Especially For Laura
Okay, Okay, I get it - some of you really miss my Blog. The complaints keep coming and the longer I wait the harder it is to jump back in. And its only out of Laura's pain and discomfort that the Blog is resurrected. It's not easy keeping your head down for two weeks solid, so if I can help by providing reading material for her (through her trusted reader, Portis), I shall do so.
But where to start - after FOUR MONTHS!!! That's as long as we spent living in Kharkiv. I suppose I should start by renaming the Blog "Ed & Susan's Adventures in Ukraine and Their Travels Throughout the Former Soviet Union Republics and Satellite Countries." (Notice the deletion of "The" before "Ukraine" - I finally get it!) We have been on the road almost non-stop. After almost three weeks back in the States (first Marblehead MA for Ed's cousin's wedding - really fun to see all members of the extended Eidson family again - then a really brief stop in NY - where we didn't get to see very many of our friends because there was no time to do so - on our way to LA, where I was either at a doctor's office or at the Orange County Performing Arts Center watching the Kirov Ring Cycle - we did get to see a bit of Jane, Jed, Jenny and Jackson, and of Scott and Joan -more of Joan since she went to the Ring Cycle as well-but that was it!).
Now where was I? See I can't even remember where I am in the Blog, let alone where I have been for the past four months. Oh yes, after our almost 3 weeks back in the States, and a few days in London where we got to see four LA friends (Bob & ML and Brad and Sally) and Laura and Portis who came especially to see us (and a few fabulous plays and ballets - which we got to see too), we got back to a very chilly, but by no means freezing Kyiv on October 18. Now it was time to settle in and learn about a new city, new food markets, new places to get one's hair cut and colored or ones finger and toe nails clipped and polished.
My internet was up and running (at $20 a month, a big relief after the $250+ I was spending in Kharkiv each month to stay connected), the cable TV worked (although there was still precious little to watch - even the pickings on BBC Prime are very slim), we had great water pressure and hot water almost all the time. There was one memorable day when an auto accident caused a serious interruption in the delivery of hot water. No problem, we thought - our apartment has its own boiler so we never have to go without - or so we were assured when we took the place. And yes, it's true, there is a boiler here, but to turn it on you have to first take everything out of the cabinets under the bathroom sink so that you can turn off the hot water intake valve. Next you have to go into the hall closet (which is the only closet we have that is accessible when the bed is down, so it is jam packed with all sorts of stuff), clear enough space so that you can open the circuit breaker box in the back wall and turn on the circuit breaker for the boiler. Finally you have to get the 12' ladder out of the other closet (the one that is inaccessible when the bed is down, but which has a six inch opening giving access to the ladder even when the bed is not up) bring it over to the entry hall - a matter of about 10 feet, the entire length of our apartment - move the coat rack and the bench and cupboard thing in the entry way so that you can set up the ladder against the entry way wall, climb up the ladder, open the cupboard door that is just below our very high ceilings, and turn on both valves on the boiler (this means letting go of the ladder and hoisting oneself up using the ledge of the boiler cupboard so that one can reach the boiler valves - this last thing only has to be done if one is alone in the apartment, as one was because Ed was in Kharkiv, when the hot water ceases to flow. But I got it done, was able to shower, do the dishes, etc. I could even tell when the city hot water was turned back on because then the radiators began to work - so I was able to reverse the process and turn the boiler off within 24 hours. So far we have only had to resort to the boiler twice, but I'm prepared to do it again if need be.
Speaking of radiators - this was something I was dreading, having experienced the horrors of steam heat radiators in old apartment buildings in NY. I still remember the pans of hot water that had to be placed on the radiators to keep any moisture in the air or in your skin. And it was virtually impossible to turn off the heat - yeah, you could theoretically turn off the radiators in your apartment, but the pipes in the walls were still really hot and kept the place at an unbearable temperature. I thought I'd survive in Kyiv because our tiny apartment has two air conditioning units! But unbelievably their use has proved entirely unnecessary. Somehow the Ukrainians (it's okay to use the "the" here I think - this is what you do when referring to any nationality I think - the Americans, the Russians, etc.) have got this one right - somehow a steady stream of very light heat flows almost continually through the pipes and radiators, never drying out the air too much and never sending the thermometer soaring. We've had an incredibly mild winter until just this week and I have not been uncomfortable at all, and when I am, I just open the windows a bit. My little office alcove is especially comfortable for me because it is in the space that used to be the balcony, the walls are all windows, and even though two of the three radiators in the apartment are located here, it always stays quite chilly - I of course love that since I can't bear the heat. When it gets really cold, as it has during the past few days, I just turn on one of our deLonghi portable electric heaters, put it under my desk by my feet and get toasty warm within a few minutes. (I'm sure it costs us a fortune since we have been averaging about $40 a month for electricity, which, as I understand it, is almost double what most people pay.)
Oh, and did I mention my obscenely expensive "fitness center." It's so ironic - at home I wouldn't dream of joining a health club or fitness center, but I really miss pilates, and my lumbar region misses it even more. So I bit the bullet and charged the $3600 (that's right, dollars, not Hryvnas) for a year's membership to my Visa card. This buys me the right to pay an additional $30 for each personal training session with the only yoga/pilates trainer who speaks English, Katya. Fortunately I really like her a lot - she's a wonderful teacher, and it's paid off in many ways - most of all in an absence of back pain. I've tried the group classes a few times (Big Ball Pilates, Gymstick Pilates, and yoga) but it's really hard to do when all the directions are given in Russian - I have to keep looking at the instructor or the other participants to see what I'm supposed to be doing, with the result that I can't concentrate on relaxing (that's right,CONCENTRATE on relaxing - the relaxing part is the hardest thing for me to do and I really have to, ironically, work very hard at it). So for now at least I've pretty much given up on the classes and reconciled myself to the fact that I have to pay for personal training.
Oh, and the furniture we needed - I found everything we wanted within a week of coming back to Kyiv - a really good looking coffee table that is square and takes up quite a bit of room, but with the bed up, the place is really quite sparcely furnished and can handle this - and a matching night table. We saw that we really needed something on the floor too - the living room and office nook have light wood floors, and cry out for a rug. We found that too - but not until November when the Nasatirs came to visit and we took them to an "outdoor" museum which has houses and churches and other buildings from every region of Ukraine, and which sells the best crafts available here. We walked into one cottage, saw a shelf of rolled up carpets, and I immediately spotted one that I thought would (and does, in fact) look great. So the apartment is really homey and comfy now - our chatchkes have replaced the owner's chatchkes, our furniture is installed, our rug is on the floor, our towels are on the bathroom racks and our linens and duvet on the bed. It's definitely "home" in a way that the Kharkiv apartment never was.
The other day I got an email from a colleague of Betsy's who is spending 6 months in Paris on sabbatical with his wife, and their Cairn Terrier Monty. Betsy had sent me a copy of his journal entry about walking Monty, and I almost want to just copy it, change the names to Ed, Susan and Belle from Dennis, Pat and Monty, and put it in the Blog and claim it as my own. I had responded by telling him so, and he asked me what I found most surprising or unique about Ukraine. I can't even remember what I told him, but on reflection, there is one thing about living here that I truly hate. It is almost impossible to get away from the ubiquitous TV screens that are everywhere - in the gym, in the restaurant, in the cafe, in the bar, in the train station, in the train cars, in the metro stations, in the airport, in the hair and manicure salon - just everywhere - that play MTV Russian candy pop music videos incessantly, or show models walking down runways with the same horrible music blaring. It's amazing, because classical music, opera and ballet, as well as great literature, is really embedded in their upbringing here - there are many, many children, both boys and girls, at all the ballets, concerts and operas we attend, and they are rapt audiences, they don't make a peep. But somehow, when they leave the theater or the opera house or the concert hall, they put all that aside and opt for god-awful ring tones on their cell phones that never stop and horrible MTV music channels on TVs everywhere, 24/7. The other day I was in the dressing room at my fabulously expensive, elitist and snobby fitness center and was shocked to hear classical music playing softly in the background! But alas, a stop was soon put to that!
