Observations for Class: Analytical Papers
Observation Week 2: Analytical Paper
Coffee shop/café: Kex (pronounced “Cakes”)
In the window
seat next to me, there is a young man and a young woman. They are a couple.
Even though this is a coffee shop, there is only one large cup of coffee. The
size of the cup makes it look like a cappuccino or a hot chocolate. She is
drawing in a notebook; she has a ruler, a ballpoint pen, a marker. She is
drawing a design or logo of some sort. He is on his phone; he is clearly bored.
The busboy knows her, as he keeps coming over and they laugh. This is hard to
explain, as it was clear in their body language that they were very good
friends. Their body language also clearly showed that the young woman drawing
and the young man at her table were a couple.
There is a group
of 4 men, also at a window seat. They ordered tea. The waitress asked them how
much tea they wanted, as you can order a single cup or enough for the whole
table. The men are a mix of ages – the youngest appears to be closer to 40,
while the oldest appears to be closer to 70. They are a group of friends (again, it was their body language
and how they interacted which led me to this conclusion). They are laughing and
telling stories. They order more tea.
There is very
loud music, which makes it difficult to overhear what people are saying,
without being creepy. When there are only a few people in the café, it is
relatively easy to overhear the waitress, but not the customers. Once the café
fills up, it becomes hard to overhear the conversations or the waitress.
However, it is easy to see the result of the interactions – one customer says
something and the waitress returns with a dessert or a pot of tea or a cup of
coffee. One wall of the café is made of mirrors. This makes it easy to see most
of the café. I can’t see all of the café, though. I can’t see the counter or
the display case of sweet goods, and there are a few smaller tables in the
darker area (it is darker because there are no windows and the café is mostly
lit with sunlight), which I can’t see. I can easily see anyone who walks in.
Not as they enter the door, but after they walk in. It would be interesting to
watch people walk past the café, see if they see the café, and if they consider
coming in.
For instance,
having never been to Kex before, I didn’t know where it was. I didn’t even know
the name. I walked past it, and then called my friend (whom I was meeting), to
make sure it was the right place. A blue café called “Kex” is a bit hard to
miss. Once I’d learned that it was, in fact, a blue café called “Kex.” This is
an example of information seeking. I had not been to the café, and I didn’t
know where it was. I knew that it was visible from the main square, but not any
other identifying information. I should have asked my friend for some more
information – name and description – but I didn’t think to do so.
Several women
(in their 30s) enter, with their small kids. They sit at the table next to me.
A woman who had entered earlier (with no kids) joins them. I think she was
waiting to meet her friends. She had not ordered anything to eat or drink. One
observation (she hadn’t ordered anything to eat or drink) and one inference
(she was waiting for her friends).
There is a table
with a window seat, with two girls. One of the girls gets up to leave. They
exchange cheek kisses. Once one of them leaves, the other sits at the table,
sipping her coffee, eating her sweet thing. She looks sad. I don’t know why I
thought that, but she just looked sad, sitting there sipping her coffee.
Perhaps she thought the same of me, sitting there with my latte and taking
notes.
You can get
to-go cups of coffee and to-go baked goods. Several people order a last coffee
from the waitress and she brings them it in a to-go cup. I also saw several
people getting to-go bags of baked goods. What I do not know is if they
specifically ordered to-go food or if they did not finish their food and asked
for a box.
In Ukraine, most
people put their stuff down, save the table, order at the counter, and sit
down. This is common except at sit-down restaurants with hostesses. This is a
cultural thing. It’s what you do. You put your hat/jacket/bag down to save the
table and you go and order. There is table service – I sat down to wait for CW,
and one of the waitresses handed me a menu and asked if I wanted coffee and/or
dessert. I ordered a latte. It was the best latte I’ve had in Ukraine. She did
wait a few minutes, probably to see if I would go to the counter or not. As I
didn’t know they had table service, I was not expecting her to do that. I had
been planning on waiting for CW and then ordering food and coffee.
There are two
waitresses, and they are very friendly.
A young man
(dressed like a hipster) comes in, and takes a picture of something at the
table with his phone. I am unable to see what he is taking a picture of. It
does not appear to be the menu.
The mothers with
the toddlers give them large hot chocolates, with mini-marshmallows (more on
the toddles and their behaviour later).
A woman comes in
and has a long conversation with a waitress. I couldn’t hear it, but the end
result was a table being bussed and her sitting at that table. Several friends
join her after a few minutes. It is easy to infer that the question was about
the table and whether they could bus it so she could sit there. This is the
opposite of the principle of least effort, as there was a larger table
available. She could have decided that the table at the window wasn’t worth the
effort and taken a seat the other table. However, the other table wasn’t as
nice.
The women with
the kids were taking pictures. I offered to get a picture of all of them. It
took them a bit to understand what I wanted to do (I asked if they wanted a
picture together). Once I took the pictures, they seemed very happy with the
photo. They ordered most dessert, both for them and the toddlers.
People leave as
they finish their coffee. People come in and take open seats. The tables at the
windows seem to be preferred, but no one sits in the window seats. I wonder if
this a cultural thing (no one sits in window seats), or if everyone wants to
look out the window.
Customers often
talk to the waitresses and order food/coffee. They also go up and order at the
counter. Those already seated order from the waitress, and those who just
walked in order at the counter. Most people put their stuff down and order at
the counter. But some do sit at a table and order that way.
No one ever puts
their purse/shoulder bag on the floor. In Ukraine, no one ever puts their purse
on the floor, as the floor is dirty. Purses are always placed on chairs or
tables. This cultural tradition is most likely the result of the time
pre-electricity and pre-vacuum cleaners, when it would have been rather
difficult to clean dirt out of a carpet without one. This tradition is also
seen with shoes – you do not, under any circumstances, wear your shoes in a
Ukrainian’s house or apartment. You take them off as soon as you walk in the
door. This tradition is from when it was very difficult to keep carpets clean
without vacuum cleaners.
The café had
free Wi-Fi, and I wanted to check my email, so I asked one of waitresses about
the username and password. I had some trouble with the phrase that was the
password, so she helped
me put it in. I
also learned that one of the waitresses spoke perfect English.
I had trouble
opening the bathroom door, as one is not supposed to close the bathroom door
all of the way, as it makes it very hard to open it, from either side. There
are two stalls and a sink inside, so there are no privacy concerns, just safety
concerns. However, there is no note saying this on or near the door, in any
language. The waitress told me that everyone leaves the bathroom and shuts the
door, making it very difficult for others to open it. This appears to be the
principle of least effort – not creating a sign for the door – but it also
leads to having to tell the customers all the time that they shouldn’t shut the
door all the way. You would think that grabbing a sheet of A4, a black marker,
some tape, and creating a sign would be easier in the long run… Or fixing the door…
I have noticed
that restaurants and cafés can be out of something, but there is never a note
on the menu. This is more common at restaurants which have a very large and
complicated menu. One must order what they want and then learn that they don’t
have that. For example, I ordered fruit tea (not an herbal tea), was told they
were out, so I ordered Earl Grey tea. When the waitress brought my tea, I was
given what I ordered – fruit tea – but the waitress didn’t tell me that. I
didn’t notice at first, as Earl Grey here can be hit or miss – some teas marked
as “Earl Grey” (with bergamot) are really “Lady Grey” (with citrus). This is
another example of information seekers, as I know what I am looking for (Earl
Grey tea with bergamot), but I don’t know which tea is really Earl Grey and
which tea is really Lady Grey without buying it and trying it. At least I like
both Earl Grey and Lady Grey teas.
At all the
coffee shops we went to, there were baked goods and sweet things to eat. The
different cafés had different things for sale, but they all had little signs
saying what was what. Some times they were difficult to read (cutesy
handwriting can be hard to read in any language), but they were always there.
