I got the call on Friday night that my apartment would be ready on Saturday (not exactly sure how they got people out since 7:00 this the morning), but I am trying to limit my questions to need-to-know. Lenara came with Sergey, the driver, at 10:00am. We squared up with the motel and I was off. On the way back to the same apartment building we were at yesterday, Lenara had us stop at the bazaar to grab some “essentials”- toilet paper, bed sheets, and house slippers. Food would have to wait. We got to the apartment around 11:30am. Well, on the one hand, if I had to spend the next 2 years in this apartment, I could. But, the fact is that this place does not currently meet the Peace Corps minimum living condition guidelines (which tend to be pretty broad as you can imagine)! Lenara continues to be vocally embarrassed about the conditions and assures me that within a week or two I will have a better place to live in, although I know no other details about that. Here are some of the highlights (by the way NONE of which fail to meet the PC minimums): a bed with a 2 inch mattress on a set of springs in the middle (not) supporting your back (Lenara calls this a Soviet bed), but not your feet. No hot tap water but, I can heat some on my 2 burner Coleman-like stove (without oven, of course). Non-potable tap water. Squat toilet. Only 2 outlets in the whole apartment, one of which is reserved for the relatively new refrigerator. A tub with no shower head or curtain (so I couldn’t shower even with the cold water). Fourth floor walk-up with no hallway lights at all. And all four interior lights freely dangle from exposed wiring hanging from the ceiling. In fact the ONLY thing that prevents this place from meeting the minimums is that the door to the apartment is made of particle board, has no peephole, and has a lock that is being held in place by a substance with the look and feel of cotton balls or fiberglass. I mean, I bumped the door the wrong way and thought it was going to fall off the hinges! I have been assured by three different people that there is no criminal element here (said one while standing in the frame of her brand new, triple deadbolt, steel reinforced door!), and not to worry about it (even though all three agree my door needs to be replaced). These are the exact three people who also told me not to walk out on the street near my apartment after dark because of a criminal element! When I pointed out the inconsistency, they failed to see the connection between “drunks and drug takers” (their words) outside and a (perceived to be wealthy) American with a shitty quality door just 200 yards away (my words)!
While he was here, Sergey the driver called the police department to tell them that I was moving in today and to keep an eye on the place for problems (truthfully, Peace Corps will do the same thing, but I have 10 days to submit my form to tell them where I am living). Afterwards, Lenara took me out to the bazaar and to show me some of the highlights of the downtown area. It’s basically one strip of street with a few markets, cafes, and a police department and a hospital. I will go out tonight and tomorrow to explore a little and figure out exactly how long to get to work on Monday.
At this point I have slept one night in my new place. I have an appointment to meet the landlord in 30 minutes to go over some specifics of the place (like finding out where the gas shut off is, where the electric meter is located, and how to contact her in an emergency). Lenara will be here to facilitate the meeting. Even though I have been assured that I will be moving shortly, I am going to run with the idea that this will be my permanent residence until I am proven otherwise. The bed was as uncomfortable as I expected. Tonight I will pull the mattress off of the frame and try sleeping with the mattress on the floor. Even though it will be on concrete, it can’t be any less comfortable. It has been a very long time since I took a stand up, bucket shower, and I will tell you, it did not get any easier. How inconvenient, although I think I will get better with time. I do not yet have a frying pan, which I consider a pretty universal tool. I mean, I can cook spaghetti and soup in a frying pan, but frying an egg or making pancakes in a stock pot is difficult. And that is all I have. One stock pot with short metal handles that, of course, heat up when you cook. I have no oven mitt yet, so an old undershirt is doubling in that duty. I have started my shopping list for when I get paid in July- which is fine, because I may be moved out by then and need to start a new list. Did I mention that the apartment smells like cat pee and the word for “room deodorizer” was not in the lessons we worked on in class. I was able find what I needed, but just asking for it was a bit challenging. I knew I would get it, it was just a matter of time. In fact, yesterday I needed “drain-clog-remover”. I found it, asked for it at the store, went to pay, and one of the clerks came running over and in the couple of English words he knew exclaimed “NO, NO, NOT SHAMPOO!!”. To which I replied, ”good thing, otherwise the water would never drain from my tub!” Though I did thank him very much for his concern. The stuff failed (hence the landlord’s husband is coming over tomorrow to clear the drain). I was able to get out for an extended walk this morning to explore the neighborhood a little. I walked down to the main street through town (Lenin St.) There’s not much to see, but that could be because I don’t know what exactly I am looking at. I will be doing some community mapping this week and probably start seeing things differently. Also, it turns out that there is currently a Peace Corps volunteer living in this town! I haven’t met her yet, but I did speak with her on the phone. She teaches English at the local school and runs the English Club at the library where I will be working! I will meet her next week.
We have now had our meeting with the landlord, who, by all accounts does not see anything wrong with the apartment (or even the door for that matter!) She seemed nice enough, but was not interested in listening to me fumble through my Russian to ask my questions. She just abruptly said her husband would be coming tomorrow to fix the lock and the tub drain, and show me where my gas and water shut offs are.
