Scenes From A Mashrutka

Thanksgiving is not celebrated here in Ukraine, so it is a normal working day.  I was at our Day Center yesterday and since the sun finally decided to make an appearance after days of cloud cover, I took these photos as I rode home on the Mashrutka.

The Frozen Dnieper

With so much going on during our super cold winter months, I forgot that the Dnieper river had frozen over so I went for a walk last weekend to take a look. I am still always so shocked encountering so much snow, cold and ice. It still feels like I'm in another world after so many years.

This past week I had to put my kitty to sleep so I'm more tired than usual and don't have the mental energy to write a proper blog post. I've been posting some photos on my other blog HERE. So glad spring is coming!

Hold On

It's been another one of "those weeks." Long, dark days and not a lot of sunshine. (I captured a little of it on this photo.)

I have spent the majority of my time this week nursing my cat. When animals get sick here and you take them to the vet, you come back home armed with enough shots, herbs, and medicines to supply a small clinic. You are given a long complicated list of what to administer to him and how to do it. Medicine must be bought at the drugstore and is for humans, so pills must be chopped into tiny pieces before you try to poke them down the unwilling throat. Various shots had to be given twice a day and I had a couple of nights of every 3 hours kasha feedings as well. I am very thankful to my neighbors for helping me every step of the way. I just cannot give shots to my own animal. It's times like these that I really feel for parents here who have to take care of their children in the hospital. If a cat is difficult, I imagine how much more emotionally draining it is to take care of a sick child!

My kitty is doing much better and we'll be able to see how he does on his own without medicine the next couple of weeks.

I am exhausted and hoping to get some extra naps in the next couple of days.

We're finally getting the first real snow of the year! I am happy to see it but I also know that the sidewalks are going to be icy to navigate!

Ready to head into the last part of our winter! Onward!

Still Suffering From Culture Shock

I read this blog post this past week from the blog, "Musings From A French Fried Texan" The author writes about being bi-cultural and how for the most part, it's a great thing, but sometimes one can feel torn between two cultures.

I really identified with this post. It made me realize that some of the stress that I've been going through last month was not just from trying to solve difficult life problems but I was actually experiencing culture shock. I was trying to solve problems that had risen from both Ukrainian and American "sides" of my life, so my wires were getting crossed which caused extra stress and feelings of inadequacy.

Living for a long time in Ukraine, and working with three languages, and two cultures can be confusing. One or the other of the cultures dominates the situation I am in. I have to chose to think and react from a specific cultural perspective, either the culture I am living in or my own American cultural expectations and norms. Because all this is going on in my head, sometimes I just can't process problems or situations quickly. Do I look at a situation from the eyes of an ex pat? An Ukrainian? An American? I try to look at problems from the perspective of my faith which is based on the Bible, but how much of my perspective of the Bible comes from my culture? I always have to be asking myself these questions.

Then there's the languages. I speak Russian and am to a certain degree thinking in Russian daily. I read in English, I write in English. I can solve basic problems either language but more creative or abstract ideas means I have to translate the concept into English. I also find my brain switching to English if I am in an emotional situation. Sometimes when having conversations in English, my vocabulary and grasp of language feels stilted and I cannot think quickly. I am also dealing with a fair amount of the Ukrainian language which is thrown into the mix. All of the above is not only at times confusing, but sometimes feels just plain weird. Sometimes my brain just wants to shut down.

What's even weirder is some days I just feel out of sorts and on the outside of life here and on other days I feel totally normal. Some days I want to scarf down a Big Mac and fries at McDonalds and other days I'm craving borscht and salo.

Don't get me wrong, I love living in another culture and being bi cultural. I like it much more than I thought I would and am humble and thankful for my friends from both cultures who are patient with me when I can't express myself or understand something. I have to keep reminding myself to remember to slow down and take the time to process problems from two different cultural views, and languages. I don't think culture shock is going to go away any time soon!

Back Online!

After having the majority of the technological items in my flat falter or fail to work, I am back online and blogging. Despite the chaos and feeling like I've been lost in a spinning vortex of Ukrainian life, lots of good stuff is happening and I can't wait to share more. The biggest news I can share is that our organization has bought an apartment for our ministry to young mothers. This is the best news I've had to share in a long, long time. God is good! I will be sharing more as life unfolds.

September 1

September 1st is a big deal in Ukraine. It's the first day of school.

Fashions change a little over the years, but big white bows in the hair of first graders is still a popular choice.

The future of Ukraine!

Turkish Delights

When you're me and you bring back gifts for your friends, eventually they will go on a trip and bring back a gift for you! My friend recently returned from Turkey and brought me a gift of this box of candy and turkish coffee!

