Привет! Well here I am, halfway through training! It’s honestly been kinda a whirlwind. It’s hard to believe that we’re already halfway through and I only have 4 more weeks till I’m an official PCV!
So the language is coming along nicely….I think for this point. I really need to continue strongly pursuing my SDL time (self directed learning). I have reached the point where I can easily convey simple things like my daily plans and I’m more comfortable asking my host family questions such as ‘how was your day’ and ‘what did you do today’ etc. I also have found that it’s easier for me to pick up words when listening to people speak. I still have to work on my answers but I can understand the basics of what people are saying….so long as they’re not speaking too fast! But I honestly love learning Russian and I’m super stoked for the time to come when I can easily converse and get around. I’m so glad that I was placed in Russian language so that I can use it later in life (ok, hopefully I get assigned to a Russian speaking community!)
We had our last teaching day last week. I’m pretty excited to be done with teaching for now. I’m just not too comfortable with it; although during my self evaluation my tech teacher said that I look confident and that I have a natural presence when I’m teaching (wish I felt that way, but I’m sure that’ll come in time with more practice).
Well, we are scheduled to help out in English class on Monday, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that falls through. It’s the end of the school year so a lot of kids ditch on class. In Ukraine there isn’t a high accountability for class attendance and it’s often not mandatory -like there’s no regulation or consequences for students missing class-. So sometimes students can just decide not to come to class; or they may go to the beginning of the day and then by the time they’ve been through 4 class hours they’ve had enough and just go home or go hang out somewhere.
We started working on our summer camp and community project. We are holding a 4 day summer camp the first week in June. Both of our training clusters are hosting camp in our respective schools and then coming together for the final day and community project. Our theme is “Equality and Respect”. We are working with a club for disabled children for our community project and so we are teaching for 3 days with the culmination of summer camp bringing everyone together to hang out with the kids from Club Hope. In Ukraine there isn’t a lot (really none) of support and tolerance for disabled children and their families. Unfortunately these people are often ignored by society, may not even be accepted into a lot of school systems, not to mention there is practically zero government support. Our PST group wanted to do something to reach out to these kids and families and also to try to bring about awareness in our community. It would be awesome if our project planted some seeds of friendship and the schools and Club Hope will work together in the future.
Ok, so my thoughts now at this time: I feel like I’m still feeling things out and getting my bearings. As I said, I love learning the language and I’m becoming more comfortable in this society in general, and of course I don’t like the teaching. We had self-assessment interviews this week and one of the things they asked us was to seriously consider our commitment to PC since we have site placement interviews next week. I understand their concern with people making sure they are committed before continuing on with placement, etc…I’m sure it’s tough for these communities to ask for and receive a volunteer only for that person to leave before their service is over. But for me, I cannot make any solid decisions at this point. Training is only for 2 months so I can’t justify basing a decision off 2 months of which are not even going to be what my service is like. On the other hand, I’m def not packing my bags just yet! Sometimes I still have days where I wonder if this is the right thing for me…again, 2 years of my life is a lot to give up; but I want to give it a chance. I’m sure once I get settled into my actual home and worksite things will fall into place. Until then I’m learning a lot of patience! Lol!
So we learn our site placement when we leave Fastiv on June 15 and go to Kiev for our Conference and Swearing In. Aggghhh!….that’s so long from now! I’m ready to know where I’m going now! Haha. Honestly I have no preference on geographical location of my site…I don’t want to be in a super remote village (I want internet access). The only request I have is that I’m at least within like 1 hr distance from another PCV. It’s been hard for me to adjust to this life and deal with the loneliness and right now I have 9 other people in my town…I most def would not be able to make it completely by myself.
On that note I plan on getting a pet…preferably a dog but I would settle for a cat just in case I do get super busy and have little time for a pet; cats can take care of themselves for the most part. I’ll need something to keep me company. Also, I know I would get so super attached to a puppy bc I love them sooo much. I’ve been told that it’s possible, as other RPCVs have done this, to bring your puppy home with you after service. But I’m sure that will be a huge hassle with the paperwork, shots, travel logistics, etc. and I don’t think that I would be able to just leave a dog behind after spending two years with it.
