The Adventures of A and E

Adventures in Venice with Ken

2009-04-21T01:37:00.000+03:00

Adventures in Venice with Mom and Peter

2009-04-21T01:32:00.000+03:00

My NEW Apartment

2009-03-06T19:33:00.007+02:00

Ok... so first let me say that these were taken with a borrowed camera (mine was at home) so if you click on them they aren't as sharp as my photos usually are. Also, some of the walls are pink, but they are a delicate, neutral pink... they don't photograph well.

This apartment is a 10-15 minute walk to the school. It's on the 12th floor of a 2 year old building. There is an autonomous water heater in the building, so according to the owner, the hot water doesn't shut off. The is an ac unit in the living room and both bedrooms. The price for this apt is the same that I'm paying now.

Hall, looking back towards the front door (phone to/from babushka conceirge downstairs at the door and video phone for the front door)-

Bathroom 1-Kitchen - (hidden dishwasher)OVEN! And Electric stovetop- Dining area (now with more monsters!)-

Living room entertainment center, all that's missing is the Wii... why yes, that IS a kareoke machine!-Living room, couch is beige, there is a large shiny throw on top, the tabletop opens and the legs raise to become more like a dining room table if needed- Eve's room, empty now. Her current bed and wardrobe will move in here. That's an AC unit on the wall, not a tv.-
Built in bookcase in Eve's room - My room (the owner's got the bedspread on the desk) -
Bed and stuff -

Wardrobe and dresser as well as door to balcony -
And now, the Pièce de résistance, the bathroom -
Ok... so THIS is a: shower, rain shower, bathtub, sauna, and jacuzzi WITH a radio-

Me! Look how happy I am!!!

Animal School

2009-03-03T19:07:00.001+02:00

All teachers and parents should watch this!

http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/wp-content/themes/179/animalschoolsound-editted9.swf

Taptak (Tartak)

2009-02-21T19:07:00.003+02:00

This is from the Ukrainian group Tartak. I met the lead singer, Sashko Polozhinsky, when he came to our class last week. I even have an autograph...lol. Apparently they are pretty big here. I really like their music and even have it on my ipod now. (Although, I have no idea what they are saying...)

Sashko told the class that he wrote the song because Ukrainian soccer fans don't know how to cheer. He was really funny. (He has his major in economics!) It was a treat to have him visit even though M had to translate. = )

The Tooth Bandit

2009-02-21T17:55:00.003+02:00

Strikes again... This one was somewhat unexpected. It was a bit wiggly, then Eve ate a piece of chocolate and she heard, CRACK. Then it was REALLY loose! We pulled it last night. The tooth fairy gave her 20 hrynia (about $3). Pretty soon I'll have to start pureeing her food...

Eve's Pictures

2009-02-21T17:27:00.007+02:00

From Eve's Camera. Yes, I finally uploaded them...

Happy Christmas

2008-12-26T02:01:00.002+02:00

First, Happy Birthday to my Dad!
(No, my dad isn't Jesus - although at times he thinks he is! Hahahah)

Second, I wanted to share how wonderful my daughter is...

When asked by Santa (at our traditional Bonfante Gardens Santa visit) what she wanted for Christmas, she said, "A happy Christmas." He tried to get her to talk about a toy or something else that she wanted, but she said that that was the only thing she really wanted, "A happy Christmas."

Now, some may say that this means the rest of her life "sucks" (thanks PJ), but I prefer to think that she realizes that it's more important to be happy than to have stuff. Also, I think that since we've been in Ukraine, she hasn't seen a million commercials for things to receive. It makes it easier to see that Christmas is about being content or happy.

"Santa" wrote her a long letter thanking her for her "grown-up" Christmas wish. "He" said that she understood the true spirit of Christmas. After she read the letter (all by herself) she said, "I think I did ask for the true spirit of Christmas, to be happy. To be happy is to get a bunch of presents! (She IS 6!) But also, to be happy is to be with family."

Then... this morning, Christmas morning, Eve wakes up (we shared a bed last night)and we have the following conversation:
Eve: Can I watch a movie?
Me: It's Christmas morning! Don't you want to go see if Santa came, and open presents?
Eve: No. I already saw after I went potty that he came. I don't want to wake up everybody. I can wait.
Me: REALLY?!?!?! Let's just go out there and see...
Eve: Ok.
Me: By the way, Ken's not going to come over until later on today.
Eve: WHAT?!?!?! But he has things under the tree!
Me: Well, you can call him if you want. (It's 8:30 by now)
Eve: OK! (On the phone:) Ken... Merry Christmas! Can you come over please? You have more than 2 presents under the tree...(yada yada yada - click)
Me: What did he say?
Eve: He's coming over. I'll wait to open presents until he gets here.
Me: Are you sure?!? You could start.
Eve: No, I want everyone to be here to open presents.

I could not have been prouder of my six year old daughter.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

2008-12-18T22:38:00.003+02:00

I just got home from an amazing, weird and wonderful night. This evening was the IWCK (International Women's Club of Kiev) Choir's last performance of the year. We performed for the Dutch Embassy's holiday party. After singing our whole repertoire, the Ambassador invited us to stay and have a glass of wine with them. We did. It blew me away that the Ambassador himself was pouring the drinks! "I'm sorry Mr. Ambassador, I actually prefer white wine, thanks."

After a bit of wine and some nibbling on various snacks, the majority of the choir walked to the only Mexican food restaurant in Kiev (that I'm aware of). The food is pricey, takes forever, and frankly it's not that great, but we went as a group and I thought it would be a good time. That turned out to be an understatement! There was a (Ukrainian) 4 person Mariachi-ish band that arrived shortly after we did. They came over and began playing the 'Ay, yai, yai, yai' song, then LaBamba. Little did they know that they were playing to a choir. Of course as soon as they started playing, we all started singing. They set up in the bar area of the restaurant and played more,we sang more. We were laughing and having a great time, when someone recommended that we give them our music and see if they could play any of the songs. Well, it turns out that they were really good sports about the whole thing. They played 3 or 4 of our songs, the first one being Bridge Over Troubled Waters. It was great!!!

Anyway, it was a fantastic night to kick off my last half day of school before Winter break. I'll be home on Sunday. A word to anyone reading this... be easy on Eve and I, we may be a bit overwhelmed about being home again.

