Dead Bodies

Monday, October 1, 2007 6:41 AM 

Hi everyone,
     I've been sick lately which has been annoying, especially since my ears are plugged and hearing is
such a vital part of my job. My students have been so sweet, although I have been yelled at for not wearing
warm enough clothing and not bringing tea to class.  

    On saturday we went to the ballet, Master and Margarita. It was very good but R and I had
horrible seats. Everyone else sat in a good section but R and I sat on the highest balcony, right
behind a pole. Our tickets were $1, though, so it was worth it. 

      At intermission we moved to some open seats which were much better but both of us were sick so we almost fell asleep through some of it. The ballet is from a book by a Russian author. It was interesting and strange.
       Other than that I spent the week in bed trying to feel better. Teaching six hours straight takes it toll and
my voice would be non-existent by the end of the night.
    One strange occurence is that while we were at a friend's house one night her roommate called to tell
us that there was a dead body outside. This isn't anything new, although I haven't seen my first dead body yet, there are sightings by other teachers all the time. Anyway, she was coming home from work and saw some police officers hanging out by a dumpster. She looked closer and saw that they were all examining the body of a man leaning against the dumpster (she assumes they had dragged it out of the dumpster). She said it was very grotesque and described it in detail. We didn't go out to see it, I'll wait for my first dead body to come to me
naturally.
     Anyway, other than dead bodies and colds nothing else is new here. Hope everyone is doing fine. Love, Jacy

Teachers Running Off in the Middle of the Night

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 7:51 AM

So,
     This week is my first week of real classes, with my very own real students. It is so exciting! Mondays and Wed I have three classes: 4-6 is Level 5, 6-8 Level 6 and 8-10 level 6. Luckily, all the level 6 classes use the same lesson, so its not too much work. On tues and thurs, I have level 6 from 4-6 (once again using the same lesson) and then conversation club from 6-9. In conversation club, I sit in a room and wait for
students to come in and then we just chat. We get worksheets to chat about but they're pretty boring so
I just ask the students questions.

      Last night, I had 5 guys in my convo club which was a bit intimidating, but we had a good time. It's hard sometimes to give everyone a chance to speak but I try my best. I like teaching, and the students are great so I'm having a good time.
       A bit of a scandal just happened here. The school we work for is a little frustrating because they make a lot of promises they can't keep. Its mainly the HR guy, J, who is doing this, the owner of the business (O) doesn't have any idea what he is doing. J is a bit creepy so that already leads us to distrust him. He is 38 years old, has been in Ukraine for 4 years and talks a lot about drinking, his past scoring drugs for famous rock stars, and how much Ukrainian women love his muscles. Not the ideal HR person.

     He also likes to tell us things that he can't possibly make happen. For example, in his job offer email, he says we will get an acclimation tour when we first arrive, which never happened. What is actually meant by an 'acclimation tour' is, G (who is very busy and almost impossible to get ahold of by phone) could walk you around the neighborhood showing you sights. When I arrived, after a 14 hour plane trip, she said, "Do you want me to show you the neighborhood?" I said, "No, I'd rather take a shower and rest for a while." She never offered again. 

     Also, payment is very confusing. I went to pick up the check I was told I would get 7 weeks after arriving and found only $100. When I asked about my money, J said O would pay me on Sunday. This is a bit inconvenient because I had to pay a bunch of money for rent and other necessities. The fact that I
haven't been paid in full for my month+ work makes what I am going to tell you even stranger.
      Yesterday D was pulled out of class, the class he was teaching, by J for questioning. Apparently
two of the new teachers (S and J2) have disappeared (they had been rooming with D, and J thought he might know a little about it). They disappeared with their luggage. J claims, after asking for an advance from him and, then also from the school they were working for, S and J2 took off with $2000, never to be heard from again. Now J and L have to go to the school where they were working to take over their classes
and, according to Jonathan, they have hired some off duty cops to track down the boys. Cops who "would cut off their heads for $50." 

     D and E have actually talked to J2, who was last heard from waiting for a connecting flight in Germany. He said the part about the advance is false. He and S saw what a crapshow this company was and decided to take off. He said S is in Italy right now eating pasta. None of us are surprised. We knew S was trying to find a different job from the moment he got here, and others have already lined up jobs after the semester ends. What I find interesting is that they give out advances to people who haven't worked a minute and yet I, who have been working for over a month, cannot seem to get any money. 

      E and I have drafted a letter to J with all of our complaints and we are going to bring it to O and

tell her her choice of HR director is less than appropriate. I have even been looking for other options but am going to stick it out to see if any changes will be made. We actually think all the problems are due to J
and not the fault of the company itself, but we'll see. Anyway, we find the whole situation with S and
J a bit funny, not so much the stealing $2000 part, if that even happened, but running away is
something we've all considered at one point or another and all of us are kind of cheering them on. However,
if they do end up with their heads cut off it won't be quite as funny. Hope everybody is well. 

 Love, Jacy

The school where I work.

