Week One: Settling In (in a Rushed Way)

We left the USA at 13:30, Tuesday, 12 January 2010. We were en route for approximately 1.5 days, landing in Kiev-Borispol International Airport on Thursday, 14 January, at 3:00. We then waited in the airport lobby until 5:30, when the cheaper buses to the city center began running. We got to a friend’s apartment at about 7:00. Our trip, though long and stressful, went off without a hitch.

Upon arrival we stayed with Sasha, one of Rick’s friends in A’Bologne (sp?), Kiev. It was, physically, comfortable enough for us. However, for both, it ended up being a mentally draining experience. Let me explain -- staying with Sasha ( a nice and otherwise pleasant man) also demanded that we stay with Sasha’s mother, a woman with an overbearing, territorial, and neurotic personality. I was often corrected and criticized for the ways that I dressed, cooked, organized our room, and -- essentially -- existed. She easily became frustrated when I could not understand her for fault of understanding Russian. My helpless: Ya ni’panimayu (I don’t understand) was often met with an exasperated huff and shooing of the hands. It should then be obvious as to why we rushed to find an apartment.

The view from our room at Sasha’s. A view that fits perfectly the stereotype of the Soviet Union (except that this is not the USSR): cold, snowy, run-down, and bland. NOTE: Should be compared with later pictures of a newer neighborhood.

After four days of searching, we received an offer to live in an apartment with another young couple in Minskaya, a developing neighborhood in A’Bologne, Kiev. For a whopping $200 each month we have a large furnished room, a balcony, a large shared kitchen, and clean, bright shared bathroom, complete with hot water, lights and heat --- and another young couple with whom to practice Russian (Olga and Ivan). AND it is only two minutes walk from the Metro! AND. . .:P (Oh yes, and it is primely located in relation to various markets, the second-hand shop, the book market, numerous bakeries, meat vendors and gyms). I am quickly coming to love this flat and neighborhood.

Our entryway.

Our home. After everything was organized and sorted. NOTE: Our down comforter is actually the combination of our two down sleeping quilts tucked in a Ukrainian sheet set (a big pocket that acts as the top sheet and comforter in one) The sleeping bags are stored safely and we have a great blanket!

This space is very comfortable for us and all of our stuff. Although at first I wasn’t sure it would be (Rick had a lot more stuff than I thought he did!).

Our room after unpacking everything. Or I should say, after all the boxes and suitcases exploded.

The shared bathroom. I love the bright color and design.

The shared kitchen. This kitchen is quite large by Ukrainian standards and two cooks can move comfortably in the space.

And, finally, so that you all may see the difference between the view from Sasha’s apartment and the new Minskaya apartment, here is the view from our kitchen window, directly across the street. It is a new apartment complex (not ours, ours is much older, but the neighborhood is better).

To the left (not in the picture and that of which I haven’t had a chance to snap pictures) is the plaza with an enormous decorated tree (the holidays here are a little later than in the US) and lots of little shops (and, as with any “modern” neighborhood) a McDonald’s (no, I have not yet eaten there, nor have I plans to do so. See below).

There are two other matters that have been at the front of our minds over the last week --- my employment and a healthy diet. Yesterday, I accepted an offer to lead a series of English conversation clubs every Saturday. This work will allow me to work with children and adults from 18 to 40 years. Amazingly, I will be making enough each Saturday, that I need only work this one job, and I will have enough to cover my Ukraine costs each month (food, rent, and transport). A dream come true? Yes! (if I didn’t have any debt). For now, however, I am still waiting to hear from a couple other schools about more work. I may not get to teach conversational English until a little later when I will have some English language teaching experience. Ideally, I will get at least one more full day of work, which will allow me to cover Rick’s costs then put most or all of his money to paying loans. (Fun, fun. . . But, could I do all this, pay down my debt and only work two days a week in the US? In two words: HELL NO!)

I spend a lot of my extra free time thinking and working on perfecting our diet (another thing that would be cost prohibitive in the US). I have recently finished reading The Mediterranean Diet, which has helped me to work out a lot of the problems Rick and I had in eating healthy food consistently back in the States. I learned a lot about how to substitute monounsaturated fat (olive oil and canola oil) for all fats used in cooking as well as why carbs are OK (and still DELICIOUS) when you emphasize veggies and fruits. The insight gained from this book coupled with being in a country where veggies, whole grains, lowfat dairy and omega-3 -rich fish, as well as natural sweetners are significantly cheaper than processed starches, fatty dairy, red meat, and refined sugar, makes eating healthfully not only easier on the pocket, but has made healthy, satisfying meals the norm for us.

However, I shouldn’t pretend that I haven’t had to invest time into making this diet so convenient. After reading the book and meticulously planning a general, weekly meal calendar; counting up all the servings of each recommended nutrient source for Rick and myself, then approximating the number of vegetables and fruits, bread loaves, cups of buckwheat, pasta, rice, whole wheat, and nuts, grams of yogurt and cheese, AND grams of fish needed to equal the equivalent of our combined dietetic needs for the week; followed by compiling a general shopping list to be used each week for groceries, I can now live on automatic mode. I don’t think about what I need to make XYZ recipe. I look at what we have and create, knowing that at the end of the week it will all even out and we’ll be healthier than the week before.

Rick mentioned that, having done so much work, I should post the information and our weekly shopping list/recipes on a blog that would be potentially helpful to a lot of people in the US. I think I might do it. Though, there is one obstacle to address: we eat like kings here and pay pennies because the food is priced the way it should be. In the US, the “healthy food” that in Ukraine exists as poorman’s dinner, is expensive. To this, I guess, I would make one point: paying more for healthy, quality food is an investment in yourself and in years of quality experiences and memories that come from living a longer, healthier life. If you pay more now, you can receive years of higher-quality living. If you pay later ( in health bills), you will still be buying time, but it will be lower-quality time, limited by an ailing body. Maybe I will do it, the blog. . .

Overall, I am settling in well. I am happily living well with my supportive and loving husband at a price that can’t be beat! Tell the family that I already think I will miss this life (after only one hectic, but rewarding week).

From this point forward I doubt that I will write such long posts, but one can never tell --- I didn’t know that this would run on so. :D I wish you all the best.