yo, just keeping this blog alive for Flo. Cause we're back in S'toon. And back from planting. And both working away on computers at opposite ends of the city trying to get lives in order (guessing, but not accepting the impossibility of this feat). Then going again.

Riding through the streets on rickety 10-speed rentals

A Romanian church...Eric repentant

oh yeah...you know, weird architecture

Dazed and confused

A printed fence outside an art school. These babushkas haven't changed in years.

Happy Eric on the Sea

Mosque in Constanta

central city in Constanta

Spot the beached whale

Beachcombing in front of the old communist playhouse

Well well well, writing this last entry minutes before jumping into the 1987 chevy van and heading northwest to...you'll never guess...Slave Lake Alberta. We've returned and are on the road once more, albeit a much more familiar road. Gone are the stilettos, zebra-apholstered Ladas, babushkas selling bruised apples on street corners and the constant street hustle of Ukraine. But before we sit and reminisce, there's one little voyage we want to share...Romania!!!

Realizing we had mere days left in the east, we hopped on a train that chugged oh-so-slowly southward to Bucharest. We stepped out of the train station and were welcomed by 40 degree heat, latin culture, old Europe city mixed with Ceaucescu opulence (and by opulence I mean gargantuous unfinished Romanesque palaces). Very very different from the slavic land only a few hundred km's away. Anyways, we blitzed through the city on a pair of bikes, weaving through the traffick-clogged streets and somehow fitting in a few luxury coffees and PASTAS! (Hey...we've had borscht and potatoes and instant coffee for 4 months straight...throw us a bone man!)

So much to say about Constanta, the old Greek city sitting on a peninsula that juts into the Black Sea. Massive port on one side, endless beach on the other, and streets that are "littered" with ancient Greek, Roman and Ottoman remains. (Mary signing off to shower - clean Eric signing in)

Well. More importantly, is that I got the chance to speak with some old relatives by the sea. That was incredible. We drank homemade wine and I heard all about the south east edge of europe in the 20th century. This trip was definitely worth it.

Now its off to northern alberta. The goal this season is to plant enough trees to pay for tuition for school next year. We shall see.

Anyways, my conclusions are to go to Ukraine if you get the chance. The story here is completely unwritten and i guarantee much food for thought. Central Europe is moving away and south europe is heading in the same direction but nobody knows where Ukraine will go. Not to mention that the people here will treat you very very well.

Hopefully see some of you soon.

Love Mary and Eric

Lviv!

Some quick pictures of our day-trip to Lviv. I would have loved to give some backgrounder to this city. What site for WW2 history buffs! (not mention for students of nationalism). Alas, I'm too excited for the upcoming trip to Romania and just can't settle down to write. So here are some picks

Mary, Eric, and Masha at the top of Lviv Hill. Here Ukrainian UPA independence soldiers tried to fend off both the Nazis and the incoming Soviets. (!!!)

Never forget to stretch

Mary weird neck

Revered Poet Ivan Franko

Some cool cats

Nature day!

Here are some pictures from a bike and hike trip our last day off. It was a lovely jaunt through the beech tree forest to top of one of the nearest foothills.

A snake!

Beautiful Bug crosses our path

This bug is so cool, it warrants two pictures

This region has gotten so much rain that the beech forests are oozing with snails

We are almost at the top!

a perfectly placed one-man swing

Mary at the top! (The top turned out to be a cut-block! Strange how comforting it was. I can attest that that piece was definitely cream.)

Back down the hill, on our bikes, and almost home!

Ruslana and Eric

Thank god Ruslana's a great listener!

it was SO quiet in there...really great

ahhhh, Carpathians!

Neighbours

Eric cursing his crappy shoes

Ruslana's home

This one's for the Moms in our lives: fresh, wild oregano...hmmmmm

So thats a wee window into life deep in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Pretty fabulous! We walked and walked through forests, fields, past old abandoned houses and away from ceaslessly barking dogs. Its an amazing place! Ruslana, our new-found friend from the local corner store, invited us into her home for a few days. She's an amazing girl, so patient with our crappy language, and SO welcoming! We love her! Its true!