So now I suppose you want to hear about our travels and the Kharkiv Defender Office. Well, it will have to wait until tomorrow or Sunday. Friday nights we get Dalzeil and Pascoe on BBC Prime, so gotta go now.
But where to start - after FOUR MONTHS!!! That's as long as we spent living in Kharkiv. I suppose I should start by renaming the Blog "Ed & Susan's Adventures in Ukraine and Their Travels Throughout the Former Soviet Union Republics and Satellite Countries." (Notice the deletion of "The" before "Ukraine" - I finally get it!) We have been on the road almost non-stop. After almost three weeks back in the States (first Marblehead MA for Ed's cousin's wedding - really fun to see all members of the extended Eidson family again - then a really brief stop in NY - where we didn't get to see very many of our friends because there was no time to do so - on our way to LA, where I was either at a doctor's office or at the Orange County Performing Arts Center watching the Kirov Ring Cycle - we did get to see a bit of Jane, Jed, Jenny and Jackson, and of Scott and Joan -more of Joan since she went to the Ring Cycle as well-but that was it!).
Now where was I? See I can't even remember where I am in the Blog, let alone where I have been for the past four months. Oh yes, after our almost 3 weeks back in the States, and a few days in London where we got to see four LA friends (Bob & ML and Brad and Sally) and Laura and Portis who came especially to see us (and a few fabulous plays and ballets - which we got to see too), we got back to a very chilly, but by no means freezing Kyiv on October 18. Now it was time to settle in and learn about a new city, new food markets, new places to get one's hair cut and colored or ones finger and toe nails clipped and polished.
My internet was up and running (at $20 a month, a big relief after the $250+ I was spending in Kharkiv each month to stay connected), the cable TV worked (although there was still precious little to watch - even the pickings on BBC Prime are very slim), we had great water pressure and hot water almost all the time. There was one memorable day when an auto accident caused a serious interruption in the delivery of hot water. No problem, we thought - our apartment has its own boiler so we never have to go without - or so we were assured when we took the place. And yes, it's true, there is a boiler here, but to turn it on you have to first take everything out of the cabinets under the bathroom sink so that you can turn off the hot water intake valve. Next you have to go into the hall closet (which is the only closet we have that is accessible when the bed is down, so it is jam packed with all sorts of stuff), clear enough space so that you can open the circuit breaker box in the back wall and turn on the circuit breaker for the boiler. Finally you have to get the 12' ladder out of the other closet (the one that is inaccessible when the bed is down, but which has a six inch opening giving access to the ladder even when the bed is not up) bring it over to the entry hall - a matter of about 10 feet, the entire length of our apartment - move the coat rack and the bench and cupboard thing in the entry way so that you can set up the ladder against the entry way wall, climb up the ladder, open the cupboard door that is just below our very high ceilings, and turn on both valves on the boiler (this means letting go of the ladder and hoisting oneself up using the ledge of the boiler cupboard so that one can reach the boiler valves - this last thing only has to be done if one is alone in the apartment, as one was because Ed was in Kharkiv, when the hot water ceases to flow. But I got it done, was able to shower, do the dishes, etc. I could even tell when the city hot water was turned back on because then the radiators began to work - so I was able to reverse the process and turn the boiler off within 24 hours. So far we have only had to resort to the boiler twice, but I'm prepared to do it again if need be.
Speaking of radiators - this was something I was dreading, having experienced the horrors of steam heat radiators in old apartment buildings in NY. I still remember the pans of hot water that had to be placed on the radiators to keep any moisture in the air or in your skin. And it was virtually impossible to turn off the heat - yeah, you could theoretically turn off the radiators in your apartment, but the pipes in the walls were still really hot and kept the place at an unbearable temperature. I thought I'd survive in Kyiv because our tiny apartment has two air conditioning units! But unbelievably their use has proved entirely unnecessary. Somehow the Ukrainians (it's okay to use the "the" here I think - this is what you do when referring to any nationality I think - the Americans, the Russians, etc.) have got this one right - somehow a steady stream of very light heat flows almost continually through the pipes and radiators, never drying out the air too much and never sending the thermometer soaring. We've had an incredibly mild winter until just this week and I have not been uncomfortable at all, and when I am, I just open the windows a bit. My little office alcove is especially comfortable for me because it is in the space that used to be the balcony, the walls are all windows, and even though two of the three radiators in the apartment are located here, it always stays quite chilly - I of course love that since I can't bear the heat. When it gets really cold, as it has during the past few days, I just turn on one of our deLonghi portable electric heaters, put it under my desk by my feet and get toasty warm within a few minutes. (I'm sure it costs us a fortune since we have been averaging about $40 a month for electricity, which, as I understand it, is almost double what most people pay.)
