Phenomenon

I'm experiencing a weather phenomenon.

This past week, it's been miserably cold. Sunday, it was -15 degrees Fahrenheit. For the rest of the week, it was -7 ish during the days, warming up to around 2 or 4 degrees at the warmest part of the day. The sun was shining, which was great for my spirits, but it was bitterly frigid. The wind was relentless. I felt like my face was going to fall off!

Today, however, we're having a heat wave. It's up to 16 degrees. It is snowing, but when I went outside, I literally thought, "Hey, it's so much warmer today!" I'm a firm believer that the gray, cloudy, snowy days are a smidge warmer...the clouds acting as insulation. The sunny days are beastly.

What a conundrum.

Living history

I had lunch with a former KGB agent today. It's true!

My friend, Olya, has been wanting me to visit her apartment for a while now, but today was the first time that our schedules coincided. I was there for almost 5 hours, so clearly, there was plenty that went on, but the most interesting part was meeting her grandfather.

Olya's grandfather, Sergei, is 89 years old. We chatted over lunch today (I had a little trouble understanding him because of his gold teeth, and he had trouble understanding me because of my Russian and the fact that he's very hard of hearing), and after lunch, Olya caught me up on her grandfather's life. Whoa.

He was born in Lugansk, Ukraine and was orphaned by age 13. He lived in an orphanage for a year (where he acquired a LOT of tattoos, which I at first thought were prison tattoos...) before being adopted by an uncle and taken to middle-of-nowhere-ridiculously-cold Russia. After about a year there, two of his aunts moved him to Leningrad (St. Petersburg). This is where things get really interesting: His aunts were devoted Bolsheviks and close, personal friends of Krupskaya- Lenin's wife! She spent time at his aunts' house frequently.

When he turned 18, he automatically became a soldier, which coincided with the beginning of WWII. We actually discussed this at lunch; he talked to me about President Roosevelt, how Ukrainians and Americans fought together against the Germans, and how he met his wife on the field (after he was wounded, developed gangrene, and she took care of him in the medical tent). Olya finished this story for me later: the doctor in charge refused to remove only the gangrene. He was either going to amputate or leave him to die. Olya's grandmother's friend found a gun, held it to the doctor's head, and told him that he WAS going to remove the gangrene and only the gangrene. Needless to say, he still has whole leg intact.

Anyway, post-WWII, he met a myriad of famous people, including Yuri Gagarin. In fact, Sergei had been involved in rescuing Gagarin's village from the Nazis, and Gagarin thanked him profusely.

Whilst working at the Kremlin, he met Josef Stalin on many occasions. He was also the head of the guard at the Kremlin during a visit by Winston Churchill. In fact, Churchill personally inspected the lapels of Sergei's uniform!

Winston- those of you close to me will know how significant the Winston part of the story is!

Stalin.

While working at the Kremlin, he became a secret service agent. Initially, he was a spy among enemies. Later, he became a spy within the Soviet army, checking for rebels. He continued to work his way up and eventually became second-in-command of the KGB for this region of Ukraine. Crazy, right?

The best part of the story is that while he tells these facts about his life in a very matter-of-fact manner, his entire demeanor changes when he gets to the parts about meeting his wife. I love it that this KGB officer with a history like his chooses to focus on the stories of Lenichka, his wife. Precious. It would make a great book.

Oh, the places you will go!

Yesterday, I was waiting at the bus stop, on my way to teach. While waiting for my bus, a friendly stray dog sauntered up, looking for something to eat. She very happily trotted around my feet. When the next bus pulled up and opened its door, this furry friend very calmly hopped right in and headed towards the back. I was so surprised, I couldn't even think of how to react. The bus rolled forward a few feet before stopping again. Three older women worked together to try and coax the dog off of the bus. After several minutes, Furry Friend walked off the bus, just as calmly as she had boarded.

I would like to know where she had been planning to go...

Comforter Saga Finale

The Comforter Fiasco has been resolved. Here's what happened:

I had to keep wrestling with the comforter in the tiny tub, trying to rinse out the soap. This was quite arduous and took most of the afternoon (off-and-on). After I resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't be able to fully rinse out all of the soap, I began trying to wring out the water. Um, WHOA. If you've never tried to wring out a comforter, might I suggest that you maintain that status in life? It was such an intense workout for my arms...I'm still sore. I decided that it might be easier for me if I draped the comforter over the shower curtain rod before resuming my task. OF COURSE, the bathroom floor was soaked again as I moved the comforter from the tub to the shower. Just my luck.

I accomplished very little with this, so I decided to move the whole thing to the laundry lines on the balcony. Once I got it hung in the balcony, I realized that I had another problem: the dripping was going to cover the balcony floor in water. What to do...

Well, I have these tarps that the Rowlands left with me after this past summer. They used to put them on the ground for the kids to sit on for Bible stories and crafts. That's right, ladies and gentlemen- I used them to cover my balcony floor. Brilliant, right?

Not so much. I soon realized that the tarps quickly filled up with water, and the water then ran off the edges onto the floor. SO, every 30 minutes, I had to dump the extra water from the tarps into my mop bucket.

Are you kidding me?

It's finally dry and back on the bed. It will not be washed again whilst I have possession of it.

I've done smarter things...

It's true. Today wasn't my most brilliant day.

The story will make the most sense to those of you who have heard me talk about my washing machine, seen my washing machine, or been lucky enough to use my washing machine. The thing is, my washing machine is very small. It holds very small loads and takes a looooong time to wash those very small loads. Today, I thought it would be a good idea to wash one of the twin-size comforters.

I KNOW. Like I said, I've done smarter things.

I should have been tipped off by the fact that I had to body-slam the door to get it closed. I then sat on the floor and watched/ monitored it for several minutes. I started to get worried when the strange noises started...er..rather, changed. The washing machine makes very startling noises when it works correctly, but this time, it was making ridiculously strange noises.

