post 20 february

So, now it’s really cold.

No doubt you remember that I just [last week] said it was warm enough for me to wear my snazzy fall jacket. No more.

On Wednesday morning, while I was missing the bus to yoga, it was ridiculously cold. This cold was what had made me late in the first place, for only an extremely well-balanced and dedicated individual or a great fool would get out of a warm bed into a freezing world while it’s still dark out. I am not a great fool [so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you], so I was reluctant to get out of bed. I missed the bus I usually take. Then I second-guessed another bus, ignored one that was almost right, and kept standing there. Abruptly, I realized that I was going to be late, and I do not go late to yoga. It’s just not right. Everyone’s getting balanced and calmed and I’m not about to stumble in and insert unnecessary awkward energy into that scene. So, I decided to walk down to see how cold it really was on the digital display down the street. A young German shepherd who’d been walking with me earlier reappeared to herd me along the icy sidewalk, and together we discovered that it was –15 degrees Celsius. Clearly time to go home.


--the morning in question, too cold to keep still--

I definitely had more than a twinge of guilt abandoning my companion as I hurried up the front steps into my building, but what to do? There are so many dogs and cats on the street in Ukraine—a completely unthinkable number in comparison to what you might see at home. Most of them are homeless, but some run around with collars, too. A family of black cats lives in my apartment building, usually sleeping in a glossywarm pile on a mat outside of the apartment across from me. This is partly because this floor’s stairwell door is missing a glass panel, so the cats can always get back to home base from the stairs. Still, to feed them, or not? It seems like my across-the-hall neighbors have two answers. Sometimes I hear or see a woman leaving food for them, and sometimes I hear a man stomping his feet to scatter them elsewhere. A third response comes from an occasional visitor. On some mornings, I’ll hear the stairwell door open and a clattering of long-nailed paws hurrying down the hall. If I hurry to the peep-hole in my door, I can see a low-bellied dog sniff the entire scene, then give a few short barks. His owner calls him back, saying, “No, nothing there now,” and easily implying that it’s through this canine vigilance that the feline tide is held at bay. Good boy. Lucky boy, anyway, to have an owner, and one who takes him out for walks, too. Overall, the homeless animal situation is a tough one throughout Ukraine, it seems, even to someone who’s neither a dog nor a cat person.

Didn’t expect to write that much about animals, but let it be so. Хай буде так.

The cold weather is probably one of the reasons that I’ve been keeping up a little better with my reading and writing. In the last week, I’ve read This is Where I Leave You and half of Stranger in a Strange Land. As childishly delighted as it sounds to say it in such a way, oh, how I love reading! I’m also pretty pleased with writing, too, due to a variety of factors. I love writing to begin with, as we know, but inspiration always helps. I’ve already mentioned the International Writing Olympics, and that’s one of the most obvious roles that writing is playing in my life at the moment. Recent applications for two different spring conferences have required me to write two professional articles [“The Case for Creative Writing” and “English to English: American Reflections on Editing Translations in Ukraine”]. The encouragement of a few friends has pushed me to try to keep up with my blog a little better [Look! I’m doing it!]. In response to requests, I’ve given out bound copies of three of my own books to friends, and am looking forward to their feedback. Hopefully we’ll also be able to restart the To My Mind writing group in the not-too-distant future, too.

Yesterday, I explored a little of Rivne—what we’ll call the capital of the state next door. Despite being referred to as “not a gem” in one of my guidebooks, it seems very promising. Not only does it have some fabulous PCVs and good secondhand shopping, but it also has the Salvador Dali Café [where I had excellent Kava Po-Meksikansky, i.e., Mexican-style coffee] and—AND!—a diner! Unfortunately, the effort to balance being a tourist and wanting to blend precluded me from taking pictures this time, but there were indeed the right kinds of booths, lots of flashy chrome, vintage-style movie posters, and other decorations. I had vareneky [pierogies]. Also, there was a chandelier. Kind of a diner, anyway. Warmer weather and further welcomes will definitely encourage further exploration. :)

Today, we spent English Club hearing about Presidents’ Day in general, as well as lots about Washington and Lincoln. Ukraine, which also has a president, does not have a day off on Monday. Enjoy your holiday!

:)