More Frustrations - But All's Well That Ends Well
Monday, June 19 - later
I've been really cranky all day, and I've been taking it out on Ed - and this is after he brought home some flowers for me yesterday after his Kharkiv photo shoot! They sell flowers at most metro stations, and you see everyone carrying bunches home or to the office. It's really nice, but we have no vases here, and only one beer glass that is tall enough to hold them. I put them in beer glass and put it in the entry nook. It looks lovely. I'll have Ed take a photo and post it soon.
Among the other frustrations of the morning was my attempt to call my insurance company's 800 number on Skype (Laura had told me this could be done) so that I could make my premium payments over the phone, the way I always do. All I got was an announcement saying that I couldn't connect to this phone from my location!! I emailed Laura to see if there was some secret to dialing the 800 number, but I think she had already left for England, so I emailed Fern and asked her to take care of the premium for me - what a pain for her.
So anyway, I left after putting the laundry in for the second time and decided to go to STUME - what I had read and heard was a big Ukrainian department store. I walked in and found that it is just like all the little shops in the underground, only they are in a building instead of the metro underground passages!! There will be two women selling housewares right next to or opposite each other, in direct competition!! And there are vendors selling the same weird combinations of goods - lingerie and staplers for example. It's very drab and quite depressing there, and everything looks seedy and cheap - sort of like a 99 cents store (I think - I'm not sure I've ever been in one of those). But when I walked in I immediately spotted something I desperately needed - one of those things you put in a plug outlet so you have three sockets instead of one - and also a surge protector - I needed another. This set me back about $6.
I wandered around thinking I would buy a pot and a bowl if I saw anything decent, and maybe a stapler for Ed. I found staplers, but they were so tiny I didn't think they would be adequate. As I was looking over the staplers I got a phone call from a woman who just kept going on and on in Russian or Ukrainian (probably Russian - NO ONE speaks Ukrainian here) - I kept saying "Ja neh rosamiou" "Ja neh havorio po Ukryinski che po Russkie" - but that didn't stop her - I did catch the words Fed Ex - I think - and I think it may be about the package that Goldman Sachs has sent us (I think they've sent it to the Hotel Kharkiv, even though we left there a week ago). I asked everyone around me if they spoke English - but no luck. So I just let the woman go on and on until she finally hung up. She called back later - and we had the same non-conversation. It is quite amazing how people refuse to accept the fact that you have no idea what they are saying, and just keep on going as if nothing is wrong!
I really scored a few minutes later. I found a measuring cup - and it measures in both cups and liters!! I also found a salt and pepper shaker and a medium sized pot - big enough to use as a bowl, to make cereal, and to cook pasta for two.
I stopped at the market and bought a couple of oranges for Ed and a Kiwi for me, some orange juice and some cheese. I really wanted some more cereal - Nestle Fitness - it's the only one I've found so far without any added sugar - and Ed had gotten some there yesterday - but they were out today. With our appetites, we only get about 2 servings per box. I yelled at Ed when he started to pour some into a bowl for his lunch today - we have to save this precious cereal for breakfast! The cereal, like the paper towel and tissues, are treasured commodities - it's a whole new world order here - no more profligacy with these things!
By now my purchases were getting quite heavy so I walked back home. When I got there the laundry was done and I checked the soap container - still full! Jesus Christ, what does it take to do a simple wash in this country!!! Or make a local phone call!!! I'm going to have to hire a translator to show me how to make a phone call, run the washing machine, and follow the directions for cooking the hot cereal!!
All our attempts to contact Alona to enlist her help in making the phone call to the Mir travel agency and to explain how to work the washing machine failed. So Ed finally called Gennady to find out how the hell you can make a local phone call in Kharkiv. Turns out the number I had gotten on the internet was an "old" number (they've been revamping their system over the past few years), and after about 45 minutes Gennady was able to get a phone number for us that worked!! And they speak English!!!! And they are able to arrange the trip for about $600 each!! We have to change airports in Moscow on the way back from Riga, but at least we can get from here to there and back without mortgaging our souls. What a relief - I'll go there tomorrow and arrange everything in person.
For some reason I decided to try the 800 number call on Skype again - and guess what - it worked this time!!! So I paid the premiums myself, emailed Fern to tell her she didn't have to do anything and went to blog spot to report that what began as a very bad day ended up okay.