You can look at what is there and read the signs to figure out what you want to
order. At one of the cafés, there was so much available, and it all looked
good, that I had trouble deciding what I wanted. More information is (more
options are) not always a good thing.
To get to the
city, my Oblast Centre, I took a bus from my town. I walked up to the station
from my apartment. On my way there, I walked through the bazaar, where I saw a
lot of stalls and made mental notes of where I could find something had I been
looking for it. As there are two newish PCVs in my town, I like to keep an eye
out for things, so if they ask me “where can I get X,” I know. The answer is
usually “the bazaar.” Unless the item is something you wish to try on, as there
are no fitting rooms at bazaar stalls.
At the bus
station, there were several ticket counters working, and I was able to order my
ticket. I asked for a ticket on the next bus to the town I was going to. The
woman behind the ticket counter made sure that I knew when the bus was leaving,
the bus route, and the bay from which the bus was leaving, as most the time,
the bus is going somewhere after the city you buy a ticket for. This helps
ensure that the passenger gets on the correct bus. You also have to show the
driver the ticket before you get on. They tear the ticket, which validates it
(I think)… Once on the bus, the driver stops at bus stops, especially out of
the cities and near the villages, and picks up riders who are going to the next
village. They pay the driver a smaller amount than the entire ticket cost. The
buses are always crazy crowded, with people standing in the aisles.
There is a several minute mid-point stop. The length of the stop depends on the size of the bus, as the larger tour-bus style buses go a lot slower on the bad Ukrainian roads, and the smaller sprinter vans can go very fast. However, there is never an announcement of how long the stop is. It is always long enough for the guys to smoke, but not always long enough to go and buy a cold soda or even use the restroom.
While I was with
CW, we went to Nova Poshta, so she could mail something. There, just like a
regular post office, you wait for the next available counter, and talk to the
mail carrier. They ask specific questions, including, “what size box/envelope
do you need?” “what is it?” “how much is it worth?” and “where is it going?”
These questions help insure that the package gets where it needs to go in a
timely manor.
I am a member of
various Peace Corps related Facebook Groups, and most of them are for the
newest incoming group of Peace Corps Volunteers. They ask questions of the PCVs
currently in Ukraine, which helps them pack for the country. On Saturday, one
of the arriving in March group asked if they could access their Amazon Prime
from Ukraine. The answer is complicated, as yes, one can access Amazon Prime
from Ukraine. One can download Amazon Kindle Books in Ukraine. One can’t have
Amazon ship anything to Ukraine, without using another shipping service on top
of Amazon – you ship the package to the other company, who ships it to you in
Ukraine (it’s complicated). However, that wasn’t their question. They wanted to
know if they could stream Prime Video in Ukraine. This is a perfect example of
a reference interview, as they didn’t ask the question they wanted the answer
to. They asked if they could access Amazon Prime, not if they could stream
Prime Video. The answer is (apparently) that yes, you can legally stream Amazon
Prime Video in Ukraine. Learn something new everyday.
Children in Ukraine
It is a cultural
thing, but children do no appear to be disciplined in Ukraine. I have seen
three separate instances where children showed no signs of behaving.
During
observation week, I was at a café called Kex, where three women and two
toddlers sat next to me. The toddlers were given a large hot chocolate, with
mini-marshmallows, as well as other sweet desserts while at the café. Once the
children were sugared up, the mothers let them run free in the café. They
almost ran into the waitresses on several occasions. The café had a horse
rocker with wheels, and one of the toddlers got on it. He proceeded to ram CW’s
chair repeatedly, as hard as he could. He would ram CW, look up at his mother,
giggle, and do it again. No one said anything, and he did this for probably
about 30 minutes. His mother didn’t try to stop him. She didn’t even tell him
to stop. She appeared to think it was cute. It really annoyed CW, who was
having her chair rammed constantly.
While I was at
Camp O.H.A.L.O.W. over the summer, there was a area where there was Wi-Fi. The
parents let their children run around screaming the entire camp. The children
would sit in the Wi-Fi zone, and listen to music really loudly and without
headphones. The children would run up and down the stairs at full speed.
Several children slipped and fell while doing this, but no one ever told them
to stop. They also ran around the complex where we were. It was very hard to
keep the Campers from exhibiting the same behaviour they were witnessing.
Over the New
Year/Christmas Holidays, my parents came to Ukraine to see me. We travelled
around the country, going to L’viv and Kyiv. While at a restaurant in L’viv, we
observed a large group of family and friends. There were several children, all
about 5 or so, and they were misbehaving. The youngest girl, had to be told
three separate times by the hostess to stop what she was doing. She was running
and jumping on another child (a boy a few years older than her). She was
shrieking. She was routinely getting in the way of other patrons and the
waiters. She almost ran into the waiter on numerous occasions. Not once did her
parents say anything to her. They even gave her the world’s largest chocolate
ice cream dessert. Once sugared up again, she was even more hyper and misbehaved.
Other children were also going up the stairs to the main floor of the
restaurant (we were in the more bar-like section; the main restaurant-like
section was upstairs) to get samples of beer for their parents. These were
children less than 10 who were getting in people’s way and getting several
dozen sample glasses of beer. They almost ran into several different waiters,
the hostess, and other customers while doing this. Their parents seemed to
think it was cute.
While I know
neither of the last two examples (Camp O.H.A.L.O.W. in Volyn Oblast or Kumpel
Restaurant in L’viv) were observed during Observation Week Number One, I think
that they enforce my observation – children are not disciplined in Ukraine.
Were children to do what I’ve seen them do here back in the US, the parents
would be asked to either do something about their child’s behaviour, or asked
to leave.
Observation Week 2: Analytical Paper
One current PCV
asked a member of the newest group about the make up of the group. In the past,
there have been two groups arriving in Ukraine per year – TEFL (Teachers of
English as a Foreign Language) in September, and the Development volunteers in
March. The most recent group – the first official group of Peace Corps trainees
after the evacuation – was a mixed group of both TEFL and Development. They
were asking if the pattern was back to normal. Ukraine is one of the few
countries which this set-up. I remember being told during my staging that
Ukraine is one of the few countries where the trainees practice teaching on
live classes during the school year. Talk about the importance of getting it
right the first time. Arriving in September for training and swearing-in in
December is perfect for TEFL, as it usually gives the PCV something to do
immediately. Arriving in March and swearing-in in June means that the PCV
arrives at site just after the school year has ended. This is less important
for development volunteers, as they can get to work pretty much immediately,
even during the summer.
Several current
PCVs shared their blogs. It is Peace Corps policy to have a password on your
blog, if you have a blog. It is also Peace Corps policy not to post things that
could be taken badly if seen by host-country nationals. There is always a story
told with this. The story is that, many years ago, a Peace Corps Volunteer
wrote a postcard home. However, the postcard never left the host country. It
was full of the problems of the host country, and included the wonderful
phrase, “squalor and absolutely primitive
living conditions.”[1]
It put both the Volunteer in question and the Peace Corp in general in hot
water. This specific postcard is NOT an urban legend,[2] and the story
is told to encourage current PCVs not to post things in a public space that
they would not like everyone seeing. They are telling us that everything we do,
everything we say, can become public. A blog is not like a private journal. It
is not something that no one will ever see. Your friends and family will see
your blog and talk about it. If someone Googles you, your blog might come up.
And they’ll look at it and read it. And then they’ll talk to other people, and
what you posted becomes an issue for the future. It could go viral.
A current PCV
shared the incoming Fall group with the other groups, prompting all of us to
join it. They made reference to it, apologizing for the sudden uptick in
activity of the current PCVs joining the blog, as every person has to ask to
join, which prompts a Facebook notification that someone wants to join. I
counted 3 in a half-hour period, not including my own request to join.