So, I panicked and tried to stop the machine. I did, but several wretched things happened. First, the washing machine would drain. At all. I had to wrestle with the thing to get the door open. Then, when I tried to transfer the comforter from the machine to the tub (the leprechaun-sized tub), I flooded the bathroom floor! The comforter was SO drenched that it poured water everywhere, covering the entire floor.

Current status? Trying to rinse the rest of the soap out of the comforter. It's going to be a long process.

Ukraine keeping me green

I know that there are all kinds of tips and ideas for living a more eco-friendly life. Little did I realize when I moved here that I was being plunged into a lifestyle of greenness! Now, most of the time, I find my Ukraine-imposed greenness a little annoying, but knowing that I'm helping to make a contribution to the well-being of the world placates me just a smidge.

1. Reusable shopping bags.

I carry my own bag with me to the grocery store. The primary reason for doing so is that the cashiers charge you for grocery bags, and I rebel at that thought. However, I've become really accustomed to having a reusable shopping bag in my purse and really don't hate the thought of continuing the habit in the States. I do have to take one thing into account: I have to go to the grocery store just about every other day, whereas people don't really do that at home.

2. Lower electrical bills.

Such a conservationist I am! Confession: the use of less electricity is also not exactly a choice. I use less electricity mainly because my light fixtures can't handle full-lightbulbage. For example, most of my light fixtures call for 3 bulbs to be complete. I almost never even try to put the full amount in; when I do, I can bet with almost full assurance that the next time I turn on the light, one or two of the bulbs will explode.

3. Public transportation.

I have a love-hate relationship with public transportation. It's terribly convenient sometimes (you don't have to pay for gas, you never have to find a parking spot, and you don't have to worry about being responsible for making wrong turns). It's also terribly annoying when you have to stand in the snow and wind waiting for the right bus or when you have to walk for a long time between bus stop and final destination. This results if less gasoline consumption and more exercise. Voila.

I feel like I'm helping make a difference...whether I ever meant to or not. :)

Ok, a real update!

Well, I put the last vestiges of my family on a plane this morning. It was quite sad. I was a wee bit teary as I left the airport (at 4:50 am, due to their 6:45 am flight!), and even the taxi driver felt sorry for me. He tried to make small talk on the way to the train station, but I was having difficulty keeping it up (what with the sniffing and all), so he eventually surrendered to the silence.

On the train, I made a new friend: Slavik. He is studying at a university in New York. He heard me answer my phone and realized I was American. We then proceeded to chat for the next 3 hours.

Once arriving back in Poltava, I decided to take a taxi home rather than the bus (I was just ready to get home...). My taxi driver was SO chatty and wanted to inform me about various and sundry Ukrainian holidays. It was really cute. I'm quite glad he did, because I'd already forgotten that tomorrow is Old New Year. Yes, you read that correctly: OLD New Year. It has to do with the Orthodox calendar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_New_Year). Last year, I woke up at 4:00 am to my doorbell ringing incessantly...the handiwork of young boys who go around to wish everyone a good year (they throw grain into your home and sing and expect you to give them some money). Thanks to Mr. Taxi Man, I'll remember to sleep with earplugs. :)

Last week, we celebrated Ukrainian Christmas (January 7), which was very fun and exciting. On Sunday, Amiee sang in church, and everyone loved it! On Monday, we tried our hands at making a copycat Chick-fil-a recipe for chicken nuggets. It was so good! Granted, it wasn't exactly the same (I mean, we were aiming pretty high), but it was sooo good. Tuesday, we trained into Kiev and nearly froze to death. Sadly, this morning was D(eparture)- day. I am now somewhat moping while doing some cleaning around the apartment.

Family: please know that there is even MORE snow outside! And, this journey to Kiev and back was just chock full of friendly taxi drivers. What luck! Miss you!

Happy Old New Year, everyone!

Amiee and Mom at the mall

Amiee singing in church...sorry it's so dark. I was camera inept this particular day.

Amiee and me after church. We're looking all smart in our glasses.

Great Chicken Experiment 2010: success!

When we spent the night in Kiev, we took the supplies to watch a movie: Netbook, dvd apparatus, external speakers, and tv stand (aka, chair). Clever, yes?

Still alive

I am. I promise.

Happy New Year!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful New Year! We did, but it was very hectic (what else is new?). We traveled back to Kiev on the 30th in order to spend the night and drop Daddy off at the airport on the morning of the 31st...for his 6:45 am flight. After dropping him off super early, we had to get to the train station to catch our 6:30 am train back to Poltava. We made it back and napped all afternoon so that we'd be up for the New Year's celebration at the church. Now, Ukrainians take New Year's celebrations very seriously: you stay up ALL night. Ergo, we didn't even leave the church until 2:30 am, and didn't get in bed until around 4:00. This is all after we had gotten teeny tiny amounts of sleep the night before. It was tiring, but a lot of fun! Here are some more pictures of the family in Poltava. I'm kind of on hold work-wise for a while, since the students are out for the holidays (holidays being a. New Year: Jan. 1, b. Christmas: Jan. 7, and c. Old New Year: Jan. 14). More to come (hopefully)!

Mom and Dad at Celentano's- our favorite pizza place that has apparently shut down in the past few days. Tragic.

New Year's tree in the Kiev train station.

At the New Year's Eve celebration: me, Ira, Amiee, Mom, and Mom's new friend.

Ukrainians are so handy with crafts. Sometimes, I would call them crafty...

Food...please note the dish on the right. It is, in fact, raw herring. I did not partake.

Amiee and her friend, Leeza. They became friends this summer. She's all bundled up for a reason: it's COLD! Today, it was -1. Sick.