Final updates and QUALITY communication!

Dear Loved Ones,

There is so much to catch up on that I feel a bit overwhelmed. It has been, fully, a month or more since my last post and I have felt guilty that I have not updated as so much has been happening.

--- UPDATE Begins ----
My last post was hurriedly made around the time Rick and I made a quick trip to Krakow to get visas so that our life here in Kiev could continue uninterrupted. It was a success. Although the weather was wet and dreary during most our stay there, I still came away quite impressed and enchanted by the city. (Pictures will follow in the next post).

Upon our return to Kiev, we began to semi-frantically search for a new home. The apartment we had been sharing with another young couple had only been granted to us for three months, which were ending. We spent the last two weeks of April searching in Vinogradr, our favorite area of Kiev, without luck. We only were mildly impressed with the options and/or opportunities slid through our fingers. By the end of April we had not place to move, but needed to get out. Luckily, one of Rick's old friends was away traveling for a month and we were able to stay in her apartmenr (in Vinogradr)until we found a new home.

The day we moved out of our shared Obolon apartment to our friends apartment, we also left for our week-long hiking trip to the Carpathians. The hike was beautiful, allbeit generally wet. While a couple days were stunning, sunny Spring days, others were dangerously cold, rainy and foggy. We spent these days sodden and intent on avoiding any hypothermia. Our equipment, though not perfect, was nearly and we had no "close calls." There are a few experiences worth noting as they colored our journey.

The first is that on the second day of hiking, unable to find a safe trail in the fog and rain, I hurt my left hip flexor, an injury that proved later to have completely inhibited raising my left leg higher than two inches. The injury worsened on day three, when after summiting Mt. Petros, I had thoroughly shot the ligament. Our route was changed so that for the remainder of the trip I did almost no climbing. It turned out nevertheless to have been a beautiful route.

Second, before conceding that I could climb no further, we made a vain attempt at summiting another, larger mountain. In order to shorten the climb for the next morning, we camped in the saddle just below the peak. (As we were using our trusty and superbly-designed Trail Star, there was not fear of blustery conditions.) That night, I woke up without cause and noticed that there was very active lightening around us. We roused the camp, ourselves and our companions, and took our belongings to a poorly maintained refuge only 100 yards away. A strong thunderstorm came and the men -- Rick and our companions -- tried valiantly to construct some sort of door and to clear a space to sleep among the trash, ice, dirt, and probable, human waste. The attempt at door-making failed and some helpful equipment was lost, namely Rick's beloved Go-Lite Chrome dome (a fact that was thoroughly lamented the following day as the weather was clear and the sun hot). I did not sleep well that night.

Finally, during our last 24 hours on the mountain we marched through cold, windy, wet conditions. I struggled to stay dry and we found shelter and water just before everyones' good humour wore out. After a tasty meal and some rest and ukelele-playing we continued only far enough to camp. The next morning, we separated with our friends and tried to find a way down the mountain so as to meet our train. We were quickly engulfed in thick fog searching for a poorly marked trail on a unfamiliar ridge. I entertained thoughts of not desceding in time for the train, but did not share these with Rick. Fortunately, we did find A trail, though not the one we planne don finding. At the moment we found its end, a bus to Ivano-Frankovsk drove past and we hopped on -- pleased that the fog had not detained us a moment longer! (Pictures in the next post)

We got home on Saturday the 7 May and promptly began searching for apartments again. The proverbial winds must have been our favor because that same day we found an ideal one-room apartment in the ideal location with, seemingly only one flaw: the balcony is not south facing. We finalised the documents that evening and were tucked fast asleep in our new home that night. While it was a wonderful experiment living with strangers for three months, it feels so nice to have your own space, territory, refuge.

Our life in this apartment, though only a week old, fits our dreams. we have just enough space for our small family. We wake up early and run or play in the forest in our backyard and finish with a swim in the lake only 5 minutes walk from the apartment. We eat a full, relaxed and nutritious breakfast and, when I feel full I walk to the bus stop and catch my marshrutka. Going into the city I always have a seat and the journey takes to most time in the mornings, but no more than 40-50 minutes. Going home generally only takes 30 minutes in all. We have no internet at home and will be keeping it that way -- our home is peaceful and relaxing. Life is simple, but as a result we have lots of time to reflect and discuss important ideas and opinions. We are both pleased.

--- UPDATE Ends ---

Rick and I, during one of our walks through the woods, recently discussed our communication with our family and friends. We both noted that, in general, we had more contact, but that our relationships had not seemed to improve much despite this extra contact. In fact, we noted that while sites like Facebook ensured a "comment" or two now and again, the quality of contact was vapid and, consequently, many relationships were based only on shallow immediate communication -- like business more than like real, personal relationships. I resolved immediately that instead of feeding into the fast-paced, somewhat vouyeristic life of instant communication (Facebook and Blogging), that I would prefer to take advantage of the more personal nature of direct and thoughtful communication via traditional mail, phone calls, and sometimes email.

The truth is that I do not feel so comfortable as the the sole individual responsible for disseminating my personal life for all to know about. There are other figures in my personal life that I think would much rather be the source of information and would rise to the occasion far better than I. For example, my mother, who effortlessly seems to know and track the goings on of life, would (I assume) enjoy more quality contact with me and Rick as well as enjoy telling others in the family about our lives. More traditional communication methods allow me to invest more energy in developing strong quality communication (and, unlike blogging or surfing Facebook there is a more valuable interchange -- A CONNECTION!). Also, traditional communication naturally tends to put information in the hands of individuals who, due to their personality, are very effective at spreading and sharing this information and OFTEN revel in the opportunity to be an authority, a go-to-person. I, in comparison, feel a bit overwhelmed in having to share everything with everyone. I don't like to be the go-to-person for EVERYONE who wants to know about me. The internet makes it so easy for people to investigate details of my life and contact me. I don't want to be antisocial, I just want to use my social energy on relationships rather than the more casual interaction facilitated via Facebook and blogging. I don't know how many people read my blog becuase VERY few ever respond and share about themselves. I feel like I am wasting my energy on fake, shallow relationships and so, am trying to create an environment where real relationships will recieve my energy, not empty ones.

So, what will happen with current contact? I am downsizing my Facebook. If you want to know information about me, you can write me a real letter and send it to the address on my site. Once I save my pictures there, I will be deleting my albums. Following this blog post I will likely post a few pictures, but will cease to blog seriously about my life. Pictures will be put into an online album which, when updated, those with close relationships will be alerted and if other family members or close friends want to see, they can talk to the first level of friends or ask me for the information. As far as talking on skype with family goes, since we have no internet in the apartment, speaking on Skype will be more difficult. Rick and I will be gifting mothers and fathers with Skype credit so that they can call us at our home telephone or cell phones via skype at a minimum cost. We hope that this will encourage family to "just give us a call" more frequently, rather than worrying about scheduling when we will both be online. Calls may become shorter, but we hope, more frequent.

In addition, I will begin writing more REAL letters. The more I think about it the more I feel that this is a lost art of sorts. Letters may not be frequent, but they will undoubtedly have deeper meaning and thoughtfulness, as letter writing requires time, thought, patience and reflection. Letters of such kind should, I think, be considered treasures -- evidence of your importance to another person. To send a letter nowadays is to say that you REALLY care. I am delighted to think that I can give that sensation to others.

I know this post has been long, but it has been a long time since updating. If you have any considerable opinions on my communication rant (which has not been fully discussed here), feel free to send me an email or better yet, a letter.

Wishing you all the best.

Kim