A current PCV
shared information about the Revolution of Dignity,[3]
EuroMaidan,[4]
and the Heavenly Hundred,[5]
as many Americans don’t know much about Ukraine. The Ukrainian Evacuation,
though such an important event to me and mine, is a blip, a footnote (if that),
to everyone else.
Several PCVs
commented, saying that they were available if anyone had any questions. Both in
a general sense (I’m here if you have any questions) and in a personal sense
(please feel free to PM me if you have any questions you don’t feel comfortable
asking in the group).
A current PCV
commented with what isn’t available in Ukraine, food-wise. This list includes
peanut butter, Oreos, Cheetos, brown sugar, and vanilla, although this in some
cases depends on their site – some larger Oblast Centres have bazaars with
thing such as brown sugar and peanut butter. This led to another PCV commenting
that they can find Oreos at their site, and other commenting that they were very
annoyed, as they loved Oreos. Several other PCVs mentioned the Roshen version,
and that the aren’t good enough. They look like Oreos, but don’t hold up. This
discussion, like many in Peace Corps, soon diverted away from its original
meaning (bring a pack of Oreos with you) to a more personal discussion about
Oreos and food we are missing from home.
There are always
multiple threads going at once about shoes in Ukraine. Before I left in Fall
2013, a just-returned PCV told me to bring good shoes, as “Ukraine eats shoes.”
It’s true, Ukraine eats shoes and asks for seconds. These discussions are
usually about size, style, quality, and availability. It can be rather hard to
find high quality shoes in Ukraine, and this goes double for people with large
feet, or those in small towns.
Women in Ukraine
are usually dressed very nicely, even to go to the grocery store. Stiletto
heels are the norm, even on streets which are more pothole than street. The
students at my school wear ballet flats (the girls, the boys don’t), but one
can’t seem to find any when they are looking for shoes.
PCVs are
commenting with their shoe size, and how much trouble they have finding shoes.
Some have no trouble finding their size, but are having trouble finding
fashionable ones. Some are finding plenty of fashionable shoes, but are having
trouble walking in said fashionable shoes, as they don’t usually wear
heels/stilettos. The roads here in Ukraine are considered extremely bad – the
joke goes that the potholes have potholes. This is because of the extreme
temperature changes and the freezing-expansion effect.
PCVs are
commenting with which brands of shoes they brought with them from the US.
Winter boots can be extremely expensive, and the incoming group want to know if
they are worth the money. They are adding which brands held up the best, and
which brands give discounts to Peace Corps Volunteers. They also offered some
fashionable advice – apparently, ankle boots were in last fall, and no one had
thought to bring ankle boots to Ukraine.
Some one asked a
question about weight fluctuation. This question, though personal in nature, is
very important, as the food and lifestyle in Ukraine is completely different
than in the US. Several people commented with their specific weight gain/loss,
while others simply posted the generalizations about weight gain/loss in
Ukraine. Multiple people commented that the healthy food and walking canceled
out the amount of food and the calorie count. Several people commented on the
availability of tailoring/alterations. This helps people know if they will be
able to have clothing altered in country. One person added a cultural note –
that babushkas often alter/tailor clothing on the side for extra money.
Another incoming
PCV asked about multivitamins. When I was packing for my original two years in
2013, I was told that, if you take vitamins or supplements, you will need to
supply your own from the US. Multiple current PCVs commented that the PCMO
(doctor) will supply vitamins and/or supplements to current volunteers. This is
the first time I’ve heard of that, as it was not mentioned during my medical
interview in June. This may be a new thing, or I may have missed it.
Someone asked
about shipping clothing to Ukraine. As this new group is arriving in March,
they are unlikely to need their winter coats and boots until October.
Therefore, the question is should they buy in the US and pack? Buy in the US
and ship? Or buy in Ukraine? The answer boils down to the cost of shipping. It
can be very expensive to ship things to Ukraine, as the cost of shipping is
very high, and their can be customs fees. Someone also mentioned that you may
have to pay bribes to get your boxes out of customs, and that things do not
always make it to you intact – we are always warned that things may go
“missing” in transit. But, that being said, you only get a set number of pounds
of luggage (you can pay overage fees, you do get 100 pound of luggage). This
also, yet again, brought up the size, style, quality, and price debates.
An interesting
note on the shipping question is that no one suggested Meest, which is the
company that many/most PCVs use to have things shipped from home. This reminds
me, I must look into which shipping company is the best for shipping things to
the US. I will be over my luggage limit and shipping a box of books home myself
may be less expensive in the long run.
Someone has a
non-traditional hair cut, and was wondering how it would go over in Ukraine.
This raised the question of how “normal” or “traditional” do girls’ haircuts
need to be. The general consensus was that the haircut was fine, but it might
raise some eyebrows in a small village, as it was a very modern haircut. The
cultural norm here in Ukraine for young women is that hair should be worn long,
usually in braids. Most people also have bangs. It is possible that bangs are
so common here because it is easier to make them look better after taking a hat
off in winter.
Flight times.
Now, when a group is “staged” in the US, all members of the group have to
arrive at the staging hotel by a certain time to check into staging. Most
people fly, as they are too far away to drive. Therefore, someone created a
note where people can add their flight times. This way, they can see when
everyone is arriving, and make plans to share a taxi or meet up for dinner.
“Dress up.”
Someone wanted to know if they should bring formal clothing. Well, more formal
clothing, as they are already bring professional clothing. One PCV said
“Ukrainian women are always on fleek.” After looking the new slang phrase up, I
must say I agree. I commented about my little black dress (LBD). I haven’t had
a chance to wear it, but I did wear it to my original swearing in (it was an
official ceremony at the US Embassy, Kyiv), as well as to judge a few events in
my Oblast Centre before the evacuation. It is never a bad idea to have a LBD.
Several people
asked about documents. Which documents do they need hard copies of? What
extra/other documents do they need to bring? There was no consensus, as several
people thought you should bring xyz documents, while others though you only
needed mno documents. There was also no consensus about whether you need a
second form of ID, as your drivers license isn’t valid here, either for driving
(we are not allowed to drive), or as an official ID.
Boots, winter
boots. Many volunteers had questions and comments about winter boots. Should
you buy in Ukraine? Should you ship them to Ukraine? One PCV said that they
found cheap and cozy winter boots in Ukraine. Others commented that, while they
found winter boots in Ukraine, they had trouble finding their size or a style
they liked. The general consensus was that they shouldn’t waste suitcase space
on the boots, they should instead bring layers, as you will need them. And
sooner than the boots – some schools don’t have enough heat, and it’s only
50ish degrees Fahrenheit outside where I am. People were commenting about the
trouble they had finding their sizes, saying that the incoming group should
think about that when packing.
There was the
usual zip-up boots versus lace-up boots debate. Lace-ups are more likely to
survive for two or three winters, but they are harder to get on and off. I,
however, hold the trump card when it comes to this debate – I was wearing my
lace-ups during the evacuation. I have never had so much trouble when it came
to taking my shoes on and off. Airport security was quite the hassle.
Someone asked
about skirt length. Given that all of the comments are about “professionalism”
and that one needs to dress “professionally,” many people wonder about the
length of their skirts. I believe that this stems from US dress codes, where
you skirt/shorts must be significantly below your fingertips. Even if the rule
states that they must be just to the fingertips, anything “too close” could get
you in trouble with the dress code. Here in Ukraine, it is no big deal.
Students and teachers alike wear above the knee skirts. All fall below the
fingertips. Most are professional (pencil-style), while a few are the
highwaisted flouncy style of the 1940s. The argument was that as long as the
skirt was professional, it was appropriate.
