Моя Україна (My Ukraine): winter wonderland

We got several inches of snow last night. Kharkiv has an efficient snow-removal system: plows were cleaning up the streets, and workers were shoveling snow onto conveyor belts that lifted the snow up into dump trucks. Not sure where the city hauls all the snow -- probably down to the Kharkiv River.

A few flakes of snow paralyzes Richmond, Va.; people flock frantically to the grocery stores to stock up on food, and the schools shut down like it's nuclear fallout. In Kharkiv, it's a different story: Life goes on as usual. I walk past several schools on my way to the JIA office, and they were all bustling this morning. Parents pull children on small sleds (or push sleds that have been converted into baby strollers).

Above and below are photos of a playground near the JIA office. Kids had been playing here earlier, but I shot these after lunch, when it may have been nap time.



This is in a neighborhood of buildings where the bottom floors appear to be offices (like JIA's) and all the other floors appear to be apartments. People have painted exterior walls and the doors of outbuildings with whimsical scenes. Here's one:



We did more than traipse around in the snow today, of course. I finished the details for a one-day workshop on advanced Internet research for journalists. Several editors have expressed tentative interest in having their staffs take such training. Now, Aleksey will translate my program, and we'll shop it around.

Also today, Selma and Aleksey set up a meeting for tomorrow with one (and possibly two) secondary-school principals. Selma is interested in working with high-school-age students on a school newspaper (I'd help out on that project, too.)

I set up some meetings for next week in Kyiv (that's the Ukranian spelling, which the national government prefers; the Russian spelling, Kiev, is what you usually see on maps outside Ukraine). Selma and I are going to meet with editors at the Kyiv Post, an excellent weekly newspaper that publishes in English, and at IREX, a non-governmental organization that, among other things, also provides journalism training.

---

Here are a few items from the Kyiv Post that caught my eye:

The lead photo in the latest issue is of a memorial ceremony to mark the 89th anniversary of a battle in which three hundred students were killed trying to protect the newly created People's Republic of Ukraine against Bolshevik aggression.

And the paper reported that the level of dioxin in President Viktor Yushchenko's blood has decreased by 80 percent, more than two years after the Ukrainian leader was disfigured and nearly died from poisoning during the "Orange Revolution" election campaign.

'It's in the frozen-foods section'

An American couple Selma knows visited Kharkiv many years ago and became friends with a local resident named Elena Solonskaya. Selma got Elena's contact information and has been in touch with her. Elena teaches English at a military college in Kharkiv and serves as a translator. Her children have attended university in the U.S.

Today, we met Elena, had some tea and then went to an outdoor market (RIH-nak) -- far different from the Kroger-like grocery mall we visited a week ago.

The market wasn't far -- we hopped on a trolley and rode it for four stops, just past the JIA offices. The market was similar to what Lorenza and I have seen in Latin America -- and to the souks I shopped at in Morocco. Well, except that everything was in the frozen-foods section: The vendors were set up outside, undeterred by the swirling snow, biting wind and 20-degree (F) temperature.

Selma and I bought fruit, potatoes and a popular dish that is a cross between sauerkraut and cole slaw -- a sort of pickled cabbage. The only meat we saw was fish -- some of them behind a butcher-type counter (they were dead) and others foundering in a vat of water (they were alive, but not long for this world). We passed on the fish, but Elena asked where we could get some meat, and a vendor directed us to another part of the market -- mercifully, indoors!

It was an auditorium-type building where many more vendors had set up. Some were selling fruits and vegetables (I was glad we rewarded the outdoor stalwarts with our money), but others were selling things you couldn't buy in the outdoor area: yogurt, cheese, beef, chicken ...

I didn't take any pictures in the market; it seemed intrusive, and my hands were cold. I may do that some other time -- Selma and I plan to go back.

I did take a picture of a monument across from the rinak: It commemorates Aug. 23, 1943, when the Red Army finally liberated Kharkiv from the Nazis. Kharkiv suffered terribly during World War II. Here's a blurb from Wikipedia:

---

During World War II Kharkiv was the site of several military engagements. The city was captured by Nazi Germany and its military allies, recaptured by the Red Army, captured again twice by the Nazis and then finally liberated on August 23, 1943. Seventy percent of the city was destroyed and tens of thousands of the inhabitants were killed. It is mentioned that Kharkiv was the most populated city in the Soviet Union occupied by Nazis, since in the years preceding World War II Kiev was the smaller of the two by population.

End of Week 1: That's a kho-lodda snow!

OK; it's really not that much snow. But I couldn't resist the linguistic pun: холод ("kholod") means cold. This was the first day that we had more than flurries. The snow started as I was walking from my apartment near National University to the offices of the Journalists' Initiative Association.

I took this picture after lunch: Selma and I grabbed some blintzes and salad at a nice cafe, called Delicat, a short but slippery walk from JIA. I saw a crew on the main street, Lenin Prospect, putting up a banner advertising Marlboro cigarettes. Despite my impressions, Selma said there is a lot less smoking in Ukraine than there was when she was a Knight fellow here in 1994-95.

