new years, ukrainski style

so, the funny thing about this trip was that it allowed me to have 3 christmas celebrations. and had i stayed just a little longer, i could have had 2 new years, as well. the thing about ukraine, from what i've learned, is that they really like their holidays. i guess the entire month of january is one giant party. while i was in ivano-frankivsk, i got to experience the new new year (as opposed to the old new year, on the 13th). the day started out as any other - ie i woke up much earlier than i would have wanted thanks to my internal clock that seems to adjust very quickly to new time zones. after a slow start to the morning, it was off to the market. mike & jonathon actually made it all the way, andrea & i turned back early w/the dog. it really is cold in this country! we had a nice chat tho, and i think i may have convinced her to become a physical therapist. haha.

back at the house to warm up, it was eggs for breakfast (cooked by mike) and then back out for a tour of the town. apparently this little city has had quite the history. it used to be called stanyslaviv (and still is by some.. again, see coping mechanisms in future post), and has been part of poland, the austrian-hungarian empire, the western ukrainian people's republic, back to poland, the soviet union, poland again, the ukrainian ssr, occupied by the nazis, the ussr, and now happily an independent ukraine. phew.

walked around, and jonathon pointed out various monuments, churches and important buildings. most were actually quite pretty, and it was nice to get an insider's guide to a place, rather than just relying on a tour book. everything was all festive for the holidays. i think that was what was the best thing about being in europe in the winter - at least it wasn't just gray and dreary.. there were lights and trees and decorations all around. actually, new years in ukraine is when santa claus makes his visit, so kids get a lot more excited over this holiday than they do in the states.

tried to find our way to an internet cafe, however, this being new years eve, everything was closed. by this point we were freezing, so it was fortunate we found one cafe opened where we could warm up with some hot drinks and ukrainian breadsticks. after a while, headed over to where jonathon works, and after he made a few phone calls, the guard at the building let us in to use the internet. then it was back home, stopping at a local convenience store to pick up drinks for the evening. soon, the international crowd began to arrive: obviously me, mike, jonathon and andrea being from the states; vera and her friend ulya (sp?) from ukraine, who did most of the meal prep; cain and nigel from canada, who work with jonathon; 1 turkish guy (not sure who he was connected to); 2 poles; and 1 other ukrainian girl who was dating nigel - and who also happened to be a professional cook. and so our party began.

i tried to shake myself out of the funk i was in - after all, how many times are you in europe for new years? i don't know if it was homesickness, having never experienced that before. but i just wasn't in much of a mood to do anything. fortunately it was temporary, and by the time people were heading out to the main square, i was much more inclined to participate. they funny thing was that b/c it was so cold, no one really wanted to go out. but, since most were no longer sober, the cold did not matter as much, and literally 10mins before midnight, we made a mad dash to the town center. mike and i walked quickly - i was not about to run on the ice - and so lost the rest of the group. standing around the town center was very cool: there were people everywhere singing, dancing and drinking. fireworks were being shot off into the crowd (i just hoped nothing landed on me and set me on fire). the ukrainian president was speaking on a giant tv screen set up just for this occasion (apparently it's a tradition to listen to him/her talk).

but the funniest thing was that we had no idea when it was actually midnight.

there was no countdown. no giant cheer from the crowd. no increase in the amount of fireworks. and obviously no tacky crystal ball to watch drop. we were clueless, but having left the apartment 10 mins before, we deduced that it was most likely midnight by now. eventually mike and i found the rest of the group, and we proceeded to dance the night away. at one point some people formed a circle - and it was amazing, b/c the circle just kept growing and growing as more and more people decided to join. it really was neat to be part of such a community atmosphere. it reminded me of when theresa and i went to the hungarian folk dance hall the year before. so much fun. after a couple hours, it was time to make our way back. mike and i left before everyone else; however we arrived after. turns out they found a cab! totally zonked, it was eye mask and ear plugs to the rescue, as most of the guests continued the celebration until about 5 or 6 am.