Life goes on.

Hello from "The Boarderlands",

It has not been that long since my last post but a lot has happened and I want to get back into the routine of posting every Sunday/Monday.  For starters, I have met with some other organizations in town that seem really cool and I think I can really help them.  We shall see - things progress very slowly here, especially in the summer so I probably won't know if things will work out for quite some time but it is exciting.  I may be horseback riding with one of these organizations sometime next week.  I love Peace Corps - the job can take you anywhere and you can end up doing anything.  I also met with the local library and after the initial shock that there is an American in town, they seemed pretty receptive to the idea of an English club in their library but the director is on vacation tell Aug 22 so the waiting continues.  I also helped a Donetsk NGO with an application to the EU "youth in action" program.  Very cool.  I am excited to see how that plays out.  When I got home from the library, I came across a couple of old guys playing chess under a tree near my apartment so hopefully they will let me play one of these days.  Could be fun.  The older generation is very interesting to me because they have lived through so much - famines, wars, regime changes, boarder changes, etc...  They seem to have a very different view of the world than most.  I just wish my Russian was better so that I can have more in depth discussions with them. 

Yesterday I decided to go for a long walk out into the countryside to clear my head and take some photos.  I am definitely glad that I did.  After walking for an hour and a half outside my city, I came across a beautiful lake and the quietest little village I have seen so far in Ukraine.  This was the stereotypical small Ukrainian village complete with green rolling hills, cows, sheep, goats, old thatched roof houses, small farms all over the place, and a small creek running through the middle.  It was starting to get dark and I hadn't seen a paved road for more than 45 min so I should have headed back at that point before it got too dark for me to find my way back but I was too intrigued with this quiet little place.  What would it be like to live here?  What are the people like?  Chances are that this village is extremely old considering the fact that my little village during training (Stari Belous) dated back into the stone age.   What was this village like during the "Great Patriotic War" (WWII)  ?   How many secrets lie buried mere feet below these vast fields?  While I was pondering these questions and stroking my beard, probably with a blank or slightly inquisitive expressions on my face, I noticed from the corner of my eye that an old man has been staring at me with a confused look on his face.  Probably wondering what the hell this tall bearded foreigner is doing way out here.  I could not help but giggle at the fact that here I am out in the middle of nowhere thinking about a small village while an old man inquisitively looks at me looking inquisitively at his village.  I snap out of my trance and say hello before continuing my walk.  It is not common to say hello to people you don't know here so I was not offended when the old man did not respond to my greeting and continued to look at me with a confused look on his face as I slowly walked around the next bend and out of sight.  At the top of the next hill I saw a familiar red tent next to a small lake.  These tents are small portable Ukrainian bars so I figure what better way to end my walk than with a nice frosty beer before I turn around and make the long trek back to the city and I was curious to find out why someone decided to setup a bar in the middle of nowhere.  I make my way there and am pleasantly surprised to find a sandy beach on the side of this small lake with many people hanging out and enjoying the sunset.  I purchased a beer (1715), took in the sunset for a bit, then made my way home as quickly as possible because I did not want to find myself lost at night in the middle of nowhere.  It was dark well before I made it back to my city but I managed to get back to my apartment without incident. 

Today (Sunday) I decided that I have eaten enough eggs for one lifetime and that I would attempt to cook something that I can nibble on for the next couple days.  Amy pointed me to a recipe in the "babushka's cookbook" (PC issued cookbook) for stew.  This is about as simple a meal as possible and I have attempted it in the past so I thought I would give it a try.  I also Googled simple stew recipes only to find all the "simple" recipes require premade packets of Lipton this or premade that.  American's have it easy.  I headed out early this morning to the local store for the ingredients but unfortunately they did not have any carrots or good looking meat so I decided to head to the bazaar.  Always an interesting experience at the bazaar.

There are a few things you should know about a Ukrainian Bazaar.  First of all it is utter chaos but also a prime example of a free market economy.  Supply and demand regulate everything in this place.  I have mentioned this in previous posts but I am still amazed at how random the stuff can be at a bazaar.  You can buy clothing, veggies, livestock, electronics, motorcycles, furniture, and everything else you can think of.  Some people seem to find stuff on the side of the road and haul it to the bazaar on the small chance that they can sell this item. Today, I decided to sit back and simply observe the chaos for a while and was thoroughly entertained with all senses engaged.  The smell of too many unwashed bodies huddled together under a hot tent mixed with the smell of oversized fish heads that a babushka has on display on gruesome looking hooks mixed with the smell of fresh picked veggies mixed with the smell of women's cosmetics etc etc... The air is so thick with aromas that you can almost taste it.  Then you have the overwhelming heat (it has been in the 100's) radiating off of everything and compounded by the humid air that hits you like you just opened the oven and leaned too close.   Visually the bazaar is overwhelming due to the bazaar consisting of countless narrow rows of people trying to sell everything under to sun all the while the rows are packed with 3 times as many people as should properly fit in these tight rows of chaos.  The constant movement of people and things in addition to the huge plethora of different colors forces your eyes to dart back and forth constantly.  The audio stimuli can be hypnotic  - everyone in the bazaar yelling at the same time in a mix of Russian and Ukrainian about prices, gossip, goods for sale, the tall bearded foreigner, bargaining, etc...  The sense of touch at the bazaar is probably what will stick in my mind forever.  All the heat and humidity makes your clothing stick to your body while you try and make your way though endless crowds of pushy sweating people - you seem to slide through a sweat lubricated mess of chaos like a mosh pit from hell to the tune of angry babushkas all the while checking your pockets constantly to make sure you have not been pick pocketed.  A friend of mine had her purse slashed open and wallet stolen at a bazaar by a couple adolescent girls. 

Anywho,  I kinda went off on another tangent.  After I bought carrots and fresh meat (1 kilo of beef that was alive mere hours before I purchased it) I made it back across the street to my apartment and proceeded to cook.  I love good food but the once in a blue moon where I actually attempt to cook always reminds my why I never cook.  It took me hours to cut up and prepare all the meat, veggies, etc... and that does not include cleanup.  It was worth it though - the stew was awesome and I ate until I could not eat any more then took a much needed nap before going on another walk. 

Conor's Noteworthy Noteables:

1.  Exploring the countryside.  Great for clearing one's head and putting things into perspective.

2.  Making more and more contacts in my community.  Very cool.

3.  Cooking.  Fun but exhausting.  I am no cook. 

4.  Helping an NGO based out of Donetsk with some meaningful projects.  It is nice to have something meaningful to work on and  I might be facilitating a lesson or two for this NGO on entrepreneurship in the near future. 

5.  Sitting in front of a fan whenever I am in my apartment.  Temp in the 100's and no air conditioning.  How do Ukrainian's not drink water constantly?  I find myself constantly dehydrated. 

6.  Studyin Russian as much as I can but not nearly as much as I should.  It is exhausting trying to speak it all day so I have little patience for it at night. 

7.  Returned PCVs from Ukraine contacting me because they came across my blog.  Very cool. 

***Click to view large version***

Just shootin

My Walk

My Walk 2

Quiet little village

Stew

PC Ukraine Stew Recipe (click to view large image)