OH and to anyone that doesn't already know... yesterday, I officially became a graduate student! On January 5th I'll begin taking (on-line) classes to earn my Masters of Science in Educational Psychology from Capella University.

Yay Me!

"The Musical"

2008-12-04T22:54:00.002+02:00

I know not everyone will agree with the message, but I think it's pretty damn brilliant.
Introducing: Prop 8, the Musical

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2008-11-24T19:48:00.006+02:00

Reminicent to Nemo's line, "First day of school! First day of school! Wake up Dad! Wake Up!"... I got Eve out of bed on Saturday like this, "WOAH! Eve! Eve! Eve! LOOOOOOOK!!!"

This is what we woke up to...

Those were taken from the morning of the 21st, after the first night of snow.

******

Eve and I live by this HUGE, beautiful park - Holosivski Park.

(Rumor has it that it's the largest park in Europe.)

Summer:

Autumn:

Yesterday - Sunday (after snowing all day/night Saturday):

*****

The park also has an "fun park" area. Needless to say, it's closed for the season... I think.

*****

It is so great having real seasons!!! The Canadians here laugh at my awe of snow. (As most of them had to shovel out of their houses at one point during their childhood.) My analysis of winter so far:

Snow is awesome!

Ice... not so much.

THIS Doesn't Happen In the States...

2008-11-15T22:19:00.002+02:00

This happened when the Ukrainian Parliment voted to oust the current Speaker (who is in the President's Party)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGAqh_EdTH4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AQQAKAROls

A and E in Paris - Part 2

2008-11-09T21:15:00.006+02:00

Breakfast in Paris with Ken!

So this day was our, "stroll down the Champs-Elysees and buy things," day. In an attempt to walk toward the Arc de Triomphe, we actually walked the opposite direction. We ended up at Place de la Concorde just before the Louvre. Here we saw what Eve kept calling, "that pencil looking thing."
Which turned out to be an Obelisk that Napoleon had stolen, um... saved, during one of his campaigns. (That's the Eiffel Tower in the background)
The view down the Champs-Elysees from the Obelisk to the Arc.
En route to the Arc de Triomphe, we stopped at the most swanky Hagen-Daas stores/restaurants I've ever seen! We ate what turned out to be $67 of ice cream! Hahahaha.... We didn't eat that much, it was just really expensive.

We finally made it to the other end of the boulevard.
(A total of 1.3 miles - good things since we had to work off that ice cream.)

Arc de Triomphe (take notice of the sky in this picture)

The French and EU flags that hung in the archway.The tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Every night they have a ceremony to reignite the eternal flame (even though it's ETERNAL).

The work on the Arc itself is simply magnificent. I took a million photos, but I won't bore you with them.

Zoom in if you can... the "angel", France, has a face that is so intense. Ken and I also liked the fact that the guy in front is all prepared for battle, except he seems to have forgotten his pants.When you buy your ticket to enter the Arc, they don't tell you *how* you are going to ascend. Of course, since it was built in the early 1800's, one might assume that there are stairs. Well, there are stairs, 248 of them. The number of stairs isn't the problem. The fact that they are spiral, without a landing from bottom to top is what poses a problem. I had to stop, not only to breathe, but to keep from getting hideously dizzy. When we finally reached the top, after the small gallery, we went outside.

Here are some photos from the top of the Arc de Triomphe!
(Notice the sky...?)

From the time we left the bottom, climbed the stairs, and looked at the gallery, it went from blue and slightly cloudy to DOWNPOUR. Go figure.
This day, we walked the length of the Champs-Elysees, twice.

This, was taken the next night. This shows the Eiffel Tower (in twinkle mode) and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. (The smaller arc, also commisioned by Napoleon, located adjacent to the Louvre.)

A and E in Paris -Part 1

2008-11-08T15:09:00.017+02:00

Off to Paris we go!

------------------------------------------------------

View from the hotel room...

View from the hotel room at night

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The Eiffel Tower

View from the top of the Eiffel Tower

View of the Arc d'Triumphe from the Eiffel Tower
Distance to Kiev from the Eiffel Tower

Us in front of the Eiffel Tower

High on Hope

2008-11-05T18:20:00.002+02:00

I know it's cliche to say, but I was proud to be an American for the first time since Bush took office. Getting up every hour from 3-6 am was worth it.

January 20th can't come fast enough.

Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying

2008-11-04T21:38:00.002+02:00

I'm getting up at 3am see this man become our next president.

Just in case you didn't already know....

2008-11-03T20:10:00.003+02:00

(Found in the Duty Free shop in Borisypol Airport in Kiev)

All She Wants For Christmas...

2008-11-03T19:48:00.005+02:00

Eve was freaked out that she was going to swallow her tooth in her sleep. I had her twist it to make it come out. Once it was backwards she really freaked out, so I helped her pull it.

The other front tooth was really loose too and decided to stick out at all angles.

Despite my attempts to convince her to let me pull it the night before on the top of the Eiffel Tower, she refused and out it came the next morning.

How many kids can say they've lost teeth in 3 different countries?

We're Baaaaaack!

2008-11-02T12:58:00.001+02:00

So, just a quick note to let you all know that E and I are back from Paris! Unfortunately, none of our luggage has made it back to Kiev. I am eagerly awaiting the cord to allow me to upload my 300 photos. I have so many things to write about, but they all really need to be accompanied by pictures. So, now we wait...

