Kharkov Tour II

Have you all been eagerly waiting for the rest of the tour, dear readers??? Here it is! Following up with Kharkov Tour I, in June we met again with the guys (Jack and Yaroslav) to continue our rambles around the town. This time we were a group of 5, joined by the lovely Sonya, who is both Jack's girlfriend and another former student of mine. Apparently they'd noticed each other during class when Jack had to lift up Sonya and her chair during a grammar exercise.... who says class has to be boring? :p

We started on Chernyshevskogo street, not far from the Architektora Beketova metro stop and near Pizza Felice. It's possible to glimpse this tall and non-Orthodox-looking church (see left) as you walk down Chernyshevskogo.


First up, the Alexander Pushkin State Academic Russian Drama Theater, originally built in the 1930s and later reconstructed after a fire.

Next, Darwin Street. Come here for the unusual architecture!

Then we really began to wander. Here's what we saw:

Creamy Cucumber Dressing

Most Ukrainian retailers offer three kinds of salad dressing: balsamic vinaigrette, Italian, and Caesar/some variation of a creamy dressing. It's all hit or miss, as in the first two are always a hit and the last one is always a miss. This summer I've been dreaming of the salad dressings that my colleague Ninetta used to make back in Alaska and share with us at lunchtime..... so good! Unfortunately she never revealed any of her secrets, so I'm searching the internet on my own.

Here's my first attempt: Creamy Cucumber Dressing (recipe courtesy of Chef in Training via eighteen25)

Good for Ukraine- you only need a cucumber, lemon juice, sour cream, sugar, and salt.

Ukraine Anti-Packing List: EFL Teacher Version

This post is written for English teachers headed to Ukraine. Why is it called an anti-packing list? See all that red? That's stuff that I hope to dissuade you from (or at least make you think twice about) bringing. Meanwhile, things in green are things that have been really useful to me during the past year. Everything on this list came from my packing list, from what I actually brought with me to Ukraine last year.

So grab some tea and read on. May this list help you with your packing decisions and help you plan for a successful stint as an English teacher!

As you read this, please keep in mind-

• I work with adults, not children.
• I live in a major Ukrainian city. It may be a lot more difficult to find some of these items in a smaller city (or village).
• A native-speaker helps me shop. If you don't speak the language well or don't have access to a native-speaker, it may be easier to bring something from home instead of trying to track it down in Ukraine. 

disclaimer: this post contains Amazon affiliate links in case you find them useful!

Also see: The (regular) anti-packing list and shopping in Ukraine


What do the colors mean?

Red = Waste of Space
Yellow = Potentially Useful
Green = Get it!

Guns, heat, and storms

A clear summer night sometime last week

Tonight we sat on the balcony and watched lightning strike the edges of the city. It seems like there are thunderstorms every couple of days and the period between them is filled with insufferable heat and waiting. At home it's not so bad; we've pretty much taken to living 24/7 in the room with the LIFESAVING DEVICE! I mean, air conditioner. At work though, it can be a bit stuffy. I teach in an old elementary school rented out for the evenings, so when I unlock the classroom on these 90+ degree days it feels like the inside of an oven. Opening the windows only lets in all the noise of the traffic- racing motorcycles, city transit. The students have been a bit cranky recently and I suspect it's because of this. The men sit there stoically, sweating. The women fan themselves dramatically. Now I know why the schools here are closed for the summer!

On a brighter note, yesterday I got to teach in a different classroom. It was quieter and slightly cooler and plastered in military propaganda. What's inside a bullet, how to throw a grenade, how to disassemble a machine gun. This is the гражданская оборона (civil defense) classroom. "Service in the armed forces of Ukraine- test yourself and become a real professional!" reads a big banner around the room. It wouldn't be quite so shocking if the students here weren't 8 years old. My students, the adults, told me that they'd received this kind of education too, except that females studied "softer" subjects like caring for the wounded. I talked about this with D at home and he told me the same story: in fact, he fired a Klashnikov 2 years before his first kiss... and he wasn't a late bloomer.

Walking the whale

Attempts are being made to teach Kит proper leash etiquette. Can you tell I've grown up with dogs? :P So far he's not a fan. He insists on being carried around like some pedigreed canine. At least he accepts the harness- in the beginning he would dramatically drag his legs behind him like a crippled cat so we never got very far. Now he's fine until the leash gets clipped on. Then he usually sits down and refuses to move unless there's some serious coaxing going on.

Still, he gets a little better every time we go out. We walked down to this riverside park yesterday, the farthest we've ever gone together. A man with a Stalin mustache was leaning over the river with a fishing pole. He abandoned the pole to come gruffly admire Кит. After the walk Кит got a bath, one of his truly least favorite activities despite his namesake. There's no peacefully wallowing around in the water for this guy! He has a bathtime toy- a plastic strawberry- but he far prefers to play with it when the the tub is dry. Aside from baths and walks, don't worry, he lives a relaxed life of cat snobbery.

The Business Lunch

(To hear the audio files, click on the title to view the entire post)

Business is a word that has been successfully integrated into the Russian language.

business plans

Listen to these familiar words:
бизнесмен
бизнес ланч
бизнес-план
бизнес-класс
бизнес тренинг
бизнес митинг

When I first heard the term бизнес ланч back in 2006, I thought it was the funniest borrowed phrase ever. It doesn't refer to an actual business lunch, ie. discussing business over lunch. In fact, according to this Russian blogger such a meeting would not go over well in Russia! It simply means a pre-set lunch menu that's usually offered between noon and 3-5 PM.

Business lunches are cool: they're cheap, they're fast, and they flat-out just sound intriguing. This kind of meal is very popular in Ukraine. It's served as a three-course affair and is available almost everywhere.

Where to go in Kharkov for a business lunch?

True Love 2

(For the original True Love, click here.)

We revisited the popular lovers' bridge this weekend. Lots of new locks, so apparently summer is a good time for love in Ukraine!

Together for the centuries