26: The Birthday in Which I Baked My Own Cake and Ate It Too

My second Ukrainian birthday brought sun, well-wishes, flowers, and  a ridiculous amount of chocolate.

In Ukraine, when it’s your birthday, your expected to more or less lead your own parade. This means that the birthday person is expected to bring their own cake. And if you want to party on your birthday, throw your own. Invite who you want; do what you will. But no one is going to plan it for you. Surprise parties really aren’t a “thing” here–mostly because pre-planning events in advance really isn’t a “thing” either. So, in keeping with tradition and my need to feel assimilated, on Thursday I made an apple cake and marched my way to school. (I also wrapped a knife [for cutting and serving said cake] in a handkerchief and stowed it in my bag. This act will be added to my list of “shit I pull in Ukraine that I could never get away with in an American school.” Other examples include pelting my host brother with a snowball durning break…and next week, I shall join in the small “play fights” that break out between classes–no one will care.)

Returning to my birthday….

In between classes, I passed cake around to the teachers, and was rewarded with a small speech of well-wishes and congratulations from each individual. “I wish you happiness, health, and a good life in Ukraine.” “We are happy that you are here with us and that you are our teacher.” “Did you make this yourself? You’ll bring me the recipe on Monday, right?”

I felt loved. And I felt a little bit special. I also really enjoyed being the one doing the force feeding. Usually, if I need a self-esteem boost, I come to school dressed in a skirt and my nice, shiny shoes. Perhaps, in the future, I’ll simply bake something, walk into a random establishment somewhere in town, and tell everyone it’s my birthday. This could work…

Some of my students also presented me with small gifts and speeches–I, in turn, fed them cake. As all good teachers should

My 11th form girls–Iryna, Anya, Vita, Marta, and Oksana

5B Class–Ivan, Vika, Ira, Ira, Lyda, Diana, Sasha, Dima, Roman, and Andre

My dear friend and co-teacher Halena

After the cake was devoured and people wandered back to their classes, I took myself home and out for a long run. Afterwards, I ordered a pizza from the local restaurant “to go”–something I had never done before. And I consumed both the beers fellow volunteers and left in my fridge over the past few months. Twenty-six was a happy, happy birthday.

Coming Soon: “Girls, Uninterrupted”

For the past few months, I’ve been working with a group of female volunteers living across the country to create the beginnings of a summer leadership camp for young, Ukrainian women. We’re building this project from the ground up, so we’re creating everything from the grant to the lesson plans for the first time. Finally, the preliminary details have been hammered out, and now, we’re seeking funds.

The idea is simple: we’re bringing girls (ages 14 – 17) from our respective schools to Kolomyia (a city near the Carpathian Mountains) together for a week of intense English practice, hiking, lessons about leadership, women’s empowerment, and female heath. We’ll also indulge in a few “typical American” camp activities such as camp fires, tie-dye, and s’mores. And there will be sushi making–just because we can. By the end, we hope that the campers will recognize the potential in themselves, and the diversity in their own country.

If you’re interested in supporting this project, follow the link and make a donation. It’s tax deductible, and might ever give you some Peace Corps promised warm fuzzies.

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-343-040

Peace Corps Life in Six Words

Recently, some friends and I have begun a rather interesting [and rather dorky] game: creating stories in exactly six words. In regards to life in Ukraine, here’s what I’ve come up with so far….

Ukrainian cut my hair. Bangs everywhere.

Communication breakdown: arrived three hours early.

All real food gone? Eggs again.

Wearing hole-laden pantyhose, because I’m professional.

Went running. Ate bugs. It’s spring!

Drinking coffee…avoiding neighbors….typical Sunday.

Kids didn’t come; school day done.

Didn’t know those words. Agreed anyway.

Salo for dinner; antacids for dessert.

Throughout winter, last fall’s pants shrunk.

We’re adults. I’m not “sorority squatting.”

Peanut butter plus spoon equals meal.

*Credits and blame to Chicago Married for initiating said game.*

Work-Related Photo Opportunities

Chicago Married (known separately as Meredith and Seth) are two of my favorite Peace Corps people. We share a love of NPR podcasts and disdain for Ukrainian bureaucracy. I also aspire to have hair half as fabulous and voluptuous as Seth’s (Though, I have yet to find a conditioner that facilitates such dreams). When Meredith asked me to assist her with a teacher training conference at her school, I jumped at the chance. And Tuesday afternoon, I jumped on a south-bound train.

I had initially visited Kolomyia around New Years when the streets were still paved with snow and ice. Seeing the city in the beginnings of spring was a welcome change. It’s only a four-ride from L’viv to Kolomyia–it’s a fairly painless trip.

Meredith works in a small village about 10 kilometers–equalling a 20 minute bus ride–outside the main city. For the conference, the married people and I composed a discussion panel regarding the US educational system. Meredith spoke about schools in the US, and used Seth and I to supplement the presentation. Each of us had very different high school experiences (Meredith: large, public school in Connecticut, Seth: small, private school in Chicago, me: small school in rural Nebraska) leading to a variety of opinions and experiences regarding all aspects of school life.

Following the US education portion of the conference, we each spoke about and demonstrated a form of communicative teaching methodology that we find useful in our classrooms. I made the teachers play my weird vocab-review versions of Taboo and Banana Grams. Meredith had exercises with dialogs and question formations.

Overall, conference was a success. The teachers enjoyed it and we got the opportunity to take some photos in front of the giant Soviet statue in the village’s main square (the school is the pink building in the background). We celebrated our success with wine, “chocolate volcano” cakes, and falling asleep while watching Back to the Future. Did I mention that these are some of my coolest friends?

The Universal Language of Cookies

Last Saturday, I invited a small group of my 9th form girls to my house for an afternoon of cookie baking, UNO, and conversation. The brown sugar from my latest care package made a cameo appearance, resulting in a batch of “proper” chocolate chip cookies. And because Peace Corps says our second goal is “cultural exchange and understanding of Americans,” I taught the kiddos to eat cookie dough right out of the bowl.

We also made a batch of snickerdoodles and played excessively with my cat. The girls went home with recipes and packets of cookies to share with their families. Morkvi went to sleep–she can only handle so much excitement.