Sunday, August 29, 2010
Catching up: Mom and Dad in Ukraine
July 11-16 Mom and Dad visit me in Ukraine
I have the best parents in the world! As soon as they found out that I was going to be living in Ukraine for this year they started planning a trip to come visit me. Many other folks (especially those who lived through the cold-war and anti-soviet union messages) would never jump at the chance to go visit Eastern Europe, even 19 years after the fall of the soviet union. My wonderful parents, however, saw my Fulbright experience as the perfect excuse to plan some travels of their own to some “off-the-beaten-path” locales. After hopping through Central Europe (Prague, Vienna, and Budapest) they caught a plane to Kyiv where I met them for the beginning of an adventure that would take us through Ukraine and end up in Istanbul, Turkey. We spent a couple days in Kyiv and saw many sites worth seeing but the collective favorite was the Kyivo-Pechers’ka Lavra (the name signifies that it is a cave (pechersk) monastery (lavra) in Kyiv. The lavra still functions and is essentially the “Rome” of Orthodox Christianity). While mom and I hung on every word of history that our English-speaking guide delivered, dad was having the time of his life with his camera in this veritable visual playground of golden domes, brilliant frescos and ornate altarpieces. We spent a lot of time just walking around and seeing sights that were close by our centrally located rented apartment. We saw St. Michael’s Church, St. Andrew’s Church, walked down the famous St. Andrew’s descent (a winding hill leading from the upper city center to a lower part of the city by the harbor—it is full of souvenir and art vendors), St. Sophia’s Cathedral, and explored Independence Square. All in all we did a lot of walking! We happened to be in town for the World Cup final and had a good time watching the game in an outdoor café with many Kivan football fans. On the evening of the 13th mom and dad got to experience an essential part of Ukrainian life….spending the night on a train! We had the compartment to ourselves but the ride was especially rocky that night and none of us slept well (which was strange because typically I really enjoy sleeping on the train). We arrived in Donetsk early the next day and were met by a driver who drove us the 50 min. ride to our final destination, my town, Artemivsk. Mom and dad were grateful for the slower way of life in this small eastern Ukrainian town…I think they enjoyed having time to just nap and relax in my apartment while I went to work in the mornings. We did do some walking around the city and had a great meal with my Ukrainian “mom and dad” Irina and Sergei. They were my host family when I visited Artemivsk 4 years ago and we became very close and stayed in touch via email over the years. The most memorable part of the evening was when Irina gave a toast to the fact that during the soviet union, American’s and members of the Russian Federation were taught to despise and fear each others’ countries and people and yet here we all were just 19 years later sharing a meal and laughing together. It was truly a moment that summed up the goal of the entire Fulbright program…to promote mutual understanding. It was certainly something to toast to!
I have the best parents in the world! As soon as they found out that I was going to be living in Ukraine for this year they started planning a trip to come visit me. Many other folks (especially those who lived through the cold-war and anti-soviet union messages) would never jump at the chance to go visit Eastern Europe, even 19 years after the fall of the soviet union. My wonderful parents, however, saw my Fulbright experience as the perfect excuse to plan some travels of their own to some “off-the-beaten-path” locales. After hopping through Central Europe (Prague, Vienna, and Budapest) they caught a plane to Kyiv where I met them for the beginning of an adventure that would take us through Ukraine and end up in Istanbul, Turkey. We spent a couple days in Kyiv and saw many sites worth seeing but the collective favorite was the Kyivo-Pechers’ka Lavra (the name signifies that it is a cave (pechersk) monastery (lavra) in Kyiv. The lavra still functions and is essentially the “Rome” of Orthodox Christianity). While mom and I hung on every word of history that our English-speaking guide delivered, dad was having the time of his life with his camera in this veritable visual playground of golden domes, brilliant frescos and ornate altarpieces. We spent a lot of time just walking around and seeing sights that were close by our centrally located rented apartment. We saw St. Michael’s Church, St. Andrew’s Church, walked down the famous St. Andrew’s descent (a winding hill leading from the upper city center to a lower part of the city by the harbor—it is full of souvenir and art vendors), St. Sophia’s Cathedral, and explored Independence Square. All in all we did a lot of walking! We happened to be in town for the World Cup final and had a good time watching the game in an outdoor café with many Kivan football fans. On the evening of the 13th mom and dad got to experience an essential part of Ukrainian life….spending the night on a train! We had the compartment to ourselves but the ride was especially rocky that night and none of us slept well (which was strange because typically I really enjoy sleeping on the train). We arrived in Donetsk early the next day and were met by a driver who drove us the 50 min. ride to our final destination, my town, Artemivsk. Mom and dad were grateful for the slower way of life in this small eastern Ukrainian town…I think they enjoyed having time to just nap and relax in my apartment while I went to work in the mornings. We did do some walking around the city and had a great meal with my Ukrainian “mom and dad” Irina and Sergei. They were my host family when I visited Artemivsk 4 years ago and we became very close and stayed in touch via email over the years. The most memorable part of the evening was when Irina gave a toast to the fact that during the soviet union, American’s and members of the Russian Federation were taught to despise and fear each others’ countries and people and yet here we all were just 19 years later sharing a meal and laughing together. It was truly a moment that summed up the goal of the entire Fulbright program…to promote mutual understanding. It was certainly something to toast to!
