The Borderland Chronicles

Nescafe 3 in 1 TURBO, for when you need a little something extra.

Before March of 2010 I’d never drunk instant coffee, never even had a taste. Sure, I’d had the cheap stuff. Folgers was a mainstay in my suburban childhood home. The garage was lined with the empty cans. My father used them to store nuts, bolts, nails and screws. As I got older, about high school age, I developed a taste for slightly better coffee, although I should say that it was my younger brother at age 10 who first asked for a French press for his birthday. It was rare for us then to drink coffee before school, but on the weekends we’d open a fresh bag of beans, grind them down for the press and enjoy a pitch black cup with our eggs and bacon.

By the time I entered college I was drinking two cups a day, sometimes more. Coffee was a necessary evil. Luckily, living in Portland, it was easy to get my hands on the really good stuff. I was a regular at Stumptown’s S.E. Division location, and from time to time I’d make it into the S.W. 3rd shop. My love affair with it continued a few years later when I moved downtown and got a job at Oregon Business Magazine. The office on S.W. Broadway wasn’t far from the Ace Hotel location, where I spent many a lunch hour sipping freshly pressed Hair Bender and preparing for interviews.

My palate used to quality java, I panicked when I arrived in Ukraine almost two years ago to begin my Peace Corps service and found my only coffee options to be Nescafe and Jacobs Original or 3 in 1. I knew that any coffee sold in small, one-serving packets at the check-out counter would never compare to the organic, dark-roasted grinds I had back home.

But you’d be surprised how well your palate adapts when your choices are shit and shit. Now, every morning with my two eggs over easy on toast, I drink a tall mug of it – and without cringing.

That said, there have been care packages from my parents over the past couple years that came with some of Portland’s finest coffee. And when they do, I make it last, saving it for those slow, heavy-eyed mornings when the snow drifts come up to my knees  and the thermometer reads just 10 degrees.

Posted in Culture, Food, Life, Peace Corps, Portland, Travel, Ukraine |

I wrote last week about my experience at the local theater’s Art House Cinema night (Raffle Winner, Jan. 12), and how after the film I was approached by a journalist from «Вперед» to do an interview. Well, that interview was published yesterday and is now online. You can find it here. But I should warn you, it’s in Russian. Translating the interview with Google Translate won’t work perfectly, but it will give you the basic gist of it. It will also provide you with a few laughs, like when the state of  Oregon is translated as “oregano” and “Papa” is translated as “Pope,” unintentionally identifying my father as “Pope Stephen.” There are also times in which I’m referred to as a she.

Anyway, below is the introduction to the interview, which I’ll translate into English.

Крис Миллер хочет написать для газеты «Вперед»
серию статей о жизни американца в Украине

С Крисом Миллером из Америки мы познакомились в кинотеатре «Победа». Как выяснилось, наш американский гость очень любит кинематограф. Поэтому в среду, 12 января, с удовольствием посетил ARThOuSe sinema club, где демонстрировался первый фильм-катастрофа о стрит-арте «Выход через сувенирную лавку», кинодебют художника-вандала Бэнкси. После просмотра неординарного кино присутствующие делились впечатлениями. Крис также высказал своё мнение по поводу граффити, ведь в стране, где он живет, подобное увлечение уличных художников очень развито.

Крис с удовольствием посещал бы местный кинотеатр, но в силу языкового барьера, а также дубляжа на украинском языке, которого Миллер вообще не знает, делает это редко.

***

Chris Miller wants to write for “Forward” newspaper
a series of articles about the life of an American in Ukraine

I met with Chris Miller, from America, at the cinema “Victory”. As it turned out, our American visitor loves the cinema. Therefore, on Wednesday, January 12, he gladly visited Arthouse Cinema Club to see “Exit through the gift shop, the film debut of artist-vandal Banksy. After viewing the extraordinary film people shared their impressions. Chris also expressed his opinion about graffiti art, because in the country where he lives, street art is an accepted hobby and art form.

Chris would be happy to attend the local cinema more often, but because of language barriers, as well as dubbing in Ukrainian language, which Miller does not know, he does it rarely.

If you do choose to try and translate this piece from Russian to English, you’ll also discover, like the title says, that I accepted an invitation from «Вперед» to write a bi-weekly column about my experiences. I handed in my first one today, and it should be in next week’s edition. Once the columns go online I’ll post them to this blog in English along with a link to the «Вперед» website, where you can find them in Russian.

Posted in Artemovsk, Culture, Encounters, Journalism, Kiev, Krasne, Life, Media, Peace Corps, Portland, Russian, Teaching, Travel, Ukraine |

Last weekend, following the championship game in which Obukhiv defeated Ukrainka to take home the crown, I did an interview with Yuriy Apostol, editor of the hyperlocal news site Obukhiv.org. What I couldn’t explain in detail in Russian, I emailed to him in English. He then translated the text. The published version is in Russian, and you can take a look at it here.

