Two Dollars A Day

Photos and thoughts from the past and present and dreams about the future.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Stereotypes

*career over family *smile all the time
*hard working *eat a lot of fast food
*settle things in court/many lawsuits *busy lives
*everyone visits psychologists *tell other countries what to do
*believe/need for happy endings *rags to riches

Sound familiar? Every semester I teach at least one section of "Culture of the USA" and one of the first activities is for the students to come up with stereotypes about Americans. The above is a common list of stereotypes a class will come up with. Of course we talk about how stereotypes are untrue, although they usually want to agrue that a few are (that Americans are all wealthy, for example).

Hearing what ideas exist about my nation has been an eye-opening experience. Many of the stereotypes I anticipate, but others are new or things I didn't think where as transparent. To foreigners we are a people who seem to lack real substance because we care so little about our family and spend such little time with them. Many of my students will continue to live with their parents or other relatives after their marriage. They can not imagine what it is like to live alone, or why anyone would even want to. "Don't you get bored?" I was asked a lot when students inquired about my living situation or "Aren't you scared?" Such things do not really occur to me, or probably you, who most likely at some point in time have lived alone or in a roommate situation.

While I anticipate things like our always present smile plastered on our faces or our love of fast food (and hence, our obesity), I did not even consider our fixation on happy endings and our desire to have everything tied up in a neat little bow in the end. These are things that do not always culturally translate (although that same group who mentioned this observation wanted me to bring in a short sotry that had a "happy ending"--tired of reading the likes of Poe, Faulkner, and even O'Henry.) But I started to think about this--go to your local video store and rent any foreign film, not just one from this part of the world (although for a real hoot of a flick, I suggest "Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears" which is a typical Soviet happy ending). Upon viewing, you will probably see that most of the rest of the world (Bollywood films excluded)is more accepting of reality and realisitc endings in which the protagonist does not always win the girl or overcome adversity, because truthfully, in our real lives we don't always win.

However, I see this as being a part of our cultural optimism and belief that we can create our own destiny. That we can change and that change is good (be it socially, economically, geographically, or all three). We easily create and break ties to people, places, events--our cultural memory does not seem to last as long as others.

Probably the singular most valuable lesson I have learned here is that there is nothing we (Americans) do that can not be explained by looking at our culture and similarly nothing that Ukrainians do that can not be ascribed to theirs. I have certainly learned more about my own behavior and country and can reflect more honestly on it. I learned that by taking the steps to do this you'll complain less about the surroundings and culture. How this can be translated to the job market upon arrival at home remains questionable, but I suppose I'll try.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Emma

Before the holidays, before the visit, before my trip west, I was regularly attending my tutoring lessons.

Things were going so good that she decided to take me to a play. I had never been to the Russian Theater in N--, which from the outside is the most beautiful building in all of the city. It has obviously had a lot of work put into it to fix it up and retain its original beauty. I wonder if its location (directly across from the city's administration building) has anything to do with it?

I was pleasantly surprized that the inside was just as beautiful as the outisde. It was spotless and absolutely immaculate. I believe that this devotion to such a building demonstrates Ukraine's strong interest in the arts (the Ukrainian theater in another part of town is similarly beautiful).

The play was called "Emma" and based on Madame Bovary. Perhaps I understood a mere 20% of the dialouge, but the acting helped me to understand a greater portion of it.

I had a really great time and considering how inexpensive it is to got to the theater her, I'll probably be going back again when I have the chance.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Working Backwards

Some time ago D-Notice posted that I had been "memmed" again. This time around, I have to write 7 things that happened this year and pass the buck along. Because it's been over a month, I feel that it is unnecessary to make others review their past year, because the whole New Year's season is well over with. We are on to visions of spring.

But here we are:

1. I moved out. After 6 months in captivity, I was finally released into the wild. I have not looked back since.

2. The site mate shuffle. A wise site mate once told me that the whole dynamic changes every 6 months, and he was right. We already live an unsettled life, and that becomes even more uprooted and shifted because of the constant switch and change of the people that surround you. It keeps life interesting, but if you make good friends, as I feel that I did, it can make it difficult to adjust to not having them around. Send books.

3. Getting a tutor. Of the many things that I have done this past year, this is one of the ones I am most happy about. I don't know if my Russian is improving greatly, but at least I am taking corrective steps.

4. My brother got married. This is obviously more his milestone than my own, but it certainly was a highpoint of my past year--to be part of the of the wedding and the event. It is probably also the only time that I'll see all my family for another year.

5. Travel Opportunities. As many people know, I do love to travel, especially on the cheap, and living in this part of the world make that somewhat possible. At the end of the year I had visited over half of the oblasts of Ukraine and also got to go to Budapest.

6. My Job. Even though I am currently still waiting to receive my schedule, when I am working and working with students who find the work interesting (meaning, Interpretor and Translator students) I love my job, or more honestly, working with students who truly care about the work they are doing.

7. A Visitor came. While I do not typically like to post especially personal things about myself here, as I feel this is more of an outlet about "Life in Ukraine" rather than "Life in Molly's head," (because it's much more interesting) it was extremely important to me that someone come to Ukraine and experience what life is like here. He is the one that hears about everything the most and the most honestly. I was having doubts about whether or not I wanted anyone else to come here, afraid that they wouldn't like or appreciate my home. His successful trip here, bez problema made me realize that it can be an important experience for others to see what life is like in a developing nation and that they can appreciate the beauty that a place like Ukraine has to offer, especially long after the volunteer has forgotten about that.

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