February 17

Today I woke up early bc I had a lot to do given the fact that I was teaching today and getting ready to leave tomorrow to go away. Worked this AM and was able to take a shower without the hot water running out (I will never take hot water for granted again...it is one of the things about daily living I miss most), which was fantastic.

Lately the locals have been complaining that the city isn't doing what it should in term of winter clean up...snow and ice still cover the city, sidewalks and roads are rarely cleaned, and icicles are falling from buildings...sometimes very, very large and heavy icicles.

Walking to the university today, all my shortcuts were blocked bc the city started their icicle demolition efforts.

The sidewalks are often blocked as well bc these bad boys are falling like crazy. The silver lining of this is that when icicles melt it means it is getting warmer! Yay!

Classes went well today. I lectured on the American Revolution. For the past 2 weeks, we have read and discussed the Decaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and all 27 Amendments to the Constitution. I'm embarassed to write that this may be the first time I have sat down and read them all thoroughly. They are beautiful documents that make me proud to be an American! I have really enjoyed scrutinizing many of the passages. Thank you Senator DeMint's office for getting those to me before I left; the students here seem to be excited that they now have their own bound copies.

The graduate students I am teaching are particularly fun. Between classes, Mykola arranged for my computer to be connected to the university's server which meant I had a decent internet connection! Mine at the flat is slow, but at least I have one.

After working out the details out this upcoming travel (AGG gets here in 2 days!) I headed to the gym. Since I'm going to be on the road for a while I got in an extra hard workout. Felt good.

When leaving the gym tonight I had a moment where I was all alone in the courtyard area of the gym. It was my favorite time of day (dusk) and it was so pretty and peaceful. The snow here is white and pretty, not like it is in most other places. I started to think about how grateful I am to be here and how I really feel that this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing at this moment in my life. It is really wonderful when everything aligns and you feel that God has placed you exactly where He wants you to be.

Coming home, I stopped at the mini-market to pick up a can of peas. Don't know why, I just knew I had a really odd assortment of things that needed to be eaten or else they would go bad. I thought about what I would eat when I came back from the trip and, realizing there wouldn't be anything there, bought a can of peas.

I LOVE the fact that I walk just about everywhere, and that on my walk back to the flat I pass mulitple markets, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. So convenient. I think I may move to downtown Gvegas when I come back.

Walking, however, can be difficult. Myron, the director of the Fulbright Office for Ukraine, told me I had to keep both eyes locked on the ground when walking and to be super careful of the undulations, of which there are many. Evidently the husband of a Fulbrighter fell in Kyiv on his second day in country and had to be medivaced to the US bc he broke his shoulder. The news reports in Kyiv indicate that over 6000 people have had broken bones this winter bc of the snow and ice.

Walking home after my workout I started sliding a lot, which is not uncommon, but I was by myself and it was dark and so I couldn't see much. On one street this nice man came over to me, held my arm and walked me down the hill. He was sliding too, and we were the only 2 people on this street. He spoke no English and I speak little Ukraine, so we didn't really communicate, but the gesture was very kind and I appreciated it. I really do feel very safe here, especially in Chernivtsi. By far the biggest threat I face everday is the challenge of walking on all this snow and ice. I can't wait for this stuff to melt! I really think this will be a totally different place. Right now when I think of Ukraine it is mostly without color bc so much of the image that appears in my head is white. I look forward to seeing these places when they are not covered in white.

Tonight I cooked a rather odd meal that turned out to be great. It is amazing what you can create with odd items in the kitchen. If you're wondering why I am posting about food when I rarely cook in the US, it is bc I am so proud of how creative I have become with the foods that I have regular access to. There is a large supermarket outside of town. I have been there once but I am waiting to go back after I return. The pickings in the markets in town can be somewhat narrow and have forced me to become creative. Here is my Thai rice with sauteed onions, peas, and pineapple with a side of sliced tomatoes (not shown).

It was delicious and will enter the culinary rotation. I did some more trip planning (Odessa and Istanbul), packed, and am now heading to bed. Night!!

February 18!!!!!

AGG leaves the U.S. TODAY to come to Ukraine!!! YAAAAYYY!

This girl is one of my closest, closest friends and she is a champ! She had her tickets to come over and visit me one month and a half before I even had my plane tickets! Love her and am so excited she is coming over. She lands tomorrow at 13:15.

