Today has been a busy and entertaining day.
At 7:55 this morning (along with several other librarians) I was waiting for somebody to arrive with the key to open the library. As we were talking about the hot weather, we heard a meowing noise from above. Looking overhead we spied a cat stuck up the tree. Everyone started calling to the cat trying to tell it how to get back to the tree trunk from where they thought it could climb safely down. It didn’t work. After much effort from all of the Ukrainians, my American thought-process started to sneak in with “well... we could just call the fire department!” I quickly realized that this is not a possible solution in Ukraine. After several minutes where everyone was calling to the cat, the grounds keeper said that he would go find a long stick and poke at it until it came down. I didn’t like this idea, so to the dismay of many librarians, I decided that I would climb the tree and rescue the cat! Apparently girls do not climb trees in Ukraine! Will some help, the cat made it back to safety, and a librarian who was looking for a cat decided to take it home as a new pet! We had a very good ending to an eventful thirty minutes.
After opening the library and a half hour of work from 8:30-9, it was time for the birthday celebration of one of the librarians. Everyone had a shot of wine and some chocolates and candy. Her birthday was yesterday, but there seems to be an unwritten rule that you don’t work on your birthday. After another brief half hour of work, I was invited into a second birthday celebration held during the usual 10 o’clock hour-long tea time. This time there were 2 liter bottles of beer, raw fish, carrot and potato salad, tomatoes, sausage and bread. I had to leave the celebration early to go and run my first English Club of the day. When I got back everyone was washing dishes from the party because it was time to go home for the lunch hour.
In the afternoon, I went and purchased a bus ticket to Seavestopal because I will be visiting some Peace Corps friends this weekend. Seavestopal is a resort town right on the Black Sea! I kept thinking about the upcoming weekend adventure, and I finished the day with lots of laughs at the last English Club of the day. All in all, it was a GREAT day! I am excited to see a new city and some familiar faces this weekend! We are going to hang out on the beach, watch a local team in a soccer match, and of course speak lots of English....
I am also getting excited and planning MY birthday party at the library in a few months. It is customary for the birthday person to bring the food and candy. I have decided that I am going to go all-American for my birthday. My boyfriend Drew is coming to visit for my birthday, and I have persuaded him to haul a jar of peanut butter across the Atlantic for me. PB&J and other all-American food will be served at this PCV's birthday party!
I hope everyone back in America has a great Friday and a warm and Sunny weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment