the express
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Train ride from Pzszemesl (I don't even know if I'm spelling that right. Crazy Polish) to Krakow (which is pronounced, turns out, "krakuv"!!!)
the kiev trip: paul mcCartney
We were hanging out in downtown Kiev with Alan for the afternoon and the police cleared everyone out of the area while they ran sound checks on the stage. Everyone was out and about all day just waiting for the show, and everywhere we went, the name "paul mccartney" could be heard whispered among the crowds. Unfortunately we didn't get any video of the actual concert, but there are some great clips posted on youtube from that night. The show was absolutely phenomenal and could not have been better (read about it here). As the Ukrainians say, "molodets Paul."
Read more...
Monday, June 16, 2008
check out the two blogs listed to the right for more Moldovan happenings: Yossarian and Yearn to Learn
Read more...the Eightfold Path
Saturday, May 31, 2008
This is where I have lived for the past couple weeks since I moved out of Sean's place. Right in the center of Chisinau. Great views from the balcony. Two roommates. Kitchen. Bathroom. Bedroom. Buddhist Meditation Center.
Soroca
A beautiful town right on the Dnister River in Northern Moldova. This was an excursion the week before Jeff came and I was glad I decided to tag along despite being packed into a mini-bus for three hours both ways. We got a full tour and history of the fort and then hiked up a hill overlooking the valley and the Ukraine on the far bank of the river. We hiked the "Path of Gratitude" to the tower and lookout at the top. A little man in old military dress sat inside the tower like the old wise man at the top of the mountain. Pay him 1 lei and you could put a wish in the wish box.
village trip
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Our trip to the monastery in Suruchen. Sean and I met up with Jerad and his wife, Masha, who is from the village. We hiked up to the Monastery overlooking the village and drank holy water from a stream. Inside the orthodox temple they had the hand bones of some saint (in the box in the picture). And I lit a candle. Really beautiful place.
Sean's party pad
The fourth party with Sean during my first week in Chisinau. We hosted 16 of Sean's university students. Great kids, lots of fun, and lots of dancing. Dancing video coming soon....
date at the ballet
Sean, my new Fulbright Fellow friend. Cushy seats, a bag of peanuts, a concert hall full of enthusiastic Moldovans, and...Swan Lake. Price = $4.
one more from Kiev....updates from Moldova coming soon
Monday, May 26, 2008
Alan took this shot. Definitely one of my favorites so far.
more additions from Kiev
Russia has matryoshka dolls. Ukraine has...plastic caviar? It's everywhere on the streets of Kiev. Plastic caviar on a plate, plastic caviar in plastic crepes, plastic caviar with a side of plastic cucumbers and tomatoes. They come with magnets conveniently glued to the back for easy display on your refrigerator. And, for your coffee table, a ceramic pot overflowing with plastic caviar.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Yes, I shaved. Turns out facial hair is looked down upon in Moldova and I need to make good first impressions. Sad day.
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"well the ukraine girls really knock me out..."
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Coming to Independence Square in June to do a free concert. I think Jeff and I will make the trip.
goodbye lenin...
Last day in Kiev. Alan took the afternoon off and we romped around the city looking for trouble. Two days before Victory Day, one of the most celebrated of Soviet holidays, and we passed by a group of veterans coming out of some memorial celebration. We stopped an obvious war hero (note the medals) and asked if we might take a picture with him. He was elated, to say the least.
Lots of pictures of Independence Square. They had the fountains on and tons of people were out enjoying the sun. A statue of Lenin with flowers around the base. Go figure.
A very popular Kievan snack is the "perepechka," a hot dog buried inside thick, fried dough. I took a picture of the most popular place to get them and you can see the Ukrainians lined up at the window. They go for about 65 cents.
I had to read Bulgakov in one of my Russian lit classes. We visited his house and monument.
Also, some Ukrainian government building next to St. Michael's Orthodox temple. The story goes that a while back the government wanted to build a second parliament building next to and mirroring the current one. So they tore down the original St. Michael's temple which had stood for hundreds of years. In short, they began building the government building, ran out of funds, tore it down, and decided to rebuild the temple. And here it is. Painted blue. (The story reminds me of so many half-finished building projects in Far East Russia. Poor planning? A rapidly fluctuating economy? Or maybe just a persisting Soviet mentality? I don't know. But the situation, as comical as it is, isn't unusual.)
the sun's not yellow, it's chicken
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
I really just don't know what to say about this. An outdoor gym by the river and lots of really serious Ukrainian bodybuilders. Alan and I were having a tough time just trying to keep from laughing while walking through this place. Tough guys and old men with their shirts off, and dumbbells rotting to pieces. We saw a guy putting a fresh coat of blue paint on the machines. But hey, who would pay for a gym membership when you could come here? Alan's favorites: the couples swing and the iron elliptical. And just over the bridge, the 65-and-overs playing shirts and skins chess. It really was not very hot outside. I have this video of a guy boxing a stack of tires hung from a tree, but I can't figure out how to post it.
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