Ivan butchers a goat

Tuesday - Got up and went with Ivan to watch him butcher a goat. We just went three houses away to the home of another relative, Olga.

 (above, Volodya's grandaughter, Olga)

Olga is the daughter of Irena, one of the three Silvasi sisters, daughters of my grandmother's sister. Olga is 75, her husband died some time ago, and she has no children. But her brother Volodya's granddaughter (also named Olga), her husband and daughter also live with her. Volodya is deceased, but his daughter (Olga's mother) lives in the house beside Olga. Volodya's son Mihailo lives about 10 kilometers away.

Ivan didn't want me to watch him actually kill the goat, so I waited until was over, then watched him butcher it. I was amazed how quickly he skinned, gutted, and quartered the goat. The butchered meat came to about 14 kilos.

Olga raises white rabbits. They are really cute, and their fur is really soft. I found out that the rabbits aren't pets, though. They're food.

After Ivan was done with the butchering, I went with Klara to another field they owned in Baranintsi. This was a really big field that they had had plowed with a tractor, instead of by hand. Klara, her son Misha and daughter-in-law Miraslavo weeded the field by hand with hoes. Everything they do is totally organic. No chemicals. No pesticides. No herbicides. They take care of weeds with hoes. They said that at night pheasants come and eat any insect pests. And the soil is really rich and dark from being fertilized with manure for a thousand years. I tried hoeing; it is backbreaking work. With my back I was only able to last about 30 seconds. I don't know how they do it all day long.

The field next to theirs was fallow, and there were about 8 different varieties of wildflowers growing. The view from the field was really beautiful. You can see for miles, the air is so clear.

Klara sent me home (she thinks I'm some kind of delicate American. I keep telling her that if I can survive diving with sharks, I can survive the Ukraine); Ivan was cooking bliny (thin pancakes, like crepes) Ate them with lekvar. Delicious. Also had some home made cheese brought from home by one of Klara's college student boarders. Was similar to American cream cheese.

Two of Klara's college girl boarders came home and cooked themselves dinner. They invited me to have tea and eat with them.

I just got done eating bliny, but they made me eat their food, too. Was something like French toast. When Klara first told me that the girls were university students, I had assumed they were around 20 years old. And the entire time I've been here, they seemed really mature and intelligent. Talking to them today, I found out that they are both in Law School, studying to be lawyers, and THEY ARE BOTH ONLY 16 YEARS OLD!!!!! I had read that American students come in dead last in testing for math and sciences among all developed countries, and now I really believe it. Our educational system is the worst. My little cousin Katya is only six years old, English is her second language, and she reads English better than most American ten year olds!!!! Sasha is 18, and in Dental School. (oh yeah, by the way, the girls have free Law School education. No tuition. No student loans. No debt when they graduate. Still think America is the greatest country on earth???)

 The two law students showed me videos and photos from their little village up in the mountains, about 100 kilometers from here. Really picturesque little mountain village; it has one of the last water powered forges in Europe, and each year they have an international blacksmith competition there. They are really up in the mountains; one girl's(Marina's) brother is a professional hunter, and Marina hunts, too.

Church bells are ringing. That means a bad thunderstorm is coming, so we all go inside. Goodnight!
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