On Saturday night, Lenara and I went to a festival put on by the Department of Culture in one of the villages near Razdol’noye. It was nothing spectacular, but there were a couple of moments that were funny or at least worthy of writing about. I came home and wrote most of a blog post about the experience, but then something happened that eclipsed the importance of the festival and underscored, to me at least, one of the reasons that I am here.
I may or may not have mentioned in the past that I have made friends with a young man named Andreii. He showed up one time to English Club and it was obvious that his English was way beyond any of the other participants (including Lenara), which is pretty impressive. As it turns out, Andreii is part of the weekly sauna group, so I see him there sometimes. The short of it is that he attended a prep school in Ukraine where classes are taught in English. He was part of a program that allowed him to go to one year of high school in America (Long Island, NY) returning to Ukraine for his Bachelor Degree and then back to America for his Masters at Old Dominion University in Virginia. Suffice it to say, he and I can communicate pretty well. This summer he has been working for a company in Kiev and on Thursday he will move to Kiev permanently. I saw him briefly yesterday afternoon and he invited me to dinner in the evening. So, after sauna, I went to dinner. Well, this was a great experience for me. It was Andreii, his mom and dad, two neighbors and myself. I told his mom that I am not allowed to eat fish or mushrooms (For health reasons, Americans are strongly discouraged to eat them by the Peace Corps). Then we started with soup. After that she brought out plates and bowls full of cold salads, warm breads and pizza, and several hot items which included shashlik (kebabs) and golubsy (cabbage leaves stuffed with rice and meat, then cooked in tomato broth). The food was so good. And the vodka flowed like there was no (work) tomorrow. I seem to recall 7 shots before the neighbor asked if I wanted to sample his homemade wine. At some point I remember telling Andreii’s mom that after this much vodka, my brain does not work fast enough to process her questions. Andreii was happy to translate throughout the meal and I was able to answer questions about my personal life and my impressions of this country.
I may or may not have mentioned in the past that I have made friends with a young man named Andreii. He showed up one time to English Club and it was obvious that his English was way beyond any of the other participants (including Lenara), which is pretty impressive. As it turns out, Andreii is part of the weekly sauna group, so I see him there sometimes. The short of it is that he attended a prep school in Ukraine where classes are taught in English. He was part of a program that allowed him to go to one year of high school in America (Long Island, NY) returning to Ukraine for his Bachelor Degree and then back to America for his Masters at Old Dominion University in Virginia. Suffice it to say, he and I can communicate pretty well. This summer he has been working for a company in Kiev and on Thursday he will move to Kiev permanently. I saw him briefly yesterday afternoon and he invited me to dinner in the evening. So, after sauna, I went to dinner. Well, this was a great experience for me. It was Andreii, his mom and dad, two neighbors and myself. I told his mom that I am not allowed to eat fish or mushrooms (For health reasons, Americans are strongly discouraged to eat them by the Peace Corps). Then we started with soup. After that she brought out plates and bowls full of cold salads, warm breads and pizza, and several hot items which included shashlik (kebabs) and golubsy (cabbage leaves stuffed with rice and meat, then cooked in tomato broth). The food was so good. And the vodka flowed like there was no (work) tomorrow. I seem to recall 7 shots before the neighbor asked if I wanted to sample his homemade wine. At some point I remember telling Andreii’s mom that after this much vodka, my brain does not work fast enough to process her questions. Andreii was happy to translate throughout the meal and I was able to answer questions about my personal life and my impressions of this country.
It’s the level of hospitality and curiosity that makes experiences like this so good. Granted, I know Andreii a little, but for his family to invite me in and feed me this well was one of the reasons I really love my assignment.
Sidenote: I am the third volunteer in this tiny town. Erin is still here, but the first volunteer, Ann, had already gone home before I arrived. However, everybody seems to know Ann, asks about Ann (whom I never met), and by all accounts, loved Ann. I hope that interactions like this will pave the way for people to ask future volunteers about me with the same reverence as Miss Ann (which is what the town calls her- because she was a teacher and in school that is how all of the kids referred to her).So, to the Tartarchuk Family, thank you so much for letting me be part of last evening. The food was outstanding and the company equally “класс”. Andreii, “удачи” (good luck) in Kiev. I will be in touch when I am in the area, and hope you can stop in when you return to Razdol’noye on holiday. Thanks again for everything.
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