Several PCVs
posted about what they wished they’d brought to Ukraine. For TEFL, school
supplies topped the list. School supplies are either low-quality, hard to find,
expensive, or some combination thereof. The suggestion was that, if you have
the room, pack it, and if you have the money, ship it.
Someone had a
question about the availability of Internet, specifically about Ethernet vs.
Wi-Fi. Most PCVs have Wi-Fi at their homes/apartments. I told my story about
the PPPoE Connection trouble. The story is that my computer did not take the
Ethernet connection in Ukraine, as Ukraine uses the PPPoE set-up, which the
computer person was unable to set-up on my computer. Someone else commented
with the fact that some new computers don’t even have Ethernet ports, and
therefore must be on Wi-Fi for Internet.
Someone else
asked about Thermals and other base layers. These can be expensive, so they
were wondering if they were really necessary. Everyone said that, yes, they are
very important. I added that “you legs will thank you,” because your legs will
stay warmer in the very cold winter months. Some schools/apartment buildings
may not be that warm over the winter, so you may end up living in yours over
the winter. Several people commented with where you could buy less expensive
thermals/base layers. Another commented that white gets dingy after too much
use, and yet another commented with the suggestion that you should bring at
least two pairs, so you will always have a clean pair.
Someone asked
whether they would have any help getting their luggage to site, as that would
influence how much stuff they brought. While you will have to wrangle your
stuff to the staging area (and through the ticket counter at the international
airport out of which you are flying to Ukraine), you will have plenty of help
getting your luggage to your training site, and to your official site once you
are sworn in. I was met at the train both times by the same person, who dragged
my stuff up to my apartment. It was quite the feeling of relief when he tapped me on the shoulder on his way up to my suitcase, which was still on the train. Apparently, he was distracting me so my counterpart could hug me.
There is a
perennial question about what one should get as gifts for their host families.
There are some standard gift suggestions to help, though. The best suggestion
is to bring things from your state – postcards are good, but magnets go over
even better. A deck of Uno cards is always nice (but only if you like Uno).
Something made in your city/state is also good. I brought several tubes of
Dewey’s Moravian Spice cookies. My host-mother liked them so much that I
brought her another tube when I went to visit in August, and again in December
when I brought my family to visit. I also brought her a shot glass, with the
Old Salem coffee pot on it, as it is a symbol of hospitality in Winston-Salem.
It is displayed with pride in her living room.
It is very hard
to see how someone takes the information. Most of the time they “like” the
comment with the information, or they comment with “thanks, guys!” I haven’t
seen many questions which resulted in a hard “no” from anyone. Or questions
resulting in an answer the person didn’t want. There is always wiggle-room.
Most people are happy to have the information. Most people ask another question
in the comments. For instance, the person who asked about Thermals/base layers
asked about host-family gifts in the comments. They ask for clarification. One
person asked what someone meant about the availability of shoes sizes and
styles, as we all have different experiences.
It is also hard
to differentiate between information “needs” and information “wants” in this
context. (Case 4.1.1) Some questions are more for information “wants” while
others are more clearly information “needs.” In fact, with the limited
exception of questions about host-family gifts, help schlepping luggage, and
perhaps documents, every question is more of “want” than a “need.” While the
questions may make the poster feel more confident in their arrival to Ukraine,
they do not need to know about the availability of winter boots in their size.
It does help to know whether they will be able to buy shoes in their size, but
it won’t stop them from going to the local REI and buying a pair of Sorel
winter boots. The same with skirt length. Something that really didn’t occur to
me, as the two skirts I brought were professional pencil style skirts. Because
they were professional enough to wear to a national conference, it didn’t occur
to me to think that they might be a bit too short because they fell above the knee.
But, that being said, what is an information “want” to me, the person giving
the advice, is clearly an information “need” to the person asking for advice.
Host-family
gifts are more of an information “need” as you do need a few gifts for your
host-families. But you “want” to make sure that you bring good and appropriate
gifts. And the comment in the welcome packet is “small gifts for host-family
and friends.” Which leads to asking the question in the Facebook group and
getting a lot of information. I’ll get back to that.
Learning about help schlepping luggage is also an information need, because it could determine if you bring more luggage. I can wrangle my bags, but just barely. I can’t, however, get them into or off of the luggage racks on the trains. I have to have help to do that. I can only get one bag off of the train by myself, I need someone else to get the second one for me. Not knowing that I would have help with my bags could have changed what types of bags I brought. Or how much luggage I brought. Or I might have decided to ship a box of school supplies instead of checking them.
Learning about help schlepping luggage is also an information need, because it could determine if you bring more luggage. I can wrangle my bags, but just barely. I can’t, however, get them into or off of the luggage racks on the trains. I have to have help to do that. I can only get one bag off of the train by myself, I need someone else to get the second one for me. Not knowing that I would have help with my bags could have changed what types of bags I brought. Or how much luggage I brought. Or I might have decided to ship a box of school supplies instead of checking them.
And the
documents. While it turned out that there isn’t consensus about which other
documents (if any) to bring, there may have been a necessary document. While this
is unlikely – Peace Corps Ukraine is really on top of things – it might have
happened. Maybe we need our drivers licenses for something. Maybe we should
have copies of our birth certificates. You never know.
As Case further
brings up, Green’s fourth point (Case 4.1.1) is that it is possible to be
unaware of one’s true need. I’ve noticed this in the groups, as many people ask
a question, but do not phrase the question in such a way that allows us to
answer it quickly. For instance, some one asking three questions at once may
get only one of their questions answered. Or someone asking a question in
“replied to your comment” comment may have their question missed. Also some
people ask very vague questions, such “who has experience with the teaching
training institutes.” Without adding what sector the incoming volunteer is, we
don’t really know how to answer the question. Are they a development volunteer
looking for a community project? Are they a TEFL higher-education volunteer who is likely to be teaching at one of
them? This always leads to follow-up questions, and slows the flow of
information (Case 4.2.1)Without this information, we can not answer their
questions. The more specific the question, the better and faster we can answer
it.
Most of these questions seem to be of the
“reducing uncertainty” variety (Case 4.2.2). They are more of the “I have, and
recognize that I have, an information gap, and I would like to fix that”
variety. They then ask us. We give them our opinion, and they then ask follow-up
questions, or indicate that we have answered their question by posting
something along the lines of “thanks, guys!” to the group.
This also leads
to the fact that there is a lot of information available. One question can span
30 to 50 comments on it, especially if it is one of the ones that every single
PCV has a comment about. There are little information gems hidden in comments
such as “I agree with so-and-so” and “not me.” If you are looking for
information, you will have to comb through all 50 of those comments, and hope
that the answer is somewhere in there. There are also a lot of different
questions, and most of them are probably important to most of the incoming
group. There is information overload. There is just too much information.
From an HIB
standpoint, most of these questions are fairly self-explainable – they are
being asked because the person asking them needs to know the information. They
need the information so they know how to pack, they know what to pack, and they
know what they don’t need to bring with them. There are very few questions when
I look at the question and wonder, “huh, I wonder why you just asked that.”
This group also
demonstrates the Principle of Least Effort (Case 7.4.1), as it is very easy to
ask the group a question. There is no reading travel guides and hoping they are
correct. Instead, you as the group one question and get a lot of different
answers. Case in point, the question about skirt length. We know, as we have
been living and working here, which allows us to gauge things such as how long
does a skirt need to be to be considered professional. Lonely Planet might not
know that.
All of these
questions come from someone with an information gap. It might not be a crucial
information gap, but there is definitely a want, a need, to know the
information. Sometimes they don’t ask the right question, but they do have an
information gap. Or they ask what they think is the right question, but we
misunderstand and both sides get confused. There can be cases of information
serendipity – someone will post a link or a file and someone else will comment
with something along the lines of “perfect, I’m covering that next week” or
“great, I was looking for something like that.”
