Which Jane Austen heroine do you think you are? My mom had this quiz linked form her blog, so some of my family members have been having fun with it. My mom, sister in law, and I all took the quiz and came up with Elizabeth Bennet. However, when our husbands took the quiz for us, we all came up as Elinor Dashwood!
Click here to take the quiz for yourself!
Since the new year, every time I pass this bank (which is on the edge of the market nearer to us, so basically everytime I go outside), there is a large, angry mob outside! One day it was 2 or 3 times as big as you see in the picture, and I did hear yelling and murmuring. I thought, if anything looked like a run on the bank, this did! I kept seeing it several times and mentioned it to Darryl, who also noticed.
He asked someone at work about that particular bank, and got an explanation. During the Soviet era, everyone had a certain amount of money in a bank account for pension. Now, Russia has released that money for Ukrainians, but the bank is exchanging it 1 for 1 roubles and grivna. In the past few years the Ukrainian Grivna has gone way up compared to the rouble, so people are getting significantly less money. I’m not quite sure who decided this exchange, if it was one of the governments or the bank.
On Saturday morning I went out and as I passed that bank, I heard someone calling my name! It was our neighbor, and she explained the same thing Darryl heard. She was there waiting to get whatever money she could. Apparently only one person is allowed to go inside to get this money at a time – hence the big crowd outside.
I often call my girls Miss Kathryn and Miss Amelia (or Little Miss for Amelia). Recently I started calling them missies. I say, “come on missies” if we are going somewhere, etc. Kathryn loves to play in her room (she calls it her store) and the other day she went in there and then said, “come on missies” to Amelia and me!
Here are some pictures, because I want to make sure I am following the “family rules” of average one picture per blog.
Kathryn likes to be inside things, as you can see. The middle picture is under her bed, and the last one is our cupboard for toys. I don’t know if you can that she is smiling, but looking at her book and not the camera.
I am officially declaring myself a Winter Wimp. For a few weeks I’ve been asking Darryl when winter will be over. It seems like it has been cold forever, so spring must be on its way. But he claims winter has just begun! How can I bear it? I say it is so cold, but Darryl says it is just a little cool. Of course being raised in California and being raised in Canada make the definition of “winter” very different. I used to think knit hats (touques), scarves, and such were just for fun when you went out caroling.
Earlier this week Darryl showed me that it was actually colder in Seattle one day than it was here. And I recognize that our family and friends in Iowa, Boston, and Cold Lake have had colder weather than we have. I know Utah has had much more snow, too. One week was very cold for us, even Darryl said so (back in December).
I think part of my wimpiness is that I worry about Kathryn and Amelia being cold – especially Amelia. I mentioned to Darryl that I thought Amelia gets cold outside but since winter must be almost over, I’d wait until next year to get her something new. Since winter is apparently not almost over, however, I bought her a new hat that covers her whole head and neck, and is also very cute. I am okay if we are walking somewhere, but if we go to the park and I stand there while Kathryn swings, I get way too cold. Since the only place to go outside is outside (no driving to the library, or the mall), its not very appealing to me.
Bundling everyone up in order to go outside is a big deterrent for me. I’m trying to figure out the best method – quickest and with the least crying/fighting. If I get Amelia completely bundled up and put her in the stroller, she is sweating and crying by the time Kathryn and I are ready. I know, that’s just part of the deal. At least I don’t have to get anyone in a carseat.
To keep from being a total winter wimp, I think that if it were just me, I’d be okay. I lived in Provo where it is very cold and walked to school everyday. (I even walked to the Smith Fieldhouse at 5:30am to jog.) I lived in Romania and walked all day outside in the cold. I lived in China where the heat didn’t get turned on until November 15, and it was FREEZING cold. (Some nice ladies helped me buy thermals.) I guess I should be wearing my thermals now, but it is so hot in our apartment I’d have to totally change to leave and change again coming back.
“I want to be kind to everyone, For that is right, you see. So I say to myself, ‘Remember this: Kindness begins with me.’”
I don’t really know this Primary song, but I recognize the phrase, “Kindness begins with me.”
During the past almost 5 months that I have been here, I’ve really noticed how much someone’s kindness means to me. Usually this is when I am shopping. When a vendor takes time to try and understand me, try to help me choose the right thing, smiles at me, and thanks me for coming (this is not an automatic, insincere thanks like back home), I appreciate it much more than they realize.
I bought Darryl a hat for Christmas – he pointed them out once and said he had one on his mission like that. So one day (while the girls were being babysat) I went to that place and pointed to a hat. The girl was very patient with me! I tried to communicate that it was for my husband (moi muzh). She asked what size his head was (all this communication is what I assume since I’m not sure exactly what she said!). I said big! Sorry, Darryl, I had no idea about head size and I just knew it was bigger than mine.