For those unable to read the interview in Russian (which, is probably most of you), I’ll post an English version below.

Yuriy: How old are you and where are you from?
Chris: I am 26 years old and was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, in the beautiful Pacific Northwest United States.
Y: What sort of education do you have? Where and in what position did you worked in the U.S.?
C: I graduated from Portland State University in Portland, Oregon in 2008, with a degree in Liberal Studies and a minor in Journalism and Professional Writing. Before joining Peace Corps and moving to Ukraine, I was a journalist and web editor for a number of media outlets in Oregon. I spent a year as a business reporter and web editor with Oregon Business Magazine. I was the business editor and sports editor at the Molalla Pioneer. I was the web editor for the Ashland Daily Tidings, and was also a reporter for the Portland Sentinel.
Y: Why did you decide to join Peace Corps and live in Ukraine?
C: Since I was a young boy, I have wanted to travel the world and experience different cultures through immersion. While attending university, I became interested in the idea of working abroad as a Peace Corps Volunteer and helping people less fortunate than myself. I knew about the program because my uncle had been a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador in the late 1990s. When I signed up to be a Peace Corps Volunteer, I had no idea where I would end up. Peace Corps chooses the country and location for you, so it was simply by chance that I ended up here in Ukraine. But I couldn’t be happier with my placement.
Y: What sort of work did you do during your Peace Corps training here in Obukhiv?
C: In Obukhiv, along with five other American volunteers, I taught lessons about healthy lifestyles, career planning, leadership, civic rights and responsibilities, journalism and volunteerism to children at School 5. I also participated in an English club meant to help develop children’s English-speaking abilities. Our culminating project was a summer camp and sports and recreation day for the students, which was meant to celebrate Children’s Day while also promoting healthy and active lifestyles. While here in Obukhiv, I also began learning Russian, a task that will continue during my service here in Ukraine and perhaps beyond.
Y: What will you do during your two years in Ukraine?
C: Over the course of the next two years, I will help bridge the gap that exists between Ukraine’s smaller towns and villages and its larger cities. It is the goal of Peace Corps Ukraine to educate the country’s youth. My role, specifically, in this task is to teach young men and women about healthy lifestyles, career planning, leadership, civic rights and responsibilities, journalism and volunteerism.
Y: What were you most afraid of before the trip to Ukraine?
C: I don’t know if I am afraid of anything here in Ukraine. But I will say that I have had some anxieties about assimilating into the culture. I think everyone, anywhere that lives abroad has thoughts like that. Also, I have only studied Russian for two months, so that, too, has caused some stress. But I am confident that I will succeed here and contribute a great deal to the mission of Peace Corps Ukraine.
Y: What surprised you most when you came to Ukraine?
C: I wasn’t too surprised about most things. I’ve traveled through Europe before and so I had some idea of what to expect. But one thing that surprises me still, is the amount of food Ukrainians can eat, and the generosity of the people. Never before in my life have I been offered so much or been treated with such kindness. Ukrainians really do know how to take care of their family and friends.
Y: What did you like or not like about our town? What would you change here, if you lived here permanently?
C: I think Obukhiv is a great place to live. I enjoyed teaching at School 5 and living with my wonderful host family. The people here are very friendly. And I think there is a great sense of community here. That said, I don’t know if I would change anything, but rather I think I would help improve on those positive things. I could see my role here as a sort of community organizer, teacher and active citizen. One thing I would hope to do anywhere is to teach about the importance of volunteerism and being an active citizen. Any city could do well with more of that.

Posted in Media, Peace Corps, Portland, Russian, Teaching, Travel, Ukraine |

I was staring wide-eyed at my alarm clock this morning when it went off at 5:00 a.m. The anticipation had gotten the best of me, and I slept just an hour the night before I was to begin my travels eastward. My mind was too busy to rest. Visions of what life would be like in Ukraine and the thrill that comes with traveling to a new place were both wild and alive inside me. After a shower, coffee and some final packing arrangements, I was off to the airport.

From Portland I flew to Phoenix, where I caught a connection to Washington DC. Along the way I met some other Peace Corps Trainees. Emily and Kate, both from Portland, Carson, from Phoenix, and Hailey, an Oaklander, shared a cab with me from the airport to our hotel – the Holiday Inn in Georgetown. We shared stories of what we’d been doing prior to receiving our invitations, thoughts on what’s to come and spoke at great length about the perils of packing for a two-year adventure. We ate together at a quaint Italian joint down the street, then we went our separate ways. Tomorrow we’ll come together again for what the Peace Corps calls “staging” – a day-long seminar of sorts that means to discuss what we’ll experience, encounter, have to endure over the next three months of training.

I am tired now, because of the traveling and the time change. But before I turn in, I’ll leave you with another photo from 30,000 feet above the earth.

Posted in Flying, Packing, Peace Corps, Portland, Travel |