Summer Continues

Even though tomorrow is the Day of Knowledge, the holiday which marks the beginning of the school year in Ukraine, I am still on "vacation" of sorts. COS wrapped up on Thursday, and headed out further west to the boarderlands of Ukraine to marvel at the people who honestly got (in terms of pure geography and nature) the best sites in the country.

I will be spending the weekend in Slovakia before heading back to Ukraine and help out my linkmate for her wedding. The bridesmaids dresses are done, and we got to do a small private preview in our suite (yes, suite) at COS, which was met with approval, so it's all systems go. Our surprise bridal shower was also a hit, which was a relief as well.

After the wedding, I'll be Romania bound, heading home via Romania/Moldova instead of the long train ride. Have no idea what classes I'll be teaching, or when, but am crossing my fingers for a lighted schedule which will give me time to focus on j-o-b's and finding a place to live.

Until then, it's time to relax and unwind a bit and just enjoy the coming of the autumn air.

Korcula: The Baba Strikes Back

I am not a fun person to travel with.  I tend to be rather anal. I like to know where I'll be staying, what form of transport I'll be taking to get there, and the time it will take. If one of these questions is not answered, I tend to get nervy, crabby, and well.. I freak out and make my travel partner's life miserable.

Korcula was the only place in our entire trip where we were unable to secure accommodation beforehand. On the journey there I kept thinking about how we were arriving late in the day to a small island town near the height of tourist season. I had visions of us ending up homeless.

My weak stomach got tied up in knots fearing sleeping on a curbside. When we finally docked, we decided we'd just have to take whatever was offered as every other boat, bus, and train we had seen from Yalta to Krakow to Croatia was greeted by strangers offering lodging.

I got off the boat first and was met with a small group of people who asked if I needed a room. "Treeyba" (I need) I responded, thankful that Croatian is a Slavic language that has many basic similarities to Russian and Ukrainian. An old lady grabbed onto me first and was ready to cart me away before I communicated to her that I was waiting for someone else to get off the boat.

Ideally, I had wanted to talk with several people, comparing prices or location of rooms, but when anyone else came near me the old woman hissed at them and bared her teeth evoking the other room offerers to apologize to the "Baba" and back off. To further put off other would be suitors, she told them we were only staying one night, and shrugged her shoulders indicating it wasn't even worth fighting over us. Obviously comparison shopping was not going to happen today. Baba meant business.

She kept repeating "5 minutes, 5 minutes" in Croatian, which I took to mean the distance from the port to her home. I had no idea what the arrangement would be either--if we'd be sharing a bathroom, her own apartment or what.

My company, delayed on the boat by picking up the bags, finally emerged and we discussed the price and headed off following the Baba. She spoke no English, so I apologized profusely to him having no idea what sight might lie ahead for us, but he was game.

We followed her to the first of several towers that surround the island. She pointed to it and mumbled and then pointed to a narrow street perpendicular to the tower. We stopped immediately at the first door where she took out her keys and opened up the front door leading us into a clean hallway. She motioned for us to follow her upstairs. She opened the door which held an adorable bedroom complete with it's own bathroom. There was old dark wood furniture all over the place and it looked quite like a room in a grandmother's house. It was particularly charming and seeing how delighted I was, she took her hands and placed them on either side of my head as she kissed my cheek.

She let us know we could stay longer than one night and showed us the other marvels, like an outdoor kitchen and balcony with a beautiful view of the sea and coast before she took me out front to orient me to the area.

She lives on what turned out to be one of the most central streets-it led to St. Mark's Church and also to Marco Polo's home (betcha didn't know he lived in Croatia).
It ended up easily being the best place we stayed at during our journey (save perhaps the Green Hostel in Krakow where we had a view of the theater. I also found five Polish zloty's under a bed).

The Baba just goes to show that those unplanned things can sometimes be the best part of a trip.

Unfortunately, my camera also died in Korcula and all my pics between Yalta and Korcula have not been coming out. So... I guess you win some, you lose some.

But all in all--Korcula was wonderful!

COS

COS surely means nothing to you, but it is something I've been dreaming of since I was sworn in so many months ago.

