Independence

Welcome back, dear laptop.

On a Saturday morning about a month and a half ago, as I do in my usual morning routine, I checked my e-mail, then shut down my computer before heading to my morning class. Upon my return four hours later, my computer was still stuck on the blue shutdown screen, fan running rapidly. I knew something was not right.

In the course of the next week or so, I proceeded to download lots of antivirus software to combat what I thought was a virus. None of that worked, so I decided to take the tried and true step towards virus removal - reformatting the computer; erasing everything and starting over from the beginning. I read up on it on the Internet, and did it myself. About halfway through the process, I realized that wasn’t working, either. At the end of my rope, we enlisted the help of the DCU computer guy, Sasha, who confirmed that the problem was bigger than a virus. About this time, Sasha and his family emigrated to the U.S. and Valek took over computer operations at DCU. He took our laptop to a repair place and we promptly left for MCC retreat. Upon our return, it was waiting for us, ready to go, for the not-too-scary fee of 260 griven ($52). I’ve been told that there were two things wrong with it, neither of which I really understand. All that matters to me is that my laptop is again at my every beck and call for e-mail writing, lesson planning and skypeing.

As I caught up on a month of missed blog reading this evening, I couldn’t help mentally noting my gratitude for Sasha and Valek’s help in the computer situation. As we come to the end of our term, I realize that there are many things I have learned. But I also realize there is still much that I can’t do. When my computer, my main work tool and communication lifeline breaks in Donetsk, Ukraine, what to do? There are no certified HP service centers with smiling customer service representatives around the corner, or anywhere less than a day’s drive away. So then which computer repair shop to try? Just pick the first I see? Do I walk in myself, mumble around in half-coherent Russian and hope they don’t hear dollar bills in my accent and take this helpless foreigner to town? Of course not, I ask for help from competent people, and it is gladly given. It shouldn’t really be hard, but it is. I want to be the independent, self-sufficient American into which my culture shaped me. But while living in a foreign culture, speaking a foreign language, I’ve learned that I simply can’t. I need the help of others, and although I don’t like to, asking for help is a necessary part of living here.

This idea of independence was something I was aware of in myself before we arrived in Ukraine, but have since learned how important it is to me. My sense of independence makes me try absolutely everything I can before I ask for help. It also means that when things that I don’t know how to deal with happen, I freak out. I have an especially bad history with electronics, as Dave can attest to. For example, the time when a drunk fan hugged Dave at a soccer game and he dropped the camera (which broke). Or when he plugged the battery charger into the outlet without flipping the voltage switch from 110 to 220. A poof of black smoke and that was all for that charger cord. Both incidents occurred less than a month after we arrived in Ukraine, when stress levels were already high and the thought of grocery shopping on my own was hard enough, let alone getting a camera repaired. That was nearly unfathomable. Therefore, I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t react well.

Both items were fixed (with the help of a great friend) long ago. And I’m happier to admit that with my most recent computer episode, although there were short times of despair, in the end, there wasn’t too big of a scene. I admit, I am still not good at asking for help. But perhaps I’m improving. One thing I am certain of: I am very grateful for those who willingly do help me, as soon as I calm down, bite my tongue and ask.

Laura

Blogging

A North American living abroad writes a blog entry as a way of venting, repeatedly using the tool of sarcasm to describe an event or chain of events that has either a) frustrated him/her or b) he/she found strange/funny in his/her cross-cultural environment. A national finds the entry, reads it and is offended by it. Relationships become strained and the reconciliation, if possible, ends up requiring infinitely more thought and energy than was put into the initial 150-word entry.

This is a situation that has occurred, from what I gather, several times with MCC’s international service workers. It is also something we all want to avoid. We have our blogs to give family/friends at home a glimpse into what is going on in our lives. We use our blogs to avoid the impersonal mass e-mail (that many end up deleting without reading) and also to save some time on individual communication. It also gives readers a great opening line; when they do decide to send us a message—“I love your blog,” “I was just reading your blog,” “Your blog is so interesting,” …. People can check it if they want according to their own schedule.

Personally, I want to keep our small core of readers and a good way to do that is to entertain them (make them laugh). I use sarcasm that can border on hurtful in order to reach this end. For me, laughing at the uncomfortable situations is a way of coping and it’s not my intention to say that everyone here is “like this.” I have come to realize that many cultures don’t put as much emphasis on sarcasm as maybe I am accustomed to. The response I envision myself hearing is: “we aren’t ALL like that.” And essentially “hasn’t anything good happened?”

