Life in Eastern Europe

Trip Start Mar 02, 2003
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Trip End Jul 04, 2005


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Flag of Ukraine  ,
Tuesday, August 12, 2003

Eastern Europe smells of body odor, stale cigarettes, and confusion. One may wonder how a country or region can smell of confusion, but after being here for six months I am certain that that is in fact what I smell in the air, on the buses, and in my office. When I ask a Ukrainian about the arbitrary nature of when the water gets turned off they simply reply "normalno". I have become accustomed to not having water in the evenings, however, I'll never understand why one day I have water until 11 at night and the next day it's off at 8:30. Confusion. The people here live in a constant state of question. They can not answer simple questions with concrete answers. For the past seventy years they have not known when there will be bread in the stores let alone when the heat will be turned on in their block-style apartment buildings. Even now when you see something you're mildly interested in at the store, you better make a decision quickly whether or not you want it, because it's guaranteed NOT to be there next time you come to the store.

Regine and I went to the bazaar on Sunday. Both of us were really happy about being back in Rivne after spending almost five days in Kyiv. We were looking for a new bag for Regine. Unfortunately we missed the window of time in the morning where it's safe and pleasant to go to the bazaar. After I'd been elbowed rather violently four or five times and Regine got shouldered in the head, we decided never to go back to the bazaar after noon again. It's a dangerous place where people still fight for their right to cut in front of you in line, and beat you to that ultra shiny set of salt and pepper shakers. Please and Thank You do not exist. In this area of the world people still fight with one another to lay claim on products before their neighbor spots them. On the positive side of this story, we then crossed the street from the "stuff" bazaar to the "food" bazaar and had a great time there. Not only did I find corn on the cob, but broccoli, and hot peppers. Quite incredible, and let me tell you, I've been feasting on the veggies. They are deliciously fresh and yummy.

Being in Rivne for the last few months has been a little difficult. There are days when all I think about is difficulties. This all changed after the last week that I spent in Kyiv. I have been having to go to Kyiv regularly for Rabies shots. Now, don't panic. It's not horrible or anything, but I did in fact get bitten by a dog, well a puppy. It's not serious, but I had nightmares about rabies and the terrible death associated with the disease and made the decision to get the shots. I swore that I wouldn't play with strays anymore, but it's so difficult... they're so cute and need love. Anyway, enough of the tangent. I'm fine and healthy just spending too much time in Kyiv.

Last week was spent in meetings. First the VAC (volunteer advisory committee) and then the Director or Peace Corps, Gaddi Vasquez was visiting Ukraine. The VAC meeting went well and it's a very good group of volunteers that get things done in Ukraine. The meeting with the Director reminded me that I work for the government, and that's all I'm going to say about that. I was a little frustrated with money issues while in Kyiv. I have been able to save a little money every month and have enough, but others are struggling.There are Ukrainians that subsist on $30 a month and here we are getting almost six times that much. I have no trouble living on my money, and no matter where volunteers are in Ukraine they should be able to manage and budget so that their money lasts them for a month. It's worrisome, and baffling. I'm confused as to where the money is going and hope that people can figure out how to budget accordingly. I wish I could empathize, and then again am glad that I have enough.

One more quick story - yesterday we had an office meeting at EcoClub. The meeting took almost four hours. I'm still not sure what we talked about, nor what we got done. The way things are done here is amazing to me. This Sunday is the start of a big project for EcoClub. We'll start doing the insulation of an orphanage in Ostroh, a town southeast of Rivne. We still don't have anywhere for the volunteers who will help with the insulation to shower. Bottled water hasn't been purchased, even though it's important. However, we continually discuss the need for passport information so we can all go visit the nuclear power station. I'm sure that'll be an interesting field trip. Wait for that travel log... coming soon. :)
In addition to logistics, no one I work with seems to know where we're going to get money for the project (the Peace Corps Partnership Grant that is supposed to be funding it is temporarily on hold due to accounting changes at PC). I could ask, but the Ukrainians just respond with "normalno". I have been making reservations for the volunteers coming from France, Germany, the States, and Japan to get them to Rivne. I'm even meeting one in Kyiv. No one asked me to do this, I just took it upon myself. All the volunteers speak English, but no one here at EcoClub speaks well. I'm wondering what would it have been like had there not been an American here. Very interesting. I can't wait till this project gets started I have a feeling it's going to be great, or at least I'll have some good stories associated with it. We ended the meeting and the Ukrainians felt it had been very productive and that we'd gotten a lot done. Right. I left the meeting totally exhausted and in a state of utter befuddlement. I went home and collapsed, barely able to breathe in the air laden with smells of body odor, stale cigarette smoke, and confusion.
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