Final posting from Ukraine

Well, with this post, I bid goodbye to Ukraine and my many loyal blog followers as I leave Poltava via train tomorrow, and depart Ukraine on Monday afternoon from Kyiv. Again, I must give a HUGE thank you (or spassiva) to my colleague, translator, and friend, Larissa Ischenko, without whom my entire stay in Poltava and Ukraine would have been incredibly difficult. Lara facilitated pretty much EVERYTHING I was involved in during my four months here, from translating my presentations to helping me purchase train tickets and shopping for various items I needed but had no idea where to find here. She also insured that my stay here included interesting excursions to museums, parks, and the wonderful shashlik outing last weekend.

All in all, this has been a very good experience, particularly in an academic sense; however I feel that I should remark upon a few items that I will list as peeves, or perhaps best described as personal frustrations; these were, in no particular order:

• The lack of winter weather remediation for roads and sidewalks: Although the main thoroughfare boulevard (Zhovtneva) was fairly well-maintained, most side streets and sidewalks were covered with six inches (or more) of snow and ice until the temperature for day-time highs remained in the 40s consistently for several days; this did not occur until mid-to-late March. To me, this lack of basic service at the city level seemed to project a very bad image to display for anyone thinking of investing here from the outside.
• Infrastructure problems: Aside from the streets, I had no hot water for over two weeks in late-April early-May. Fortunately, during that time I traveled to Western Ukraine and I had hoped that, upon my return, I would be greeted with hot, or at least warm, water; not to be. Finally, after repeatedly contacting the agency through which I rented my apartment, the building’s hot water returned (after three days). However, the faucet in the bathroom provides only a trickle now, but thankfully the shower and kitchen water pressure are fine. Also, the electricty intermittently goes off, mostly in the morning. I have no idea how/why any of this happens lately, as during the winter, all seemed fine.
• Here I will be blunt: For the most part, and with a few exceptions, people in the stores were quite cold and unfriendly. Even after repeatedly going to stores near my apartment, I was never greeted with so much as a nod of recognition, much less a smile, and I often felt hostility towards me as a non-native and non-speaker of Russian (the locals mostly speak Russian here). Occasionally the women at the store would provide a degree of assistance with placing groceries in a bag, but for the most part everyone seemed hurried and ill-tempered. I stopped greeting any of them when I saw that they never returned the greeting.
• Little respect for personal space: I noticed almost immediately that, while walking down the sidewalk  and attempting to move to one side or another to avoid colliding with another pedestrian, they would often change in the same direction, forcing me to change again. Either such people are completely oblivious to the implication of colliding with a 200+ lb. man, or they enjoy deliberately playing “sidewalk chicken”. Which brings me to another point: Many here are into competitive speed-walking. Often while attempting to pass another pedestrian, they will speed up, insuring that I either drop back and let them take the lead (where they inevitably slow down again and restart the competition), or I have to semi-run to out-distance them and eliminate myself from the competition by “winning” - whatever that means. Also, especially when I was in Western Ukraine, I found that people routinely jostle and bump into you without so much as a word of apology. I must note that this is not the case with EVERYONE here – but the instances that do occur can lead to a visitor such as myself to judge a population as a whole on the rudeness of the few.

Again, ultimately, this has been an extremely positive experience, thanks to the direct assistance of many here, so I do not wish to appear ungrateful nor wish to stereotype the local population. These are just observations that I want to include as a form of summative addressing of my four month experience here.

Farewell, Ukraina!

A day of shashlik and nature

A Saturday outing on the grounds of the beautiful campus of the A. Makarenko Boarding School for gifted students in the village of Kovalivka, between Poltava and Kharkiv. It was a total surprise for me as I was anticipating a guided tour of the Poltava History Museum.

My first (and likely last - at least for a while) walk in the natural beauty of the region; shashlik (outdoor grilling or barbecue) with a great variety of excellent local foods and fresh vegetables. Many toasts, as well, as this was more-or-less my farewell feast on my final weekend in Poltava. Lots of pictures of the grounds and food, and the fine folks who made it all possible.

Travel to Western Ukraine

During the first full week of May (May 3-8, to be exact), I accepted an invitation to travel to the city of Ivano-Frankivs'k, way on the other side of Ukraine from where I am residing in Poltava. I travelled with Chris Lowe, a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in Poltava. We were both invited to present at the PreCarpathian University in Ivano-Frankivs'k by fellow Fulbright scholar Martha Kuchar and Molly Smith with the Peace Corps there. I was grateful for the English-speaking company on the 20+ hr. train ride to get there. Plus Chris speaks Ukrainian rather well, and this helped immensely with logistics.

We caught a train leaving Poltava at 10:30 PM, and were glad that we did not have to share the four bunk sleeper compartment with others. The nice thing about catching a train that late is that once you have settled in, have something to eat and drink, it's easy to just crash.

