Perhaps you are asking yourself, “Gosh, James, I’ve been reading your witty and insightful blog posts, and I can’t help but wonder how you’ve gained such remarkable knowledge of the Ukrainian people and their culture in such a short amount of time… and without speaking the language.” A fair statement, and far nicer than, “Yeah, yeah, how do we know that you’re not just holed up in your house, making this stuff up?”
As I’ve mentioned to several people, I actually have a contact here in Mariupol. She’s an English teacher here at a local school (I’m not entirely sure if it’s a state or private school). My copy of Rosetta Stone came with some free online access, where they have forums so you can interact with native speakers. She has been a wealth of information, and as payback I actually brought some books for her to use in her classes.
Additionally, yesterday — probably because I look “a little American” and was sitting in downtown with nothing particular to do — I actually met a woman who works part time as a translator. It was good practice for her, and a great time for me because I got to ask about a number of things — politics and government, education, recycling, Ukrainian life goals, the costs of goods. It was almost like one of those “person in the street” interviews. And of course I answered questions about my country and current events. (Apparently, the “debt crisis” from a couple weeks ago was seen over here as a very humorous incident of American politics.) This woman’s name was Julia, and we talked for about an hour; it was quite a lot of fun.
It seems that “part time” work is what most people have around here. If you happen to know someone in a position of power or influence, you’ll probably be given some cushy job with a decent salary. (I so want to use the word ‘sinecure,’ but I want to keep this post readable without a dictionary.) Otherwise you pretty much have to find two or three jobs to make ends meet. After our meeting, Julia the translator was off to fix someone’s computer. My contact, Anna, also works part time as a secretary. (Yes, based on my experiences to date, only women in Ukraine can speak both Russian and English. :-)) She actually likes having a couple jobs, though; she says it offers some variety to the days. So I guess it’s not all bad.
Today, Thursday, was a near perfect day, at least weather-wise. No rain, but partly cloudy and breezy for most of the day. It warmed up just as the sun was going down, but otherwise, this is the weather I would have wanted for my entire stay. In fact, drop the temperature by a couple degrees (say to the lower 20s C), and that is apparently how the autumns are here in Mariupol.
If I’ve learned nothing else — and since I already knew the word “shishlak” (a shish-kebab prepared on the BBQ), there probably is nothing else — it’s that I packed almost the completely wrong set of clothes. Jeans = toaster ovens for your legs. Cotton shirts are fine, but they should be thin and breathable. And shorts are a given. In fact, the shorts I’ve seen around town get *pretty* short — for both the women and the men.
Another day and then I’ll be winging it back to the US. It’s hard to believe I’ve been here a week, even longer when you throw in Odessa. The days haven’t quite all blurred together, but time does seem to have gone by rather quickly. I’ve been asking myself, now and then, if I think I would come back, and I still don’t know for certain. I’ve definitely gained a lot of information from this trip, and there is a part of me that wants to get more conversant in Russian and then come back to do my visit “right.” But I don’t know what I’ll decide. For now, I’ll just enjoy my last day here, and then look forward to the comfortable environs of home.