We learn as we go...

Tomorrow is February 9th, 2009, which means that I have been in Kiev, Ukraine, for one month. I can't believe it! Maybe one week, that's more believable. If tomorrow was my one week anniversary, it wouldn't feel so weird. But one month it is, and I'm still as excited as ever to be here! There are so many things that I have to come realize how easy it is to take them for granted at home. Now, I don't want this to come across as complaining, because I'm not. I just want to take some of you along on my journey of learning so maybe next time you're in a situation that you don't have to think twice about, you can appreciate something simple that you usually take for granted too. For instance, going through a checkout line to pay for some groceries. At home, this is actually mundane and nothing to look forward to, and definitely nothing to get stressed out over . Here, there is a new adventure or mistake if you will, every time I go to the store. First of all, you have to pay for a plastic bag here if you want one. So you can usually count on the first question being "do you want a bag?" In Russian or Ukrainian of course. So you can imagine the first time, expecting this to be a smooth process, like at home: they scan the products, bag them (for free), tell you the price, you pay, and you part with no problems and there are birds chirping sweet melodies and everyone is smiling. The lady starts to scan away while I dig in my purse for my wallet, and then to my dismay,  there's a question. Unprepared for conversation, I look up at here like a deer in the headlights. She repeats it again. ( I really should be embarrassed by this whole situation, because 1. I have been to Russia where this bag purchasing practice also occurred, and 2. I have a degree in Russian. I hope though that I might have the sympathies of some who have studied Russian and now how different it is from a grocery store employee to a text book.) Mary Ann, my roommate kindly says, do you want a bag? Simple. Da, pozhalusta. Yes, please. So I make a mental note, next time, the question is simply, "do you want a bag"? So life goes on, and about a week later, our food supply has plummeted, and we need to make another trip to the store. After collecting my goods, I approach the check out counter with confidence. "Do you want a bag?" Da, pozhalusta. So far, everything is good. She's scanning the products, I'm putting them in my newly paid for bag, she says the price, I can almost hear the birds chirping as I hand her two 100 gryvna bills. But wait, like a record player screeching to a stop the birds choke. She looks at me and hands back one of the bills shaking her head and saying something. Again, I wasn't prepared! I take the bill back and desperately look at Mary Ann, dumb. She says do you have a smaller bill?I finger through my wallet, knowing I didn't but hoping that some how a smaller bill was forgotten or magically appeared.  But no. I  feel the pressure from the impatient stares of the people in line behind me burning tiny paired holes through my body. So feeling guilty that I was making the cranky check out lady break change, I said nyet, no, and hand her back the 100 bill. Thankfully willing, the lady hands me my change. So again I add a mental note to my checklist, 1. Question is: "do you want a bag"? 2. Pay with smaller bills. You'll be excited to know, the next trip to the store was flawless. We were cooking dinner for the whole team one night. We were going to make baked potatoes with several different toppings. We bought everything from our favorite store called Billa. When we got home, we realized that for as large of a group as we were expecting, we didn't get enough potatoes. So I layered on my clothes and put on my boots to head back to the store, but to one that was a little closer than Billa. What could go wrong? The last trip was flawless, no hold ups and no unexpected questions. I would be in and out and home with potatoes in no time.  I walked into the store, and walked straight to the potatoes. There were several bags as they were being restocked. I grabbed two, just to be sure. Again with confidence and in a hurry, I walked to the counter to pay. "Do you want a bag?" nyet, the potato bags had handles. Scan...nothing. Scan....nothing. Scan....nothing. Oh no. I knew it was coming this time, but it didn't help. Blah blah blah she says in Russian. And she might as well have said blah blah blah. I shook my head and said "I don't know, I don't speak Russian." She yelled to her manager and rambled something and pointed to the potatoes, and probably something along the lines of this stupid girl didn't do __________, I honestly don't know what goes in that blank. I don't know what I was missing. My impression when she returned minutes later, was that I needed a sticker? She wagged her finger at me and I understood that she was saying next time you need to___________, but I to this day don't know what that blank is. She was actually very nice about it, but there were about 7 different people who came and stood behind me at different times, and then with an impatient sigh, left to go to another line. I couldn't add this one to my checklist, because I don't know what to add. Maybe, 3. don't buy potatoes at Pyramida anymore. Needless to say, I am learning something new everyday, and appreciate more and more being able to completely understand if someone asks me, "paper or plastic?"

     Our potato dinner turned out great with more than enough potatoes!