So last weekend was Victory Day here. (April and May are chock full of holidays!) We had some tech training but after that I went to a BBQ with my adopted host fam at the Botanical Gardens and met up with my host family later at their BBQ. Later I went with Anna to the fireworks. We just went to the edge of town and there was a ceremony followed by about 10 mins of fireworks…they were decent and I’ve def never been that close to fireworks! I’m really gonna miss 4th of July!
I’ve been thinking and compiling a list of things I miss from home in no order:
* English * Friends * American food * Thurs night din
* Driving * Family * Clothes dryers * 105.7 The Point
* Concerts * Wrigs * Going to Texas * Village People Party
* Borders * Diet Coke * TV * Consistent hot water
* the News * the Gym * Dance Class * BBQs and late nights
* Cards Games - beer, brats, baseball * Cheesecake Factory
* Being able to go to a bar
Things I def don’t miss:
* 40 hr workweek *Twin beds * The profusion of fast food
* Bills *Buying gas * Doing 4 hrs of laundry bc I have so many clothes
Things I don’t like about my new life (PST):
*Having to pay for/ride the bus daily * Not cooking for myself
* Curfew * No pets
* Uncertainty
Things I like about my new life (PST) and Ukraine:
* Borsch * Birthday Parties * Learning Russian
* Challenges * Walking everywhere * Tea Time
* the weather and landscape * Fashion - I’m gonna adopt a few things
K, that’s all for now. Peace Out!
Oh, I will be putting my pics online soon. I sent out some emails with a few pics so if you didn’t receive and email I’m sorry, it’s because I don’t have your address. You can get in touch w/ either my parents or Aaron and they can hopefully forward the email or you can wait for the link to view the pics online.
Love! Лювлю
До Свиданя!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Bugs, Water, and Beautiful Cities
Priviet!
So I now know what the real PC experience is allll about: big bugs, lack of water, etc. As of last week the water in my host home officially only works at night. I don't know why this is and most of the time the water is freezing. Last week I had to go without a real shower for like 3 days. Meantime I was able to take freezing cold sink baths and run my hair under the faucet. Only as of yesterday did my host family introduce me to the 'summer shower.' For some reason we get water out in the garage for showers but not in the home. Hmmm...don't know what's with that. Now I just have to find out when I can do laundry. I guess this will be the time I learn to handwash.
And last week a huge bug invaded my room and tried to eat my face off! (Those of you who are familiar with my bug phobia may find this story interesting...just image what I was doing!)
I was just sitting there minding my own business and doing my homework while enjoying the cool breeze flowing through my window when this massive bug tried to enter my window! I freaked out and shut the window. I stood there for a several seconds contemplating what to do. Normally I would cry for my mom or Aaron to come and kill and dispose of this bug for me. But I have not yet learned how to say "save me from this huge bug!" in Russian.
Since I had my first self-evaluation coming up I decided to grow up and take care of the bug myself. My mom would be so proud! :) So I smashed the bug in the window and tried to shoo it outside. But that didn't work bc he fell into my room! aaagghhh! What to do?! I thought about calling my host sister to help but again decided that my host family would tell the PC that their volunteer is afraid of big bugs and cannot handle them on her own. So I grabbed the nearest shoe and smashed him! Then I was looking around for some paper to use to pick up the guts when my host papa came out of his room and saw what I was doing and came to investigate. Only then did I try to describe the invador and his intentions. Papa thought it was hilarious and ran to tell mama and Anna before being a great host dad and getting rid of the bug carcas.
Anyhow...last week we also took our first trip to Kiev. (Yes, I swear this time that pictures are coming!) We visited the PC office, a couple of churches, Independence Square, and the Dnipro River. It was a great day!