Hugs and kisses to you all.

Do not despair!!

Dearest Readers,

Terribly sorry for the spotty blogging. Eric and I are overwhelmed with everything you can do on the internet, and amidst all this activity, www.epik-and-mepi has sadly been overlooked. But not for long!!! That's right, be patient, and soon you'll hear, and see, ALL about our adventures through the Carpathians, into the western city of Lviv, and much much more!

One more month left here, and life's pretty busy with ceaseless job applications (cursed personal statements will soon be the death of me!), and for Eric, emailing all his academic heroes in the study of nationalism, and whipping his class of vixens into shape for the looming final exam. And what a sorry shape they're in (tee hee)!

Until soon!!
E + M

here is an opinion-piece I wrote recently on the current political crisis in Ukraine (as of right now parliament has been officially shut down, although the leading opposition party refuses to accept the president's decision. There are demonstrations in Kyiv, nothing is getting done and the Ukrainian currency keeps dropping.) I'm not sure if it infringes copywright, but the following may be interesting for readers of this blog.

Ukraine’s Identity Crisis

Ukraine is fast approaching a full-blown identity crisis. Since the ‘Orange Revolution’ of 2004, the divide between the predominantly Ukrainian-speaking, European-oriented Ukrainians in the western part of the country and the predominantly Russian-speaking, Russian-oriented Ukrainians in the eastern part of the country has widened greatly. The difference between then and now is that Eastern Ukrainians have found their voice. As Ukrainians rush towards Independence Square in Kyiv, don’t expect to only see the orange flags of the western-based ‘Orange Coalition’. This time, the blue flags of the eastern-based ‘Region’s Party’ and even the red flags of the Communist Party will be displayed just as proudly.

The stand-off in Ukrainian politics is often cast as a battle of ‘civilisations’ between Western countries and Russia. In this analysis, both ‘civilisations’ compete to ensure that Ukraine remains one of their own. Although this is at least partly true, such a focus on geo-politics obscures the divisions that exist within Ukraine itself. The ongoing political crisis is more than simply a question of Ukrainian foreign policy: it is a debate over how Ukrainians will choose to define their young nation.

Since Ukraine declared its independence 15 years ago, Ukrainians remain incredibly divided over their national identity. Ukrainians argue over whether to recognize their past achievements as Soviets or whether to recognize those who fought for independence; whether they are European or Slavic; and whether Ukraine is a Ukrainian-speaking country, a Russian-speaking country, or both. For example, visitors to the Western part of Ukraine will find that monuments to the Soviet era have all been replaced with rediscovered Ukrainian heroes, but if they make their way to the eastern City of Kharkiv, they will likely be surprised to find a 20 metre monument to Lenin still standing in the largest square in Europe.

More than anything else, language will be what surprises visitors the most. The Ukrainian constitution stolidly declares the Ukrainian language to be the only official language of Ukraine, yet this hardly reflects reality. Although the Ukrainian language is meant to be used in government, visitors to Kyiv will be surprised to hear the Russian language spoken in the streets, shops, bedrooms, and boardrooms. Indeed, with the notable exception of Lviv, the Russian language is common in most large cities in Ukraine, no matter Western or Eastern. Meanwhile, amongst Ukrainians who do speak Ukrainian, divisions exist as to what is the ‘true’ Ukrainian language.

None of this is being written to belittle Ukrainians or to expose their flaws. Rather, it is to serve notice to readers in the West that the political crisis in Ukraine, which has continued to grow since the ‘Orange Revolution’, cannot be attributed to meddling by Russia alone. Lenin stands tall in the City of Kharkiv because Ukrainians living there are not yet willing to take him down. Readers should understand that the current political crisis is not simply a case of the ‘Orange Coalition’ boldly trying to triumph over undue Russian influence. It is better to understand this crisis as a battle that is taking place primarily amongst Ukrainians themselves. The pertinent question for Ukrainians now is whether they will be able to find some way of accommodating their great diversity. If they cannot, it is difficult to see how they will avoid continuing to lurch from one crisis to the next.

