Today was my first day in Chernivtsi. It was also my first day at work with Americana. Overall, it was a good day. I woke up around 7:00 and I was really refreshed. I think I caught up on my sleep schedule, no more jet lag for me. It might help that I fell asleep around 12:00 yesterday, so 19 hours of sleep is always welcomed. I was exhausted from the last three days.
I woke up at 7, and even though I was excited for classes, I was slow to get up (like I usually am). I eventually rolled out of bed around 730 and got a bite to eat. I has some fig newton type cookies that were filled with pear and caramel. It was pretty good but I wanted to get some local food. Unfortunately, everything that I found online opened at 9am. I read some of the book that I bought in the airport and I practiced a little Russian. My first class was at 10:30, so I decided to go for a walk and get some coffee and food.
I live on a pedestrian only street which is awesome. There are all kinds of shops and restaurants. In the afternoon, there are people out and about and enjoying themselves. But not in the morning. I couldn't find a place to buy coffee and a pastry. I decided to walk around until I found a shop. I walked maybe 15 minutes, strolling down the road and around the corner, until I came upon a nice little park. I didn’t bring my phone on this trip so I don’t have any pictures. But imagine a nice little park in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Did you picture it? Good. Well I went over to the supermarket at the corner of the park and I noticed there were two shops on the outside of the market. One shop that sold coffee and one that sold bread.
I went to the one that sold coffee and there was a young man working there probably about 20 years old. I said hello and asked if he spoke English. He did not. No problem. I used what Russian and Ukrainian I know to order a latte. I got my latte, said thank you, and then started walking home.
I walked by the lady selling bread and I saw a loaf that looked like there was a banana on the label. That sounds so great to have along with my coffee, plus it was only 15 hryvnia, so I bought it. I retrace my steps back to the apartment and head upstairs for second breakfast. I'm about to eat the bread and it turns out that it isn’t banana bread at all. It's actually rye bread. So, not even close. But no worries, rye bread is nice too. I decide to drink my coffee and then head to the super market next to me and get something to eat with the bread.
Its always fun to look around grocery stores in different countries. The popular foods are sometimes very different and there are always weird flavors of potato chips, but really they are all very similar. Its fun to try different things, especially trying new drinks. This time I went with the classic salami and swiss cheese combo and got some salmon and dill flavored cream cheese.
I also got some pelmeni to make at the apartment, but to go with that of course that I need some butter to fry it up and then some sour cream. The only problem is there is so many options of butter and all of the words are in Ukrainian. Which if you are just tuning in, I don't know how to read Ukrainian. So I ask politely ask the woman next to me if she spoke any English and she said no. No problem. I have been training for this moment my whole Russian restaurant career. I switched it up and asked in Russian where is the butter and she actually understood (Ukrainian is the first language of Ukraine, but a lot of people know Russian as well.) She helped me pick some out and I felt really cool.
I was feeling super good after that morning, although it could have just been the coffee. In 2 out of my 3 interactions I used my foreign language skills to purchase the items I needed. In the other interaction I bought banana bread that didn’t have any bananas in it, but hey, I’m still learning.
Back at the apartment, I made some sandwiches and then I got ready for my first class at 10:30. I had three classes in a row and each class runs about 30 minutes. It turns out the job is really fun. I basically just talk with Ukrainians that are learning English. Sometimes we play games and sometimes they ask me questions. There is a quarantine in place here in Ukraine, so all of the classes are currently online. When I login to the language learning session on zoom, I join a group with one teacher and an average of about 4-5 students in each class. By the time I join the zoom call, the teacher has already taught a lesson to the students that day. Then I join the call and the students can practice their language with a native speaker. Its super fun.
After the calls, I had a few hour break until I worked again. I decided to do some video editing. I got some sweet drone footage of a church in Kiev. I did some video editing for a while until my computer started to overheat. Around the time I turned my computer off, I got a text from Alona (current director of Americana) and asked if I could come in to the office.
I went to the Americana office which is a 2 minute walk from the apartment. I met two of the other employees there and we all talked. I got my paycheck for the week. It was 1500 hryvnia, which is about $54! I’m rich! That money will actually go far here in Ukraine. For example, the “banana” bread was only 15 hryvnia.
After we were at the office, Alona and I went across the street and got some food. We got potato pancakes, called deruny, which were absolutely fantastic. I had a side of sour cream and a glass of lemonade. It was a great meal. It was fun to talk with Alona and get to know her better.
We finished up lunch and then I went home. Then I got back on the computer and had eight more classes. In one of the groups, there was a student who said she knows the guy that I rode on the train with. It’s a small world.
Now I am all done with classes, I’m going to relax a little bit and then go to bed.
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