Skolka Lyet, Skolka Zim!

Orthodox church in town of Berdichev, Ukraine

This post is well overdue, and it is only in light of our school holiday (October break!) that I am able to finally sit down and type out some highlights of the past 2 months.

This time last year I was cruising the cobbled streets of Istanbul, taking in the sights, the smells and the sounds of the call to prayer. However, this time I have decided to stick around Kiev and take in the atmosphere of this bustling, beautiful city through 'rested' eyes that can finally stay awake long enough to appreciate what is right outside my apartment doorstep.

new roomate, Maria and me en-route to the wedding!

We are now nearing the end of our "Babalyeto" (Indian summer), which originates from the two words "Baba" (Old woman from a village) and "Lyeto" (summer) and refers to the young age many village women lived to be, just as the warm weather in autumn exists for a comparably short time.

SEPTEMBER (сентябрь)

We started off our school year with a relaxing 3 day trip to the infamous coastal city of Odessa, in southern Ukraine. There we relaxed on the beach, frequented the local cafes and soaked up the pace of life which differed immensely from the hustle, bustle and coldness of Kiev. Maybe it is the case with any city that borders a large body of water (in this case, the glorious Black Sea) but everyone in Odessa seemed much friendlier and easy-going, and in a matter of hours it was clear that we would have to return during the summer months when the beach-side cafes, restaurants and clubs would be operating full-force.

ODESSA


Arkadia Beach (Odessa)

Potemkin Steps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_Stairs) which were originally used in a famous scene Russian film "Battleship Potemkin", where a stray pram proceeds to roll down the steps in slow-motion to the busy street below. This scene was stolen and re-used in the infamous film "The Untouchables" several decades later.

Odessa at dusk


OCTOBER (октябрь)

I've recently been introduced to the small community of jazz musicians in Kiev, and am beginning to understand just how difficult it is to reach your potential as a musician in a post-soviet country who has not had access to jazz, blues and other genres for the majority of the country's history. I attended the "Jazz in Kiev" festival (http://www.jazzinkiev.com/) and saw Dave Holland perform to a half empty auditorium, while many people got up to leave in the middle of his performance. It was just such a difference in comparison to Montreal where jazz festivals sold out weeks in advance and the whole city stopped to accompany the musicians, the hype and the tourists.


Bogdan (sax) playing with Alex Fantaev project at Jazz Festival (Kiev 2008)

This month was also our school's annual "International Night" where parents, students and teachers take a trip around the world sampling food and drink from every represented country all in one giant space (aka our school gymnasium). Uzbekistan proved to be the most popular table this year, while the Canadian table sported its 'traditional' cuisine of maple syrup and Nanaimo bars.


Visiting Uzbekistan (International night)


Patriotic canadian chicks

This year I also helped organize our school's first annual Terry Fox Charity "Fun Run", which was a lot of work but increadibly rewarding. The school has introduced a 'house' system and it this fundraiser became a school-wide competetion between the 4 houses which are named after the four founders of Kiev (based on a Ukrainian legend): Kyi, Khoriv, Lybid and Schek. My students were so hyped up for the day of the race that they couldn't wait to make signs to support their respective houses (including a couple accidental signs which read "Go Terry Fox").

Terry Fox run in Kiev

To start off our fall break, I attended my first Ukrainian wedding (a marriage between 2 Americans) which included amazing food at a Ukrainian restaurant and a live Ukrainian band. It was the most fun I'd had at a wedding in nearly 20 years (also the first one i've been to since then).



Following the wedding, I took a 2 day trip to the quaint town of Berdichev (pop. 88,000) where I indulged in delicious Ukrainian cooking and gained a new perspective on life in this diverse country (and I am quickly learning that life in Kiev ---with its Gucci stores, $2000 apartments, Bentleys, Hummers and Porsches----is not exactly an realistic representation of what it means to be "Ukrainian").

historical tidbit: In the late 18th century, 75 percent of its population was Jewish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berdychiv) and during the early 20th century business was even conducted in Yiddish. Unfortunately, most of the population and synagogues were wiped out by a pogrom in WWI and the holocaust in WWII.



