Random Thoughts

A few random observations:
I had to check in at the same two ticket counters twice each upon my arrival in Kiev because my bag was overweight. While shopping today for a t shirt, we had to buy the shirt, then return to a photo processing store where the shirt will be printed. We had to speak to four different people at the photo shop before we had it right.
I’ve seen Soviet era dump trucks and men sweeping sidewalks with brooms feathered with willow twigs. These men work for the city government. I’ve been in grocery stores where I had to bag my produce, then have someone else weigh it. There are large high rise apartments being built next to small neighborhoods of squat houses, fenced in tight to keep the chickens and pigs from wandering into the street.

On buses, passengers in the back pass their fare to the front, and their change is passed back to them. Riders are given a ticket, but no one ever checks the ticket. At school, all records, including grades and attendance are kept by hand in notebooks that are then shown to parents at parent teacher conference time.
At the school canteen, bread sits on every table through each of the lunch periods, and the canteen is sometimes occupied by nearby construction workers, who find the fare cheaper than restaurants. This summer I’m told the canteen will be repaired, but the school administration will have to ask wealthy parents for assistance with the costs.
That all said, the students might not participate in school organized extra curriculars like our students in the U.S., but these students can often times speak four languages by the time they graduate after the eleventh grade.

Teacher Training

Another whirlwind day. Two classes at school, including one on diversity and civic education. It seems the English teachers are the teachers who are spearheading discussion of civics, rather than the government or history teachers, as we might expect in the U.S. The teachers tell me this became their task about 15 years ago and they still struggle to get students to understand that citizenship means engagement.
During the lesson, the teachers discussed planning for the future, then showed a short video clip from the U.S. about a high school that organized the building of a handicap accessible playground. The students then discussed how they might do the same in Lutsk, and created an action plan. I worked with a group of boys to answer several questions.
Students then asked me about the student government in the United States. At Gymnasium 18, students have such a government, but it is largely ineffective because it operates outside the normal school day. I explained that our student government is a class, therefore has responsibilities tied to their progress in the class.
Next up was a discussion with eighth grade students, one of whom wanted to know if there were any crack houses near my house. After this lesson, Ievgeniia and Halyna whisked me to another large lunch in the school canteen, and then downtown to a play. I couldn't understand the dialogue, but recognized the emotion and the drama. It was a famous Ukrainian play; a sort of Fiddler on the Roof meets Grease. The end was tragic and that was easy to see, when the love triangle created out of a misunderstanding was broken with the death of one of the girls.
Next was some shopping, which is a completely separate story, then a few groceries, and back to the hotel.

The End, almost

Sitting in the Amsterdam airport after a nine hour walking tour of Kiev and an all night train trip from Lutsk to Kiev. My internet has five minutes to go, so will simply say there is so much more to report and so many more images to post. Couldn't do either the past four days as the internet at the hotel quit and there was no one to ask, and even if there was couldn't speak the language. What a long strange trip it's been, however. More soon.

Wax Romanovs

So today after lessons, two of my Ukrainian colleagues escorted me to a wax exhibit of the Romanov dynasty Russia. The figures represented all the czars from Ivan the Terrible through Nicholas II. The final scene depicted Nicholas and his family being assassinated. It was gruesome because it was life like. The eyes for each figure were made by a famous Ukrainian doctor who specializes in prosthetic eyes and teeth. We had a guided tour, but after the guide explained each figure's history in Ukrainian, my hosts explained again in English. The exhibt cost the three of us the equivalent of $6, but then I had to pay another three for the right to take photos. I've forgotten to bring my camera to the public place where I must connect to the internet, so will post some of the photos later. The most interesting figures were Ivan the Terrible, Gregory Rasputin, and Tolstoy.
Later we visited the largest grocery store in Kiev, Tam Tam, which means "there, there." It was the equivalent of a Sam's Club or Costco, except there is no membership fee. At the fish counter there were large oxygenated tanks filled with swimming carp and catfish. You tell the counter person which fish you want, and they scoop it out and clean it for you before wrapping it up and sending you on your way. I was satisfied with some local candy, a few containers of yogurt, some pastries, and of course the local beer.
Tomorrow I'm accompanying a class to a local theatre to see a drama, and while I won't understand a single word, the action will be universal I'm certain. Back in my room later I will watch German television, which broadcasts for part of the day in English, or Ukrainian football, which requires no translation, as soccer is the same the world over.