We had our LCF rotation this week - aka we got a new Russian teacher for the next 3 weeks. She's great. It's hard to believe that we're halfway done with training! We also are done teaching in the schools next week which I'm super stoked about! Teaching is hard enough for me bc I have no experience...you can't even imagine how crazy it can be being a rookie teacher and having to teach in another language that you've been studying for only a month! But all things considered it's been going well. I'm excited for us to start working on our summer camp and community project next week.
We had another adopt-a-cluster (current PCV) visit our site this week. I think that that is the best program that PC has during training. It gives us a chance to speak with PcVs and get real stories about their experiences, not just the amazing flowery stories that PC tells you.
Well my computer is having low battery and I'd better go. On the agenda for tomorrow is (seriously) getting my pics posted online. I know everyone is anxious to see them!
Love!
So I now know what the real PC experience is allll about: big bugs, lack of water, etc. As of last week the water in my host home officially only works at night. I don't know why this is and most of the time the water is freezing. Last week I had to go without a real shower for like 3 days. Meantime I was able to take freezing cold sink baths and run my hair under the faucet. Only as of yesterday did my host family introduce me to the 'summer shower.' For some reason we get water out in the garage for showers but not in the home. Hmmm...don't know what's with that. Now I just have to find out when I can do laundry. I guess this will be the time I learn to handwash.
And last week a huge bug invaded my room and tried to eat my face off! (Those of you who are familiar with my bug phobia may find this story interesting...just image what I was doing!)
I was just sitting there minding my own business and doing my homework while enjoying the cool breeze flowing through my window when this massive bug tried to enter my window! I freaked out and shut the window. I stood there for a several seconds contemplating what to do. Normally I would cry for my mom or Aaron to come and kill and dispose of this bug for me. But I have not yet learned how to say "save me from this huge bug!" in Russian.
Since I had my first self-evaluation coming up I decided to grow up and take care of the bug myself. My mom would be so proud! :) So I smashed the bug in the window and tried to shoo it outside. But that didn't work bc he fell into my room! aaagghhh! What to do?! I thought about calling my host sister to help but again decided that my host family would tell the PC that their volunteer is afraid of big bugs and cannot handle them on her own. So I grabbed the nearest shoe and smashed him! Then I was looking around for some paper to use to pick up the guts when my host papa came out of his room and saw what I was doing and came to investigate. Only then did I try to describe the invador and his intentions. Papa thought it was hilarious and ran to tell mama and Anna before being a great host dad and getting rid of the bug carcas.
Anyhow...last week we also took our first trip to Kiev. (Yes, I swear this time that pictures are coming!) We visited the PC office, a couple of churches, Independence Square, and the Dnipro River. It was a great day!
We had our LCF rotation this week - aka we got a new Russian teacher for the next 3 weeks. She's great. It's hard to believe that we're halfway done with training! We also are done teaching in the schools next week which I'm super stoked about! Teaching is hard enough for me bc I have no experience...you can't even imagine how crazy it can be being a rookie teacher and having to teach in another language that you've been studying for only a month! But all things considered it's been going well. I'm excited for us to start working on our summer camp and community project next week.
We had another adopt-a-cluster (current PCV) visit our site this week. I think that that is the best program that PC has during training. It gives us a chance to speak with PcVs and get real stories about their experiences, not just the amazing flowery stories that PC tells you.
Well my computer is having low battery and I'd better go. On the agenda for tomorrow is (seriously) getting my pics posted online. I know everyone is anxious to see them!
Love!
Monday, April 27, 2009
New Traditions
Hey everyone!
Well, not a whole lot has happened since the last post. I haven't found any new bf's w/ the yellow jacket and I think I've figured out how to wear it! Haha.
Things are going pretty well. Good news is that the free internet is back! I finally came here and asked the guys at the company. Soo..for real, pictures will be coming soon! Hopefully I'll have this luck at my site!
Tomorrow I'm teaching again, this time on nutrition so hopefully all goes well. Russian is still kicking my butt but I think I'm doing better than I think. By the end of next week we have to have our proposals for the community project and summer camp. I'm pretty excited to be doing that work rather than teaching.