Catching up: 4th of July-UA style
Fourth of July-Ukrainian style!
To celebrate the independence of my own fine country this year, I joined up with the large group of Peace Corp Volunteers in the region for a celebration at my friend Margo’s apartment in the nearby town of Dobropolia, Ukraine. Dobropolia is even smaller than Artemivsk and arguably, seems more ‘soviet’. It was really fun to see a new town in Ukraine and to get to know many new Americans that were all living pretty close by. We barbequed meat in the field next to Margo’s apartment building, drank lots of Ukrainian beer (and even some Miller Light we found at a nearby shop!) and capped off the evening with an obligatory setting off of fireworks. Her neighbors did not enjoy our fireworks as much as we did but we ended the evening on an amiable note with all.
To celebrate the independence of my own fine country this year, I joined up with the large group of Peace Corp Volunteers in the region for a celebration at my friend Margo’s apartment in the nearby town of Dobropolia, Ukraine. Dobropolia is even smaller than Artemivsk and arguably, seems more ‘soviet’. It was really fun to see a new town in Ukraine and to get to know many new Americans that were all living pretty close by. We barbequed meat in the field next to Margo’s apartment building, drank lots of Ukrainian beer (and even some Miller Light we found at a nearby shop!) and capped off the evening with an obligatory setting off of fireworks. Her neighbors did not enjoy our fireworks as much as we did but we ended the evening on an amiable note with all.
Catching up on old posts: Easter
April 2010
Final thoughts on Easter celebration
So, 4 months later and I am finally posting some details about the rest of my Ukrainian Easter Celebration! Who knows, maybe it is better that I post them now so that I just include the good interesting stuff that has stayed with me!
In Orthodox tradition, worshipers take their Easter meals to the local Orthodox Church in the middle of the night on Easter day and have the meal blessed by an Orthodox priest. I did not get to witness this first hand but was told about it the next day as I sat down to share the blessed meal with my Ukrainian “family” Irina, Sergei, their son Sasha and his wife Lena and children Vlad and Eva. We all gathered at the home of Sergei’s mother and step father where we were joined by Sergei’s sister Oxsana and her husband and teenaged son and also by Irina’s mother. All in all it was a big bunch and we crowded around a table generously laid with various Ukrainian delights. We basically spent the whole day just sitting and eating together, sometimes wandering out of the room to have a little stroll (and give time to digest) but generally ending back up at the table. I tried lots of new dishes that day including Chicken Kyiv, braised beef tongue (I could still see the taste buds-shiver- I tried one piece because it was offered to me but tried as politely as possible to decline any further offerings of it), various salads, and finally, the special easter traditional bread. It is a bread had a taste similar to Challah bread but is decorated on top with frosting and colored sprinkles. Inside the bread are various dried fruits like apricot and raisin. As is the custom in Ukraine, there was a great deal of toasting throughout the day that included toasts to the health of the family and happiness in the year to come.
