Cocooning and Plateauing*

Good news: As of this week we have reliable, high-speed Internet right here in our apartment! Not only do we have the convenience of getting online, answering questions, researching for class lectures, learning about current events, and sending and answering emails whenever we want, but free Skype conversations are now also possible. We had our first high-quality Skype conversation with our kids this morning – they’re together, with cousin Andrew, in Boston for the Thanksgiving weekend – and the sound was clearer than anything we’ve gotten over the telephone. Plus, the cost of phone cards to make international calls, which is no longer incurred, will more than cover the cost of our Internet service here. It was a fabulous way to start our Saturday, as they stayed up late to finish their Friday!

Even though it’s close to freezing outside and we still have no heat coming out of our apartment’s radiators – our landlord said it will be this weekend – we have our trusty electric heaters, we have the Internet, and we have each other. It’s quite tempting to stay here in our cozy apartment each day – cocooning – and leave only when it’s absolutely necessary. We even have the luxury of hard copies of English-language newspapers, provided thoughtfully by son Keith (WSJ) and sister Claudia (NYT). Though much of the newspapers’ contents are available online, we’re old-fashioned enough to prefer and enjoy holding the actual paper, and indulge each morning in our old habit of coffee with the newspaper. We often find stories that are relevant to what we’ll be teaching to our classes, or sharing with our English Clubs. To complete the cocoon day, we also occasionally indulge our taste for Peter’s special martinis – made now with ubiquitous and inexpensive local vodka and the absolutely delicious and sweet-tart, juicy pink grapefruits from Israel which are available from the “fruit ladies” who sell various fruit – bananas, kiwis, grapefruit, lemons, and oranges – from little stalls set up on the street. Our favorite fruit lady now calls us by name, greets us when we walk by, and looks forward to meeting our kids when they arrive here next month.

Needless to say, all this English makes it tempting to fall into the trap that Peace Corps warned us about. That is, many volunteers, once they attain a certain level of Russian or Ukrainian language proficiency, tend to put much less effort into continuing to learn it. They plateau at the level of knowing just enough to get their needs met and to do their work, and lose motivation to continue working at it. In our cases, we teach in English, have English-speaking colleagues at work, and speak English with our English Club members and of course with each other. We now know (just barely) enough to shop in the grocery store, to order in restaurants, to greet neighbors, and to have rudimentary conversations with locals. We have Russian-speaking friends who can help us when our language (frequently) is inadequate in specific situations. To top it off, our wonderful Russian language tutor left this week to immigrate to Canada with her family. It would be very tempting to put our language learning on the back burner in favor of other activities. But we will try to resist.

At this time of Thanksgiving, we’re grateful for wonderful family and friends who make our lives so rich. Thank you for all you do and are! Now go to http://www.skype.com/ and download their free calling software (if you haven’t already done so), email us your skype address, we’ll send you ours, and let’s talk. Our cocoon will be that much cozier!

* Sorry about the title of this Blog entry. Peter wonders if I’m now turning into Faith Popcorn…

Brrrr

Still no heat in our apartment, and the temperature is freezing. In fact, it’s snowing lightly as I write! When asked when we might expect the heat to be turned on, a student said that it’s a complete mystery; a local adult friend said that it will come on November 15; and a librarian said she read in the news that the heat has started to be turned on, but only in schools and hospitals – apartments may get heat in two or three weeks. Guess time will tell.

We have opened up our “winter” suitcase for sweaters, gloves, and hats, and the electric heater provided by Peace Corps is working full time whenever we’re in the apartment. Often we’re warmer when out walking somewhere than when inside not moving as much. It’s an inconvenience, but not at all an unmanageable one.

We hosted a celebratory dinner last week for our wonderful Russian tutor and her husband and 19-year-old son. She confided to us a few weeks ago that their request to emigrate to Canada had been granted by the Canadian embassy. Our dinner was to celebrate the completion of the final step in their process – the immigrant Canadian visas now affixed to their Ukrainian passports. Their enthusiasm is infectious, and the latest news is that they now have tickets for their flights to Toronto later this month.

Local attitudes about Ukraine’s prospects for the future vary. Our tutor has not expressed much hope for her country’s future, and it was not altogether surprising that she had been working for months for her family’s move to Canada where her brother lives. Many locals that we have met in our English clubs, when asked about the recent parliamentary election, were apathetic, saying it doesn’t matter who is in office, nothing will change. We’ve also met those who are optimistic about the future. Many students and teachers that we work with are excited for the opportunities that education will bring.

We had a Halloween party at our children’s library English club. The kids enjoyed Pin the Nose on the Witch, bobbing for apples, mummy race (which team can wrap their mummy in toilet paper fastest?), and pumpkin carving. Halloween candy sent by family served well in the simulated Trick or Treat finale.