The Toast to End All Toasts

Today the faculty had a small party in a classroom to celebrate the birth of three children to two colleagues. There was all sorts of small tasty foods that I promptly helped myself too when it was finally time to eat, and of course, because this is Ukraine, there was plenty of alcohol on hand.

I have been at the University now for two months, and this is the second time that I have drank at school. Thankfully this is the first time after my classes were through. Oh wait, I actually didn't teach today, due to a meeting with the police, but that is a different story.

Anyway, somewhere admist toast after toast that I just could not understand, the head of the department gets up and makes some toast and I can distinctly understand several words: my name, my coordinators name, and the word zamoshem. Meaning, she was wishing that I would marry my coordinator. Who was also there.

But what can you do? This is not the first time that someone has made such comments publically to me in front of him and besides being hugely embarrassing and uncomfortable, I also have to take a step back and realize that in Ukrainian culture it is a big compliment. They believe strongly that to be happy is to be married and so they are not so much asking me to press harrassment charges as they are wanting me to be happy and to stay here in Ukraine.