This past weekend we had a birthday party for my host mom. It was a good time. Also yesterday was another holiday in Ukraine. I don't know what it's called but everyone goes to the cemetary and has food and drink w/ their loved ones at their gravesites. So I went with my family and we were there for like 2 hours visiting family and friends' graves. It's also a tradition to leave candy and food at the grave site...this is all in vain because the gypsies come behind you and take the food and candy. That's a sad situation really. But anyways, it was a neat experience and I'm glad I got to go!
I've been hanging out a little more w/ people in my cluster/link group and I love it. The weekends are the only times we really have free (from lesson and homework) so it's awesome to get together and just chill. I have so much fun w/ these people and it really helps me to relax and feel like I'm having some sort of life here.
This Wednesday we're going to Kiev. Pretty stoked for that!
Well, I really don't have much else right now to update on. (Oh side note, the dance class down the hall is having using music that we use at my studio! Wow..I really miss it! What I wouldn't give to have a ballet class right now! Hopefully I can find someplace when I get to my site. I should prolly take the time by myself to dance and relax more, but I'm just not in the mental/emotional state right now. Dance is something that brings me joy, but it's difficult for me to dance when I'm stressed/unsure...etc, you get the point. Really, I should just do it becase it's good for me! )
Anyways...catch up soon. Love and miss everyone like crazy!
Love!
Well, not a whole lot has happened since the last post. I haven't found any new bf's w/ the yellow jacket and I think I've figured out how to wear it! Haha.
Things are going pretty well. Good news is that the free internet is back! I finally came here and asked the guys at the company. Soo..for real, pictures will be coming soon! Hopefully I'll have this luck at my site!
Tomorrow I'm teaching again, this time on nutrition so hopefully all goes well. Russian is still kicking my butt but I think I'm doing better than I think. By the end of next week we have to have our proposals for the community project and summer camp. I'm pretty excited to be doing that work rather than teaching.
This past weekend we had a birthday party for my host mom. It was a good time. Also yesterday was another holiday in Ukraine. I don't know what it's called but everyone goes to the cemetary and has food and drink w/ their loved ones at their gravesites. So I went with my family and we were there for like 2 hours visiting family and friends' graves. It's also a tradition to leave candy and food at the grave site...this is all in vain because the gypsies come behind you and take the food and candy. That's a sad situation really. But anyways, it was a neat experience and I'm glad I got to go!
I've been hanging out a little more w/ people in my cluster/link group and I love it. The weekends are the only times we really have free (from lesson and homework) so it's awesome to get together and just chill. I have so much fun w/ these people and it really helps me to relax and feel like I'm having some sort of life here.
This Wednesday we're going to Kiev. Pretty stoked for that!
Well, I really don't have much else right now to update on. (Oh side note, the dance class down the hall is having using music that we use at my studio! Wow..I really miss it! What I wouldn't give to have a ballet class right now! Hopefully I can find someplace when I get to my site. I should prolly take the time by myself to dance and relax more, but I'm just not in the mental/emotional state right now. Dance is something that brings me joy, but it's difficult for me to dance when I'm stressed/unsure...etc, you get the point. Really, I should just do it becase it's good for me! )
Anyways...catch up soon. Love and miss everyone like crazy!
Love!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
My family is trying to pawn me off...
Hey!
So...yeah, I know it's been a while on the blog again. Actually I am keeping a really good 'journal' on my computer. But as some of you may know I've hit a bit of an internet SNAFU. See we did have access to free internet but they cut us off. I'm now at an internet cafe but I would really like to find someplace to use my own computer and then post my other entries.
But here's what's going on so far.
Completed the first two weeks and heading into the third. A lot of times it seems like I'll be here forever (which I've heard is normal feeling) but really thinking about it time is going rather quickly. We start teaching next week which is something I'm really nervous about bc I've never taught before; let alone in Russian! We are teaching a class on Healthy Lifestyles about not smoking to 7th graders. The good news is that I don't have to teach alone so I'm glad for that.
