(Most of us) Happy Halloween!

As a family sent overseas by Mars Inc., I would be totally remiss not to write on this fantastic day  that celebrates candy!!!   While Halloween is not a Ukraine celebrated event, our international school is dominated by teachers imported from the US who were compelled  to keep the love alive & host a Trick or Treating at school.....

Thinking Europe would NOT participate in Halloween, I left our buckets of costumes at home (rookie move!)  

Quincy wanted to be a Star Wars white clone and was totally perplexed that I couldn't 'just order it on Amazon' (can be done but crazy expense to ship here via re-packer)....but settled for a football player, Xavier a soccer player.....

Of course we had scores of options for Zoe - as the girl considers princess dresses just part of any complete wardrobe......

While Xavier and Zoe seemed happy with the whole affair, the 'more discerning' Quincy reported he'd rather Trick or Treat in Chicago.  Despite my attempts to convince him how awesome it was to get to see your friends and teachers, the selection of candy overwhelmingly knocked down that argument.  (Doesn't help that we've spent the past few years at home trick or treating with one of his best friends and their family....kind of detracting from my 'but you see friends here' case!  Miss you Drakes!)


THANKFULLY Aunt Sissy had sent us some of her favorite Halloween candy so we could supplement the loot.  In our tradition style, the kids lined up all of their loot in rank order - best to worst.....


Without even any guilt trip, Quincy ranks Mars products as #1 and #2 (left = favorites)!,.... but puts all of the locally sourced candy at the bottom (despite never having tried it)....

Xavier is a bit more open minded about things he has not tried - and places the local stuff in the middle......

Zoe, being more of a pleaser, or just afraid I'd eat the stuff she claimed not to like, put all of the stuff in a pile saying it was all #1 to her!

Here's hoping you have a fantastic Halloween - and whether your get your candy Trick-or-Treating OR have it sent to you by your Aunt (THANKS Sissy!) OR buy it for yourself at Walgreen's - rest assured when you eat the Mars(TM) stuff you can indulge AND feel good about sending our kids to college! 


Happy Halloween!!!

Hooray for Visitors!

A mere 2+ months in, Nana and Gramps braved our wet-behind-the-ears 'knowledge' and came for a visit!  So thanks to them, now all the rest of you can come visit and benefit from our new found expertise as tour guides....


Some things we learned from the visit.....


Not just tainted by distance: Living so far from home, I always kind of wonder if the things we find 'crazy delicious' are merely mediocre treats clouded by distance from things we are used to.....but our more objective visitors reaffirmed the delight in some.....


'Peripechkas' - aka hotdog donuts.  Nana liked them so much we went twice in 6 days!  They really are oddly fabulous..

Foi gras in this part of the world is fantastic.  Holy crazy good!

The drinking chocolate made all of us smile!  (Too bad Logan was in Moscow and missed it - but gives us another excuse to go again!)

Amazing Circus Value: If you can ignore a bit of animal-unpleasantness (not quite cruelty - but definitely not US-standards of love & affection), this circus was pretty amazing.....


.......front row seats for ~$10!  Lots of lions and tigers

a huge range of animals - monkeys, dogs, llamas, a brown bear, even a bunch of porcupines!

acrobats, tightrope walker, tons of dancers, clowns.....

...and even near X-rated jugglers - Nothing like a thong unitard for a family show!  Luckily the kids are young enough to focus more on the juggling than the outfits!  (Gave me a fit of giggles tho)

Sights Schmights: With the kids on a vacation week from school, we had to plan our days with the group in mind.  As such, we limited traditional sight seeing to a few hours in a van one day to show Nana and Gramps some highlights....


St. Sophias - our tour guide filled us in on the history and the kids chased each other...

St. Michael's - the tour guide took Nana & Gramps into the cathedral while the kids played at the park...

We all enjoyed a ride on the 105 year old fenicular..

Secret Entrances change everything: We live close to a big Botanical Garden - really a large forest-y kind of park.  The kids had NO interest in going until we mentioned there was a secret entrance....

Going in through the gate decreases the walk from ~20 minutes to ~5, and eliminates the needs to buy entrance tickets - but the bigger appeal is the 'secrecy'!  (note the well worn foot path)

The kids enjoy being kings of the mountain...

