Just Thought I Would Share ...

Spring is here! Someone told me a couple of weeks ago that when I started seeing people out painting the playgrounds, then it would really be spring. Guess what I saw several men doing the last few days?! Painting playgrounds! Even if there is rain and cool weather in the forecast, according to the flowers, the trees and the abundant sunshine ... spring has sprung!

A Little Russian For You.

I am always excited to go to church ... I enjoy recognizing the songs we sing. Sometimes we sing in Russian and sometimes in Ukrainian. It can be hard to sing along to a song when you have no idea what the words mean. If the song has been directly translated, I know what I am singing. Which is really fun!

Today we sang Chris Tomlin's version of How Great Is Our God. It is a great song in English - for some reason though, I really enjoying (singing in Russian really is beautiful) singing it in Russian.

The First Six Weeks.

What has changed in six weeks?! Haha. What has not changed?! Some of the adjustments I have been making are easy; some are so tough they require a laugh just to get through. A few require a change in me … in the way I think and see things (or in how I feel about BIG purses and skinny jeans), but most only require a moment to remember that life here is just “different.”

I have adjusted to giving the cashier more money than necessary to make the purchase, just so she can give me an even bill for change.

I now buy a bag to carry my purchases home in – or I buy only what fits in my purse.

I now own a very large purse to accommodate said purchases.

I also own the very large purse to carry everything else that I might need … including, but not limited to an extra bag, a water bottle, pain relievers, keys, metro card, mobile phone, maps, a notebook, hand sanitizer, a book to read whilst riding the Metro, Kleenex, gloves, umbrella, a shoe shine travel kit, a camera and the kitchen sink.

I do not mind people staring at me (very blatantly, I might add). I just stare back.

I am amused to encounter a little kid walking down the street listening to some American song on the radio only to hear him singing along in Russian.

I no longer assume that the swish, swish sound I hear coming up on me is a human in a track suit. I no longer laugh out loud at the poor cocker spaniel that is forced to wear a blue plaid track suit.

I know that the Бабушка(ba-bush-ka, means grandmother) speaking to me in angry tones is not really yelling at me, she only thinks it is too cold to be out without a hat.

I have adjusted to taking a shower, seeing dirty water in the bathtub and not freaking out that I was that dirty. No the water is that dirty to start with.

I walk everywhere or ride public transportation. I no longer drive.

I often find myself dropping articles from all my English conversations (a common occurrence when conversing with Ukrainians who speak English).

I am no longer late places because I forgot to count the fifteen minutes it takes me to put on all my warm clothes and shoes before heading out the door.

I actually said “Wow. 56 degrees ferin. That is going to be a hot day.”

I do not cringe (visually, anyway) when the neighborhood boys try to practice their English on me and they choose to use profane and vulgar words.

In all, these six weeks have been good. I have learned a lot about myself and others. I have been stretched and given the strength to be stretched. I have begun exploring my new city and am really finding the beauty in it and the people here. May it always be so.

A Package.

I have been waiting with mounting anticipation and excitement for the arrival of a box. I knew it was coming and I knew what some of the contents would be. I often quietly wished that I had those things and hopped that my box would come soon.

Finally, the phone call came ... I had a package waiting for me!

I knew the box would contain the few items I had asked for, but I also knew that Mum could not leave an ounce of empty space in a package. So I had anticipated it coming filled to the brim - I just did not imagine what it would be filled with. Oh my gosh! My package was awesome!
The box was full of great things: all the things I had asked for, more granola bars, fruit roll-ups, pinto beans, three magazines, brown sugar, dried apples, tape, an English/Russian dictionary and several other things. But the three biggest surprises were the scarf Aunt K made me, Girl Scout cookies and the Beverly Hills Chihuahua movie.
I have already put one box of cookies in the freezer for consumption (however, I had to establish my rations ahead of time ... so I could make them last) and I have started quoting my favourite lines from the movie and chuckling at myself. Hehe.

Just thinking about the pleasure this box brought me makes me smile.

I Ate It.

I thought I should start keeping record of the things that I eat around here. Most of the Ukrainian food I eat is delicious, but there have been (and I am sure will continue to be) many highlights.

Yesterday, whilst I was working at the seminary this lovely jar of food was delivered to ME, who I work with. I was not quite sure what it was, but I figured I could take a guess. It looked like green beans to me. Boy, was I WRONG!

It is actually a jar of pickled garlic shoots and I ate some. They were not as flavourful as I expected them to be - certainly not overwhelming in garlic taste. They were squishy and stringy. I was surprised that they were chilled ... or that could have been because it was so cold out yesterday ... who knows. Mostly, if I were to describe their taste, I would say they tasted like pickled green beans without the little green bean seeds. Of course, I would have to know what pickled green beans tasted like to make an exact comparison ...

