when entire communities come together to thank veterans from the Great Patriotic War and remember the dead. It's always a nice day; no sparring over language (Russian or Ukrainian) and lilacs bloom. Here are some photos from this morning's ceremony across the street:

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T04:21:00.000-07:00

"In a land where fatalism remained a necessary tool for enduring hardship, where ultimate truths were kept separate from day-to-day realities, she was a lonely witness for secular humanism, soldier for New Deal, Peace Corps, position-paper liberalism." description by Barack Obama of his mother in Dreams from My Father

Where was I?

2011-05-08T03:47:00.000-07:00

You know that relative that gifts a book at every major celebration of a young person's life? I had several of those aunts and it's a tradition I'll pass on. Today I'm a little frustrated that I never received Out of Control by Kevin Kelly, published in 1994. It's thick, dense, and made me drowsy at times, but I really wish my 18 year old self had had a copy.

In short, the book is about biological self-sustaining systems and how they affect man. I highlighted a number of sections while reading that I wish I could discuss with someone; their broad implications. It's surprising how modern the author's predictions are despite being written over 15 years ago. Perhaps because I'm living in a society resistant to change, I kept on wanting to expand on passages about systems that explain why centralization doesn't work, why our lives are speeding up, why the line between organic and man-made is trite.

At the end of the book Kelly lists his Nine Laws of God. I would like to think of these rules as my new self-help manifesto.

Out of nothing, nature makes something.

First there is hard rock planet; then there is life, lots of it. First barren hills; then brooks with fish and cattails and red-winged blackbirds. First an acorn; then an oak tree forest.

I'd like to be able to do that. First a hunk of metal; then a robot. First some wires; then a mind. First some old genes; then a dinosaur.

How do you make something from nothing? Although nature knows this trick, we haven't learned much just by watching her. We have learned more by our failures in creating complexity and by combining these lessons with small successes in imitating and understanding natural systems. So from the frontiers of computer science, and the edges of biological research, and the odd corners of interdisciplinary experimentation, I have compiled The Nine Laws of God governing the incubation of somethings from nothing:

Distribute being
Control from the bottom up
Cultivate increasing returns
Grow by chunking
Maximize the fringes
Honor your errors
Pursue no optima; have multiple goals
Seek persistent disequilibrium
Change changes itself.

These nine laws are the organizing principles that can be found operating in systems as diverse as biological evolution and SimCity. Of course I am not suggesting that they are the only laws needed to make something from nothing; but out of the many observations accumulating in the science of complexity, these principles are the broadest, crispest, and most representative generalities. I believe that one can go pretty far as a god while sticking to these nine rules.

Distribute being. The spirit of a beehive, the behavior of an economy, the thinking of a supercomputer, and the life in me are distributed over a multitude of smaller units (which themselves may be distributed). When the sum of the parts can add up to more than the parts, then that extra being (that something from nothing) is distributed among the parts. Whenever we find something from nothing, we find it arising from a field of many interacting smaller pieces. All the mysteries we find most interesting -- life, intelligence, evolution -- are found in the soil of large distributed systems.

Control from the bottom up. When everything is connected to everything in a distributed network, everything happens at once. When everything happens at once, wide and fast moving problems simply route around any central authority. Therefore overall governance must arise from the most humble interdependent acts done locally in parallel, and not from a central command. A mob can steer itself, and in the territory of rapid, massive, and heterogeneous change, only a mob can steer. To get something from nothing, control must rest at the bottom within simplicity.

Cultivate increasing returns. Each time you use an idea, a language, or a skill you strengthen it, reinforce it, and make it more likely to be used again. That's known as positive feedback or snowballing. Success breeds success. In the Gospels, this principle of social dynamics is known as "To those who have, more will be given." Anything which alters its environment to increase production of itself is playing the game of increasing returns. And all large, sustaining systems play the game. The law operates in economics, biology, computer science, and human psychology. Life on Earth alters Earth to beget more life. Confidence builds confidence. Order generates more order. Them that has, gets.

Grow by chunking. The only way to make a complex system that works is to begin with a simple system that works. Attempts to instantly install highly complex organization -- such as intelligence or a market economy -- without growing it, inevitably lead to failure. To assemble a prairie takes time -- even if you have all the pieces. Time is needed to let each part test itself against all the others. Complexity is created, then, by assembling it incrementally from simple modules that can operate independently.

Maximize the fringes. In heterogeneity is creation of the world. A uniform entity must adapt to the world by occasional earth-shattering revolutions, one of which is sure to kill it. A diverse heterogeneous entity, on the other hand, can adapt to the world in a thousand daily minirevolutions, staying in a state of permanent, but never fatal, churning. Diversity favors remote borders, the outskirts, hidden corners, moments of chaos, and isolated clusters. In economic, ecological, evolutionary, and institutional models, a healthy fringe speeds adaptation, increases resilience, and is almost always the source of innovations.

Honor your errors. A trick will only work for a while, until everyone else is doing it. To advance from the ordinary requires a new game, or a new territory. But the process of going outside the conventional method, game, or territory is indistinguishable from error. Even the most brilliant act of human genius, in the final analysis, is an act of trial and error. "To be an Error and to be Cast out is a part of God's Design," wrote the visionary poet William Blake. Error, whether random or deliberate, must become an integral part of any process of creation. Evolution can be thought of as systematic error management.

Pursue no optima; have multiple goals. Simple machines can be efficient, but complex adaptive machinery cannot be. A complicated structure has many masters and none of them can be served exclusively. Rather than strive for optimization of any function, a large system can only survive by "satisficing" (making "good enough") a multitude of functions. For instance, an adaptive system must trade off between exploiting a known path of success (optimizing a current strategy), or diverting resources to exploring new paths (thereby wasting energy trying less efficient methods). So vast are the mingled drives in any complex entity that it is impossible to unravel the actual causes of its survival. Survival is a many-pointed goal. Most living organisms are so many-pointed they are blunt variations that happen to work, rather than precise renditions of proteins, genes, and organs. In creating something from nothing, forget elegance; if it works, it's beautiful.

Seek persistent disequilibrium. Neither constancy nor relentless change will support a creation. A good creation, like good jazz, must balance the stable formula with frequent out-of-kilter notes. Equilibrium is death. Yet unless a system stabilizes to an equilibrium point, it is no better than an explosion and just as soon dead. A Nothing, then, is both equilibrium and disequilibrium. A Something is persistent disequilibrium -- a continuous state of surfing forever on the edge between never stopping but never falling. Homing in on that liquid threshold is the still mysterious holy grail of creation and the quest of all amateur gods.

Change changes itself. Change can be structured. This is what large complex systems do: they coordinate change. When extremely large systems are built up out of complicated systems, then each system begins to influence and ultimately change the organizations of other systems. That is, if the rules of the game are composed from the bottom up, then it is likely that interacting forces at the bottom level will alter the rules of the game as it progresses. Over time, the rules for change get changed themselves. Evolution -- as used in everyday speech -- is about how an entity is changed over time. Deeper evolution -- as it might be formally defined -- is about how the rules for changing entities over time change over time. To get the most out of nothing, you need to have self-changing rules.

These nine principles underpin the awesome workings of prairies, flamingoes, cedar forests, eyeballs, natural selection in geological time, and the unfolding of a baby elephant from a tiny seed of elephant sperm and egg.

These same principles of bio-logic are now being implanted in computer chips, electronic communication networks, robot modules, pharmaceutical searches, software design, and corporate management, in order that these artificial systems may overcome their own complexity.

When the Technos is enlivened by Bios we get artifacts that can adapt, learn, and evolve. When our technology adapts, learns, and evolves then we will have a neo-biological civilization.

All complex things taken together form an unbroken continuum between the extremes of stark clockwork gears and ornate natural wilderness. The hallmark of the industrial age has been its exaltation of mechanical design. The hallmark of a neo-biological civilization is that it returns the designs of its creations toward the organic, again. But unlike earlier human societies that relied on found biological solutions -- herbal medicines, animal proteins, natural dyes, and the like -- neo-biological culture welds engineered technology and unrestrained nature until the two become indistinguishable, as unimaginable as that may first seem.

What Peace Corps Service means to Me

2011-05-08T03:16:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed this short response by a fellow volunteer. As part of the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps, volunteers current and past have been asked to reflect upon their service.

Long Weekend

2011-05-03T04:35:00.000-07:00

Though it's Tuesday, it's still the weekend in Ukraine. May Day days and "Provody" interrupt the routine, officially announcing spring and the end of the school year. Provody is the day when families go to the graves of loved ones and picnic there, I just looked up the word in my dictionary and it's translated as "sending-off". Last week there was no school on Monday because it was Holy Monday or the Second Day, this week is May Day, and next week is Victory Day. Combined with all these holidays, many school days this month will be filled with seminars and cleaning. I guess I can safely say that I've made it through a whole school year.

