Printer and Haircut

I completely forgot about the printer. It was no conspiracy, but the crisis had passed and we moved on. As a consequence the story, such as it is, got a bit lost.

So, Jason was in a bit of a panic last week. He was trying to use a certificate template to create the certificates for his students. The problem was that all of our templates were laying out certifs that were 8.5 x 11 and our paper was A4. hoorah- there is a 2 inch blank spot on the right hand side of the page! After a certain degree of internet searches and teeth gnashing, I grabbed the computer and set out to create a certificate for his students. Thank you, Pages for the Mac. The job was tedious, but several hours later we ended up with something that was really quite reasonable.

The problem was printing. Jason began printing docs on some decent stock we bought, but quickly ran out of ink.  No problem, right? just a trip to the local Office Depot-Max... oh wait. Ukraine. Yeah. After several failed attempts, we ended up with yet another definition of the second world:

Instructions in Chinese, Russian and Hindi

Why would anyone pay for a fancy ink cartridge, when you can just buy ink, perform a simple operation, and refill the cartridges yourself? I would applaud the element of recycling, but in truth I would rather have a friggin' cartridge to cram in the machine. Instead, no cartridges are to be found (at 100 grivna a pop), but the above kits can be (colors + black for a mere 25 grivna).  

Although Jason did successfully re-load the cartridges, the print quality went down (Streaky). We ended up taking a pdf of the certifs to a print shop downtown and had them done on a fancy laser printer. They'll be deployed on Friday during the "closing ceremony".

We went back to Kleopatra to get hair cuts yesterday, assuming they'd be cheaper here than any of the other countries we'll visit going forward. We thought we'd get the same young woman (Yulia), but we got a very nervous young man instead. I think his name was Denis, but he didn't introduce himself or talk much at all. He did a fine enough job, although he seemed to want to leave Jason a comb over and wanted to add body to mine (you can stop laughing now- he seemed quite stunned with the resulting bouffant-ish lion's mane. I think it will calm down after washing...) I did not have him do my eyebrows. Sexist of me, but it just felt weird. 

Great morning after shots, I know. Hopefully you get the idea. 

I'm debating on a trip to the dentist. A cleaning costs $23 or so (199 grivna per the flyer I keep getting handed). I'm just not sure what it will involve or if they can do any damage... stay tuned!

V-E Day

Okay- I admit to getting pretty excited, thinking about the parade today. I figured there would be veterans, tanks, and plenty of goose-stepping to keep me entertained. Maybe some martial music to boot. What we got was something very different indeed.

We arrived at ye ole Ploshad Svobody (Freedom Square) to crowds wearing orange and black ribbons, red and green flags, and a central bandstand decorated with Soviet stars and hammers and sickles. People had flowers to give old men, wearing uniforms and metals that had been dusted off for the ocassion. My thoughts immediately ran to Jack; I wondered what he would've thought of it all.

Crowd and Couple wearing black and orange ribbon.

WWII Veteran

Spot on at 10am (or, as close as you can get in Ukraine), the show began. Freedom Square became a parade ground. They began by playing the ITAR-TASS radio announcement from May 9, 1945, declaring the war over.

Bandstand and Soldiers

...then came the dancers. I was disappointed that no full-on "glopak" was performed, but there were some leaps and plenty of heel-to-toe balancing. Jason asked how I would've fared dancing in heels on the cobbles.

...then came the parade of Soviet era uniforms and vehicles.

Infantry wearing WWII uniforms carrying red flags...I kept thinking they must be hot

Various WWII vehicles

...Then the generals riding jeeps up and down the parade grounds, stopping by each regiment present and wishing them "S Praznikom" (Happy Holiday). They would respond in unison with various "oorahs!" and "Slava" (glory). 

Generals with jeeps and microphones

...Then a bunch of officials came out and spoke (in Russian) about the importance of the day and ended with a half-hearted "Slava Ukraina!" (Glory to Ukraine!).

...Then they national anthem was played. This was curious indeed. People did not stand with silent reverence or sing the words along with the troops. They stood around and talked- to each other, on their phones- and generally ignored the proceedings. I was astounded. I saw one guy in the crowd mouthing the words. I pointed it out to Jason who said, "Well, it's new." But I couldn't help but wonder about the east-west divide severing Ukraine. How many times had people said to me that they were "essentially" Russian?

...then, the troops filed past the grand stand. They goose-stepped, but not as high or as sole-slamming as I had hoped to witness.