I awoke the next morning at 9:00 AM which surprised me, but sleeping on trains is not new to me having done so many times, many years ago. We had time to have both breakfast and lunch from the stash of food I brought and the train pulled into the Lviv train station at 2:40. Our train to Ivano-Frankivs'k left at 3:20 PM, so it was a nice, fast connection. (I must say that so far I have been VERY impressed by the timeliness of the Ukranian railways - they always seem to be right on time.)

We got to Ivano at 6:40 PM and were greeted by my Fulbright colleague, Martha, at the station. I caught a bus to the hotel they had reserved for me while Chris went to stay with another Peace Corps volunteer in Ivano. We met up for pizza at 8:00 PM, and I had the closest thing I have tasted to a real Italian pizza at a pizzeria named "Pizza Peperoncino". Sitting outside eating a real wood-fired brick oven-baked pizza after the grueling train ride was like waking up in Wonderland. Needless to say, I slept great that night.

The next morning, after eating at a sumptuous breakfast buffet, Martha and Chris met me at the Hotel Nadia (in case you ever go there) at 10:00 AM whereupon we embarked on a brief tour of the town. You can see pictures of the entire visit here. Suffice it to say that Ivano-Frankivs'k is a very different place than Poltava, and much of the city centre is quite charming.

After a light lunch, we went to the University where, after negotiating a labyrinth of hallways, we located the computer lab graciously lent to us for my presentation/workshop. A few issues appeared right away - first, there was no projector or screen from which to project my PowerPoint (there was also no whiteboard or any board, for that matter). Next, the laptop eventually provided did not have MS Office 2007 on it, so my presentation was translated via OpenOffice (note: do NOT attempt this). Then I discovered that the computers in the lab had varying configurations for Internet browsing - some having Internet Explorer, others with only FireFox or - Opera! Needless to say, it took a while to get things up-and-running and, oh, did I mention? The lab had no ventilation and it was sweltering hot. Now, some of you know that I can sweat standing still in a snowstorm, so it soon appeared that I was in a sauna - which, in essence, I was. But things went reasonably well, eventually, and we all ended up going to a nice outdoor spot in a beautiful park for a few refreshing beers. After that we were joined by a few others as we dined in a very fancy place with excellent traditional Ukrainian food. Unfortunately, this eatery had us sitting in a small private room which, after a while, became sweltering hot. After finishing the sumptuous multi-course meal, I really needed fresh air and had to excuse myself, but fortunately was joined by Molly and Chris and enjoyed the walk back to the hotel in the very welcome fresh air. Part of my problem is that I never eat three full meals in one day, so my discomfort was likely due to "train lag" coupled with the notable humidity in Ivano, plus more food than I would normally consume in two days! But I survived, and sat by the beautiful fountain outside the hotel for a while to get additional fresh air before heading to my room.

The next day I took my time getting up, going for a walk around the city center again, and avoiding any food, as I really had enough nourishment for a couple of days in me! I felt great as I met up with Martha at the University early enough for me to open every window in the computer lab letting in the cool breeze, and allowing the "sauna lab" to cool down prior to my workshop. As I started the workshop, the staff started closing the windows, which of course I protested, but was followed by the two air conditioning wall units being activated. I attempted to say that the breeze was fine and was a lot cheaper, but that was that; AC on, windows closed. I really have a hard time understanding Ukrainians sometimes...

The workshop went a lot better, as I had "downgraded" my PowerPoint to the 2003 version, but there were still issues with the Internet connection, and various glitches while students attempted to create Google accounts. But it went really well after all, because with Martha's great recommendations, we managed to get some real products started.

Afterwards, the University's English language department, where Martha and Molly work, gave us all a great reception in their office with food and beverages, and gratitude and toasts all around. We all went to change, rest, etc. before regrouping near the city center fountain for a few beers, then to a fantastic place (Legenda-Centre) recommended by Molly atop a very modern building: outdoors, with a terrific view of the city from above, and with excellent food and my favorite Ukranian wine (Crimean Bastardo - yeah, I know).

The next day it was travel time again, so after a light helping at the breakfast buffet, I made my way to the train station and met up with Chris, who was travelling only to Lviv this time, meeting other Peace Corps volunteers and sharing an apartment over the weekend.

I had four hours to kill at the Lviv train station, but fortunately, there were two waiting areas: one, a traditional waiting room, the other with a large video jukebox and a full bar with food in the middle of it! As there were only three little tables there, I waited until one was available and then parked myself for the next three-and-a-half hours, reading while sneaking sandwiches I had already made and ordering one beer per hour to avoid appearing ungrateful for the great sitting place.