Taking advantage of the free days, I attended two events over the long weekend. The first event was the Special Olympics which I was at last year. This year I got to play a game of soccer with a girls' orphanage, it was quite fun. It was great to see not only youth from state homes but also regional teams of disabled people. I was impressed by their skill.

The second event was a Peace Corps volunteer created half-marathon in Beregova, a city just outside the Hungarian border. The volunteer at this site is truly amazing. With her host organization, she coordinated several races through beautiful vineyard country. I didn't run, being chased by stray dogs is enough of an excuse for me not to train at site. I did make myself slightly useful, helping out on the course and running other errands. I'm not sure how many volunteers came to the event, but I haven't been surrounded by that many Americans since Swearing-In in 2009. Thankfully Beregova was welcoming to us and allowed us to claim the city square as our own for the weekend.

Here are some pictures from the opening ceremony for the race weekend. Note, the even more scantily clad girls in black and white stripes were part of an "Odessa" dance troupe. I'm not quite sure what that means, since they were locals, but I'm glad they represented my region with pizazz. The choir is a group of Roma youth that the Peace Corps volunteer has worked and created a "Roma Rights" camp with.

This dog ran a good portion of the half marathon. He seemed to like guarding the runners and barking at the police cars. I think he is a stray, but he adopted us for the weekend.

Currently Clicking

2011-05-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

New Tools for Broke Cities

Tightening of grain control in Ukraine

Cincinnati 1915

Attack of the Badgers

Russian online film archive

The Moment by a friend about learning of Osama's death.

Chernobyl 25 years later, stories from Stary Vyshkov

I still haven't watched this, The True Battle of Chernobyl

The Legacy of Chernobyl in photographs

Jane Jacobs and the Life and Death of American Planning

Impossible Chicago, model to block sandstorms

Photos from a wedding in a Russian village

Documentary on Russian crime tattoos

Hypercities- Urban history using google maps

The Last Prisoner of Kolyma, Siberia

Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner

Best moments of Michael Scott

One of my favorite painters has always been Eric Fischl, so I enjoyed these (sorry they're graphic)

What is American Power? a photo essay on energy consumption

Educating for a Future Within Sight, the future of work and education

I love this photo.

2011-04-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

My brother is in the red helmet.

Playlist

2011-04-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

This week I've been thinking about creating an Ohio-themed playlist. This is what I've gathered so far, I'll give it a listen over the weekend to see if it works.

The National, “Bloodbuzz Ohio”

Sun Kil Moon, “Carry me Ohio”

Loretta Lynn, “Van Lear Rose”

James Brown, “Get up Offa that Thing”

Scissor Sisters, “Laura

The Pretenders, “My City Was Gone”

Kid Cudi, “Cleveland Is The Reason”

Modest Mouse, "Ohio"

Gillian Welch, “Look at Miss Ohio”

Ohio Players, "Love Roller Coaster"

The Black Keys, "Ohio"

The Breeders, "Tipp City"

Jayhawks, "Somewhere in Ohio"

Guided by Voices -- "Dayton, Ohio 19-something- and 5"

Likely to be dropped:

Talib Kweli, "The Blast"

Distillers, "Cincinnati"

Clouddead, "Rhymer's Only Room"

Super Furry Animals, "Ohio Heat"

First Paska of the Week

2011-04-21T08:48:00.001-07:00

Cathartic Blogging

2011-04-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

First, thank you! Thanks for helping us fully fund ABC 2011. The promise of ABC, the creativity and positive enthusiasm generated is partially what's gotten me through these past cold and cloudy months.

Last weekend we had a quick training for ABC in Kharkiv. It was great to see "old" friends and share ideas. Outside of ABC prep, I had some memorable sightings in Kharkiv. The first was the Kyiv Jets, a junior American football team at the train station. I've never seen football gear in Ukraine and the well-built young men caught me off guard. On my wagon, it came to my attention that all the women around me were sporting heavy blue eyeliner, perfume, and pink polka-dotted black purses. It was by far the largest concentration of Mary Kay consultants I've ever witnessed. Lastly, before heading to the train station my friends and I were accosted by a woman for not speaking Russian in her land. I apologized to her in Ukrainian. She didn't find this response all that funny. This interaction made my chest a little heavier. I can understand her position but I can't agree with it. So many times I hear negative comments about the United States that don't make much sense. These comments just make it more apparent that some people need an enemy to block what's really going on around them, even if they don't know who their enemy is. In these situations I sometimes try to explain the lies but I find that this type of person likes his or her reality and so I can only go forth as an example of what I want to represent the West as.

Yet another change has occurred to the national curriculum. This year the administration is mandating testing in various subjects to the 5th-8th forms. I assume this is the first time for proficiency tests in these forms. Students were forced to buy books of test forms and answers which were quite expensive. The rest of April and May stressed teachers will do

their best to make sure their pupils memorize the answers. It's a tad uncomfortable. Thankfully, I'll be out of the country when the testing takes place, thus avoiding the cheating and what not. I have to admit though, I teach to the tests now too. I'm ashamed.

This Friday is Earth Day! Unfortunately, it's also Holy Friday, a day when, according to the local interpretations of the Orthodox faith, no work can be done. Sadly, I can't have any cleanups or special events this week because of Easter, second to New Years in importance. In fact, this week is kind of a joke when it comes to lessons because Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are devoted to cleaning. I overheard in the teachers' room today that there might not be school on Friday since this constitutes as work. The line between the state, religion, and personal need is very difficult to keep consistent.

Lastly, today there was a eyeglass salesmen in the teachers' room today which reminded me of a Freakonomics podcast I listened to on my 18+ hour train ride to Kharkiv this weekend. In the podcast, eyeglasses where handed out to rural Chinese children. In the study, either 30 or 40 percent of the families refused to participate. Reasons cited included that studying wasn't important to the parents, wearing glasses wasn't fashionable, and that wearing glasses weakened vision. Listening to this I could see connections to my own village. Thankfully people like this salesman exist, even if he has limited knowledge, he can still provide a much needed service. I'd say in every class at least 3 or 4 students are squinting all the time. Some of the girls have told me they refuse to wear their glasses, even although they can't see the blackboard, because of image. The argument that relying on glasses to correct one's vision can weaken the eyes (so what's the point?) is often used too. It might sound ridiculous from the outside, but listening to such logic over the past year has made me very careful in any discussion about health.

Happy Easter!

My landlady has become quite obsessed with embroidery since November or so, she's got me beat when it comes to needle addiction.

Concept of Time

2011-04-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

I’m hoping that this typical Sunday is the last of its kind for quite some time. It’s rather windy, with perfectly scattered rain clouds that taunt me; not so frequent that there isn’t sunshine but it doesn’t last long enough for a walk or basketball. I’ve got a to-do list that stretches ad-infinitum but none of it has to be done today and I lack the support to try something outside my experiences of what works. I like reading, researching, embroidering, and playing the “my future” game but I feel guilty taking time on these things before the sun sets.

One of the changes I see in myself since coming to Ukraine is my relationship to time. I still don’t fully comprehend or react the same way that the people I live and work with do, but I’ve certainly adapted to it and it affects how I go about implementing anything new at site.

There’s a mid-career teacher at my school that has a calendar inside her drawer. Every day she crosses off the day with a big red x, voicing a “thank god” or “oh god”, depending on her mood. She alerts everyone in the room that there are 3 days to the weekend or 2 weeks to break. At first I thought she must really hate her job but I don’t think that’s it anymore. I don’t know what she’s counting down to; perhaps her death, perhaps a ritual to the cycle of months of the year.

One comment outsiders make about Ukrainian society is its obsession with the past, particularly the nostalgia that it creates. I certainly have. On the other hand, there are moments when I’m caught off guard by the not distant future. For instance, last month I proposed a change to the curriculum for a class to make it more in-line with national testing that was just announced (whole other topic). The response to my proposal was that soon it would be April, and after April comes May, and in May the school year is over. So, why should we start something new now? Change certainly does take time. I’m always thrown off by this forward counting. It happens with age too, often if you ask someone older than a toddler how old they are, they tell you the age they will be at their next birthday. A 13 year old is 14, a 35 year old is 36 and so on. It’s almost as though the present doesn’t exist.

This approach is like a red flag for Peace Corps volunteers, we can easily point at the “problem”. We can show how to properly plan. Over the course of Peace Corps’ presence in Ukraine, the goal of passing along skills and making processes more sustainable has had successes, but much more slowly than someone on the outside would expect. The notion that tomorrow is far away and that we should wait for action until then is deeply ingrained. Problems are patched over, the root never pulled out or the idea of “prevention” ever instilled. I can’t even imagine the horror an efficiency expert would experience here.