Oh, and did I mention my obscenely expensive "fitness center." It's so ironic - at home I wouldn't dream of joining a health club or fitness center, but I really miss pilates, and my lumbar region misses it even more. So I bit the bullet and charged the $3600 (that's right, dollars, not Hryvnas) for a year's membership to my Visa card. This buys me the right to pay an additional $30 for each personal training session with the only yoga/pilates trainer who speaks English, Katya. Fortunately I really like her a lot - she's a wonderful teacher, and it's paid off in many ways - most of all in an absence of back pain. I've tried the group classes a few times (Big Ball Pilates, Gymstick Pilates, and yoga) but it's really hard to do when all the directions are given in Russian - I have to keep looking at the instructor or the other participants to see what I'm supposed to be doing, with the result that I can't concentrate on relaxing (that's right,CONCENTRATE on relaxing - the relaxing part is the hardest thing for me to do and I really have to, ironically, work very hard at it). So for now at least I've pretty much given up on the classes and reconciled myself to the fact that I have to pay for personal training.
Oh, and the furniture we needed - I found everything we wanted within a week of coming back to Kyiv - a really good looking coffee table that is square and takes up quite a bit of room, but with the bed up, the place is really quite sparcely furnished and can handle this - and a matching night table. We saw that we really needed something on the floor too - the living room and office nook have light wood floors, and cry out for a rug. We found that too - but not until November when the Nasatirs came to visit and we took them to an "outdoor" museum which has houses and churches and other buildings from every region of Ukraine, and which sells the best crafts available here. We walked into one cottage, saw a shelf of rolled up carpets, and I immediately spotted one that I thought would (and does, in fact) look great. So the apartment is really homey and comfy now - our chatchkes have replaced the owner's chatchkes, our furniture is installed, our rug is on the floor, our towels are on the bathroom racks and our linens and duvet on the bed. It's definitely "home" in a way that the Kharkiv apartment never was.
The other day I got an email from a colleague of Betsy's who is spending 6 months in Paris on sabbatical with his wife, and their Cairn Terrier Monty. Betsy had sent me a copy of his journal entry about walking Monty, and I almost want to just copy it, change the names to Ed, Susan and Belle from Dennis, Pat and Monty, and put it in the Blog and claim it as my own. I had responded by telling him so, and he asked me what I found most surprising or unique about Ukraine. I can't even remember what I told him, but on reflection, there is one thing about living here that I truly hate. It is almost impossible to get away from the ubiquitous TV screens that are everywhere - in the gym, in the restaurant, in the cafe, in the bar, in the train station, in the train cars, in the metro stations, in the airport, in the hair and manicure salon - just everywhere - that play MTV Russian candy pop music videos incessantly, or show models walking down runways with the same horrible music blaring. It's amazing, because classical music, opera and ballet, as well as great literature, is really embedded in their upbringing here - there are many, many children, both boys and girls, at all the ballets, concerts and operas we attend, and they are rapt audiences, they don't make a peep. But somehow, when they leave the theater or the opera house or the concert hall, they put all that aside and opt for god-awful ring tones on their cell phones that never stop and horrible MTV music channels on TVs everywhere, 24/7. The other day I was in the dressing room at my fabulously expensive, elitist and snobby fitness center and was shocked to hear classical music playing softly in the background! But alas, a stop was soon put to that!
So now I suppose you want to hear about our travels and the Kharkiv Defender Office. Well, it will have to wait until tomorrow or Sunday. Friday nights we get Dalzeil and Pascoe on BBC Prime, so gotta go now.
posted by Susan Spivak at 7:38 PM
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