You might have heard about it in e-mails or on postcards, but Close of Service (COS) is the biggest party in your two years as a PCV and it's all on Uncle Sam's dime! Woo-ho!

Traditionally they put you up in a nice hotel and tell you about all the paperwork you need to fill out before leaving the host country and how to close out grants, projects, money, etc...

It is also a time to learn about the many benefits that will go along with being an RPCV (the R is for retired... no, maybe it's returned??). This includes various graduate school programs (uh, no thanks) and this non-competitive government job business (hello US Postal Service!).

There will be trainings on how to write a DOS (description of service) and how to improve your resume and articulate the fine skills you've honed over the past two years-such as the art of negotiation with the ladies at your bizarre or how to do deal with abysmal customer service without resorting to four letter words.

They'll probably also talk about reverse culture shock and depression. Maybe they'll talk about how the economy at home blows and everyone is having a hard time finding meaningful work. And surely they'll mention that no one at home wants to hear the phrase "this one time in Ukraine..."

But I hear there will be steak, horse back riding, a TV in each room, a pool, and a sauna.

This is what I've been making under $200 a month for for the past several years and it's gonna rock.

Except for the whole being on the tb meds thing.

So this Saturday I leave via Odessa to head straight to a small mountain town in the Carpathians to reminisce, reflect, and feel grateful that I am one of the remaining 65% of my group still in country. We have made it this far and the end is in sight.

Hvar: The Croatian Vacation Continues

Early in the day, Eric and I arrived by ferry in Hvar--one of the many islands found in the Adriatic coast. We were welcomed by our host, Luka, who runs a hostel from his home.

He told us how to get to the quickest beach and where to go to get to the center of town.

The place, while buzzing with tourists, was quite peaceful. It has a beautiful medieval center of town that looks out on a port, and over the city looms a fortress on a mountain. After our dinner we decided to hike up to this fortress.

The trail winds up the mountain and not too far into our journey my flip flops decided to give out, turning me into the shoeless one. Rather than turning around, I wanted to press on and get to the top before night fall.

During the journey up, we were treated with numerous beautiful overlooks of the city and the clear aquamarine sea before we stumbled off the path to a tiny abandoned church with a bright blue door.

We camped there for a bit before continuing on our journey which eventually led my tired and sore foot to the fortress. From atop the mountain we could watch the town light up for the evening. The trip down was less monumental and more painful until I acquired new flip flops.

The next day we wandered more around the town and lounged on rocks by the sea. It was somewhere there that I decided that Hvar was the closest thing to Paradise I had ever seen or experienced and wanted to stay there indefinitely, imagining what sort of life I could lead working at the one "shkola" for teenagers interested in the food industry.

The attitude of the island was very relaxed and it was easy to see how much there was to do--hiking around the island, boat trips to smaller uninhabited islands with more beaches. Unfortunately, we did not have time for that, but enjoyed ourselves walking about the town, the water, and swimming in the salty sea.

Soon enough, it was time to pack up and hit our next destination, another ferry ride awaited our next island getaway.

Going to the Chapel...

Most of my personal goals have been achieved already. I've travelled a lot, I've met Ukrainian friends, become a better teacher, but one thing has remained absent from that personal to do list.

First and foremost was to attend a Ukrainian wedding. Well, soon enough I am actually to be in one.

The bride is my linkmate who met and fell in love with a local Ukrainian in her city. For some months now, myself, and my clustermate, both bridesmaids, have been helping with wedding plans.

This wedding will be a unique one indeed, since it will mix Ukrainian and American wedding traditions. The ceremonies (yes, plural) will be in both English and Ukrainian. There will be performances, readings, photographs, and so on--done by invited PCVs. No small feat considering that we are all spread over this country--the largest entirely inside Europe.

My clustermate and I have been trying to fulfill our duties--helping to plan, going dress shopping (which, within itself is worth talking about), looking at places to hold the wedding and the reception, and overall moral support during this busy time.