The coffee is very fine and powdery so I thought I should make it in my turkish coffee pot! You just add the water and coffee and heat until it just starts to boil.

I opened the box and found these little white cotton ball looking things laying side by side inside of it.

Okay, the coffee was ready so I then poured it into a little tiny Ukrainian coffee cup.

Does this look like it's going to be tasty or what?

The candy is very much like cotton candy and is sugar spun into these little balls. The coffee? It was heavenly!

Life In The City

As time goes by when you live in a country not your own, life can seem, well, more normal. I can go for days speaking only Russian and chatting with people in my market or the local babushki that roam around looking asking for money. Things get to seem, well, normal. You're acclimatized. Then usually, something happens that totally rocks your world and you realize that you are way, way, way, not in Kansas anymore. In fact, you are in another world altogether.

This summer, I've noticed that about once a week, I wake up at 7 or 8am and hear an obnoxious tapping noise.

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

It's loud. It goes on and on and on for about three or four hours.

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

Because I live in a city and am use to constant street and neighbor noises, I've grown pretty tolerant of noise in general. I am even used to fireworks going off at 2 am in the morning. I can even say I like living in a city and enjoy the noise.

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

But this.......

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

Last Monday at 8 am the noise started and continued for two hours.

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

It got on my nerves and I had to figure out what or who was making this noise.

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

I went out on my balcony to survey the back area and give the world my best hefty, "I am an Ukrainian woman-what are you doing?-you are being obnoxious and I am going to intimidate you" look. (I still haven't perfected this. I am still too thin and too young. I consider this a good thing.)

I hear it but don't see it.

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

Then under the trees I see a man with a little tartar style cap on his head. He is clearly engrossed in his work and pounding something.

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

I see the glint of metal.

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

It is.......a sword!

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

A sword! Right here in the middle of Kyiv, a globalized, Eastern European city!

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

It was long and curved. A tartar sword.

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

He must have been using it a lot for it to need so much attention.

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

Could he be preparing his weapons for the rescue of the beautiful Yulia Tymoshenko?

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

Then he finished and pulled out a long, wooden stick and attached the sword to it.

It was a scythe! A scythe! You know, like the grim reaper, Kostya Levin in "Anna Karenina", and the sickle part of the communist party's hammer and sickle?

A scythe in the middle of Kyiv!

I have never seen one before in my life.

Definitely a "not in Kansas anymore" moment.

"tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap"

He finished about an hour later.

Then for the next two hours........

"shssss, shsss, shsss, shsss, shsss, shsss, shsss, shsss,"

Time to sharpen it!

I love Ukraine.

Love The Salads!

If I had the time, I would love to do a food blog! Believe it or not, one of the most popular questions I get when I am state side is, "What do you eat in Ukraine?" So, I like to share from time to time.

It's summer now, so the markets are full and brimming over with fresh vegetables and fruits. Because the weather is so extreme here, I tend to like comfort type food in the winter and in the summer try to stick with lighter meals focusing on salads. Here is a yummy one with carrots, radishes, zucchini and mint leaves. Salt and pepper and olive oil to taste.

Salo!

Yesterday I left my flat to pay my landlady and I returned with a chunk of salo and a zuchini. My friends want to know what salo is and so here is a photo. It's raw pig fat. It's a delicacy here in Ukraine and I will most likely be preparing this to share with Ukrainian friends when they come over for a meal.

The Market

I love to cook so buying food at our local market is never boring to me. Outside the market there are Babas who sell food straight from their dacha. Flowers, socks, buttermilk, fresh vegetables and fruit are just some of the things you can find. You have to look carefully for what you want.

Life In Ukraine

Here's a link to some gorgeous, award winning photographs by Yevgenia Belorusets which show what the details of life look like in Ukraine.

To see the photos, click HERE.

Summer Cleaning

I've probably posted about this somewhere in my last blog but I still get overwhelmed with the whole "summer clothes/winter clothes" concept so I have to share this with you again. Originally from California, I am used to ALL my clothes staying in my closet or chest of drawers ALL year. In Ukraine, due to the small apartment space and the concept of wardrobes, twice a year all the summer clothes go into my suitcases and the winter clothes are unpacked for use and then vice versa when the weather changes. Oh and yes, there is such a thing as fall and spring clothes that overlap until the summer or winter weather gets extreme.

This is what my bed looked like this afternoon as I hauled everything out and cleaned my wardrobe. (Yes, there's a bed underneath it all!)

After letting everything air out, I will pack up my winter clothes tomorrow and I will arrange to have one falling apart suitcase that is packed with recycled clothes to be taken to our Humanitarian Center.

Intimidation

Intimidate:

1. to make timid; fill with fear

2. to overawe or cow, as through the force of personality or by superior display of wealth, talent, etc.

3. to force into or deter from some action by inducing fear: to intimidate a voter into staying away from the polls.

Living in a foreign country can be very intimidating, especially at the beginning. You don't know the language, how to get around, and if you want to not look like a pig in a tutu in a herd of zebras, you have to "get" the culture. You can sometimes feel like "all eyes are on the foreigner to see what insane thing they will say or do next." It can be intimidating.

Once you get some language going, know where you're going and figure out that if you don't make the conductor sell you a ticket on the bus, then some scary looking man will confront you and scream at you because you haven't paid, you start feeling some confidence when you are out and about.

But that tiny bit of confidence will continually be challenged by the everyday people you will interact with on a daily business.

People who grew up or lived in the Soviet Union lived in a culture with an under current of fear and instability. So when interacting with others, especially strangers, it is sometimes more easy to intimidate them. This didn't do much for their customer service ratings, but it gave them the upper hand in the situation.

Example A:

Bread shops are notoriously known for intimidating women working behind the counters. In an effort to not go into my local mini super market where I usually buy bread because they are doing so much remodeling that there is a permanent haze of dust and one needs to wear a hard hat to navigate their way through and over the steel beams lying on the floor, I decided to buy bread at a shop in my market.

I get in line behind a babushka and she asks the shop lady for a "baton." A loaf of white bread.

Shop keeper: (She grunts and goes to pick up a loaf and lays it down on the counter.)

Babushka: "How much is it?"

Shopkeeper: "Four hrivnyas" (Intimidating attitude that could sink a ship the size of Queen Mary. This attitude is projected towards the babushka and everyone in a 3 feet radius)

Babushka: "Four hrivnyas?!" (Intimidating attitude thrown back. translation: "Four hrivnyas is too much to charge for a loaf of bread!")

Shop keeper: (Another grunt but louder and scarier this time.)

Babushka: (Puts money down)

Shop keeper: (Big dramatic sigh, then a dramatic pause. Another big sigh. She is preparing already for the intimidating factor to be in place for me.)

Babushka: "Can I have a bag?" (Each loaf should be put in a bag at no extra charge.)

Shop keeper: (Even BIGGER sigh. She then dramatically reaches down and pulls one out.)

Babushka: (Not to be intimidated by the fact that she did not automatically receive her loaf in a bag she reaches into her purse and slowly counts out some change. She's making a point here.) "Here's some money."

Shop keeper: No, no! (Her intimidating attitude swells higher at the indignation of having someone try to buy a bag for a loaf of bread which should come with it anyway!)

Babushka leaves.

The shop keeper looks up and sees me standing there with a stupid, foreign, friendly smile on my face and gives me the most intimidating, scary look I've seen in quite a while.

I confidently say, "Baton, PLEASE"

(Okay I look confident, but am definitely sweating inside my coat)

The smile and the word "please" immediately confuses her intimidating attempt to control her customer. She falters.

She hands me the loaf of bread and looks at me carefully and warily. (Remember when I said those foreigners may say or do any crazy thing? I just did.)

I say, "Thank you." and do not ask her to put the loaf in a bread bag. I am too intimidated. I admit it.

She didn't offer me a bag either.

First Mashrutki Rides

Oh the those first mashrustki rides that you take after you've been away in a country where you command a car down the wide, smooth highways in your attempt to get somewhere important!

How quickly you forgot how difficult it is to even open the door. No one will help or offer assistance as you struggle desperately and feel like a fool. If you can't open the door, you will stay where you are. You will go nowhere. Once inside the driver impatiently looks around while you try to decipher how much the fare has gone up. If you ask, you will receive a sarcastic answer if any answer at all. You should already know the price of the mashrutka you poor passenger you! You will delicately balance yourself on the narrow steps in your winter boots as you dig in your purse with one hand to find money while the other tries to close the door. Before you get the door shut completely, someone yanks it open and you nearly topple over as a woman screams at the driver and asks where this mashrutka is going.

Once the fare has been handed over, you glance quickly around to discern what you will be able to grab onto for dear life that is not a living, breathing human being. You have only the bare half second to make a decision. Make sure you do not grab a person or their belongings! Maybe you will be spared a ride standing in the narrow aisle and you will be able to take a seat. Look around quickly. Always be hopeful!

Ah, a seat! You are propelled into a vacant space next to a glaring devushka by the raw speed of the mashrutka as it pulls away from the curb, but you are sitting down! If there was a game app for "Life In Ukraine" you would score five points at least.

Now, inhale deeply. Okay, maybe not that deeply. The smell of the mashrutka. Ah, you forgot that human sweat, plastic, dirt, gas smell. How could you?