Ends And Odds

I have been trying to think of something to write about for the next blogpost. Unfortunately, right now nothing is coming to me. So, I think I will make some notes that wouldn't necessarily make for a post on their own.
As the summer comes to and end and school gets underway for the next year, I have started to see more kids on the street. The tourists have gone and the families who live here have come back from their own vacations. The kids who went to visit relatives for the summer have come back and the excitement of school is in the air. Surely, that excitement will wear off quickly, but as of now, the town is still in school mode.
I spent most of my day cooking- more accurately shopping and then cooking. It was an easy recipe for vegetable curry. I know from last fall that the vegetable selection and prices will skyrocket the closer we get to winter weather. I have been eating a lot of cabbage and tomato salads recently. With my bike, I have been able to come home for lunch everyday, so I can make the fresh salad for lunch and out of sheer laziness I would just make the same thing for dinner. I suppose there are plenty of worse food ruts to be in. But, last night I went to Erin's for dinner and she had some left over curry she had made and it hit the spot so much so that I figured I would make one today. I made enough to last me for a few days at least. And it didn't come out too bad if I do say so myself.
Speaking of Erin. She is in Group 40 (I am Group 41) so she was living here in Razdol'noye 6 months before I got here. Which means that she is getting ready to end her service. Her leaving date is November 17, when she will head back to the US by way of a trip through Europe. When you end your service, Peace Corps will give you a return ticket to your home airport or the cash equivalent. So, some volunteers are anxious to get home and take the ticket, while others take the cash and take extended, roundabout ways of getting home. I have 10 more months to think about what I want to do. Anyway, I will of course be sad to see her go as she has been such an emotional support for me in this town. I am not saying I couldnt have done it without her, but her presence and support have been so helpful to me during my service. I know it is time for her to go, but it won't make it any easier. That's still 2 1/2 months away, so I won't let it bother me now.
In a good news/bad news situation, I have just learned that a concert that I bought tickets for in Kiev has been cancelled. Not only did I already buy my concert ticket, I also bought my train ticket. For  me, getting a refund on the train ticket is more of a headache than it is worth. The good part of this is that I have arranged to go to Chernigov to visit Tanya for a couple of days instead. She is excited for me to come and I will come directly from seeing my mom off. It will be a nice way to reflect on my moms visit by visiting my "other" mom. While I am in Kiev, I will get the cash for the concert ticket and plan another show to attend. I see Marilyn Manson is coming in December and I haven't seen him since 1994.
This weekend marks the one year anniversary of my friend Andreii's father Peter's death. Andreii has moved to Moscow this year and I have kept in touch with him through email and have seen him when he comes back to visit his mom. I know tomorrow the guys at the sauna are having a day of rememberance for Peter. I expect I will see Andreii during this week as he is here for a week. I know I will be thinking about his father and family this week. I see a bit of vodka in my near future!
I had a littlle bit of a setback on the archive project this week. To be fair I have never been a student of history. Most people, I would think, know that the Soviet Union was involved in a war in Afghanistan from 1979-1989. But, I will admit that I donn't really know anything about the circumstances. I have mentioned that my video archive projeect is looking to interview the war veterans that live in the district. Well, every time I tell someone in town about the project they say something to the effect of "wow, what a great project! That is something that is very important." However, the only people that don't seem to agree are the veterans themselves. Right now I am chalking this up to me not being able to fluentlly answer questions about it. I can tell someone about the project, but start to trip up once the questions start coming. We have been tasked with identifying veterans without  the help of the veterans club. Although they have given the blessing to the project, they are prohibited by law from giving out contact information for the vets. So far it has been mostly me asking my friends in town if they know any vets. This week one of my sauna friends said he did know three vets. I asked for the phone numbers so that I could have Lenara call and explain the project to them. My friend did not understand that that was my plan and (ordinarilly helpfully) had a veteran at his shop when I stopped by for the phone number. So, without Lenara I was thrown into a situation where I was explaining the archive project to a vet and when I couldn't answer his questioons he got a little concerned. All he seemed to hear from me was "interview" and "war". Try as I might to explain that I would not be conducting the interview and that I could have Lenara explain it better than me, he was tuning out. I asked for his phone number to have Lenara call him, but he turned to his friend and said he couldn't understand why I needed his phone number unless I was making a list for the government. Wow! I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction. I wound up leaving the meeting without a commitment or a phone number. As I discussed my failure with someone in town, I was asked if I had considered the possibility that some Afghan Veterans might not want to speak to an American about that war? Considering America's role in that war, that some vets may harbor resentment? It is true that I had not considered that. Hell, I don't even know what America's involvement in that war was! Obviously, I have no intention of making this a political project, and that is why I need the Ukrainians (Lenara or otherwise) to explain why it is a good thing to have an historical record of these experiences. We'll see how it plays out. Luckily this is a small town and I know people that know this guy and can hopefully undo the backwards step I have made.
The last thing is just to mention  how excited I am for my mom's visit next week. I have been trying to come up with some fun things to do while she is here. I have no plans to go to any of the major cities (Odessa, Kiev, L'viv), but rater to spend most of the time in Razdol'noye and take some day trips to places in Crimea. I figure, like with El, it won't matter so much what we do, just spending the time together should be enough for both of us.