Yesterday, being home just felt weird.  It’s better now, having been back for a day and gotten caught up on some of my sleep, but getting back to my regular life just seems a little odd at the moment.

Driving home from the airport, and even going out for groceries yesterday, felt “lonely.”  I don’t know how else to describe it, and maybe it’s just my life or how our culture is.  For most of the last two weeks, I’ve been surrounded by people; granted, I couldn’t understand them most of the time, but they were everywhere.  From the earliest touches of dawn until the dark of night made streets impossible to walk (and given the lack of much street lighting, we’re only talking 9 or 10 pm), there were people out walking and working in both Odessa and Mariupol.  Yet, when I think of my drive to the grocery store yesterday at around 10 am, I don’t recall passing more than a couple people walking or biking.

Yes, it was still fairly early on a Sunday morning, but I couldn’t help but contrast the difference between here and there.  Just the week before, in Odessa at nearly the same time of day, there were already dozens of people in City Park and Sobornaya Square.  There were already vendors set up and doing business, and there were already visitors taking their pictures with the “seated man” statue.  Here, a week later, almost nothing.  Yes, my comparison is inexact — my neighborhood in the boonies to the main tourist area of an old European city — but would I see the same type of life in downtown Portland at the same time of day?  I don’t know.

Life in Ukraine does seem simpler.  Culturally, the expectations of the people are different, and so are the means of achieving those expectations.  “Doing something” for a person in Mariupol might just mean taking a walk, nothing more; I don’t know if the same would be true for me.  Many places in Ukraine had small rides and similar amusements for the kids, many year-round.  From an economic standpoint, there is probably no value to these rides — indeed, they probably operate at a loss all the time — but time and again I would see the train ride running with only one child aboard.  A walk to the neighborhood park, a couple hrivnya, and everyone is having a good day.

Travel does broaden the mind, and seeing this [former] second-world country (I know they wish to be a first-world nation, but they aren’t quite there yet) up close — even with the brief time and brief sampling I had — is something my mind will be processing for a while.  I know that in just a very few days, as the normalcy of my life returns, everything from the past two weeks will begin to fade and become just a memory of something I did, once.  I hope I hold on to something purposeful and meaningful from this time.

I said from the outset that this would be an adventure, and it was.  It was months in making, nerve-wracking, confusing, hot, different, tiring, amazing, memorable — everything an adventure should be.  It was a learning experience, not just of a country of which I knew very little, but also of the whole process of preparation and travel.

So only two questions remain:  was it worth it, and would I do it again?  I think, absolutely yes, on both counts.

Now that I’m back in the States, let me just fill you in on the last bits of my trip and start bringing this blog to a close.

Friday was my last full day in Ukraine, and with nothing planned — as opposed to all the other days of my trip, when I had nothing specific planned — it was a day of figurative and literal “packing up.”  After another peaceful morning in the City Park, I hit the streets again, this time wandering a little farther north of Lenin Street.  Just a couple blocks from this main street, there’s a couple streets where the sidewalks are jammed with street vendors.  (We drove past this street on my way out of town the following morning, and the difference was night and day.  There was absolutely no trace that a “street fair” had been there the day before; apparently, people set up and take down their table and goods every day.)  It seemed there was a preponderance of vendors selling sunglasses, and yet, as I had noted previously, it doesn’t seem people in Ukraine really wear sunglasses.

I got a couple pictures that I had wanted.  At least I took them; whether or not they’re any good is yet to be seen.  I also did a little shopping, and for lunch I did my best to locate a place that served something English teacher Anna said I should try before I leave.  Unfortunately I couldn’t find it (a circle pastry, filled with meat, folded in half, fried and served with sour cream; perhaps I had the name wrong), so I settled for McDonalds.  Yes, my last meal in-country was the same as my first, but in my defense, it was nice being able to order something directly, instead of having to point at a picture or description and saying, “eta, pahzhalstah” (“this, please”).

The rest of the day was just hanging out at the apartment, packing up and giving my feet a rest from the past week and half of walking.