Where am I going with this? What conclusions can I draw? I guess I want to stress the absence of seeing now as the moment. The sacred nature of the life-cycle as fate: you’re a child, you become a beautiful young woman, you marry before your looks go, you have a child that is raised by your mother because you’re too young to be established with a career, you establish yourself at your job and endlessly fuss over your child in hope of success, the child enters a university and marries, a year later your husband dies of a heart-attack, you raise your child’s child, you retire at 55, with retirement you watch and scold your grandchild until your heart gives out as well.

I’m not trying to be disrespectful, this is life. It can’t be altered unless contaminated by outside influences. I’m in a way a poison, showing off my checklists and desire to be constantly evolving. I fail to always be culturally sensitive, to be compassionate.

National English Olympiad

2011-04-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

Last month I really lucked out. Thanks to fellow volunteers, I was selected to be part of the American jury at the national competition for English as a foreign language in Ukraine. The competition is taken very seriously and Peace Corps is extremely proud to have been invited by the administration to create and administer the test.

Every school in the country participates in olympiads which are tests of school subjects. The best students then go on to a regional and state competition. The winners of the state (oblast-wide) competitions are invited to attend the national olympiad that takes place in a different city every year. No one complained when they found out that the 2011 sponsor was Yalta, considered one of the most beautiful cities in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.

It was wonderful to interact with some of the country’s brightest youth. Though as members of the jury we had to keep our distance from the contestants, it was meaningful for me to witness their skill and ability to use original thought.

Here are some pictures from the opening and closing ceremony along with the “School of the Future” which hosted us.

Available After-School Clubs at the School of the Future, as someone who's tried and failed more times than I can count to start programs this array is dehumanizing.

ABC, one more time

2011-04-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of my friend Sam K:

Every day I wake up grateful for the quarter degree of warmth gained overnight. Though the temperature is a bit slow to respond (apocalypse realized – it snowed in Ukraine last week!), these days are ticking away quick like wildfire. While I’m rooting for Spring and Summer to sweep in, I’m forever walking around with a bee in my bonnet and a nervous pit in my gut because, well, we’ve still got funds to raise if we want to make this camp a reality!

Here’s the thing: If we don’t raise all of the $5,778 needed to fund ABCamp – we won’t receive any funds at all! And then we’re left in just about the worst place we could be – with no summer plans and a broken promise.

Luckily, there is a season: TAX SEASON! As the Turbo Tax-chaos comes to a close and before you’re brain powers down to the prospect of money entirely, don’t forget that any donation you make to help support ABCamp is 100% tax-deductible.

We’ve been working so hard these past few months to help put together funds necessary for our camp and we’re more than halfway there. We have a beautiful website/blog that has reached nearly 2,000 views. It’s clear, the word about ABCamp 2011 is out – now all we’ve got to do is make good on our promise to get funding.

You can make a donation here:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=343-206

ABC2011: ACTION >>> BRINGS >>>> CHANGE

With every good wish,

Samantha K.

I really want to steal these.

2011-04-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

my landlady's recipe books

Yalta

2011-04-04T11:30:00.001-07:00

In March I had the pleasure of visiting Yalta in Crimea. Here's a photo roll of some of my pictures from the city.

Inside our hotel there was this copy of a painting of the three brothers of Rus, it's one of my favorites.

The Boardwalk

A statue of Chekov's The Lady with a Dog

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built for the Romanovs

"The most beautiful Lenin statue in all of the Soviet Union"

Livadia Palace, Site of the Yalta Conference

Massandra Winery

ABC

2011-03-07T05:35:00.000-08:00

I’ve never been comfortable with fundraising and I’m jealous of people who have a knack for it. Hearing the vibrations of my voice that is trying to instill purpose or

sympathy syncopating against my internal sarcastic dialogue always jumbles my good-intentioned speech, causing me to question what it is I’m really saying. Thankfully I can write. Though, this too seems to have become a challenge for me. Using only uncomplicated colorless vocabulary in my daily speech has made me rely more and more on the overused cliches and phrases that are imprinted onto my unconscious automatic response. Please bear with me.

ABCamp is one of the main reasons I’ll be able to consider my service as a success. In my sea of indifference and disappointment with myself, ABCamp is a place where I get to witness how taking risk benefits those involved many fold. I attended the camp as a counselor last year and this year have a greater role in developing its curriculum. ABCamp is a two-week day camp in Kharkov, one of the largest cities in the country. During the camp, attendees design community projects, choose from a variety of classes, and bond together. It’s rewarding to see such empowerment and hope sparked by this group of youth. Since the camp last summer it’s been awesome to hear back from staff and campers about what’s going on in their lives; what they’ve been able to accomplish through teamwork and not accepting the status-quo.

ABC

This year will be the third year of ABCamp. The first year it was funded almost entirely by donations. Last year, we were able to drastically cut the amount of state-side aid. This year, people involved have been arranging weekend camps and other events in order to make the camp sustainable. I’m truly impressed by their efforts and hopefully in the near future there won’t be a need for outside donations. However, there is still much to be raised this year.

I ask for your help.

Please make a donation through the Peace Corps website.

I understand that it’s a difficult time for giving, especially for something so distant. Any little bit would help towards reaching our goal. If you’re feeling like a superstar, out to inspire the young generation of Ukraine, please consider being a Silent Babushka, as my friend Sam K posted in her blog. In Ukraine, grandmothers often play an essential financial role in providing opportunities for their grandchildren. Making a donation of $66 would fully fund one camper’s ABC experience.

Thank you for your support.

Peace Corps is 50 Today

2011-03-01T05:47:00.000-08:00

“In establishing our Peace Corps we intend to make full use of the resources and talents of private institutions and groups. Universities, voluntary agencies, labor unions and industry will be asked to share in this effort--contributing diverse sources of energy and imagination--making it clear that the responsibility for peace is the responsibility of our entire society.”- John F. Kennedy, March 1, 1961.

I'm a little disappointed that the government didn't ship each volunteer some cake and punch, but in any case it's an exciting time to be a part of Peace Corps. I'm honored to be a part of this persistent dream.

Peace Corps' mission is to promote world peace and friendship by:

Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.

Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.

Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Thanks Midway!!

2011-02-28T11:19:00.001-08:00

Thanks Midway for the care-package, it truly was a Monday morning pick-me-up. I'd even go as far to say that it warmed my heart a bit, much needed considering my school's coal supply has dwindled down and winter hasn't given up yet. Also, thank you for the candy! I never thought I'd say this, but there's something comforting about corn syrup. I think of you often. I've even gone so far to stream hymn-singing on Youtube on some Sunday mornings. Peace.

Slow to React

2011-02-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

What should I share? The past few weeks have been filled with plenty of enlightening moments followed by equally deep confusion. Not much has changed but rather keeps on being rearranged. A quagmire of social cues that I always have to be on the lookout for.

At the beginning of the month I went to Slovakia to visit my host family from high school. I forgot how much I love them. It was a relief to be with people I don’t feel constantly judged by. They’ve accepted my flaws and transformations. They were amused by my “new” Russian accent.

I was quite taken by what a difference a border makes. Being neighbors, Slovakia and Ukraine have many things in common. However, being a part of the European Union and not having a Soviet thumbprint makes Slovakia seem prosperous and healthy in comparison, despite its serious problems. I encountered more culture-shock crossing into Slovakia than I did vacationing in Georgia or meeting my family in Barcelona. I still haven’t processed why this seemed so significant to me.

The picture above is a border crossing from Ukraine to Slovakia. It's a village that was split in half when Czechoslovakia gave this region to Ukraine. A taxi drove me to this crossing, telling me that I could cross on foot here and avoid waiting for a bus in the major city that would take over 4 hours to go over the same distance because of drug searches and so on. Unfortunately, this border is only open to members of the EU. It was still worth the money I lost getting there and back to the major city. A makeshift bazaar of alcohol and cigarettes awaits EU citizens on the Ukraine side.

Other things I’ve wanted to share:

I wish there was a way to bottle children. There are several younger students that make my school day worth it. I never want them to lose their curiosity and ability to look for “why’s.” Along with that, there should be some sort of sticker system for parents that produce such joys. I’ve been tempted at times when I’ve seen parents of these students to thank them.

My school got toilet paper this week! Typically, either classrooms buy toilet paper or students bring their own. The toilet paper my school acquired is quite ironic though, and won’t be a permanent addition. Why is this? It’s pages of old textbooks in Russian. I don’t know what is more appropriate, to let them rot in dark corners, burn them, or use them in such an intimate matter. It’s really cold at my school and the coal shipments are low...