History

Another wonderful meal at the flat of a colleague and her family. What was most intersting was discussing Ukrainian history with the family. The parents are my age, so were born under Soviet rule, but witnessed independence and all the turmoil this has brought. Viktor, a local policeman who certainly does prefer independence, did point out however how some public services were better under the Soviets. College for example, was free if you passed the right exams, whereas now, like at home, the student or family must pay a steep price. His son is a first year university student, and for agreeing to work for the government for three years after graduation, the government provides tuition assistance, but does not pay the total costs. Ukraine means "borderland," and it has truly been a changing border for a thousand years. To hear this from the people who live here and know the stories intimately is moving.

Hard to Believe

Svitlana said many amazing things to me last night. For example, she had to spend a year teaching in Poland several years ago because the Ukrainian government had stopped paying the teachers. Several enlisted with a private organization and traveled to Poland for a year to teach. She told also about how last year she and Sasha could not take their money out of the bank as the government closed the banks. Between them, Svitlana a teacher and Sasha a policemen, they make approximately $500. They bought their flat for $5,500 several years ago. They do not own a car and Sasha often has to pay for the fuel to gas his police car. He sometimes has to take a bus to the village where he is a police officer.
She also told about how in the past the government forbid the teaching of Ukrainian history. "We really don't know our history," she said. The history was not taught, and then was replaced by a government version of the history that had been lost. These are all amazing statements for American to hear. We think of our history as unmalleable.

Cultural Highlights

Yesterday was the most full day yet. To start, I visited old Lutsk, including Lubert, or Lutsk, Castle. Built in the middle to late 14th century, the structure is a combination of wood and brick and looks out over the city from on high. Nearby is the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul, which we were unable to visit due to a funeral.
From the castle, we made our way to the center of the city, where I bought a few souvenirs and simply took in the sights and sounds. Lutsk has an obvious European feel, with few private cars and many busses and trolleys. Women in the latest fashions hurry by, while men dressed in dark colors with serious eyes move more slowly or occupy street corners drinking beer.
We walked along the main pedestrian boulevard, stopping for lunch at a small cafe, where latkes, green salad, and beer for three was just short of $11.
The highlight of the day trip was a visit to the house of a local artist. He is a neighbor of Ivgeniia, my host teacher, but keeps this second house in the city to work on his sculpture. We chatted briefly and walked about his courtyard, strewn with various works of marble and stone in various stages of completion. The house sits at the end of a cobbled street that butts up to the riverbank. The locals call it "The House of Chimera." Our host was disappointed when I couldn't produce American coins, but I do have some in my hotel rooom I'll pass on to him.
After our day, where I was accompanied by Ivgeniia, Gollia, and Andrew. Andrew is the son of one of the English teachers at Gymnasium 18, and he spent last year as an exchange student in Leadville, Colorado.
Next up was dinner at the home of Svitlana, the English department chairwoman, and her family. Her husband Sasha does not speak English, but when he and I discovered our mutual love of fishing, we seemed able to communicate regardless of the language barrier.
The family is impressive, in that Sasha and Svitlana communicate in Russian, while Svitlana and her daughter Anastasia communicate in Ukrainian and English. They treated me to baked Hake and my first taste of salo, a sort of pig fat that is salted and cooled. It tasted like meaty bacon and it was suggested I eat it on a piece of dark bread. There was also plenty of good Ukrainian vodka.
After a long day of sightseeing and much good food and conversation I slept well.