I tried as best I could to offer a small piece of our family tradition by trying to make bird-nest cookies from ingredients I found in Artemivsk. Bird-nest cookies are basically rice crispy treats that are formed in the shape of a nest, covered with some green frosting and green dyed coconut flakes with jelly beans pressed in (for the bird eggs). As long as I can remember we have enjoyed these treats at family Easter celebrations. I had quite a time trying to find the ingredients in Artemivsk. Long story short, they didn’t work out so well…looked pretty enough but didn’t taste too good. The marshmallows I found were nothing like marshmallows in the US and did not melt smoothly at all so at the last minute I decided to melt sugar to make a caramel. In place of rice crispies I used the Ukrainian version of corn flakes (which turned out to be really thick and hard, not light and crisp like the flakes I am used to in the US) finally, instead of jelly beans (nowhere to be found!) I had to used colorful sugar-candy coated raisins (looked pretty but tasted awful!). It was a fun and valiant effort but I found myself trying to explain to those I offered them to that I would need a do-over after having traditional ingredients sent to me from the US. Everyone tried to be polite and try them but the best comment offered was “we don’t have anything like this taste in Ukraine” haha! You mean the taste of crunchy burned sugar?!?! Oh well, at least I tried! I fear I am not the best ambassador for American cuisine….after a few more examples of my cooking I fear none of my Ukrainian friends will ever want to try American food again!
After our family meal ended, I was invited to a late meal with some friends of the family that I had met 4 years ago, Lora and Sasha and their children and grandchildren. The grandchildren Danil and Sasha were so much more grown up than I remember them from our first meeting….I showed them pictures I had of our first meeting when Sasha was just a toddler (he is now a rambunctious school boy!). It was fun to see them again, reminisce…, and share more food! I felt like I didn’t need to eat for a week after this day!
Final thoughts on Easter celebration
So, 4 months later and I am finally posting some details about the rest of my Ukrainian Easter Celebration! Who knows, maybe it is better that I post them now so that I just include the good interesting stuff that has stayed with me!
In Orthodox tradition, worshipers take their Easter meals to the local Orthodox Church in the middle of the night on Easter day and have the meal blessed by an Orthodox priest. I did not get to witness this first hand but was told about it the next day as I sat down to share the blessed meal with my Ukrainian “family” Irina, Sergei, their son Sasha and his wife Lena and children Vlad and Eva. We all gathered at the home of Sergei’s mother and step father where we were joined by Sergei’s sister Oxsana and her husband and teenaged son and also by Irina’s mother. All in all it was a big bunch and we crowded around a table generously laid with various Ukrainian delights. We basically spent the whole day just sitting and eating together, sometimes wandering out of the room to have a little stroll (and give time to digest) but generally ending back up at the table. I tried lots of new dishes that day including Chicken Kyiv, braised beef tongue (I could still see the taste buds-shiver- I tried one piece because it was offered to me but tried as politely as possible to decline any further offerings of it), various salads, and finally, the special easter traditional bread. It is a bread had a taste similar to Challah bread but is decorated on top with frosting and colored sprinkles. Inside the bread are various dried fruits like apricot and raisin. As is the custom in Ukraine, there was a great deal of toasting throughout the day that included toasts to the health of the family and happiness in the year to come.
I tried as best I could to offer a small piece of our family tradition by trying to make bird-nest cookies from ingredients I found in Artemivsk. Bird-nest cookies are basically rice crispy treats that are formed in the shape of a nest, covered with some green frosting and green dyed coconut flakes with jelly beans pressed in (for the bird eggs). As long as I can remember we have enjoyed these treats at family Easter celebrations. I had quite a time trying to find the ingredients in Artemivsk. Long story short, they didn’t work out so well…looked pretty enough but didn’t taste too good. The marshmallows I found were nothing like marshmallows in the US and did not melt smoothly at all so at the last minute I decided to melt sugar to make a caramel. In place of rice crispies I used the Ukrainian version of corn flakes (which turned out to be really thick and hard, not light and crisp like the flakes I am used to in the US) finally, instead of jelly beans (nowhere to be found!) I had to used colorful sugar-candy coated raisins (looked pretty but tasted awful!). It was a fun and valiant effort but I found myself trying to explain to those I offered them to that I would need a do-over after having traditional ingredients sent to me from the US. Everyone tried to be polite and try them but the best comment offered was “we don’t have anything like this taste in Ukraine” haha! You mean the taste of crunchy burned sugar?!?! Oh well, at least I tried! I fear I am not the best ambassador for American cuisine….after a few more examples of my cooking I fear none of my Ukrainian friends will ever want to try American food again!
