Days of our lives......in Харків (Kharkiv)

Its unusual for me to post a blog mid week but I just got the urge to get a few memories off my mind. ... So here goes the latest news.... while I am listening to Russian MTV......all in Russian... of course..!!

I was thinking the other day that if you ever wanted to make a funny TV series, you could make it about our lives here in Kharkiv. We all live in inner city apartments, a little bit up market I think as there are a few expensive cars parked in my courtyard, which is a U shape.  At night time when I go out to have a smoke on the balcony, I can see in other apartments & they all look very nice, most of them have been renovated. My balcony faces the courtyard as you have seen from some of the pics & I do see a lot of funny things. There is one guy who I call "Mr Cool" who I think loves his car more than he loves his wife/girlfriend? (he doesnt stay here every night... not that I am paying that much attention..LOL). Before the snow came, he used to go out every morning before he left and wash the car. When he comes home at night, he gets out of the car & walks around it to make sure there are no dents in it and as he walks to his door, he keeps looking back at his car! And he never wears a warm jacket, just a leather jacket. Wanker !!!..... Yes we have such people at home too...

As I type this, there are a group (two people actually) of loud males talking in Russian outside my window. It sounds like they are having an argument, but it is just the way the communicate, loud and agressive (or so it sounds). Not unlike how the Italians talk in Aust...  As I said in my last blog, I havent seen any road rage or violence in the streets, so I feel reasonably safe...!... but it sounds scary.

Another regular occurrance here is the visit by an ambulance. Almost every second day I see it sitting out in the courtyard with the driver having a puff on a cigarette (inside the bus). They dont seem to have paramedics here as we do back home (I could be wrong, any locals, feel free to correct me), but I usually see what seems to be a nurse and an aid, get out of the bus & go upstairs to see who ever it is that should probably be in a hospital ! I must admit, I have never seen anyone get put in the back of the ambulance yet.

For apartment living, there seem to be a lot of large domestic dogs living in the building. There is one hound who is owned by a fairly elderly gentleman who comes out a couple of times a day to be "walked". I say walked as it is really just a slow stroll outside of the door. This dog is huge and black and very hairy! I dont think I have seen anything like him before (I hope to get a nosy neighbour picture one day of the dog and Mr Cool & post it in the blog). There is also a big boxer, and one other big dog that drags his owner for a walk when he comes out! Its sort of sad that they dont get ot run in a big park somewhere, but they seem well fed as do most of the packs of dogs you see roaming the streets.

We have lots of VOLGA stories to tell, in fact one happened tonight on the way home from work! Coming home tonight with myself and Mishka in the back and Dima in the front, the driver just decided to stop on the side of the road! He got out and opened the bonnet of the VOLGA, fiddled with something then slammed the bonnet closed. In doing so, he broke the connecting end of the bonnet closest to the front passengers side so that it was actually sticking up in front of the windscreen! Well, I cracked up laughing, Mishka said "jump on it to fix it" & we all cracked up. It took the driver a while to fix it, but he finally repaired it & away we went. We have had kamikaze VOLGA drivers, that seriously scare the living daylights out of all of us,  drivers that throw the VOLGA into 5th gear at 50km per hour and chug to work and extremely smelly VOLGAs ( I'm talking vomit smelling VOLGAs). But my favorite VOLGA driver is the one that laughs when I get into the VOLGA and always says "Australian Open"! He is a tennis nut and this morning, he told me that Australia lost the tennis in France! I didnt even know the tennis was on in France.

The roads here are in most places, just potholed, (the Government it seems tend to pocket the money rather that use it for public initiatives). Mishka and I normally try & sleep in the VOLGA on the way home but with the state of the roads, its near impossible! Thankfully, Mishka has helped me with my MP4 player & now I have some music to listen to in the VOLGA to and from work, so i can tune out to the 45 minute ride to work and home.

With half the team in Poland at the moment, I invited myself to Michal's apartment so he could help me update my blog pics and get me some music to listen to, (thanks mate, its worth the Bear Crossing). When I arrived, Mishka had the vaccuum out & was cleaning the apartment!!!! See Michals mum, he is a little domesticated !!! I dont have any pics to prove it though. Anyway, we started with the computer stuff & opened up the bottle of Bear Crossing Cab Merlot.... nice drop, you should try it! The previous week, Michal and Masha had hand made a big lot of  pasta with meat in it & frozen it down in smaller portions to eat at their convenience. You see Sasha, if you make in bulk and freeze it, it means you dont have to eat the same thing every night! So in between computer stuff, we had a lovely meal, mucked around a bit & had the normal fun.....

Mishka tucking in

Masha checking out the Bear Crossing

Does anyone know this
intelligent looking man?

Mashka.. who locked you
outside on the cold balcony??

Heheheh....... I know you will get me back !! 












So this is my last full week in Kharkiv before I fly back for my last home leave. Then its a full 3 months solid away from home, before I come home for good to my family and babies. I must admit, the last haul has been a bit draining and I am looking forward to getting home to a bit of warmth.... I hope I get a few days of +25 when I'm home ...... , but looking forward to returning to Kharkiv for some different views  and temperatures of the place. The locals keep promising me..... good Spring weather... they just wont say when......!!!

For my local mates.... this is purely my view on the world, dont take offence at any of my views on VOLGA drivers or anything. This is your country & I appreciate the wonderful country you live in.....I would come back any winter just to see you all again..... especially if there was a wedding ??.... or something!

Note to finish up on...... and it feels strange saying it.... I have not been sleeping well lately. I think because the temperature is warming up +1, the heating in the apartment (which I cant control) might be a bit too warm at night. I tend to wake up in the middle of the night & throw the doona off me. So tonight, I will open a window somehere in the apartmet & get some fresh air in & see how I sleep!!..... minus degrees at night & I am opening a window !!! Am I crazy????


xm