Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.
-- John Muir, The Yosemite
 |
Home |
|
About Ukraine |
|
FAQ |
|
Resources |
|
Pictures |
|
Journal |
The Lightyellow Journal
The regular disclaimer: The views expressed on this website are my own and in no way reflect those of the U.S. Peace Corps or any agency of the U.S. Government.
March 2005
Friday, March 4, 2005
How's your Russian coming?
So this seems to be like a good time to update you all on how well I'm communicating (or miscommunicating) in Russian these days. It's come up a few times recently.
First, there are a few phrases I somehow manage to say with a perfect accent, like "Nice to meet you" and "Very tasty, thank you." I'm not sure how it happens, but every once in a while out comes one of these phrases, and it confuses everyone who doesn't know me well. Actually, I think maybe it confuses some of those who know me well, too. It makes people think I'm a local, and that I understand way more than I do! Then they start talking really fast, and I don't understand a word.
But I've definitely learned a lot since I got to Chernomorskoe. (I now deserve that "Intermediate High" score I got at the end of my Peace Corps training.) Several people have commented on how much I've learned, including a few of the teachers at my school. My host sister said "You know a lot of words," which is a huge complement coming from her. And people I just me are always impressed.
"You speak with an accent," says the shopkeeper. "Where are you from?"
"I am from America."
"Oh! That's you! You work at the school?"
"Yes."
"How are our pupils?"
"Very good!"
"You speak very well."
"Thank you. Sometimes well, sometimes poorly."
Also, I can more or less understand what's happening on one of the two soaps we watch on weeknights (the one in Russian, not Clone). The love triangle is a breeze, and I know that the parents of the guy in the wheelchair are worried that their older son is responsible for their younger son's paralysis. Dad also discovered the drug problem, which is why they shipped him off to sea for a few months. (Not that that's going to last beyond one episode.) Then there's the rather dopey guy in love with the girl in love with the guy in the wheelchair, who's still in love with the girl who left him at the alter, who's in love with the drug-addict brother. But you get the picture. It's a soap, and I've got the relationships down.
That said, there's still a lot I don't understand. I mean, there's all this plotting going on. What's with the lighthouse guys and the explosives? The uncle is definitely up to no good, though I'm not sure what. Why do they periodically show a scene with the old doctor and his young wife--what do they have to do with anything? It's all beyond me.
The problem is, whenever anyone starts talking about non-tangibles, about things I can't confirm visually, I'm on shaky ground. In other words, whenever I have to rely on my own understanding, there's that nagging voice in the back of my head that says, "Yeah, well, you think they just told you school is canceled tomorrow, but are you sure?" And the answer is, inevitably, No. So, when I can't get hold of my coordinator, who I can ask in English, I spend a sleepless night trying to decide whether I should trust my understanding, or go in to school anyway. (Outcome: I actually had understood. School was canceled, and I got confirmation about 5 minutes before I would have needed to leave to arrive for the 8:00 starting bell.)
Still, this is a vast improvement from a few weeks ago, when I mistook the word "insult" for the word "lunch," and so misunderstood the question "Are you insulted?" as "Have you had lunch?" Much confusion ensued. Sure, maybe I'm not 100% confident that I understood all of that history lesson I gave you last week, but at least I understood some of it! And maybe I couldn't find any news articles to back up the rocket launcher bit, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen! After all, my news sources are limited.
It's nice to feel like I'm making some progress! (Now someone come visit me so I can show off.)
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Spring is here!
Last week was the 8th of March, Women's Day. This is a huge holiday, one of the biggest I've seen so far. We went to school the Saturday before so that Monday as well as Tuesday would be a free day. My pupils brought me flowers, chocolates, cards. They put on a small concert for the teachers, with singing and dancing. The party that followed was for teachers only; everyone--except me--brought a dish, and there was an enormous amount of food. (Next year I'll be prepared.)
Women's Day is apparently a big international holiday--who knew? When I say we don't have Women's Day in America, just Mother's Day, people are astonished. They look at me with faces that clearly say, How can you live without Women's Day?
My host mother and I spent a good part of Tuesday cooking dinner--though of course Grandmother and my host mother's sister also brought dishes. Towards the end of the day my host mom said to me, "Usually the men should do all this, to congratulate us, but since we have no men...." But that seems to be the general Ukrainian way--so many households without men.