While he was here, Sergey the driver called the police department to tell them that I was moving in today and to keep an eye on the place for problems (truthfully, Peace Corps will do the same thing, but I have 10 days to submit my form to tell them where I am living). Afterwards, Lenara took me out to the bazaar and to show me some of the highlights of the downtown area. It’s basically one strip of street with a few markets, cafes, and a police department and a hospital. I will go out tonight and tomorrow to explore a little and figure out exactly how long to get to work on Monday.
At this point I have slept one night in my new place. I have an appointment to meet the landlord in 30 minutes to go over some specifics of the place (like finding out where the gas shut off is, where the electric meter is located, and how to contact her in an emergency). Lenara will be here to facilitate the meeting. Even though I have been assured that I will be moving shortly, I am going to run with the idea that this will be my permanent residence until I am proven otherwise. The bed was as uncomfortable as I expected. Tonight I will pull the mattress off of the frame and try sleeping with the mattress on the floor. Even though it will be on concrete, it can’t be any less comfortable. It has been a very long time since I took a stand up, bucket shower, and I will tell you, it did not get any easier. How inconvenient, although I think I will get better with time. I do not yet have a frying pan, which I consider a pretty universal tool. I mean, I can cook spaghetti and soup in a frying pan, but frying an egg or making pancakes in a stock pot is difficult. And that is all I have. One stock pot with short metal handles that, of course, heat up when you cook. I have no oven mitt yet, so an old undershirt is doubling in that duty. I have started my shopping list for when I get paid in July- which is fine, because I may be moved out by then and need to start a new list. Did I mention that the apartment smells like cat pee and the word for “room deodorizer” was not in the lessons we worked on in class. I was able find what I needed, but just asking for it was a bit challenging. I knew I would get it, it was just a matter of time. In fact, yesterday I needed “drain-clog-remover”. I found it, asked for it at the store, went to pay, and one of the clerks came running over and in the couple of English words he knew exclaimed “NO, NO, NOT SHAMPOO!!”. To which I replied, ”good thing, otherwise the water would never drain from my tub!” Though I did thank him very much for his concern. The stuff failed (hence the landlord’s husband is coming over tomorrow to clear the drain). I was able to get out for an extended walk this morning to explore the neighborhood a little. I walked down to the main street through town (Lenin St.) There’s not much to see, but that could be because I don’t know what exactly I am looking at. I will be doing some community mapping this week and probably start seeing things differently. Also, it turns out that there is currently a Peace Corps volunteer living in this town! I haven’t met her yet, but I did speak with her on the phone. She teaches English at the local school and runs the English Club at the library where I will be working! I will meet her next week.
We have now had our meeting with the landlord, who, by all accounts does not see anything wrong with the apartment (or even the door for that matter!) She seemed nice enough, but was not interested in listening to me fumble through my Russian to ask my questions. She just abruptly said her husband would be coming tomorrow to fix the lock and the tub drain, and show me where my gas and water shut offs are.
While writing this journal entry I got a phone call from a current volunteer who is also seeing her new residence for the first time…and frankly, I guess things could be worse for me. Much worse! With her outhouse and no place to cook in her apartment, I figured I should hold my criticisms on the phone and save it for here J. One of the issues volunteers have is that apartments can be difficult to come by and if someone has one for rent they will market it to rent immediately. So the likelihood of someone holding an apartment for a volunteer who will arrive in a month is not high. In fact, most sites found out only two weeks ago that they were getting a volunteer and to get a place for them to stay, and, oh, yeah, Peace Corps only pays 600 UAH per month, so anything more has to be paid for by the host organization- who, in most cases may not have any money. Any guesses what kind of place you can get for about US $57/month on 2 weeks’ notice? The point being that the Peace Corps staff can only see so many of the places before volunteers move in, and just because host organizations say they will find a place that meets the minimum standards in 2 weeks for the right money, sometimes people wind up in places they consider sub-par. The Peace Corps has to determine if you are truly concerned or just looking to bitch about a change in conditions. Honestly, if they fixed the door, this place will technically meet the minimums and I could very well spend the next 2 years here. [Truth be told though, I’m sort of hoping they don’t fix the door].
my bathroom
one of 4 lights in the apt
My entire kitchen (except the fridge behind me)
the thickness of my mattress
the lock (has since been replaced)
my apt bldg
view from my apt bldg
Do they read their calandars up down?
ReplyDeleteSidney thinks there may be an issue with the pink and green floor tiles in the bathroom... a little too watermelony... but the poster of the food in the kitchen looks good...
ReplyDeleteYeah the calendars are sideways from how we read them. Also all calendars start with Monday instead of Sunday. The funny thing about this particular calendar is that it is from 2008, and the wall paper in the kitchen goes around it! Yep, white, unpapered wall behind a cheesy cat calendar. Yeah, I might do things a little differently.
ReplyDelete