I was reading “Renewing American Leadership in the Fight Against Global Hunger and Poverty” by the The Chicago Initiative on Global Agricultural Development through the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and was intrigued to see in the map of water scarcity that most of Europe has little or none and yet the political boundaries that form Ukraine are approaching water scarcity.

I’m frustrated with journalists and institutions that misrepresent the Peace Corps. We’re such a large open organization that creating a modestly accurate description shouldn’t be difficult.

The one thing that trumps my foreign nature occurs every Tuesday at 8 PM. The Ukrainian version of Wife Swap is hugely successful and has greatly opened my village’s understanding of how people can be diverse and it’s not only okay but natural. Wednesday mornings the teachers talk about this program like it’s a close relative.

I’m blessed with the ability to choose my fate, within reason. I choose my friends. I choose what I want to study, where I wanted to go to school. I’m not responsible to anyone but myself. I have an honor to live up to, but it’s a privilege rather than a burden. Not many people up until recently have been able to experience such freedom.

Ukraine suffers greatly from an “us versus them” mentality. It’s further pounded-in by the language because of the use of possessives when describing things. It’s always ours. Our language. Our food. Our culture.

Understanding facial expressions and pauses in speech is critical to an American’s survival in Ukraine. If I were to have entered the teachers’ room last week without understanding Ukrainian culture I would have thought someone was about to be burned at the stake. It’s funny because Americans are always blamed for being too loud. Ukrainians would have us beat any day for their lack of inside voices. What I thought was a life and death situation was a rant about how the price of buckwheat had gone up. True, it’s upsetting but in my opinion not worth that much rage.

Our school’s nurse retired. It’s been chaos ever since especially with the flu going around.

It’s come to my attention that one of the special needs children that I work with has limited vocabulary in her native language. She knows how to describe things, but she doesn’t know what they’re called. For instance, she doesn’t know the word “kitchen” but she knows that it’s where food comes from. I think most of her hurdles come from a difficult home life, which she is now out of. She wasn’t spoken to. She didn’t learn basics like colors until she was 6. It’s really hard to teach someone a foreign language that doesn’t have vocabulary to compare it to. She's just happy to have someone paying attention to her.

Venn Diagrams

2011-02-25T09:04:00.001-08:00

If you have a chance please look at this volunteer's series of venn diagrams describing his experience in Ukraine.

Teach Like a Novice

2011-02-25T08:56:00.000-08:00

Copied from The Daily Dish

A new study by Elizabeth Bonawitz:

Through two experiments with pre-schoolers, Bonawitz has found that teaching can be a “double-edge sword”. When teachers provided specific instructions about a new toy, children learned how to play with it more efficiently. But the lessons also curtailed their exploratory streak. They were less likely to play with the toy in new ways. Ultimately, they failed to find all of its secrets. ...
Context clearly matters. When the apparently knowledgeable teachers in the experiments provide a seemingly complete lesson about the toy, the children deduce that there is no more to learn. If the lesson is interrupted, or if the instructor seems like a novice, the child deduces that there is more to discover. Bonawitz thinks that these abilities start from a very early age, when children are still in pre-school or kindergarten.

Harvey Pekar meets the Thing

2011-02-23T08:45:00.001-08:00

Totally off topic, from Strange Tales II

Ukrained

2011-02-20T12:12:00.000-08:00

The entry I was working on accidentally got deleted. It was pretty terrible so I'm not distraught about the loss.

In the meantime I'm going to share an entry that was published in the PC Ukraine newspaper:

“Ukrained” definition: essentially, culture shock. More specifically, when a Peace Corps Volunteer living in Ukraine experiences a sort of cultural misunderstanding or incident resulting in awkwardness, discomfort, embarrassment and/or surprise.

You know you’ve been “Ukrained” when...

... you misinterpret what a man says and end up riding an hour on a marshrutka (minibus) in the wrong direction.

... you agree to help a man hold a chicken only to soon find out you’ve become an accomplice in its beheading.

... you go to rinse the soapy clothes soaking in the tub, and the water goes out.

... the bus you are riding dies, so you shrug and get out to push-start it with the rest of the guys.

... your school director tells you you’ll have to deliver a speech (in Russian) about teaching healthy lifestyles to Ukrainian youth - with only an hour notice.

... you forget the “sh” change when telling people “I write.” Which means you just told an audience, inevitably of fellow teachers, that “I pee.”

... you know, personally, the cow where you get your milk. And have stepped in the (massive) piles of poop it’s left in your yard.

... you sign 40 autographs at a school with 35 students.

... fishnet hose, a mini-skirt, and stilettos look completely appropriate and maybe even stylish for a 14-year old at school.

... learning that the words “I have a son or daughter” means more than just “I have a son or daughter.”

... you show up at a classroom to give a lesson, then the teacher dismisses the students you were supposed to teach because she didn’t get the memo.

... you are told to wear sportivni odezhda (sports attire) and show up in a T-shirt, baggy jeans and sneakers - only to find everyone else wearing sequined tank tops, tight skinny jeans and high heels.

Stealing Tumblr Photos Left and Right

2011-02-12T03:18:00.000-08:00

Photo by Chris Glass

So You want to Join the Peace Corps

2011-01-30T03:03:00.000-08:00

I'm unable to download this video at the moment, but you can watch it HERE. I love the rather realistic portrayal of volunteer life and wish that during the screening process this video could be used to ward off the weak.

Interesting Article

2011-01-29T08:01:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me The Best American Travel Writing 2010 that I've been reading for the past week. During a break at school, I read the article "Ponzi State" by George Packer. You can find a copy of it HERE.

The article, which is about two years old, reports about Florida's addiction to growth and how the economic downturn strained the state.

Checklists

2011-01-23T06:35:00.000-08:00

Every day in my moleskin I keep a checklist. I'm one of those people that has to write it down and cross it off in order to get it done. I haven't yet checked off updating my blog this week.
There's little to share at the moment. When I'm preparing materials or doing other tasks I listen to podcasts, which has caused friends and family to note that when talking to me I always reference something I've listened to. The past two weeks a lot of news, political, and cultural podcasts that I've listened to mention Amy Chua's new controversial book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. In the book, Chua describes her take onchildrearing that only expects perfect outcomes. I'm thankful that I wasn't raised by a tiger mother though I agree with the author's stance that Americans in general don't expect more from their children.

In listening to excerpts from the book, I couldn't help but wonder how someone in my village would react to this parenting style. Sure, for large parts of the population there are similar expectations for children as Chua's, but not necessarily where I am. When listening to parents and teachers talk about the challenges they face, I think that the main hope of the people that I interact with is that their children will survive. In some ways, yes, this means making it to adulthood without serious health issues. I'm not trying to portray people as desperate, some expect great things from their children. Avoiding suffering is more relevant. For me, this results in more day to day living and less effort put towards future outcomes or dare say, success.

One thing I often discuss with a friend of mine is the suffocating weight of fate on people's lives. Determined fate. I grew up with the notion that I hold the power to decide who I want to be with a little luck and a lot of hard work. Here, often the response is that things are the way they're going to be, they're destined to be the way they are. It doesn't help that professions that take a lot of intellect, skill, and training such as that

of a doctor or engineer make pathetic salaries in Ukraine today. In a way, it feels as though taking the present, no matter how devastating, is better than taking a risk in part because that might change one's destined fate.

Last fall, there was a discussion about how poverty increases the prevalence of religion, the United States being a great exception. Living here I can definitely relate to this argument. Here's a table that I found at The Big Picture.

2011-01-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

I've been informed that next week the season of holiday feasts will conclude with Christianing Day, which I recall quite well from last year as I had a millisecond freakout as the local priest blessed my room, giving my laptop a healthy spray of holy water. It's hard to believe that there isn't another holiday between now and Women's Day given the recent slew of two to three massive banquets per week since I've gotten back to site. I'm amazed by the diligence the Ukrainian women I know put towards preparing insane amounts of food. Of course there was New Years, which I spent in Kyiv partially to avoid being force fed. After this came Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There were a few saint days thrown into the mix, followed by Old New Years, which is the Orthodox New Year. On the eve of Old New Years, children and other groups go around caroling, receiving sweets and money. Below is a picture of my landlady's granddaughters' class who stopped by. On Old New Years Day, boys go around "seeding" girls, throwing kernels of grain and wishing them a good year. I have to mention that I was surprised to overhear, four times, older people ask if we used to have Old New Years off and how terrible it is that there is still school and what not on this day. Of course the answer is no, Old New Years was not a state holiday because it comes out of the Orthodox faith and I'm quite sure that the Soviet Union was atheist. There's a total disconnect with this generation, who went from the blessing of normal Brezhnev stagnation to the chaos that proceeded it.

