I started this post several weeks ago and promptly forgot about it. We moved out of our homestay recently, but thought you still might like to read what it was like to live there!
A day in the life of two American nerds living in Ukraine.
We get up at 6:30 a.m. That is, if Daniel's alarm on his phone goes off. Otherwise we get up when we get up.
As we amble out of bed, one of us grabs all the pillows and throws them on the desk and then folds the mattress pad over and pushes the bed in so it remesembles a couch now.
Cereal is eaten. Usually its a type of Muesli, which is really big here. No frosted mini-wheats for Janna :(
Sometimes we cook breakfast, but only when we have a lot of time. Our hostess has one skillet, and it is the size of a small corn tortilla. Therefore, breakfast takes about an hour to make because first we have to fry up the bacon, then the potatoes, and finally the eggs.
After breakfast, we grab our stuff and head out the door, locking it behind us. We live on the 3rd floor but don't take the elevator, which we named the Urinator, because it smells, ironically enough, like urine. To get to the stairs, we go through 2 doors, onto a balcony, then back inside through two other doors. One door is made of metal and is spring loaded. If you don't catch it and slowly close it, the doors slams, emitting a loud KABOOOOOM! As we run down the stairs we admire the spatterings of graffitti. Most of its in English, such as "it's all unwanted trickery" and the like. One more door and we're out of the building. I try not to think about the doors I've touched, and how many other people have touched them, and what germs might be on my hands.
It's 7:20 and we hustle to the bus stop. Janna the pirate keeps here eyes peeled for coins on the ground. They're worth next to nothing, but she is collecting them for "art purposes."
Sometimes we have to wait for the bus, other occasions we're just in time. We hop on a bus and pay 6 g.r.v., or about 75 cents.
Luckily we're the first stop on the line, and so we always get seats. We proceed to ride the bus for 20 or so minutes, depending on how gung-ho our bus driver is. Some dilly, some dally, others fly so fast the people in the back bounce like tennis balls, their heads almost grazing the ceiling.
By the time we get to our stop, the bus is packed and we have to wiggle our way to the door. This is where my abnormally sharp elbows come in handy.
On the sidewalk now, we head down the stairs and under the road; it's an under the street crosswalk.These things are genius! No little white man saying when I can walk across the street or not. One more block and we're at our designated meeting point with Doug. We wait.
Doug comes, and we jump into his Dodge Van. He drives like a maniac, in other words, Ukrainian style, and 20 minutes later we're at Smile House. It's really quite a beautiful drive, through villages and rollling hills and fields.
Once at Smile House, we start work. Every day is different, and so its impossible to write what we do. In summary, we paint, clean, lay baseboard, clean, fix stuff, eat lunch, paint some more, make decisions, sweep, gather trash, prep for painting (tape windows, cover floor, etc.), drink water, and hug (I love this one; hugging Daniel is the best).
At some point in time (it's never the same), we call it a day and head home.
I am omitting the process home, because it's about the same as going to Smile House, only much more boring.
Once home, we cook dinner using the Barbie skillet. Meals include things like spaghetti, chicken dishes of all kind, manicotti, grilled cheese, baked potatoes, fajitas, and burritos. We have breakfast for dinner fairly often as well. The reader might note that this is not the most diverse and interesting range of meals, and so the writer will explain. We only have one shelf in the already small fridge, plus one shelf in a cabinet. Because the homestay was temporary, we did not feel inclined to go out and buy a ton of ingredients to make different kinds of food. However, for those of you who worked at Ole Miner's, I am pleased to say that one of my standby dishes is the roaring fork! I feel so sophisticated.
After dinner we clean up and then rest. Many times this means watching MASH on DVD! Laughing is a good thing, especially for dealing with the many stresses of living in a foreign country. About this time our hostess comes home, and so we'll talk to her for awhile. Sometimes it's just for a few minutes, but other times she wants to know everything about everything! These discussions often include a lot of lecturing on her part (ways we can stay healthy), and a lot of emphatic nods on our part (with no intention of following said advice).
By 9 or 10 its off to bed for some much needed sleep. Another day has come and gone. What will tomorrow bring? Daniel hopes popcorn, and Janna hopes for coins to add to her treasure chest.