Saturday — travel day, the day it all ends — started at 5 am.  (The day I left Odessa also started at 5 am; next time I need to get a better travel agent.)  My taxi arrived at 6 am for a rather uneventful ride to Donetsk for the first of my planes.  (I know it’s time to wind the blog down, but I really should say something about the airports and the airplane trips in Ukraine; they were definitely a little different.  Well, maybe another post.)  The flight to Kiev was rote, but that’s where the normalcy of the day ended — assuming any day when you’re traveling 10,000 miles has a “normal” aspect.

The lines for the New York flight from Boryspil were incredibly long, which was surprising since I was there almost 3 hours early.  This threw me off my game a little, because if the airline check-in took (at least) 45 minutes, what could I expect from passport control and customs?  This meant that I didn’t get a bite to eat or cash out some of my extra hrivnya like I’d planned.  And what made it all the worse was that the plane out was an hour late.

After my first overseas trip (to London quite some time ago), I swore that I would always travel business class if I was going overseas.  I really wish I’d stuck to my guns on that, and at check-in, the thought did occur to me to upgrade, but I didn’t ask about.  Although my flight over wasn’t too bad, my flight back wasn’t nearly as comfortable for some reason.  I’m guessing that reason is the fact that I just couldn’t fall asleep, which made 10 hours trapped in a little seat on an airplane feel like… well, 10 hours trapped in a little seat on an airplane.

Finally we got to New York, where it became apparent that JetBlue hates me.  Really, they must.  This was my first trip with JetBlue (New York’s home town airline), and I’ve already told you about the first of my flight from Portland.  Although the flight back to Portland didn’t have any of those thrills (plus I got a window seat and was finally able to get a little sleep), it was delayed by over three hours.  This was on top of the previously expected four-hour layover (which actually got trimmed a little because, as I said, the flight from Kiev left late).  The JetBlue people were apologetic, explaining that things were delayed “because of everything yesterday,” which actually didn’t help me at all, since I hadn’t been in the country “yesterday.”

Eventually, though, I got out of New York, and finally got into Portland about 3:30 am Sunday morning.  It was weird being almost the only people in the airport, especially since I usually see it filled with people.

After grabbing my bag (just once before I die I would love to see my bag first on the belt), getting to my car (right where I left it), and getting home (right where I left it), I actually couldn’t fall asleep right away, and when I did only slept for a couple of hours.  I imagine I might be on a slightly odd sleep schedule for the next couple days, which is why I’m going to finish this now and take a nap.

I’ll have at least one more post, because I want to “sum things up” a bit.  There could even be more than that, because for everything I did mention in my posts, there were probably a half-dozen other things that happen that I didn’t talk about.  But soon I’ll be back into my old routines, and then the ramblings of a person who “once” went to Ukraine won’t be nearly as interesting.  So at least one more.

And, no, I haven’t forgotten about the pictures.

I’ll try to post my final comments about Ukraine and the trip back sometime tomorrow (Sunday) (Sunday?) (yes, Sunday), after I’ve slept about 42 hours.  And then I’ll get to work on the pictures.  Even though I got several that I wanted, I am still thinking of stuff I should have gotten.  Darn!  Maybe I’ll have to go back just to fill out the photo portfolio…

(I’m actually stuck at JFK on my way back home, but this is the first time I’ve had unfettered internet access and a few free minutes to use it.  I actually wrote this post a day or two ago.)

It will remain a mystery.  I’ve asked, as best I can, and yet I still don’t have the answer.  And if the Ukrainians themselves don’t know, how can I ever expect to?  I am speaking, of course, about “water with gas.”

I mentioned in another post how you can’t drink the tap water, so people buy bottles of it left and right.  By and large, the water is available in two types: plain and “with gas,” which is to say, carbonated.  (There are also some brands that offer plain water with lemon or other flavorings, but that’s still plain water.)  Just judging from what I’ve seen in the market and on the street, sales go about 60/40 plain to carbonated — and yet no one I’ve asked (here or in Odessa) seems to know why people buy carbonated.  (I’ve tried it, and the carbonation process does add a taste to it that, while it isn’t awful, I don’t really care for.)  One person suggested that it helps digestion, which does make some sense.  But does that mean that most Ukrainian diets consist of food that is largely indigestable if you don’t have “water with gas?”  Like I said, it’s a mystery.

