April Showers extended for May

Today after class I rushed to Lviv to meet some friends and go to the last professional football game of the year. It was a derby between FC Lviv and FC Karpati which the former had to win to stay in the top league. A relegation match. So, as Ukrainian professional soccer compares poorly with the MLS, it was not a pretty game.

 

Before the game started we had an adventure trying to get cheaper tickets. My friends waited for me to finish a long transaction at the bank (last part of my grant) and by the time we arrived at the stadium, they were only selling more expensive tickets, not due to lack of seats, but according to a profitable supply and demand calculation. Walking around to the other side of the stadium to check with the other ticket counters (they don't use computers and can't see what the other locations have sold), we encountered a group of boys who had found a hole in the fence and were paying the police officer who guarded this hole a price much cheaper than any remaining tickets. Deciding that as Peace Corps volunteers, it was a bad idea to support corruption, we went back to the first ticket office and paid the higher price.

What happened on those mountains?

Oh yeah, forgot to finish that story about the high ridge line in the Ukrainian Carpathians. We (Jim and I) started hiking at 1630 after hitching with a rafting outfit and then paying the driver another 50 грівень to take us the last 7km to the trail head(we forgot to bargain, but since the first 9km were free, it's ok). Then we bought lots of bread and cookies and started walking up the hill. We took bets on when the first snow would be visible. Jim is recovering from a high ankle sprain and I have tendinitis in my achilles so we sort of hobbled up the hills, past the cheese cabin (unfortunately too early for the sheep to be up in the mountains, so no cheese yet), past tree line, across snow slides and over boulders until the old top of the hills opened up (so old that not much sharpness remains) into a beautiful flower covered tundra.

Getting dark temperature dropping nice campsite except for the boulders under the tent stove running low on fuel last three cities had no camp fuel will be easy summit in the morning up black mountain the 4th highest in Ukraine 2028m buckwheat dinner not all the way cooked spicy ketchup wash dishes later to cold to hang outside the tent sleep

sun hidden long rising late start summit by 0900
back to get the now aired out tent and sleeping bags and started on our 17km walk to the base of Hoverla the highest mountain in Ukraine which at less than 8000ft is really not very high but still cool even if the neighboring Romanian mountains are so obviously taller walking and more walking need a real hiking pack and boots completely dead nice walking sticks found on trail both of some fruity wood lost trail only once under snow lots of hikers going other direction, difficult to melt snow for water carrying ice cold nalgenes inside our jackets to melt water partly sunny so many purple crocuses dark clouds gathering some rain drops hurry to lee side but find no wind break more time before sunset tent up mountain tops shrouded in mist cold wind no camp fuel left break and sausage for dinner early to bed.

That's not rain landing on the rain fly sounds more like grasshoppers bummer its actually ice pellets nothing visible pack up and summit before breakfast snow blowing trail invisible no compass or map trying to cut back in correct direction steep icy snow face much quicker slide down on butts avoiding rock wedgies snow getting wetter lower altitude rain at freezing bushwhacking so wet breakfast needed 1000 wring out socks good thing their wool argue about whether to continue bushwhacking back in direction of trail not sure how far in that direction or follow goat path down to who knows where decided goat path because drier and easier going two hours goat sheep logging truck road and much lower later first people all day have fire invite us for tea nice to dry and warm up new friends still 10km to train station we've ended up in another oblast like crossing a state border without even knowing it walking easy flat now police checkpoint didn't register for back country camping good thing I took off my hat and addressed him in the formal and he was drunk longest 10km in a while making Jim miss his girlfriend who is leaving for Prague an interesting last few km to train station a tiny village not on our road map in fact there is no road only a train station pretty close to Romania two hours on slow 3rd class train unhappy drunk dirty men who feel no hope missed bus in яремча making Jim miss his train my fault because trusted hand signals of driver instead of just stubbornly getting on the bus I was lucky catching last bus from Oblast center north toward home Jim waiting till 0100 for next train through Kyiv almost missed stop sleep easy on flat floor so warm indoors thank you fellow volunteer for letting me crash on floor

Next day at last through Lviv and home missed three days of school trees I planted still alive projects and clubs not really active without me where is sustainability got to put so much effort into getting people to do things they don't normally do and are not paid to do all day spent proving that this is good for students school Ukraine our town but some victories small and sweet

Marching

I forgot about the marching
every class 6th grade and up must prepare a march for a competition next week
they have chants and songs and flags and different steps
obviously more important than English class
or HIV prevention activities...

May Day, Victory Day and Mothers Day

We have had at least three holidays in the last two weeks, of which I took advantage to return to the Космач festival in Kosmach. This year the organization was poor, and even though more people and bands came, there was no second stage or sound equipment for them to use. Many more Americans showed up, but somehow (good weather forecasting?) the Poles and Germans knew not to come this year. The weather was cold, dark and rainy, but the charm of the small mountain village remained (picture forthcoming).

