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)!