BERDICHEV



Part of a wall that was used during the war; it sits on a hill and overlooks the river and town of Berdichev. The slits in the wall were used for the rifles.

Music school (a converted Carmelite Convent)

Music school (former convent)

Teachers at the music school: The one of the far left was named Nikolai. After a struggling through a conversation in my poor Russian, I was able to finally communicate that I played piano for several years (mostly through gesturing towards the piano and nodding my head enthusiastically). Nikolai had me sit at the piano, while he played the Ukrainian wooden flute called a "Sopilka" . We played a short Andantino together and it was the first moment we were actually able to understand each other as we finally connected through a common language...music!

Kalina trees lined the quiet streets of Berdichev

Beautiful Kalina berries--- an important symbol of Ukraine

Family reunions: Canada vs. Ukraine

Family Reunion in Kiev (Aug 20th)

Year 2 in Kiev has begun and so far there have been many things to be grateful for, most importantly old friends who welcome you back like no time has passed. Upon my return (at midnight, Kiev time) I was greeted by my newest roommate (who is Ukrainian-Canadian), and a french Exchange student who is with us just for the first month. My two suitcases made it safely from the plane to the baggage area (it must have been the twist-ties that deterred the infamous Borispol Airport Suitcase thieves http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/l2ed/29515/) and the jet-lag didn't last more than a week, which was okay since we were all in the same boat as returning staff, and were united in a strange way as we stumbled in each morning to set up our classrooms and participate in various meetings. Despite our mild insomnia and lethargy, we all still managed to cultivate our long days into entertaining evenings thanks to a couple birthdays, some welcome-back happy hours, new eager teaching staff, embassy pub nights and a LOT of cheap champagne.

We just finished our first full week of school (which started Aug 25th, the day after Ukrainian Independence Day) and it was a sweet beginning as I have a smaller class (smaller by 2, but I'm sure those spaces will be filled in the coming months) and a lot of the bulky furniture that was in my room was moved out so I could completely re-model it to create that 'zen-o-sphere' I was aiming for. Thankfully, we have year-round carpenters on school property so we can basically commission whatever piece of furniture to suits our needs. The photo below depicts my order from June:

Miss S's new classroom...complete with custom-designed cubbies!


INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE: August 24th 2008

Contrary to last year's celebration of Independence day (previous blog Aug 2007: involving a trip to the artisans outdoor market, buskers on the street, and playing in the fountain) another teacher and I went to check out the gargantuan military parade on the main street, Kreshatik. We positioned ourselves at the back-end of the parade where tanks of all sizes and missiles ranging from a few meters long to truck-loads of rocket-sized anti-aircraft missiles paraded through the streets. It was pretty overwhelming to see, and from what I hear, a lot more elaborate due to the tension between Russia and Ukraine, in light of the attack on Georgia.

A more detailed (but overly technical) description of the parade can be found on the Kievpost, for anyone who is really interested in this sort of thing:http://www.kyivpost.com/bn/29482/. All I can say is that it sure puts our National holiday to shame when a government spends something like $6.5 million to beef up the parade alone!






Flashback to summer:

The 8 weeks of summer flew, and it really wasn't until my last few days in Canada that I became comfortable and mildly excited at the idea of returning to Ukraine. I realize now that it was my first summer in almost 10 years that I HADN'T been working...and I must admit, it was incredibly nice. Summer began with a 3-day camping/road-trip to the Carpathian mountains (western border of Ukraine), a 2 week trip to Germany (1 of which was spent in a classroom), several beer gardens, a bike tour, the official Sound of Music tour (Austria) and a lengthy and fulfilling 5 week stay in my favourite vacation spot: Home. This portion of the summer consisted of endless driving, wining, dining and cottaging between the southern tip of Lake Huron and the northern edge of Lake Ontario.


Kamyonets-Podilsky (Western Ukraine)

Caves (western Ukraine)


Camping (western Ukraine)


Bus stop, small town in Western Ukraine

MUNICH and AUSTRIA

Munich streets


surfers in Munich


Austria

CANADA


Southern Ontario


Northern Ontario


If I have gained one thing from being away for a year, it's a new found appreciation for coming home. And that speaks for both my Canadian and Ukrainian 'home'.