Other than that I'm doing ok. Language is still hard but I'm working at it and I definitly know more than when I came here so that's a step. Honestly sometimes I feel like I'm just not sure about this. Like I've def felt like wanting to go home a few times...but I do feel like there's a purpose to me being here and I'll find that out eventually. (hopefully sooner than later) I'm becoming slightly more comfortable as the days go by but for some reason the mornings are always the hardest for me and it's when I feel the loneliest.
This week I also managed to get food poisoning...apparently from the tomatoes. Since tomatoes are not in season it is not unusual for someone to get sick from eating them. I felt HORRIBLE! I had such bad stomach pains and you can imagine what else. But at least now I know what food poisoning is like so that if it happens when I'm at site on my own I'll know what to do. Basically just rest and try to get some fluids. I didn't feel so bad about getting sick when I learned that my host sister also was sick...so it wasn't just me being foreign.
My host family is still great. I've been getting into helping out around the house...last weekend I helped clean and stack wood and last night I helped to plant in the garden.
Tomorrow is Easter so I'll have a busy day! We are going to church at 5am! And I'm not sure what else happens during the day; last week Anna said something about going into the woods and having a picnic w/ my family's friends.
Next weekend is Oksana's birthday so I'm sure we'll be having a party, etc. Hopefully this time I won't get hit on! On that note...I think my host family is trying to marry me off! Last week Papa had a friend over doing work or something and at dinner he asked me if I had a boyfriend, like back at home, and I told him no. Then he said (in broken English/Russian/gestured) that his friend could be my boyfriend. !!! I was like...hahaha...no. It was kinda akward but pretty funny. Then last night my host mom and sister bought me and gave me a new coat which was very nice of them. Now this coat is not something that I would normally buy in the US...I suspect they are trying to help me be more Ukrainian as well... This coat is a mid length trench coat, has multiple zippers in multiple places, has shoulder pads, and is BRIGHT yellow. So I tried it on and it is a little big but fits ok for the most part and I do really like the style. So mama and sister helped me to fix it and then told me that all the men will like me now - like in my new coat. For the record...I did not join PC Ukraine to find a boyfriend/husband! HAHA! But it's been a hilarious experience. And I am grateful for the jacket. Despite the bright color it's comfy, I have a scarf that matches so I can tone down a little, and at least I won't be hit by a car or marshrutka.
Love!
So...yeah, I know it's been a while on the blog again. Actually I am keeping a really good 'journal' on my computer. But as some of you may know I've hit a bit of an internet SNAFU. See we did have access to free internet but they cut us off. I'm now at an internet cafe but I would really like to find someplace to use my own computer and then post my other entries.
But here's what's going on so far.
Completed the first two weeks and heading into the third. A lot of times it seems like I'll be here forever (which I've heard is normal feeling) but really thinking about it time is going rather quickly. We start teaching next week which is something I'm really nervous about bc I've never taught before; let alone in Russian! We are teaching a class on Healthy Lifestyles about not smoking to 7th graders. The good news is that I don't have to teach alone so I'm glad for that.
Other than that I'm doing ok. Language is still hard but I'm working at it and I definitly know more than when I came here so that's a step. Honestly sometimes I feel like I'm just not sure about this. Like I've def felt like wanting to go home a few times...but I do feel like there's a purpose to me being here and I'll find that out eventually. (hopefully sooner than later) I'm becoming slightly more comfortable as the days go by but for some reason the mornings are always the hardest for me and it's when I feel the loneliest.
This week I also managed to get food poisoning...apparently from the tomatoes. Since tomatoes are not in season it is not unusual for someone to get sick from eating them. I felt HORRIBLE! I had such bad stomach pains and you can imagine what else. But at least now I know what food poisoning is like so that if it happens when I'm at site on my own I'll know what to do. Basically just rest and try to get some fluids. I didn't feel so bad about getting sick when I learned that my host sister also was sick...so it wasn't just me being foreign.
My host family is still great. I've been getting into helping out around the house...last weekend I helped clean and stack wood and last night I helped to plant in the garden.
