Journal for aschilba

Though I had planned to try and catch a marshutka to Koktebel this weekend, that didn't go down. Saturday night we- Anya, Lithuanian student, Daniel, German student, Thomas, also German, and Jasmin and myself, all went out to what looked like the local mafia's favorite hangout spot. (jk) We all dressed up and met up for some dancing. Turned out to be really fun, though the party got started at around 1:30AM. I cut the floor with my moves.

The next day, Daniel, Thomas, and I decided to go to Yalta for the afternoon. After much consternation with catching a bus, we found a marshutka that got us there in no time. We arrived at around 2pm and decided we wanted some food. No problem in Yalta, the only question is how much... Quite expensive by Ukranian standards, though very tasty. While Daniel worked on his Russian flirting with our waitress, Thomas and I went swimming. By this time the clouds had rolled in and we were swimming in cold water under dark skies--not a comftorable combo. I was having a ball, but Thomas decided to slowly wade in... and in doing so, killed his chances of enjoying the water. After that we strolled back along the promenade and watched the people, chess matches between old men, and buskers.

Bought some good local wine and enjoyed it as we gazed out at the ocean. Finally we polished off our time in Yalta by gorging on America's own McDonalds. Daniel met some German girls in the line behind him and so he was pleased to surprise them mid-way through their conversation. After the big macs, frys, and mcflurrys were gone we walked through the pouring rain to the bus station. The marshutkas were all taken, so we resorted to the world's longest (and slowest) trollybus. (no kidding it is really the world's longest trollybus route).

These babies are the aged workhorses of the Soviet Ukraine. The inside has been repainted countless times and the seats are nothing to write home about. Daniel quickly fell asleep, Thomas did whatever, and I cranked up some tunes on my headphones. The rain was POUNDING on the metal roof of the trollybus and soon every loose rivet and crack (there were alot) were leaking like mad. So, here we are chugging up this mountainside in this massive storm. Just then thunder and lightning not far away. At the top of the small mountain pass, it was blowing and storming like crazy. Wind was roaring and the sky was churning. Every time we caught a glimpse of the road, all we could see was a good, steady stream of water. All of a sudden we stopped and, caught in a big traffic jam, waited for close to 40 minutes for something to happen. As soon as we went forward, we learned that it was not a traffic jam, but a washed out part of the road that had snared the traffic. (I have a picture, I'll upload it later) By the time we got back to Simferopol it was almost midnight and I was wishing it was Saturday.

After this experience I have a profound respect for the trollybuses that work that route every day. Though the interior is painted all over, the windows must be original because they say "Made In Czechoslovakia" on on them--pretty cool.

Posted by Aleksander R Schilbach at 05:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Last night I decided that it was time to do laundry on my own, with my own two hands... I might not have my Ph.D in Laundry Science, but I like to think that I am fairly competent and can operate a laundry machine with relatively few hiccups. At my flat in Simferopol I do not have a washing machine or dryer so doing laundry is literally a chore. Remember when I said I was competent in Laundry Science? Well, I only have my certificate for machines...

So I came home and gathered up my dirty clothes (which was almost everything) and took them to the bathroom. I took out the big wash bins and put my soap in and put the clothes in and la da da. So feeling quite good about it all, I hung it up to dry outside on the line. I couldn't have realized that the worst was yet to come...

Now fast forward with me to after dinner. I put my dishes in the sink and retire to my room to do homework. (I would have done the dishes, if it hadn't had been for my experience last week when I did them and she started yelling at me in Russian and I decided that I would leave it to her from now on). She comes in to do the dishes and turns on the tap. Only no hot water.

"Sascha!" She yells.
"DA!" I say as I walk into the kitchen.
She explained with a panic sticken voice that the water heater wasn't working and asked if I might know why. Of course I don't have any foggy idea why the damn thing isn't working! I told her that I washed my clothes today and that it was all fine. Well then it got worse. Soon she was unplugging everyting and banging on things. Finally she turned to me.

Now I have been yelled at for things and have been in some tight situations before, but never like this. She went off on me in Russian and it was not pretty. Then I figured it out. She had told me previously when I first arrived that you can NEVER EVER EVER turn on both hot and cold taps at the same time to make warm water. One or the other. Aparently this does something to the water heater that warrents Luda's wrath on the perp.

After about 20-25 minutes of an evil tension between us, the damn thing started working again! By this time she had phoned probably half of her address book and two different repairmen. Needless to say my nerves were completely rattled. Even later when a concerned neighbor came over, I got another spiel on how hot water heaters are expensive here in Ukraine and how in America everything is ok because we have money to throw at things. Well, if my Russian had been a bit better I would have challenged her on the last part, but alas. I nodded and went back to my room.