She and I (along with the bride) picked out fabric beforehand (the bride wanted to keep the American tradition of bridesmaids wearing the same dress) and went and had our measurements taken. Today will be the fitting.

The wedding is still off by several weeks, and we have our Close of Service (COS) conference in between. It's a busy, busy time indeed...

Ukrainians don't mince words...

All week I have had two other PCVs in town with me. They are working at the camp that I did last year, but this year it takes place in the city instead of at a small former Young Pioneer camp in the sticks. When I was not around, one of them pulled out the couch to sleep on and disconnected all the wires from my telephone.

So, the "master" was called to come around and check out what was wrong with the phone (whose line I share with a rather unpleasant neighbor who yells about me all the time to my landlady, even though I use the phone rarely). He came, said that the wires were incorrectly plugged in (which I had attempted to fix on my own) and promptly set about making them right. Afterwards he chatted with me a bit, curious about what I was doing there, who paid me, if I was paid in US dollars, if I was alone... and if I liked to drink vodka.

I told him that I was not able to drink alcohol, and he asked why not. I told him that I was on medication, and he wanted a further explanation, so I told him that I was taking meds for tuberculosis. He looked at me and exclaimed, "but you're not thin! You're fat! Only thin people have tuberculosis!" Then I attempted to explain that I did not have tb, but have been exposed to it, and he repeated what I said properly and understood the situation. He then asked if I had been hanging out with any really thin people, which is a particularly funny question, since to me a lot of Ukrainians are extremely thin, some even to the point of malnurishment. Especially the young women.

He seemed satisfied with the phone and the answers I had given him, and as I was walking him to the door, he put his arm around me, to the roundest point of my hip and firmly took a hold and repeated that I did not have tb, because I was fat.

It was here that I realized how much I have changed in these almost two years. Normally I would have been appalled or offended by his statements, let alone the grab, but I now understand that Ukrainians almost always tell you what is on their mind that almost always includes commenting on your body type, clothes, hair, face, etc. I just expect it and find it normal.

After he left, I grabbed my bag to go to the market and saw him sitting outside on the opposite bench of the babas. He called me over and all the babas started cluck cluck clucking. We spoke briefly and he told me some things my neighbor had said, which other than me using the internet (which I do not) I didn't understand. I said that she never spoke to me and only to my landlady and then she only yelled. He laughed and said that yes, my landlady didn't like my neighbor, and at the very least, I seemed ot have win the approval of the master. Again, he asked whether or not I could drink before allowing me to depart on my chores. I guess if I could have, he would have offered to go out for some wine or a sto gram of vodka.

Sometimes not being able to drink has it's benefits.

Phase 4, Part A: Split or the Shoeless adventures of Molly and Eric begin.

We arrived in Split in the afternoon and made our way to the center of town attempting to locate the room we rented.

Only after asking a poor kid, whose whole summer employment seemingly consisted of holding an information sign and a placard about a walking tour, were we able to find the info center and from their figure out where we needed to go.

While Split is the largest city we visited in Croatia, we never strayed too far from Diocletian's Palace, the main tourist highlight of the city. Diocletian was a Roman emperor who lived in the third and fourth centuries and built his pension palace in Split. The ruins of the palace are the big draw to town and it has been incorporated into the growing cities structures throughout the centuries, making it an interesting and impressive site.

My favorite part of the palace was the cathedral that was originally Diocletian's mausoleum until the Christian church became the official church. Huge wooden doors with carved scenes from Christ's life guard the entrance to the church. Going inside, I was immediately impressed by the stone brick dome. We wandered around the small cathedral marveling at all its beauty before deciding to climb up the Bell Tower and catch a view of the city and the water.

Part way up, after passing the bells, I heard something fall and hit the bells before making a thud. I turned around and realized that it had been my company's shoe that just fell twelve plus feet. We went back down and saw that the shoe had landed in this cage with the large bells. There appeared to not be a door, so he, watching me unhappily as I doubled over in laughter, began the even longer descent on marble stairs with one shoe on to ask if there was a way to get his stranded sandal back. Amused, I followed behind him.

Fortunately for him, the gentleman working the desk was kind enough to climb out a window and onto a ledge and into another window that led to the cage (mind you, this several storeys up...). With his shoe retrieved, we continued on our way up, but not before he secured his sandals so we wouldn't have a repeat. Upon reaching the top, we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the city, the mountains, and the sea. We were very impressed.

Split also has many many western shops so that was exciting for me, and we also went to see the basement rooms of the Palace--which was also pretty interesting.

But before we knew it, it was time to catch our ferry to Hvar.

Phase 4: Croatia

We arrived mid-morning in the Dubrovnik airport. Even from the sky looking down I was elated. The topography was unlike anything I had seen before. Tall, scraggly dirt/rock mountains itermediately covered by shrubs and trees. These were right next to a crystal aqualmarine sea. It was gorgeous.

We landed and headed off to town. Heading around the side of a mountain we caught the famous glimpse of the city--its high stone walls against the sea with a whole terra cotta city inside. We were awestruck by its beauty.

We finally alighted the bus and immediately told each other we'd have to change travel plans to be able to spend a whole day in the city.

But that day we were pushing on to Split--the first stop on our Croatian vacation.

The Volunteers Version of Meeting a Rock Star

After arriving home from Istanbul for a day I recieved an sms from a local PCV who said that a writer from Lonely Planet was coming through N-- and wanted to meet up.

I was of course super excited. I use Lonely Planet all the time when I travel and use it a lot in country too. Also, I have always thought what a neat job writing for a travel guide would be, so to speak to someone first hand about it and the process would be a great opportunity, besides also talking up how extremely awesome my site is.

We met up late and I took him to a local restaurant/bar and tried to give him the low down on N-- and what would be useful to know and what tips I had.

He said that N-- would be in the next guide with a couple of paragraphs, basic info, a few restaurants, bars, and hotels. He also asked if I knew anything about a Nuclear Missle Museum north of the oblast. I didn't, but I knew a volunteer in the that area who might. He indicated that if he could find this place, it'd be a big scoop for him.

I called my friend the next day who had actually been to the museum and had her give him some info about it and he was able to check it out himself. We then called each other and were giddy about the prospect of seeing our area highlighted in the next edition of Lonely Planet. She said that I had made her day by putting her in touch with him. I guess we thought that somehow by proxy we will influence a new wave of tourism in Ukraine and specifically the South (outside of Odessa)--but such is our love for travel, Lonely Planet, and the third Peace Corps goal.

Phase 3: Krakow (round 1)

PCVs in Ukraine (and probably other Eastern European countries too) rave about Krakow like it's the new Prague or Budapest. It may not be as grand as either of those capitol cities, but Krakow certainly has it's own charm in spades.

From Ukraine, Krakow is easy for us to get to by rail or by bus fairly cheaply, and is a beautiful place to visit with plenty of stuff to do and it is home to an airport that services many low budget airline carriers like Ryan Air, Sky Europe, Wizz Air, etc, so we can use it as a jumping off point for other places, which was the purpose for this visit to Krakow.

We spent one evening there, after arriving on a very nice train (I hardly knew such existed in Ukraine). I was impossibly giddy when the Polish boarder guard took my passport--it meant I was out of Ukarine. Even though we had been vacationing in Crimea for a few days--I finally felt like I was on holiday.

We stayed in a nice hostel directly across from the beautiful theater in Old Town close to the train and bus stations.

I walked my company around trying to show him why we all love the place so much--but I don't think he fully understood until he saw Wawel Hill, where the Polish kings lived and were buried.

We got in in the afternoon and did not have much time to sightsee but we'd have another afternoon on the way back after Croatia.

Home Again

...And broke as a joke.

Some unforeseen expenses in Croatia (camera died in Dubrovnik, so needed to buy a replacement on the spot, shoes went caput, etc) really added up and have caused a serious blow to the summer fun factor.

Thankfully the Istanbul trip was all inclusive--room, board, and transportation--my only expenses there were lunch, souvenirs, and admission fees. Not a bad deal at all. I had dreams of a quick trip to Romania before my COS conference, and will still investigate, but may be too pricey.

But I can't really complain...