However, I did solve another mystery, thanks to English teacher Anna.  Remember that wrong phrase for “I’m sorry?”  Well, I found out what that phrase is supposed to mean.  It doesn’t mean “I’m sorry,” as in “I’m sorry I stepped on your foot.”  It actually means “I am sorrowful” or “I feel sorrow for something,” which has a wildly different connotation if you say it to someone on the street.  (Of course, say it enough times to the right people in the right place, and it might score you some free vodka.  I don’t know, and it’s not really worth finding out.)  For the standard, American use of “I’m sorry,” the appropriate expression is “izvenitcha.”  (I will have to send a note to the Byki people when I get back; this is an error in the very first lesson!)

I don’t have a lot on tap for Friday.  I leave early, early Saturday morning, so I need to prepare for that.  And I know there’s at least one more picture I want to get.  There’s a  place downtown with a beautiful new building on one side of the street, and an old, graffitied (yet still lived in) building on the other.  It’s a great contrast of Old and New Mariupol.  I really hope my camera can get both sides of the street at the same time.  And I have been told there is one more Ukrainian food I have to try before I leave (although after tonight’s very filling traditional Ukrainian dinner, I don’t want to think about food at all).  It’s a half-round pastry filled with meat, fried and served with sour cream called “chayooriki.”  (I probably didn’t need to add “served with sour cream,” because everything is.  Except for a couple types of salad.)

By the way, if I haven’t mentioned it, Saturday is going to be a bear of a travel day.  I leave here at 6 am local time (which means I need to be up by 5:30 at the latest).  I’ll have about a 90 minute (or so) ride to Donetsk, about an hour wait at the airport, and then an hour-long flight to Kiev.  (I’m crossing my fingers that I don’t have a delay like in Odessa; that would screw me over royally.)  I’m in Kiev for a couple hours, and then it’s my 10-hour flight to JFK.  I’m in New York for 2-3 hours, and then it’s 5 more hours back to Portland.  Technically I get in at midnight of the same day I left Mariupol, but with baggage and the drive from the airport, it will be 1 am before I’m back “home.”  To recap, that’s 16 hours on planes, 6 hours in airports and 3 hours in cars — all on the same day.  25 hours of travel, but that’s still better than the 38 hours it took me to get to Odessa.

(PS – Actually, because of my JFK delay – and a little original miscalculation of times – I will get home about 32 hours after my alarm clock went off on Saturday morning in Mariupol.  I thought I’d be able to sleep a little on the plane from Ukraine, but I was very wrong.  Right now, I’ve been up for 20 hours, with only a little dozing time to the sleep account.)

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.

It’s Thursday here now, and strange to think that I’ll be leaving in just a couple days.  I won’t say my time has gone quickly here, at least it hasn’t felt that way on any single day,  but cumulatively it still kind of feels like I’ve only just arrived.

Last night I violated one of the tenets of my guide books:  I stayed out after dark.  It wasn’t far after dark, but the street lights were on and things were a lot quieter.  So was I in danger of roving gangs of Ukrainian street thugs?  I’d say no, at least not where I was.  I was actually more concerned about tripping (the sidewalks aren’t always in the best repair) than I was about being accosted.  But since there were people with small children still walking the street I was on, I felt pretty sure there wouldn’t be any trouble.  I might have felt differently in a different part of town, but here, it was no problem.

I’m thinking that when I get back I may need to write a guide book, because it seems that much of what I had read in preparation for this trip has been wrong or out of date.  For example, Customs; this was a concern of mine, because I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  My two main books differed on what I would encounter, but were in agreement on carefully filling out the landing/immigration form and keeping that paper with me at all times so I’d be able to leave the country without excessive questioning.  WRONG.  There were no landing forms passed out on the plane, and the form I filled out while waiting in line wasn’t needed (which I know because the passport control agent told me so).  In fact, the only reason I had to wait in line at passport control was because two international flights had arrived at the same time; otherwise I would have breezed through.  Customs was equally quick; they x-rayed my bags, asked me the value of cash and gifts I was bringing in, and whether or not I had any medicines (drugs).  That was it; weeks of wonder and worry dispelled in 2 minutes.

