It's like coming back from college. . .

This week was extremely busy, although not, coincidentally enough, with my organization. Last Monday I got a call from Christie, who is the president of GAD (Gender and Development Committee). She told me of a meeting in Kiev about HIV/AIDS among gay men in Ukraine. All GAD group members were invited to attend, but she really wanted me to go since I’m close to Kiev and my sub-working group has been working on this topic. So, off to Kiev! Again! Now, this meeting was from 11-3. Not bad, if you’re in a meeting where people speak English. Unfortunately for me, I’m in Ukraine, and of course no one speaks English. So I was in a meeting for 5 hours, struggling to grasp what the meeting was about! I’m still not sure, but I think it was about some event all these difference organizations are trying to cooperate on. But, like I said. . . not sure.

So, since I was in Kiev, I figured I’d stay there. Rachel’s parents were here from the States and they rented this kick-ass apartment in downtown Kiev. . . this place was HUGE! And apparently it cost less than a Holiday Inn in the States. Shocker. So, they took us out to dinner, we slept in a super comfy beds, and the next day we got on a marshutka and they treated me to a ride back to Berdychiv, where the Rabbi was waiting to show them the sites. Now, I felt bad about them paying for my marshutka. But then I was reminded of the fact that while it seems like a lot of money to me, it’s really only $5 to get from Kiev to Berdychiv, which is 2 hours away. Anyways, so on the way back, we had a bit of an adventure because we missed the last bus from Berdychiv back to Kiev, so we had to take a bit of a detour, but no biggie.

And the next day it was off to Chirnigiv. It was so weird to be back in that city. I felt like I was coming home from college. But there were so many trippy moments when I would be talking to either my or Rachel’s host mom and they would say something in Russian, and for the first time I would be able to understand them! I think this weekend was the first time I realized just how much Russian I knew. I could carry on conversations and answer Rachel’s host sisters when they asked me questions, instead of my usual hesitant shrug and then inevitable complacency. And, of course, Olya, my LCF, was there teaching a new group of students, so I hung out with her, and she didn’t let me speak English. Every time I tried to tell a story in English, she would stop me and say, “pa Russky, Jessie”. So, I got to talk a lot of Russian this weekend. I got to tell stories, I got to call people out when they tried to talk about me while I was right there, because now I could understand, and I got to hear and understood, in Russian, when my host mom told me she was pregnant!!! That’s right, I going to have another little host brother/sister!!! So anyone who sees any cute onesies, this is my call to you to send them my way.

The real reason I felt like I was coming home from college? I left with a ton of food. . . . and I didn’t even have to raid the fridge or cabinets. Ukrainian moms are the perfect substitute for the real thing.

What happens when Peace Corps volunteers go to a Ukrainian sauna?

They get naked, of course! And rub themselves in honey and coffee grinds. . . but I’m getting ahead of myself.

This weekend, Heather (my sitemate) and I went to Vinnysta, which is 2 hours south of Berdychiv. It is, by all means, a Western European city. Very cute, full of parks. . . I totally love it. We have a fellow volunteer (Miranda) who lives there, and another volunteer an hour away (Abbey), so we all decided to meet up for the weekend. Beforehand, however, it had been decided via email that we were going to go to a sauna while there. Now, I’ve only been to a Russian sauna in NYC, which was kinda dirty and co-ed, so you weren’t allowed to get naked. In a Ukrainian sauna, you don’t HAVE to get naked, but people look at you funny if you don’t. So, naked it was. So, after stripping down to nothing but shower sandels and our little felt “spa hats” (don’t worry friends.. . . I’ll bring some home for all of you who want to sport them), it was time to sit in the sauna. We walk in and there are naked ladies literally scrubbing themselves with an exfoliating sponge to get all the dead skin off. Then it was time for coffee. Miranda and Heather (both veteran sauna-ers) had brought coffee grinds to rub all over themselves. So I figure what the heck? I soap up and rub coffee grinds all over (it’s apparently a really good exfoliant), and, no joke, after I rinse off, my skin is as smooth as a baby’s butt! Miracle number one. Miracle number two was the honey. After the coffee, you rub honey all over yourself and then once you’re covered head to toe (including your face), you go back in the sauna an dlet it melt off. This makes your skin super soft. For real! So make a note for the next time you go to a sauna. . . honey and coffee grinds! This was the most bonding I think I’ve had with volunteers since being here. We got to be real good friends real quick.

To continue the befriending process, we decided to go to Chinese for dinner. Now, most people would expect just a regular Chinese restaurant, right? No, no. . . this place had about 10 Chinese dishes (the rest of the dishes on the menu were Ukrainian, of course), no one in there was actually eating Chinese but us, and it was complete with a dance floor and DJ! Which meant that while we ate and drank we could watch some amazing Ukrainian dancing! It was fantastic! And the night came complete with some belly dancers and another routine of Russian dancers (courtesy of the Chinese restaurant). I swear, it was the best Chinese experience I’ve had in a long time!

Moral of the story is. . . Vinnytsa might beat out Kiev as my new favorite city. . . MIGHT being the operative word.