Where to begin…

I now have an actual apartment.
It's a pretty empty apartment. But I am supposedly getting a wardrobe and an armchair next week. I won't hold my breath.



It's really spring now, with the average temperature somewhere around 10-15 degrees. It's also been raining a lot, as per usual in April. The birds are singing and the roosters are crowing at the crack of dawn (or earlier… usually at 4am).



One really nice thing about the new apartment: consistent water. No, I'm not averse to carrying water from the well down the street, but it's awfully nice to turn on the tap and have water come out. But to spare myself from frequent trips to the well, I've begun filling 5 liter bottles of water as a reserve stock.

The landlord stops by often and brings me things… a plant, rugs (I think they're for the floor, but I've seen rugs on walls and on furniture… I have no furniture, so they're currently on the floor), a huge pillow, and a new faucet for my bathroom. He and I installed the faucet in the bathtub, which would have been entertaining for someone to watch: He spoke German (even though he's Ukrainian and I was speaking Ukrainian… so few foreigners speak Ukrainian that most Ukrainians assume that I don't speak it either. So they speak Russian or German or Polish at me, resulting in a lot of blank looks) and kept pulling things out of the pockets of his sport coat. Really. Like a wrench and plumber's tape and a few o-rings. It was kind of like a magic show… the fascinating part was that the sport coat pockets weren't very big. After one unsuccessful attempt at installation, he packed everything up into the box and shook my hand. Then he left. He came back a half an hour later, with what appeared to be the same box. He assured me that it was a new faucet, but I'm pretty sure that it was the "old" new one (note: I don't think he was trying to pull one over on me. I think the people at the hardware store pulled one over on him).

The same problem persisted after the second installation (a very minor drip from the "hot" faucet into the bathtub), but I told him that it would be no problem, since I turn off the hot water when I'm not using it. He laughed and shook my hand again. Then he packed up all of his things and left.



The entire school asks me what I am eating now that I live alone. They're pretty sure that I'm not actually eating anything, because most men in Ukraine don't cook. For the record, I'm eating a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches and oatmeal. I also eat a lot of fruit. And hard-boiled eggs. I haven't branched out and tried my hand at Ukrainian cuisine yet, mainly because I'm lazy. But I will eventually. I did make pizza when Evan was here. There are advantages to allowing my co-workers to think I can't cook: They bring me food. Just today I had some wonderful varenyky (dumplings stuffed with potatoes and carrots) that were given to me by my coordinator. Ukrainians are pretty good at cooking Ukrainian food, natch.



Since the weather has become nice again, I've started running. I get stared at. A lot. But the forest in my town has some very nice paths that work very well for running on. And for variation, I sometimes run to the nearby village (a very hilly 5k). The other day my 8th form boys invited me to play soccer with them. We went up to a soccer field in the hills, about a mile out of town. It was a lot of fun. I'm no good, but I managed to score a few goals and also play my fair share of defense. They told me they'd invite me again. I'll certainly go, as I told them: it's better than sitting around in my apartment (on a kitchen chair) and not watching the TV that I don't have.



I think that's all the news that's fit to print. Have a happy Easter, if that's your kick.