Oh My Aching Chest.

My roommate refers to it as the "welcome to Kyiv illness." I would call it "painful and annoying." Whatever you want to refer to it as ... being sick in another country, in another language and without your mum is not much fun!

Between the annoying cough, painful pulled muscles from the coughing, the runny nose, stopped up head and the endless naps - its been a while since I have been out an about (at least in a coherent state). For the past week these things have been my best friends. Sadly, it looks like they will continue to be my friends for a few more days.
At least I can sit in my room and look out the window ... and promptly discover it is snowing again ... and be thankful that I have reason to stay home.

GOAL!

I have been searching for a place here in Kyiv to watch football matches (since I do not have cable) and in my search I came across an Irish Pub called Golden Gate Irish Pub. Its a great place and a quick trip on the metro from my house. Well, quick is relative ... its about a forty minute ride, but then its only across the street from the metro so I don't actually have to walk a long way ... Anyway, I conned two of my friends K and J to go with me yesterday to watch a super important game between Liverpool and Manchester United.
Of course, my boys won! Liverpool 4 Manchester 1.

I was not sure how well Liverpool is received around here so I did not wear my scarf or jersey. The whole place filled with Ukrainians, a few Americans and alot of British; nearly everyone was wearing Manchester scarves and jerseys. I was convinced that I was the only Red's supporter there. That is until Liverpool scored. As I tried to celebrate quietly in my corner the place erupted with shouts of joy, whoops and hollars and even a few good hearted "ha in your face Manchester's!" I got to watch the rest of the game good company.

I am now in possession of the special phone number to call to reserve a good table for the broadcast matches. You can bet I will be using it! I can never underestimate the comfort I get from being somewhere familiar, eating familiar food, doing something familiar or enjoying the camaraderie of football matches. At the Pub I get to do all of these.

International Women's Day.

Today is International Woman's Day.

The first International Women's Day was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States. Among other relevant historic events, it came to commemorate the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. The idea of having an international women's day was first put forward at the turn of the 20th century amid rapid world industrialization and economic expansion that led to protests over working conditions.

The holiday, which began as a political event blends in the culture of many countries (primarily Russia and the countries of the former Soviet bloc). In some celebrations, the day has lost it policitical flavour and has simply become an occation for men to express their love to the women around them in a way somewhat similar to Mother's Day and Valentine's Day mixed together.

That is where today comes in. S, one of my new co-workers made cakes for each of us girls on the team. It was totally unexpected and quite thrilling. We do not often get cake in a sweet, fluffy and iced form (like you would expect in America) so it was a splendid treat. S brought the cakes to us at church this morning and we spent the entire walk home speculating what kind of cake it was (chocolate, yellow, spice, etc.). My roommate M and I tasted ours directly upon walking into the door at home. It was just as delicious as imagined. He even decorated it with the Cyrillic letter Ж (je) which stands for the Russian word for "female" ЖЕНЩИНА (jen-schen-na).

Thanks for thinking of us on International Women's Day.

Can You Say That Again?

There you have it ... proof that I have returned to third grade (though sometimes it feels more like kindergarten). I started language classes last Thursday and will continue to have them once a week for the next ten or so weeks. Not only am I learning to speak and read Russian, but I am also learning how to write in Russian. How great is that?! I do have to admit that my Russian handwriting is much better than my English handwriting. I always wanted to have beautiful, flowing cursive in English and now I do ... in Russian.

"Reading, writing and speaking Russian is SO great." Yes, I say this often. Especially as I struggle to sound out words and remember what the letters look like when they are printed verses when they are in cursive. I also have begun to repeat this mantra as I read signs and interact in this new world - because 90% of that is Ukrainian.

So what can I say? Not much as far as fluid sentences goes ...

I know how to say that I do not speak Russian. I can count to ten and by ten's to one hundred. I know the days of the week and some colours. I can ask how much something costs, or how old someone is and answer back. I can say hello and good-bye (both formally and informally) and my vocabulary is growing each day. I even sang along with my first Russian song in church on Sunday. I have even begun to interject Russian words in daily life - please and thank-you are quite popular for me! Most importantally, Ican get the guard at my building to let me in after the door has been locked. Though, I am not sure how much of that is my skill to speak or lack there of?!

I am really enjoying learning Russian and I do hope to be able to speak it well enough to actually use it with regularity - it would be great if I could replace charades with words. By the way, in the picture of the cover of the handwriting book that is my name transliterated into Russian.