Kulykivka, One Month Later

Good evening! After two weeks full of lesson planning, studying Ukrainian, and trekking over to a few nearby towns, I have a little down time. In brief, I have been enjoying my time in Ukraine so far, but today I'll write a little more about Kulykivka and my goings-ons here.

To begin with, we are approaching November (or листопад, one of my favorite words in Ukrainian - it literally means "falling leaves"), so the nights have become darker and the weather colder. We haven't seen snow yet, but can expect it any time after Nov. 2. Local tradition holds that if you can find still find leaves on cherry trees at this time of year, the winter will be mild. I'll check on that, but my host mother said that winters in Ukraine have been very unpredictable in the last few years, so we'll wait and see.

This Thursday I'm going to the neighboring village of Saltykova Dvitsya. The name is far larger than the town, really, but there are some interesting bits to see there. Expect more pictures then. In the meantime, here are some snapshots of the fall in my village:



This is Sadova Street, my home turf.




And one of my neighbor's turkeys. I also scatter flocks of chickens, walk with ducks and dodge geese on my way to class. A lot of residents raise livestock and vegetables on their property.


And these are from a walk to a field east of town on Sunday morning. As I may have mentioned earlier, Ukraine reminds me quite a bit of the Midwestern states. Except for all the livestock wandering the streets. Speaking of which:



These guys were mean. You have to be assertive around them, or else they'll hiss and chase you (as volunteers in other clusters can attest to - I stood my ground and sicced my dog Drujock on them)

Otherwise, life goes on quitely as usual. My cluster has a new Ukrainian language teacher, I am feeling a little more confident and comfortable in my Ukrainian, and there's a week-long break for students in class, so I don't need to teach lessons this week. More interesting pictures and the secret of what makes borst so delicious coming soon!

Cold War-era Bomb Shelter in Chernihiv

Dobre Vecheer, everyone! It's week two for us trainees in Kulykivka and between Ukrainian classes, dodging ladas en route to school, and preparing lesson plans for our student teaching lessons next week we are all very busy. Tonight, though, I have a few of my best photos from the often-mentioned bomb shelter in our hotel at Chernihiv. Just checking out that shelter led to me brainstorming ideas for Fallout: Kyiv. First of all:



The Blast Door. This steel door was at least 3.5 inches thick and made of multiple stitch-welded steel plates. There is probably a lead core as well, and there is an equally formidable inner door to the shelter.


This is the main chamber of the shelter.


And a closer view of the bunk beds, with moveable planks:



For heat, the shelter's tenants would use this burly coal boiler. Stalin would be proud:



More pictures once I finish touching them up. Overall, the whole complex had four visible rooms, plus a few more that were probably behind closed doors. Most of the shelter was dark and shadowy, which made for a gloomy Soviet ambience, but so-so pictures. I'm now very glad that I am in cheerier town of Kulykivka. Have a good week, everyone, and I'll be back soon!

Borst is not just for breakfast!

Greetings and salutations from the town of Kulikivka (Spelled Кулкивка in Ukrainian) Sorry for taking so long to respond, but things have very busy so far. Kulikivka is a village of about 6,000 people in northern Ukraine, just about 100 miles south of the border with Belarus. The locals speak a mix of Ukrainian and Russian called "Surgeit". They do not like to be called Russians, though none of the Americans here have made that mistake!
The Peace Corps has placed me in a local family living in the outer part of town. The host family has been very friednly to me. My host brother Vlad is about 17 years old and loves to take me out with him to hang out with his friends. We have boxed, played soccer, ping-pong and watched episodes of Mr. Bean together. My host sister has my acting translator on weekends, and my host mother and father have been very friendly. But my Ukrainian isn't enough to talk to either one for long, so our dinner-time conversations have been very limited so far.
My favorite person has been Iryna Krupska, our Ukrainian & Russian language coordinator. She I only talked to her in orientation, but she is a very funny and knowledgeable person. Iryna was in correspondence with us for a few months prior to coming to Ukraine.
At this stage of training, we PC trainees have been broken up into 4-6 person clusters and sent to small villages throughout Ukraine to learn either Ukrainian or Russian. We'll stay in our towns with host families for the next three months, then be sent to our work sites in December.
So far, food has been very good. I've eaten plenty of tomato salad, brost, bread, mashed potatoes, sausages, cabbage salad, soups, and Ukrainian tea cookies (pechoven). My favorite has been green brost (залиникї ьорш) as well as the many Ukrainian chocolates. Leftovers for breakfast is not uncommon either.
So far, the biggest bummer is not being able to ride a bicycle. At least, not until I can ferret out a helmet. Nearly everyone rides a bicycle in this town. However, I heard rumors that there is a bicycle shop in the nearby town of Chernihiv so next weekend I'll give it a look.
Otherwise, the battle to learn Ukrainian continues. Take care, everyone, and До побаченя!

Packing up!

So, this will be my blog for my time as a TEFL volunteer with the Peace Corps in Ukraine. I've taken care of all the other "grown-up" things I needed to do before I left the United States, and now I only need to relax and pack my things up.
For starters, I don't know what this winter will be like in Ukraine. Apparently that country has had unpredictable weather (freezing rain, blizzards, hail, or sometimes nothing but dry, cold conditions) the last few winters, so I am packing for wet and cold situations. Wool pants, rain coat, mukluks, neoprene gloves, and a pair of world-famous Xtratuf boots are coming along. I am bringing my bicycle toolkit, but no bike, as I have been told that it is easy to root out a bicycle in Ukraine. I'm hoping to find a burly old Soviet-era bike with a heavy lugged frame. For my classes, I am bringing dress clothes, neckties, and trousers.
Anyway, expect far more interesting posts in about a week once I am in Ukraine. In the meantime, my new passport and visa are ready and waiting in DC, my forms are complete, and now I only need to pack up and spend time with my family and friends before I leave. Any suggestions on what to bring to Ukraine are welcome.