...and running through the trees...

The real joy is the company: The best part about the visit was undoubtedly the hanging out...


making cookies with walnuts from the trees in our yard (damn, they are hard to get out of the shells.....now we know why full walnut halves cost so much more than pieces!)

playing games - Trouble, Blockus (thanks Carol & John for the intro!) & Farkle...

helping us identify winning European wines...

...and chillin with the many iPads we've all come to love. 

I honestly had NO IDEA why we needed one (we already had phones and laptops) till we got one - and now truly have no idea how we lived without them.  Info, emails, games, books AND electronic kid calmer - everyone needs one!




Thanks to Nana & Gramps for lots of fun, coming all this way, braving the rookie tour guide, and pretending you were calm while I attempted driving amidst crazy Kiev drivers (imagine every car piloted by people who act like angry & aggressive taxi drivers who only sometimes obey road rules).


So now we are officially ready & open for visitors!  Come see us :)  

Hard Bodies & Bored kids

One of our friend's has a trainer who was competing in a bodybuilding competition.....so the logical thing to do was gather up the 5 kids and head out.....


First stop - sustinance: It stuck me as fairly ironic that before going to a bodybuilding competition, we fueled up with......McDonald's & gelato!

OMG was this gelato place heavenly.  This is the same family that introduced us to the drinking cholocate place.  The mom is Russian - so knows how to get around the city - and seems to have a sweet tooth.  A perfect combination in my book!


Next up - tanner & oil: Even more gawk-worthy to me than the crazy muscles, was the CRAZY TANNER!  While my Russian is only at the level to make out the announcements like 'men' vs. 'women' and 'under 20' vs 'over 40', these guys must have been getting graded on tan level and shine....

They even had sheets of plastic wrap covering the walls so the 'body paint' would not rub off!  Many of the guys in lighter colored 'undies' (as Zoe called them), had brown streaks on their pants....totally distracting to my 10 year old boy sense of humor..

Bored Kids: While Logan and I found the event totally random and a bit like a bad tv show you can't stop watching, the kids lost interest pretty quickly.  A self- portrait of Quincy & I during the show.......

....Quincy finished book 6 of Harry Potter during the event.  

I'm sure it is poetic justice to our parents, but getting the kids to do anything is a struggle (I so remember complaining when we 'had to' go to the Grand Canyon).  The kids would rather stay at home, play with their toys (mostly Lego's) and play video games - and complain at most suggestions to do things / go places.  Again, ironic given our move overseas for the 'adventure'! 

Anyhow, when I was walking solo through the Botanical garden today (kids stayed home to play!), I walked by a church with a mass in session.  There were a bunch of people milling about out front......I got closer and found a bunch of parents with kids! 

Their version of church daycare is have them play outside!

It made me feel better that it isn't just my American kids who "DON'T WANT TO GO!"


Here's to a Sunday of adventure - even if you have to force someone to go along!

Where the hell is Azerbaijan?!?!

Last night was International Night at the kids' school.  Essentially a big party in the gym with tables for each of the countries people come from.  The families from that country brought food & beverage, dressed in traditional attire and decorated to show off their country......

USA = Red, while & blue + table of vices

Our traditional fare included patriotic favorites like Rice Crispie treats, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, chili, Pepsi Light & Jack Daniels....and every one's favorite Miller Genuine Draft!  (OK the only US beer here).  One Dad also brought Corona....we agreed we needed to expand our border in order to improve our beer selection.  We explained it as a semi-NAFTA thing...we did share our transformers with the Canadians...so we really are all just one happy nation.

(Quincy & his good friend Stephen - who is from DC.   Both of his parents work at the Embassy - most people from the States here work for the Embassy)


Ukraine = a huge spread of Lord knows what + traditional costume

Like much of the time I order here, I didn't really know what the dishes were made of.  Lots of filled dumpling type things, stews, rolls....One dish was plain & obvious though....

While one might assume the national costume is short & tight, it was actually pretty conservative....



India = elaborate decor + abundance: while we don't have a huge Indian contingent at school, their enthusiasm totally made up for it.  They decorated their table with about a million colorful flowers and even brought Indian 'decorative accessories' to liven up the joint.  And then, their spread - WOW! - tons of food.  Samosas were my favorite.....