The show ended with a gun salute, and typical parade maneuvers involving rifles spinning and flying through the air and swords being brandished about. 

We did not stay to the end, though. We left about 15 minutes early to beat the crowd. And it was a massive crowd. 6 people thick lining Freedom Square and more on the sidewalk around it, vying for a bit of height and a better view. Lenin was completely coated with spectators. So, we skedaddled.

Crowds surrounding Lenin at the end of the square.

Before I close, I would like to remind you that Kharkov was decimated in the war. The city was flattened; it lay on the Eastern front of the European theatre. The city was also on the road to Stalingrad. So troops, both Nazi and Soviet, fought backwards and forwards over the city. Very few Jews remain. Their are major kill sites dotting the city. In one case, Drobitsky Yar, over 15,000 (yes, thousand) were shot on and left in a ravine on the edge of town. Just north of the city lies Kursk, which saw the largest tank battles the world has ever fought- twice. 

It is estimated that the Soviet Union lost 26 million in WWII, compared to the US 400 thousand. 

Festivities continue tonight with a concert and fireworks. 

A Tale of Two Sunglasses

 

First of all: Happy Easter! Christ is Risen (I'm listening for your traditional Orthodox response, He is Truly Risen!). We did not go to service. In truth, we did not think about it until 9pm on Saturday and, as the services start at midnight... well, we couldn't even find a church with a service. The "Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist" (really.) down the road in that park that was once a cemetery, has a website, but it did not list any Easter festivities. We wished we had thought of it earlier in the day so we could've made appropriate plans. In any case, we wish you all the blessings of the season. Enjoy your "pasha", frosted cake with raisins, and egg "knocking". 

It has been unrelentingly sunny and warm here (no complaints, mind you). We have had one day of rain since our return from Germany in March; In fact, this region is in a drought. As a consequence, whenever I wore my contacts, I was blinded by that yellow ball in the sky (me, stumbling, looking for shade, trees and obstacles all at once). Coming out of the metro at the Barabashov Market (largest in Europe, bu the way) we found a young woman selling sunglasses for 20 grivna (US 2.50). So, I picked up my stunning AC/DC brand shades. 

Jason started humming and hawing about his, so we stopped by metro-girl again. No luck. However, coming back to the market from Crossfit one afternoon the trolleybus dropped us off in front of an entire hallway of sunglass sellers. We stopped at the first booth run by a burly African. Jason found some sunglasses he liked, so the negotiations began. First in Russian, then in English, and finishing in French. They involved a group of three other Africans sitting on the sidelines nearby. In the end, Jason paid 100 grivna for his (US 12.50). I'm thinking they should not have gone through English between Russian and French. 

Oh! and the instant we paid, another man swooped in and took the 100 note. No idea what that was about, but I'm not going to dwell (protection? coop?... sigh, me not dwelling).

As some of you may not have heard, my parents "last trip to Europe" a few years back was not actually their last trip. They are going to join us in Paris and sherpa luggage for us on the Loire Valley bike tour (with Elizabeth) from Orleans to the coast. No panniers for us- hoorah! 

May Day

We got out relatively early, hoping to get some cycling in before the streets got crowded. Our cycle rental agent, Masha, had told us that there were popular paths north of Gorky Park, and we had seen hints (e.g.- people on bikes) heading back and forth on the Belgorodsky Shosse (Hwy). So, we headed out in that direction to explore- hopefully, without any major traffic incidents.

We found this official-looking path 

Which ran out about fifteen feet on either side of the mark. The dirt path before and after, however, stretched for several miles in each direction. 

We got out to the edge of town. The sign behind Jason points the way to Moscow. 

City Marker

Kill site marker along the path- in Polish, Ukrainian and English.

When we got back into town, I asked Jason if he wanted to head down to "Ploshad Svobody" (Freedom Square) to catch the communist demonstrations, but he was hungry. So, we came home, ate, and then headed out there, hoping to catch the final act. We found something very different indeed:

Note the color of the flags- Black, not red. The anarchists were out. 

Some of them were wearing balaclavas and bandanas to cover their faces

We ended our day on Ploshad Svobody, paying homage to Uncle Lenin. Many had left flowers. 

The Theatre and a Bike

Last week was extremely busy for Jason. He taught four classes, attended two meetings (one online and one at the local art and design school), gave an interview for the Law Institute's student tv channel, and graded a bucket full of exams (perhaps the most tedious of the aforementioned). He got a rather nice "gift" from the art school- this picture of one of the cathedrals downtown; it was done by a second year student. If only we could find more of his work!

