Wednesday, August 29, 2007

A Farewell to Summer (Cottage).


A Farewell to Summer (Cottage).


Visgorod – August 28th 2007 – My wife and I trundle down the dusty road in front of our summer cottage, saying a goodbye to our neighbors. For some, it is goodbye, because we will not see them until next summer. For others, it’s “see you soon”, because we will be back every weekend possible while weather permits. And for others? Well, more about them later.


We spend the day gathering up the everyday things we moved out here three months ago. Clothing, small kitchen appliances and utensils, my computer and camera, and Pasha’s toys. There is a part of me that’s excited to get back to Kiev full time. What excites me? The bathroom and shower in the same flat where we eat and sleep is a pleasure when the evenings start turning cool and the skies get dark early. Additional modern conveniences we don’t have in Visgorod. Fast Internet, and fewer reasons to go outside, so I can get my work done.


But the passing of the summer cottage season leaves me profoundly sad too. For the return to Kiev and the shortening days mean that summer will soon recede into memory too. The river water at our beach will gain an unpleasant chill. Outdoor barbecues will morph into dinner cooked on the stove at home. The leaves will soon drop from our apple, cherry, pear, and walnut trees. Natali’s cheery flower and rose garden will droop and fade. Our tomatoes will yield their last fruits and go the way of the cucumbers, corn, and strawberries before it. The one major task that remains is to gather the grapes and try our hand at wine again.


There was a time, not too long ago, when I thought there was a special skill to barbecue. A skill I did not possess. But our massive stone grill burning real wood made me into a master quickly. The same goes for winemaking. I never envisioned myself making wine. Ever. But after a minimally successful try last year, we hope to succeed this time.


Sad. The fading of summer and the progression to fall and winter.


And so we proceed down the street with our goodbyes. Goodbye to Elena “Cat Lady”. Widowed, 74 years old, with two cats. Although she does not have heat in her cottage, she will likely remain here through October, as usual. Twice a week she will walk 15 minutes to catch a bus into town to buy supplies, and make the return trip.


Nina and Kola. Married 58 years, going on eternity. The man is either a saint, or deaf, or an expert at tuning her out. She rarely has a nice thing to say, and always directs his each and every task from the bench near the door. She seems to be mostly blind, but we have our doubts sometimes.


The doctor down the road, the only one else here who has good English, besides my wife and I. I’ve had yet to figure out what to say to the guy though.


Marina and her husband (what’s his name again)? And Roy the dog. He’s always ready for a game of fetch or a swim in the river.


And Pasha’s friends. And his birthday in July. And the memorable moments children always seem to come up with from out of nowhere. If we could just get him past his shyness…


The memories of a summer well spent.


Oh, what about the others mentioned in the first paragraph? Three people from the local community who were with us last year were not this year. No, they didn’t move, they passed away. All, in one-way or another, related to alcohol. Then I look down the street at a neighbor we saw infrequently this summer, Tatiana. She has two moods, both alcohol induced. One, depressed as all hell or ready to dance and party all night. She was with her husband at the beach two weeks ago, and twice she just fell, flat on her face. Does her husband know she’s drinking herself to death?


Will we see her again? Only time will tell, and it’s secrets must await a future day.


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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

More about the weather.


It's come to my attention that maybe my post about the weather was not as complete as it could have been. And this pertains to air conditioning. I mentioned that I had no desire or need for A/C, but should have mentioned that our primary residence has a small park in the front and a small parking area in the back, both areas with many trees to moderate the temperature. And we live on the third floor and benefit from the shade immensely. If we lived on the fifth floor or above, I'd be singing a different story since we'd be above the tree line. If that were the case, I'd be singing the praises of air conditioning daily.


But having said this, I like the summer weather here quite well.


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Monday, August 6, 2007

Kiev Weather.


The number one question people have about a place they've never been, it seems, is "What is the weather like there"? So, just what IS the weather like in Kiev?


Before I found myself here on a more or less permanent basis, I had the same question. So I asked. "What IS the weather in Kiev like?" And more than once I got the answer, "it's like New York City". Good, I thought. Having spent 95% of my prior life in NJ, and getting my weather from NYC TV and radio stations, I knew what NYC weather was like. I could handle this.


So, is Kiev weather like NYC weather? In a word, NO. Being more similar to NYC than, let's say, Miami or Anchorage, does not make the weather remotely similar at all. Much of it has to do with geography. Kiev is at 50º north, with makes it farther north than everywhere in the USA, except Alaska. Furthermore, NYC abuts the Atlantic Ocean, which influences every aspect of it's weather, from how cold it gets in the winter to how humid in gets in the summer. Kiev, not being near any sizable body of water, does not likewise get affected.


As for this summer in Kiev, the daily high temperatures have averaged between 72-86ºF, 22-30ºC, with low humidity. There have been some downright cool days, and thunderstorms numerous times. Unofficially, it did reach 104F, 40C in parts of Kiev back in May. Although these days you see air conditioners sprouting up around here like mushrooms after a rain, in my almost two years here, I have done without, and have no need or desire to purchase one for home use. (Our car does have it, however).


There will be more about the weather in future postings.


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Wednesday, August 1, 2007

So, how did I get here?


I guess that one of the first questions that might arise is "how did I get here?" Here in Kiev. Especially since I have no family heritage from this part of the world. There just aren't that many native English speakers here, especially ones who cannot find their way around the Russian or Ukrainian languages all that well. But there certainly are some! And oh yes, then there's that Cyrillic thing. The local alphabet.


So how? Or why? Marriage is often a factor when one finds oneself in another part of the world. And I am no exception. I moved over here 22 months ago, and have been married about 17 months. The culture shock between here and my former life in the states is large, as one might imagine. But then there are times it's not that large at all. And once one graduates into their second year in a new culture, a sense of normalcy returns, and while not all things go well, things are, well, better.


In this journal, I hope to highlight some of the pluses and minuses of my move, life in Kiev (Kyiv) and Ukraine, and comment in general about life behind the former iron curtain.


Oh, about "Kyiv". This is how the Ukrainians prefer the name of their capital city be spelled and pronounced in the Latin alphabet. But since it has not yet been widely adapted, I will continue to use the more familiar form, Kiev.


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