What else did we do today? We met with the editor of a broadcast operation that feeds local news programming to three Kharkiv television stations. She is interested in training on how journalists can use the Internet, spreadsheets and other new-media tools to do better reporting. Next week, we plan to lock down on a date for such a workshop.

Ukrainian journalists (and Ukrainians in general) are pretty tech-savvy, but I think I can show them some Google hacks and other tricks (RSS, the power of spreadsheets) that a lot of reporters don't know about. For example, you can search blog postings for references to Kharkiv -- that could be good for getting story ideas or comments from people.

On the workshop front, we now have several projects in the air: the Internet training; a two-day program in Kremenchuk about civic journalism; and a roundtable in Dnepropetrovsk about media privatization. No firm commitments or dates, but Angelina Soldatenko said the Dnepro program probably will be in early February.

Meanwhile, Selma has taken the lead on working with students. She says, rightly so, that if we could help the next generation of Ukrainian journalists, we could have an impact for decades to come. Today, we met with Oleksandr Khizhniak, head of the Student Council at National University.



Oleksandr is interested in creating an independent, lively student newspaper. We might to able to assist the students with that project. Other ideas in the mill on this "student" front include: teaching beginning journalists about ethics, interviewing, reporting and other skills (and helping them publish in a local newspaper a monthly page of stories of interest to young people); working with high school students (perhaps at a secondary school near JIA where students learn English); and starting an "English club" for Ukrainian journalists who want to speak English.

That's a pretty ambitious agenda!

We worked til about 6 p.m., then headed home on the icy-slick streets. Selma showed me how to ride the trolley (a bargain at 30 kopeks). I got off around the McDonalds (ugh!) so I could walk to a bakery that Aleksey and Angelina showed me the other night. I bought a loaf of "khleb s lukem" -- bread with onions. Later, while IM'ing Aleksey, I realized that I probably asked for "khlev s lukem" -- which is pig sty with onions. No wonder the cashier at the bakery was laughing. ;-)

Solidarity with the Soldatenkos

We were working on training materials at the office of the Journalists' Initiative Association shortly after noon today when there was a rap at the door. The visitor: Abram Soldatenko, the 96-year-old father of JIA founder Angelina Soldatenko.

Mr. Soldatenko had come to the neighborhood to get a haircut; a barber shop nearby gives free cuts to senior citizens -- and he certainly qualified. For him, the statue of Lenin in the plaza near my apartment isn't just a historical monument. Mr. Soldatenko may well have seen Lenin when the communist revolutionary came to Kharkiv, said his grandson, Aleksey Soldatenko.

Aleksey and Angelina are the driving forces behind the JIA and other efforts to improve journalism in Ukraine. The entire family is filled with journalists: Angelina's husband is a former radio reporter; and Abram Soldatenko wrote for a newspaper serving a center for deaf Ukrainians. (Mr. Soldatenko himself is deaf.)

Moreover, Aleksey's sister is a journalist. In fact, from a newspaper where she worked, she took a photo of Mikhail Gorbachev -- and it is displayed in the JIA office:



Aleksey said Gorbachev was a controversial figure: While Aleksey supported Gorbachev's democratic reforms, many Soviet citizens at the time saw him as a weak leader. Incidentally, Selma met Gorbachev when he was lecturing in the U.S.

First day at work with the Soldatenkos

On Sunday, Aleksey and his mother Angelina came by my apartment -- with Selma -- and we went to a park near my apartment. The park and adjoining square (with the statue of Lenin) is huge: Aleksey said it's the biggest square in Europe and second-largest in the world. It's called Ploshcha Svobody, or Freedom Square. Here's the Wikipedia entry, as well as a shot from Google Earth.

We had coffee at a round coffeeshop in the middle of the park -- like a Chuck E. Cheese, where a clown orchestrated dress-up and singing games for children and at least one birthday party was in evidence. It was a little loud and wacky, but I'm finding that that's Ukraine!

After that, I found an ATM and got some cash. Then we went to Aleksey's soccer game. (The journalists here have an elaborate system of sports leagues: soccer, tennis, an Olympics ... As Aleksey said, it's a mystery how any of them have time to write stories.)

Then, we hit the MegaMarket. It was in a mall, and huge, and I stocked up for several days.

This morning (Monday), I met Aleksey and Angelina in one of the Metro stations within walking distance of my apartment. We took a Metro to the Botanical Gardens stop -- not a good day to visit the gardens; the sky was gray, and there was snow, rain and hail, in no particular order. The Journalists' Initiative Association has an office a short walk from that Metro station.

Then we spent the day talking about training that we could do during our fellowship. The JIA is very interested in promoting civic journalism; I'll be involved in that, along with teaching about computer-assisted reporting, citizen journalism, blogging and other new media skills. The association is also interested in working with students at National University in Kharkiv -- and that's right up Selma's alley.

On Tuesday, we're going to meet with a local TV news director to talk about specific projects.

