post 13 february

What? Another blog post? Has it been a month already?

Okay, okay. I’m trying. Having been recently inspired by a few friends, I’m making a better effort to keep you updated. What does this mean, being updated? Do I really have such astonishing events happening over here every single day?

Will I really keep asking questions throughout this entire post, or will I actually se any declarative sentences? Do I really expect that you’d read a post made up of only questions? Would you?

Last week’s weather was lovely, with the return of my fall jacket featuring prominently [Featured where? Enough with the questions!]. I’ve gotten back into mostly regular attendance of yoga and aerobics, classes have started, and it looks like good things are going on in general.

The International Writing Olympics is/ are still the big thing at the moment, and will continue to be for the next few months, at least. We’re up to 19 oblasts participating—that’s out of a total of 24, if you could Crimea as an oblast, which it’s not. To avoid you having to ask a question in this declarative-only zone, I’ll just tell you: it’s actually an autonomous republic. Maybe this is why the Ukrainian way to refer to this area is “the Crimea”, stemming from “the Autonomous Republic of Crimea”, but I feel like this is the logic that makes so many Americans believe that the country in which I currently reside is called “the Ukraine”, as if it is the property of some larger union.

Anyway, there’s good publicity being spread in the press, and also generated in reality, and the national steering committee is doing excellent work. We’ve gathered some prize donations, including certificates, books, publication in a few locations, and hopefully a really sweet booklet currently titled “79 Writing Ideas: A Collection of Ideas and Activities to Encourage Creative Writing.” Maybe tomorrow it’ll be titled “80”, but we’ll see. If you’re interested in a copy of the ideas in this booklet, let me know!

There’s also the possibility that this project will extend into summer writing workshops or camps for winners or other participants, but this remains to be seen. Of course I’d love to have another summer Student Writers’ Workshop, just like in the good ol’ days at Walkersville Middle School with the Maryland Writing Project, but we’re getting there one step at a time. I’m really happy to be involved in this project, but it’s a lot of work putting something so ambitious into motion. Lots of positive feedback is already drifting back my way, though, as Ukrainian teachers and PCVs start preparing their students and integrating creative writing into their lessons. In one of two teacher seminars I’ve already presented on this topic, one woman said to me, “Well, what am I supposed to say to this question: ‘Why is grass green?’ I mean, it’s biology, right?” Right. It’s a good opportunity for everybody to remember that there doesn’t always have to be a right answer in creative thinking.

And… two bits: On Saturday, while I was walking with my friend Kate on a sidewalk lined with produce sellers, one man called out to ask us if we wanted to buy some apples. Usually, people are vaguely passive sellers, maybe offering up a mumbled litany of the delicious freshness of whatever they have in front of them, or asking in the typical implied negative, “You don’t need carrots, do you?” This man was definitely active, though, and I answered, in Ukrainian, “No, thanks, we don’t need any apples.” To this, he responded, “Your friend’s from America, yes?” I laughed, and said yes, and that I was from America, too. “You understand me?” he asked. “Yes,” I said, “but we still don’t need any apples.” He laughed, we left. Do I look more Ukrainian than Kate? Maybe. My red winter hat is definitely not Ukrainian style, but she was wearing a backpack—also not Ukrainian style.

Later, when we both got on the 30-minute bus to her town, Kivertsi, we were speaking English to each other—not surprisingly, although not loudly, as Kate was sitting in the back row and I was standing in the aisle near her. At one point, a man nearby turned around to stare at both of us, super-intensely. I’m not one to challenge someone overtly, but I definitely looked back at him, sort of wondering what his deal was. Eventually, he mumbled something about “speaking English” and turned back around. “Yes,” I said, in Ukrainian, “but we can speak Ukrainian, too.” Then he turned back and really stared. The mom and her daughter sitting beside Kate giggled and smiled at us. Yes! Victory! We can impress people with simple sentences!!

I thought immediately of visiting my sister in Yemen and being so impressed when she could turn back to the little boys calling out a string of wondering words at us in the market and return in Arabic, “Yeah? Well, whoever taught you to talk to your elders like that? You should know better than to be rude to strangers!” I mean, I think that’s what she said…

Happy birthday to my dearest sister, and happy day to all!

:)