I've been really cranky all day, and I've been taking it out on Ed - and this is after he brought home some flowers for me yesterday after his Kharkiv photo shoot! They sell flowers at most metro stations, and you see everyone carrying bunches home or to the office. It's really nice, but we have no vases here, and only one beer glass that is tall enough to hold them. I put them in beer glass and put it in the entry nook. It looks lovely. I'll have Ed take a photo and post it soon.
Among the other frustrations of the morning was my attempt to call my insurance company's 800 number on Skype (Laura had told me this could be done) so that I could make my premium payments over the phone, the way I always do. All I got was an announcement saying that I couldn't connect to this phone from my location!! I emailed Laura to see if there was some secret to dialing the 800 number, but I think she had already left for England, so I emailed Fern and asked her to take care of the premium for me - what a pain for her.
So anyway, I left after putting the laundry in for the second time and decided to go to STUME - what I had read and heard was a big Ukrainian department store. I walked in and found that it is just like all the little shops in the underground, only they are in a building instead of the metro underground passages!! There will be two women selling housewares right next to or opposite each other, in direct competition!! And there are vendors selling the same weird combinations of goods - lingerie and staplers for example. It's very drab and quite depressing there, and everything looks seedy and cheap - sort of like a 99 cents store (I think - I'm not sure I've ever been in one of those). But when I walked in I immediately spotted something I desperately needed - one of those things you put in a plug outlet so you have three sockets instead of one - and also a surge protector - I needed another. This set me back about $6.
I wandered around thinking I would buy a pot and a bowl if I saw anything decent, and maybe a stapler for Ed. I found staplers, but they were so tiny I didn't think they would be adequate. As I was looking over the staplers I got a phone call from a woman who just kept going on and on in Russian or Ukrainian (probably Russian - NO ONE speaks Ukrainian here) - I kept saying "Ja neh rosamiou" "Ja neh havorio po Ukryinski che po Russkie" - but that didn't stop her - I did catch the words Fed Ex - I think - and I think it may be about the package that Goldman Sachs has sent us (I think they've sent it to the Hotel Kharkiv, even though we left there a week ago). I asked everyone around me if they spoke English - but no luck. So I just let the woman go on and on until she finally hung up. She called back later - and we had the same non-conversation. It is quite amazing how people refuse to accept the fact that you have no idea what they are saying, and just keep on going as if nothing is wrong!
I really scored a few minutes later. I found a measuring cup - and it measures in both cups and liters!! I also found a salt and pepper shaker and a medium sized pot - big enough to use as a bowl, to make cereal, and to cook pasta for two.
I stopped at the market and bought a couple of oranges for Ed and a Kiwi for me, some orange juice and some cheese. I really wanted some more cereal - Nestle Fitness - it's the only one I've found so far without any added sugar - and Ed had gotten some there yesterday - but they were out today. With our appetites, we only get about 2 servings per box. I yelled at Ed when he started to pour some into a bowl for his lunch today - we have to save this precious cereal for breakfast! The cereal, like the paper towel and tissues, are treasured commodities - it's a whole new world order here - no more profligacy with these things!
By now my purchases were getting quite heavy so I walked back home. When I got there the laundry was done and I checked the soap container - still full! Jesus Christ, what does it take to do a simple wash in this country!!! Or make a local phone call!!! I'm going to have to hire a translator to show me how to make a phone call, run the washing machine, and follow the directions for cooking the hot cereal!!
All our attempts to contact Alona to enlist her help in making the phone call to the Mir travel agency and to explain how to work the washing machine failed. So Ed finally called Gennady to find out how the hell you can make a local phone call in Kharkiv. Turns out the number I had gotten on the internet was an "old" number (they've been revamping their system over the past few years), and after about 45 minutes Gennady was able to get a phone number for us that worked!! And they speak English!!!! And they are able to arrange the trip for about $600 each!! We have to change airports in Moscow on the way back from Riga, but at least we can get from here to there and back without mortgaging our souls. What a relief - I'll go there tomorrow and arrange everything in person.
For some reason I decided to try the 800 number call on Skype again - and guess what - it worked this time!!! So I paid the premiums myself, emailed Fern to tell her she didn't have to do anything and went to blog spot to report that what began as a very bad day ended up okay.
posted by Susan Spivak at 6:05 PM
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