Observation Week 3: Analytical Paper
Tumblr
I, like many
people my age, have a Tumblr (a type of blog hosted by the social network
Tumblr). I also have “mutuals” which is where you (mutually) “follow” each
other’s Tumblrs. In one of my fandoms, at least 4 mutuals have had their blogs
deleted for copyright infringement/violation within the last year. Tumblr says
that they send emails out when you’ve been dinged for copyright
infringement/violation, and that they have a “three strikes and you’re out”
policy, so these deletions aren’t coming out of left field.[6]
These bloggers are simply blunting the information. Maybe they think that their
blog won’t get deleted. May be they think that they aren’t doing anything to
infringe upon/violate copyright. But they are still getting strikes and they
are still posting[7] copyrighted
materials.
Part of the
issue is that Tumblr is only telling them that they have posted something which
infringes on/violates someone else’s copyright, but not what has been posted
with the copyright infringement/violation. This makes it hard to find and delete
things that are under copyright. Another part of the issue is that most of
Tumblr is under copyright. Basically everything that a blogger reblogs[8]
is probably under copyright, especially if it is music, TV show, or movie
related, which covers most of Tumblr. Another part of the issue is that only
those who originally post the copyrighted materials get deleted. So, most
people aren’t getting dinged, as they aren’t posting the material, but simply
reblogging it.
My most recent
mutual to be deleted posted that they got three strikes in 18 months from
Tumblr. They said that Tumblr only told them that they were posting copyrighted
materials, but not which materials were under copyright. They were blunting
their strikes, as they seemed to have been actively disbelieving that Tumblr
would delete their blog.
This person, and
the rest of this fandom, believes that Tumblr should delete the post/posts in
question, not delete the entire blog. While this is true, this is not how
Tumblr works. They delete the blog in question. This has already happened, at
least three times, in this very fandom. Someone finally commented with what
copyright means. This person explained that any content that you upload to
Tumblr that is not your creation and/or that you don’t have permission to post
is a copyright infringement/violation. ANY. This person further points out
that, like on YouTube, while it may
fall under fair use,[9] blogs are
being deleted because of copyright. We may not like it, but we do have to
follow it.
One of my
Facebook friends and fellow Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) is trying to get solar
panels at his school. His journalism club has created a video about sustainable
and renewable energy, and entered it in a contest. He posted this video and the
instructions to many groups. In order to vote for his video, one must go and
“like” the video on YouTube. He had a lot of likes and shares on Facebook.
While I can’t guarantee that people will be going and liking the video on
YouTube, there were more likes on Saturday than it did on Friday. The people
who liked the Facebook post or who shared the video to Facebook likely went and
liked it on YouTube.
Several people
are sharing teacher of English as a foreign language (TEFL) materials with the
Peace Corps groups. Materials always get a lot of likes and shares, but I am
guilty of “liking” a material and not using it. In my case, it may not be
applicable, or I could be storing the information (materials) for later use. We
may not be covering that at the moment, or I may think that my students
wouldn’t be interested. Others may not be this way. Some people comment with
“great, doing this next week.” Some of the TELF materials also work very well
for the youth development volunteers at youth centers, and vice-versa. But,
despite my personal experience, this is good information, and people are likely
to use it.
A PCV posted a
link to an organization which donates money to orphanages in Ukraine. Another
PCV commented that, while the organization clearly wants to do the right thing,
there were some possible issues with this organization. They specifically
pointed out the organization was not creating sustainable programs (what
happens when this organization stops sending people/money to the orphanages),
and that the head of the organization appears to have something of a “saviour
complex” about Ukraine. They gave several suggestions about how to do something
similar, but with more potential for long-term sustainability. I have no idea
if the original poster is going to try to do anything like that during the rest
of the time they will be in Ukraine.
A PCV grumbled
about their problems with vocabulary acquisition and remembering vocabulary
words. Another PCV commented that, despite having spent a significantly longer
amount of time in Ukraine, they can’t keep those same verbs straight, either.
I’m not sure if this qualifies as blunting or encouragement.
There was a
question about business cards. In one of the various documents, it mentions
business cards, which are very important in the Peace Corps. This is not
mentioned before you get to Ukraine, of course. However, Vista Print apparently
ships to Ukraine, so you can order your business cards after you get to site,
and there is a template in the manual you get. There was also a question about
whether PCVs can use the Peace Corps logo on their business cards. I decided
against business cards each time, but I don’t know what anyone else decided
about business cards. Business cards can be very helpful, especially for the
community development volunteers, who will be meeting with and communicating
with a lot of different people. This will help them get their names and phone
numbers around to the community members they will be working with. Not as
necessary with TEFL Volunteers.
One of the
things that can be hard to find in Ukraine is brown sugar (the baking
ingredient, not the Rolling Stones’ song). Someone found it at a fancy grocery
store in Kyiv, and posted where they found it. That makes two places were I
know there is brown sugar, as apparently there is brown sugar in Ternopol, too.
This information is likely to be used, as many people like to bake, and brown
sugar is one of the more common ingredients that you can’t find at your site.
A PCV is sick,
and having to field and answer questions about why they are sick. People think
that cold rooms/apartments can make you sick, so they were being asked about
that. Another PCV commented with a cultural note. In Ukraine, women do not sit
on anything cold, as it will give them reproductive/fertility issues later in
life. I know we still do this, as we forget and sit on the cold bench. Or we’re
early and waiting for someone, and sit on the cold bench to wait. Or we have to
sit on the floor to put our lace-up snow boots on. But it is something to
remember
A current
training group received resistance bands, to help them stay in shape during
their 27 months in Ukraine. One of them posted an infographic with suggestions
on how to use the resistance bands. Several people were very clearly
interested, as they posted “thank you!” and similar comments. If I had been
given resistance bands, I would be very interested in this infographic, and in
what I could do with the resistance bands. I would follow through on this
information.
Another PCV
posted that Netflix (legal in Ukraine) has a lot good documentaries. This led
to people asking about how you can tell Ukrainian Netflix from US Netflix, and
other questions in that vein. I think that this information will only be
followed through on by people who regularly watch documentaries. I don’t often
want to watch a documentary after a long day at work or when I want to relax.
Others may want to watch a documentary to relax.
Someone posted
about a festival a few weeks ago – Maskentika. Another PCV commented that there
would be fire jumping in a few towns. They also posted the history of this
festival, which sounds like a mixture of Lupercalia and Beltane. While I know
some PCVs probably took the plunge for Epiphany,[10]
I don’t know if anyone jumped over any fires for Maskentika.
Someone posted a
VPN (Virtual Private Network) service provider, which they got in work junk
mail. They said that this means that it is a valid and safe VPN service. Several PCVs use
VPNs, as they allow them to access websites locked by IP addresses. This list
includes (oddly enough) Nordstrom’s.[11]
I don’t know if anyone is going to use this VPN service.
The newest
training group was staging in the US a few weeks ago, and there were a lot of
posts in the days leading up to their arrival in the US. This included people
posting about their arrival, and posting about meeting other incoming PCVs.
People were posting about where they were going for dinner, breakfast, or for a
drink. People were posting their room number, so others could join them and
hang out. Others were asking about scales to weigh luggage. Others were asking
about what sorts of and how much material the Peace Corps would give them, as
they had luggage limits. I don’t know who did what with this information. There
was a lot of information to wade through, though. There were probably 50 posts
in the span for 48 hours, from the time the first incoming PCV arrived to the
time the buses left for the airport. It’s possible that some people suffered
from information overload and decided against looking through all of this
information. Some information was posted two or three times, probably for that
exact reason.