Then she was trying to ask what kind of coat he had – if he had a leather coat then I should get a leather hat. So I shook my head at the leather ones and pointed to the kind I wanted. The size thing was a real issue. She asked (I think) if it was the same size as her colleague, and I looked at his head and tried to imagine the size of Darryl’s head. I had no idea buying a hat was so complicated! She was gone for a few minutes and brought back a hat that was huge. I know Darryl has a little bit of a big head, but definitely not that huge! So I said, smaller. She went back to look and after a couple more minutes came back with a couple hats. She had the colleague try them on and he showed me if they were too big or too small for him. I chose a size that I thought would work. I was very grateful for her patience and assistance.
This is one example of similar things that have happened to me on occasion. Other times if the vendor seems impatient, I just say “spaceba” and leave. It is hard enough to get what I need, and someone that can’t take a little extra time with me makes it near impossible.
I’ve always thought that “kindness” is more than just being nice. Its something that you don’t think about and plan, you just are. I hope I can develop more kindness, too.
P.S. – the hat was a little small, but better than being to big and thinking his head was bigger than it is.
Darryl finally got a calling yesterday! He is the branch mission leader, which is very exciting. The missionaries were also excited, as our branch hasn’t had this calling filled for several months.
For anyone that knows about Darryl’s friend Chris Skidmore that has “followed” Darryl around, perhaps things are starting to turn around. Chris Skidmore is the ward mission leader in our old ward, so Darryl followed him to this calling.
Here I am on the train traveling from Nikolaev (southern
One day, I was having this very conversation with Alexander from worked. He probed a little deeper and asked if I knew what city the Melanchuks lived. I remember I had a copy of my great grandfather’s death certificate (Wes Melanchuk), and had seen the city of birth as Bucavina. Well, in an excited flurry of talking, he explained how Bucavina was not a city, but a large area that was once owned by
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the food we had growing up and just assumed it was all Romanian. I’ve begun to discover this may not be the case. If you were to ask any of the Melanchuks to define the top 3 “Melanchuk” foods, they would answer perogies, cabbage rolls and mamaliga. Well, Amanda lived in
Finally, the last of the 3 Melanchuk dishes and perhaps the quintessential food at all our holiday meals are cabbage rolls (rice and pork wrapped in sour cabbage leaves). At our first Romanian dinner in
Well, today as I was having lunch at a cafeteria in southern
So, as we’re here in Kyiv, the bits and pieces of the Melanchuk family seem to be slowly unfolding. I know this may seem like such a trivial thing, but for me it’s quite a significant event. Something as simple as food has gone from being a tradition isolated in our relatively small Melanchuk family, to the culmination of perhaps generations of family history events that led to an area where the cultures of both Romanian and Ukrainian families were able to merge. Instead of just something Grandma and Grandpa prepared each holiday, the 3 Melanchuk foods have become a story that began generations ago and is truly a unique part of the Melanchuk history. Speaking with others here in
I love learning more about my family and right now it’s especially exciting because Chernivtsy and the old Bucavina area is a relatively short drive to southern Ukraine from Kyiv!
Darryl is a great cook and at first I was intimidated to be cooking for him once I started staying at home with Kathryn. The other day he came home for dinner and said how excited he is to come home every night to see what we’re having for dinner! Talk about making my day (or month, even my birthday month, which is when it happened). I’ve gained a lot of confidence and had a lot of fun, although it still makes me nervous to cook for other people. I also love that Darryl loves to cook. He often cooks on the weekends, and is never afraid to try new and difficult recipes, or to make up a recipe for something.
This is my second new favorite book. I brought this cook book along, recalling the advice of Aunt Kathy and Darryl’s mission president, Sister Schwartz, to bring recipes. (I also brought copies of some other favorite recipes.) I have used it more than ever, and am very grateful that it has basic recipes. Not basic as in easy, but basic as in from scratch. I never thought of making barbecue sauce on my own before, or taco or fajita seasoning without a mix. I am glad to have the chance to learn how to do a few more things. When we first arrived we had a lot of biscuits – since we didn’t have many ingredients. But I discovered its a good meal if I make a sauce to go on top. I made my first carrot cake which was delicious (before that I was a little wary of a cake that had carrots – the secret is to grate them very finely so you don’t really find them in the cake).
Anyway, a couple stories I want to remember about cooking. We recently had the missionaries over for dinner and tried to make clam chowder. We haven’t found bacon here, but Darryl got some pig fat (or something). Well, the soup tasted gross – like pig fat. So it went down the toilet and we quickly made taco soup for the Elders. A week later we were making Thai chicken wraps (but in a bowl) only to discover we had no rice. It worked okay with pasta – the story is that Darryl also decided to make a terriyaki sauce. So he did. I love that about him. Another thing I would not have thought someone could make on their own. And it was a VERY tasty sauce.
On January 14th, 1998 I entered the Missionary Training Center on my way to serve a mission in the Bucharest, Romania mission. Hard to believe its been ten years, and hard to imagine my life without this defining experience.
My MTC district was somewhat unique in that we were all going to the same mission. Because of that, I served with some of them during my mission, and we have all tried to stay in contact. A few years ago we were all living in Utah and we would get together to celebrate our MTC anniversary.