After our family meal ended, I was invited to a late meal with some friends of the family that I had met 4 years ago, Lora and Sasha and their children and grandchildren. The grandchildren Danil and Sasha were so much more grown up than I remember them from our first meeting….I showed them pictures I had of our first meeting when Sasha was just a toddler (he is now a rambunctious school boy!). It was fun to see them again, reminisce…, and share more food! I felt like I didn’t need to eat for a week after this day!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
A funny thing happened on the way to the Mayor’s office
Dear loyal readers,
I cannot think of a way to apologize for abandoning my blog for the last three months. I have been writing things down on paper so I can share them with you later but I’ve been so busy this summer that I never could find the time or the cleverness to sit down and write to you all. Today, however, something glorious happened...the type of thing that when it happens, you want to call everyone you know and just squeal and giggle with them about it….but since that would be awfully expensive, I decided I would do it via my blog!
One of the reasons that this past few months have been so busy is that in June I received word that a local organization that I visited 4 years ago, a special rehabilitation center and social club for children in Artemivsk with disabilities, was closed down because of lack of funding. It was at this club 4 years ago that I first thought about the dream of coming back to work for a while in Artemivsk. When I found out they were closed down I was heartbroken for the children and their families. This was the only organization anywhere near the city that offered affordable support (both medical and psychological) to disabled children and their parents.
So, along with a partner here in Ukraine and some friends back in Omaha (Artemivsk’s sister city), I embarked on a quest to find the club a new home and fine funding to keep it going. This leads me to another reason I’ve been so busy the last few months….For the past year or so a good friend of mine (also an OT who graduated from Creighton) have been organizing a service-learning trip for OT students in the Omaha area to come to Artemivsk, learn about Ukrainian culture and work with a few community organizations here. They arrive on Monday (in two days!!) and I am so excited for them to get here. It has been a tremendous amount of work to get everything organized for them. The group signed on to help with the kids club project and were able to secure numerous donations from Omaha organizations…something I never could have done from way over here. It is because of their hard work that this project has come to fruition…and so quickly!
Basically what my Ukrainian partner and I had to do was find a space, find out how much it would cost to renovate it, search for sponsors, start the renovations and…and this is the biggy…get permission from the mayor of Artemivsk to let us use the space that we found. The timing was stress-inducing because as of the date we stopped talking and starting acting on these items (July 14) the Mayor left for summer vacation (usually one month long) and we had until August 10 to get everything finished (that is when the group from Omaha comes to see the finished product).
So for the past 3.5 weeks I have been having all sorts of “grown-up” experiences like interviewing general contractors, getting estimates, checking for quality of materials, overseeing construction, writing official documents for sponsors and the mayor. Finally, today I had a face-to-face meeting with the mayor during which he had all the power to completely shut down our whole operation and lose thousands of dollars of sponsors’ money on a project we didn’t have permission to complete. I wore my best dress and did my hair really nice…all to have it ruined by the 100+ degree weather we are having here, and marched into the mayor’s office. We lucked out because he is technically still on vacation but happened to be in his office for a couple hours on a Saturday morning so we sort of ambushed him (the man, whom I’ve met a few times and have never seen in anything but a full suit, was wearing a t-shirt, shorts and sandals). I struggled to follow the rapid-fire Russian that was hurled back and forth across the table and tried my best to intelligently answer any questions that he asked of me (terrifying!!). Finally, I crossed my fingers as he rustled around on his desk and found a pen….I kept them crossed until all 6 copies of our program agreement were signed and he stood up to shake my hand. Those of you who have been to Ukraine and know this man (or men like him) know that it is a big sign of respect if the mayor shakes a young woman’s hand. Every other time I have met him he greeted me with the culturally accepted greeting of a kiss on the hand.