Mad Heads, Meat Heads, and Dead Heads

Last I left off, spring was rearing it's lovely head and beckoning all of us to come bask in her sun and enjoy the dimming greyness of her skies. Just a mere 2 weeks later, our daylight turned into dayNIGHT and we have found new ways to make the most of a 10pm sunset.

MAD HEADS

The flowers have bloomed and fallen, and the chestnut trees are heavy with their five-fingered leaves and tiny spiked balls (which will grow to be about the size of a crabapple by august!) It seemed as soon as the days got longer, our nights did too. And since many dear friends will be leaving in a matter of DAYS (the glory of a 2-year contract, coming to its close) we have been up and around and downtown at least once a weekend (and for full-time teachers -- sadly-- it's pretty Hardcore to be out till 4am!) Our most recent hang-out is the infamous (to some ex-pats) DOCKERS ABC, where we were graced by the presence of the BEST Ukrainian music found so far in the last 10 months I've lived here! The cover-charge was higher that night, but so was the energy in the bar! Usually there is a regular blues/rock band that plays some golden oldies from the 50s and 60s. That night however, was pure, loud, luscious, danceable SKA...complete with a horns section and encouragement to get up and dance on the bar! (which of course, we did!)

The band was called "Mad Heads" (http://madheads.kiev.ua/ua/main) and they gave us a taste of Ukrainian Ska, which had a mix of Ukrainian lyrics and english lyrics. We danced our hearts out, closed our eyes, and in the midst of their ska version of "Wonderful world"...we almost felt right back at home:-)

"Mad Heads XL" at Dockers ABC, May 2008

MEAT HEADS

Sun bathers at Hydropark

Our next daynight experience was at Hydropark...and what an experience it was! Located in between the two banks (on the Dnipro) it takes you away from the city and into a beach-amusement park-type 'ground' where one can gamble, swim, drink, play fair games, bbq/shashlik (illegally), play beach volleyball, ride the tilt-a-whirl AND workout all in the SAME day! It was sort of surreal stepping off the metro just a mere 5-6 stops from my downtown location to step out into (what seemed) an environment that belonged in another timezone and hemisphere. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day and we did almost all of the above...in one day. The most interesting attraction by FAR was the outdoor workout area. Which, until then, I had NEVER seen/heard of in my life! And there was no shame in guys stripping down to their boxer-briefs to pump iron for a few hours. And there was NO discrepencies on who/what age could use the equipement, so everyone was keepin' fit and havin' fun!

We also met a group of Ukraininas who were 'shashlik-ing' (shashlik is a kind of spiced bbq meat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shashlik) in the firepit next to us. There were mounted police (yes they have them here too..with horses and all) who were going around asking everyone to put out the fires, but luckily the group of men next to us (who were quickly befriended) turned out to be off-duty police officers so we didn't get fined! There was a birthday celebration (I gathered from my bad russian....and the repeated vodka toasts to one particular fellow) and besides that they were just looking to enjoy the day with some new friends.

small outdoor gym

Main outdoor gym

playing nice with off-duty police

our new friends!

Maidan Square at dusk...(we came accross a new canned alcoholic beverage at the local kiosk: Gin and Grapefruit Go Grrreat!)

DEAD HEADS

Ok, so really I was trying to be creative with this title, and could NOT for the life of me think of a title that was relevent to my next daynight 'experience'....and this is Dead heads.

As a teacher, we have a calling (and a contract requirement) to become involved in 'the life of the school'. Luckily, I was able to be involved in the best part: Camping club!

We recently celebrated our LAST campout of the year, which was both sad and a bit of a relief since we had given up several weekends (and hours of sleep) to truck 8-10 grade 5's to the Dutch Farm, a mere 3 hour bus trip south of Kiev.

