Village Drama

It was a Saturday, about a week and a half ago, when Roma received a frantic phone call from his mom in the village. Papa had been building an enclosure for the geese when his arm slipped and he sliced his wrist on a piece of sharp metal. Mama called Roma in tears, saying that Papa had cut himself and they couldn't get the bleeding to stop. It was difficult for Roma to discern what exactly had happened because cell phone signal in the village is spotty at best. Then, in the middle of trying to calm his mom down and figure it all out, the call dropped.

A scary ten minutes ensued wherein Roma kept trying to call but couldn't get through. When he finally did get his mom on the line, she was still in tears, saying that the bleeding wouldn't stop and they didn't know what to do. Roma told his mom to run and get a neighbor who used to work as a nurse. She did just that, and with the help of this neighbor, they were able to get the bleeding under control.

What was most nerve-wracking about the whole incident is that there was nowhere for Papa to go to seek help. There's no hospital in the village. Furthermore, Mama doesn't know how to drive & most village residents get around by horse-drawn carts. It was unclear how Mama and Papa were going to be able to get back to Bar's hospital. It would have taken Roma at least an hour and a half to reach the village by bus so as to drive his folks back. In the end -- with his arm elevated out the window -- Papa drove the 40 minutes back to Bar. Mama and Papa went directly to the hospital where Papa received eight stitches.

Since then, Papa has been unable to work so he's been homebound. Between you and me, the poor guy is bored out of his mind without anything to do. He is not a man who is accustomed to having free time on his hands.

With his wound slowly healing, he's been able to start doing small tasks here and there. And so yesterday, Roma, Papa and I headed into the village to help with chores. On our way, we got stuck in traffic. (FYI, cows always get the right away & so you also know, they are never in a hurry.)

Once in the village, Roma and Papa took to cutting the grass.

Do note the dirt road to Roma's left. When a late-afternoon thunderstorm blew in, that road was like a raging river.

When I wasn't busy running to-and-fro supplying cold drinking water to my workers, I was walking around the premisces snapping pictures. Below you can see grandma & grandpa's house.

The corn has gotten really tall, though this picture fails to do it justice:

Below is only half of the crops that they grow every year. Mama & Papa have a whole other plot of land a little outside the village limits.

We enjoyed a nice village day sans drama. We got back into town in time to meet up with our friend, Vadym, who we all call Boss. Why all the nicknames you ask? Well, in school, there were like, four Vadyms in Roma's class. Hence, my Vadym got the nickname Roma (from Romaniuk) & this other Vadym -- due to the fact that he apparently wore a Hugo Boss t-shirt all the time -- got the nickname Boss. All I ever knew Boss to be was Boss, until my dad -- during his visit here -- took to calling him Hugo Boss. And now, I silently think Hugo every time I hear his name. Thanks for that, dad.

Anyways, (Hugo) Boss is getting married on Saturday to this lovely lady:

So from now until Sunday night, it's nothing but wedding, wedding, wedding. Here's hoping our livers survive into next week ;)

The Usual Suspects

Ever since the reunion, Roma and I have been getting together with Kolya & Yulia on a regular basis. It goes without saying that Sasha & Alona join us as well. The six of us get together so often, in fact, that people have started joking about our bosom buddiness. But who cares? Let them joke.

Last Monday, we got together to celebrate Ivana Kupala. This holiday is celebrated in the villages with plays, songs, bonfires and the such. Village celebrations range from extraodinary to ... well, not. Sasha swore up and down that the celebration in Alona's village was "something special" so we piled into Kolya's car and drove the 20 miles to get there. And indeed, there was "something" awaiting us: Four grandmothers singing outside the disco tech. No costumes. No acting. No bonfire. No place to even sit down. We made the most of it though, by eating dinner on the trunk of Kolya's car. Thanks for the memories, Sash.

A couple days after celebrating Ivana Kupala, the six of us got together in the early evening to drink some beers. Yulia and Kolya brought their son, Maxim. He's 13 months old and a little cutie.

Over the weekend, we all got together again, this time at Sasha & Alona's house for a spontaneous shashleek. Oksana, Vitya and Alosha joined us as well.

On Monday, the usual suspects met up once more, this time for a stroll around town. As we were out and about, Kolya gave us an impromptu tour of his family's latest development. It's a five story apartment building located in the center of town. We climbed up to the fifth floor and had ourselves a look around. (Don't worry dad, we were careful.)

The bosom buddies posed on the fifth floor. Behind them is a government building & the tips of Bar's two largest churches.

Do note the ominous sky...

The boys of course, spent a lot of time trying to out-joke each other...

But the jokes were cut short because it started to rain. That sky wasn't messing around. After the rains blew through, it made our afternoon walk a bit more challenging. Below is the main road to the bazaar.

Have I sufficiently mentioned that it's been raining here like nobody's business?!?! Here's hoping that it lets up soon...

An Average Day in Bar

Well, Roma and I have officially reached the half-way point of our time here in Ukraine. We've been in Bar for a month and have enjoyed reconnecting with old friends, making new friends and spending time with family. While there have been lots of fun events -- reunions, birthdays, shashleeks, holidays -- most days are just, well, average days. But what, you ask, does an average day look like for two people with no jobs on an extended vacation in a little town of 18,000? Allow me to enlighten you:

Our alarm goes off at 7:15 AM. We roll over in bed and groggily ask each other: Are we going to run today? Four out of seven days, the answer is yes because really, what else do we have to do? We run early because A) we like to get it out of the way, B) it gets really hot late morning/early afternoon and C) by late afternoon thunderstorms have been rolling in and it's just too wet and muddy (to run in my white shoes).

So we get up, get dressed and walk across the street to the soccer stadium. I run 8 laps (approximately 2 miles) and Roma runs 9 or 10. (Mind you, he runs his 10 faster than I run my eight but, whatever-- slow and steady wins the race, dude.) Running laps around a soccer field is not my ideal way to run, but it's the only realistic option we have. Were we to run down the street or along the river, people would surely think we were nuts. And while I don't really care what people think about us, I don't want Roma's parent's to have to listen to people's idle talk.

So we run the stadium.

We are not the only ones who run in the morning. There are always two other people running with us. One is a man, probably about 45, who arrives by bicycle and runs in blue sports pants and black canvas shoes. The other is a woman, probably about 40, who arrives on foot. She's always wearing a combination of teal clothing, has perfect makeup and is doused in perfume. I can smell her a quarter mile back and believe me, her fumes alone are inspiration to pick up the pace.

Below is a picture of the stadium. Roma's family's apartment is the brick building a little left of center, beyond the field:

After we run, we come home and I drink a couple cups of coffee. We check email. Invariably nobody writes me (thanks guys). We eat breakfast-- usually borshch. We take showers and then we'll go to the bazaar on some errand. (Milk, cheese, meat, sugar, fish-- whatever Mama needs or Roma is craving.) While at the bazaar, we'll stop and chat with Sasha for a bit and then return home. We eat lunch. Roma watches TV and I read my book. (Currently The Brother's Karamozov). I've taken to drinking tea in the afternoons. So I will make tea and read in the living room and then, after finishing my tea, I will announce to all concerned parties that I will be reading in the bedroom, which is code for: I'm going to go take a nap.

After my afternoon siesta, Roma and I will go out walking with Oksana and this little rascal:

She has completely recovered from her strange rash and is back to terrorizing the apartment. She loves her Grandpa and her Uncle the most out of everybody in the house. I don't really blame her. I love her Uncle the most too.

After walking for awhile with Veronika and Oksana, Roma and I will meet up with Sasha at his place of business. We'll visit with Sasha and because Sasha's store is located in the same building where Roma's parent's work, we'll go and visit with them too. Afterwards, we'll usually head to one of the local beer patios and grab a beer. Sasha and Roma always eat dried, salted fish with their beer. I don't go in for the dried fish, not because it isn't tasty; but, because frankly, it's too hands on of a snack for me.

Dima will often join us. He is an endless source of entertainment. He's recently been wearing a shirt that totally cracks me up. Um...I must have missed the episode when Spiderman was a guest on Sesame Street...

On days that we don't go drink beer with friends, Roma and I will go in the evening and play basketball. There haven't been that many opportunities to play lately because the weather has been so bad and summer open gym is held outside. There have been horrible floods in Western Ukraine because of all the rain we've gotten. The fear is that the rain won't let up and the crops will become saturated. Then everybody will be in trouble.

Anyways, that's pretty much an average day for us. Running, walking around town, meeting up with friends, reading...nothing too crazy and yet, the time flies by. Before we know it, we'll be headed back to the states; however, for now, I'll be reading in the bedroom ;)

And the next day...

The second day of Dima's birthday was spent out in the countryside fishing and eating shashleek. Here are some pictures from the afternoon.

How many men does it take to man the meat? Apparently four. Shashleek is serious business.

Kolya & Yulia sat nestled between Sasha & Alona. Have I mentioned that I really like Yulia? She's super laid back and easy to chat with AND she's always down to play with me. (Yay!) After we ate, we played badminton and worked up quite the sweat (mostly running into the field after the birdie). It was a nice afternoon.

There was crawfish...

There was shashleek...

But Roma was most excited about the prospect of fishing.

I fished too, while Roma and Alosha were out on the boat. I fished with the little hooligans pictured below. We tossed all our fish back. They were small and I don't really eat fish here anyway. Each time we tossed one back, I'd hollar: Go and Liiiive! At first the boys didn't know what to make of my silliness, but then they got really into it. Dima especially, so much so in fact, that he took to tossing rocks and flowers into the pond just so he could yell, "Go and Liiive!"

Dima Turns 5

As previously mentioned, Dima's 5th birthday was a two-day affair. The first day, Roma and I were invited to have dinner at Sasha and Alona's house to celebrate with immediate family. Alona spent two days on her feet cooking a bazillion different dishes for her guests to eat. (Have I mentioned that she's four months pregnant? With my Godbaby? Cause she is, which makes the feast she prepared all the more remarkable.) The exclusive guest list included:

Roma, me, Alosha & Alona's niece, Katya...

Sasha, Sasha's cousin & his wife, Alona...
(Please, take note of the table jam-packed with food)

(From Left) Dima's cousin, Artiom, Sasha's mom, Mila & Alona's mom, Halya.

Dima was as darling as any birthday boy could be. Each time someone dedicated a toast to him, which was often, it ended with: "Dima, for your health. To you. Happy Birthday!" And each time, Dima would reply: "And you too!"

I first met Dima about a week after I moved to Bar, back in December of 2005. He and I immediately bonded. He was the only person I'd met who I knew, with certaintly, spoke worse Ukrainian than I did. Sure, he was six months old at the time, but hey, a bond is a bond. And while his Ukrainian has since, surpased my own, the bond remains.

What can I say? We're buds.

Landscape Shots & Snipits from the Weekend

Day two of Dima's birthday festivities was spent fishing and shashleeking with his family friends. We drove about 15 miles outside of Bar to the secluded summer home of some friend of a friend. One thing that I love about being here is that you don't need to go very far to feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. Here are some of my favorite landscape shots.

(Across the pond are fields and fields of sunflowers)

(The summer house out in the middle of all the fields)

*Note the Lada (ie: the small white car with it's trunk open) and imagine six adults and two children squeezed into that car. (Yep, that's how we roll here folks.) Now, imagine that the driver of the Lada was given the wrong directions and what should have been a 20 minute drive actually took an hour and a half. And, if you will, imagine that it was a hot day but that because there were children in the car, the only window that was allowed to be open was the driver's window. Sadly, you are not the driver so you had no relief from the oppressive heat. Imagine now, that you are the only one without a body on your lap and thus, are in charge of holding a plate of jello that, due to the oppressive heat and unnecessarily long drive, slowly begins to melt all over your husband's new running shorts, which coincidently, you had begged him to let you wear. Add that the jello was not just any jello, but meat jello and you'll maybe be able to understand why I've never been so happy to reach a destination in my life :)

(A shot from the bank of the pond next to the house)

(Wheat fields)

(Early evening sky reflecting off the water)

(Look closely, and you'll see Roma & Sasha's brother, Alosha, fishing in a little blue boat)

A Night at the Voznyuks

Last week, Roma and I were invited to dinner at the Voznyuk home. The Voznyuks are a lovely, lovely family who hosted my friend -- and fellow returned Peace Corps volunteer -- Jennifer, from 2004-2006. During my service, I spent many hours at the Voznyuk home. When you are far away from your own family, there is nothing quite as special as being warmly embraced by someone else's.

This month yet another Peace Corps volunteer arrived in Bar. This volunteer, named Maggie, will be doing community development through the local library and "information center." When the Voznyuks heard that there was a new American in town, they were eager to give her a warm welcome. And thus, we were all invited to dinner.

Pictured below you will find the Voznyuk clan. Roma and I -- along with the new volunteer, Maggie -- are nestled between them.

*A quick note about Maggie: She's 62-years-old and oh-my-goodness, too darling for words. She's from San Diego where she worked as an Attorney. She practices yoga daily and is a Reiki Master. I've had the chance to see her a couple times in Bar and help her with some errands, which can at times, be very aggravating here. And yet, I swear, nothing seemed to rustle her feathers. Maggie very well might be to most positive person I've ever met.

(Left to Right: Anna (holding up a picture of Jennifer), Olha, Maggie, Me, Roma, Andrey, Victor)

After dinner, we were all invited into the living room to enjoy some music. Olha played and sang a song on the piano. Then, she and her dad sang a duet. Afterward, they both played songs on the guitar. Victor capped the night off by serenading us with the bayan.

(Olha & Victor doing a duet)

(Victor & his bayan)

***

This weekend was Dima's 5th birthday. Roma and I were invited to join in on two days of festivities with his family and friends. I'll get those pictures up tomorrow, but for now, I'm tired. Two days of festivities can really wipe a person out .

For now, our love to all.