8 months in Ukraine, revisited

I don't know how this has happened, but another 8 months have flown by after making that phone call back in March... bringing us to a grand total of 16 months in Ukraine.

16!

That sounds so long! Almost enough time to get an associates degree or have two babies! But I'm glad I chose Ukraine for this period of time instead of more education or starting a family. I think it will prove just as rewarding in the long run.

The past 8 months have been very different from the previous 8. Remember Кто не рискует, тот не пьет шампанское from June? Since then I've been trying a ton of new things. 

This summer I did a weekly English Game Night with another teacher.

Blogging, as you can probably tell, has become more than just a hobby. It's become a lifestyle and I love it.

I started volunteering with a local social service agency this fall, offering English to its employees weekly and hanging out with the children once or twice a month.

D and I have begun work on a website to help others learn Russian. We started from scratch but it's coming along pretty well. Just have a couple more things to do before it's ready to be shared with all of you!

The Care Package

Reading a lot of blogs about life in Ukraine means reading a lot of Peace Corps volunteer blogs. Reading a lot of PCV blogs means reading again and again about one of the best things that can happen to you while living abroad: getting a care package.

What does it feel like, I thought to myself, to get a box full of good stuff from home? Rebecca in England has dropped several cards in the mail, Macedonian-American Vesna occasionally sends handmade crafts, but so far no one had sent us a grab-bag of Americana, the kind of stuff that makes you a little homesick.

Then my boss called me on Sunday with excitement in her voice. "Katherine!!" she whispered, "you've got mail! A big envelope!" and with that, my first care package had arrived : )

minus the cat, of course

Ват из ит, Pepsi version

Pepsi's new ad campaign in Ukraine: half real Ukrainian, half English words written in Ukrainian.

"Sharing (шерiнг) was always sharing, Pepsi Cola is with me"

"A street party (стрiтпатi) was always a street party, Pepsi Cola is with me"

Pizza Колдун

There's a little restaurant near the train station that I like to visit every so often- Pizza Колдун.

Here you'll find a tiny two-room joint squeezed in between a beauty shop and a meat market. They serve piping hot pizzas to the tune of 50-60 uah a pop. I like the atmosphere and the design. Unfortunately the mood is sometimes ruined by a heavy cloud of cigarette smoke. Please, please Ukraine- pass/enforce an anti-indoor-smoking law! Done! But... people still smoke in there :p

Sick of pizza? There are plenty of other places to eat near the Kharkov train station. Try:

• Coffee Life 
• Mexico House 
• Chinese Kitchen "Swan"
• and of course- the ubiquitious McDonalds.

Art of City, City of Art

Kharkov has been gloomy lately. A heavy fog slowly erases the city, brick by brick.

Compare:

regular day

today

Yesterday I went out in search of color...

...and found it!

Welcome to Art of City.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas

It snowed on Saturday night! Does that mean that it's okay to start thinking about Christmas? True to tradition, I've already started putting out the decorations.

Thank you, смайлмаркет, for your cheap imported goods!

Christmas is still pretty far off if you want to celebrate it like a local. The winter holidays here start on New Year's Eve (check out last year's celebrations!), then Christmas falls on January 7th and Old New Year wraps up the season on January 14th. As for December 25th, well, that's just another work day. After the crushing disappointment of having to take finals on December 25th in Siberia I never again expected anything special on that particular day. Hearing a simple "Merry Christmas" from a thoughtful student is about as exciting as it can get.

Dear readers, do you have any special holiday plans? Are you planning to travel? D's company is having a big party in Odessa at the end of next month. We're planning to hop on the train and attend. It's a costume party, though, and I have no ideas. The last time we wore costumes in Ukraine we failed miserably. So, remaining costume ideas: Blackmail. A shot in the dark. ???? Please advise!

In the meantime-

кит doesn't appear to be too excited about the holiday season, probably because he's on Santa's naughty list

Giving thanks по-украински

With a couple of minor modifications, it's fairly easy to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving feast in Ukraine!

Step 1: Instead of battling the crowds for that last box of stuffing on Wednesday night, you can relax and head to the grocery store two hours before your guests arrive. This will, of course, be on Friday night since Thursday is a regular work day (or night, in my case).

Step 2: Rumors of turkeys are everywhere but the actual bird is much harder to find, so just pick up some roasted chicken. Roasted chicken also has the benefit of being fairly cheap- 25 uah ($3 US) per bird. In fact, the total grocery bill was under $50... for 7 people!

Step 3: Since Ukrainians are excellent cooks, be sure to take others up on their offers to bring a salad/side dish/pie. You won't regret it. Also, if you know any, Peace Corps Volunteers have access to highly-sought-after goods from abroad like gravy mix packets.

homemade pumpkin pie