Ukraine Rant

2008-09-24T18:41:00.005+03:00

GRRRRRR! So today I finally realized why no one smiles on the streets in Kiev. I think they don't smile because they all have to take crowded public transportation. Today on my way home, I'm carrying my backpack and a package (Thanks, I got it today Mom!). So the "buses" are always super packed after 5 because everyone's on their way home from work. I would have done the 30 minute walk home, but I had on my boots, and I couldn't walk all the way home in them. The boots I'm speaking of happen to be 3" heels. "Why am I wearing such absurdly high boots to work," you ask? Well, I'll tell you. I have to wear the boots TO and FROM work right now because the ground is either one huge puddle or so muddy your shoes slip and sink in. "Why not just wear tennis shoes then," you say? I cannot wear ANY of my other shoes to or from work right now because I have lost 14 pounds and ALL of my pants drag on the ground (and I've tried rolling them up, I just feel like a dork!). Oh, I know, you must be thinking, "That's easy to fix, just go buy some rain boots." Well, I WOULD. I even tried yesterday. In a futile 3 hour shopping trip, I found about 50 pairs of boots, they all fall into 1 or more of 3 categories: 3+ inches high, so bright/fancy that they would blind a small animal, or priced above $200. As a matter of fact, I found the perfect pair of plain, black, water-resistant material boots... $300. I know, as soon as I decide to fork out money like that over a pair of RAIN boots, it'll stop raining. "Ok," you say,"then just buy a couple of pairs of new pants." I would LOVE to buy new pants, in my new smaller size, BUT I've yet to find pants bigger than a size 8 (that are less than $150).
So, I took the "bus" - a glorified 12 person van. As usual, there were about 25 people on it. Well, seeing as I had my backpack AND a package, I was pretty bulky. The aisle was very narrow, and people kept trying to squeeze by me. Some even pushed hard enough to throw me into the seat next to me. I'm standing in the aisle (I take up the width of this narrow aisle) and this old guy in a seat yells at me, in Russian, because my backpack was apparently in his face. So I give him the, "What do you expect me to do?" face. He continues muttering to himself. Then, more people come on, and I get pushed farther into the bus (before this, I was standing in the aisle just off the entrance). Well, as I am jostled and shoved, my box hits this other seated guy in the head. I quickly apologize. Of course, this only happened because I moved my backpack off both shoulders and onto just one -to the side- so it was less in the old guy's face. After I apologize to the "got-hit-in-the-head" guy, the guy right behind him started chastising me in Ukrainian, finally stopping to say, "Hello???" I looked at him, with the, "WHAT???" expression, as none of my stuff was touching him. Then, I got pushed further back, of course, right before my stop - where I had to push through ALL of the people in front of me (who didn't feel like moving for the bulky American). As I got out, some older lady was scolding me for something... I just kept walking, saying, "Da, da, da." "Yes, yes, yes... I know." Why didn't I take a different "bus"? Because it was starting to rain, and I left my new $30 umbrella in my classroom.

Nanny Nanny Boo Boo

2008-09-22T18:26:00.003+03:00

We have our Nanny!!!! V, our Ukrainian nanny started today. As a matter of fact, she's here right now, COOKING!!! She's worked for two American families in the past 4 years (One was an Embassy family - so she's Dept of State cleared.)

Eve went to the market with her this afternoon. I showed her where we live, so I'm home early today. (Also to help her get aquainted with the apartment) She's fantastic. She will be picking Eve up Mon-Fri after school, and cooking for us. She will also come early and clean and iron. (Standby angels signing...Angels singing GO)

I've got a bunch to post. I've see how much I can do today. (This may end up to be the only one, lol.)

A Trip to the Commisary

2008-09-14T19:02:00.003+03:00

Again, I wish I could have sound accompanying this blog. (If any of you know how to do it, please let me know.)

So, if I DID have music, I would choose something etherial... like angels singing. I would choose this because THAT is what I heard when we walked into the commisary at the US Embassy last week. Sure, the commisary is the size of my living room. Sure, they didn't have Cool Ranch Doritos, BUT they had so many other awesomely terrible American items, nothing else seemed to matter! I try to make myself feel better about how excited I was when I walked in, by telling myself that I was happy to have something to feed Eve that I know she'll eat... the truth, however, is that I was like a kid in a candy store... a kid who hadn't had candy in a long time in a really, really, small candy store. So I spent $100 - which wasn't too bad. I honestly could've and would've spent WAY more than that if I didn't have to carry it all home (and up the 3 flights of stairs!)

So, here's what I bought...

God Bless America... and her preservative filled junk food!!!

Just Checking In...

2008-09-06T20:52:00.004+03:00

Hello all! I realized I haven't posted recently, so I thought I drop a line or so to let you know what's going on with us.

Today, finally, Eve got her own room!!! They built her a bed and a wardrobe. YAY! So we are in the process of getting all of the miscellaneous stuff that has accumulated in my room out, and into her room.

Also today, we got a convection microwave. In theory, it will allow me to bake. However, seeing as how the instructions are in a 50 page booklet all in Ukrainian, I think it'll be a while before my neighbors start smelling brownies.

Yesterday ended our first FULL week of school. Everything has been great! My partner and I are preparing to start our first unit of inquiry. This is a IBO world school, so we are teaching the PYP. I LOVE the learner profiles!!! (click here if you don't know what any of this means - http://www.ibo.org/pyp/curriculum/ ) This is my first time at a pyp school, and I am super excited about the whole program. Eve is getting so much out of the curriculum in 1st grade too. It's nice being able to speak the same language to her as I do to my kids. Our first unit is Migration - which is amazing for me because I have taught that unit for the past 3 years at ISM. The focus at ISM was California, but many of the activities cross over. Our final project is based on the California Characters project that I have done (or tried to do) for the past two years. We will also be doing the 5 minute bag activity.

I have only missed my portable Hard Drive 3 days this week! = (

Eve starts after school activities on Monday, part for fun and part because I haven't found a nanny yet. Despite being told how easy it would be by a few people here, I've yet to find one that speaks English and will work part-time. Some good news is that I may have found a housekeeper. We'll see if it pans out.

What else.. oh yeah, so I received my care package from Ken this week. He sent many boxes of mac and cheese, Downy Wrinkle Releaser, 3 plug adapters, and some peanut butter. We RECEIVED mac and cheese, wrinkle releaser, and 3 plug adapters (two forcibly opened). Yup, no peanut butter. Either Ukrainian customs doesn't like peanut butter, or they REALLY like peanut butter. Either way, no pb&j's for us for a while. I keep being told that the commissary at the US embassy has it, but it's across town and not close to a metro stop. This means either taking a taxi, or taking the metro as close as we can then walking. Seeing as how we will be buying lots of stuff, walking doesn't sound like much fun. The only problem with taxis is that the price has to be negotiated before you get in - good times.

What else... hmmm... I'm down 12 pounds! Not sure if that's because of the change in my diet or all the walking or both. I wish I could tell that I've lost weight. Maybe it's all coming off my hands and feet or something. Hahahah

Anyway, we miss you all!
Hugs and Kisses!

Mullet of the Day

2008-08-28T20:50:00.004+03:00

Today was a great day for Mullet spotting! I had my camera, and within 15 minutes, I had two candidates! So now, without further ado, I give you...