Our week was capped off by a trip to the theatre with his colleague Igor and some of his friends. We went to see the play "Love- Italian Style". Apparently, some of the actors have been on tv and in movies, although we both felt the actors were using the kind of grand, stylized gestures not seen by American eyes since the Stanislavsky method hit New York at the turn of the twentieth century. It was pretty easy to understand- perhaps because it had been translated from Italian. Granted, that may have also been the reason for the gestures- a Ukrainian interpretation of Italian flamboyance.

We've been up to our eyeballs in work outs, too, trying to get our bodies ready for our two cycling trips. On a lark, I tried googling bike rentals in Kharkov- and found one! So, I now have a rather cumbersome Jamis to ride around town (although, Jason, thankfully, hauls it up to our fourth floor walk-up, while I manhandle the Brompton up the stairs). We rode around on Sunday and are looking forward to going out on all of the upcoming holidays- May 1 (Mayday! Mayday! Sam's birthday is a national holiday in Ukraine... work with me here, people!), May 5 (Orthodox Easter), May 8&9 (Victory in the Great Patriotic War, or WWII to you and me). On top of those days, May 19 is the Ukrainian National Day of the Bicycle. We're not entirely sure what it will involve, but the poster we saw on the Metro said to gather in Freedom Square (under the watchful eye of Lenin) at 10am. We'll let you know what happens. Jason says, depending, he may add it to his Fulbright report.

I would say the bike is taking over our landing, but it was pretty full to begin with... it is locked up tight to the rickety wooden railing. 

Today is a rest day, though, so we are gleefully wallowing. And I made brownies (still part of our embassy stash). So, we are wallowing, double-fisted with brownies.

Wage "helps" with the brownies

No News is Good News

Nothing too terribly exciting going on- thank heavens! We've started training for our two upcoming bicycle tours, but, as we don't have a good, safe place to ride, we are doing it via a lot of squats and, well, we joined a gym down the road that has one sad, old spinning bike that is literally duct taped together. When we road it the other day, we also discovered that it desperately needs tuning as it basically has 3 speeds: easy, medium, and hard, despite the regular clicks made by the gear-shifter. Well, I won't complain. At least, it is something.

We had a brief conversation with Ani Chkhavidze, the student from Georgia (country not state), about our upcoming trip to Georgia. IREX will get Jason's ticket from Frankfurt to Tbilisi. They will be picking us up from the airport, putting us up in a hotel near the university (I am fairly certain that it is an actual hotel rather than a dorm a la Zaporozhye). His class will be in the evening, so we'll have the daytime to explore the city and the surrounding area. If you don't know anything about Tbilisi or Georgia, there is a nifty online guide at:

http://www.inyourpocket.com/data/download/Tbilisi.pdf

I don't think we can do everything, but I imagine we'll get to the 5th Century Fortress overlooking the city, the UNESCO World Heritage sites outside of town, and, of course, the wine-growing region. I have also informed Jason that we have to go to the hot springs (tbili), for which Tbilisi was named. We can't wait. If anyone wants to join us there, just let us know. In the meantime, I need to start cramming the Georgian Alphabet, so I can read street signs...

I am attaching two photos- one of a "Milk Truck" that we ran into. It is rather like the water truck that shows up at our building every Wednesday at noon, only this one was serving up moloko, or milk. Also, Jason went to a meeting on Friday and was given...wait for it!... a watch. It is made in Ukraine and has the school crest on it. Igor Polyschiuk, Jason's colleague, said it meant he was important.

I don't even know if it was "fresh" milk or 2% or what. All it said was: MOLOKO. 

The famous watch. 

More Visa Thoughts

So, Jason and I were putting together his second test for his American Government students. The Dean's office had photocopied it for him, but they hadn't managed to staple it together, which got us to thinking about his experience at OVIR and our experience at the consulate. There were no computers or even telephones visible at either location. At OVIR, Jason's paperwork was taken out of his binder and piled into a box full of other papers and documents. At the consulate, we experienced something similar. All of my documents were removed from the binder in which I had them, dog-eared together (no staplers present) and thrown on a shelf full of other documents and papers. We wondered if any inquiry were made, whether they could retrieve them.

The Fulbright Director called Jason last night. They debated on whether our difficulties were deliberate (my belief) or a general sign of disorganization and incompetence. Fulbright Kiev's general disorganization remained untouched. Incidentally, we are still waiting for our refund from our orientation in February! I'm sure they would say that is our fault somehow...