Tomorrow is Easter so I'll have a busy day! We are going to church at 5am! And I'm not sure what else happens during the day; last week Anna said something about going into the woods and having a picnic w/ my family's friends.
Next weekend is Oksana's birthday so I'm sure we'll be having a party, etc. Hopefully this time I won't get hit on! On that note...I think my host family is trying to marry me off! Last week Papa had a friend over doing work or something and at dinner he asked me if I had a boyfriend, like back at home, and I told him no. Then he said (in broken English/Russian/gestured) that his friend could be my boyfriend. !!! I was like...hahaha...no. It was kinda akward but pretty funny. Then last night my host mom and sister bought me and gave me a new coat which was very nice of them. Now this coat is not something that I would normally buy in the US...I suspect they are trying to help me be more Ukrainian as well... This coat is a mid length trench coat, has multiple zippers in multiple places, has shoulder pads, and is BRIGHT yellow. So I tried it on and it is a little big but fits ok for the most part and I do really like the style. So mama and sister helped me to fix it and then told me that all the men will like me now - like in my new coat. For the record...I did not join PC Ukraine to find a boyfriend/husband! HAHA! But it's been a hilarious experience. And I am grateful for the jacket. Despite the bright color it's comfy, I have a scarf that matches so I can tone down a little, and at least I won't be hit by a car or marshrutka.
Love!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
I found internet!
So I have finally found internet!
As you can see I have been keeping track of my adventures but now have been able to post on the blog. (This is seeming very personal and is akward for me to share so much...but it makes me feel better.) So...I have lots for you to catch up on.
As for right now, we visited our first school today and we visit another one, the one I will be working in, tomorrow. Russian language is totally kicking my butt right now. Anna says that by two months I'll be able to speak it. We shall see! :)
Da Svidanya!
Love!
As you can see I have been keeping track of my adventures but now have been able to post on the blog. (This is seeming very personal and is akward for me to share so much...but it makes me feel better.) So...I have lots for you to catch up on.
As for right now, we visited our first school today and we visit another one, the one I will be working in, tomorrow. Russian language is totally kicking my butt right now. Anna says that by two months I'll be able to speak it. We shall see! :)
Da Svidanya!
Love!
April 6, 2009
Day Eight:
I’ve only been in Ukraine for two whole days; but on this Peace Corps adventure for a week now. It all started last Monday with a flight to Philly.
My thoughts after a week with the Peace Corps: I’m not really sure. I don’t have too many thoughts; or rather I have so many that it’s hard to decipher just one or two.
I am going to like mornings here at my host family. Everyone leaves at 7:30am for work and school while I have until at least 8:30 to leave for classes. I get about an hour to start my day and at least kind of collect my thoughts before starting the day. The biggest thing right now is trying to figure out if this is really what I want to be doing. I haven’t had any horrible days and the only thing I have to want for is internet access and more contact from home. But, all things considered, that is not bad at all! I got to speak with my parents again last night; we will be able to talk only on the weekends since that’s the only time that will work for both of us. I was hoping to speak with Aaron again last night, but I guess he was busy. I did get to check internet yesterday and he said he would try to call. I know he just wouldn’t call for no reason. I hope he can call me tonight.
As if I haven’t learned a lot of it already, I’m continuing to learn patience with myself. I’m still trying to adjust and the hardest thing is for me not to wish that I were somewhere else; perhaps with another host family, only because of the internet. (I think I found my one thing that is hard for me to deal with). ON the other hand, why shouldn’t other PCV s want to be with my host family? They are a lot of fun and I’ve already experienced a Ukrainian birthday party and picnic in the woods! But honestly, this is only a temporary thing, for in 3 months we will be heading to our sites. And then that is also only permanent as we have 2 years to stay there. I didn’t want to fall into a heavy routine right out of college, but I think that by the time I return home I will be ready for a routine, ready to settle down. We’ll see how I feel by the end of service!