Before school started up this week, I went on a walk everyday. Here are two pictures from my typical route. Hopefully I can continue to be outside a little everyday. An unfortunate negative of the temperature rising above freezing in the past few days is the softening of the earth. I can't even leave my house without getting a nice thick coating of mud on my shoes. I mention this because personal presentation is very important and the obstacles of achieving cleanliness never cease to surprise me.

Other things I'd like to share include that I'm still baffled by the kindness of my host family. Without them, I'd probably be a hermit with a lot of potato chip bags hidden somewhere. When I got back from vacation, on my desk there was a beautiful arrangement of gifts from them. I've been trying to sneak in more playtime with the grandson, who turned six, partially because his latest passion is a combination of space, legos, and city engineering. I'm glad I have someone to share my love of city planning with, debating various combinations of bridges and "electric stations" as we build with blocks or snow.

In between classes this week I've been reading The Harvest of Sorrow, it's an older book (1984) about Soviet collectivization, particularly in Ukraine and the famine that it caused. As I've mentioned previously, I've had the privilege of listening to stories of the famine and have taken part in memorials. Reading about it in English, I still fail to comprehend the scale of this tragedy and how people survived in this territory at all during the first half of the twentieth century. Along with that, it's kind of infuriating to see the steady presence of Soviet idolization that occurs today, especially towards Stalin. A new statue of him was built in one of the hardest hit areas of the famine last year and there's talks of adding one in Odessa. The book is also useful to me in that it does a great job in explaining the peasant psych. I think a lot of the characteristics of the peasant are still visible today in the rural community, such as who they interact with and how they see the government. I also found it interesting that the book mentions a system of 3 plot farming, whereby peasants only farmed a third of their land at a time, making it grossly inefficient. During the harvest last year, I often caught myself wondering what century I was in as laborers would go back and forth using scythes. Many fields look uncultivated. When talking to a Ukrainian friend about this, she expressed the fear farmers have about foreigners taking over their land and this is one reason why combining farms and forming coops will never procede (without force). I'm doing a poor job here of explaining this. Basically, the same things that were happening a hundred years ago, seventy years ago, are still happening today.

I read that astrology signs are changing ever so slightly. Most people here that I interact with are really into their signs. Once this news hits Ukrainian press it's going to be interesting.

I'm a frequent reader of Women's Health magazine. I admit that I truly enjoy it. Except for one thing. It's torture as someone who lives in a village, to read about nutrition. It's absolutely absurd for me to comprehend to what level a certain group of Americans are concerned about diet and exercise given my current environment. Turkey pitas? Calcium enriched orange juice? Packaged foods that have additional fiber, cancer fighting properties...

Lastly, I skimmed this interesting article about Russian documentary films. I hope to see some of the films mentioned someday. Like American television, Ukrainian television has gone the prime time reality route. I wonder if anyone has ever written an in depth study of New Years specials here. They are truly otherworldly.

time with the people I love most

2011-01-07T04:54:00.000-08:00

The week around Christmas I was fortunate enough to meet up with my mother, father, brother, and sister-in-law in Barcelona for a gluttonous time of conversation, amazing food, and culture. Being with them helped me rearrange the blinders I've been seeing myself in. I've got a lot of questions I need to answer about what I want my service to be and how I want to look back on this time. Here's some photos from the week:

Free Time

2011-01-07T04:18:00.001-08:00

It's time to start posting again. Eventually I'll write something of substance but for now I'll entertain with pictures taken over the past few weeks.

During training in Peace Corps I learned to cross-stitch, which is by no means difficult. The problem with it is that it is addictive and I often find myself in situations where I wish I had my needle. Embroidering appears to not be a social activity. I've ignored that by taking my projects to school during my slow hours, getting a few lines in on a train ride or while waiting for a bus. At first, I typically get stares. Doing anything other than staring or pl

aying on a cellphone is odd in the game of waiting. I've even gotten yelled at for reading while waiting (apparently it's bad for the eyes).

The top project is a field of poppies. Poppies are a common symbol in Ukrainian folklore. The project below is a rushnyk, or hand towel, a traditional towel used especially for ceremonies like weddings. This rushnyk, not quite standard because I altered it as I saw fit, contains many common symbols in relation to family life and health.

This never gets old.

2011-01-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

Seasonal Greetings

2010-12-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

The first two postcards are new, and the others I got at an antique shop. They're from the 1960s and I'm having a difficult time giving them up.

I may be in a village but I'm only 4 hours from Odessa

2010-12-11T08:58:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful that my regional center is Odessa, considered by some the most cosmopolitan city in Ukraine. I don't go there too often other than to catch a train or do paperwork at the bank. When I'm in Odessa, I typically bolt from one stand to another in the bazaar district, getting foods that aren't available where I live or is much cheaper than in the village. It was nice to spend some time in the city last weekend with some friends, acting like a tourist. We had some amazing food and saw a ballet. The production was quite good, better than anything I've seen in Kyiv. I took a picture of the inside. The theater felt vaguely familiar, then I read an excerpt about it's construction and realized that it was done by the same architect as the Dresden, Budapest, and Vienna theaters which I've all been to. I've gotten around central Europe.

Other highlights this week:

School is really slow in part because we're nearing the end of the semester and testing is taking place. It's been hard to go to school this time of year, acting as a human tape recorder for oral exams. Yes, it's my fault for not finding other things to do at my site, but honestly other than the mornings when I sit at the school, the rest of my days are filled with group and individual lessons.

I get to see my family in a little over a week! It's been something like 15 months since I've seen them and I can barely wait to be around people that I don't have to explain myself to.

I think "teeth" is one of the ugliest words in the English language.

Here, there are a lot of people born around December 8th, which I find kind of funny because March 8th is Women's Day. I hate Women's Day, it's a poor excuse at gender equality that includes giving the women in your life flowers and then the same women spending the whole day in the kitchen preparing a feast. I like to think that December 8th babies were conceived in an old spirit of socialist camaraderie.

Hobbies

2010-12-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

So I'm tracing some clip art to use on a lesson on hobbies and came across this image for woodworking. I just had to share it.

I'm so behind the times.

2010-12-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

I came across this video and really wished I knew more about things like this film, Pesnya vsegda s nami (Пісня завжди з нами). I wish they showed things like this on Sunday afternoons instead of repeats of reality shows, it would bring my landlady and I closer.

Every Website Ever

2010-11-29T08:18:00.000-08:00

I'm cleaning out my bookmarks a bit and I thought I'd share the websites I use most often for lesson planning. I can't imagine teaching ESL without the Internet.

100 Best Youtube Channels for Teachers features ESL teaching techniques and videos on common topics.

ABCTeach is a membership based site but offers a lot of free early elementary materials. I highly recommend their readers and worksheets.

About has basic information on any aspect of teaching English as a foreign language.

Academic Earth has video courses from universities.

A to Z Teacher Stuff is a basic sight for elementary teachers, features links to sight words and word-game generators.

Agenda Web links to the British Council and has a lot of audio material.

Awesome Library has the basic of basic lesson plans and all that other stuff that makes early childhood education teachers a tad bit scary.

BBC English probably has everything you need, including great podcasts that enrich basic ESL themes.

Boggles World ESL makes teaching young learners so much easier.

Breaking News English has thousands of edited news stories along with audio and video.

BridgeTEFL has videos on teaching.

Building a Better Teacher is the article that spurred all the education debate in 2010.

Bus Songs, you can never underestimate the power of "The Wheels on the Bus".

Children's Music Archive has lyrics and activities.

Conversation Questions has discussion questions by topic.

Curriki is good for phonics and grammar.

Dave's ESL Cafe is where every classroom game originated.

Dyslexia and Foreign Language Learning, I wish I would have had this article from the beginning.

E-Books Directory has children's and audio.

Education World has some ESL resources, especially good for teaching groups of adult learners.

English Club is poorly arranged but has good time-fillers and fall-back plans.

ESL 4 Teachers is a link of a link of a link.

ESL as a Second Language Podcast

English Teacher Melanie for listening.

ESL Teacher Talk has the latest on ESL methodology.

ESL Flashcards is good for clipart. I also recommend tracing a few of these images every once and a while and building a visual library for your school.

ESL Flow has everything you can ever dream of, especially if you work with low to intermediate students.

ESL Galaxy has worksheets and games.

ESL Gold is great for supplemental material and building your own units.

ESL Kids has flashcards and other clipart that is easy to trace.

Express Publishing isn't a free website but I've bought a few of their books and am really happy with them.

FunFonix is a lifesaver for young learners who have fallen behind or have recently switched schools.

Genki English has ESL songs.