Smoking is another thing.  I recall reading that Ukraine is a very health-conscious country, and that smokers are something of a rarity.  WRONG.  I don’t know if there are more smokers here than anywhere else, but they are certainly not rare.  In fact, many times it’s hard to avoid them.  Street kiosks sell many different brands of cigarettes, and most bars, restaurants and cafes permit smoking (although by law they are required to offer non-smoking sections as well).  I was flipping through Ukrainian TV one evening, and saw a smoking-related commercial.  Of course I couldn’t understand it, but from the illustrations it seemed that if you bought this spray (which you sprayed into your mouth, like Chloraseptic or something), you would be able to reverse the damage caused by cigarette smoking.

Still, not everything in the guide books has been completely wrong.  Yesterday evening I was walking through the central park downtown, and saw a chess club playing.  It was almost exactly like you would imagine:  several older men — plus one or two younger ones, and a handful of lookers-on — taking over a number of tables and benches, with chess boards and timers situated between competing pairs. It could almost have been a scene from a movie.

A couple more words about McDonalds.  I mentioned before about the one in Odessa; there is a McDonalds here in Mariupol, and I saw one in Donetsk as well.  (The one in Donetsk even had a drive-through!)  The one here is new — about a year old — and it seemed pretty busy when I last saw it.  It didn’t go in; it was just in the mall I was checking out.  It’s still very much a novelty and kids are more inclined to go than adults, but apparently most people don’t think the food is all that good.  They seem much more fond of their “tasty Ukrainian dishes.” 🙂

It’s Wednesday and day 2 in Mariupol, but it honestly feels like my first day.  However, the calendar doesn’t lie and since I recall doing stuff yesterday that didn’t involve airplanes, this is definitely my second day here.  And since I didn’t do a post yesterday, I’ll give you the highlights from both days so far.

Mariupol is a smaller and decidedly different place from Odessa.  The main drag of Mariupol is Lenina Street (aka Lenin Street) and is very different from Deribasovskaya in Odessa.  Where Odessa (at least the part I was staying in) was geared toward tourists, this main part of Mariupol is definitely for Ukrainians.  Most of this city’s tourists are actually from other parts of the country, not other parts of the world.  I may be the only American in this city of ~500,000.

Language-wise, I am so far out of my element that if I wasn’t able to laugh about it, I’d probably cry.  Book-learnt Russian is a joke – at least as far as I had gotten – and honestly, the stuff I’ve picked up from Rosetta Stone and Byki isn’t that much better.  Just today I had tried to use the phrase for “I’m sorry” from the Byki lessons (“ya shezaleia”), and I was met with confused stares.  From now on I’m sticking with “excuse me” (“izvenitcha”); I know that works.  I’m also getting good use from a phrase I cobbled together from other examples:  “ya neh pa-rooski” – “I don’t speak Russian.”  I find it curious that, of the books I have here, none of them have the phrase for “I don’t speak Russian.”  I guess having that phrase in a Russian phrase book runs somewhat counter to the goal of the book itself.

Should anyone be curious, the weather people aren’t any more correct here than they are in the US.  When I was preparing to leave Portland and doing my final packing, I was paying close attention to the weather reports I could find for Odessa and Mariupol.  In all the reports – short term, long term, extended forecast – it was pretty much all sun all the time.  (Even so, I didn’t pack nearly enough shorts or short-sleeve shirts — and yet somehow came away with twice as many socks as I need.)  A couple partly-cloudy days in the mix, but by and large, dry days.  No need for an umbrella, right?  Well, the hour and a half downpour yesterday – and I’m talking solid rain here – suggests I might have had just as much luck consulting a Magic 8 Ball instead of the Weather Channel.  I think my shoes are still drying out, although I was able to put on some dry socks.  And there was some pretty awesome thunder and lightning, including one strike close enough to where I was to set off some car alarms.