Dinner 'At The Sisters'

It's about 500 kilometers from Kiev to Kharkiv. But it's worth the drive, Aleksey said, because at the midpoint is a restaurant famous for its thoroughly Ukrainian food and atmosphere: "Y Cectep," or "At the Sisters."

So that's where we stopped for dinner. And I can see why it's as mandatory as stopping at, say, Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que in Williamsburg if you're driving from Norfolk to Richmond. We had a variety of Ukrainian dishes, and they were great. I had a cold horse-radish soup (called kholodnyk), which I know doesn't sound particularly good or appropriate on such a cold day, but it was what Aleksey recommended, and for good reason. We also had salted vegetables (cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers); a cabbage salad; and I had a pork roll with a side of smashed potatoes and onions.

No alcohol for dinner (though I noticed the vodka was flowing pretty well on the plane). But we had an unusual drink called kvas, made of fermented bread.

It isn't just the food that makes Y Cectep such a treat. The restaurant is a kitchy history and art museum, with memorabilia from Soviet times, such as this telephone (which the KGB may still have bugged!) ...



... and hilarious drawings on the wall like:



I have a lot more pictures in a Web album.

Back in the U.S.S.R. -- almost ;)

I had a ticket on a flight that was to leave Richmond, Va., at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan 19. Supposedly, it would get to JFK in New York around 3:30 -- giving me plenty of time to find the gate for the 5:20 direct flight to Kiev. According to the schedule, the JFK flight would land shortly after 10 a.m. at the Borispol airport just outside Ukraine's capital.

My itinerary assumed that the planes would be on time. However, the flight out of Richmond was delayed 90 minutes. We sat on the runway because the plane had too much fuel, and thus too much weight, and there weren't any empty fuel trucks that could offload the excess fuel. Eventually, a thirsty plane arrived, relieving us of enough fuel that we could take off.

I didn't arrived at JFK until 4:55. I could hear the "last boarding" announcement for the flight to Kiev, which was at a gate on the other side of the airport. I ran through the hallways, barely made my flight and prayed that my luggage caught up with me (it did).

The flight out of JFK left right on time and arrived an hour earlier than scheduled in Kiev -- at about 9:30 on Saturday morning. I cleared passport control, got my luggage, then got through customs, then met up with Aleksey, who was standing outside the arrival gauntlet:



I've got more pictures posted at http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffrey.south

Unfortunately, nowhere on the plane or at the Kiev airport did I see Selma. Turns out she had much worse luck than I did. Her flight from Boston was delayed, so she missed the JFK-Kiev flight. Aleksey and I (and Aleksey's friend, Misha) hung around the airport, figuring Selma would arrive on a later flight. She did, at around 3 p.m., on a plane from Paris.

The wait give me a chance to study Ukrainian culture. Some observations: I think the smoking rules here were written by Philip Morris. The cafe in the airport was a cloud of tar and nicotine; you were smoking whether you wanted to or not. Another observation: The temperature was just a few degrees above zero, but that doesn't stop Ukrainians from enjoying ... ice cream. The airport's Tastee Freeze stand was doing brisk business, as we were, uh, cooling our heels (chilling out?) waiting for Selma's plane.

We did take a break -- retreating to Aleksey's car for sandwiches. While I sat in the back seat, I took the opportunity to practice random sentences from my Russian phrasebook, such as:

Min-ya tash-nit -- "I'm going to throw up!"

Ya pi-ri-a-di-va-yus -- "I'm not decent!"

And: Ru-ki ko-rat-ki -- which literally means "Your hands are too short" but which the book curiously says is an idiom for "You've got no hope in hell!" I'm not quite sure how short hands translate into eternal damnation. But Misha found this somewhat amusing.

Journalism and other fellowship in Ukraine

If a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, then the blog about the journey begins with a single word. In my case, it's Спасибо -- Russian for "thanks" -- to everyone who has made possible the six-month adventure I'm about to start in Ukraine. (I'm writing this blog entry on the plane to Kiev.) I wouldn't be here if not for:

X The Center for International Journalists, which selected me for a Knight International Journalism Fellowship.

X The Journalists' Initiative Association in Kharkiv, which is hosting me here.

X Virginia Commonwealth University and its School of Mass Communications, which granted me a semester's leave to pursue this opportunity.

X My friends and family -- and especially my partner Lorenza, my goddess of packing and many other skills -- for invaluable support and encouragement.

Where I'm headed, and why:

The Knight program has assigned me to work with the JIA in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in the eastern part of the country, about 30 miles from the Russian border. The association has an excellent track record of training journalists to do a better job of conveying news and engaging citizens. I will lend a hand however I can -- learning more than teaching, I'm sure, but providing guidance in areas of my expertise, such as new media and civic journalism.

I will be in Ukraine for six months. For the first three months, I will be accompanied by Selma Williams, who is living proof that great journalists never stop learning or sharing information. After a 30-year career in newspapers, Selma, who is a member of the New England Press Association's Hall of Fame, served a Knight fellowship in Ukraine in 1994-95. Since then, she has trained journalists in four former Soviet republics -- and is returning to Ukraine for a second Knight fellowship.