There's nothing like arriving home after being gone for a while.
Random Frost Family tradition: after a long trip, we return home to a Snoopy beach towel {that is probably 25+ years old, which is as old as I am btw, weird.} hung up in the bathroom. The towel has something along the lines of, "Happiness is a warm blanket" written on one side, and my family is going to have to help me out with what's written on the other side! Totally blanked on it now.
Anywho, the home that I was talking about is my host family's home in Oster. When I get off the bus and walk the 15 minutes down hill to their house, I know I'm home again. The dog greets me at the gate. The cats dart in and out of the open door. Food is offered before I even have time to take off my jacket. It's feels so good to go there and be home.
And then, there's my bed. A queen-size bed that I can roll ALL over and still not use all of the available room. It's glorious. That's all.
I got to visit one of my old teacher's Lyuda. She's a TCF (culture/technical teacher) for Peace Corps trainees. It was fun to get to chat with her and catch up on life. I also got to meet the new group of volunteers that are living in Oster. I can remember how excited we were the first time a real PC volunteer came to visit us during training. The questions we bombarded them with were probably ridiculous.
I got to say hi to a few of the babushkas who live in the apartment building across the street from my house. They complimented my Russian {nice ego boost} and asked where all of my cluster mates live now. Even though it was pouring rain when we stood outside talking, they still had to catch up on all of their gossip. Babushkas in Ukraine are about as gossipy as a group of middle school girls.
Can't wait to go back and visit my host fam's house again soon. Christy {one of my host sisters} showed me how to make a bead bracelet I've been dying to learn how to make. Super excited to buy more beads and start making them.
It snowed/sleeted/rained/hailed in Oster today. Nice April Fool's joke, eh? Not so much.
I splurged and had Domino's pizza today in Kiev. Super yummy margarita pizza. If only I could get some Papa John's garlic sauce or Kraft Ranch Dressing. :)
My energy level is still lacking after the pneumonia. Walking for 10-15 minutes has been tiring me out. I feel so old having to sit for a while and recuperate after something as simple as going to the store.
Had a good and fairly uneventful ride to Kiev today {as opposed to my last ride home from Kiev, described here}. Not only did I get my favorite seat, the front passenger seat, but this was the most pimped out van/marshrutka I have ever ridden in in Ukraine. The sliding door on the side where all of the passengers get on/off was automatic and controlled with a button next to the driver {never seen that here in Ukraine!}. Our driver had a radar detector, a GPS, and a very nice stereo system.
The view from my seat--the sign reads "KIEV" on the front so that we can pick up people in villages along the way if there are extra seats.
Why yes, that's a giant fake tarantula. This was the one con to the ride. Remember this story?
The personal video screen in front of me, in addition to a mini-screen on the cd/dvd player. BTW, it's totally normal for Ukrainian drivers to decorate their dashboards with crap hanging from them, no matter how distracting.
We lucked out and got to watch a Russian western for over half the ride. I listened to Glee. The driver watched the screen in front of me too. Surprisingly, he was one of the best driver's I've had since I've been in Ukraine. Driving, texting, talking on the phone, watching a movie, and eating sunflower seeds the entire ride. Totally normal as well.
Upon arriving on the outskirts of Kiev, we were greeted with stand still traffic which made us 30 minutes late. We took a different route than we normally do, and I'm guessing it's because they are doing road construction on a highway for Euro 2012 which is in a short 2 months. Traffic was brutal. And then on top of it, our driver randomly got pulled over by a cop for random search/questioning. On the plus side, because of the random route we took, we happened to pass very close to my hostel and I was able to get out there and not have to take the metro. Nice surprise :)
Mary Kathryn {from my link cluster days in Oster} was in Kiev today too. So, we met at the hostel and headed out to a favorite eatery: Chinese food. I hated Chinese food in the states but absolutely love getting it here in Kiev.
Mary Kathryn, with our dominated spread: veggie fried noodles, spicy fried tofu, and a spring roll.
the fried tofu is to die for.
I'm exhausted now. And I have to get up early to be at the Peace Corps office for blood work {and it's fasting blood work at that}. Hopefully last tests to monitor all my blood levels and make sure the pneumonia is gone. The past few nights I haven't gotten as much sleep because we just had daylight savings time on Sunday. I still don't have all my energy back from the pneumonia. That thing literally sucked the life out of me...for weeks! I hope none of you have to experience it! Night night. Much love :)
Day 1 of skiing in Slavske was done at the smallest of 3 mountains in the area. I'm not even sure what the name of the mountain is. BUT, the ride up the mountain was one for the records. You see, the roads in Slavske are covered in compacted ice/snow. No sand or salt to help vehicles along. That means that you need one heck of a vehicle to get around on the roads...
These hummer/jeep machines of a car are everywhere in Slavske. They can handle anything, including driving over the frozen river (albeit with a car of alarmed passengers).
Vicki, ready to go skiing!
Dan and Kym in the backseat (there are two more additional jump seats facing sideways in the back of the car). Our skis went underneath the seats and are under Dan and Kym's feet.
The father that lived at the house we stayed at was our driver for the weekend. Kolya made quite the pretty penny off of us because you need to take a taxi to get to the mountains. But, it was well worth it. So on the first day, not only did he drive us to the mountain, he drove us UP the mountain. It was a riot of a ride and well worth my 20 UAH (less than $3 USD).
Kym and myself near the top of the mountain.
Lydia in red, Kym in yellow
There we go!
at the base of the mountain...not exactly a ski lodge, we'll save that for ski day #2 and 3.
At the bottom of one of the runs--all of the little huts/tables on the side are selling shaslik (shish kabobs), fried potatoes, and hot wine
Bennett and his bug goggles
Kymmy Gibbler and her banana yellow pants :)
Lydia, Vicki, Dan--the paper ticket that Dan has in his mouth was good for one ride up on the "t-bar" lifts. To go halfway up the mountain cost 6 UAH (about 75 cents) and to take the t-bar all the way cost 8 UAH ($1 USD).
To rent skis in Slavske ran about 50 UAH per day (around $6 USD). Mine fit like a glove and worked pretty well once I remembered how to ski :) Day 1 of skiing was good--a nice warmup, but day 2 and 3 were days for the books. Pristine skies, 2-3 feet of fresh powder, a chairlift, doing my first black run (and moguls). Yep, I'd go back in a heartbeat :) already planning next years ski trip! It was some of the best skiing I've ever done...and you'll have to wait til tomorrow for those pics :)
I am almost 100% better. Not quite, but almost :) It seems that either my stomach has forgotten how to be hungry (hmmm, I highly doubt it...) or is still a bit queasy because not a whole lot of foods sounds great right now. But, nonetheless, I wanted to begin blogging about the ski trip while it was fresh on my mind.
Like any good trip in Ukraine, traveling to Slavske meant an overnight train ride. Slavske is located in the far west part of Ukraine in the Carpathian mountains. The trip was completely worth it, even if it meant being sick for a week once I got home.
Traveling with me on the train were my new{ish} sitemates (and sweet married couple) Dan and Vicki. I am so, so glad that they got put in Kirovograd with me and will be in Ukraine throughout the rest of my service :) Dan is more OCD about things than I am sometimes (hard to believe, huh?) and one of his OCD habits is baking a perfect chocolate chip cookie. I feel like I'll do a blog post {eventually} dedicated solely to his CCC's, but for now, just know that they're greeeeeeeat! (like Tony the tiger would say). I tease Dan about his CCC's but am secretly jealous because I still have yet to get my CCC's baked to perfection.
Dan, sitting out in the hallway of the train on a jump-seat
It just so happened to be Dan and Vicki's first time on the train...which meant that I wanted them to have a good impression of train travel in Ukraine. We opted for kupe seating (2nd class) which worked out perfectly because there were 4 of us in our little cabin :)
Vicki and myself eating CCC's with milk. Perfection.
Who was the fourth roomie in our little bunk? None other than one of my bffs, Miss Kym Starno.
Kymmy poo and Dan, dunkin' away
Our humble abode{s} while in Slavske were pretty much awesome. Around 40 PCVs met up which meant we needed two mountain cabins to house all of us.
The house that I stayed in, with their big doggie, Rex, outside.
Unpacking in our own room :)
Dan and Vicki's room
That's all for part 1 of our shooping adventure!! More soon :)
I've been the laziest person ever today (literally: eating, reading, and watching tv shows. kind of embarrassing). BUT, everyone needs a day like that now and then in my opinion. I chose today.
part of my lunch today: a modified version of this recipe
That recipe called for Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese, neither of which I had. Instead, I used lemon pepper spices, garlic salt, and regular salt. Pretty delish. And simple!
Back to the topic at hand: Russian Language Refresher. A week ago, I was in the snowy city of Chernigov with 50-some Peace Corps Volunteers. The goal? To practice, improve, and motivate our Russian at site. I enjoy speaking Russian in Kirovograd. Well, in Ukraine for that matter {sidenote: if someone had told me 15 years ago that I would be studying Russian and enjoying it, I would have laughed in their face.}. So, I was very excited to get to go to language refresher. It's a great time to see your friends who lives far, far away, and I was hoping that it would be motivation for me to actually study Russian at site.
Every day consisted of a few lessons of your choosing. I chose a class on perfect/imperfect verbs (very helpful), gerunds and verbal adverbs (horribly unhelpful to me because I can't even tell you what those are in English...), and verbs of motion (incredibly helpful and needed!). OH!! And one of my favorite classes: Russian cursive.
Russian (and Ukrainian) cursive is truly an art. Students learn cursive starting in the first form and study is for SIX MONTHS. Generally, it is incredibly uniform (for boys and girls alike!) and simply beautiful.
The reason it is hard for us to learn is because many of the cursive letters look the same with a crazy amount of loops.
This picture floated around facebook for a while and made most PCVs here in Ukraine laugh and shake their head. The first word says Militsia (police). I can't tell you what the second word says. Maybe something about listening?
This is my attempt at writing some words in cursive. As my sweet teacher told me, "Your letters are dancing..."
Every letter is supposed to be at the same height and at the same slant. And then you have to remember "connectors" which separate similar looking letters. Sigh...in time :)
During the evenings at language refresher, you could choose different "fun" classes to attend. Arts and crafts, jewelry making, chess, dancing, etc...and all of these lessons were taught in Russian. I chose to remember how to do knitting and re-learn the art of cross-stitch.
My turtle!
The last morning of language refresher, Catharine (a fellow K-grad oblast volunteer!), Jenny, and myself were working on our cross-stitch projects. One of the PC staff members came over and asked Catharine if she had just started hers the night before. In all actuality, Catharine had started hers three days before but hadn't had time to work on it outside of class. It gave us all quite a good laugh :) This picture was taken moments after that minor slip-up :)
Catharine, Jenny, and Lydia
Courtney and Anne in the back
much better! Anne is working on her knitting as you an see...
Also offered as one of the "fun" classes was a basket-weaving class. One of my sweet friends Theo took the class and worked on her basket on the marshrutka ride back to Kiev...
The inside of a nice marshrutka {note: this is not what the city marshrutkas look like in K-grad)! Meredith (with the brown curly hair) is also working on her basket :)
The last night of refresher a small talent show was held. I'll let these videos speak for themselves. On the video below, if you click on the red part that says "youtube" you can watch a larger version of the video. Enjoy!
I honestly can't tell you what they're saying in this video, but this is a very common Ukrainian song :)
As a joke, someone signed up Nathan and Richard to count to 1000 in Russian. They were pretty good sports about it...
It was -30C (-22F) when I woke up this morning. Brr!!
As I lay in bed this morning all nice and toasty, I didn't want to get out of bed and into my cold(er) room. Last night, I used one of my brother and sis-in-laws Christmas/birthday presents. A hot water bottle!
I have the red one :)
I've never had one of these things, but holy cow was it phenomenal! When I get in bed, my toes are usually freezing...so I tucked this down at my feet and let it warm up my toesies while I read my book (Chasing Harry Winston). More on the book in a minute.
I conducted my morning like normal. Made hot water for my instant coffee. Cut up a banana and ate it with yogurt (note: had to thaw the yogurt first because my fridge is frozen...). Turned on my computer and checked email and facebook. And then, my phone rang.
It was Olena, my counterpart, on the phone telling me the most glorious news ever: I didn't have to come to work today! "See you Monday," were the last words we spoke. Yippeeeeeeeee! That meant that my day became a LOT more productive, at least in the scheme of things that needed doing at my apartment.
Important things first...I tried this video that my brother posted on my blog yesterday. Turned out to be an epic fail from my window, but it's still cool to watch the lady do it!
Eventually, I started making veggie chili (I base it off this recipe but definitely can't follow it to a tee. Half of the ingredients aren't available here...). Tastes pretty darn good if I do say so myself! Watched the newest episode of Glee. Cleaned up the apartment. Thought about showering and then decided it was too cold. Then decided it was time to go to the store. But first, let's take a look at the weather (this is tonight and tomorrow's forecasts, but they were basically the same):
current temp right now: -24C
gonna get down to -29C in the morning but it will feel like -30C. Wowzers.
So, I decide to go to the store. Kishenya is my favorite store in Kirovograd but it's a marshrutka ride away. I wanted to go yesterday but didn't think I could physically wait for a marshrutka in these temps, so I opted for the grocery store that's across the street from my apartment. I'm pretty spoiled, I know.
There are a number of marshrutkas I can take to get out to Kishenya. Instead of waiting for one that I was positive would go there (I had already been standing outside for 2-3 minutes), I saw the #5 that I knew went out to another store nearby. I assumed that it would go down the street that Kishenya is on.
I assumed wrong.
Let me state that marshrutkas are not easy to see out of to begin with. But, when the windows are completely iced over on the inside of the mashrutka, it makes it really hard to see out. It was literally like riding in a big box with a tiny hole to see out of the front. I had to guess where we were half the time. We stopped a few times and let people off and more people got on. Eventually, I figured we had to be getting close. And then, we stopped. Everyone started filing off the bus and I could tell that we were at the end of the line...and nowhere near Kishenya.
I had to laugh at myself for not waiting for a marshrutka I knew would go to Kishenya. At this point, I was by some apartment buildings and could see EpiCenter about 500 yards away. Head down, hood up, hands in my pockets, I started walking. Let me add that the first breath you take outside literally makes you cough because it's so cold. My eyes were tearing up. I wasn't all that cold, just feeling incredibly stupid because I wasn't patient :) I stopped in EpiCenter and looked around, mainly just to warm up. EpiCenter is kind of like a Home Depot, while Kishenya is like a Wal-Mart/Target.
Not sure how far EpiCenter and Kishenya are away from each other, but I had a revelation sometime along the walk (it's probably half a mile if I had to guess). I had heard talk of people saying their eyelashes froze...but I didn't understand what they meant. About halfway through the walk, my eyelashes felt weird and wet. And then they started sticking together. It is SUCH a weird feeling. It must come from the fact that my eyes were tearing up like crazy and I'm sure the wind doesn't help the situation either. Whatever the scientific reason, by the time I got to Kishenya, my eyelashes were icy and white-ish. I didn't have a camera or I would have taken a picture of this phenomenon.
While at Kishenya, I bought a rolling pin. I have really been wanting one (instead of using a bottle of hairspray in a ziploc bag) and decided that I will truly use it in the next 17 months. I plan on making homemade wheat thins sometime tomorrow or Saturday (recipe here!). We'll hope they turn out well :)
Back to the book I'm reading. This is the first book book I've read since I have had my Kindle. I picked this book up in the Peace Corps office last weekend and thought I would give reading a real, physical book a shot again and give my Kindle a rest.
It is SO weird to be reading a real book. My fingers instantly try to hit the "next page" button. Or even worse, there are words every page that I want to look up the actual definition for. Can't do that with a real book :( Don't know how I feel about this because I absolutely love having real books on my shelf and picking them up to look at them. Read the plot. See what other books the author has written. It's so strange now to have it all electronic. BUT, I'm very thankful I do have the Kindle because without it, I wouldn't have read as many books as I have (somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-50 since I've been gone?).
I am tired and cold and ready to curl up with my hot water bottle and my real book :) goodnight blog readers!
It's cold. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. This is the coldest weather I believe I've ever been exposed to. People in Ukraine ask me what the weather is like in Alabama and Oklahoma. "Not like this..." is all I can answer. I'm a misfit because I'm not wearing a wolf (true story), mink, squirrel (also true story), or fox fur coat. BUT, I can thankfully say that I am dutifully prepared now as of February 1st, 2012.
Why, today, you ask? Because of my most recent care package (still Christmas and birthday package...only 6-7 weeks late) that arrived today. Behold, the Snuggie.
It's not just a Snuggie. It's an OU Snuggie.
The fur hat also completed the look (relax, it's not real, PETA).
A lot of my PCV friends have Snuggies that have been sent to them in care packages. I think friends and family send them thinking it's a funny joke, but in all actuality, it is the warmest thing I'm wearing at the moment. I am now part of the CK (only a select few will understand that acronym) club of proud PCV Snuggie owners. Thanks Mom and Pops :)
It is so cold in Ukraine that schools basically throughout the country are closed until Monday. The schools do not have the money to pay for the heat and it's too cold for the kids to work in a classroom. I had one kid come to English club today. There are lots of sad stories and articles online about this cold spell that is wreaking havoc all over Eastern Europe. Say a little prayer for the people (and animals!) that are left outside in this weather. It is truly miserable. Read about it here. I wanted to go to my favorite grocery store (a marshrutka ride away) but could not stand outside waiting for the bus. I haven't seen any dogs the past few days...hope they're huddling together somewhere :(
In other news, my fridge (on the balcony) is completely frozen. Good thing there wasn't any American food of high importance in there (like Velveeta!).
Today's words of the day:
норка-mink
лиса-fox
You can probably guess why... :)
Goodnight Ukraine. See you in the morning when it's going to feel like a balmy -30C (-22F). Yep.
I am home safe and sound after a long hiatus of marshrutka rides, metro rides, bus rides, long and incredibly cold walks in the snow/ice, a visit to my wonderful host family, and most importantly, Russian language refresher! I arrived home last night and made myself my first bowl of easy mac :)
It was phenomenal (thanks Hayley and 'rents!). It tasted just like home.
I went to work today and got our summer plans started for numerous summer camps and Europe trips and English clubs. However, today, the subject of the post is on a small victory I obtained:
I finally have a new PO box lock!!!!!!!!!!!!
It has only taken a month for them to find and install a new lock. The good news? The key works and I didn't have to pay for it! The bad news? They only gave me one copy. I'll be going to get a copy made very soon :)
Waiting for me in my PO box was a package slip (for a package from my bro and sis-in-law!), a letter from my Pops (complete with Zits cartoons and a $5 bill that I plan on showing students tomorrow), and a large squishy envelope from an address I didn't know. I would normally not be able to contain myself from ripping into all of the packages, but since I had two other things to open, I managed to save my brother and sis' Christmas/birthday package to be opened on a skype date late tonight or tomorrow.
Upon getting home with my loot, I remembered that sweet Lyndsay had told me to be on the lookout for something in the mail. The mail is still WAY backed up over here and I wondered how long it would take for it to get here. This is Miss Lyndsay Jain, who in my phone is also known as Tarzan from a summer camp we did together in Toronto :) Get it? "Me Tarzan, you Jane."
Lynds and I on Senior Recognition Sunday (2010)
Also taking part in the package sending was Lyndsay's sweet boyfriend Matt Schlegel (or Schlegel as I have always called him!). I have known Schlegel for a long, long time...like maybe since 2005? I was trying to think back and remember the first time we met and I honestly couldn't remember. Pretty sure the first trip we traveled on together was Choir Tour 2006 to Washington D.C.
3-d movie...Matt's in the blue striped shirt.
Ever since that trip, I have been all over the United States and Mexico and Canada with him...and Lyndsay accompanied us on a lot of those trips the past few years!
"The date train's a comin', the date train's a comin'..."--Juners 2008
caught in a bit of downpour in Glacier National Park (in Canada!)
at the double Quincieniera in Mexico (with Chris!)
surprise going away party, when I was about to leave for Ukraine...
Anywho, you see how much these two mean to me. I could continue on, but let's just say that they are two of the sweetest and most genuine people I know. They both have a love for life that is simply contagious and makes you always want to look on the positive side of things. So, as I opened up my package, this is what I found...
I instantly recognized their own separate handwritings and was so excited to read their sweet HANDWRITTEN notes inside :) And boy do they know me well...pics from home and Reese's Pieces?
Inside the large red envelope (which was the last thing I opened) was one of the sweetest surprises ever:
a Christmas card signed from a lot of my kiddos and friends at church :)
it made me laugh out loud and smile from ear-to-ear as I read each and every note on it.
Thank you LJ and Schlegel for going to all of the trouble of getting everyone to sign it. And thank you to everyone who signed the card! It absolutely made my day! And let's just say that the Reese's were an added bonus :)
After my unsuccessful day of shopping for a new PO box lock yesterday, I found myself finishing work and feeling brave enough to go deal with the post office lady on my own. My counterpart was busy, and this weekend has yet another Ukrainian holiday (this time, Old New Year)...which means that the post office would be closed at some point over the weekend.
I walked into the post office...practicing vocab in my head. The same lady from all of the previous times saw me, barely acknowledged that I was standing a foot in front of her, so I did what any other American would do: I waited to be acknowledged. I never know if they are working or on a break...and most Ukrainians would go up to the window and ask that. And I guess I could, but I wasn't feeling that brave. After a minute, I finally said, "Excuse me..." and got her attention.
The look on her face was pretty priceless: Oh good, it's that girl again.
I quickly explained that I had been to the bazaar and looked at all of the shops for a new lock. None of them have any. Do you know anywhere else that I can look? She informed me that the manager would be in tomorrow and that if I was available, I should come see what he can do for me then. Victory! After thanking her profusely, I timidly asked her if I could see in my post office box. I cringed...waiting to see her groan and get out of her chair. She calmly said yes, and even remembered what number it was. It was all pretty harmless today dealing with her...somebody up above was looking out for me :)
And...when she opened the case for me, I did in fact have a package slip waiting in my box!!!!!!!!!
As I left the building, I walked around the corner to go to the building where I pick up packages. Then I saw the line.
The window that I always go to pick up packages had a little sign in it that I couldn't understand. The girl was sitting there, and I awkwardly asked her if she was working. She said no, and to get in another line.
"Um, ma'am, can you tell me which line I need to be in?"
She hurriedly pointed to the longest line in the room. Of course. So, I moved to it and started waiting. At least 5 more people came in after I did, asked the lady the same question, and got at the end of my line. I had to avoid eye contact this entire time because people always seem to pick me of all people to ask a question to...like I can A) understand them and B) would know where to send them.
We wait...the man behind me coughs ALL over my back...and picks his nose. I turned around and glared at him a few times. I was not having luck with public places today (this morning on my marshrutka, one of the kids had a dirty diaper. It was almost bad enough to make me get off and walk...). I texted a few of my PCV friends. I wait. One person in the line gets through. Now there are only 6 people in front of me.
And then, the lady who normally helps me with packages magically decides to start working again and calls me over. "девушка!"--meaning "girl!" I quickly turned around and realized she was talking to me. I squealed with delight (to myself) as I ran over and gave her my package slip. She quickly went to find it in the back room...and I was home free. No more coughing man. No more nose picking.
The grin on my face made my cheeks hurt as I rushed home.
The package was one from my brother and sister-in-law. I got to skype with them while I opened it...and it was full of surprises for both of us because it was mailed just over a month ago! It included some Christmas things that I will still use...in addition to some stellar food choices :)
**natural Jif peanut butter (which I've never had!)
**funfetti holiday cake mix AND icing
**marshmellows for s'mores (and for Ukrainians to see what a marshmellow is...)
**candy canes (these were because Ukrainians had NO idea what a candy cane is...)
**Reese's Pieces (I couldn't resist and opened them tonight. Whoops.)
**DESIGN MAGAZINESSSSSS :)
and perhaps my favorite thing in the package:
pop-tarts. oh.my.gosh.
Thank you thank you Jeremy and Tina :) perfect timing because I'm just about finished with my bag of Chex mix from mom. I don't know how long I can save pop-tarts. Pretty sure I've eaten those things since I was probably 10 years old?
I am trying to play catch-up on all of these random Christmas/New Years performances I went to during the month of December. This was a practice that I went to when Maria (one of my link-cluster mates and sweet, sweet friends!) was in town. My counterpart and I were showing her around my work...walked in the dance room...were invited to come and watch...and I luckily had my camera. These kids were precious...maybe 9-10 years old. Enjoy!
Today's word of the day was cough. You can probably figure out why.
Since arriving in Ukraine almost 9 months ago, one of my favorite activities to do is people watch. No matter where you are, what time of day it is, or what the weather is, I usually have one fun experience people watching every day.
One thing that is different here in Ukraine is the fact that people don't wear sunglasses during the winter. In fact, they stopped wearing sunglasses a couple months ago. I, however, still wear mine. Maybe just to stick out, maybe to people watch, maybe just because I like to watch people's reactions of seeing me in sunglasses. Nonetheless, I enjoy wearing them on days where it's sunny and they are needed. I wouldn't want extra wrinkles after all... :)
Today I wore my sunglasses while walking to the post office. I noticed more people stare at my entire outfit today than I have in sometime. For one thing, I wasn't wearing my giant winter jacket complete with fur trim. Why is that? Because it was FIFTY degrees here today. Instead, I wore my North Face fleece (without fur) and got the oddest looks for it. I also stuck out because I'm not going to wear 4" stilettos for my trek to the grocery store. If I know I'm going to walk a lot, I wear my tennis shoes, which most females don't even own here. Needless to say, I got some unbelievably long stares today...all of which I could secretly stare back at thanks to my sunglasses.
My sunglasses have also come in handy a few times on marshrutka rides. I don't think I wrote about the time that I was sitting on a marshrutka, minding my own business, when a lady got on with a cowl neck jacket on. What was nestled right under her chin in the cowl neck jacket? A rat. An honest to goodness, live, decently large rat. I couldn't help but stare as she found her seat. And just because I couldn't help myself, I stood up earlier than my stop so that I could turn around and look at her again and make sure that I wasn't seeing things. It was real, I promise.
If only my sunglasses had a secret camera attached to them. Oh, the things I could show y'all...
There is the more recent adventure that just happened last weekend. I was on my marshrutka ride from Rivne to Kiev (a four hour ride) after our Thanksgiving day hoopla. There was an older babushka on the ride too. I drew a picture to help you visualize this experience...which is key to the story.
So, this is a marshrutka, typical for longer rides (as opposed to the ones I ride around town). I am the "L," the babushka is the "B," and there is a sliding van door by the seat in front of me. Also key for the story background.
We were probably 30 minutes outside of Kiev when I was awoken from my slumber (thanks to the sunglasses) by the babushka yelling and carrying on about something. The driver (a younger guy...probably in his 30s) was yelling right back to her, completely unafraid of whatever she was saying. She spoke Ukrainian so I didn't catch the whole conversation, but in my mind, it went something like this:
Baba: "It's really hot on here. Open the windows."
Driver: "We're flying down the interstate. I'm not opening the windows. Take of your full-on winter parka and fur hat, and maybe you'll cool off."
I was still wearing my heavy down jacket and was quite comfortable. Maybe the baba was sick. Maybe she didn't want to take off her jacket. All that I know is that I'm thanking my lucky stars I wasn't sitting in the seat in front of me. The baba was sweating profusely and kept dabbing her face with an incredibly old and gross looking rag. Now would also probably be a good time to mention that this was a BIG baba. She squashed the poor girl sitting next to her in the two-seater. Again, thankful it wasn't me.
So, as we're flying down the interstate going at least 60 mph, she leans across the man sitting in front of me to OPEN THE VAN DOOR. That's right. It SLAMS open and the driver turns around to see what was going on. He then proceeds to slam on the breaks so that the door will shut. She starts yelling at him for shutting the door...and I'm sitting there wishing that I had another PCV with me just to witness this whole situation. Don't worry, it gets better.
After the driver yells at her to sit down and gives her a good verbal lashing, we approach Kiev. We start dropping people off at various stops along the way, and soon our once full marshrutka is half full. Or half empty? :) Anywho, the seat in front of me is now open, as well as the triple-seater in front of the baba. She was too large to maneuver around to the row of three seats, so she chose the single seater in front of me. It's high traffic time in Kiev as we're heading towards the bus station, when out of nowhere our driver has to slam on the breaks (a common occurrence here). Apparently, the old baba was not ready for him to slam on the breaks, because she goes FLYING forward. I'm not sure whether the aisle seat on the triple-seater is supposed to lift forward (for people to be able to pass by), or whether her brut force knocked the bolts loose, but regardless, the seat moved forward and the baba ended up in the floor.
The driver didn't know what was happening as the baba started screaming and cussing and crying for someone to help her up. The two closest people to the baba were myself and the tiny girl who was her old seat mate. Luckily, two men jumped up from the back of the marshrutka to help her into her seat. This was by far one of the weirdest marshrutka experiences I've had in my time here, and I'm certain it's not going to be my last. As soon as we parked at the bus station, I hightailed it out of there.
During my adventures today (all with sunglasses), I went to Kishenya, a GIANT supermarket I had yet to visit. Holy. Cow. This is the motherload of all stores. I think I spent an hour just walking around, then I decided to get a cart and start loading up. I bought myself a little Christmas tree for 30 griev (less than $4)...and a shower curtain! A hot pink, polka dot shower curtain. I also bought some hangers which I can now use thanks to the fact that my landlady cleaned out a piece of furniture in the back room with hanging space. They even have books in there, including the Harry Potter's in Russian. I really want to buy them before I leave...it's one of my goals to read the first one sometime while I'm here (in Russian).
Tomorrow I've got English clubs back to back, but first my landlady will come to collect rent money in the morning. I can't begin to express to you how excited I am to have some friends visit this weekend. And the week after that, we get our new volunteers in K-grad. And then it's Christmas. And then it's my birthday. And then it's New Years!
I've decided for every post I make in December, to do a random part of a movie or TV show clip that I enjoy and makes me laugh. What shall be the first one I share with you...none other than one of my favorite movies of all time :)
I love old pictures and videos. Anyone who remotely knows me knows that...and if you've read my blog for more than 10 posts, you've probably figured that out too.
Tomorrow, I have my first real English club meetings. So, on a whim tonight, I ran over to Phil's apartment (read took marshrutka #50 all the way across town) to get some beginner alphabet songs off of one of his hard drives. His poor computer is on the fritz...so he let me bring his flash drive home with the songs/videos on it. I took marshrutka #9a home (which runs the same route as 50 as far as I can tell...so why do they have two? Who knows.) and popped in his flash drive. As I'm going through some of the songs, a title catches my eye:
C is for Cookie
I had a flashback to this moment that is luckily captured on film (sorry it's kinda fuzzy...iphone vid):
"Singing" the song is the one and only Trey Pirtle. We were on choir tour two years, waiting to leave from a concert. Anyone who's been on choir tour can tell you, funny times are often had on the charter bus. Things like that happen...pretty regularly. And I usually have my camera ready. I'll post one more example, just because it makes me smile and reminisce, and then I'll get back to the point of the post...
sidenote: you might want to turn down your volume on this next video...fair warning. Also, click in the middle of the video to start playing.
Believe it or not, everyone on that bus can sing pretty dang well. Maybe not when it's Backstreet Boys though. Continuing...
So, where were we? Let's recap: I plugged in Phil's jump drive, started looking through the files, found C is for Cookie, went off on a tangent, and we're back. Turns out, C is for Cookie is not just a song that the Cookie Monster sings! In fact, it's an educational video that is supposed to help kids with the alphabet. Maybe everyone knew that but me. I must have missed that episode of Sesame Street as a child...or maybe it was on while I watched Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
Whatever the reason, I'm thankful to have an excuse to laugh hysterically at good times from choir tours of past years. And, to learn a new song to show my Ukrainian kiddos (and adults) who will be studying English for the first time tomorrow! Don't worry, I'll save this song for a bit on down the road...
If you want to watch the original Cookie Monster version, here it is:
That video has over TEN MILLION views. Pretty impressive, huh?
Happy Monday :) I hope this blog made you laugh at some point during your reading.
What a glorious game. I only wish I could have been there to watch it in person. However, the highlights from yesterday's OU/saxet game can be found online...click here if you want to see some pretty awesome moves thanks to the Sooners :) no corny dogs or funnel cakes for me this year...I'm banking that my family and friends ate more than enough for me at the State Fair of Texas though. This year marked my sister-in-law Tina's first OU game to go to...and what a game she picked! I can't imagine how loud the Cotton Bowl Stadium was. Luckily, my brother and mom sent me some pics to show me all the fun I was missing out on! Boomer Sooner, baby.
Jeremy and Tina arrived in OK on Thursday...only to leave on Friday morning southbound on I-35 (along with about 40,000 other Sooner fans!). With my brother at the wheel, my mom tried to keep the gasps (due to his crazy Boston driving skills) to a minimum. Lunch was at Rudy's in Denton, which is without a question where the traffic begins piling up for OU/sexat weekend. Since you can't go to OU/saxet without heading to the West End on Friday night, the fam had dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse.
Jeremy (brother), Tina (sister-in-law), Mom, and Pops at dinner on Friday
Oh the sights you'll see in the West End.
Since the game was at 11 am on Saturday, the fam decided to take the DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit--I think?) to the fairgrounds with the help and expertise of Dallas resident Mitchell Crow. Gotta love Momma Crow and Mitchy (PS--Mitchell, since when is your hair that long!)
Like father, like son...Pops was probably beside himself on the DART due to excitement for the game.
At some point, the Frost clan must have run into cousin Denise...this was a surprise to see in my inbox!
Tina, being introduced the goodness of State Fair foods. Do they even have State Fairs up in the northeast??
Mitchell and mama Donna
Jeremy and Tina
Mom buying stuff at the Fair...can't wait to hear what she purchased. Without a doubt there are probably hysterical stories that go along with it.
Frost Family seats at the game...
Boomer Sooner Baby :)
The Golden Hat...proud property of the Sooners now!
Celebratory dinner at Bubba's (if you've never heard of Bubba's in Dallas, you've got to try it. Home-cookin', southern style, greasy goodness. I promise, your tummy will thank you.)
Jeremy, Kevin, Pops, Tina, Mom, Mitchell
I woke up to a message this morning from Kevin saying, "I'm about to have dinner with your ma and pops. This will be my first Frost for a night adventure. Super excited." That made me smile sooo big Kev! There are definitely times when I miss my friends and fam, but this picture made me so happy to see them all together.
The end of Boomer Sooner weekend. On the DART back to Mitchell's apartment. All smiles for the way home!
I can't wait to hear about the Frost Family adventures from yesterday. There's only one...
