Moved Again

I thought I had posted a "hiatus" post on this blog a while back, but it doesn't appear that I had done so. Ok, so, I guess this blog still isn't on hiatus...yet.

Anyways, guess what? I've moved yet again, this time to the stunning city of Dnepropetrovsk (yup, just try pronouncing it). This city has about the same population as pre-war Donetsk, but has a much better transport system, complete with a one line metro and several convenient trams. I've been here for two weeks, and so far I'm digging this city.

That means, of course, that The Girlfriend is still back in the original city of Nikolaev (no use hiding the name anymore). Unfortunately, she's spent the last week or so in the hospital, due to some serious lingering health issues. I'll be returning back there next week while my employer has a week-long break for the May holidays.

Nothing much else to report right now. I may start writing on here more often, or I may not. Between my regular job and another online writing job, I don't really have much time or inclination for it.

Back to Basics

So, I'm back in my original starting city in Ukraine, and I hope I can stay here for a long time. I'm really tired of moving around so much. This last year has seen me go from here to Kiev, to Donetsk, back to Kiev, to Lviv, and then finally back here. I'm hoping circumstances can let me stay put for a while. My back hurts just thinking about hauling my luggage around on trains again.

I'm also back to teaching English. I'm kinda still working the IT job, but kinda not. It's a little difficult to explain. Anyways, just wanted to update this as I haven't written jack shit in months. Ciao.

The End of an Era

I'm back in my original starting point in Ukraine right now, staying with the girlfriend until I start my new job.

New job, you ask? Yes, it's a new job. And I won't be teaching English anymore (for the most part).

A few months back, well before leaving Donetsk, my roommate started working for an IT company, which sent him to western Ukraine once everyone was being evacuated from Donetsk. He was happily working away there, earning the big bucks, while I was languishing in uncertainty in Kiev. Back when he started his job, he promised to tell his boss about me, which all seemed well and good, but then I didn't hear anything for a while.

Fast forward again a few months. After a series of "interviews" with the ex-roomie and his boss on Skype, I was hired to work at a high level position at this company. The perks are quite nice, including a free remodeled flat, and a guaranteed salary, paid in US Dollars, instead of the quickly crumbling Ukrainian gryvna. All this, and in a part of Ukraine that's about as far away from the current troubles as possible.

Unfortunately, my last employer didn't like the short notice of leaving, so they're witholding my final paycheck. This, after charging me rent on my overpriced room two pay periods in a row, which left me pretty must destitute. Guess you can't win them all.

Война

 I'm typing this blog post from my new (shared) apartment in Kiev. I've been in Kiev for almost two weeks now, since being sent here by my job while the school in Donetsk is closed. I figured I should give a small update and explain why I haven't updated this blog.

For those of you who have been living under a rock, there's a war going on in Donetsk right now. I'm sure that anyone who is reading this blog is probably well aware of this fact, as it's been all over the news, especially after the rebels shot down a commercial airplane, killing almost 300 innocent people in one fell swoop.

So, as to what I've been doing that whole time, it's been one of two things: either working, or trying not to get shot. I was in Donetsk during the whole ordeal. I watched the ouster of the previous president turn into outrage and fear, outrage and fear turn into large protests, large protests turn into overthrowing the local government. The ordinary people turned into protestors, and the protestors turned into a makeshift milita, which in turn was largely replaced by mercenaries from Russia. The city of Donetsk turned from a relatively large, beautiful, and peaceful city into one of turmoil, and then into a virtual ghost town. 

The hotel I lived next to also ltransformed during this time. It went from a brand new hotel, into a base for international monitors, to closing down, and then just before I left, into a barracks for mercenaries. It's been eerie watching how unrest and war can transform a city so quickly. Thankfully, I get to watch the rest of its transformation from a much safer distance.

So, yeah. Now I'm in Kiev, which is supposedly temporary, but with each day it seems more and more likely that I won't be able to go back to Donetsk anytime soon. I'll be waiting out the rest of the war here, hoping that it can once again transform back into a large, beautiful, and peaceful city.

For a little more detail about the last few months in Donetsk, I did a series of interviews with Engrlish Teacher X. You can read the first part here:

http://englishteacherx.blogspot.com/2014/05/anarchy-in-ukraine-interview-with.html

Memorial Day

I woke up around noon last Monday (Memorial Day for us Americans), went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and freshen up, and then got dressed. Around the time I was finishing putting on my clothes, I realized I heard the sound of a jet flying around in the sky, and then heard a dull "boom". I didn't think too much of it, until I heard another dull boom shortly afterwards. I stepped out onto the balcony and didn't see anything at first, but I noticed a crowd of people (mostly journalists and OSCE monitors) gathered in the courtyard of the hotel next to my apartment building. All of them were looking at the sky, with a few using binoculars and cameras to track the movement of the Ukrainian military jet flying above. I continued standing out on a balcony for a while, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. The only thing I was certain about was that there was some kind of fighting going on.

The sounds of war continued for about an hour or so, and I eventually learned that Pro-Russian separatists had taken control of the airport here in Donetsk, and the fighting I heard was the Ukrainian military's attempt to take back control of it.

Later that day, I went to work, feeling distracted by thoughts of what had happened. I wasn't alone in this either. All of my students were also quite distracted in class by what had happened, and I made it a point to try to play more games than usual in my classes to help lighten the mood. Once work was over, I walked home, and during the walk heard more sounds of distant gunfire and a couple of dull booms. I still didn't see the fighter that had been flying around the city all day, but I did see its vapor trail.

This happened two days ago. Yesterday, my school was closed, with it scheduled to reopen in a week. The city streets have been nearly empty, with few cars or pedestrians about. Today, I woke up to hearing a jet flying around the city again, with a few scattered sounds of gunfire, this time very close to my apartment. Thankfully, this didn't last long, but everyone here seems to be on edge, and gearing up for an imminent invasion of the city.

Attack of the Lazy

Oh dear, it looks like I've neglected my blog for even longer than before. That's ok, though, as things have been anything but boring here. My girlfriend ended up working her way into my apartment, so entertaining her has taken away most of my free time. In fact, I've actually thought about shutting down this blog, although I don't think I really want to do that. Not yet, at least.

Not too much more I want to report. However, there should be an interview of me up soon on English Teacher X's website, so you can read about the latest news with me there.

As Time Passes

Oh dear, it looks like I've been neglecting my blog again. I just haven't had much time or inclination for updates, as things have been relatively boring. For the most part.

On the political front, things had been heating up here in my city, with daily demonstrations, most of which were pro-Russian, and even including a few spots of violence, which I thankfully missed. The demonstrations seem to have died down the last few days, although a large one briefly passed by my work on the way to storm a government building close by. I haven't checked the news, but I imagine that they didn't get too far, as the building has been constantly guarded by several large trucks blocking the entrance, and a solid line of police in riot gear covering the doors, only breaking apart to let authorized people in and out of the building.

On the personal front, I went back to my original city a couple of weeks ago to spend the week with my girlfriend and her mother, and then came back to my current city with the girlfriend in tow. She's currently staying with family here, and if this week is any indication, will probably spend the weekends with me. As I'm currently sharing an apartment with a roommate, this will save me from a full-time-girlfriend living situation for the time being. Who knows how long this arrangement will, last, though, as I do have plans to get my own apartment.