Just spent an amazing week in Ukraine showing my hubby what this country is all about. We had so much fun...I dare say the delightful craziness of Ukraine may have overshawdowed our last European adventure in Paris! Paris, you are up...next I come visit me, you have a lot to live up to!
We met in Kyiv and spent the day wandering around a street famous for souvenir vendors and artisans. Jeff was impressed my how uniquie most of the stalls were..not your average souvenir lane where every stall has the exact same stuff. You can really tell there that many people make their wares and come to sell them rather than all ordering from the same Oriental trading company.
Jeff got to take his first train ride that night as we headed to Artemovsk, my neck of the woods. Jeff zonked out early (thank you jet lag) and I had a chance to get to know our compartment-mates, two American women that we met up with who were coming to Artemovsk with us to visit the orphanage and children's rehab center that opened while I was here.
We all spent monday walking around Artemovsk getting to meet all the local folks that I have been working with on a daily basis. It was really neat to have Jeff there so he could see what I had been doing with all my time.
On tuesday we boarded a train taking us down to the Crimean Peninsula, where we spent the rest of our vacation. We stayed in Sevestopol mostly (this is the southern harbor town where the Russian Black Sea Fleet is stationed). The scenery was quite a departure from what I have gotten used to in the northern part of the country. It wasn't quite warm enough to swim there but there was plenty of sunshine as we saw the sights. We mostly look day trips to nearby towns. First we went to the town of Bakchesaray where the Crimean Tatar culture is still thriving. We saw Khan's Palace which reminded me very much of what I saw in Istanbul (harem, palace complex, lush gardens, mosque on the premises). We got to try some excellent Crimean Tatar food which had a lot of caraway spice to it and reminded me of a mix between Turkish and India. Everything we ate there was amazing and delicious. Next we climbed up a giant hill to see a tiny little orthodox monastery that is cut right into the side of a cliff and then climbed up to the very top to explore an old mountain city that was cut and crafted among the natural rock formations. Jeff and I had a great time hopping around there and marveling at windows and skylights and even shelves that were cut out of the stone. I found my inner mountain goat and my husband learned something he didn't know about me...I am surprisingly agile and quick on steep rocky cliffs :)
The following day we had enough time to go on a half day trip to a town right on the southern coast called Balaklava. It was much warmer here and many people were actually swimming in the bveatiful little bay that the town was situated around. The clarity and color of the water were astounding and Jeff and I couldn't get over the fact that it didn't even smell like water we had ever been around...no stale fishy smell or even the faint scent of fuel from the boats. In fact, to me it smelled like watermelon! In this tiny bay we got to explore and old Russian submarine base which was used just 25 years ago to house the nuclear warheads that were (at that time) possibly going to be used on the US. Jeff was just tickled to be allowed inside the place (we were allowed to wander around by ourselves, without a guide and we kept commenting to each other about the curious freedom....we got to see the room where the radioactive material had been kept for goodness sakes!!). I learned a lot from Jeff who has always been a sucker for war history.
It was a bit difficult to get around down there, even with my improved Russian language skills, but we made it to most of the places we intended to visit and all in all we had a blast every minute we were together. We plan to come back sometime in the future and actually check out the awesome swimming conditions that we heard so much about!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
me.jpg)