Kicking into high-gear

The meat market

Chernivtsi air sends us all adrift in thought

Theatre Square

Easter has come and gone, and we're left with the satisfying feeling of a full stomach and time well spent with our Chernivtsian family. We've made a sort of resolution to kick into high-gear for these last months and really blitz through the things we set out to do. Eric is juggling a million applications, websites, reports and lecturing, and I'm running all over the city tracking down elusive organizations. As we speak, his PhD proposal is somewhere in the bowels of some British airport, waiting for customs to "process" it...whatever that might mean. And I'm spreading my tentacles on the initial stages of job hunting for next year in London. Phew, you can't always escape the fast pace of modernity, can you? (a kind of contrast from the pictures, I suppose, but there you go...thats the beauty of it all I guess)

New bikes, Easter, and room

Home sweet home: note the permanent fixture of pickles on our table

Our easter basket!

Old Soviet dinosaurs, spring and the city on the hill

Bike King

Mary ready to ride!

This one is for our parents

Just a little mix of life these days. Slowly but surely, we're morphing into Ukrainian ways...dyeing the hair red, hanging out in parks far longer than necessary, going to the plazas instead of for long walks and hopping on and off those trolley-busses like nobody's business! Thats right, we can squish by any sturdy old babushka, under the arm of the smelliest man, and around the delicate stance of the tallest vixen. The pumping dance music outside the local grocery store is now an excuse to lean against the wall for five minutes, rather than getting worked into a frenzy by the crowds of youth. We cruise through the bazaar making all the vendors giggle at our broken ukrainian, but they know precisely what we want (i.e. the makings for extreme-muesli...that's right Matth - muesli by the kilo, full of all sorts of delectable treats).

But there's failure too...I (Mary) tried desperately hard to track down a skills building center for women that had been trafficked abroad, but was led in circles through the block neighbourhoods, knocking on all the rickety doors and asking all the wrong questions. Unfortunetely, its common practice to a) not label street addresses, and b) hang up the phone when you can't understand the person on the other line. Makes for a tough time. Well, there's always tomorrow!

Happy Easter everybody!

It was busy week of political crisis, writing, new bikes, realizing we were actually starting to speak the language, and celebration! Today, I'm having some alone time, thinking about stuff.

Almost everyone in Chernivtsi is Orthodox and, in the Orthodox world, Easter rivals Christmas. Food, food, and more food!

On Sunday morning (6:00am!), Vitaliy and Inessa picked us up and we went to the church together. At the church, the parishioners gathered with their baskets filled with Easter bounty (eggs, sausage, bread, fruit, water, onions, tomatoes, radishes, butter and cheese). They formed a semi-circle around the entrance to the Church and lit candles. As the sun rose, the priest and his young cohort came out of the Church and sang hymns. When they were finished, they walked around splashing water on the parishioners and the food, blessing everything.
Afterwards, Vitaliy and Inessa invited us to their home for the feast! (At around this time, my mom phoned to wish us a happy easter! Thanks mom!)

Mary and I headed home dazed and content. Luckily, it was incredibly sunny, so we headed to our spot on the hill to digest and sleep.

Later, we headed out to the Kozachuks on our new bikes for our Sunday meal. There we feasted, then crowded on to the sofa to watch a really long movie. Aahhh. The only that could have made Sunday better was a call to my sister, brother and grandparents. To bad no internet and no Skype. Oh well, there is allllllways tomorrow.

Both Mary and I send our very best.

Love, Eric

On the way to the Kozachuks

Steady!

"9B" - We've arrived!

Every Sunday, we pack our bags and make the treck out to the Sleeping-District, where the Kozachuk family lives. There we spend time eating home-cooked delights with these wonderful folk. Here is what we see on our way there (in reverse order):