A day in the life of two American nerds living in Ukraine.
We get up at 6:30 a.m. That is, if Daniel's alarm on his phone goes off. Otherwise we get up when we get up.
As we amble out of bed, one of us grabs all the pillows and throws them on the desk and then folds the mattress pad over and pushes the bed in so it remesembles a couch now.
Cereal is eaten. Usually its a type of Muesli, which is really big here. No frosted mini-wheats for Janna :(
Sometimes we cook breakfast, but only when we have a lot of time. Our hostess has one skillet, and it is the size of a small corn tortilla. Therefore, breakfast takes about an hour to make because first we have to fry up the bacon, then the potatoes, and finally the eggs.
After breakfast, we grab our stuff and head out the door, locking it behind us. We live on the 3rd floor but don't take the elevator, which we named the Urinator, because it smells, ironically enough, like urine. To get to the stairs, we go through 2 doors, onto a balcony, then back inside through two other doors. One door is made of metal and is spring loaded. If you don't catch it and slowly close it, the doors slams, emitting a loud KABOOOOOM! As we run down the stairs we admire the spatterings of graffitti. Most of its in English, such as "it's all unwanted trickery" and the like. One more door and we're out of the building. I try not to think about the doors I've touched, and how many other people have touched them, and what germs might be on my hands.
It's 7:20 and we hustle to the bus stop. Janna the pirate keeps here eyes peeled for coins on the ground. They're worth next to nothing, but she is collecting them for "art purposes."
Sometimes we have to wait for the bus, other occasions we're just in time. We hop on a bus and pay 6 g.r.v., or about 75 cents.
Luckily we're the first stop on the line, and so we always get seats. We proceed to ride the bus for 20 or so minutes, depending on how gung-ho our bus driver is. Some dilly, some dally, others fly so fast the people in the back bounce like tennis balls, their heads almost grazing the ceiling.
By the time we get to our stop, the bus is packed and we have to wiggle our way to the door. This is where my abnormally sharp elbows come in handy.
On the sidewalk now, we head down the stairs and under the road; it's an under the street crosswalk.These things are genius! No little white man saying when I can walk across the street or not. One more block and we're at our designated meeting point with Doug. We wait.
Doug comes, and we jump into his Dodge Van. He drives like a maniac, in other words, Ukrainian style, and 20 minutes later we're at Smile House. It's really quite a beautiful drive, through villages and rollling hills and fields.
Once at Smile House, we start work. Every day is different, and so its impossible to write what we do. In summary, we paint, clean, lay baseboard, clean, fix stuff, eat lunch, paint some more, make decisions, sweep, gather trash, prep for painting (tape windows, cover floor, etc.), drink water, and hug (I love this one; hugging Daniel is the best).
At some point in time (it's never the same), we call it a day and head home.
I am omitting the process home, because it's about the same as going to Smile House, only much more boring.
Once home, we cook dinner using the Barbie skillet. Meals include things like spaghetti, chicken dishes of all kind, manicotti, grilled cheese, baked potatoes, fajitas, and burritos. We have breakfast for dinner fairly often as well. The reader might note that this is not the most diverse and interesting range of meals, and so the writer will explain. We only have one shelf in the already small fridge, plus one shelf in a cabinet. Because the homestay was temporary, we did not feel inclined to go out and buy a ton of ingredients to make different kinds of food. However, for those of you who worked at Ole Miner's, I am pleased to say that one of my standby dishes is the roaring fork! I feel so sophisticated.
After dinner we clean up and then rest. Many times this means watching MASH on DVD! Laughing is a good thing, especially for dealing with the many stresses of living in a foreign country. About this time our hostess comes home, and so we'll talk to her for awhile. Sometimes it's just for a few minutes, but other times she wants to know everything about everything! These discussions often include a lot of lecturing on her part (ways we can stay healthy), and a lot of emphatic nods on our part (with no intention of following said advice).
By 9 or 10 its off to bed for some much needed sleep. Another day has come and gone. What will tomorrow bring? Daniel hopes popcorn, and Janna hopes for coins to add to her treasure chest.
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