Man Day, Women's Day, Brains, and TV appearance

The last few weeks have been full of special celebrations. The before this past week we celebrated Defenders of the Motherland Day aka Man Day. For those of you unfamiliar with Man Day and its history, I can say that I am under the impression that it stems from the massive appreciation and remembrance of those who gave theirlives in the Great Patriotic War (WWII). Today the holiday is devoted to all men, in particular to those who have served in the military and if you are any man above the age of about 40 or so, that means you. In the Soviet era all men were conscripted into a 1-year minimum of service, like many countries still do today. Even though military service is no longer a requirement it s still a very popular profession choice for many men and women in Ukraine. Obviously the military in other countries are a little different than in the US. Where many of our soldiers are stationed oversees, Ukrainians serve in Ukraine, so you frequently see men and women in inform. Anyway, on Man Day, men are treated extra special. For example- even though I am not a defender of the motherland, I’m not Ukrainian, and I didn’t even serve in the US armed forces, I am a man, which means I was included in the festivities.

Man Day

The Spa Treatment

Fire Drill!!

I received numerous wonderful boxes of chocolates,shaving creams and moisturizers and my favorite gift, a coffee mug with “Patrick Star” from Spongebob Squarepants- this gift of a personalized coffee mug was my realization that Iwas now a teacher, a sort of initiation that all teachers must go through. The day ended early with a wonderful play/ concert organized by a number of the female members of the school. Lastly the men retired to feast in the man chamber aka the woodshop!- Where else?! After devouring pig fats, black bread, pickles, sausages, and Russian salads we did the obvious- talked up our personal ping-pong skills and put them to the test in the gym. There were some real battles, and I can say I did not come out on top. Now I am not a bad ping pong player in any sense of the word, but I can vouch for the incredible ping pong skills of the Ukrainian people as a whole. They are something else. It was a good Man Day.

BRAINS!!! Yes, I ate brains finally.

Now, to all you post third wave feminists out there, be you male or female, do not fret. Ukrainians would not think of having a Man Day without a day to commemorate women as well. All countries except our own USA know The 8th of March. International Women’s Day. We celebrated the day at school on Friday by having senior students take over the instructions of the classes for a day while the teachers relaxed and waited for their own concert. Unfortunately I was not able to see the concert because the male teachers were preparing for our own act, the final part of the concert. I have noticed that Ukrainians love to organize concert, presentations, and shows at the school, and they do a really phenomenal job at it too. Dance acts, singing, wresting and karate showcases, speeches, poetry, and lastly our skit. Dressed as mystical wizards, each one representing a different department of female teachers we recited spells and mixed our wizards cauldron. It was pretty funny, but to tell the truth for most of the rehearsals I thought we were dressed as clowns not wizards. It was only when I heard the word “abracadabra” did I realize we were wizards- part of whole not knowing the whole language you know? But I typically can figure everything out eventually- patience is a virtue. After we had a big feast with lot of food, dancing, music, singing, and of course speeches. Ukrainians have this amazing ability to poetically present good wishes. Even if you do not understand what someone issaying- judging by the tone and rhythm of their voice you can tell that they are wishing someone a happy birthday, safe travels, orany other celebration. A general translation notes wishes of wealth, health, love, all you dreams coming true, praising of beauty, work, and anything other positive thing you can find about someone. I myself even gave a short speech during the feast.

Our wizard get-ups

In other news, I do not know why, but I have been dropping dishes and glasses at an alarming rate. If I keep it up I will have nothing left to eat or drink out of by summer. This is strange, I thought that after those two hard summers at the Leeside, I would be set for life with my plate handling capabilities; I never had too much trouble before. I attribute this new clumsiness to all of the Woody Allen movies I have been watching recently. I do not know what got me interested in the guy, but I love him now. He just cracks me the hell up- I guess I am getting old. Depressing, I know, so I wont mention all the Paul Newman movies I have been also watching. In my free time, while I am not acting like an old man, I have been totally emerged in an Ann Rand book my auntie Maureen sent me called The Fountainhead. I am not usually a novel guy- but its pretty gnarly. Still waiting on The Long Way from my mom though!! Hint hint.

Debate Club

I ripped a hole in the knee of one of the two pairs of pants that I do not wear to school. I dread clothes shopping here because I get so nervous. The language thing doesn’t even have to do with it. I just can never decide if I actually want to buy something or not. This is why I haven’t bought clothes since I was in high school. Since boarding school if I, or any of my peers has ever needed anything you just “borrow” something from a friend and forget to give it back. If I think really hard about the past of most of my clothes I can come to the conclusion that they are not actually mine. But mind you, this is not one sided. I cannot tell you how many of my clothes I have had to part with over the years.

Debate Club

My debate club is thriving and is always a hoot, and I am in the process of starting debate clubs at other schools in town. All out debate warfare!! I am really excited. I have been keeping up with the gym where of course I am frequently greeted by “Hello!!! American Boy!!” You get used to it and grow to like it too. Obviously when I have a workout, a trip to the sauna or a bath needs to follow, and I plan to make sauna a permanent part of my life. I have also decided that now since I will never be able to live without real, crystallized, dark, golden honey, I am going to become an amateur beekeeper. Wish me luck!

Below is the link of my interview on TV-

check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W0xwnBuzrA