One person asked
if they should bring hot sauce to Ukraine. The general consensus was, if you
like using hot sauce, bring it. There is little to no hot sauce in Ukraine, as
Ukrainians don’t use it. It is possible that one might be able to find it in
nicer grocery stores in major cities, such as Kyiv, L’viv, or Odessa.
Someone also
asked about soy sauce, having read about hot sauce. Ukrainians love their
sushi, so soy sauce is easy to find. Yes, Ukrainians love sushi. It’s a
favorite food, even in my small town. You can get decent sushi in L’viv. The
rule of thumb is to stick to fairly regular sushi rolls, and don’t experiment.
It won’t make you sick (usually), it just won’t be tasty.
Someone asked if
they will need their business casual clothing for training. The Peace Corps
requires us to be business casual for staging and training. Most PCVs have to
be business casual at work, while some have to be more formal business and some
can dress more casually (depending on what they are doing). I hope that this
piece of information will be followed, as first impressions are everything
here, and you need to be dressed professionally.
An incoming PCV
inquired about her wedding ring – should she wear it? She was informed that
Orthodox peoples wear their wedding rings on their right ring finger, not their
left. It was also suggested that she not bring (wear) her diamond, but instead
buy (wear) a simple band. Most people here wear a fairly simple band. Some have
a fairly small and not flashy diamond, but a large (American-style) diamond
could attract unwanted attention.
Someone asked
about how much USD they should bring with them. The answer depends on if you
want to exchange money. It can be complicated to exchange money in Ukraine, as
the bills have to be large (most exchange places won’t exchange anything less
than $50), and the bills have to be in new and perfect condition. The other
suggestion is to simply get money out of an ATM, as needed, as it will be
cheaper, faster, and easier. We reminded them to tell their banks that they
will be traveling. I hope that they called their bank and let them know that
they would be in Ukraine for the next 27 months, otherwise there could be a
problem. I don’t know how much (if any) USD they decided to bring.
Someone asked about
winter jackets. Most of the advice had been for winter coats for women, and he
wanted to know if there was a standard for men. Here, most men where leather
jackets or wool coats, which I don’t know how they are warm enough for the
Ukrainian winters. As with women’s coats, he could buy his here, if he needed
to. I hope he brought his coat with him, as it snowed over the weekend (on the
first day of Spring, even), and I needed my long down coat.
Someone asked if
they could by gelatin in Ukraine. They didn’t say why, but I would think that
they wanted to cook with is. Possibly jams or even Jello. It is rather common
here, as there is a national dish that involves gelatin. It is
called Holodets. It is basically meat jelly. It looks like soup, and tastes
like soup, but it has the texture of Jello.
Someone asked
about plug adapters vs. converters. The suggestion was, if anything needs an
actual converter (that it can’t run on 220V), not to bring it. You can buy flat
irons, irons, hair dryers, hair straighteners, electric kettles, hair clippers,
etc., in Ukraine. You will need several plug adapters, which turns an American
two or three pronged plug into the French/German EU plug. But, most electronics
“up-charge” from the American 120V to the Euro 220V anyway, so they don’t need
a converter. Most people seem happy not to have to bring large and heavy things
that they can easily replace in country. This allows them to bring other, and
more useful, things. That being said, I know several people who brought their
hair straighteners or hair clippers with them.
Several people
had questions about the Applicant portal. There are tasks in the Portal, which
have to be completed within a certain time frame, as they need to medically and
legally clear people to become Volunteers. Several people are commenting that
they are constantly checking their portals, as new tasks keep getting
added.
There is always
the VRF, the Volunteer Reporting Form, which is due at the end of March. There
are many issues with the VRF, starting with the fact that it is actively
user-unfriendly. Actively. It takes
great pleasure in every frustrated groan it causes. The Peace Corps is also unapologetically non-Mac-compatible. The
VRF requires a Peace Corps application, and some PCVs are unable to even load
the website where they have to go to download the application file. The website
can not be run from Chrome, but it has to be run from either Safari (Mac
operating systems) or Internet Explorer. In order to run the VRF on a Mac, one
must run a Safari add-on in unsafe
mode. It also has several “click here for more information” points, which
immediately attempt to load websites on your default webbrowser. There are two
problems with that. The first is that a fair percentage of PCVs have limited
access to the internet. For example, I don’t have access at my school, which is
where I do most of my VRF, as I need information I have to get at school. The
next is that the website doesn’t run on Chrome, so we have to copy and paste
the webaddress into Safari or Explorer in order to load the website. There are
also a lot of questions involving how you report, and what you report. Do you
record “Teachers’ English Club” or do you record each meeting of your English
Club(s)? Do you record your primary activities? If so, how do you record them?
All as one? Separated by Forms? You can understand why the VRF is dreaded by
PCVs. I think this information will be used, as it is how we managed to get the
VRF to run on our computers. If you want to run the VRF on a Mac, you have to
do it this way, or it will not run.
I know that we
do blunt information about the VRF, as we just don’t want to do it. We hope
that this year, they will forget about it, or not ask us to do it. We hope that
this year, it will be easier to fill out. We wait until the last week or so to
start it, as we just don’t want to wrestle with it.
I posted a
graduate school survey. As it is anonymous, I don’t know who will fill it out,
but I have had a few survey respondents. This is both good and bad, as I would
love to be able to ask a few specific questions about the answers I’ve gotten.
Someone asked
about Earth Day. They have been asked to do something at their site, but have
no ideas. Someone else commented with a do-it-yourself craft project that they
could do. Several other people commented with suggestions. The poster seemed
very happy to have these ideas.
There is an
international creative writing in English competition held annually, called
Write On!. There are several people posting pictures of their competitions, and
others asking questions about it. Someone wanted to know where they could get
templates for their non-first place winners. Given the context of the question,
I can be rather sure that the person used the templates.
Someone asked if
anyone was doing anything for St. Patrick’s Day. I told them that I had a
PowerPoint presentation on the holiday, and asked if they wanted it. They did,
so I added notes to it (I have a lot of random Irish trivia memorized, plus I can’t
see any notes in the presentation while it is running), and posted it. Several
people seemed very happy. I have no idea if my friend actually used the
presentation, but I do think they did.
Someone posted a
while ago how to return train tickets posted electronically. It is rather easy
to buy train tickets online, but there is no easy or obvious way to return
them. What if something happens and you no longer need your tickets? Due to a
schedule change (see later), I needed to return several tickets. I used my
friend’s post and was able to return the tickets with limited hassle. This is
probably the most used and useful information. I didn’t need it when she posted
it, but I did need it recently. I put the information aside until I needed to
use it.
Since mid-June
and July, the reinstated Peace Corps Volunteers have been trying to get Working
Groups started. A Working Group is a group of PCVs who work on a topic or
issue. The National Olympiad Materials Development Committee is a working
group. There is one which focuses on technology issues in Ukraine. However, the
Peace Corps is being hesitant in the restarting of the working groups. This has
led to the creation of several Facebook groups, which do basically the same
thing as a working group – a group of people get together and work on the
issues associated with the group. This allows for questions and support amongst
the Volunteers.
It can be hard
to differentiate between information “needs” and information “wants” (Case
4.1.1). Some questions are more for information “wants” while others are more
clearly information “needs.” What to me – an experienced PCV – is an
information “want” is clearly an information “need” to the incoming trainee. Other
cases, such as questions about how to make the VRF work, are absolutely
information “needs.” One “needs” this information in order to make the VRF work
– it just won’t work any other way.
Some of this
information will be used, but other information won’t be used. Short of asking
who (if anyone) downloaded the VPN service, I can’t know. Without asking people
which information they used, I just don’t know. I can be fairly sure that
information on what to bring and what not to bring are going to be used. I can
also be fairly sure that TEFL-materials and other posted materials and
suggestions will be used. I am positive that the information on how to return
electronic train tickets, what to do to help JM win solar panels, and where to
go to fill out my survey are used.