UNITED KINGDOM = trying to stage a take over: So there are quite a few Brits here, and a handful of Scots.....but hot damn, I really started to wonder if they were aiming to stage a coup of sorts........


Not only did they get a little spirited with the decor....

But they had quite an elaborate spread too....made little laminated signs for all their fare, English beer, Sausage rolls, etc....even a chocolate fountain!  When I questioned the UK roots of the chocolate fountain, my friend Ali retorted "does it REALLY matter where it's from?!"  Good point - but I do think it is a sign they were pandering - maybe with an aim to win allegiances.......

...I would be really worried, except I think the men wearing skirts thing might challenge the recruitment...



Azerbaijan = gorgeous women, somewhat Mediterranean food + promotional DVDs: As a member of the PTA, I helped organize this event - and took on the job of putting the country flag signs on each of the tables during set up.  I felt a little guilty about my North American centric geography knowledge when I had NO IDEA where Azerbaijan was.....BUT then, when their spread included this.........

....it gave me comfort that odds are most people have no idea what Azerbaijan has to offer if their spread included information packets!  (Sorry - no pictures of said spread & gorgeous women - irresponsible journalism I know!)


At the end of the day, it was a super fun event by my standards (Logan enjoyed it but reported it was a bit chaotic for a Friday.  The kids loved the abundance of desserts - but stayed very close to home - loaded up on scarce favorites like chocolate chip cookies & brownies).  It was a nice way to see the breadth of countries the school is made up of & remind ourselves -mostly me - it's high time to learn a little more geography!

Enjoy your Sunday - and let me know if you can locate Azerbaijan on a map.  If not, I have an informative DVD I can loan you.

I'm just not that into you...

Being new to the city & all, I got sucked into the belief that it is my duty to visit the key places featured on the most prominent post cards...... so I went on a walking tour of Old Town Kyiv (have to start using the appropriate local spelling now that I've been here 2 months....). 

St. Andrew's...

 

...couldn't go in due to construction - apparently they are rebuilding the foundation as it shifted with a nearby construction project up the street...hmm, sounds sketchy.   I'll note to locate the emergency exits in advance when I do get to visit

St Someone else...

...couldn't go in because it's only open on weekends - but the guide did drone on and on about the builder's parents....one being Roman Catholic, the other something else.  Also enlightened us about his half-brothers blah, blah, blah

St. Sophia's

 

 ...A crown jewel of Kyiv of sorts.....did not go in because there is another tour in November that covers that!

The Golden Gate - which once served as an exterior gate to the city...

And it did have a pretty cool 'belly button' on the floor..centered just below the main cupola...

And I will spare you the pictures of the random bricks placed here and there to remember buildings that once were.  The guide spent about as much time talking about buildings that are no longer here as those that are....

So while it was nice to walk around, see some postcard-worthy landmarks and chat with some other ex-pats, I found myself making grocery lists in my head while the guide shared her knowledge of things like the dates of the buildings & names of the architects.  So try as I might, this tour reinforced what I learned while backpacking in Europe ~20 years ago, I'm just not that into the basic facts.......


What I do find intriguing, is the 'color commentary'.  To me, the allure of getting to know a city is to learn key facts like:

1) Where is the best treat?

 

 ....hands down (so far) Lviv Chocolate factory 'drinking chocolate'.  Somewhere between hot fudge & hot chocolate.  3 flavors: dark, light & white.  To die for!


2) Where can you get a good salad?

Might not look like much, but it took ~6 weeks of legwork to come up with a delicious salad that had more green than not.  I'm learning the Italian places are where it is at!

3) Best spot for a beer?

This is not a simple one......there are many great places with outdoor seating, they even bring you a blanket!  But be sure to order a big one, customer service is an 'opportunity area' in most places..

4) Where is the best, most cost effective place to add outfit flair? 

...Cheap accessory stands are in many of the underground mini-malls attached to most Metro stations!  Outfit flair on your way to work - how clever!

So if you come to Kyiv (please do!) I promise to share everything I know.  If history is your thing, I know a knowledgeable tour guide.