I was planning on flying to Kyiv this morning (only one flight per day to Kyiv and it leaves at 8:50) so we could get settled before picking up AGG tomorrow. Mykola came over to pick me up and just as he got to my flat, he finally got through to someone at the airport, who informed him that the plane did not come to Chernivtsi from Kyiv bc of the fog. The plane instead went to Uzhhorod. Uzhhorod is a small town on the border with Poland.

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

This is the second week in a row this has happened. Last Thursday it was snow so no plane. This Thursday it was fog so no plane. I am told the flying situation will improve in the spring. I hope so. I certainly have been knocked off my American-minded pedestal regarding attitudes about hopping on a plane to get somewhere.

So guess what I'm doing now? Yes, I am on yet another train ride up to Kyiv, crossing about half the country once again. This time the train I usually would take was sold out so I am on the 16 hour and 3o minutes train instead. The Ukrainian countryside is quite famliar to me now. Snow, snow, and then some more snow.

Have I mentioned on my blog that one of the things I mention in my morning prayer is that I do not fall and hurt myself to the point beyond that which I can just suck it up and nurse myself? It appears I now need to add, "And please don't let me get slammed on the head with a 18 inch long icicle six inches in diameter that has fallen from thirty feet above where I happen to be walking." The icicles are huge and indeed they have been falling all over the streets.

Speaking of...so I wandered around Chernivtsi today bc I had to go once again to the travel agency for a refund. It actually turned out to be a fun day. I asked about a place where I could get holubsi and upon finding said place realized it is on one of my favorite streets, they have a menu in English, and the food looks great...traditional Bukovnyian (Bukovyna is the region surrounding Chernivtsi...).

Near the beginning of the walk to the travel agent, I was walking carefully, staring at the ground and occasionally looking up to make sure no icicles or snow were about to fall on my head, when all of a sudden, BOOM. Right in front of me this HUGE pile of snow came falling from the sky and landed with a very, very loud noise about 4 feet in front of me. I screamed, which prompted this lady on the top floor of the building (who was dumping all the snow that had accuulated on her balcony onto the ground below) to start yelling something at me in Ukrainian. If that pile had landed on me it would have knocked me out flat. That was the most exciting part of the day.

Here is a photograph of City Hall and the art museum, which are across the street from the travel agency. Now that city officials are knocking icicles and snow off the roofs, you can actually get a better glimpse of what the buildings look like.

Pretty, huh?

After visiting with Oksana and Ellyna, my two favorite travel agents, I walked back to the flat, packed the rest of the stuff, grabbed a bite at a cafe on Koblyianski, and then took a taxi to the train station. We've walked it before with bags but the roads and sidewalks are in bad shape right now (as if I hadn't mentioned that before!) so I decided against walking.

This train will arrive in Kyiv at 9:20 and at 1:15 I will be at KBP to pick up AGG!

By the way, I have to mention this and please know that I am not picking on her sweet soul but given our experience we found this to be hilarious. So, sweet AGG offers to go through customs, get her bags, and get a taxi to meet us somewhere in the city. Makes sense, is nice of her to offer, and sounds totally innocuous, right? I laughed so hard at her suggestion my sides hurt. I emailed her back and said that while that was a very nice offer, I, without 1) a driver from the Fulbright office who knew to wait for me at the airport come hell or high water, 2) access to a human translater that the driver and I knew at the Fulbright office via cell phone, 3) a totally pre-arranged deal in which I would pay US Dollars, and 4) a driver who knew exactly where to take me to hand me off to a person (Igor) who spoke English who then showed me where I would stay for the night, I may not have ever made it out of the Kyiv airport. Needless to say, this place is not tourist friendly. If you do not speak Russian or Ukrainian or read Cyrillic or have a handy translation book, you are toast. Occasionally I find someone who speaks some Engligh in Kyiv, and twice, I have thrown out some French and lo and behold the person responded to me en francais!! I have tried the French many other times however and it is not effective. So after laughing, I emailed her that there was NO WAY that I was going to be anywhere but KBP on Friday at 1:15. Same with my family when they get here.

7:12pm here...14 more hours on this train. I guess I'll read and rest, bc once AGG gets here it is ON!! :)