Changes

The seasons come and go, buildings are renovated, artwork is remembered- or forgotten, old nations grow into new nations. Everything changes.

In the spirit of those changes, here are a few local snapshots showing exactly that:

Poetry Plaza

Winter

Spring

The truth about blogging right now

Shevchenko Park, March 27th, 6:30 PM

Dear readers,

I love blogging and sharing things with you but it's been hard lately. Not hard to actually sit down and write but, in a way, hard to justify the posts. I tend not to write about politics on here, share my own political opinions, or get into any "who's right and who's insanely evil" discussions. Interview offers that turn up are usually turned down, because everyone wants "the view from the ground" and my answer is lame, something like this:

Went downtown last night and there was nothing to report; a handful of police in normal uniforms, candles and flowers near the Lenin statue, lots of young couples out on dates. No angry mobs, no Molotov cocktails, no war. Came home, waited for the news to load, and wow, suddenly some newspaper in Kyiv or London or New York or Canada is saying that yep, 100% sure war will come (or worse, they hope it comes) tomorrow. Then I feel like a big idiot: did I miss the memo? was there a town hall meeting? maybe a secret handshake that communicated this kind of info? a Facebook update from Yatsenyuk? did Putin ride into town atop a tank?

Obviously a super-boring answer. Those foreign correspondents who show up for a day or two manage to find vastly more exciting things to say. Still, that brings me to the whole point of this blog: to share those little, ordinary things. What the park looked like yesterday. Something funny a student said. A strange new food in the supermarket. An unusual Ukrainian superstition. If I wake up and see an armored convey rolling down the street, you'd better believe that's going to be my opening sentence but so far (thank God) there's nothing like that in Kharkiv.

There are many talented bloggers here in Ukraine who focus on politics on all sides of the spectrum (like this blogger, this blogger, and this blogger, just to name a few). Also, as you've noticed, pretty much every single news agency in the world is churning out Ukraine-related news 24/7. If you want that kind of info, really, it's everywhere... except maybe here.

Getting an international cat passport in Ukraine

It's happened.

A certain furry someone has his own international "passport" now.

He says he's ready for a high-flying, jet-setting lifestyle, expecting to be served only the finest caviar and freshest cream. (I said he should look for an oligarch to adopt him in that case :P)

This morning we took Kit to the vet.

Early spring

It was an unbelievable 64F in Kharkiv this afternoon! I'd forgotten how good it feels to be surrounded by sunshine and look up to a clear blue sky.

Lots of people are taking advantage of the weather for those ubiquitous impromptu photo shoots that are so popular here. What surprised me most is that it wasn't only girls posing... the girl in the photo shoot below had only about 10 minutes before two guys showed up to take photos in the same spot. By the time they were wrapping things up, another group of guys had come along and were striking different poses near the graffiti.

It was a huge pleasure to get out and walk around some today. After a movie, a quick trip to Central Market, and pizza along the river, we spent twenty glorious minutes just standing in the warm air while waiting for the tram, wanting to soak up massive amounts of Vitamin D. The land of springtime truly feels like a foreign country after winter's long reign.

Fairy tales and cartoons in Ukrainian parks

Out on a bit of a wild goose chase to find a vet clinic, we happened across this playground of fairy tales across the street from the Oleksiivska metro.

Fairytale Meadow

I did a little happy dance at seeing this place. Something new, something new! Oleksiivska is one area of town we haven't explored much and I've long been on a hunt to photograph the frequent сказка (skazka, fairytale) and мультик (multik, cartoon) themes in Ukrainian parks and playgrounds.

First up, these three lovely gentlemen, ready for some lunch:

In reference, perhaps, to the 1975 cartoon How The Cossacks Bought Salt (part of the entire "How the Cossacks..." series).

And then the quaint cast of курочка ряба (Speckled Hen): Ded, Baba, Mouse, and the Speckled Hen with her golden egg.

Click here for a YouTube animation of their tale.

Next, here's a guy that would probably look more familiar to you if someone hadn't broken off his most distinguishing feature-

Buratino! Known also as Pinocchio.

I'm not sure if there's a Jiminy Cricket in this Soviet version of the story, but there's something even better: a big turtle named Tortila : )

There's also a poodle involved, as seen in this fountain at the Kiev Zoo-

The entire cast of Buratino, including the evil puppeteer Karabas Barabas.

Speaking of evil, let's talk for a moment about the undisputed Queen of Slavic folklore- Baba Yaga.

The waiting game

Saw this sign while out for a walk this morning-

Who stole what and where have they hidden it? Be in the know! News Radio 100.5

Traveling by marshrutka

As the weather heats up again (it actually looks like summer today!), I'm mentally preparing myself to make the transition from Winter Marshrutka to Summer Marshrutka.

час пик on the marshrutka, courtesy of my student Karina.

 The Russian word for route is marshrut (маршрут), thus a vehicle that travels a particular route is called a marshrutka (маршрутка). Any trip to a country that borders Russia usually includes this rite of passage. At some point you'll find yourself on board one of these vehicles and at час пик (rush hour), you'll be crammed in close enough to your neighbors to get to know them very, very well ; ) Consider it the closest thing you'll get to a hug from a stranger in Ukraine. (Although who knows, you could end up with a marriage proposal, like Polly did!)

The Winter Marshrutka and Summer Marshrutka each have their own challenges. In winter, you stand around in your fur coat, stomping your boots and peering down the road to see if the marshrutka is approaching. When that flash of green appears, you've got to either fumble around for the correct change (2 - 4 uah) or rip your gloves off, exposing hands to the freezing air, to find the money. Once the marshrutka screeches to a halt, you'll have to fight your way on board. It's not so much the other passengers that take up all available space- it's more their own gigantic fur coats. In the winter, we all look like bears (some, of course, being more fashionable than others).

In the summer, it's the opposite.