Sights to see

Yesterday was filled with several hours at school, followed by a trip to the center of the city for a sort of cultural concert. It seems several local government workers were being honored for their efforts, and in between announcing names and giving out certificates accompanied by red carnations, there was dancing, singing, and even an orchestra. Ivgeniia, my contact teacher at Gymnasium 18, was one of the dancers. I was accompanied by Olga and Ilya.
The festivities were colorful, cheery, and loud.
Afterwards, as ever, the ladies accompanied me back to the hotel, with a stop first at a local market, where I bought my provisions for breakfast; some green tea, some yogurt, and a couple pastries. They then walked me to the hotel, where they informed the restaurant staff I would not be dining in, and left me. I spent the rest of the night updating on the internet, watching Ukrainian television and reading Anna Reid's fascinating history of Ukraine, "Borderlands."
Today I am to accompany Ivgeniia and Gollia to a local castle, do some souvenir shopping, then have dinner with Svitlana and her family. Svitlana is the chair of the English department at the school. Her husband doesn't speak English, but her daughter does, so I should be able to communicate just fine.
Am going to try and attach a couple photos here before signing off.

Eastern Rising

Finally updating from Lutsk, Ukraine. Have been struggling with internet troubles, but they seem to be okay at the moment. The trip in was long and tiring. Pellston to Detroit, to Amsterdam, to Kiev, then Lviv, and finally Lutsk. The trip took some 30 hours with three time changes and daylight changing to darkness, then back through the entire cycle. I am now a phenomenon at Gymnasium 18, where students greet me with part wonder, part awe, and part disinterest. The staff has been incredibly warm, and each day a new teacher becomes my guide. I have been to the bank with one, the supermarket with another, and today to an art museum with two more. I am living in a small hotel that looks more like an office building, but is literally a 200 meter walk from the school.
Each day lunch at school consists of soup, bread, meat, pasta, and cabbage salad of some type. The head of the canteen thought I didn't like her food because I didn't eat it all the first day I was there, but there was simply too much. I have made peace with her now.
My hotel room is small, but comfortable. The television didn't work the first three days, so I read and listened to Ukrainian radio. Music is soothing whatever the language.
Tomorrow more school, more culture, and hopefully more internet coverage.

Eastern Horizon

Off to the Ukraine in a week, where I'll be reading and writing with mostly middle school students in a school in Lutsk. In the west, the town is staunchly Ukrainian, I hear, unlike its western cousins who are more likely to be pro Russian. After the recent election, however, the entire country might be undergoing a Russian revolution. I will be there two weeks, speaking to students and working with teachers of English. I've been reading Borderlands by Anna Reid for some background. A history of Ukraine, the book winds back to the Cossack period and before, eventually wending forward to the late 20th century.
I'm also slowly working into Taras Bulba by Gogol, as he's the West's version of a Ukrainian classic. This might be more of a plane read, as I've not made it deep into the story as of yet.
Stay tuned.

Dark Evening

I've been through Idaho, and read much about its wonderful trout fishing. I even met a teacher from Moscow, Idaho who I found to be perfectly intelligent. I am glad to say I have no experience with the Idaho depicted in Brian Hart's new novel Then Came The Evening.
Hart's characters are meth fueled and pain marked, oppressed by family strife that runs deeper than any trout stream and is harder than any mountainside.
When Tracy Doerner shows decides to reclaim his dead grandparent's failing homestead, he finds the work is not as hard as the emotional upheaval he must endure. His father Bandy, incarcerated and without prospects, never knew the son he shared with his estranged and drug addled ex-wife Iona.
When Tracy falls off the roof of the dilapidated farmhouse, the family's sharply divided trajectory angles back on one another, bringing the past to weigh on the future. Bandy, banged up in prison, finds himself drawn to Tracy, the son he didn't know, as well as to Iona, the meth-head who's traded drugs for a shot at restoration.
Hart, a first time novelist, gets bogged down in minutia on occasion, but drags the story out of the dirt long enough to outline believable characters mired in regrettable circumstances.