At 4:00 PM I worked my way over to the appropriate track, and waited for my train, which was already there, to open the doors. At 4:30 I was in my compartment, and could not believe how plush it was! Knowing that I would be travelling on my own I had booked the "deluxe" compartment which meant that I would be able to spend the next almost 16 hrs. in a very nice space indeed. It smelled nice, I had the whole thing to myself, and it even had air conditioning. Still, 15+ hours is a LONG time, and I was glad that I had something to read and an iPod to listen to during that time.
I arrived at 8:40 AM in Poltava, and  I was very happy to be back "home" but I was also very surprised to hear thunder as I arrived (the first time since I had been here) and watching the spring rain come down outside my window...

New stuff - at last!

Okay, I know it has been a REALLY long time since my last post . I apologize for keeping all my many fans (?!) out there waiting, but I have just been super busy in April. For starters, I had to finish a book chapter that I wanted out of the way by mid-April, and - mission accomplished. Second, I wanted to submit a proposal to the AACE E-Learn Conference in October and that deadline was looming as well. Again, done. So lots of writing. Now for the fun stuff...

Easter here was very nice, but very quiet. I must mention that the Spring weather here has been pretty much PERFECT - to me anyway! Since around the first week of April we have had high temperatures reaching the mid 60s in the day, but night temperatures in the 40s. I like that kind of variation. This last week it has only reached the mid-to-upper-50s for high temps, but still lows in the 40s. Oh, yeah, and did I mention? SUNNY! Almost every day, actually. Yes, I know that in Memphis it has reached the 80s and all I can say to that is - I'm sorry. Sorry that you must endure that sort of early Spring meteorological anomaly, while I am quite happy to have missed it.
Oh, yeah, back to Easter - they have a special Easter bread, so I bought a small version of that along with a special wine and liqueur that came as a package with the bread. Very nice - had a nice stroll along the walkway that forms the median of the main boulevard in Poltava, Zhovtneva street. I live only a few blocks from there, and my Institute is there as well. This whole town has taken on a new and very pleasant look since the snow and ice melted, and Spring has arrived. Getting greener all the time...

In other news, my little Dell 2100N netbook more-or-less died around two weeks ago. I just got it back from a reputable computer store who determined that there were two virii on it that somehow managed to get through the Norton Symantec 11.x AV that was installed... so much for Norton being "the best". I have been borrowing a very nice large ASUS laptop from the Institute. They are SO incredibly nice, and extremely supportive to me here - I am truly humbled. I definitely made the right decision in choosing the Poltava Institute as my Fulbright location.

Also, I have finished up teaching classes - only a few presentations/workshops left. For the last two groups, in March and April, their group products were, respectively, a Wikipedia entry on informatics education in Ukraine (on Wikipedia Ukraine site), and a Google Sites website for the class and as a resource for other informatics teachers. You can have Google translate it although some of it comes out rather odd... All of the teachers were great, and it was an honor working with them.

One last thing - I didn't like the way that Blogspot posts photos, so from now on I am posting all photos here (and there are some new ones). More on an upcoming trip soon - I promise! In the meantime, you can catch my Tweets - which I have managed to have real birds transmit to you subliminally, as I don't actually use Twitter... so listen closely to them... they're right outside your window. Right now. Look! And listen...

Room with a view

I have been meaning to upload some photos of my apartment, and the view from the windows. Here they are, without comment.

Food, too

Okay, I will admit that there is more to eat here than flavored peanuts. I have had the pleasure of eating "real" Ukrainian foods when invited for lunch and dinner when I first arrived here, and as previously expressed, it was quite varied and delicious. But for my daily nutritional needs, I can find many of my favorite fresh fruits and vegetables, along with great locally-made bread, sausages, salami, and cheeses. There are butcher shops where one can buy beef, pork, and chicken, but since I really don't need to eat much meat, I am good with the other stuff. (I have found some delicious crab cakes here that I enjoy.)

Yesterday my colleague, Lara, surprised me by bringing over some smoked fish and homemade wine and honey, along with some beers. The fish was deliciously smoky and salty, perfect with hot mustard and the homemade wine, which was slightly sweet and strong. Also, in the photos you will notice the large jars of pickles, tomatoes, and borscht. These were all made by and given to me by my generous colleague - Spassiva, Lara!

So here are more pics of food - mostly to prevent my mom from freaking out at the idea that all I eat here are tins of flavored nuts ...

Food

For some reason many friends and family members have asked what it is that I eat here. So I figured I would accomodate these requests by, once and for all, revealing what it is that I have found to survive on in edible provisions. I have already revealed what there is to imbibe: beer and vodka; as the water is likely unsafe from the tap, I make coffee with beer ... odd combination that takes some getting used to. Anyway as you can see from this photo, it is very easy to get all food groups from the three items depicted: dairy, meats, and legumes. Since nuts also provide some roughage, I figure with these three items I have it all covered. Mmmm ... Bon appetit!