Ukrainian Easter Eggs

Ukraine is known for making traditional Easter Eggs, called pisanky. Back at home, a family friend John makes traditional eggs and has a really large collection of them. The tradition of making pisanky somewhat died out during communism but has been making a comeback. Today, there was even a bunch of eggs on display that students made in the school's entry hall. 

I had the opportunity to make some pisanky during training. I only made a couple of them, but I really enjoyed it. And I think I might have a knack for making them too. 

The process of making pisanky is quite long. First you must poke a hole at the bottom of the egg to drain it. After letting it sit for a day or two, you can then decorate it. The first step in the decorating process is drawing designs on the egg with a tool that is shaped like a pen, but it has a needle on the end rather than a pen tip. You must drag the well that is on top of the pen across a a bunch of wax to fill the well. Next you melt the wax,by holding the pen-like tool over a candle. Then you use the tool with the melted wax to draw on the egg with.

This is a picture of me drawing on the egg with the pen-like tool. To th left is my friend Monica.

This is what an egg looks like with the wax drawn on it.  

After you finishing drawing your design, you then place the egg in dye(s).

This is the first egg I made.

 

And this is the second, it was a lot better than the first and I gave it to my host family.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Project!!!

As a volunteer I am required to do outside projects, besides teaching. Although they can be teaching related, most volunteers choose to do other things.  Last week I completed my first project, which was helping to organize a spring clean-up at my school and nearby grounds.

I will be frank and tell you that there is a lot of trash on the ground in Ukraine. After the Soviet Union collapsed, there were not a lot of people around to pick up garbage and not a whole lot of garbage cans arround either. Needless to say there are a lot of environmental problems here, but I hope to tackle a few of them during my time here.

I got some help for a International NGO called Let's Do It, which gave my school gloves and bags. The purpose of Let's Do It is to get people, especialy youth involved in cleaning up and taking care of their environement.

Before we began the clean-up I decided that I should teach my students what they should and should not throw on the ground. 

One of my second form students deciding where to throw her bottle. She guessed right.   

Students running to pick-up garbage.

A group of students, my counterpart Sveta and I posing next to a poster for the Lets Do It ad campaign.

 The clean-up went well and we even managed to hold off some stormy skies. Spring clean-ups are common here as we are getting ready for Easter this Sunday and Monday.  Hopefully I will do some more environmental related activities with my students in the future. My goal is to create a recycling program at my school, which is very progressive for this part of Ukraine. As an incentive for my students, I made M&M cookies for them. They were a hit and hopefully the memory of them will encourage my students and fellow teachers to not litter.

My M&M cookies. I now know why my mom does not bake cookies, but my students and fellow teachers really enjoyed them.

Something Fractured

One day while on the way to the grocery store  I saw this pile of broken glass and cigarette buts. While I intially just walked by it, I hesistated because there was something intriguing about it, beautiful, perhaps even inspiring, or slightly mystical. Just thought I would share.

At the bazar

Here in Ukraine lots of things are done differently than they are at home and this includes grocery shopping. At home the "buy local" movement is big, but in Ukraine we are way ahead of you, or maybe behind you. It depends on how you look at it...

Condiments for sale at the bazar, including MAYONAISE!

Most people who live in villages like me have huge gardens and orchards where they get nearly all of their produce to last the entire year. This includes lots of potatoes, cabbage, onions, and carrots. In Konstantinovka, we are known for cherries (which will soon be appearing) and I am told that there are lots of apricots, peaches, and plums to be enjoyed as well.

Produce section at the bazar

Housewares for sale at the bazar. The woman is holding my new garbage can

If people have a surplus of fruits or vegetables, they will usually sell it at the bazar it town. At the bazar you can buy anything from produce to meat to clothing. And going there is always a social event, you never know who you will see or what you will find.

Since I have changed residences here, I now have to cook for myself. And so far its not that bad. Last week I made French Onion Soup, and it actually turned out pretty good. This week I hope to tackle Chicken Enchiladas.

French Onion Soup and Facebook

Sveta

However, my village and my coworkers think I really cannot really cook, I overheard them one day saying so. Truthfully, I am not really sure I can cook either, especially after all of those years of Lean Cuisines and Red Barron frozen pizzas, but as I say "you do what you have to do, when you have to do it."  But in any case, Sveta, my wonderful counterpart, has decided to take me under her wing and teach me how to cook Ukrainian dishes.

The meat counter at the bazar

In order to prepare for our cooking day we went to the bazar and bought fruit, vegetables, this amazing apple vinegar that I am now obsessed with, rice, sugar, spices that were custom mixed for which dishes we were making, a really fresh piece of beef (complete with some skin still on), and fish (which is always eaten with its skin on here).

Plof

After our shopping trip we came back to my house and made plof, which is a Central Asian dish that consists of meat (we used beef), rice, shredded carrots and spices. It turned out pretty well and I ate it the entire week.   We also made fish soup which was pretty good, but I still cant muster up eating fish with its skin on. In due time perhaps. And lastly we made a cabbage salad, which consisted of shredded cabbage, green onions, carrots, and with a dressing of my new fav apple vinegar and black pepper. And of course it did not include MAYONNAISE-most of you know I would rather eat nothing, than eat anything with mayonnaise in it.

In Ukraine there is not only a local food movement, but an age old natural food movement going as well. Nearly all food is labeled with "без гмо" which means it does not have any gmos in it. Most Ukrainians are very skeptical of gmos and believe that they are very, very harmful to your body. Additionally many believe that food from supermarkets and restaurants is also very unhealthy and that homegrown and homemade is always the best way to go.
Initially I was doubtful of their views on restaurants, supermarkets, and food in general-I mean I have to have my guacamole when I eat my quesadillas. But as time goes on and the more I think about it, the more I realize that perhaps their views might be the right ones, eating what is homemeade instead of storebought is better for you. As is eating what is fresh and natural, rather than chock-full of preservatives and gmos.

Part of my job as a Peace Corps Volunteer is to take the country I serve back to the U.S. Perhaps Ukrainian views on food are what I will bring back home in some way. However, exceptions for guacamole must always be made.