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