We have been on the road a lot of late. Things have been kind of busy and whirlwind. The last week of January, we returned from our Central European jaunt (yes, I know I still need to blog Krakow,
Then, we turned around and went back to Kyiv for a Fulbright conference on the Holodomor and learned a lot. We got to hear some interesting presentations by Ukrainian historians on issues surrounding Holodomor research, specifically limited time to get to eye witnesses and closings of Russian formerly secret archives. There were also some presentations from Fulbright graduate students on topics ranging from Protestantism in historical Ukraine, to oil and gas processing politics and human trafficking.
Of course, we spent some time drinking and carousing with Oleg and Sergey (probably much to the consternation of their girlfriends!). The boys spent some time drinking cognac at the pad on Gorkogo. Maddy and I hung out with them some and with Naomi and Tattoo one night.
One of the highlights of that weekend was when Oleg took us to the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum of Arts. It was the home of this couple who collected arts from all over the world. It had western European art from the 11th to 19th centuries including a Rembrandt, a Bruegel, and a Rubens, which were all gorgeous. The museum also had Turkish rugs and tiles as well as middle eastern weavings, Italian majolica, Christian icons from the 6-7th centuries as well as Asian art including many cool Buddhas, Japanese woodcut prints and watercolors and interesting Chinese sculptures.
We came back to Kharkiv for another week, then I returned to Kyiv by myself. I was working for IREX that is a company contracted by the State Department to choose the best possible candidates for the UGRAD university exchange program to the
I worked for them Tuesday through Friday. I arrived on Monday and had dinner with the IREX people and the other members of the panel. That was fun. The other interview members were Karen R., Linda G. and Anya S. They were very smart, dedicated and fun. I really enjoyed each of them.
After long days of work, I returned to a little rented apartment at #10 Baseina. It was an adorable yellow-painted studio that was really comfortable. I read a lot and had some time to re-energize my batteries. Again, I hung out with Oleg and a bit with Sergey. One night I kind of interrogated Oleg on the dynamics of Ukrainian politics. I always learn from him, because he stays so up on the news through his work. The second night, we went to a French movie with 
Ukrainian subtitles called, "Le Prix a Payer." ("The Price to Pay" or No Sex, No Money). It was a solidly acted romantic comedy/drama. I really enjoyed it, because it was well written, sophisticated witty and well acted. I realized that I hadn't been to a Ukrainian movie theater before. T
he theater was interesting, because it was like a play theater with all this ornate gilding and molding on the columns and ceilings. It had obviously been remodeled, because it had really comfortable seats, etc. One of the most striking things was that when you buy movie tickets, they actually assign seating like at a play theater. You can't sit wherever you want; you should sit at your assigned seat (There even numbered).
The next day, I went with Myron S. and Linda G. to the antiques market in Kyiv. It is kind of an antiques fair. There are all kinds of things there: paintings, icons, linens, coins, military stuff, etc. I am most interested in the antique linens. I bought a hand embroidered white linen with red and black cross stitch cloth that was used to cover icons in people's homes.
Another night, Oleg and I drank some beer, I kicked his ass in Texas Hold 'Em, and we basically got silly. We giggled a lot. It was so much fun though. I really think the world of him.
The next day, even though the guys had tons of stuff to do they "babysat" me during the day so that I could get my bag to the train station and return the key to my apartment and have someone to keep me company. Thanks guys! I felt kind of bad though because they really were multitasking and I was definitely a nuisance.
Before Sergey took me to the train station he showed me the building on Baseina where Golda Meir was born. After the train station, we walked back to Kreschatyk. Along the way, we saw some interesting, historic buildings, the site where they are building a Hilton Hotel for UEFA Euro 2012, and cool churches. We eventually went to a coffee shop for refreshments; it was a long walk, but so good for me. ;-) Ser
gey is a wealth of information about Kyiv and Ukraine. He is smart and kind.
I'm always amazed by the hospitality that we have received here. Folks, if they know you, will go so far out of their way to help you. Getting apartments for you at the drop of a hat. Or taking your bags to the train station and seeing you to the correct train and car. A and V even pick us up at the train station in the middle of the night, or taking us in the early morning. A has allowed us to use their washing machine for months. She's even found babysitters for us when we are pressed. All I can say is that I appreciate it SO MUCH! Thanks, you guys!
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