First trip to the Opera...

The arts scene in Kiev is unbelievable. Going to the opera or ballet is cheaper than going to the movies! For my first EVER opera experience a friend and I decided last minute to show up and pick up balcony tickets for Verdi's "La Traviata" (see link). It was quite a remarkable experience to show up 5 minutes before the show started, buy tickets and sit down to a live performace! Since this first show I've seen 2 more...all of them ranging between $2 to $8 USD! The most expensive tickets (a whole $8) were box seats, so it was worth the extra fee.

Below: First Act of Verdi's "La Traviata"

...close-up of the first Act...

Below: Ballet at the Opera House: Rimsky-Korsakov "Scheherazade" (click to find out more)

Old soviet trolly-bus





...at the market (again!): pre-soviet and Soviet-era memorabilia




Stairs leading down to the metro: This is a popular area for many street vendors trying to rid the last of their produce before winter strikes. Underground there are lots of mini-shops and tables set up for more vendors to see anything from t-shirts, toys, fresh flowers and produce.





Typical Rush-Hour traffic jam (near school):


I forgot to mention one of the most unique and sometimes dangerous features of Ukraine (Kiev in particular), it is legal to drive on sidewalks, and often a wiser choice than trying to drive in a jam. Below you can see several cars and marchutkas making their way amidst the crowd of people, because taking over the roads isn't enough they have to jam up the sidewalks too. I've become a much more conscientious pedestrian since i came here. You never know when a car will sneak up behind you and honk for you to get out of its way.



With less than a week till the parliamentary elections, billboards and bus stops have been dominated by the various parties campaigning posters. Here is an example of the blue "Party of the Regions" ad (which is the definately most common sign seen around the city)

And it's 'rival', the orange "Our Ukraine" poster



Campaiging: Every weekend on Kreshatyk (main street) the streets are closed off and there is some event blasting music and advertising it's purpose. The past few weekends (leading up to the elections) the streets have been dominated by blue flags and kiosks, clowns on stilts handing out balloons (with the party's name on it) and various activities for youth (see basketball game below).

BOAT CRUISE on the Dnipro








A lowly fisherman...





mid-river industrial site




the mid-river industrial site was also someone's home









lots more fishermen



After cruising the river for about an hour, our boat docked away from the buildings and various industrial sites lining the shores, and we had over an hour to kick back, relax, eat some Shashlik and explore the beautiful sand dunes.



Giddy on an island:-)



Carrying the barbeque for some Shashlik (click link to find out what this is)
At the boat dock:
"M" for Metro ... Ukraine has the deepest metro system in the world!


MmmmmcDonalds! (ad for "Big Tasty") luckily, comfort food is easy to find here.



Metro Ride


Another example of election campaiging (Blue=Party of the Regions)


Beautiful Podil

First Days of School

Saturday, Sept 1st ~ School Children's Day

To celebrate the first day of school, Paragova held an outdoor market-fair for the whole weekend. There was pony-riding, live performances of traditional Ukrainian music and dancing, and LOTS of local artisans selling their finest.

The First Day of School is treated like a holiday ("School Children's Day"), and the children come dressed in their finest, the boys in suits, the girls in dresses with large bows in their hair...it is treated more like a celebration than a day we all grew up to dread!

I tried to find out more online, but there wasnt much. I came accross this photograph which shows exactly what most were wearing at Paragova and around town that fateful Saturday. Traditionally the children bring flowers to their teacher, and although our school is international, I was still lucky enough to receive a couple bouquets from the children!

(click on the photo to see the rest of the website)


(On the left you can see one little girl dressed in "First Day" attire)










I didn't get a chance to tour much around the grounds of Paragova (again) as it is very vast, and the highlight of this trip was definately the market. But for 30 cents and a 25 minute marchutka ride, I can go visit this place any weekend. Here are a few nice pictures of the wooden church and the windmill:






Hand-painting Ukrainian eggs






Examples of the finished product (note the large, and intricately designed goose egg)



Some live performances









The artisan and her hand-made Batik scarves





Beautiful Ukrainian dresses for the old and young.






Heather and Joce (with my new winter hat and scarf! courtesy of Paragova Market Fair)




Yes...i splurged and bought this hand-made bowl from the artist himself...for a whole $40! The birds are intricately designed and now house all my bananas and mangos in our kitchen. The artist (Ivan Bobkov) also informed me that this platter was displayed in one of his art shows. He has a website that is under construction if anyone is interested (although it is all in Ukrainian!):


http://www.glek-pottery.narod.ru/








The woven-towel on the right is a beautiful illustration of a boy courting a young girl. When I pointed to it, the woman who had made these broke into song and started to sing about the love story depicted in this woven-towel. She explained that she used a weaving machine to make her items.





Still "with it": When we see sweet, old babushkas in the streets, we are reminded of a different time, so it was surprising and enchanting for us to see one talking on a cell phone. It kind of snaps us back to reality that they are indeed living in present-day Ukraine, and maybe we're the ones who need to get 'with it'.








Getting Ready for MY First Day of School...


Miss Sutherland's grade one class:




That's all for now...I'll be back with some more pictures shortly. It was a beautiful fall day in Kiev....crisp, sunny and blowing leaves. Feels just like Canada!