Our trip involved a few run-ins with some local villagers who were using our campsite as cinq-a-sept (post-work drinkfest), and whenever they tried to talk to us (beer and bottle in hand) the kids and counsellors played the "ignoring game" and pretty soon it actually worked. Also, we had our studly bus driver, who kept guard all evening and night incase any should return to try and bother us. Luckily, nothing happened, and by morning the kids had actually forgotten all about. Probably because one camper spent the rest of the night telling ghost stories (hence title: Dead Heads) about "Wheelchair Mary" , and that took priority over some local drunks which (unfortunately) many of them are used to seeing around town on a daily basis.

hiking the farm

weiners and marshmallows

The crop we camped beside was the stunning yellow-flowered field of rapeseed, which they use for various purposes including BIODIESEL (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed#Biodiesel)

Picturesque campsite: Gold and sky-blue...the colours of Ukraine!

It is now the week-long countdown to the end of school, which is June 20th! I am in the midst of finishing report cards (hence the sudden urge to update the ol' blog!), and will be attending a workshop in Munich for a week, travelling around Germany/Austria for another 6 days after that...and FINALLY returning to O Canadaland on July 10th.

"Time flies"...or as they say in Russian: "время быстрый" (Vremnya Buistrui)!

Easter without the Easter Bunny

Say goodbye to chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies, egg-hunts and any sense of a Hallmark Easter holiday. In Ukraine, "Paska" is the most celebrated holiday of the whole year...even more so than Christmas! The celebration revolves around a similar sense of tradition that we North Americans hold dear to our hearts, but with a little more religious depth and meaningfulness that our own culture may lack as we hunt for Cadbury Mini Eggs and over-indulge in chocolate.

It's Orthodox Easter, we have another week off, and I was fortunate enough to spend the weekend at Ina's parents' farm, 3 hours south of Kiev. The town is called "Katerinopil", renamed (from its orginal Ukrainian translation of "Swamp") after Katherine the Great, who visited it and fell in love with the landscape.

We arrived around midnight with a feast awaiting us. Immediately, Heather and I were forced to break out our bad Russian (well, hers is much better than mine!) and Ina was kind enough to fill in the gaps. Over the course of the weekend we learned a great deal about their life during the Soviet Union, the affects of Chernobyl on their town, as well as how their family celebrates "Paska".







The first morning I awoke and had my first traditional Ukrainian breakfast, which I was both intrigued and skeptical about. By the time we were all up, there were about 7 dishes on the table, of various meats, potatoes, salads with mayo dressing, deep fried fish and complete with shot glasses and her father asking if we were ready for vodka! It was quite a way to start the day. But despite my initial surprise, I quickly got used to a huge breakfast that would usually last me till 7pm at night. By the fourth morning however, Heather was asking if we could have just eggs and toast and Ina's mom was kind enough to cook us up some comfort food.




Honeybee farm in front yard


Ina's father took us on a day-long road trip to surrounding towns to learn about the history of Taras Schevchenko, the famous Ukrainian poet who wrote the poem "Zapovit" (mentioned in one of my previous blogs). When visiting the village where he was born, we got side tracked and ended up testing out the playground equipment of the local school! Compared to our school, the equipment looks more like a military training base, and Ina explained why. Apparently in high school, the students take a course that prepares the boys for the army, and the girls for tending to the them. She told us how she was trained to nurse, while the boys learned how to set up AK-47s. Every year the schools hold a special day to show what they have learned, and according to Ina, they re-enact their roles as soldiers and nurses.


Ukrainian squirrel!




Fields of gold




Taras Schevchenko's childhood house



His writing table where he wrote "Zapovit"


mock trench on school ground


playground equipment

Ina and me


Later, Ina's father showed us a photo album he had made from his time serving the Soviet army, during the cold war. He was stationed in Siberia 1983 for 2 years, and missed the birth of his first child (Ina). He told us how during those years, you were never told where you would be stationed until you got there, since people were fighting for the idea, rather than their country. He later told us this was the case when Chernobyl's reactor exploded in 1986: all the men who were sent there had no idea where they were going, or what they were going to clean up - until 2 weeks later when most of them were dead.
The entire book was handmade by the first-year soldiers (in his second year, Ina's father was promoted to officer) and the cover was even made from an old uniform!