Not Getting Lost in Translation

Sunday, September 9, 2007 6:33 PM

Hi everybody,
    So, lately my luck with jumping on a bus and getting to the place I need to go has run out. Today I had to take three different buses to get to someplace not that far away. Maybe its an omen I should start walking more. Once I finally got there, I went to my favorite second hand store to see what wintery things they have because it is actually very cold right now. I was going through the goods on the table, when the owner came up to me and started talking. I had headphones in so I had to take them off. He spoke Russian which I clearly didn't understand so he left me alone for a little while.

      I continued my search and found some sweaters I liked, when he came back over to me. He started gesturing to my ring finger (in Ukraine the ring finger is on the left hand and I wear a ring on it). I said, "Ya ne gavaroo pa-ruski" which means, 'I don't speak Russian', but he ignored me and kept gesturing to the ring and then pointing at himself and then at me. I kinda figured what he was trying to say, but feigned ignorance for as long as I could. Finally he said "Angliski?" and I said, "Yes," He said, "Married?" I said, "Yes, I am in fact married." He didn't believe me. He continued to speak Russian to me and I figured out he was asking me how old I was so I said, "25." "How old is your husband?" "27." "Do you have any children?" "No". "Why are you in Ukraine?" "To teach." The conversation continued like this for an excrutiatingly long time.   

      Most of the time he would speak to me in russian and I would say "Ya ne panimyu," (I don't understand), which he would ignore and continue speaking to me. He asked me if I would like to trade English lessons for Russian lessons and I said no. He asked why and I said I was very, very busy. Finally I put all my stuff down and walked out, which he made a squeak about, but I did not turn around. I was very sad about this occurence because I liked buying stuff there and all the other shops are too expensive. Also it 

is pretty close to my house, the other second hand shops are a metro ride away.

       When I got back home, I decided to try to make a pizza in the oven, which has to be lit by match. I wasn't about to stick my hand down there so I lit a piece of paper on fire, turned on the gas and dropped it in. The over went Whoosh and fire shot out at me but it did not ignite. I realized that our oven doesn't work at all. However, in the process my hand was burned (it was the closest part of me to the flame that tried to attack me). For the rest of the day I sat and watched TV with my hand in a pot of cold water. It is still really sore, and blistering, and red but I think it will be okay (I'm typing with it right now and it isn't too painful). It's frustrating though, because J had just brought over some typing I could do to earn extra money. But on the bright side I got to watch a show on the Queen Mother of England. I miss all of you. Love, Jacy

Babushaka

Saturday, September 8, 2007 2:23 PM    

       It was barely the crack of 10:30 when Emily and I were woken up by our doorbell buzzing. We both jumped up to answer it. Unlocking our front door from the inside was a process. First of all, there was our front door, which had to be locked from the inside with a key, and could only be unlocked by turning the key 300 times in the lock (in most doors you had to turn keys full circle at least twice, and at my old apartment it was 4 times). Then we had to go open the door to our suite (the door that led to our apartment along with three other apartments-luckily that door didn't have to be opened from the inside by key). When we finally got the door open and were standing groggily wondering who was visiting us at such an insane hour, an old woman (probably 60s) wearing a see-through dress came walking into the suite and then continued on into our apartment. We stared at her confused as she yelled at us in Russian. Finally, I made out the name T and realized she was talking about the American guy who used to live in our apartment. This was our introduction to our landlady.

    She continued to yell at us and we continued to stare at her until I got the bright idea of calling Gayla to translate. The landlady (babushaka) got on the phone and proceeded to walk around our apartment yelling at Gayla. After a while, during which Emily and I just stood patiently in the hallway with our tussled hair and in our pajamas, Babushka handed the phone to me. Gayla translated, "You can't put things on the wall, you must keep the apartment clean, and the oven doesn't work very well." Babushka gestured for the phone and continued to yell at Gayla. When she handed it back, Gayla said, "So hows your internet working? Do you need me to get the guys to come over?" (this was obviously not what Babushka had said, but Gayla must have deemed her muttering irrelevant).

      I got off the phone with Gayla but babs was still here. She took me around the house pointing to various things. These are the instructions she left me with (I think): Scrub the bathroom sink and toilet, don't fill the teapot too full (she showed me the level that the water should never exceed), make sure our balcony window is closed at all times because someone could climb in and take our stuff (we only live on the second floor but that would be one desperate robber), always keep the doors locked and when someone knocks always ask "who is it?" Finally, she left. Later, I saw her on the street and waved to her as a friendly gesture, which she obviously saw but chose to ignore. 

     Later that day, I went over to some of the new teachers' apartment and when I was leaving I just grabbed the first bus that came my way. This was a mistake because it took me no where near where I

wanted to go and I was very lost. After a while, I asked the bus driver about the metro near my house and
he said no and pointed me in the direction of a bus that would take me there. It took about two hours to get home; my friends live a 20 minute walk away (that's how lazy I am).

     Today I went with Genie to Brisbel where she and her mom teach English. I was to be a guest in the class. It was rainy, windy and cold, and I wasn't prepared. I was cold all day long. When I
got to Brisbol, (which consisted of taking a bus-metro-switching metros-another bus-a train- and a
final bus,) Gayla called me. She said I needed to pay rent today. If I had been informed that rent was due
perhaps I would've been prepared, but I was no where near Rusanovka (the little island district where I live in Kiev). Gayla asked if I had any money in the apartment and I said no. She said if we didn't pay today Babushka would be mad, (which is something I would really like to avoid since G told me that while she was living here, Babs had gone through her underwear). I didn't know what to do, so she said she would call me back. She never did, but when I got home Emily told me that they borrowed money from a friend of Gayla's and we need to pay her back on Monday. And from now on we need to pay Babs directly. Of course they didn't tell us when rent would be due or how much, so we're thinking of baking some cookies for Babs so we stay on her good side.

Front door of my apartment building

      I'm still substitute teaching but this week is midterms so I get to take it easy. I miss everyone and hope everyone is well. Love, Jacy

My apartment

Keypad at front door

Stairs to my suite (on right)

Hallway outside my suite.

Door to my suite

Hallway in my suite, my door is straight forward

My front door

My balcony, 2nd from bottom

 

Jacy's 30th Birthday Orphanage Adventure

If You Feel Like Dancing!

Friday, September 7, 2007 7:42 AM 

Hey Everybody,
     So, last night we went out to a dance club and had a great time. I had talked with my Ukrainian friend Genie the day before and she asked if we wanted to go to a club called Sex Farm. The name is what won me over. However, once we got to the club I saw that it was called Saxon; with genie's accent I had heard wrong (I was a little disappointed). It cost 10g to get in, which is about $2. Genie, my roommate E, another teacher D, and I went. D had come with E to the metro stop where she was meeting Genie and I, but he had intended to go out with some other teachers. However since he couldn't get a hold of them, he had to hang out with us. The dance club wasn't exactly his scene and he had to pay 20g (girls got a discount) but I think he had fun.

    The dance club had two floors. The first was techno music and Genie, E and I started out dancing there. Watching people dance to techno music is so funny, I just pretended I was a robot and moved in mechanical spasms (I'm sure I looked hot). Then we all headed upstairs to where there was hip hop. We were sitting talking and a Ukrainian guy asked if D wanted to play pool with them. Ukrainian pool is slightly different than the kind we play in America. All the balls are white, you can hit a ball with any ball, and the balls are twice the size of regular pool balls, however the pockets are the same size. I guess the strategy is to hit a ball as hard as you can, aimed into the midsts of a bunch of balls and hope that one goes in, because lining up a ball with a pocket is pointless, its too big to go in from straight on. I was very confused. 

     Another observation I made was about what the women at the club were wearing. When Ukrainian women dress up the really go all out. Most were wearing skin tight something or other, and skirts that should have been bandanas. The back of one woman's dress was so long you could see almost her complete butt, red thong included. We actually had a really good time and didn't get home until 3 am. Tonight is a birthday party for a friend and then, tomorrow, I'm going with Genie to her home town to do some shopping and meet her family. I miss everyone, Love, Jacy

My friend Genie and I, along with her cousin and her boyfriend

Garden outside my apartment

New Apartment

Sunday, September 2, 2007 11:49 AM

Hi everbody,
So, I finally moved into my very own apartment and had to spend the whole day cleaning it because the last
people who lived here trashed the place. I spent about 2 hours on the kitchen, scrubby grease off of everything. I also don't have sheets or a blanket and my bed is a bunch of pillows, but at least I can start to unpack (after moving the stuff the last people left and scrubbing all of the shelves). My computer still won't take internet, I'm not sure why but I'm trying to figure it out. I'm using my new roommate E's computer. She is very nice and just got off of doing a stint in the PeaceCorps, in Madagascar-shout out to Mariah. I met some of the other teachers too and they all seem very nice. And I won't be so bored these next coming weeks because I will be subbing for a teacher who will be gone. I'll send pictures as soon as I get internet on my computer. I miss all of you and hope you are all doing well. Love, Jacy

Wednesday, September 5, 2007 5:53 PM

    I finally have internet. E, my roommate, and I talked to her computer genuis friend via the internet
on her computer, and we managed to set up a wireless network from her computer to mine. I am so happy to finally have it and now I can send pictures!!!
      E is really great and we get along very well. The apartment is looking pretty good to. I bought a down
comforter at a second hand store for $15 to put over top the pillow bed, which makes it very comfy. I've
also been teaching, substituting for another teacher who is out of town. I really like my students but the
class is from 8-10 PM on MW, which is hard because everyone is exhausted, and then on T-TH I work 6-8 and 8-10. The 6-8 class is fun but, once again, 8-10 seems to drag. Luckily I won't be working at the school I'm subbing at (the walk is long and uphill). So my classes will end at 9, which makes a huge difference for some reason. 

    Tomorrow night some new teachers and I are going to go out with my friend Genie to a club.
The new teachers are all really nice, although I don't get to see them much, but that will change once I
start work. I miss you all.
Love, Jacy

My bedroom