Then I met Jim and we hiked the highest ridge line in Ukraine. The weather was great for the first two days, but the third day reminded us why we had enjoyed relative solitude. The snow blew in stinging ice pellets and the trail was all but covered in snow.

There transpired quite an adventure, most of which is described by video on my facebook page. The rest I'll have to describe later because I have to go run a competition for Euro club.

Easter is so Awesome!

Ok, so I'm rather neutral on the Christ part and all the beliefs behind this holiday, but looking at it from a purely ritualistic or traditional standpoint, it is really powerful.

So of course Lent is observed normally by not eating red meat or drinking hard alcohol (alcoholics exempt). Then there is Cave Friday, when the boulder was rolled in front of the entrance to Jesus's resting place. On all big religious holidays work is prohibited, even washing clothes and getting water.

Then Saturday was spent out on the fields turning over the soil by hand because our (my Ukrainian grandma and I) piece of land is two small to rent a horse drawn plow. Got my first sunburn of the year and actually wore through my Millionair gloves on the rough natural branch handel of my shovel. I got my soil turning technique down pat left and right handed and learned how to ensure that the chicken poop gets mixed with the soil and not only stuck to my shoes.

We also re-planted the peppers from the windowsill to outside under clear plastic supported by bent willow branches. Need to be covered bacause it's still down around freezing at sunrise (which is now at 630am). Then we took our basket of Paska Cakes (hot cross buns) hard boiled decorated eggs (different leaf shapes left white while the egg was dyed in onion skin water) meat, salt, butter and other stuff to church, had it blessed with holy water. Ok, the saturday evening blessing is the most beautiful religious ceremony I have seen. Everyone comes in their best clothes and stands in rings around the church with elaborate baskets full of amazing food. The Preacher comes with his holy water followed by a procession of medieval flag bearers (and a money collector). The sun is setting, everone is crossing themselves, candles are flickering in the breeze, and I forgot my camera again and forgot about the video function on my phone, actually forgot about everything except the pure beauty of the moment. There was some singing in the background, little children running all over the place and a sense of hope.

I slept too well Saturday night, and actually slept through church (started at 5am, so don't give me a hard time). When Maria came back from church, I went for a run and then broke Lent by eating meat and drinking wine. The whole day is spent eating and drinking. I went over to two other houses, and out to the forest. Beautiful clear sunny days, not hot, not cold, every minute of cold winter seems worth it to have this contrast.

Then of course Easter is 3 days long. 3 full days of not being allowed to work. What a tough life. Ok, forgot

previously

so the money was being collected to pay for those sheets which should have been returned to C). I felt that if they were my sheets now, I would pay the money and then maybe sell them used.

I went to the director with the money in my hand and was forced away as she became offended that i had offered my money. She said that the teachers I work with deserve a lower salary, and to make this difference they will by me sheets. I said that is wrong, and I will buy my own sheets.

The next day she (director) collected the money and now relations are definitely strained between me and her. I considered giving the money back to each teacher, figuring out what share they had paid. But instead I just gave the sheets to the owner of C) and will do something nice for the teachers later this year, coffee cookies type thing. Maybe bake them banana bread.

The director did by these sheets in the beginning, but if anyone has enough money to buy sheets for me its the director and not the teachers I work with. Well, i'm not even angry about this anymore, so I really have no motivation to write more about it.

Drama from the Top

And all over bedsheets.

My living spaces in Ukraine:
A) Host Family, bedroom, 3 months
B) Host Family, bedroom, 1 month
C) Apartment, 3 rooms, 6 months
D) Apartment, 1 room, 6 months
E) Host Grandma, bedroom, 2 months and counting

When I moved into C), I just used the old sheets that were there, not really thinking about it.

Two weeks after I moved into D), a woman knocked on the door and delivered new sheets, saying something I didn't completely understand. Not imagining what they could be for other than using, I promptly started sleeping on them.
Two weeks later, I hear that the brand new sheets were supposed to go back to the owner of C) in a trade for the sheets I already used, but now that I had used them, everything was ruined. Owner f C) just let it go and said don't worry about it.

Lets remember how the cost of my apartment which Peace Corps cannot afford is supposed to be covered by my community. It's called a community contribution and helps add value to my position because I'm not just "free". School director decided that this community contribution should collected from only the teachers with whom I work (perfectly fair in her mind, because they have less work, they get less money (how is working with me easier?)).

Room E) is cheaper and no longer requires a community contribution. Thus last week I was surprised to be asked to verify my hours with every teacher. I knew that this sort of check was in order to collect money, but why...
to be continued
Internet closing...