He also showed me his USSR member of party pocketbook, where he had to pay a fee each year (around 1% of his salary, a minimum of 2 kopeks) and get a signature to show that he wants to become a member. Apparently,each person is given one of these books when they turn 16. It is a sort of 'right of passage' to become a member of the communist party (which everyone hoped to be) When they turn 28, and have had no black marks on their name, they are automatically accepted and don't have to pay the monthly fee any longer.


Hand-made photo album



Before the big day (or night), food is prepared several days in advance, so when we arrived some of it was already made. Below is a picture of the popular 'stuffed fish' that was actually really delicious.


The popular desserts in Ina's household were two different no-bake cakes with sour cream icing! The one in the picture below was made with a base layer of cookies, topped with a single banana. Then, she covered the banana with a sort of cheese-egg-sugar mixture (exactly those 3 ingredients) and the icing was drizzled on top (made of sour cream, sugar, and cocoa). It's the Ukrainian version of Cheese Cake!


The night before easter day, we all went to bed after a big meal. At 3am we woke up, and the food baskets were all prepared for us to bring to the church, where a midnight mass had been taking place. (Actually, it's more like an 11 o'clock mass, cause that is when it started). The mass lasts about 4 -5 hours and culminates in a ceremonial blessing of ALL the easter food.

SO: the night we leave, a basket (or 2, in our case) was prepared with a sampling of EACH food item we would be eating the following day, including the Easter wine, and a jar of water which, once blessed, would be holy water to keep for the whole year. Our basket had bits of mashed potatoes, some salad, a fish-head (from the stuffed fish, above) and pieces of all the other meats we would eat. The most important item (it seemed) was the Easter bread, known as Paska, was placed in the middle of our spread and a candle was placed in it to represent the Holy Fire (from Jerusalem) that reached Ukraine and blessed the bread.

As we started to drive we passed all sorts of people walking, and biking with big baskets. When we arrived where the church was located (around 3:20am), there were already 2 long lines of people facing each other, starting where the church stood. We positioned ourselves at the end of one line, and walked up to the church to buy candles (on for the Paska one for ourselves). Walking back in the dark, there were probably over 1000 people from all the surrounding villages who had driven, walked or biked to this one church to have their feast blessed. Each person had their basket infront of them, and had candles in the Easter bread.







Our basket

When all the candles were lit, it was a glowing walkway leading up to the church.

Priest blessing the bread


Finally, around 4am, the church bells started to ring. At this point, Ina's father told me that the priest does 3 laps around the church, and then starts his descent along one row of people -- blessing their food --and the people-- with splashes of holy water. He then turns around and moves back towards the church blessing the opposite side. By 5am, he had reached us, and we were drenched in holy water, along with the bread, eggs, and fish head!

We drove home, cracked open the wine and vodka, and toasted to our success! Around 6am we all crawled back into bed until it was time for our easter feast, around noon.



Our Easter feast!

On our last day at the farm, Ina's family had arranged for us to go horseback riding. We were picked up on a rickety old cart, and 'drove' along the highway to the ranch in a nearby village. Enroute, we were greeted by a few interesting sights!

At one point, we passed a herd of cows being shuffled along the road by 3 women. Ina told us that in small villages, each household is responsible for herding the cows to the fields for one day. Unlike Canada, farmers live in towns close together, and travel out to the fields to work. Same goes for the cows. They live on the property of the owner, and are shuffled out each day to the fields to eat. Meanwhile the owners get on with housework and wait for their cow to return so they can milk them.



Our Ride

waiting for the cows to come home



We arrived where the horses were kept, and were told that the land was originally used as a collective farm. Many of the buildings were just rubble, a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Villagers and farmers broke the old storehouses and used the material to build other things.


remains of the collective farm


The horse we met was extremely tame, although when her male steed saw strangers riding her, he got so furious he broke free of his chain! Luckily after the help of 6 other farmers circling him and cathing him, he didnt try and kick any of us. It was my FIRST time riding a horse on my own, and I think it may have cured my mild fear of them!










Our trip back to the farm was one to remember. Besides freaking out about our cart breaking (as there were 6 of us balancing on makeshift benches), it started to downpour on our way back. It was pretty surreal to be sitting in an old rickety cart, trotting through the pine forest in torrential rains. Definately one of my favourite memories from the weekend, and the most difficult to capture on film:-)