I’ve been reserving my excitement just waiting for the other foot to drop on this whole project but now I can firmly say YIPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Hooray for the women that lost their jobs and are now re-employed, hooray for the children who again have one place to feel safe and learn from others who know what life is like to be handicapped in Ukraine, hooray for the parents who can go back to work while their children have a safe place to hang out and learn, Hooray for Occupational Therapy!!!!!
I cannot think of a way to apologize for abandoning my blog for the last three months. I have been writing things down on paper so I can share them with you later but I’ve been so busy this summer that I never could find the time or the cleverness to sit down and write to you all. Today, however, something glorious happened...the type of thing that when it happens, you want to call everyone you know and just squeal and giggle with them about it….but since that would be awfully expensive, I decided I would do it via my blog!
One of the reasons that this past few months have been so busy is that in June I received word that a local organization that I visited 4 years ago, a special rehabilitation center and social club for children in Artemivsk with disabilities, was closed down because of lack of funding. It was at this club 4 years ago that I first thought about the dream of coming back to work for a while in Artemivsk. When I found out they were closed down I was heartbroken for the children and their families. This was the only organization anywhere near the city that offered affordable support (both medical and psychological) to disabled children and their parents.
So, along with a partner here in Ukraine and some friends back in Omaha (Artemivsk’s sister city), I embarked on a quest to find the club a new home and fine funding to keep it going. This leads me to another reason I’ve been so busy the last few months….For the past year or so a good friend of mine (also an OT who graduated from Creighton) have been organizing a service-learning trip for OT students in the Omaha area to come to Artemivsk, learn about Ukrainian culture and work with a few community organizations here. They arrive on Monday (in two days!!) and I am so excited for them to get here. It has been a tremendous amount of work to get everything organized for them. The group signed on to help with the kids club project and were able to secure numerous donations from Omaha organizations…something I never could have done from way over here. It is because of their hard work that this project has come to fruition…and so quickly!
Basically what my Ukrainian partner and I had to do was find a space, find out how much it would cost to renovate it, search for sponsors, start the renovations and…and this is the biggy…get permission from the mayor of Artemivsk to let us use the space that we found. The timing was stress-inducing because as of the date we stopped talking and starting acting on these items (July 14) the Mayor left for summer vacation (usually one month long) and we had until August 10 to get everything finished (that is when the group from Omaha comes to see the finished product).
So for the past 3.5 weeks I have been having all sorts of “grown-up” experiences like interviewing general contractors, getting estimates, checking for quality of materials, overseeing construction, writing official documents for sponsors and the mayor. Finally, today I had a face-to-face meeting with the mayor during which he had all the power to completely shut down our whole operation and lose thousands of dollars of sponsors’ money on a project we didn’t have permission to complete. I wore my best dress and did my hair really nice…all to have it ruined by the 100+ degree weather we are having here, and marched into the mayor’s office. We lucked out because he is technically still on vacation but happened to be in his office for a couple hours on a Saturday morning so we sort of ambushed him (the man, whom I’ve met a few times and have never seen in anything but a full suit, was wearing a t-shirt, shorts and sandals). I struggled to follow the rapid-fire Russian that was hurled back and forth across the table and tried my best to intelligently answer any questions that he asked of me (terrifying!!). Finally, I crossed my fingers as he rustled around on his desk and found a pen….I kept them crossed until all 6 copies of our program agreement were signed and he stood up to shake my hand. Those of you who have been to Ukraine and know this man (or men like him) know that it is a big sign of respect if the mayor shakes a young woman’s hand. Every other time I have met him he greeted me with the culturally accepted greeting of a kiss on the hand.
I’ve been reserving my excitement just waiting for the other foot to drop on this whole project but now I can firmly say YIPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Hooray for the women that lost their jobs and are now re-employed, hooray for the children who again have one place to feel safe and learn from others who know what life is like to be handicapped in Ukraine, hooray for the parents who can go back to work while their children have a safe place to hang out and learn, Hooray for Occupational Therapy!!!!!
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