Observation Week 4: Analytical Paper
I have a lot of
trouble reading facial expressions and emotions, so this analytical paper will
focus more on what I was feeling based on my week at the All-Ukrainian Olympiad
in English.
First, I had to
get to Rivne, which is in the upper left corner of Ukraine. It sits next to
Volyn Oblast and on top of Ternopil Oblast. Holding the Olympiad in Rivne is
much like holding a large national conference, convention, or the Super Bowl in
a town like Missoula, Montana. Sure, some people will have an easy time getting
there, but others are going to have to route through some other town(s). In
order to get to Rivne, I had to take the train to Ternopil, where I spent the
night with a fellow PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer). She was very nice, and it was
wonderful to meet her.
Step one in my
trip was having dinner at the local pizza restaurant, a place called
Chiliantano’s. I have a tradition of meeting my counterpart there for dinner
before I take an overnight train. This was the first time she was unable to
join me, which was a little sad. I was hoping to meet some other PCVs in my
town, but they arrived very late. I felt like all eyes were on me, and that the
waiters and waitresses where judging me, as I had taken a larger table,
expecting my two friends and my counterpart. I kept expecting to be asked to
move, so someone else could have the larger, nicer booth. It was lonely,
sitting there at the table, not sure if my friends were going to show or not. And
they are the sort of friends who wouldn’t tell you if they weren’t going to
show, unfortunately.
After my friends
arrived, they had to rush while eating, as one of them had to be on the last
bus back to her village, and it was a very early last bus. This means that she
can’t stay late in town, as the bus leaves early. We talked for a bit, but they
had to run. I finished up my dinner, and headed off to the train station. I
walked to the centre square, and took a taxi the rest of the way. That is what
I normally do when it’s dark, as the last half of the trip doesn’t feel safe
enough to walk when it’s dark. I was embarrassed that I had forgotten a few simple
yet important Russian words, and had trouble giving the driver instructions. I
felt relieved that he spoke almost perfect English, although I do wonder why
someone who speaks almost unaccented English (meaning he had to have spent significant
time in either the US or the UK) is driving a cab in a slowly dying town of less than 80,000.[12]
He was really nice, and even offered to carry my suitcase for me. It isn’t
culturally appropriate for women to carry heavy things here. Chairs are
included in this – I was fussed at by my colleague for attempting to carry a
chair back to where it lived, and told that it wasn’t appropriate for me to
carry the chair. It is hard to explain what it feels like, but I always feel
like I am being told that I can’t do something simply because I am a woman, not
because it is cultural.[13]
I got my ticket
printed, but the women seemed annoyed with me, and point-blank refused to print
my second ticket. Usually, I get both tickets printed in Olex, as there is
always less of a line. This means that I don’t have to budget time to wait at
the train station in a major city. In L’viv, for example, I once spent thirty
minutes waiting for my ticket to be printed, and it only took about 30 seconds
for her to print my ticket.
Once on the
platform, I was briefly worried that I had the wrong train, as someone told me
that it wasn’t the 9.20pm train to L’viv (it was the 9.20pm train to L’viv…). I
had some trouble finding my compartment, as the train pulled up to the platform
at a slightly different spot than usual, making it hard to judge the wagon
numbers. I was lucky that the wagons were numbered like normal, I learned
later.
Once in my
compartment, I learned that there were three guys in the compartment with me.
One of them seemed almost annoyed at us for disturbing his sleep. One of the
men on the top bunks helped me get my bag into the under-bunk storage
compartment, and made sure I had my packet of bedding. They also left the
compartment so I could change into train clothes, had I wished to. Despite the
apprehension I had, the trip was fine, if long and uneventfully boring, as I’m
not able to sleep on trains. I texted a few other PCVs, and listened to music
for the entire trip. One of the other PCVs at the Olympiad told me that she had
had the same experience in her compartment – three guys. One of the guys on the
top bunk leapt off the bunk to help her with her stuff.[14]
My new PCV
friend met me at the train station in Ternopil, and we went back to her
apartment. It was a very nice little apartment, and it felt more like someone’s
home than the one I live in. Mine looks and feels like a grandmother’s house
where you can’t touch anything. After I dropped my stuff, we went back to city
centre, where we had lunch. We first intended to go to a burrito place, but
they were closed for some unknown reason. The pita place was also closed, so we
went to a place with good Ukrainian food. I was worried that she didn’t want to
go to the burrito place, but wouldn’t just tell me, but it worked out. At the
Ukrainian place (well-known all over Ukraine, even), we both wondered what the
other would think of us if we ordered a drink with lunch.
I was able to
get my bus ticket the day before I needed it, which was a relief. You can never
be sure that you will be able to buy a bus ticket the day you need it. And I
had to be in Rivne by a set time the next day. The woman at the ticket counter
said I should take this bus, not that bus, as it was better. It turned out that
the route was longer and it took more time, but the roads were much nicer.
Trust you local knowledge.
I also got to
meet some other PCVs in Ternopil, and that was wonderful. I wish I was able to
see everyone more often. We wandered around the bazaar, and we saw the area
where people sell pets. There were kittens and puppies, and birds. One of my
new friends was really sad, as she wants to save them all. One keeps dog food
in her purse, and feeds the strays in Ternopil. We got to see that as we
walked. The stray dogs in Ternopil are a lot friendlier than the ones in my
Oblast. A PCV was bitten in my Oblast Centre in January, the same week I was
threatened by a stray dog. The ones in Ternopil were very friendly, tails
wagging and non-threatening.
We had coffee at
a nice little café, and then wandered the city centre for a bit. We went into
the local Catholic Church, and I got to see some really awesome Icons. The
church was amazing, and we got to watch part of a christening while we were
there. I put a few Griven (UAH) into the donation box, in thanks for letting me
take pictures. We went to a bookstore, where I found some adult coloring books,
and one of them was thrilled to find a Ukrainian-English phrasebook, as Peace
Corps Response Volunteers are not given any real language training.
After that, was
had some time to kill before our reservation at the restaurant, so we went to
see Lake Ternopil. It was beautiful at dusk. We wandered around, taking
pictures, before heading back to the centre square. There is a beautiful opera
house there, as well as a stature of Taras Shevchenko. We met an older woman
there, with her grandchildren. One of us went up and talked to the older woman,
as she had some dirt or something on her coat. In Ukraine, not having spotless
clothing is a cause for extreme embarrassment, something comparable to having
your zipper down while wandering around. It’s the sort of thing when you are
embarrassed for someone, and want to help them fix it.
At dinner, I met
a lot of new people, and had a lot of fun. The restaurant is an odd one, as it
has mostly Ukrainian food (borshch, varynyky, etc) and sushi. Ukrainians do
love their sushi. Everyone ordered off the Ukrainian menu, and we had a lot of
fun.
The next day, I
had a bus to catch. On the way to the bus stop near her apartment, I tripped
and fell – full layout – while trying to catch a bus. That was embarrassing. I
had to bandage myself up at the café, where we stopped for coffee and crêpes
(blyntsy/milyntsy). I paid for her coffee, and she seemed shocked. I was
staying at her apartment, so I thought I should buy her breakfast.
While we were
waiting for my bus, several beggars came up and tried to convince us to give
them money.[15]
One spent a considerable amount of time standing next to us and waving her
collecting tin at us, and we think she attempted to curse us as she walked
away. I got on my bus, and headed up to Rivne.
Once in Rivne,
we learned that we were supposed to have gotten there earlier, as the time on
our schedules was the start of the event, not when we were supposed to get
there. They also wanted to feed us lunch and get us checked in before the event
started. However, none of us knew that, so most of us got there late. It
doesn’t help that there is no easy way to get to Rivne, as there are basically
no direct trains and driving time for buses from near-by Oblast Centres can be
measured in hours. So, we were all really annoyed and very frustrated when we
got there.
