Graham Seibert

Graham Seibert's Home Page

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With Oksana August 2010

Kiev, November 2011

People have two questions. What do you do? What ARE you doing living in Ukraine?

I have done almost everything. Worked a year as webmaster for the Ukrainian Association of retired persons. Served as President of the ArtTalkers Toastmasters Club. Council member of the Anglican Church. A member of the Kyiv Multinational Rotary Club. Substitute teacher and tutor. Editor and translator from Russian into English. Last semester I was professor of ecology at International Christian University. None of these paid much, but I have learned from all of them. Now is time for a change of pace. As improbable as it will seem to those who know me, I worked two months in summer of 2011 as a television journalist. Stay tuned.

I have always been committed to the romantic notions captured by the love songs of the 1950s and looked for that kind of relationship. I have found one with Oksana, whom I married on September 21, 2010. Here's a recap of the wedding itself; photos are on the photos of Kiev link.

Oksana graduated in music - her instrument was the domra, a relative of the lyre - and then took up the guitar as she got her masters in music education. She taught, toured for several years dancing with a Ukrainian folk dance ensemble, and just before we met, taught herself English in preparation for seeking a degree in a more lucrative field.

For the best of reasons, we could not go through with our plans to visit the US in 2011. By the time she finally got her Homeland Security clearance she was four months pregnant. Add six weeks for a visa and another month of travel, and there simply was not enough time. Edward Gerald Seibert was born on October 15 – you can see his baby pix under Photos of Kiev to the left, read about the home delivery under My Ukraine Blog. So, we will spend the winter here. We do plan to visit the US for a long vacation in late Spring 2012.

Oksana did not want to choose where to live before visiting the US, but this delay has forced the choice on us. We will be here. We have bought 3/10 of an acre, two adjoining dachas, in town by the river, and are in the process of designing a house.

I started the last decade writing a book on installing Oracle Financial Software, taught at private high schools, led the Habitat for Humanity trips to Portugal, Brazil, and Nicaragua, and took some fascinating Study Abroad anthropology courses as I completed my coursework for a PhD in statistics at the University of Maryland.

I came to Ukraine in September 2007 to study Russian for a month. I love travel and adventure, and I find Kiev beautiful place to live. It is less expensive than Western Europe and far more exotic. Kiev, the capital of ancient Russia before the Mongol invasion, has a few very old architectural sites and many beautiful cathedrals and buildings from more recent centuries.

There is tremendous opportunity in Ukraine if the country can overcome the mindset inherited from its suspicious and contentious past. It takes mutual trust to build wealth, and while such trust is bountiful among friends, in small communities, and in daily interaction among common people, it is conspicuously lacking in business. Although bribery is diminishing, it remains common. It is just as common for people simply to ignore solemn commitments. The laws on almost everything are unclear and their application is erratic. Having an income from the United States puts me in a privileged position in this society.

The hope for the country is in the younger generation, who are not haunted by their parents' fears and who are disgusted by the corruption and inequity. They are better educated, more disciplined, and more oriented toward success than young people in the United States. I teach because I love to, and I like it here because the students are promising and few others in the society can deliver the message I have to offer. Please chase the links on this page to my various other interests.

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