So my Monday didn't start out very well...and my clothes are still wet.

Posted by Aleksander R Schilbach at 03:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In the last entry, I didn't really get to my time in Ukraine so that is what this entry is dedicated to. Simferopol is actually the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which is considered problematic by some due to the fact that it is not a seperate country on the map. I think one of the main reasons why the Crimea is so independant from Kiev is because of the large Russian majority living here. Also Sevastopol, an hour drive southeast, is where the Russian Navy is stationed until 2019.

But as I continue to travel some outside of the city I realize that the Crimea is not just important or interesting because of its residents' political allegiances, it is a historically fascinating place. The geography is extremely varied and includes everything from plain like land to mountains rising straight out of the sea. Yesterday we took a trip to the famous Bakchaseray Palace and Chewfyt Kalee caves. The palace belonged to the last Kahn that lived and ruled over the Crimea almost 1000 years ago. It is home to the infamous Fountain of Tears, a fountain carved out of a single marble block that depicts the Khan's overwhelming sadness at the death of his beloved slave. Pushkin was so moved by the fountain back in 1854 that he wrote the poem The Fountain of Tears. Though I enjoyed the palace, it was nothing so grand as the palaces in Istanbul.

After the palace and lunch we hiked up to a monestary (I will bring material tomorrow so that I can remember the specifics) that was hewn into the rock face of a cliff. I'll write more about this tomorrow.

Posted by Aleksander R Schilbach at 04:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hello all back home, especially my co-workers in the LLC. So here we are, you are in school and I am in Ukraine. So far I have had an excellent time and seen a great many things. The world's a book, and if you stay at home you only read one page! So let me talk about the pages that I've read so far.

I left Seattle in mid August on the kind of day that makes you want to stay in Seattle... But it will be there when I come back. The plane ride was long and I didn't sleep a wink. After we landed in Copenhagen I went straight to the duty free store and bought two neccessities: wine and Swedish black salty licorice. After another plane ride to Oslo-Gardermoen, I was ready to collect my luggage and go to Oslo S, the central bus/train station. As I was waiting on the train platform a woman behind me started yelling and screaming. I was surprised and dropped my luggage and went over to her. Her mother, an elderly heavyset woman was having some sort of seizure or attack and losing conciousness. So I helped her daughter gently lower her to the ground and put something under her head so she could lay there. I was quite surprised that nobody else helped. If that had happened in the States it seems like there would have been a whole flock of people there helping this woman...but here?

After helping her onto the next train that came by, I was so flustered that it was five minutes before I realized that I had taken the wrong train. No matter though, the conductor assured me, it would just take a bit longer to get to Oslo S. Ok so after arriving at Oslo S I met up with my second cousin who works in the Tango hair salon literally IN the train station. She put me on another commuter train, this time to Skotbu. This train was absolutely packed and my luggage and I had to stand for the entire 45 minute ride out there. But after that I met up with my Second cousin
s mother...what is the relation to me? and she brought me to their home and all was well.

Next day I left for Goteborg, Sweden to visit my friend Johanna. If you were around last year you most likely remember her, she studied at Willamette. We had a fantastic time and really lucked out on the weather. One day we drove out to Laako Slot, a very old castle and area that Johanna described lovingly as the "cradle of Sweden." The scenery was something out of a fairy tale. The sky looked very very big and reminded me of Montana's "Big Sky Country" slogan. Big might not be the most accurate word, but it just looked big to me. The next day we went out sailing and had great weather there too. Visiting Goteborg and Sweden was definetly one of the major highlights of my time here in Europe.

After arriving back in Oslo, I took the bus back towards Sweden to visit my relatives who live in Drobak, on the Oslofjord. Again the scenery is literally breathtaking with hills rising right up out of the sea. The first night there we had a big big dinner out on the deck and had a nice time watching the sunset over Oscarsborg Festning. Oscarsborg Festning is an old Norwegian military defense base. It sits guarding the entrance into Oslo and is famous for the sinking of the German ship the Blucher. The reason the fortress is so famous is because it sank the first German attack on Oslo and gave the Norwegian royal family and government time to leave the city. Of course, it eventually became a German fortress when the Nazis occupied Norway. But it is a fascinating place with interesting exhibits.

There will be much more to come!
Picture Album I
Picture Album II
Picture Album III

Posted by Aleksander R Schilbach at 04:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)