Our blog entries tend to be about trips that we take and strange situations in which we find ourselves. Please don’t take this to mean that all we do is travel to exotic places or that we are perpetually in strange situations (even though the frequency is exponentially greater than it was in North America).

For me, my “work” is usually quite interesting; but writing about it constantly could border on boring: for both me the writer and you the reader. I won’t speak for Laura but I think she would agree with this as well. In any case, we hope we haven’t offended anyone and will continue to try to be culturally sensitive when writing our blogs.

Dave

Our Last Retreat

This year we had the opportunity to travel to Egypt for our annual conference/retreat. It was the first year where the MCC Middle East and MCC Europe programs met as one big group, called MCC EME for those of us who can’t seem to get enough acronyms.

It was a great experience. Getting together with other workers is always great. It seems that even if we haven’t ever met before we can still relate to each other really well because we seem to have a lot in common. Spending time with the 70+ others in the group was good for us, helping us to realize that even though MCC began in Ukraine, the organization is doing a lot more worldwide than its relatively limited scope in the “Post Soviet Republics.” The stories of the workers in Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon were very intimidating to me personally. Comparing these stories to how we live and work in Ukraine makes life here seem peaceful and a bit uneventful.

The former executive director of MCC, Ron Mathies, was the resource person and he did a great job of energizing the workers. He has an unbelievable memory and spent most of his time at the podium telling about a) his years as an MCC worker in southern Africa, b) many of his trips as executive director and c) some of his responsibilities as executive director. Two points really hit me personally. First, the “Ron Mathies” translation of Deuteronomy 26:1-10: where he changes the words a bit to be a history of Mennonites and MCC. Second he talked about how MCC has a history of “ordinary people (in North America and abroad) doing ordinary things with extraordinary worldwide consequences.”

After the retreat, which took place near Alexandria, we had the opportunity to take a vacation day in Cairo. We thought we could see some sites and maybe do some souvenir shopping. Notice the picture of me at the pyramids (no, I'm not practicing my "I'm at the pyramids" disco dance)… Laura is not absent from the picture because she is the one taking it (as is the case with many of our pictures). At the time the photo was taken she was quite possibly stooped next to the toilet in our hotel imagining what the pyramids would be like (I think she saw the outlines of a couple from our bus window and she could have been building on that). That was unfortunate, but I think even after whatever she ate that made her sick, Laura would agree that the trip as a whole was great.

Dave

A Visit From Friends

As our time here rapidly comes to a close, we have the opportunity to do some hosting of friends and family. Last week we spent some time, in Kiev and in Donetsk, with two of our friends. Both have been friends of ours since college and, even though our paths haven’t crossed many times since then, we have remained close. Presently, Kendra is a speech/journalism professor at Hesston College (in KS) and Marc is an associate pastor at a Mennonite church in Fresno, CA.

We showed them some of the sites and introduced them to a bunch of people we have gotten to know here; but the highlight for me was the down time. This usually occurred in the evenings, when we sat around and told stories. Stories from college as well as what has happened since then. It is amazing how many stories we each have from our relatively short college experiences and how many of them make us all laugh. It is also amazing how much has happened in the short time we have been here. The important events that we have “missed” as well as the many opportunities we have been given.

Even before they headed up the escalators to passport control in the Kiev Borispol airport, I started missing our friends. We will probably see them again not too long after we return to North America in August, but we were again reminded that being so far from friends and family really makes us appreciate the short times we are able to spend with loved ones.

Dave

Odessa Taxi Rip-Off

On my most recent trip to visit MCC partners, my bus got caught in traffic in Odessa. The streets in larger Ukrainian cities are not made for even half the volume of cars that fill them. That morning I was supposed to arrive by eight; then I could catch public transport across town to the other bus station by 9:15, when my bus to Kiliya was scheduled to leave. I had a tight schedule, wanting to make the 7-8-hour round trip yet that day, along with having a meeting with the partners there.

We arrived around 8:45 and I thought I might be able to catch a taxi across town for around $4 (significantly more than the $0.10 I would have spent on public transport). Taxi drivers know the side streets and would probably be able to get me to my bus on time. I chose one guy from the swarm of taxi drivers waiting for their prey at the bottom of the bus steps. I asked if he would be able to get me across town in a less than 30 minutes: and how much it would cost. He thought we would make it, and—acknowledging my accent—said it would be “less than $100.” He laughed and I began to walk away, but he pursued his potential client, saying he had been joking. I asked again for an approximate price, this time asking if it would be around $4. He said it would be a “bit more” because the rates were raised on April 1^st. But his taxi was “metered” and it would be “all good.”

As we left the station I noticed that the meter already read over half my projected price—we weren’t even headed in the right direction. I told him to stop, saying I didn’t have enough money. He smiled and said he would give me a rate of $10. By N. American standards this would have been reasonable but by Ukrainian standards it was a rip-off. But, wanting to get there already, I accepted. I was fuming for the remainder of the ride.

Being ripped off for my accent and nationality really upsets me. I am uncertain why this is the case. Ten bucks isn’t that much to pay and people here do have far less money than N. Americans. Part of it is my being upset because, when I’m being ripped off, I am oftentimes spending MCC constituents’ money. So they are being ripped off because of my incompetence. But it’s more depressing because it’s just another indicator that I don’t fit in.

I paid the $10 and missed my bus anyway.

Dave

Easter in Moscow

On April 7-8, Jaap, Lucie and I attended the first hour-and-a-half of the Easter service at the local Orthodox church. We were there from 11 p.m. until 12:30 a.m., long enough to make several laps around the church with the rest of the congregation as well as participate in the first rounds of the priest saying “Christ is Risen” and the congregational responds “He has risen, indeed.”

Sunday morning Jaap and I made Easter eggs. Here is a photo of our Easter breakfast. It includes the do-it-yourself Ukrainian eggs (they are encased in plastic shrink-wrap sleeves you slide the egg into and then drop into boiling water), painted eggs (which were not only fun, but really messy too), and a loaf of Paska (the bread named after the holiday - "Paska" is the world for Easter in Russian).

Dave

Moscow Trip III

The day before Easter my Dutch friend, Jaap, and I did some sightseeing in Moscow. I guess you could say I did some sightseeing because he lives there and had already seen the sites countless times. However he was able to visit one site he had never before visited. We arrived at Red Square at around 12:30 and saw it was mainly blocked off, with a long line formed along the Kremlin wall. Being somewhat accustomed to Russian/Ukrainian culture (if there’s a line, one must join because there must be something worth waiting for) we went and queued up. We asked some of our queue mates what it was we were waiting for, and they said that this happened to be one of the days that people could visit Lenin’s tomb (from 10-1 p.m.) Fabulous.

When Lenin died, more than 83 years ago, his written wishes were for burial in a cemetery in Petrograd (renamed Leningrad three days after his death and more recently St. Petersburg), next to his mother. He did not want any sort of monuments dedicated to him. Joseph Stalin, the general secretary, had other ideas. Statues of Lenin were raised in almost all major Soviet cities (there is still one standing in Donetsk’s central square) and a mausoleum was built on Red Square. Lenin’s body was to be preserved. This proved to be an interesting task. He died in January and Stalin decreed that some sort of corpse-preservation technique be developed. Some biochemists took up the task and produced a successful formula six months later. Needless to say they also had to do some bleaching and touching up on the body to account for those months. The composition of the chemical mixture is, from what I understand, a state secret. It does contain a lot of wax and is reapplied every 18 months, but that’s about all I could find out.

Before being admitted to the Mauseleum we were required to check our cameras in the Russian history museum (adjacent the mausoleum). We proceeded and a guard quite firmly told me “take off your hat and get your hands out of your pockets” before we entered. It was almost pitch-black in the entrance, which made the descent down a handful of steps somewhat treacherous. The only things that were visible were the countless guards; who were posted at each corner, under 1-watt (my estimation) light bulbs. After weaving around several corners we found a strong contrast to the darkness; the glass lid on top of Lenin’s coffin was brightly lit (I found the picture online; I did not attempt to take in a camera and try my luck). The first picture is of Jaap and me outside the mausoleum. Notice our looks of pride in accomplishment, after having visited the tomb.

Rumor has it that Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering, after Lenin has laid in the tomb for 83+ years, moving the body to the cemetery in St. Petersburg, to fulfill Lenin's original wishes. That rumor has probably been circulating for some decades and who knows if it will ever be carried out. Lenin’s corpse and mausoleum have a very interesting history that I have only begun to address. If it interest’s any of you, do an Internet search and check it out.

Dave