The neighborhood here where I’m staying is interesting, and from my walking around, doesn’t seem all that different from other nearby environs.  For the most part it looks like a slum — most places could, charitably speaking, use a new coat of paint — and yet you’ll never know what you’ll find from one block to the next or around a corner.  My building looks like project housing, and not recent project housing either.  And yet, one corner of the building houses a branch office for a local bank.  It’s clean and white and looks like it belongs anywhere but here.  Up the street a little is a mini-mansion:  a large and new-looking building, immaculately groomed landscaping and clean walkways, and some security guards that occasionally peek over the fence.  (I’d take a picture, but I’m fond of my thumbs, and walking, and actually getting back to the US in one piece.)

By the way, banks are everywhere here and I do mean EVERYWHERE.  It’s hard to go more than a block without seeing a sign for a bank, complete with their current buy/sell exchange rates.  And if you are on a block without a bank office, chances are there’s an ATM, or in Russian, “bankomat.”

Something I’ve really come to appreciate during my time here and in Odessa is tap water.  We just take it for granted most of the time, but you can’t do that here.  No one drinks tap water here, except for maybe the street dogs, street cats and some pigeons — and I’ll bet even those would pick bottled water if they could.  Apparently it’s OK (but definitely not tasty) after boiling, so tea isn’t a problem, but brushing my teeth here has been an interesting challenge.  Fortunately, you can buy bottled water — or soda, or something with a little more kick that comes in bottle — almost everywhere; a half-liter runs about 5 hrivnya (60 cents), and most people carry some water with them.

This will make my environmentally-conscious readers cringe, but recycling hasn’t come to Ukraine yet.  They sell a ton of bottled water, and nearly all those bottles end up in the trash.  I was talking with someone about this, and apparently a few years ago the city (or perhaps the country) had tried having people sort their recyclables from their garbage, but it was a dismal failure.  So now there’s no recycling — at least nothing obvious.  Perhaps it’s something done by the waste management people instead…

I’ve made it to Mariupol, and so far it looks like a rather nice city.  I’ve got an apartment just out of downtown, right next to the city park.  A short walk into the park and I can look at the Azov Sea.

Because of the delayed flight, and the extra time it takes to travel from Donetsk to Mariupol, this will actually be my first day to explore.  I’m planning to head into downtown and have a look around.  After work (I have to keep reminding myself that I’m the only one on vacation here), I should be meeting up with my contact/friend and will probably get a little more of a tour.

I may not be able to make daily updates to my blog; unfortunately, my apartment didn’t really come with an internet connection.  It did come with one of those 3G USB modems, but I have to plug in the SIM card from my phone (good thing I got a phone!).  I don’t have a good way to judge how much time I have on this account, so I may not be connecting every day.  But don’t worry, I’m keeping notes and will post things as I can.

Just a quick note for now, partly to pass the time and partly because I don’t know what I want to say.  Unfortunately, I’m spending a few unexpected hours in Kiev today (Monday).  This wasn’t part of the plan, but my flight out of Odessa was delayed for over an hour.  It really pisses me off, too, because I was up at 5 AM to be at the airport well in advance of when I needed to be.  Couldn’t the airline have the same consideration?

In any case, that delay meant I missed my originally scheduled flight in Kiev.  Aerosvit was nice enough about re-booking me for the next flight, but that still meant I have about 3 hours to kill.  I would take a nap, but then I’d probably miss the check-in or boarding, and that would just make things worse.

On the plus side, I will say that both times I’ve been waiting here in Kiev, the weather has been perfect (for me).  Overcast, a pretty steady breeze, temperature in the low 70’s (a guess).  Last time it was darn near chilly, but today it felt just fine.  If only the weather everywhere in this country was like this.  Still we did have thunderstorms over Odessa last night – that was a great way to fall asleep – so I guess I shouldn’t complain too much.

OK, I’m going to stare blankly at the wall for the next hour or so.  Or maybe read a little more.  (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it, but I lost one of my books the last time I was waiting here in Kiev.  I think I left it on a park bench.  It wasn’t a great book, but it would have been nice to finish it first.)