I call this the bed that will lead me straight to a Chiropractor when I get home
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Newer new plan
I am going to Odessa tomorrow morning(not Odessa Texas). I will leave by private car at 5:00 a.m for 6-8 hours. They talked about an overnight train but could not get me a private compartment. I asked if the car had a mini-bar. Yulia couldn't translate mini-bar(or wouldn't). Yulia totally keeps me out of trouble, she doesn't drink much. I know, I know, I would have to get the only translator in the Ukraine that doesn't drink vodka. I'm considering this a good thing. I(we) will do a 1 hour talk and ride 6-8 hours back. Hopefully this weekend I will get to see more of Kiev as I have the weekend off.
I had another adventure at the grocery store when I decided to buy Ukraine wine. This guy kept bugging me while I was looking at the wine. Finally, in english, he said "I am the wine steward". (Oh, come on, we are in a grocery store). He really was the wine steward, I told him what I wanted and he picked a bottle of wine for me($8.00 American). I decided he was pretty nice even though he scared the crap out of me at first. It was really good wine(sorry Teresa and Bob, went off the diet).
I went home and there was a terrible racket going on in my apartment. I looked and looked and finally decided someone was trying to drill a tunnel into my apartment(my guess was the wine steward). If he made it in I didn't notice as I was watching SEA PATROL. There's a guy on this show that looks just like Andy from the sitcom with the UPS guy. He hasn't improved much. When I woke up this morning I could hear children cheering(no, it wasn't because they saw me in my PJ's). The school next to my apartment had set up a rink and they were playing ice hockey. It was fun to watch.
The interesting thing about the crop insurance is they don't have all the government reporting that we do. They decide what might be the highest yield for an area and a person can buy what they want up to that point. The government pays around 5% of the premium and that's it. The farmers don't trust the government(can't imagine why).
I won't be posting tomorrow as I will be enroute to Odessa(minus mini-bar). I will see some of the country outside of kiev so hopefully that will make the long ride go by quicker. By the way, farmer is pronounced fierma(feeairma) in Ukraine. If we average this out I should know about 5 words by the time I return.
I had another adventure at the grocery store when I decided to buy Ukraine wine. This guy kept bugging me while I was looking at the wine. Finally, in english, he said "I am the wine steward". (Oh, come on, we are in a grocery store). He really was the wine steward, I told him what I wanted and he picked a bottle of wine for me($8.00 American). I decided he was pretty nice even though he scared the crap out of me at first. It was really good wine(sorry Teresa and Bob, went off the diet).
I went home and there was a terrible racket going on in my apartment. I looked and looked and finally decided someone was trying to drill a tunnel into my apartment(my guess was the wine steward). If he made it in I didn't notice as I was watching SEA PATROL. There's a guy on this show that looks just like Andy from the sitcom with the UPS guy. He hasn't improved much. When I woke up this morning I could hear children cheering(no, it wasn't because they saw me in my PJ's). The school next to my apartment had set up a rink and they were playing ice hockey. It was fun to watch.
The interesting thing about the crop insurance is they don't have all the government reporting that we do. They decide what might be the highest yield for an area and a person can buy what they want up to that point. The government pays around 5% of the premium and that's it. The farmers don't trust the government(can't imagine why).
I won't be posting tomorrow as I will be enroute to Odessa(minus mini-bar). I will see some of the country outside of kiev so hopefully that will make the long ride go by quicker. By the way, farmer is pronounced fierma(feeairma) in Ukraine. If we average this out I should know about 5 words by the time I return.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
New Plan
They have been discussing a new plan for me. I think it's because the insurance executive thinks I know all the insurance secrets. I will have to think tonight to know if I do. The plan seems to be to get to the office at 11:00 and leave at 7:00. What is that all about?? This is cutting in to my Sea Patrol TV show. The new plan will involve going somewhere in a car Friday. This is all I know. I hope they have Toilet paper.
Famous
I was just told I will teach an agriculture seminar on March 6th. They have invited 150 people to attend. Roman, my project coordinator told me I will be famous after this seminar. I told him I am already famous in the U.S. with my blog.
Worked Late
Worked untill 7:00 last night. For me that's pretty late. I figured out that I have cable in my apartment. The only thing in English was CNN and Sea Patrol. Sea Patrol was so exciting. Only because it was in English.
Today I started work at 11:00 a.m. Shout out to Teresa(my wellness coach) I walk to work and it takes 30 minutes uphill. I choose to do this instead of the subway.
Everybody in the office seems nervous and excited. I think that's good. Hope they didn't watch CNN this morning and that they are nervous just because I did a good job not because Russia is a little miffed with the Ukraine.
Yulia explained about the collective farms during the Soviet reign and how things have changed. It's not a great situation for all involved but better than it was. She also told me that her parents had to buy liability insurance for their car for the first time this year because the government required this. It is around 100.00 american per year and it doesn't pay enough if you get into an accident. Some things are the same everywhere you go.
Today I started work at 11:00 a.m. Shout out to Teresa(my wellness coach) I walk to work and it takes 30 minutes uphill. I choose to do this instead of the subway.
Everybody in the office seems nervous and excited. I think that's good. Hope they didn't watch CNN this morning and that they are nervous just because I did a good job not because Russia is a little miffed with the Ukraine.
Yulia explained about the collective farms during the Soviet reign and how things have changed. It's not a great situation for all involved but better than it was. She also told me that her parents had to buy liability insurance for their car for the first time this year because the government required this. It is around 100.00 american per year and it doesn't pay enough if you get into an accident. Some things are the same everywhere you go.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Passed the test
I was just told that the Head of Ag. at TAS wants to meet more with me as he considered that I had knowledge that he would like to have.
YES
YES
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)