The dinner we made was the greenest I'd seen in a while--because March First is officially Spring (at least it is in Ukraine), we celebrated with such luxuries as green onion, parsley, and lettuce garnishes. And I don't know where they came from, but there were pussywillows in a vase in the hallway.
Joy! Spring is coming! I couldn't feel it last week (in fact, the day after Women's Day brought a small snow storm), but today it is definitely here. Warm and fresh, with buds on the trees, and green peaking from the soil. It's wonderful, fabulous, delicious.
I long for warm weather, for summer. I lust after fresh fruits and vegetables, dream about cooking for myself.
But mostly I dream about summer clothes. I have two shirts and two skirts I can start wearing once the weather turns a bit warmer. This will nearly double my wardrobe.
I am so sick of my clothes.
I have one pair of black pants and once black skirt I can wear to school. I also have one light blue and one olive green sweater; this is what I wear every day. I have 3 or 4 t-shirts and blouses I can wear under the sweaters, and a pair of (tight) jeans for when I'm not working, but that's about it. It's excruciatingly boring.
You may be thinking that I must have less than my neighbors, but really I don't. Nobody here has a lot of clotehs; it's perfectly normal to see people wear the same thing almost every day. That's probably why people take such good care of their clothes, changing as soon as they get home, brushing any dirt off their pants, obsessively cleaning their shoes. I am such a slob in comparison. I indifferently fold up my pants, don't iron all my shirts, and sometimes I even go outside without makeup! I'm a barbarian.
One thing I like about the Ukrainian soaps is how they're realistic about clothes. Take "Healing Love," whose confusing mess of relationships I wrote a bit about in my last entry. They wear the same clothes all the time in that show. Even the rich fiance-leaving princess seems to have a set number of outfits. The same clothes pop up all the time, and I'm always a little thrilled when something new appears. Is that a new dress Masha's wearing? I don't think I've seen that before! Cool! I wonder where she got the money?
American shows are so unrealistic. Even supposedly struggling families seem to have bottomless closets. You never see them wear the same thing twice.
But now it's Spring! Another couple of weeks and I'll be able to wear my blue skirt! Another month and I can add the lime-green knit top! Soon it'll be summer and I can wear sandals! And all the while I'll be eating salads, fruit, vegetables....mmmmm. It's beyond exciting.
Friday, March 18, 2005
New Kids in Town
When I first came to Ukraine I looked at the Volunteers we met with awe. Here were people who had already been through what I was beginning, who could speak Russian (or Ukrainian), who know how the trains work and where to go in the Peace Corps office, where to eat in Kyiv, how to get around. I looked at them with wonder, and felt very young. I wondered what they saw when they looked at me, this new arrival. I must seem so...young.
At the beginning of March the newest group of Trainees arrived in Ukraine and began their training. My group is no longer the youngest.
Two weekends ago I went to Kyiv for the first time since arriving here in Chernomorskoe. It was a great trip, very empowering. I bought the bus ticket to Simferopol by myself, and in Simferopol I bought the train tickets for myself and another Volunteer. We got on the right train at the right time, no problems. And in Kyiv we knew exactly which metro to take to the Peace Corps office; it was as though we were coming back to a city we already know. Our city. Strange how you can feel ownership of a place even when you barely speak the language, and haven't been there more than a half dozen times. But even so it was like a homecoming.
Almost everyone I was close with in Training was there, plus many other friends. We were in town for various meetings, a couple of which happened to be meeting on the same day. I was insanely glad to see everyone. We all shared our impossibilities, frustrations, and successes. Being there, I felt so much more comfortable; and it meant that, for the first time, going back to Chernomorskoe on Monday felt like going home.
Everything feels better. A trip to Kyiv after a couple of months at site should be mandatory.
PS: Inquiring minds want to know: when you pickle vegetables, how much of the vitamins do you lose? Are the vegetables still even remotely healthy? If not, we volunteers are all in trouble. (Especially the vegetarians.)
Friday, March 29, 2005
Spring Update
Yesterday I saw leaves on some of the trees. First leaves! And lovely green things are peeking out of the ground. People are planting gardens. There are baby animals, lambs and calves.
Spring!
If another frost comes it will kill all the buds and we won't have much fruit this summer. Please send happy warm thoughts to Crimea.
I have just moved into my new apartment, where I'm all alone. Joy! Things have been busy here lately, and I have a lot to tell you all but very little time. I hope to sit down and write a lot this weekend, so look for a long update next week. For now...
Dosvedanya. (Goodbye.)