2008

I got this from Greetings from Kyiv (thank you!). I decided to pick and choose amongst the questions and just answer the ones I feel like answering. 🙂

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Saw the Pyramids; drove nearly 3000 kilometers across Ukraine and Moldova

2. What countries did you visit?
Egypt, Georgia, US, Moldova, Russia, Hungary

3. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A dual-SIM card cellular phone that works both on the European and the US system, with extremely useful applications like I had with my old Palm Pilot, that syncs with my Google calendar without requiring me to use Microsoft Outlook in any way, that allows me to easily download and listen to podcasts and audio books, with which I can use headphones not Bluetooth (hey, if brain surgeons won’t put cell phones and other wireless devices next to their heads, I’m not going to either). I have a MacBook at home and Windows PC at work, so I’d also like something that works easily on both platforms.

4. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Lots of great memories will stay with me, even if the exact date doesn’t. February – fantastic vacation with Igor in Egypt, I’ll never forget how awesome it was to see the pyramids. November – US presidential election. What an amazing event to witness.

5. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I’m really, really proud that the youth project I initiated is up and running at UNDP

6. What was your biggest failure?
There are some things I am incredibly not proud of; I’ll just leave it at that.

7. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Some pesky skin rash that just won’t go away. It’s getting really annoying, but thankfully nothing more serious.

8. What was the best thing you bought?
Wifi router and internet access at home. How did we live without this?

9. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The American voters – I just can’t express how proud I am of my fellow Americans

10. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Hypocrites, namely people who call themselves Christians yet spend a lot of time and energy judging and hating others

11. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, rent and rent

12. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Being an OSCE election observer in Georgia and my new job

13. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?
Happier, fatter, financially comfortable

14. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Seen more of Ukraine

15. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Eating junk food

16. How did you spend Christmas?
Latin Christmas – worked, relaxed at home with Igor. Orthodox Christmas: we’ll be in Korosten with Igor’s family.

17. Did you fall in love in 2008?
I fall more and more in love with my wonderful husband

18. What was your favorite TV program?
Battlestar Galactica

19. What was the best book you read?
The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million

20. What did you want and get?
A new job

21. What did you want and not get?
A diet that allows me to eat anything I want and not gain any weight without ever exercising

22. What was your favorite film of this year?
Lots of good movies this year, but nothing overwhelmingly fabulous

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Celebrated at home with Igor and Dad. Turned 37.

24. Who did you miss?
Too many people to list

25. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
It all works out in the end

Merry Christmas!

Today is a work day for me – yes, even at an organization called American Councils! We take a mix of Ukrainian and American holidays, and this year Latin Christmas didn’t make the list. But we get three days off next week for New Year’s, plus a day off for Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7. But it will be a light day in the office, I suspect.

Igor and I are having some folks over for a Christmas dinner on Friday, and we started cooking last night. I’m excited to have our first party in the new apartment! It will be a bit tight, even in this big place, as the landlords still haven’t removed some of the ugly old furniture we told them we didn’t want. We’ll have to pile a bunch of it up in one of the rooms and close the door!

I think it snowed a bit overnight – it’s very white (and cold-looking) outside. But yeah, a white Christmas! I think I’ll watch my all-time favorite movie tonight, It’s a Wonderful Life. What a great flick.

Igor gave me a stunning blue topaz ring for our anniversary/Christmas/New Year’s. He says my set is complete now – earrings, necklace, bracelet, and now ring. I told him I still could get a nosering, an anklet… or maybe start on a new set with a different stone? 🙂

Happy Holidays!

Anniversary

We had a nice anniversary. I left work early and met Igor after his morning classes. We had a late lunch/early dinner at a nice restaurant and then spent the evening at the sauna. At last, I finally felt warm through and through! It’s been so cold lately – absolutely everywhere it’s cold: home, street, work. I have felt cold down to my core for over a week now. But a good bake in the sauna and we were both toasty all night long. Aaahhh. I’m starting to get the hang of this sauna thing!

We were thinking of going to the Carpathians for a few days sometime during the upcoming holiday season, but it occurred to us both last night that we really want to go someplace warm. If we can a great deal, we might take off for a bit to sunnier shores. If not, we’ve got a room booked in a spa-hotel outside Kyiv for a little luxury.

A year

Today is our first wedding anniversary.

We’ve spent much of the past week reminiscing – which guests arrived on which days, the evening it all caught up with me and I had a breakdown :-), the 21st when we all went to Korosten, the fabulous dinner at Igor’s parents’ house. The Big Day, the best wedding I could have hoped for.

We’ve also been reflecting on other events of the past year. We’ve both changed jobs. Lots of trips together: Egypt, U.S., Crimea (twice), Moldova, Carpathians (twice), plus countless trips to Korosten. We moved to a new apartment. We had great car trips, and then sold our car (I forgot to write about that – we sold it a couple weeks ago). We settled into a routine together, and mixed it up a bit. We discovered new things about each other, enjoyed the familiar, and grew together. The buds of our life as a family are slowly blooming more and more, our roots growing stronger.

Happy Holidays?

Public transportation rates increased 4x
Hot water shut off in much of Kyiv for 3-4 days
Heating reduced throughout the city, some buildings without heat periodically
Price increases almost daily, market stands not bothering to write new prices anymore, instead posting “+20%” to yesterday’s prices
Bank deposit accounts frozen, people can’t withdraw their money
Pensions not paid
Government employees not sure if they’ll get paychecks this month
Layoffs, downsizing, bankruptcies
Falling hrivna, salaries’ value reduced by nearly half
Banks advertising on their homepages auctions on cars and other items repossessed

This holiday season will not be so merry for many Ukrainians.

I feel guilty for my spring and summer complaints about the poor exchange rate and the belt-tightening Igor and I had to do. It was nothing like what many people are suffering now.

Back in town and online

We finally have internet in our new apartment. That was a crazy ordeal, but finally solved – yeah! So here are a bunch of random thoughts that have been building up, waiting for expression.

It’s freakin’ cold in Kyiv. I realized yesterday as I froze to and from work that it’s time to dig out the down coat. Yikes.

We found a sauna a 5-minute walk from us. We’ve gone two weekends in a row. Igor is much more of a hot, dry sauna fan than I am, but I enjoy going with him and love seeing him have such a good time there. He can be so predictable, too. Without fail, he complains for the first 90 minutes about how it isn’t hot enough, somethings not right, etc etc, and inevitably he turns the proper shade of red that he wants to be in the last 10 minutes and he gets a big grin and says he’s happy. He’s so funny sometimes.

The cat is finally settled in to the new apartment. She sleeps with us most of the night again. The one annoying thing is she doesn’t like to open the bathroom door to get to her box, even though we propped it open a bit for her. She prefers to sit outside the door until someone comes along and holds it open for her. She is so freakin’ spoiled. This also makes me worry about how we can leave her alone overnight, as we do on occasion. Gotta figure this one out.

The realities of my new job are starting to sink in a bit more. It’s great, I love it, but the travel will be quite an adjustment for us. Igor wasn’t too happy to hear my travel schedule for the coming year, especially some of the longer trips. But we will adapt. And I reminded to be more attentive during our time together, and not to bring work home with me.

I finally assembled all the pieces together and today I will have a toasted bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. Well, the Ukrainian version of cream cheese, which is pretty darn good too. Dad gave us a toaster as a housewarming present, and also a microwave as an early Christmas present. I haven’t used a microwave oven in over four years, and Igor has never used one, so we’re (re-)discovering it together. This micro is really cool – it also has a grill function and a steamer. Igor grilled pork over the weekend, which turned out really good. Last night we made baked potatoes – so quick and easy! I’ve got some cauliflower waiting to be steamed tonight. Yeah!

Beautiful Budapest

This is a gorgeous city. Granted, I’ve mostly only had glimpses in the early morning or late evening, on my to and fro from meetings. Business trips are such teasers! (Kudos to those who can find the theme in this post*)

Sunday evening we went to dinner at a popular Hungarian restaurant. I got nervous when a local colleague said Hungarians are “meat, meat, meat and potatoes people”, but it turned out there were good veggie options everywhere I ate this week. That night I was intrigued by the “Giant Green Salad”, since it’s hard to find a salad with actual lettuce in it in Ukraine. The title was, if anything, an understatment. The salad was ginormous – there was enough for all seven people at the table and then some. I was in heaven! I’m not sure what kind of first impression I made with my colleagues who live in places like Berlin, Washington DC, New York, and Budapest (where, apparently, entire gardens of salad are offered on the menu), but man was I ever in veggie heaven!

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel via the Christmas market. How can you pass through a Christmas market and _not_ get a mug of hot spiced wine?

OK, we were kinda late for the mugs and got the end-of-the-night plastic cups – but how cool is that giant ceramic pot of wine? If only it could fit in my suitcase….

The local office took us to a fabulous restaurant Monday night for dinner -actually it was a… I can only think of the Russian word (I hate when that happens), дегустация (degustatsia) – tasting, gustation, according to my dictionary. We sampled six or seven Hungarian wines throughout the delicious dinner. I couldn’t help but notice when we arrived that we were the only people in a decent-sized restaurant, but I was easily distracted by the aperitif. Somewhere after the fourth or fifth course (and the fifth or sixth glass of wine) I realized we were still the only people in the restaurant and I finally asked a Hungarian colleague if the restaurant was actually closed. “Yes,” she said, “they are closed on Mondays. But my husband went to school with the sommelier and they agreed to serve us tonight.” I know the Hungarians are not Slavs, and they don’t want to be Slavs, but man was that ever Slavic! So awesome.

The wines were awesome, the food to die for. I bought a couple bottles at the end of the night – less than $40 for two yummy yummy bottles, a white and a red. It’s been hard to keep them in tact so that I can share them back in Kyiv!
How to make an American who lived in Turkmenistan for 2 1/2 years happy:

Tuesday we had some good meetings that bookended a nice lunch at a chain Italian restaurant. Apprently it’s new to Budapest (is it possible that we got a chain Italian restaurant BEFORE Budapest?!), and the local colleagues, at the end of the meal, let it slip that they had actually done research to plan for this lunch and had, in fact, investigated not one, not two, but THREE restaurants before settling on this place. This chain has never impressed me in Kyiv, but wow was it ever good in Budapest. The manager personally oversaw our service, made meal recommendations and checked back regularly to ensure our satisfaction. Should I just pack my bags now and move to Budapest?

Today I managed to squeeze out a couple hours for the one thing I most wanted to do in Budapest: visit the baths. I have to admit, it wasn’t what I expected, but it was still pretty darn cool. And beautiful.

I was introduced to swimming outdoors in cold winter months in Kyiv, and it seems to be a hit in Budapest too. This bathhouse, recommended by the hotel receptionist for no particular reason that she could articulate (at least not in a language I could understand) was the bathhouse equivalent of my Giant Green Salad times five. The scale can not be captured in photo, at least not by my simple camera.

This is one part of one floor of changing rooms. I think this floor is only open in the summer, as we didn’t get individual rooms but rather one of about 40 lockers in one of about 10 or 12 locker rooms. And that’s only the women’s side.

I was dang glad we inquired at the desk in advance to set some expectations for the bath. I had in my mind the Georgian baths I enjoyed in May, but this was quite different. We also had trouble getting some clear information from the receptionist on what we should take with us. “Do we need to talk anything?” we asked. “No” was the simple answer. “We don’t need to take towels?”, we inquired again. “Yes, you need to take towels”, she replied. “So when you said nothing, you meant nothing except towels?” I’ll save you the Laurel and Hardy routine, but suffice to say I finally asked the girl “Do you go to the baths?”, which was answered affirmatively. “And what do you take with you?” “Towels, flip-flops, shampoo, soap”, I think there was more but that was enough for me to hear.

More to come.

Budapest and other things

I’m in Budapest – third trip in 3 weeks. Wow, when they said 50% travel, they meant! It’s my first time in Budapest, and my very first impressions are fabulous. The city center is beautiful at night, and we took a nice walk along a pedestrian mall to a Hungarian restaurant. Unfortunately, Hungarian cuisine is not exactly a vegetarian’s delight, but there were a couple not-so-Hungarian options on the menu. The Giant Green Salad did not disappoint – it was a freakin’ giant salad, which reminded me of the Chinese restaurant in Kyiv where my hot and sour soup was delivered in a bucket! I know people think I’m weird that I get so excited about a Giant Green Salad, but lettuce is still not very common in Ukraine, and a salad that is made of something other than minutely chopped potatoes, beets and carrots drowning in mayonnaise or oil just really turns me on.

In between these three trips, Igor and I also managed to move to a new apartment. I’ve spent a couple nights there, and it’s slowly starting to feel like home. We finally got to explore our new neighborhood a bit on Saturday. There aren’t any really good grocery store options, but the market is pretty good. We also found a sauna just a 5 minute walk from us, where we happily spent the early evening. Igor is a much bigger fan of the dry-heat sauna experience than I am, but I enjoy seeing him get such happiness there. I much prefer a steam bath or the hot mineral baths like I tried in Georgia. I’m looking forward to a good soak and scrub in the baths here in Budapest!

We had a great day together, which was much needed. It’s been quite a while since we could just relax and enjoy each other’s company. Igor made a totally yummy dinner, we had delicious wine and cheeses – after massages and the sauna, we were complete zombies with full bellies. Great way to spend the day with my favorite guy.

The trip to Moscow was good, very productive. My standard answer to the question “So, how was Moscow?” has become – “BIG!” Geez, it’s a freakin huge city. And freakin’ expensive. Some things t hat particularly impressed me:
– Wow, do the Russians ever know how to queue up. No mad-dash chaotic rushes to beat everyone else to the metro escalator like in Ukraine; these people politely and patiently get on one at a time and line up single file, even on the up escalator. That did seem a bit extreme to me, but the pretty girl in the instructions poster was, after all, giving clear instructions to “Stand on the right, pass on the left.”
– The express train to Sheremetova airport rocks. As if saving $50 compared to the price of a taxi wasn’t enough, reducing the time it can take to get to the airport from as much as 3 hours (depending on traffic) to a mere 30 minutes is so totally worth it. And the train itself was awesome – I almost forgot I was in Eastern Europe. In fact, are they really allowed to make something so clean, efficient and comfortable east of the Danube?
– The train terminal at Sheremetova airport also rocks. Cafes, shops, internet – and almost no customers since most folks rush on to the airport terminals for their flights.

I’m looking forward to this week in Budapest, but wish very much that Igor could have joined me for the trip. It’s becoming quite a dilemma for me – I love my job, love love love it; but I love love love love my husband and miss him every minute we are apart. It’s hard to be away from him, and when we are together, I try very hard to focus on us and not let work get in the way. I’m not balancing things well so far, as I’m WAY behind on work, just can’t seem to get ahead of things at all, but I also don’t want to let work take over my life. Hopefully after this trip I’ll be able to get a handle on things during the slow holiday season, when not many folks do much work in this part of the world. Russia is basically closed for the first 9 days of 2009, as will be most offices in the other countries in my portfolio. I actually look forward to working then so I can get caught up!

Visiting Russia

I’m in Moscow – first time in over 14 years! Wow, the city is amazing. Soooo different from what I remember. I thought Kyiv had changed in the 13 years since my first and second visits there, but it doesn’t compare to the change in Moscow.

I went to Red Square last night – so beautiful. I had forgotten how powerful and dramatic it is. I also walked along Old and New Arbat streets. Didn’t recognize either in the least. There is a huge book store on New Arbat that I _think_ I recognized, but it sure didn’t look like the grey drab place I frequented in 1992. If it’s the same store, I thought there was a huge post office across the street, but that is now a giant shopping mall. I’ll have to ask someone if there used to a PO around there, maybe I just didn’t get to quite the right spot.

In 1992, we couldn’t make direct-dial international phone calls from anywhere in St. Petersburg (where I was studying). Instead, we had to go to the post office and order a phone call, then sit down and wait until your number was called over the PA system. Only the announcements sounded just like the Peanuts teacher, only incomprehensible Russian garble instead of incomprehensible English garble. I missed more than one call opportunity because I couldn’t understand when my turn was called. And it wasn’t just my bad Russian – I often asked a local to help me and more often than not, they also couldn’t understand a thing from that PA system. I did meet some nice people that way though, waiting for my phone calls.

Anyway, in 1992 the only city from which direct-dial international calls could be made was Moscow, and when I would be in town I would often go to that giant post office that was somewhere near a giant Dom Knigi (House of Books), wait for an open phone booth, and happily dial away. I remember the first time I called from that post office. For some reason, it wasn’t an automatic two-way connection. I could hear my parents but no matter what I tried to do, I couldn’t figure out how to make them hear me. They guessed it was me calling from Russia and they talked for a few minutes to me; it was so nice to hear their voices but soooo frustrating to not be able to speak to them. It was only later that I somehow figured out that I had to push a button when my parents answered the phone so that they could hear me. It was absolutely incomprehensible to me why someone would make a call and then have to push a button so the other party could hear them – why would you make a phone call and not want them to hear you? I think maybe the prices were different or something if it was a “one-way” call, I don’t remember. Just another one of those little things that is huge when you are clueless.

I’ve got two packed days of meetings, but hope to squeeze in some social calls, too. I learned not too long ago that the daughter of my dear friend Alyona (from Moldova) is living in Moscow, with her Russian husband! I hope to see her tonight and get caught up on a lot of news that I seem to have missed.

I wish my wonderful husband was here with me. I love to travel with him, love to listen to his history lessons. As excited as I am to be back in Russia, I’m also looking forward to going home to Kyiv, to my Igor and our new apartment. Speaking of which, we finally finished the move last weekend. Good grief – all I could think was that I came to this country three years ago with two suitcases, and now we had SEVEN carloads of stuff to move. Even scarier is that we seem to have filled up an apartment more than double the size of the one we just moved out of. How the hell did all of that fit in our two-room apartment?!

The cat handled the move relatively well. She hid most of Saturday, and then Sunday followed me around all day, meowing in a way that made me think she was crying “I want to go home!” Sunday night she seemed more settled in, doing her evening exercises of sprints around the apartment. She also seems to enjoy the vast array of hiding places; Igor couldn’t find her at all this afternoon, and she appeared only when he opened the refrigerator door. What’s really funny is that he said she turned right in the hallway as if to go into the old kitchen, instead of turning left into the new one. I guess animals also develop their own habitual patterns!

Off to meetings.