Checking in from Zhmerynka

So, as we are all aware, I now live in Zhmerynka, in the Vinnitska Oblast of Ukraine. I have been here for about two and a half weeks now. My new town is a a huge skating rink, covered with snow and ice. I always thought that the North Pole was an apocryphal place existing mostly in our most ethereal fantasias. However, I now know that Zhmerynka is the concept of the North Pole materialized. We have a large square in the middle of town. At one end lies the home of the Rada, which is what the town administration is called here. At the other end sits an Orthodox church. This church is complete with the golden domes that make Orthodox churches so phenomenal and recognizable. In the large area between these two buildings, really a very long rectangle, not a square, there is not a bit of ground to be seen. It is entirely covered with a mix of snow with the threatening gleam of ice which I slip on every few feet.

I have been almost horizontal a few times on my brisk walks to school. And knock on wood, I have not yet fallen. So I've got that going for me, which is nice. There has not been a real Christmas / New Year's break in my town. I did not have to go to school on New Year's Eve, or New Year's Day, but I was back in school today. Also, I was in school on December 25th, our Christmas. In my town December 25th is referred to as “Polish Christmas,” because only the Catholic Poles celebrate Christmas on December 25th. For the Orthodox Church Christmas is January 7th. For all those curious, and remember that curiosity killed the cat, the Orthodox Church never recognized the legitimacy of the Gregorian calendar (the calendar we now use). They still use the Julian calendar, the same calendar created by Julius Caesar. There is really not much of a difference, but when the Russian Empire officially adopted the Gregorian calendar the church did not follow suit. I will be celebrating Orthodox Christmas with my counterpart and her family. I am not sure if I will be going to a service or not, but will be interested if that is the case. I'll understand probably the same portion as I understand at the Catholic church (God, son, Him, love, peace, thanks, and I think that about sums up the total) so it won't be much different. Plus, our churches technically are in communion, though the Eastern Orthodox do not recognize the Pope as their leader, or even as first among equals. They see him as simply the Bishop of Rome. This again, is another over-simplification.

So, in terms of what is new at school, not too much. The students in my classes like to run up to me and say “hello” or “good morning.” They say good morning regardless of the time of day, which I like. An interesting anecdote. My first day in the classroom here I read an article to the students about what is needed to start a newspaper. It was a pretty simple article, though something a bit unessential in terms of learning English, and pretty uninteresting. But, at the end of the article there were comprehension questions. So, I asked the students “what is necessary to run a newspaper?” The first answer I received was redactors. It was pretty difficult for me to stifle my laugh. I thought “maybe this is just a cultural difference in journalism.” In the students defense the Ukrainian word for editor is “редактор” and this is pronounced the same was as the English word redactor, but it was still funny.

Before the two days off for New Years, we had a New Years Carnival. This was pretty interesting, and enjoyable to watch. I even was grabbed out of my chair by the teachers to join in a sort of circle dancing which involves more holding hands and walking in a circle than dancing, but it was funny nonetheless. All of the classes from 1 – 7 gave some sort of presentation at this pageant, whether it was singing or dancing as a class, and some students sang individually. One of my students is in the 6th grade. He is likes to talk to me, and ask me the same questions every time I see him. He will not ask in English, but everyday he asks sometimes in Ukrainian, sometimes in Russian how old I am, if I am married, where do I live, how long I will live in Ukraine, and what type of music I like. Of course, my well thought-out comprehensive answers must be memorable, but that is neither here nor there. This student break dances – and does it well. In front of a large portion of the school, and most teachers he was break dancing, and doing flips to Johnny B. Goode, perhaps the greatest rock song of all time. I had difficulty remaining in my chair and not giving a karaoke performance, but I was able to stay reserved, luckily. After this was over two 6th grade girls ran over to me, took a deep breath, and in concert shouted “Happy New Year” in English. I thanked them, and they ran away giggling to themselves, and I was left sitting in my chair wondering what happened.

Today, January 5th, I had the privilege of attending a rally from one of the leading candidates in the race for President of Ukraine. The election will be on January 17th. This candidate, current prime-minster Yulia Timoshenko, came to speak to my town, which was surprising for me. Our town only has about 37,000 people. And it is about an hour away from the capital of the oblast (state/province). As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I am a member of a apolitical organization, so cannot give publicly any impressions, accolades, or agreements, but the speech, from what I understood of it, was fairly interesting. Timoshenko spoke of the election as being for the honor of Ukraine. Her speech was totally in Ukrainian, and the rally itself was totally in Ukrainian. In Ukraine the Russian language is also frequently used, and the other leading candidate, Yanukovich, is in favor of re-establishing the Russian language as the state language in Ukraine over Ukrainian. In a recent article I read: he [Yanukovich] mocked Timoshenko's upbeat appraisals of the economy, he sarcastically switched into Ukrainian from Russian, drawing laughs from the crowd of about 2,000 supporters.
Switching back into Russian, he said, "I'm tired of hearing five years of this gibberish. . ."
granted his audience was in the pro-Russian Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, but it is interesting to me that a candidate is running for president of Ukraine with a plank in his platform being to end the use of the Ukrainian language.

It was, however, a bit exciting to watch a politically rally so close to a presidential election. I must say, that it was much different from what we would have seen in America. I mean this in terms of everything from the actual program to the security, and the audience. I imagine a rally of this sort in the States would draw a few thousand at the very least, and this crowd must have been closer to a thousand, if that. But, it was an enjoyable way to spend the night. There were also two singers with the prime-minister, and they made it more fun to watch.

For the record, my Providence College Friars were victorious in their second Big East game against the Red Storm of St. John's. I must admit the news of that victory for this team made my day on Monday when I read about it. I think the Big East wins will be rare this year, so we should enjoy them when we are lucky enough to get them. (And yes, I unabashedly use “we” as if I were a member of the team. I bleed black and white during basketball season, sorry.)

That is all I know for now. Good night, Go Friars, and keep warm.

Пітер Майкл Міган

(Peter Michael Meegan – but g is not generally used in Ukrainian so it is pronounced Meehon)