Taranka

While riding the bus in Ukraine, it is a common site to see a guy gnawing on a whole dried/salted fish. At first the sight was a little shocking, but my curiosity got the best of me and I began asking some of my Ukrainian friends which kinds are the best. A little while back, my friend Dima and I bought several 25cm long “Taranka” (I don’t know the English translation) and my education began.

We spread out several sheets of newspaper on the coffee table and got started. Extracting edible from inedible is quite an involved process, requiring several steps. I will spare you the details. The meat is rather tasty; Dima says especially if it is “somewhat fresh.” Enjoying a couple fish together is a social activity… sort of like fondue back home. For those of you who are interested, I have posted a before and after picture, taken at the demonstration I did for Laura. The next level in my learning will be to replicate the process on a bus.

Dave

It's wintertime

Sunday morning we woke up to a landscape blanketed in snow, the first snow of this winter. I went to the balcony window and took a picture, in case it might be the only snow we see this summer. But every day since Sunday it's snowed a little more and after a few months of warm temps, winter is finally here. We're happy for some snow, which will aid us in our skiing plans when Dave's family arrives next week.

Laura

The Next Step

It’s official—Laura and I will be moving to Durham, North Carolina, on August 21 of this year. We have decided that I will attend Duke Theological Seminary and probably the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, working towards a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Social Work. It is a four-year program with many of the classes fulfilling requirements of both programs. We'll finish our term here a little early so I can start classes in August.

I have withdrawn my applications from the other programs that we were considering. I have spent a lot of time and effort in communication with schools. It was very difficult for us to withdraw the apps, after I spent so much time filling them out and Laura spent so much time proofreading them and making them at least somewhat coherent. We are happy to have the decision made already.

A friend of mine told me that it’s pretty common for people in our shoes - near the end of our MCC term - to “check-out six months early.” It is our hope that, with the decision already made, we will be able to focus on our responsibilities here. The urge is always there to talk the ear off of anyone willing to listen to my future plans. But seriously, people here have much more interesting things to think and talk about.

Dave

The year of the pig

The Chinese New Year is almost upon us, and this year, according to the calendar, is the year of the pig. In Ukraine, we’ve already celebrated both the New Year and the old New Year (according to the old calendar) and the pigs are on full display. For some reason, the animals of the Chinese zodiac are big here. Whole stalls at the market were dedicated to pig trinkets of all varieties, and pigs were also frequently spotted on New Years cards. Stuffed pigs dangle from rearview mirrors of taxis and buses. I realized how big the animal thing was when a student told me that she was born in the year of the pig, so this was going to be a good year for her. And then she asked me what animal represented the year I was born in. I had to admit I had no idea, and explained to the class that in the States the only time most people think about the Chinese zodiac is when they’re reading their placemat while waiting for their food at a Chinese restaurant. That explanation got me blank looks all around, and I decided that later I would look up my animal. It’s a monkey.

I hadn’t realized it before, but the animal of the year even determines what kind of gifts you give and receive for New Years. This became apparent as I un-decorated our Christmas tree this year – ornaments given to us over the past three New Years have been in the form of roosters, dogs and pigs, the featured animals of the last three consecutive years. A line of pig trinkets, given to me by students this year, now stand on a shelf in our livingroom. Last year it was a collection of dogs, although they have all found new homes by now, to make room for the pigs. Next year we can look forward to the year of the rat. Glad we’re going to miss those ornaments.

Laura

Communications Visit II

One of the greatest parts of serving with MCC is meeting with local partners. I usually end up leaving the visit thinking about how great the people are and how interesting it was to spend time with them. I am not a photographer, nor do I write in a journal, therefore I often forget the details of these visits. I do take photos but almost all of them are posed and at least one person looks like a total goof (usually me).

In August-September of last year we were fortunate to have a visit from MCC’s communications department. A while later they sent us the pictures that they took when doing the interviews. The photographer they sent was really good, as you can see from the pictures. When looking at these pictures, taken when these people were lost in their lives and stories, it is possible to see the person more deeply. I am thankful that the photographer captured several memories for me.

The first photo is of Gregory Nikolaenko, a builder and loan fund president in the Kharkov oblast. He is a rather rough and tough guy, but in the photo he is caught playing with one of his adopted grand-nieces.

The second photo is of Vladimir Tsupko, the director of the Good Shepherd Fund (the fund that operates the children’s center and the shelter in Makeevka). This photo shows him as I know him, animatedly describing what Good Shepherd does.

The third photo is of Valentina Chernova, the former director of Good Shepherd Children’s Center. The photo shows her behind her desk, probably talking about the everyday activities, rewarding and difficult, involved in taking care of the children.

The fourth photo is one that I have already posted. It is of Alexsander Doroshenko, the auto parts salesman and former boxer. It shows him as he always seems to be, enjoying himself.

And the fifth photo shows Katya Savchuka, the smallest girl at Good Shepherd Center. It shows the part of the kids that makes spending time there the most rewarding. Even though these kids have been through more than I can imagine and oftentimes seem like little adults, they still have not lost their playfulness.

I also thought I would use this blog as an opportunity to say that the cover story in the January-February MCC aCommonPlace magazine is on Income Generation in Ukraine (see a preview at http://www.mcc.org/acp/). The MCC website also has a photo gallery (http://www.mcc.org/gallery/07_01/) where you can see more of Ukraine.

Dave

Happy New Year

This year we celebrated New Years Ukrainian-style – with lots of festivity and food that lasts all night. We spent the evening with the children at the Good Shepherd Center. When we arrived at 7:30, kids were running around wild with excitement, and educators were setting up and assembling the evening’s activities behind locked doors. The theme was travel, so all of us, dressed in an assortment of “travel” outfits, assembled in the gym at 10 p.m., surrounded by tents. The night began with a talent show, which ended with a devotional and prayer, about the time when the sky outside was exploding with fireworks at midnight. After that, we headed to the cafeteria for a special holiday dinner (the “first meal of the year”), after which everyone lit sparklers. Then came a team competition activity, where groups of kids ran from one activity to another, gathering points and having fun in the process. These ranged from riding tricycles through an obstacle course to karaoke to target practice, which Dave and I led. After that it was back to the cafeteria for a “sweet table” laden with goodies. Between each activity there was plenty of time for running around, wrestling and general mayhem. The atmosphere would have kept even the sleepiest reveler awake. At about 4:30 a.m., kids brought their blankets and pillows to the gym and we all crashed in front of the movie screen for some sort of animated movie. I doubt anyone stayed awake to see past the first 10 minutes, let alone to the end. Dave and I made it home around 7 a.m.

A student told me the other day that the New Year doesn’t start for him until Jan. 2, because he spends most of Jan. 1 sleeping, and now I can identify with him.

Laura

Western Christmas Holiday

This year Dave and I spent Western Christmas (Dec. 25) in England, with a friend and her family. We arrived in Birmingham, spent a day an a half there, then went to London for two days, and finally traveled to Chichester, a small town on the south coast of England, for the Christmas holiday. We had a great time shopping, hanging out, watching English TV, being tourists, eating English Christmas goodies (many of which were new to us) and in general just absorbing the Christmas holiday spirit. Other highlights included Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in Chichester’s 11^th century cathedral, playing with the Peters’ two dogs (Dave’s highlight), and speaking English in public.

We were pleasantly surprised at the mild weather and greenness of the landscape, as well as the history and beauty we saw everywhere we went. Especially around Chichester, every other house seems to be built of stone several hundred years ago, and every other street is cobbled, narrow and winds through beautiful green fields and ivy-laden landscapes.

Laura