A Day In The Life Of Ukraine: May 5, 2012
A few months ago on December 13, 2011, I participated in
another volunteer’s project called A Day In The Life Of Ukraine, where
anyone in the country of Ukraine could submit a piece of writing regarding that
day. The format was very loose and the only requirements were that you had to
be in the country of Ukraine on that date and you had to write about that
specific day. Well, the organizers planned another so I am participating again. Their
website is here if you are interested. http://adayinthelifeofukraine.wordpress.com/. Here is my current submission:
My name is Sim Morrell and I am currently serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the community of Razdol’noye, Crimea, Ukraine and I had a good day today. But in order to explain what made today a good day, I need to tell you a little about yesterday. Yesterday was not such a good day for me. It was one of those days where there were many instances that, in and of themselves, would probably not have caused a disruption, but the confluence of which brought my day to an abrupt halt. I started my day with a poor night’s sleep due to a shoulder injury that bothers me if I sleep on it wrong. The pain awakens me with a jolt and can wreak havoc on an otherwise peaceful night’s rest. Before 8am, I learned of the recent death of one of my community friends, my pork purveyor Миша, who was one of the first merchants I met in town who always greeted me with a hearty handshake and a boisterous “как дела?” Next, during the first hour of work, I was informed that a bus ride that I had prepaid for to the town of Baxchasarai on Saturday was now cancelled, leaving my sitemate and I to navigate the Crimean bus schedules to find our own way there. Late in the morning came a moment where I began to feel that a crucial opportunity with regards to my primary project’s timeline was passing us by and felt that no one else was appreciating the urgency I was trying to convey. Then, just before lunch, I got further reinforcement that some of my coworkers are actively not speaking to me- to the point that they do not even acknowledge my presence when I speak to them! As most volunteers understand, I am feeling that it is hard enough for me to work in this community and being ignored can be intensely frustrating. And finally, the restaurant that we go to frequently for lunch where I seem to have some issue every single time I go- lived up to its expectations, failing to have a working beer tap. Now, all of these admittedly, mostly trivial things, culminated in a moment I am not entirely proud of, but knowing myself as I do, ended the way it needed to with me removing myself from my work surroundings and taking some alone time to clear my head. Some volunteers, I understand, cry to vent their frustrations, whereas I just packed up my desk and walked home- hoping for a better day today.
My name is Sim Morrell and I am currently serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the community of Razdol’noye, Crimea, Ukraine and I had a good day today. But in order to explain what made today a good day, I need to tell you a little about yesterday. Yesterday was not such a good day for me. It was one of those days where there were many instances that, in and of themselves, would probably not have caused a disruption, but the confluence of which brought my day to an abrupt halt. I started my day with a poor night’s sleep due to a shoulder injury that bothers me if I sleep on it wrong. The pain awakens me with a jolt and can wreak havoc on an otherwise peaceful night’s rest. Before 8am, I learned of the recent death of one of my community friends, my pork purveyor Миша, who was one of the first merchants I met in town who always greeted me with a hearty handshake and a boisterous “как дела?” Next, during the first hour of work, I was informed that a bus ride that I had prepaid for to the town of Baxchasarai on Saturday was now cancelled, leaving my sitemate and I to navigate the Crimean bus schedules to find our own way there. Late in the morning came a moment where I began to feel that a crucial opportunity with regards to my primary project’s timeline was passing us by and felt that no one else was appreciating the urgency I was trying to convey. Then, just before lunch, I got further reinforcement that some of my coworkers are actively not speaking to me- to the point that they do not even acknowledge my presence when I speak to them! As most volunteers understand, I am feeling that it is hard enough for me to work in this community and being ignored can be intensely frustrating. And finally, the restaurant that we go to frequently for lunch where I seem to have some issue every single time I go- lived up to its expectations, failing to have a working beer tap. Now, all of these admittedly, mostly trivial things, culminated in a moment I am not entirely proud of, but knowing myself as I do, ended the way it needed to with me removing myself from my work surroundings and taking some alone time to clear my head. Some volunteers, I understand, cry to vent their frustrations, whereas I just packed up my desk and walked home- hoping for a better day today.
I got up extra early today to meet my
sitemate at the bus station at 6:00am to take the 6:10am bus to go to the town
of Baxchasarai and attend a Crimean Tatar cultural festival. Although my arm
continues to bother me, I did not roll over on it during the night, which allowed
for a much better night’s sleep and I woke infinitely more refreshed than
yesterday. With the cancellation of the direct bus to the festival, we now had
to take a bus to Simferopol where, we were told, we would be able to connect
with a shuttle bus to the fairgrounds. It turned out that she needed to buy
some train tickets anyway, so the brief layover at the train station in
Simferopol was actually a good thing for her. We found the shuttle and got to
the festival in fine time, arriving to probably the largest community gathering
I have seen yet in Ukraine, save the May 9 (Victory Day) celebration last year
in Chernigov. As I made my way through the crowds I ran into people I knew from
town. One of them was a gentleman who I am currently working with on one of my
secondary projects and I was able to use the brief meeting with him to clarify
some information for our plans during this upcoming week. Even though this was
not a discussion about my primary project, I used the opportunity to clear my proverbial
plate, allowing me to focus on addressing primary project challenges starting
first thing Monday morning. Additionally, I ran into two other people from work
who made their way to the festival independently from me. One exchanged
pleasantries with me, while the other spent a lengthier time with me-
underscoring that not everyone at work ignores me- just some of them. And some
of them actually like me. There were no restaurant meals today. Instead, food
stalls on the fairway offering all of my Crimean Tatar favorites like plove,
shashlik, and chebureki’s. The water was served cold and the food served hot.
The disappointments in today’s lunch were limited only to trying to balance a
paper plate and eating with plastic utensils, rather than navigating a communication
barrier with a waitress who had no patience as I tried to clarify whether they
were just out of my brand of beer or if the entire tap system itself was not in
working order. As we rode home on the bus this afternoon I was thinking of how
to write about my experience today, on 5/5/12, and considering how all of the
things that wound up eventually toppling my day yesterday, seemed a bit more
manageable just one day later.
Of the six points that contributed to my challenging day yesterday, none of them seem as bad today as they felt when I was experiencing them. I still have the issue of my deceased friend that I cannot change- but I can muster up my best condolences in Russian and make a plan to see his wife on Tuesday. What more can I do? Come Monday morning I can give my full attention to the primary project with a clearer head and start all over again.
Of the six points that contributed to my challenging day yesterday, none of them seem as bad today as they felt when I was experiencing them. I still have the issue of my deceased friend that I cannot change- but I can muster up my best condolences in Russian and make a plan to see his wife on Tuesday. What more can I do? Come Monday morning I can give my full attention to the primary project with a clearer head and start all over again.
When some problem arises and another
presents itself before the last was resolved, successive issues get magnified
and suddenly something that shouldn’t even register on your radar winds up
getting internalized and eventually blown out of proportion. Sadly, my sour
mood can start to affect others and if I don’t remove myself from my
surroundings, I wind up having to do damage control in the coming days. For as
much as I am giving and teaching here in Ukraine, I am also learning. Sometimes
that includes learning about myself as well. I am a realist and know that
things don’t always work out immediately or the way they were planned, but it
really is amazing what new perspectives can be gained in just one 24 hour
period. Saturday May 5, 2012 has gone into the books as a good day. It’s
refreshing to see what a difference a day can make.
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