Being back in this part of the world reminds me a lot of being a missionary. However, I’ve also realized that there is nothing like a full time mission. Being a full time missionary is so special. I am very grateful that I had that opportunity, I remember as a little girl wanting to be a missionary in Russia. (I’m still trying to make it to Russia…)
I just thought it would be good to remember a couple of things for the future…
Kathryn likes to help me clean the toilet, which I had her start doing when she started sitting on the “big girl potty”. Well, the other day she got so upset when I tried to help her clean it. She said “No, you don’t clean the potty, I clean the potty.” I can’t wait to recall that one in a few years when she doesn’t want to do chores.
Kathryn also loves to wash dishes. She keeps asking for more dishes as I try to come up with things for her to “wash”. Sometimes she just asks, “Can I please wash some dishes?”
I am sure this is an issue for any mother, wife, woman, or head of household. I am not saying it is harder for me, but I went to the grocery store today and wanted to write some of my experiences/observations. First of all a big thank you to Katya who babysits Kathryn and Amelia once a week while I shop. In fact, I am already thinking that when we return to Seattle I will have to work something out with a friend that we exchange babysitting while grocery shopping.
If you will need a bag for your groceries you either have to buy one (or as many as you need) at the store, or bring your own. I think this is such a great idea. The bags are inexpensive, 45 kopeks (Ukrainian cents). 5 Grivna (Ukrainian “dollars”) is about 1 US dollar. At first I would always forget and feel kind of silly buying a new bag every time when everyone else was bringing an old bag. But now I am used to taking bags, and I also take a backpack sometimes. Yes, I feel nerdy with the backpack like back in college. But the other option is shopping more frequently and with two kids, which I don’t want to do. Now when I go to check out and they ask if I need a bag (at least that’s what I assume they are asking), I say “nyet”.
Another thing is that the cashiers all sit down. I think this is also fabulous. Why make them stand all day? It was a bit strange at first, because they are lower. But it makes sense for them.
People just shop differently, though, because I rarely see anyone using a cart. They just pick up a couple things in a basket. So they must be shopping more frequently. Today I needed to get a lot of things so I wanted a cart for sure (although I didn’t get nearly as much as I would have if I’d had a car). I couldn’t find one (a cart, in case you forgot). I waited several minutes for someone who was using a cart to check out so I could use their cart. Lots of people were checking out, they just weren’t using carts. The front and back wheels of the carts can move in any direction, so you can go sideways with the cart. Its hard for me to control, to be honest, but Darryl thinks it is cool. I usually feel a little weird because I am purchasing so many more things than anyone else.
I discovered ground beef, I think. But it is behind the counter where you have to ask for it, and I am either not in the mood to try and communicate, or there is a long line. I’m not sure I would want to buy it anyway.
About a third of the entire grocery store is devoted to beverages, and most of that is for alcoholic beverages (I think). But since the drinking water isn’t so great here, beverages are important. Three cheers for our water filter.
I sometimes get frustrated with the narrow aisles, and the (somewhat) grumpy cashiers or other shoppers. I am always scrambling to get my food into my bags as the cashier is already scanning the next person’s food. I recall with fondness the nice baggers at Safeway who helped me, and not being rushed as I paid for my food.
…is the Family Home Evening Resource Book! We had this at my house growing up, and I remember giving lessons from it. I finally bought one for our Melanchuk family about a year ago. We didn’t use it much since Kathryn seemed so young, but for some reason I packed it along to Kyiv. Several weeks ago I decided we needed a little more structure for Family Home Evening
So I made a chart with Music, Lesson, Activity, and Treat – one thing for each person in our family - started exploring the Family Home Evening Resource Book, and the love affair began. It has 26 lessons, plus lessons for special occasions (such as Christmas). Each lesson also has a few other lesson ideas so there are many more than 26 lessons. Each lesson also has ideas of how to adapt for young children or for teenagers.
Then there are sections on how to make Family Home Evenings successful, more ideas for lessons (37 to be exact), ideas and examples for building a strong family, and family activites. There are all sorts of activities to do as a family for different age groups. It talks about how to deal with and teach different ages of children. Its practically a parenting manual!!! I have literally spent hours reading it, and plan to spend more hours as the years go by.
The best part is that Kathryn has really gotten into Family Home Evening and also the “lesson book” as she calls it. She is so excited to participate each Monday night, and looks through the “lesson book” each week (even if its not her turn on lesson). She likes to look at the chart and say “remember this?”
There are almost always visitors at church. Some people have come to Ukraine to adopt children (3 or 4 that I know of). Some are visiting their friends or family in our branch. Some are traveling through Ukraine for business or pleasure. We recently discovered the blog of someone that visited Kyiv. It has been so interesting to read, I am sharing the link here. He was able to visit a lot of sites, and is very insightful in his writing. I would recommend reading from his first post, instead of the first one you see at the top.