Good Teaching Top 10 is a list of cliches of good teaching but it's helpful for reviewing your weaknesses every once and awhile.

Inclusive Education for children in Ukraine is a website that connects people that work with special-needs in Ukraine.

Kids.gov is a portal to all things related to the government.

LessonPlanz for young learners.

Library of Congress covers all the basics of American history and culture.

MacMillan Business

MES English has tons of images and ideas for using the communicative method.

Minnesota State Colleges has links to other sites, especially good for one-on-one learning.

Michelle Henry is a French website of ESL materials. It is easy to adapt to the textbook.

Moving Forward has links to teaching blogs.

Musical English Lessons masks grammar by teaching pop songs.

Munseys has free e-books and a children's section.

National Endowment for the Humanities has lesson plans by subject.

One Stop English is a membership site but often has free downloads.

Outline of US History has a lot of downloads in different languages.

Songs for Teaching makes Raffi seem like an underachiever.

Speak Read Write covers these skills for ESL.

Teach Children ESL has chants and rhymes.

Teacher Tube offers strategies and links to Powerpoints.

Teaching ESL is a complete teachers' kit.

TEFL has some worksheets.

Tell Me More is a basic English Club packet.

The National Right to Read has a lot of resources on how to engage students and on phonics.

To Learn English has placement tests and at the bottom of the page is almost every topic you would need to cover in secondary education.

Topics Magazine has articles written by non-native speakers. Good for generating in class project ideas.

Ultimate Camp Resource is good for songs and team challenges.

Using English has a lot of material that can be adapted to textbook activities.

Holodomor

2010-11-27T09:25:00.000-08:00

This time of November Holodomor memorial services take place throughout the country. Holodomor translates to "death from hunger". Holodomor was the artificial famine that occured in Ukraine and other parts of the Soviet Union from 1932 to 1933, somewhere between 2 and 10 million people died of starvation. It's officially been recognized as an act of genocide, though internal sways towards denouncing as well as supporting the Soviet Union have not cemented this issue within Ukraine. In recent years, several trials have taken place to decide how to depict the history of the Soviet Union and Stalin. As I've stressed before, history is critical for Ukraine and affects how it reacts to all challenges and forward steps.

Being in Ukraine for the past year, I've heard a few stories passed down from generation to generation about the famine. About family members who were lost, old friends becoming traitors, silos full of grain that couldn't be touched, journeys trying to escape and bodies spread along barriers fencing out peasants from the cities. A symbol of Ukraine is grain and bread formed into elaborate loves called korovai. In a sense, bread is sacred to Ukrainians and Holodomor has increased its meaning. During Peace Corps training we were told never to throw away bread, it could be one of the most insensitive things we could do. Another way I think the past has shown through is in the generational gap's approach to food. Never mess with a babushka trying to feed you, the idea of hunger is one of her worst enemies. On the other hand, as everywhere else, young women feel the pressure to be thin and I've witnessed too many times to count young girls refuse to eat. It's rather frustrating when you're the guest and they keep on shoving food at you but at the same time they're completely unaware of how their daughters are chronically skipping meals. The idea is still foreign to their older relatives.

The causes of the famine are controversial, from weak harvests to poor management and Stalin's campaigns of collectivization. During collectivization, grain was sent to the cities and abroad to finance industrialization. Ukrainian nationalism was squandered. As stated at holodmorct.org:

1932-1933
The Soviet government increases Ukraine's production quotas by 44%, ensuring that they could not be met. Starvation becomes widespread. Secret decrees are implemented that allow arrest or execution of any starving peasant found taking as little as a few stalks of wheat or a potato from the fields he worked. By decree, discriminatory voucher systems are implemented, and military blockades are erected around Ukrainian villages preventing the transport of food into the villages and the hungry from leaving in search of food. Brigades of young activists from other Soviet regions are brought in to confiscate hidden grain, and eventually all foodstuffs from the peasants’ homes.
Stalin states of Ukraine that “the national question is in essence a rural question” and he and his henchmen determine to “teach a lesson through famine” and ultimately, to deal a
“crushing blow” to the backbone of Ukraine, its rural population.

This past summer I listened to an EconTalk podcast about Nikolai Bukharin, included below are the tapescripts about the event:

14:12

In the late 1920s, Bukharin and Stalin spar over the collectivization of the farms, over the Kulak policy and the Ukraine. Most interesting part of the book for economists and political scientists; points out the clear relationship between violence and non-market allocation. Stalin did not like the peasantry--Marx had already warned against the peasantry. He thought the peasantry should give what he called "tribute" to the city. Bukharin and Stalin sparred over this term "tribute." The way to get this tribute would be to the prices of agricultural products very low, because in Marx you finance industrialization through some kind of surplus. So they were always considering from where the surplus was to come. Stalin said the surplus was from agriculture; the peasant must pay for industrialization and we'll make them pay by setting the price very low. Stalin and his cronies went about establishing a monopoly of grain purchases. Any economist will tell you that if you set the price low--and it was set even below the cost of production--no one is going to sell. Therefore, when the prices were set low, peasants stopped selling. Stalin would declare a grain collection crisis--political action of the peasants aimed against Bolshevik power. It wasn't economic, not just responding to incentives--it was anti-Soviet activity. His only choice, therefore, was to send the militia, secret police, party volunteers in the countryside and take grain by force. Confiscation. This is where he and Bukharin parted company. Bukharin in the early years belonged to a group calling themselves left-Communists, even more extreme than Trotsky; but then Bukharin had an epiphany at some point, which was the result of observing the success of the new agricultural policy which was based on private agriculture and private trade, that you are going to destroy agriculture and social cohesion if you place this burden on agriculture. So Bukharin argued that we have to have a private agriculture; have to let the market set prices; in this way we can avoid force in the countryside. So, this is what they were arguing about--in the Politburo, in the Central Committee. Learned from reading the transcripts of these meetings was they all understood what the game was about. At one point, thought they just didn't understand basic economics. Now I see they understood very well that you have a choice between voluntary exchange through markets and the application of force. That is what clearly split the two.

18:46

The Kulaks--5 to 7 million or so--what's the best estimate of the people who died? Hard to say; this is where our statistics are weakest. The official numbers are several million; several million deportees, high rates of mortality among the deportees. There weren't many executions during this period. Jail was the punishment of choice, 1930, 1931. Most of the victims were victims of starvation during the deportation. They were sent into remote areas of Siberia and Kazakhstan with no means of support. Also, in the area of the grain belt itself there was no food to eat. Looking step by step. First came collectivization and de-Kulakization--the deportation of all your good farmers. This created chaos in agriculture--bad harvests, and bad weather. Debate amongst scholars as to whether it was bad weather or mistakes or deliberate. Didn't they have 70 years of "bad weather" between 1917 and 1987? This was particularly bad; large numbers of deaths; between 5-10 million people died. A lot of debate, deliberate or not; Stalin wasn't particularly fond of Ukraine, which was where most of the deaths occurred. My own reading is that Stalin understood that if you lost that many people, you could actually lose Ukraine, so at one point he said, This is dangerous; We can't lose Ukraine. He tried a little bit to make matters better, but much too late. Also denied those in famine reasons the natural equilibration, which is to leave. So, road blocks were set up; you couldn't get on a train; they caught you and sent you back and you died. Terrible; there was a lot of cannibalism. Bukharin, who had already lost the political struggle, in 1930-31, traveled through Ukraine and saw he had no stomach for this. He came back and told Anna's father--his wife's father--who was his best friend, If this is what the Revolution brings, we should have had no Revolution. He'd seen starving children. Point about the old Bolsheviks: one of the prized traits that Stalin and his associates valued was being tough--not having any sympathy, having a strong stomach. Bukharin did not have this strong stomach.

While hiking this summer in the Georgian mountains, my friend and I stopped to have a lunch break and were then later joined by a group of Germans. One of them happened to be a producer of documentary films who focused on Russia and former Soviet states. When he found out that we were living in Ukraine, he mentioned that he'd been wanting to make a film for a long time about the connection between Albert Kahn, the German-born architect famous for designing industrial Detroit, and the grain shortages. According to the producer, the USSR had hired Kahn to revolutionize industrialization, building over five hundred factories at an enormous sum. The factories were funded by the grain exports. Briefly looking online, there is very little literature about this connection, and being that I'm obsessed with the skeletons of industry left throughout the Rustbelt and the former Soviet Union, it's definitely a tale I'd like to hear.

Last time I was in Kyiv I picked up a copy of The Harvest of Sorrow by Robert Conquest in the volunteer lounge. I haven't read it yet but I'm wishing I had done so by now so that I could properly outline the topic.

Upon a day Apart

2010-11-27T04:10:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, the promise of being around people that understand you better than you do yourself without the pressure of Christmas or other holidays. In college, it was the saving grace from schoolwork, allowing me just enough time away to avoid turning into an essay-writing zombie.

This year was a lot harder than I expected it to be, being alone. Yes, I could have made it a lot better by doing my job as an example of America by sharing this holiday with my site but I didn't have the willpower to do so. There were no five minute gaps in the lessons where I could talk about it with my students. I dared not create a meal for my host family because any previous attempts have ended in ridicule (too spicy, it should look like this despite not knowing that I known what I'm doing...) and outside of my budget. I did however attempt to make a pumpkin pie, one for myself and one to share at the school. Unfortunately the crust on the one I was planning to share turned black within twenty minutes of putting it in the oven. I don't know what's that about. Since I've found that presentation is more important than substance here, I figured I'd save myself the embarrassment and just claim it for myself. Good thing because once my landlady came home and saw the piles of it in the fridge (a medium sized serving bowl) she freaked out about how much there was and how such a thing as pie from pumpkin can't exist. I guess I should have tossed half of it to the chickens to avoid suspicions but I really wanted it too. It's quite good, though heavy on the organic. I don't think I'll make a lifetime switch to carving and boiling my pumpkin anytime soon.

Peace Corps was nice enough to give us the day off at the last minute. I didn't feel like traveling over ten hours so that I could be with a few other volunteers for a meal since I had responsibilities on Friday at school. So instead I had a regular 8 to 6 with plenty of breaks made less depressing through the hope of being able to catch family online in the evening. Unfortunately, my Internet was down so I ended up doing a combination of work preparation that required little thought while tearing up to self-imposed sad music I associate with family vacations of the past. I think the entire day I ate an apple and a piece of pie. Yes, it was quite pathetic.

I do have a lot to be thankful for this year. All the generalized cliches run past me; thankful for being here and having this opportunity, thankful for people that support me through this exercise of always feeling out of place. I'm thankful for learning how to live on less than $2 of spending money a day (I don't count rent, heating, or my Internet bill). I'm also extremely thankful for (mostly) running water, Internet, and an inside toilet. Perhaps that's a low blow, but honestly having weekly electricity and water cuts has taught me just how distant I am from what supports me daily.

This is where I want to be today.

2010-11-22T08:29:00.001-08:00

Courtesy of Justin Waldron

NYTimes, For Poor Russians, Blond Hair is a Snippet of Gold

2010-11-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

I appreciated this article in the New York Times about poor woman in rural and central Russia selling their hair that will be used for extensions by the wealthy. The article mentions Ukraine several times. I don't know anyone who has done this but it wouldn't surprise me.

I often catch myself off guard, thinking that the standard of living around me is fine. Sure, it's not the same as what I grew up with but basic needs are being met. Then, I read something like this or hear about schemes to steal firewood and realize just how narrow my scope is. When the weather is nice I often walk around my village. Sometimes I take out my earbuds, surprised how my sound barrier warps what I'm taking in; makeshift electric wires, outhouses, children in holey itchy clothing having races with tire parts or dropping stones down into a well. As the author of Blood and Milk once put it, "poverty has texture," that's one reason why Western outsiders find beauty in it, romanticize about it. The attraction towards viewing daily struggles as a study is something I struggle with, perhaps because identifying with the people is too painful. I feel stupid in their presence, amazed by the solutions (and lack of solutions) made to address needs.

A Little Lost, Sometimes Found

2010-11-18T09:38:00.001-08:00

I've been avoiding writing lately. Not quite sure why, perhaps a fear that I've lost the ability to communicate meaningfully. I fear my brain's lexical ability and dexterity is below average and on the brim of full capacity. With the utterance of a new word in Russian or correctly using Ukrainian zaps a GRE worthy word out of my short term memory space. When I type, I have to keep on backspacing because I'm writing phonetically. I feel stuck in limbo at site, not moving forward intellectually or in my relationships. The past few weeks I've been trying to think of new ways to quantify what progress I've made as a volunteer in my village. Yes, looking for results isn't easy and it's naive. Comparing myself to other PCVs and what they've been able to achieve is both motivational and a reason why I constantly question my role.

I'm proud of what I've been doing outside of my site with working groups and special events. In KO, I've done little outside of the classroom. That is, if I'm in a classroom. Lately, my lessons have been canceled left and right and it's hard not to take it personally. The worst is that for the past two weeks my school has been preparing for the visit of the oblast's education commission. Despite how top-down this society is, surprisingly the commission only goes to one rayon in the oblast every year, and since there are 25 in Odeska, the commission hasn't been to my school in something like 24 years. I can go on a rant about this easily. Instead I'd rather focus on my school's obsession with making cosmetic changes. I still don't quite understand why my school's administration felt so threatened about this visit, no one can explain it to me. If anything, they should be more worried about putting on airs around me. Someone said that Ukrainians love to treat their guests and because the commission is our guest, we must stop everything to treat them as such. So, a lot of shouting matches went down about the arrangements of plants and posters. Instead of lessons, students were out in the school yards raking and sculpting dirt, having sledding races by pulling each other around the school on old sweaters they use as mops. I got to say, I was impressed by how well put together the school looked. Displays that haven't been changed in 15 years were stripped down. Photo displays were added in all the corridors, making me feel less like I work in an aquarium.

I also blame this visit on my lack of starting anything new at the school. The grant I was working on all of September and October has evaporated, partially due to my lack of communication but more so because I can't find the support within the school to make anything sustainable. Everything here is a week by week fight, and anything that isn't of dire need in the present is pushed back further and further. I've learned to push for what I want, but often I don't think I'm in the place to do so. I'll take a few more days to assess whether or not I can have any side projects within the school during winter. If not, I'll enjoy having a little free time and put my effort towards tutoring and upcoming commitments.

Here's some photos of my school in the anticipation of being visited:

The lobby, sometimes student's art is up here. On the back wall there is a schedule of student events. I had no idea most of the stuff listed went on, despite asking all the time. I guess I should thank this inquisition for the streamlining of information within the school community.

A new addition to our school, shiny mass produced Silk Road pictures. The art of taste (and scale) is something that I'll never comprehend in this culture. I can't tell if it is original or a poor interpretation.

My favorite Mendeleev poster EVER.

The lovely girls of the 6th form.

In Ukraine there is a separation of the state and religion (religious freedom) but it is blurry.

Lastly, I read an article from The Economist (raging Saturday evenings) and I loved its opening line:

GERMANY’S eastern neighbours have long memories and short fuses.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T03:15:00.000-07:00

so much better

2010-10-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

This week was just what I needed. Thanks to the traditional school year, Ukrainian schools typically have three large breaks (at least a week) three times a year for fall, winter, and spring. This past week I enjoyed doing absolutely nothing along with getting some things done that I've pushed aside for way too long. I even lucked out with the weather, the first few days were rainy and miserable, leaving me with no other option other than staying in my room. It did finally get nice enough for some outdoor socializing. I really lucked out in that my host family went out of town for the week, leaving my landlady in charge of the store. I had the place all to myself during the day. I forgot what silence was.

Last weekend I had Adopt-a-Cluster, which is where current volunteers visit trainees and share experiences. My friend Whitney and I traveled to a decent sized town in the Kyiv region to meet with out trainees. I've got a lot of hope for them, I was really impressed with what they want to do as volunteers. It was fun to be in a position of power, telling about where I live and how I adjusted in order to be effective in my community. I like to comment when explaining to people that aren't on the "inside" (not that I'll ever be) that Peace Corps staff is so politically correct that they can't answer anything specific. Meaning, as trainees, we're dying to know anything about where we'll be living for the next two years. Because everyone's experience is different, Peace Corps refuses to generalize. With that, the staff has the responsibility of always being both professional and positively supportive so a person in training is left with questions that can't be answered by present company. Though my partner and I had planned activities, it ended up being nearly five hours of the two of us commenting about our experiences. Our trainees seemed perfectly happy to just listen to us, thankful to hear another side of the story.

Adopt-a-Cluster weekend felt like a completion of a circle for me. It's hard to believe it's been a year since I was in their situation. Currently Peace Corps Ukraine has a policy where we can close our service a month before the two-year mark. Because of this, the people that I had in Adopt-a-Cluster are preparing to leave and saying their final goodbyes. It's weird how many of them will be gone in less than two weeks, leaving the group I swore-in with as the "seniors" of TEFL.

I'm a little upset how quickly my service is, I've got so many project ideas that need more time.

I'm anxious about this week at school. I've said yes to too many little things and now I've got a series of tutoring sessions every day. Yes, it's my fault. I still have elective lessons with each class but they rarely work in the end because the schedule changing and the students refusing to stay (even though their day was just shortened by up to three less lessons). This means that I sprint around the school looking for keys to unoccupied rooms. Sometimes these lessons are effective, but they're often taken over by misbehaving boys. I hate yelling and being physically forceful, but this approach is one of my only remaining options with them. I'm so tired of being underappreciated by the students during class time. Instead, I now have to tutor a lot because of so much wasted time on discipline. I'm disappointed in how little they're progressing and tutoring at least lets me see some results. I'm also tired of seeing students on the street, gasping while loudly whispering my name (I can hear you!) and then giggling. Come on, it's been nearly a year. This game has got to be old by now.

With tutoring, there's a complete disconnect between me and the people I work with when it comes to time-management. As a generalization, I've discovered that if I'm not physically in the presence of someone in my village, they automatically assume I'm doing nothing (they certainly don't ever work from their homes). And, since I don't have a husband that I have to feed and water, I must be really, really bored. Therefore, they're saving me by telling me what to do. I've got to say no. I've got to say no many times in a row and with force. It's one of the things I hate most about this culture, the need to put on a show because otherwise I'm not taken seriously. Then again, everything is a show for my students.

Fear the Pumpkin

2010-10-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of NPR

Scoop Up an Ice Cream Ball in Every Color

2010-10-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

This evening I'm thinking of gift ideas for my host family and close friends that my parents can hand over to me when we meet up at Christmas.

Before looking through coffee table books on Ohio and the United States, I scrolled to the bottom of my Amazon page to find this thing to the left, a Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker. For some reason, this item really intrigues me as far as imagining it in Ukraine. There are two main arguments that I can think of as to whether this product would succeed in Ukraine. I wouldn't be surprised if the marketing team has considered Eastern Europe, as I'm sure there are warehouses full of them. Russian channels on satellite often feature As Seen on TV products, orders that weren't sold out for Christmas 2003, remember the sonic ab massaging belts?

Argument One: Ice Cream Ball will sell in Ukraine

This country is obsessed with everything being "domashny"(homemade) when it comes to food. It has been drilled into the mind of every citizen that homemade, chemical free, and organic is the way to go. Yes, it is nice that Ukraine is very forward thinking when it comes to the quality of food, but why this is is less expected. For one, the general public is truly afraid of genetically modified products because of the media. I sat through a school assembly where the students were told that if they had genetically modified tomatoes, they would grow pig tails. Everything is labeled "without GMOs" even the water. It's always a delicate blend here between what's actually good and healthy versus myth.
Second, home products are considered safer because some packaged products are known to cause illness. I'd rather get yelled at for wearing a light jacket on a chilly day than face the consequences of someone going through my trash to discover a sausage wrapper or some Kraft cookies. Therefore, Ukrainians would go crazy over the fact that it is "homemade."

Argument Two: Ice Cream Ball won't sell in Ukraine

It's so superfluous. We're talking about a public that hasn't changed much in their habits when it comes to food preparation for hundreds of years (when it comes to villagers). It looks like too much fun. The kids will break it by kicking it too hard. Ice cream, though delicious, is only edible for approximently two months of the year. If you eat it outside of July and August, you will indeed get a cold and possibly die.

Language shapes the way we see

2010-10-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I skimmed the article "How does our language shape the way we think" by Lera Boroditsky at Edge. It's insightful and points to some topics I hadn't thought about that haven't been mentioned in other articles that have been published recently. I especially liked its focus on Russian and English.

In the Peace Corps office, it is common for staff to speak in the language that they think best describes what they are trying to express, jumping in conversation from Ukrainian to English to Russian. Volunteers do it as well, but to a much smaller degree. Often I want to stress a word for its connotation; some examples being awkward, exciting, pathetic, and ignorant. I don't know the proper equivalents, the dictionary definitions don't do justice. I never want to be a translator. There's too much power in tone.

Nationalism Versus Citizenship

2010-10-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

Democracy is not based on nationalism it is based on universal suffrage, Citizenship and representative governance.

The sooner the political debate in Ukraine can begin to focus on Citizenship the sooner Ukraine can put and end to division and move forward as one nation. one state with a reverence for human rights and democratic values.

From Ukraine Today

Get Myself Into It

2010-10-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday night already? I'm starting to think I stare off into space for exceptionally long periods of time unconsciously because there's no way I should feel this overwhelmed by my responsibilities for this upcoming week. I've just got to respond to a pile of correspondence, resubmit a grant, co-host a teaching workshop and teach and tutor this week before meeting some trainees while enjoying fall break. I'm looking forward to not doing anything for a few days but embroider and play with cows and goats.

This Week's Highlights

2010-10-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

This week has been rather slow in regard to metaphysical discovery:

Getting Heat
Ukraine has been hit by a cold wave which is unfortunate when one has central heating. With central heating, the heat comes on once a year and goes off once a year. Really efficient. Luckily, I have a stove at home so I'm not subjected to subfreezing temperatures at night, but up until Friday my school was really cold. I felt a tad ridiculous wearing two pairs of tights, long underwear, and my coat during lessons in early October. The rumor was that the government would turn on the gas October 15th. I don't know why our school broke this hearsay on Friday. I like how one PCV put it:

When I think about it, I imagine a crotchety old Russian man sipping from a vodka bottle and playing chess alone in a basement deep underground gets to decide when to lift the lever that supplies Ukraine with heat.

Being Surrounded by Fatalists

With the heat discussion, as usual, there was a lot of unbearably loud chitchat in the teachers' room, the mecca of my cultural integration. In response to someone saying that Kyiv has heat because it has to, it's the capital, an older teacher said, "Все равно, скоро конец света." (all the same, soon is the end of the world). For some reason, I found this really funny. I constantly feel like the bright eyed and healthy grinning female lead in a 70s Woody Allen film, a steady pessimistic commentary marking my every move. One thing that I'm worried about with my eventual return to the states is that I'll be less proactive when it comes to decision-making and problem-solving. Here, I''m surrounded by a mentality of predetermined fates that is slowly wearing away at my ability to demand and expect something to change.

Kreschatik After Dark

2010-10-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

Strolling the main street in Kyiv on weekend evenings makes countless hours traveling worth it.

Teacher's Day

2010-10-02T02:38:00.000-07:00

The first Sunday of October is Teacher's Day in Ukraine, another one of those holidays from Soviet times. It was interesting to see from Facebook status updates how different schools celebrate the day. From the looks of it, some schools really play up the Soviet aspect by dressing as Pioneers. I liked the one status update that said that the 11th form was teaching all of the classes for the day and that the teachers participated as students during the lessons; throwing airplanes, answering cell phones...

My school was really tame. A little too tame for my liking. Though there was talk of going to a bar in the evening, either it fell through or I was left behind. AND there were no cognac shots in the teachers' room, which I took as a given for such a day. I guess I should be thankful that my school is dry. In the morning, students greeted their teachers with flowers and chocolate, individually wishing us health and a good year. I'm constantly taken aback by the generosity of people in my community. There's this one group of boys, eleven and twelve years old, that make sure to present me flowers on any occasion. They make my heart melt.

At school, the classes were shortened. Older students taught younger students while the teachers hung out in the teachers' room. I kind of wished I could see what was going on during these classes but watching the satisfaction of the teachers sitting back and gossiping became my entertainment.

In the afternoon, there was a conference of teachers from the entire rayon. For about an hour and a half, there were some speeches by the administration and awards for new teachers and so forth. I didn't always understand what was going on, I have this problem that's gotten much worse in Ukraine of not paying attention when someone is speaking, especially when it's in Ukrainian. I did learn a lot though, the one speaker was very candid about the children in the rayon. I now know that there are about three thousand students in my rayon and roughly three hundred and fifty teachers. I now know where the dormitory/orphanage is for at risk youth (not in the rayon center where I live) and some of the work social services does (which I didn't think existed in my rayon). After the conference, a folk ensemble performed for an hour. I, and I think most people, had no idea this was going to happen. It was amazing, really good singing and dance moves that make me wonder if the origins of break dancing can be traced to sixteenth and seventeenth Hutstuls. It was a world class production.

Signs made by classes to celebrate Teacher's Day

Bukovynian folk group from Chernivsti entertaining the teachers of the rayon.

Yet another round of flowers attained this week! Don't make fun of me, I took this picture this morning after waking up. All of these flowers are from students' gardens.

Roses from my birthday in their final bloom. Love living in the south!

Delicious Dinner. Celebrated Teacher's Day with these, though I could barely finish them. There's definitely something different about American food and its calorie content.

Earlier this week each class was invited to make a exhibition of gifts from the harvest. The best part was that afterwords all the apples, pears, and grapes were put in the teacher's room.

Gifts of Autumn from the 4th Grade

Lastly I'd like to include some photos from an evening walk: