Tuesday’s on the phone

Things here are starting to take on a life of their own. I no longer
have to plan every day, every week to avoid sitting alone in my
apartment. Ok, I still have to plan, but the effort seems to be less
all the time. The biggest change has been the start of the soccer
season. We had a friendly match on Sunday, and after missing two wide
open goals playing left wing, I finally put an easy slop rebound into
the back of the net to score the first goal of the 2008 season. Cool.
The game was a comedy of errors, and ended up 3-3 even though our
team was stronger. It looks like I'll get a starting position; the
coach tried me at both fullback and wing. We'll see what he prefers.
I just hope the grass starts growing soon, even though that might make
the field even bumpier. This coming Sunday will be the first real
game, on the road somewhere, not sure where. I just know when and
where to meet the bus. Yesterday was a pretty fun practice, most
people off work including myself to observe March 8th, international
women's day. I like the idea of a women's day, but it seemed too much
focused on giving flowers and chocolate, not recognizing how much
women have achieved and how much more work there is to be done to
achieve equity and equal opportunity.
I have also been fairly effectively adopted into my Ukrainian tutor's
family. Her sons think I'm the coolest dude ever, and always start
bugging us before we're done language exercises to see if I can come
play yet; cowboys, cops, robbers, soccer, bandits, GTA, checkers and
so on. They are 7 and 4 years old. Following the older way, the
grandparents live on the same property, and so every time I come over
for language, I end up getting fed, playing with the kids, and
confiding work frustrations/friendship making efforts with my 'older
sister' language tutor. I guess that makes those little energy
bundles my nieces. She is going to give birth in a few weeks, and
there will be a break in my tutoring, for maybe a month or until her
new baby gets baptized.
Flowers are coming up in the forest, birds are singing, temperature
is warming. Change here is so gradual, each week, slightly warmer.
Feels like I haven't had internet for a while. Last week the price
of my apartment was renegotiated, the price is now double what it was.
I saw an orchestra concert, and think that I have the skills to play
in it. The violin soloist (Dvorak Violin Concerto) from the L'viv
conservatory was not as skilled as conservatory musicians in the
States. I think the same higher pay that pulls skilled labor away
from Ukraine also pulls skilled/talented musicians to work in W.
Europe where the pay is much higher. The piano soloist (Saint Sains
'Egyptian') seemed good, though I have no idea how to judge piano
skill.
Running has come down to 20 miles a week, thanks to increased soccer.
Achilles recovers during the week of running and strengthening
exercises, and then hurts after soccer on the weekends, which always
manages to twinge it a bit. A painful cycle.
Now it looks like I won't be able to get internet today either. The
long distance phone line is being used for a telephone call. As bad
as connectivity is here, I read in Newsweek that the US is only 24th
in the world in terms of internet connectivity, measuring both sheer
numbers and bandwidth. There is a big teachers meeting today, I
really don't feel like going. I don't understand how it benefits the
teachers, probably because I only understand half of the words. Lent
has started, so many have given up meat and other things. The price
of meat seems unaffectedly high. So now what do I do? 45 minutes to
kill, don't feel like lesson planning because I just finished my
lessons for the day.
Why do I always get hungry when I'm bored? I'm attempting to make
boiled potato dough balls tonight, can't remember what they're called.
The instant gratification of concentrated simple carbohydrates
justifies the preparation time. Guess I should eat some vegetables
with them. How much more fun it would be to be checking email. Come
on phone line. Is it worth skipping the teachers meeting if the
internet starts working? I guess not. I wonder what's going on with
the democratic presidential nomination and the world in general. My
TV time has been steadily declining (down to about 2 soccer games and
a track meet each week). I should watch the news more, but it quickly
becomes frustrating that I can't understand more, even as I come up on
6 months in Ukraine. I understand the topics, but none of the
details.
Why does it feel like it's been winter since I got here? Actually the
first week in Ukraine was hot, but since then it's been cool, autumn,
winter, and spring, all cool or cold. April is supposed to warm up.
I'll believe it when I feel it. Guess I should get my summer plans
together, or outlined. Still haven't got a calendar.