Fine Forest Gatherings

Overnight, the fruit trees and tulips bloomed. It is a beautiful time of year here. On May 1 we celebrated Labor Day by joining our host “parents” and their good friends for an afternoon picnic in the forest. We walked to the friends’ house, carrying supplies and food in a duffle bag. After 25 minutes we arrived at their house, and proceeded to load their two well-used bicycles with all of the supplies for a barbeque in the woods: marinated pork for shish kebab (called “shashliki”), breads, salads, desserts, water, beer, wine, vodka, stakes, crossbars, skewers, blankets, napkins, etc. Then we six walked to the outskirts of the village, pushing the two loaded bikes into the forest. After about an hour the perfect site was located, the supplies were unloaded, firewood was scavenged, and a fire was built in the clearing. The four stakes, curved at the top to support crossbars, were planted at the corners of the fire. The two long cross bars would eventually hold a dozen large skewers filled with beautifully marinated meat, skewered alternately with onions and “sala.” Sala is a Ukrainian favorite, and is basically pig fat that looks like the fat part of raw bacon. The fire was stoked until really hot, and then allowed to die down as we enjoyed the first course, which included the first toasts.

This was not the first time we had participated in the ritual of multiple rounds of toasts. It starts with filling everyone’s shot glasses with vodka (sometimes also wine or beer is served). Then a toast is made in honor of the occasion, all clink and repeat the toast, and down their shots. (It is considered poor form to “sip” your vodka – but some of us do it to survive the occasion in an upright position!) There is a tradition about who should be toasted when (something about the third toast to the women, etc.), all at the table (or blanket) are expected to eventually make a toast, and toasts tend to be counted. It’s not unusual to have several.

Next at the picnic, the meat, onions, and sala were threaded perfectly onto the skewers, and placed over the smoldering fire. They were slowly roasted until perfectly cooked, and then enjoyed, one large skewer each. We ate right off the skewer, and they were delicious! Even though we still speak so little Russian, and they speak virtually no English, we communicated enough to have a wonderful afternoon.

We have neglected to mention that it was snowing when we set out for our picnic. By the time we arrived at the site, the sky had cleared to sunshine which lasted until our walk home at dusk, when the snow came back with strong winds. We had dressed for cold weather, and stayed comfortable. There are regular jokes now about how bad weather doesn’t keep the six of us from doing things together.

Next up was an outing on Victory Day, May 9, which celebrates the Soviet victory over Germany in 1945. We attended a wonderful morning civic ceremony at this city’s large memorial, at which veterans from that war arrived in uniform with all their medals proudly pinned to their chests. The tradition is to bring flowers to hand to a veteran for him to place at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier there. By the end, there was a beautiful, colorful mountain of flowers at the site. Afterward, we met our four picnic compatriots for a walk in the large city park and an hour’s boat ride on the city’s river. It rained on and off, but we had a delightful time.

Then just this Saturday night, we were again invited for a picnic in the forest. It was a much more typical Ukrainian menu. First, slices of sala (remember the pig fat?) were cooked over the campfire, followed by plump fatty sausages. A variety of greens, freshly picked from the garden, accompanied the meat. All was eaten by hand, and punctuated by toasts of vodka and beer. We were next to a stream, there was a beautiful sunset, the frogs and birds performed a “sunset symphony”, and it was again a lovely gathering.

We have discussed why picnics in the forest seem to be a favorite social event for our host family and their friends. At home, if we wanted to enjoy an evening with friends, we might go out to eat. However, this is not a restaurant culture. The cost of eating out, while inexpensive to us when prices are converted into dollars, is relatively quite expensive for most Ukrainians. Many families, like our host family and their friends, grow much of their food. Our family has a large garden behind the house, which includes a big greenhouse, as well as a separate plot 10 minutes’ walk away. At the house, lots of greens, tomatoes, strawberries, cabbage and more are grown, plus fruit from apple, cherry, and grape trees/vines. The distant plot is where the potatoes and carrots are grown. (The whole family went out a couple of weekends ago to plant next year’s crop.) At most meals we enjoy the fruits of these gardens, which have been stored in their cellar or canned. Grocery shopping is minimal, usually fresh fruits, cheeses, sausages, small amounts of meat, and sweets. The freezer is full, and milk and eggs come from neighbors. Given this norm, it seems perfectly reasonable that if you want an evening out with friends, you pack up what you have, and go out into nature!

Between social gatherings, we have continued with language lessons each morning, teaching or teacher training most afternoons, homework and lesson planning at night. Tomorrow we will go to Kiev and find out where we will be spending the next two years. Since we will be gone from here for ten days, it may be awhile before we can tell you the news. In any case, we continue to do well, we’re grateful for our fine host family and their hospitable friends, and we’re enjoying the adventure.