We were given a
few minutes to change into our formal clothes, and then we had to run for the
bus that was to take us the to the Lyceum where the Olympiad was being held.
After lunch, we got registered, and we had to pay for our meals at the Lyceum.
There was a bit of a communications issue with how much we had to pay, and we
ended up having to switch to French. One of the things that bothers us is when
the native-speaker speaks really fast in Ukrainian or Russian, and doesn’t
always repeat it slower, meaning that we can have some trouble understanding or
responding to it. It is a minor thing, but it adds up over the length of time
we are in Ukraine.
After
registration, we watched the amazing opening ceremony, and listened to people
give speeches. It was a bit boring, but it was really cool. We then had a large
welcoming dinner. There were all sorts of traditional foods. It was really
wonderful, and we all enjoyed it. A standard Ukrainian party has lots of food
and even more alcohol. There are always many toasts, and they go in pattern.
First, to the event. Second, to men. Third, to women (or love). I don’t
remember the correct order for the fourth and later toasts. Toasts in Ukraine
(and Russia) aren’t the standard “sialanté”
or “proast” or “cheers” that you have
in the US. They tend to be long stories or anecdotes. At one point, one of the
PCVs gave a toast in English, about how much we loved the chance to be in
Rivne, and to be at the National Olympiad. As the Spanish Olympiad was at the
same time, and some of the judges spoke Spanish, another PCV had to give the
same toast in Spanish. Then, I had to give the toast in Russian, just to make
sure everyone understood. There is nothing more embarrassing than standing up
and attempting to give a toast and realizing that you can’t remember the words
for “hospitality” or “friendship.”[16]
I was told later that the judges really enjoyed that I attempted to speak in
the local language.
During the week
of the Olympiad, the students were really stressed. This is their future, as
the winner is offered scholarships. The winner is usually a FLEX-alum[17],
but not always.
When you’re
finished giving a speech (or a toast) you are supposed to end with, “dyu.zhe
dya.ko.you. Slah.vah OOO.cry.ee.na.”[18]
“Thank you so much. Long live Ukraine.” “Slava Ukraina” has the emotional
meaning of “Vive le Québec libré,”[19]
not “vive la France.” It has even more meaning now that there is the situation
in the Donbas and Krimea. One of the most emotional moments for us was when we
learned that both Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts sent students to the National
Olympiad. Despite the conflict,[20]
they still consider themselves Ukraine.
I have never
really felt like a member of this group, from the very beginning. This is
really because I am the only member who doesn’t have an overnight train, and
therefore is forced to arrive on Thursdays, while out meetings were on Fridays.
That means I always had a train to catch on Friday, while the group went out
and bonded. This happened on two separate occasions. I tried to get a second
night, but they would only give us one night in Kyiv. This showed a lot in
Rivne, as I felt like I wasn’t really welcome in the group. A few people went
bar-hopping one night, but I didn’t know they were going bar-hopping until we
got to (what turned out to be) the first bar, as they hadn’t told me. As I
don’t go bar-hopping… Another night, the group went out, but didn’t tell me
until much later. They didn’t even text me to ask if I wanted to join them.
It’s the little things that add up and make you feel like you aren’t part of
the group.
Once the
Olympiad was over, I went back to Ternopil, and spent some time hanging out
with my new friends. We had dinner at a wood-fired pizza place, which was
excellent. We all really enjoyed dinner and talking about our lives. We spent a
long time at the restaurant, sitting and chatting. We talked about our last week,
as I had been in Rivne, one of us had been at a Peace Corps training, and the
last one had been working on her grant. We gossiped about other PCVs and our
lives as PCVs.
I started talking about this class and we ended up talking about IRB*. This really stressed me out, as I am still really worried about doing something wrong without knowing it, and getting in IRB trouble. This is something that is still really stressing me out, and making me anxious, over something that I am sure is nothing, but it could still be something.
I had a
mid-afternoon train the next day, and I really enjoyed being able to hang-out
with and talk to my new friends in Ternopil. My train back could have been
really boring, but I discovered that I can read from my tablet on them. I
thought that I would have gotten motion sick, so I hadn’t tried, but I was just
so bored. I was able to read through several easy, yet entertaining, novels
before it was late enough that I needed to put the device away and attempt to
sleep.
I have really
bad luck with train compartments, as I have always had a snorer in them. One
sounded like someone sticking a running chainsaw down a garbage disposal, and
one sounded like someone trying to start a lawnmower. For more than eight
hours.
I arrived in my
town, and had the feeling that I was home, that I was somewhere I belonged.
[1]
http://alumnae.smith.edu/spotlight/%E2%80%98i-thought-i-might-have-wrecked-the-peace-corps%E2%80%99/
[2] Ibid
http://newspapers.bc.edu/cgi-bin/bostonsh?a=d&d=bcheights19611020.2.26
[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Ukrainian_revolution
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euromaidan
[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_killed_during_Euromaidan
(yes, I
know they’re Wikipedia, but it is the best overview source)
[6] I apologize for the baseball expressions
– I am currently teaching baseball to my 6th Formers in their sports unit.
[7] Uploading content or material to Tumblr.
[8] Reblog – when a Tumblr user sees content
or material on a blog they follow, and shares it to their blog. They can tag it
with more information, or comment on the content. Most blogs are full of
reblogged materials only, as the Tumblr-user doesn’t create or post their own
materials or content.
[9] This person also commented that a lot of
content-creators (authors, musicians, movie studios, etc) aren’t messing with
(are ignoring) the fan-created/fan-edited materials on Tumblr, as this can be
(basically) free publicity for the content-creator. Their point was why the
Tumblr-user in question had been deleted, when other Tumblr-users were not
being deleted, yet both are doing the same things.
[10] In Eastern Orthodox traditions, you jump
into a frozen pond for good luck and good fortune in the coming year.
[11] I discovered this when I was trying to
find a picture of a pair of running shoes. I couldn’t load it. Another PCV is a
bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding, and they need access to this website.
[12] The mines closed in the 1990s (I think).
The town’s population has been slowly but surely getting smaller and smaller in
the following years. A lot of younger people are going away to university, and
they aren’t returning to the town to get married and raise children.
[13] Side note: I had an issue with my shower
(the hose was broken), and I had to explain it to my landlord. After
apologizing for not knowing what the problem was, my colleague said, “it’s
okay, you’re a woman, you don’t need to know.” Completely cultural, yet it sure made me feel like a
productive and mature adult…
[14] His mother or grandmother would read him
the riot act if she got even an inkling that he hadn’t done that.
[15] This is really unfortunately common in
Ukraine. The problem is that you can never be sure why they want/need the
money, much like in the US. I am very willing to give money to buskers, etc,
but just walking up to me and shoving a collection tin under my nose annoys me.
I don’t like that I feel like I have to pretend that I can’t see or hear the
person.
[16] As my PCV friend said, “just shake it
of.”
[17] FLEX is an exchange program where
someone spends 6-12 months in an English-speaking country (usually the US),
living with a host family. You can tell who is or isn’t FLEX based on their
accent and phrasing.
[18] I wrote this phonetically.
[19] Long live free Québec.
[20] There are a lot of similarities between
the Conflict in the Donbas region and the Irish Troubles.
*For this class, I was writing a paper on a Peace Corps policy and asking my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers to answer an anonymous survey. I was worried that I hadn't gotten any IRB anything, and that I could get into trouble for that. It turned out that all I needed was to indicate that the survey was a) anonymous, and b) completely voluntary. As I had indicated those, I was in the clear for this paper. As the paper discusses Peace Corps policy, I am unable to post it to this blog.
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