The Mullet of the Day.

Candidate #2

Laundry Gnomes?

2008-08-26T23:29:00.004+03:00

Ok, what the heck?!?! So, in an attempt to win Mommy of the Year, I actually did a load of Eve's clothes tonight so she would have some cute stuff to wear to school this week. However, for the 2nd time this week, all of the clothes turned an ugly blue-gray. These were all clothes that had been washed together before, AND they were washed on COLD. When this happened a couple of days ago, I had thrown in a few of my well worn jeans and some of her white socks. All the socks came out gray! I don't get it! I know, I know... wash colors and whites separately, I get it. But come on, the pink shirt goes in with the teal jumper and the glittery blue jeans and comes out lavender-gray?!?!? So now Eve is down half of her socks (sorry Mom), and 4 of her cute patterned t-shirts. Clothes aren't cheap here, but most of them aren't outrageous either. The problem is the availability of the clothing. Again, most stores are really specialized unless we travel into downtown and head to a mall where things are more pricey. HELP! Send Target ASAP!
Seriously. No, really, send Target tops, size 6. I promise I won't dye them any more. Oh, and socks. Which by the way, I can not find for the life of me here. I know kids here wear socks, I've seen them. I just haven't seen them in ANY stores. Maybe there is some kids' sock store (stall) in the middle of some shopping area that I just haven't found.

On a brighter note... today was our first day of school. And other than my constant cursing over the loss of my hard drive and having to reinvent the wheel, the day was great! Eve had a "GGGGREATTT!!!" day in 1st grade. She was playing at recess with other kids (whose names she couldn't remember). I spied on her from the staff lounge, which has a terrific view of the playground.
My kids were neat! Nothing like an EAL (English as an Additional Language) student coming up to me at the end of the day and thinking really hard to find the words to say, "Ms. Alicia, I... like you. You are...nice. This... class is fun. Dasvadanya!" That made my day.

Oh, by the way, as Eve and I were arriving at school, we passed by a TV camera and a bunch of photographers. I figured the hubbub was over a dignitary of some sort. Turns out that the President, yes, of Ukraine, whose children attend our school, decided to walk his children to class. I've heard that he's only been to the school once before, two years ago. Where was I, did I see him??? No, I was getting coffee. Damn.

Oh, one more thing... Eve is such a TROOPER! She was complemented by my teaching partner today as to how well she has adapted to life here. I told M that she was right, that, for the most part, she was doing great with the transition here. Later, on the trolley home, Eve showed me just how well adjusted she truly is. This trolley was probably the oldest, most run-down thing on wheels that I've seen here. It was packed, of course, so we had to muscle our way on. We both had bulky backpacks and, as this was after dinner - around 7 - we were pooped. The culture here is to take care of and protect children. This means that with only 2 exceptions since we've been here, no matter how tightly packed the bus or trolley, someone stands up to give Eve their seat. Eve has learned to say, "Spasiba", or thank you, in Russian. She is very good about doing this. So today, on the jalopy of a trolley, there are all these people standing in the aisle, and yet there is an empty seat right in front of us. I tell Eve to sit. She looks at it, sitting there all wonky, with the spring underneath pushing it up at odd angles, and tells me it's broken. I agree and she stays beside me, herky-jerky, holding on to the vertical railing. The slightly older, slightly inebriated man sitting next to the broken seat, motions Eve over for her to sit down. This comment was echoed by the Babushka ({Usually angry} Older woman) in front of us. I instructed Eve to sit. She did so gingerly, apparently awaiting the ejector seat to engage. At this point, however, the man took Eve and put her on his lap (ok, all Americans GASP here). I'm standing right there, Eve knows she is safe, but keeps giving me those, " WHAT THE HELL?!?" looks. As he is sitting facing the metal railing, with very little leg room, he maneuvers Eve so that her legs are facing the aisle. He's chuckling and speaking Russian, or Ukrainian, and has Eve wrapped in his arms. It would be a very sweet picture, IF I wasn't an American, raised on suspicion. The whole time, I'm seeing person after person that I know from home in this same scenario, thinking, Oh my God, so-and-so would totally freak out right now. So... I can be an American, suspicious of the "caring" (like the quotes?) older man, or I can attempt to be open-minded, and adapt as well as my daughter to my surroundings. What did I do?
After two stops, I sat on the broken seat and asked Eve if she wanted to sit on my lap.

Hmmmm... A new posting, really?

2008-08-25T19:54:00.007+03:00

Well, I'm not sure why my internet is working, but it is! Apparently the evil internet gnomes who have had my internet shutoff for the past days are on vacation. So, here I am!!! I should also say that, I HAD MY FIRST HOT SHOWER IN UKRAINE YESTERDAY!!! YAY!

My hot water is on, the water pressure is awesome, the internet is working, what else is there in life...? oh yeah... school.

So tomorrow is the first day of school for us. Eve is going to be in 1st grade. There are 20 students in her class. I will be teaching 3rd grade; there are 16 students in my class. I have students with the following citizenships in my class:
Russian (2)
Polish
Israeli
Pakistani
British
Dutch
Belgian
US (2)
Ukrainian
Indian
Slovakian
Hungarian
Turkish (2)

I have numerous students of Embassy personnel (from various countries), and high ranking positions in companies (i.e.. World Bank). Of my sixteen, I have 3 students with no English at all, 3 native English speakers, and the rest are somewhere in between.
So my sixteen will be paired up with my teaching partner's (M) 16. We will be team teaching this year. I am so excited about this! I have always wanted the chance to collaborate at this level, but haven't had the chance. (Those of you who know the story of last year, understand.) M and I get along really well. She and I have similar ideas when it comes to pedagogy, discipline and the like. I am really looking forward to this year. I am nervous though as this is the first time since I've been teaching that I haven't been at school until very late the night before school starts. My classroom isn't MINE yet... as a matter of fact the bulletin boards are still up (empty) from last year. Even though I know I packed all of my borders, I can only find 3 of them - which isn't enough to cover my 6, or the 6 in the hall. (They are apparently hard to come by, so I think I'll stock up during Christmas and sell them to hard up teachers... HAAHAHAH) Oh well... I figure, once the kids get in there, we will make it a home.

Eve is ready for her first day. Her teacher is really awesome, Miss S. I know Eve will have a great year with her. Man, school supplies are a pain in the butt to buy here. The Soviet system is still very much alive here, where you go to a small store that sell VERY specific items. You want pencils and pens, one place, backpack, another. ARGH
For example, on Thursday, the teachers were told that we were going to take a trip to "the plastic store" to buy bins and such for cubbies, pencil trays, and whatever else. I was envisioning a Home Depot of plastic items. However... I was shocked to learn that the "plastic store" was a stall about 1/4 the size of my bedroom, crammed with plastic bins and drawers stacked 9 feet high. He ONLY had plastic stuff. He was located amongst about a hundred other stalls selling other stuff. You had to point to what you wanted, tell him how many and then he would run to his "warehouse" (another stall across the way) and get what you asked for - sometimes. There were 5 of us. The whole process took about 2 hours. No joke.
*************************************************************
So I am grieving the loss of my portable hard drive. It was brand new, just for taking my ISM stuff off the Mac and taking with me. It had 4 years of teaching stuff on it. Gone, all gone. I now don't have ANY of the documents that I created. I don't have any other the great stuff that I swiped from other teachers, or downloaded to use, and worst of all, I don't have any of the fantastic student stuff that I had saved - photos, powerpoints, etc. I KNOW I packed it. I have been through EVERY bag 3 times, in every nook and cranny. I'm almost positive that it was in the bag that was "lost" - it ended up in Moscow and made it back about a week later. It was sealed with like 3 different types of official seals. I think someone snagged it. Jerks.

P.S. A quick shout out to Audrey H., if you see her please pass on this message or tell her to read this!
Audrey, you inspired me! I'm almost done with book 3, and LOVING it!!! You have until September, right?

Mullet of the Day

2008-08-16T11:15:00.005+03:00

I know it's been awhile since I posted a Mullet of the Day, so here is the newest addition to my mullet collection...

This one was so good, I even got a side view!

FYI: I am still on the lookout for the ever-allusive "Mainly-Bald Mullet". I've seen one once in passing, but I was unable to get to my camera in time. I'll keep you posted.

My Heroes

2008-08-16T10:57:00.004+03:00

This is just a quick recognition for my friends Tim and Stephanie (who I don't think will see this).

First, let me start off by saying that Tim and Steph arrived in Kiev hours before I did. They ventured off and so by our 3rd day in Kiev, they were able to show us how to get from one place to another. This was a Godsend as I didn't feel comfortable adventuring (aimlessly getting on busses) with Eve. They saved us a lot of trouble and grief.

Stephanie is AWESOME! She is working on her thesis, and yet has taken time out to watch Eve during training most of this week (and maybe next week). She has been considerate and generous with her home and her time. Thanks, Steph. You Rock!

Her wonderful Husband, Tim, is my hero! Yesterday, in an attempt to tire Eve enough to nap, he walked her the 30 minutes back from the school in the 94 degree heat (he thought he was kidding, Eve thought he was serious, so he went). THEN, last night, I realized (after 25 minutes of walking at 11:30 with a VERY sleepy Eve) that I didn't have my keys. I thought that I had left them at their house (10-15 min walk away). Tim RAN to his house to get the keys and RAN back. My HERO!

Thanks you two, I don't know how I would be coping in this crazy city without you!

Ick...

2008-08-16T10:45:00.003+03:00

Ok, so when I began telling people that I was moving to Ukraine, the comments about heavy coats and being snowed in, abounded. However, NO ONE told me that it would be oppressively hot in August. I can handle the heat, it's the 40% humidity that's KILLING ME!
I am so over sweating.
This isn't the "glistening" or just moist sweating. This is the dripping-from-my-head -and-neck, sweat, and the everything-is-sticky, sweat. It starts the minute I walk out the door and continues until I fall asleep. BLAH. Everyone here says that in another week or two it'll be done. We'll see. Here is the forcast for today: Sunny 95°F
and tomorrow: Mostly Sunny 93°F

Nice.

Fun with Cyrillic!

2008-08-12T22:00:00.003+03:00

Okay Kiddos, it's that time... yes, it's

FUN WITH CYRILLIC!

(Imagine any game show music you wish...)

Reading Cyrillic is a crucial part of daily life here in Kiev. Luckily, cyrillic is really phonetic (it sounds out exactly the way it should)... unlike that pesky English language. Upon seeing Cyrillic for the first time, Eve said, "Look Mommy, it's a code!" She's right...

Your turn!

Try to figure out the words/ phrases below.

(Enter your guesses as comments. The one with the most correct will receive something special from Ukraine! You may not enter if you actually read cyrillic - sorry, internet stalker, that means you.)

*By the way, these are ENGLISH words written in Cyrillic, so Google Translator won't help you. HAHAHAHAHAHA*

Алісіа Вартон

Інтрнет

Маркет

Bi Міс Мак анД Щіс

Б щур тю Дринк йюр авултин

-----------------------------------------------------

Just think how lucky you are... unlike us, your getting home tonight isn't dependent on how well you read these. LOL

Finally... the apartment pictures

2008-08-12T21:14:00.004+03:00

I know some of you have been waiting. We are on the 3rd floor- walkup. The stairs are easy though, even with groceries.

Living Room (Another armchair behind the door)

View from Livingroom

Bathroom

Kitchen

Bedroom 1 (Will be Eve's - will be getting a bed and dresser, desk will move)

Patio

View from Patio/Kitchen Window (Sketchy play equipment...Eve hasn't even asked)

Bedroom 2 (Currently sharing the King bed with Eve)

As Eve would say, Ta Da!

Say that again...?

2008-08-09T21:13:00.002+03:00

So I found out, when I went to take a shower, that we don't have hot water. I called our housing person at the school. She told me, "Oh, they shut off the hot water in every district at some point during the summer to work on the pipes. It should be back on on the 20th."

Soooo... cold showers for us.

Nice, Eve just pushed down on the bathtub faucet and it broke off. DAMNIT!

Georgia, Georgia

2008-08-09T08:34:00.004+03:00

For those of you who need to brush up on your geography...

I am *very* concerned about the Parrish's, a former ISM family living in Tbilisi, Georgia. Does anyone have any news about them?

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/08/georgia.ossetia/index.html

My First Ukrainian Cathedral

2008-08-07T20:27:00.006+03:00

St. Volodymyr's Cathedral

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Volodymyr%27s_Cathedral

There was live chanting and singing inside.

Completely awe inspiring.

A Ukrainian and a Russian Walk into a Park...

2008-08-07T19:36:00.003+03:00

Quote from Wikipedia about these guys,
"... made of bronze [this} depicts a Russian and Ukrainian worker holding up The Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples..."

This one is in the same area, located under the "Friendship Arch".

"The People’s Friendship Arch (Ukrainian: Арка Дружби Народів, Arka Druzhbi Narodiv, literally 'friendship arch') dedicated to the unification of Russia and Ukraine, was constructed in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
The Friendship Arch was constructed in 1982 by by sculptor A. Skoblikov and Architect I. Ivanov and others. It is a huge, 50 metres in Diameter, rainbow-shaped arch, made of titanium. It is called "The Yoke" by kievans...made from granite and depicts the participants of the Pereyaslavska Rada of 1654.- Wikipedia

Food, Glorious Food

2008-08-07T19:14:00.006+03:00

Ukrainian food is AWESOME!

(Sorry this is blurry.)

There is this fantastic restaurant, apparently a chain, in Kiev. It has "authentic" Ukrainian food. We went with our friends the first night, then we loved it so much that we all went back the next day for lunch.

Borscht

(tastes why better than it photographs)

Raisins and Cream Cheese (I think) Baked (YUM!)

Buttery Scalloped Potatoes

Cherry Vrenyky (Dumplings) with Sour Cream

Not from the same restaurant, but still amazing!

Better than Doughnuts!

Cream cheese filled, deep fried, powder sugar covered goodness on a plate.

Am I thin yet?

Gonna Wash that Dirt Right Out of My Clothes Pt. 1

2008-08-07T18:30:00.006+03:00

First I wanted to say, thank you for those of you who are reading this!

Keep the comments coming.

Second, I wanted to say that I will most likely not post every day, or even every few days. This may be a weekly thing. Adventuring with a 6 year old is a full time job! You can now subscribe to my blog, so you will be notified when I post, if you are so interested.

On with the post...

Before we moved (I'll blog about that too), Eve got sick, remember? Well she happened to throw up, just once, all over her sheet and warm fuzzy (blanket). I obviously had to wash these. However, my washing machine wasn't connected yet. So, I figured, I have a tub... I have laundry detergent... why not?

So I washed, and rinsed... I drained the water out.

Ummmm... now what...???

No dryer, no place to hang it... hmmmmm.

(I finally decided to put it on the kitchen table. Beggars can't be choosers.)

WE MOVED!!!

2008-08-05T08:33:00.001+03:00

We are doing great in our new place. Moved yesterday. More to come later on....
(I'm such a tease)

Yes, Kiev IS in Europe

2008-08-03T20:24:00.003+03:00

Lovingly & completely, swiped from Chick in Kiev - Thanks!

General Eve Cuteness

2008-08-03T12:51:00.006+03:00

Warning: Ok... so I can't help but to show off just how cute my daughter is... sorry. If this isn't your bag, don't read this one.

Water steps across from Independence Square. Stairs with water flowing down them where kids (and grown-ups) play, or just sit.

Not sure how or where my daughter learned gang signs.

This guy is one of those living statue people. He looked really real.

Eve just gave him 1 Hryvnia (.20 cents) to make him move.

In Soviet Russia...

2008-08-03T12:36:00.003+03:00

Wall runs into YOU...

Adventure to the "American Medical Center"

2008-08-03T06:03:00.013+03:00

Mom, hang up with United Airlines, we're fine.

(This is a loooooong blog, not for the faint of heart)

SOoooooo.... yesterday, I was so excited because I was FINALLY going to go see the churches, chapels, um, cathedrals, big pretty buildings...

St. Sofia's

St. Michael's

St. Nicholas

Eve woke up at her normal time (around 5:45) and said that her tummy was hurting. This didn't really surprise me because she hadn't really eaten much the day before. As we were almost completely out of food (the joys of shopping on foot), I gave her a nectarine and some nuked stale bread with jelly (appetizing, eh?). Well, she only ate 3/4 of the nectarine, and said her tummy still hurt. No biggie. She just needed to eat more, go potty, drink water, something. I gave her some kids pepto and told her to buck up.

We start our day, getting ready, meltdown over shoes & socks, running 30 minutes late to meet our friends, you know, the norm...

Eve is whining and complaining the whole time, "my this spot hurts" (any random place on her body), "my throat hurts", so on and so forth. I was about 77 degrees here yesterday, about the same as the days before, and pretty muggy. Now, that weather itself is enough to make Eve gripe a bit, especially after a meltdown, but this was getting excessive. I just kept telling her to drink water, and that when we got where we were going she needed to eat something.

We meet up with our friends, another teacher and his lovely wife (who were saints for standing around waiting for 30 minutes), and Eve just wasn't herself, very quiet. They even noticed it. We took the Metro into downtown, then hit the big underground mall, Globus (We had checked it out the day before) to get some food and go to the bathrooms (because you never know what you're going to find walking around). So, it had been about 30 minutes since we met up with our friends, and Eve was as whiny and complaining as ever - really very unlike her in front of others. We decide to get pizza (ordering was fun) at the food court.

The pizza got there and, no surprise, Eve didn't want any. She did take a bite, but was just not feeling up to eating. At this point I knew something was wrong. She's normally not a HUGE pizza fan, but she was just sitting there, looking sad. I asked her if she wanted to sit on my lap, when she climbed up, she was really warm. Hmmmm... maybe she's sick...

I asked her if she wanted to go home. She nodded, and off we went. This was the first time that we attempted to get home on our own: Metro, Minibus, 30 minute walk (or taxi... ok, usually taxi). I was quasi confident that I could get us home. Good enough!

By the time we were on the mini bus, Eve was burning up. She wasn't sweating, which I'm familiar with as I tend to get heat exhustion frequently, so I kept making her chug water. Her eyes were glassy and she was really sleepy. We HAD to go to the market before home because we had NO food. I knew that when she felt better, she would be starving and I wanted her to have something to eat.

At the market, she started telling me that she couldn't stand up anymore - she needed to sit. So everywhere in the market, she sat. Of course it didn't help that it took me a good 15 minutes to pick out water! (They have both sparkling and still water everywhere, so you have to make sure you grab the right one.) We got a taxi and finally got home. She was still extremely hot and pretty listless. I give her 3 kids tylenol (240 mg).

Mom, hang the phone up, she's fine... no, I don't need you to fly out here. No, I don't need to fly back home. Hahahaa

Having read some of my travel guides and info from the school, I knew that there was an American Medical Center. I also knew that there were English speaking taxi services. I called the Med Center, told them what was up with Eve. The doctor on the phone (who had an accent) said that I should bring her in "just in case".

Ok, so that began the saga of getting there. The Med center is across town, about 30 minute drive. I knew I had seen English speaking taxi services, I just wasn't sure which book I had seen them in. I find a page in a book that says mosts have an English speaker you just have to ask, "Pa Angliskii?" So I start calling the 5 taxi services in the book... two hang up on me when I ask, one says, "Yes." So I begin to speak, she laughs, then hangs up. One (who sounded about 10) said something in Ukrianian, put the phone down and walked away - for a LONG time. The last one said, "Nyet." Okay, struck out there. I'm not really at a location where I could flag a taxi. I begin looking through the rest of my paperwork the school gave me when I arrived. Then, the clouds parted, angels sang... I found the flyer the school had with all the emergency numbers... English Speaking Taxi Services. Ahhhhhhhh....

I called, told them where I was going, she said 15 minutes. Done.

(Wow, writing a novel here... not even to the Med center yet. You should take a break. Here's another picture of something pretty from Kiev that I haven't seen up close yet...

World War II Memorial

)

Okay... So, we finally make it to the "American" medical center. It's about 4:30. They are set up for both urgent care and regular doctor visits. I get there and fill out the paperwork, in English. They don't take Eve's Dad's insurance, so I have to eat the cost. There are two guys sitting on the couch watching Ukrainian TV. (Not patients. Not sure who they are...maybe drivers?) We are told that the Pediatrician is on an emergency call, and that she'll be back in an hour. Eve is crashed out, and still super hot. The tylenol did nothing for the fever. So we wait.

The doctor, "K", comes in, Ukrainian, English-speaking - she's very nice. She feels Eve's forehead with the back of her hand, then her cheek. It's funny seeing a doctor do this, but somewhat comforting that she is nurturing. She examines Eve, feeling her tummy. Eve, who is not good at being specific in these situations, keeps saying everything hurts. I finally give her a 1-2-3 scale, this helps a bit. K says that she wants to get blood and urine samples. The analyst came in (also an English-speaking Ukrainian) to do the blood test. (Yeah, the blood was REALLY fun - Eve was SCREAMING.) We were told it would be an hour and a half for the results. They put Eve in the "Trauma" room... where there were hospital beds. She was out.

Results came back and it turns out that she was dehydrated and might have a touch of the flu. Both K and the Analyst came in and told Eve that if she didn't drink a lot of water, that they'd have to give her an IV. Eve, immediately started to drink. K gave Eve a prescription for 4 medicines (all over the counter). What was awesome, is that she asked me if I wanted her to get them for me at the pharmacy next door. I asked her if that was alright with her and she said, "Sure, no problem, you speak English. I pay, and I bring you the bill." WOW... really cool of her.

When she came back, she explained the 4 meds.

All in all a good experience... $320. I didn't run into any Americans at the American Medical Center... but as long as they spoke English, I'm fine with that.

No, Mom, you don't need to call internationally. She's fine.

Mode of transportation, or an amusement park ride?

2008-08-02T22:40:00.006+03:00

From Fairly OddParents: (At Escalator Land)

Timmy: When do we get to the ride?

Dad: This is the ride!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Guard: You almost caused a nuclear war! What are you going to do next?

President: I'm goin' to Escalator Land!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
So to my knowledge, Kiev has the two longest (deepest) escalators in the world. One is in the Metro station that we use the most often.

Here are some pictures...

From the bottom... you can't see the top.

From Halfway... still can't see the top.

We timed it yesterday. This escalator takes exactly 2 whole minutes to go from bottom to top. Also, it's super fast.... like wind blowing through your hair fast.

Crazy.

"I want my mullet back"

2008-08-02T09:38:00.013+03:00

Turn your speakers on for this one!

(Watch this video first... I really wish I could have accompanying music to this blog!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnMj1FI9Jpo

WARNING: This blog is in NO way meant to be mean spirited, or offensive to people who chose to wear the hairstyle known as, "the mullet."

AKA: Business in front, PARTY in the back!

My first introduction to what seems to be the Ukrainian hairstyle of choice was in the Frankfurt airport while awaiting our departure to Kiev.

I must have seen 5-7 mullets just at the gate. I thought this must be some odd coincedence.

Little did I know...

It wasn't until we went walking downtown Kiev that it really hit me. The mullet, or at the very least a very shaggy hairstyle, is extremely popular here in Kiev.

There is the young mullet:

The buddy mullet:

The sightseeing mullet:

The romantic mullet:

The couple mullet:

And my personal favorite...

The Mullet of the Day

Stay tuned for future Mullets of the Day...

Something's Cooking

2008-07-31T00:05:00.004+03:00

As many of you know, I am a purchaser of boxed and canned foods. Anytime food. You know, you're hungry, but don't want to exert a whole lot of effort for something yummy. Viola! Chili... or Pasta Roni... Mac and Cheese (that's another story)...or Top Ramen even. They are quick, easy, last pretty much forever, and well suited to my 6 year old's finicky palate. (And thank God for the pre-cooked rotisserie chickens available at Safeway.) When I was not working when Eve was a baby, I used to cook, fairly regularly - kinda. (An oven was usually required.) However, in the last year or so I've gotten really lazy. Eve and I ate out a few times a week, then easy stuff for the rest of the meals.

So imagine my shock when I went to the store and had to buy... meat, raw. Now don't get me wrong, I'm by no means a newbie to the kitchen. But I realilzed that I would have to actually plan a meal, and make it... then eat it. I mean I'm walking aimlessly through this grocery store with the school's assistant operations manager, a driver, and Eve - no pressure, right. Every time I find something that has a photo of food, or a brand I recognize, I'm grateful. I finally decide that we will get some boneless, skinless chicken breasts for dinner.

