Halloween!

Hello everyone,


I write this from Balaklea (Amy’s town). We just got back from Kharkiv (the region center and former capital of Ukraine). It was awesome. Let me start from the beginning. I took a taxi late Friday night to a neighboring town (Markeevka) and boarded an overnight train to Balaklea. Arrived at 3 in the AM and waited at the train station for 45 min because Amy was arriving from Kiev on a different train. We then made our way to Kharkiv where we checked in at the hotel all the PCVs will be staying at. Let’s just say customer service is still a foreign concept here. When I was talking to a group of PCVs, I jokingly referred to the lady at the front desk as “a big bucket of sunshine” and everyone knew who I was talking about. This constant lack of customer service can probably be attributed to the old days of the USSR when everyone was assigned work, everyone knew their place/role, and there was little opportunity for change – if someone did not like the service they were receiving, there was little to be done. Everything was government owned so there is only one option and if you didn’t like that option - tough. Nowadays, though things have gotten better, private property rights and free enterprise are not fully developed or understood. It is interesting to me to see this transition first hand. It is apparent that those that understand the concepts of Supply and Demand have a huge opportunity here in Ukraine though they first have to get around an extremely difficult legal system before they can start any viable businesses. Not to mention the business mentality that exists. It is difficult to explain and I am by no means an expert on the subject but I think a good example is the old films from the USSR. When I was hanging out with some of my Ukrainian friends in my community, we watched a couple old films from the USSR. In one of these films, a man brought cases of oranges from Moscow to the Crimean Peninsula to sell them for a profit (USSR controlled the supply of everything). It was interesting because he was the bad guy in the movie. Why? It is because he is taking initiative and trying to buy and sell things for personal gain. It is a common mindset that everyone should get an equal share, the government knows what’s best, and it is bad to question authority or to take any initiative. Anywho, the slow transition to a free market system is very interesting to me and the businessmen in Ukraine that have identified inefficiencies in the market have huge opportunities though the rules and regulations (or lack thereof) that govern markets and businesses is a huge obstacle to overcome for any businessman or entrepreneur.



Sorry, kinda went off on a tangent. Back to Kharkiv – After checking in at the hotel Amy and I took the metro to the city center and walked around for a while. Kharkiv has lots of history – we walked around the “red square”, saw the sites, and ate at McDonalds. The day was nice however the Halloween party that evening was Legendary! Since Halloween is not celebrated here, costumes are difficult to come by. Lucky for me, Amy let me use her “dead-face gorilla mask”, and we found some black wings so I was a flying monkey from the Wizard of Oz. It was awesome. We had over 100 PCVs - young men women from 100 different communities all over Ukraine that have been deprived of all things American, that have not seen there fellow Peace Corps friends for long periods of time, and that have not been able use/speak English for long periods of time. It was a recipe for an unforgettable night. We had a nightclub rented out only for PCVs that was right next door from the hotel. It was so nice to see everyone again, to hear about everyone’s crazy experiences, and to simply relax with people that speak your language and know your culture. Well, I need to get going. I am helping Amy with her English club before heading back to my site later today via overnight train.



Conor’s Noteworthy Noteables:

1. Best Halloween party ever! PCVs are the most friendly, carefree, open minded people I have ever met. Makes for awesome times.

2. Exploring Kharkiv. Good times – I will have to go back.

3. Seeing my fellow volunteers and cluster mates that I have not seen for a long time.

4. 7 months in Ukraine.

5. We booked our trips to Egypt. My cluster and I will be going to Egypt for 8 days over Christmas! Whoohoo! It is very cheap to travel to Egypt from Ukraine and all meals, hotels, and drinks are included.

6. Got a nice letter from my sister with some great photos. Thanks Erin-o!
7. Submitted my final draft for my project. Cross your fingers for me.

***Click on photo to see large version. 

 Electreechka from Balaklea to Kharkiv

Kharkiv