Now, I'm living in an apartment that, until this trip, has 2 salad plates, a ceramic pot (no pot holders), a frying pan, and two coffee mugs. Really. That's it in terms of kitchen stuff. So after I decide to have chicken I realize that I have to cook the damn thing and make it somewhat edible. I come to the conclusion that I'll get some oil and fry it. I had already gotten some long grain white rice and pasta shells. I figured the chicken would go with either. (Ken, you'd appreciate this... I had to buy salt... in a huge bag, which is how it's sold here.)

We had the most boring, bland meal EVER! Eve liked the chicken, although she said the rice was... "different." Honestly, she was right, it was different and I'm not sure why.

Mom cooks!

Mixed Reviews

NRA would be proud

2008-07-30T23:42:00.007+03:00

To answer the question you were all wondering...

Yes, you can indeed buy a gun at the local supermarket here!

(The supermarket here is like a cross between Safeway and Costco (but smaller). There are certain sections though that are seperate from the rest of the store - like, you know, the pharmacy, electronics, guns...)

I know this picture is blurry. I am pretty bummed about that. However, seeing as I was being eyed by the person selling GUNS, I decided to stick with blurry.

Sign Language

2008-07-30T23:14:00.008+03:00

So, this was a sign I saw in the Frankfurt Airport. I had seen it before on a blog that I had been reading about Kiev. Eve loved acting out what the sign so clearly says:

"Run into this wall."

-The really hysterical part about this sign is that after 9 hours of making fun of it every time we saw it in the Airport, I walk into my new classroom in Kiev... and there it is.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This next one goes in the "from the mouths of babes" file. We were taking a *very* brief walk up and down our street last night (dusk) to see if there was anything around. As we were walking Eve says,

"Mommy, why does that sign say no ipods?"

- You can't blame her, it DOES look like an ipod. After I quit laughing and wiping away the tears, I explained that back in the "olden days", that's what gas pumps used to look like.

Our living arrangements

2008-07-30T09:22:00.001+03:00

So part of our contract here in Kiev, is that we are aided in finding housing as well as given a housing allowance. When we arrived in Kiev and finally got out of the airport, around 4am, we were taken to our "new apartment." We were told that if we wanted to keep it, it was ours, if not, we could look at others.

Here are some pictures of our current apartment...

Front Door

Front Bathroom (Working toilet)

What's behind curtain #1?

Surprise! A sauna filled with building supplies!

View from front door into Kitchen

Kitchen Pt.1

Kitchen Pt.2

Kitchen Pt.3 (Now with Eve!)

Kitchen Pt.4

View onto balcony

Sunrise view from Balcony

View into "Living Room" from balcony

"Living Room"
- this is what happens when you put a bit of everything in each suitcase, you need to open everything!

Living Room

Hallway

Master Bed
- Mattress is thin and folds up on one side for underbed storage

(notice the lack of pillows)

Master Bed - wardrobe

Bathroom (tub is about a foot and a half off the ground)

- water isn't really murky, it's just Eve's oatmeal bath.

Bathroom #2 (like the Lady Godiva pose?)

Bathroom again.. pink seat is plastic, which is good considering this toilet is already broken.

(Now with tilt-a-sink!) Sink is held on to the pipes with a med. size binder clip.

The doorjam of the entry, and both bathrooms.

Amazing we haven't tripped over this 3 inch "feature" yet!

What's behind curtain #2?

Pipes! One is the drainage pipe from the 5 floors above.

Eve's Room with couch/futon/bed thingy

One more thing... think your washing machine is complicated? Try working this one:

Trip to Nowhere

2008-07-30T06:34:00.001+03:00

So a bit about our journey halfway around the world... I'm going to be lazy and copy some of this from an email to my mom and Ken sent from Frankfurt Airport (now with pictures!).

"Okay, so my choices were to buy a 60 minute internet pass for 8 euro, or a 30 DAY pass for 29 euro... what the heck is up with that?!?!?!

Anyway, so I have 58 minutes. I will type fast... Here is the current scoop:

We are currently in Frankfurt it is 1:55pm here. (This is important) Due to bad weather in NY (actually the entire eastern seaboard) our flight from SFO was redirected to Cleveland. We sat there for about an hour then on to JFK (about 45 mins). Once we got to JFK, we were told that someone would meet us at the gate if we missed our connecting flight - which I thought we had (it was scheduled for 5:50pm, it was 6:45pm when we got in). So we waited in the long line at the gate where we came in and when we got to the front were told that we had to go out of the terminal and to the United ticket counter. We did that, waited in the United line, got to the front and were told that our connecting flight (Lufthansa) hadn't left yet so we could go ahead and go through security. We got to security to be told that we didn't have the right boarding passes, so we needed to check in with Lufthansa. Okay, so back to the check in counter, this time at Lufthansa.

We got our new tickets and off we went through security to the gate (which was packed!). By this time, it was 8:15, flight was now slated to leave at 9:00. We sat there until 8:30 or so when they told us that we were changing gates. We went to the other one and sat, and sat, and sat. We finally left at 10:55.

The flight was fantastic! I am totally flying Lufthansa again! Eve and I both slept most of the way.

So... now we arrive at Frankfurt... definitely missing our 9:50 am flight to Kiev. We were first told that since Lufthansa is on strike that many flights had been canceled. (YIKES!) We were sent to the Transfer ticket line, where we were told that our tickets had already been transferred to the next available flight to Kiev. We then had to go pick up our new tickets (another line) for our flight...

LH 3234 - departing Frankfurt at 10:05pm (or so) arriving in Kiev at 1:30am! ..."

So yes, we had to wait in the Frankfurt Airport from 1:30 until 10:05!

Need I remind you that I have a six year old?

Here are some pictures as to how we passed the time.

(Eve's first meal out of the US - McDonalds! Btw,they had a Lemon Shrimp Sandwich. Hmmm...)

(McCafe - McDonald's version of Starbucks)

(Our view from McCafe seating area - 350 seats - we sat here for about 4 hours.)

(As you can see, we had everything out - we used everything I packed!)

(Bored? Take silly pictures of course! Mom is obviously really pooped at this point.)

(At the gate, way early, just killing time. Eve could run around here since it was deserted.)

Okay, so after our crazy long wait in Frankfurt, we finally got on our flight to Kiev. This flight was of course, delayed until about 11 or so because we didn't have food or drinks for the plane (Lufthansa strike). We got to Kiev a bit after 2:30 (finally!)