I really like my host family. They are all so very nice and it will be so much better once I can get more Russian learned and can communicate better. I fear that they think I do not like them or am not friendly. I wouldn’t say that my first night here was full of conversation; I was still in shock and of course not sure what to say to them. I started on my own Ukrainian lessons back home, but then was told at the retreat to learn Russian…completely different for the most part.
OH, the first lesson I learned; don’t wear flats…at least not if you are going to spend the day walking the city. Your feet will be filthy by the end of the day.
I am still trying to work on my community mapping…it takes me about 5 minutes or so to get to town by bus; I have ridden it several times already, but I still do not really know the way. If I had to find it myself I most definitely could not. Well, I had better go and get ready for the day.
Love.
Day Eight:
I’ve only been in Ukraine for two whole days; but on this Peace Corps adventure for a week now. It all started last Monday with a flight to Philly.
My thoughts after a week with the Peace Corps: I’m not really sure. I don’t have too many thoughts; or rather I have so many that it’s hard to decipher just one or two.
I am going to like mornings here at my host family. Everyone leaves at 7:30am for work and school while I have until at least 8:30 to leave for classes. I get about an hour to start my day and at least kind of collect my thoughts before starting the day. The biggest thing right now is trying to figure out if this is really what I want to be doing. I haven’t had any horrible days and the only thing I have to want for is internet access and more contact from home. But, all things considered, that is not bad at all! I got to speak with my parents again last night; we will be able to talk only on the weekends since that’s the only time that will work for both of us. I was hoping to speak with Aaron again last night, but I guess he was busy. I did get to check internet yesterday and he said he would try to call. I know he just wouldn’t call for no reason. I hope he can call me tonight.
As if I haven’t learned a lot of it already, I’m continuing to learn patience with myself. I’m still trying to adjust and the hardest thing is for me not to wish that I were somewhere else; perhaps with another host family, only because of the internet. (I think I found my one thing that is hard for me to deal with). ON the other hand, why shouldn’t other PCV s want to be with my host family? They are a lot of fun and I’ve already experienced a Ukrainian birthday party and picnic in the woods! But honestly, this is only a temporary thing, for in 3 months we will be heading to our sites. And then that is also only permanent as we have 2 years to stay there. I didn’t want to fall into a heavy routine right out of college, but I think that by the time I return home I will be ready for a routine, ready to settle down. We’ll see how I feel by the end of service!
I really like my host family. They are all so very nice and it will be so much better once I can get more Russian learned and can communicate better. I fear that they think I do not like them or am not friendly. I wouldn’t say that my first night here was full of conversation; I was still in shock and of course not sure what to say to them. I started on my own Ukrainian lessons back home, but then was told at the retreat to learn Russian…completely different for the most part.
OH, the first lesson I learned; don’t wear flats…at least not if you are going to spend the day walking the city. Your feet will be filthy by the end of the day.
I am still trying to work on my community mapping…it takes me about 5 minutes or so to get to town by bus; I have ridden it several times already, but I still do not really know the way. If I had to find it myself I most definitely could not. Well, I had better go and get ready for the day.
Love.
Day Six:
Today was a good day. I got up about 9am…at my own waking! J It’s been a while since I’ve been able to sleep in! We had breakfast which consisted of mashed potatoes, fish, pork patties from the night before, some mix of peas, egg, ham, mayo…I don’t know what it was but it’s really good, and to top it off we had tea and chocolates. I’m not a very big breakfast eater so it was hard for me to get all of it down. But it was so good!
After breakfast I help set the table for Anna’s birthday party and she helped me with my Russian. I met with my cluster group for community mapping. Katya took us around Fastiv and showed us certain main points: the market, post office, police, administration building, train station, bus stops, how to get to and from her apt and our homes, etc. We all were able to exchange our dollars for UAH and make our first purchase (beverage) in one of the stores.
We also got to meet our TCF whom we will meet with for technical training. We all were also able to get cell phones. YES!!!!!!! Communication is the one thing I’ve been dying to have! Since I don’t have internet at my home, we can get it closer to in town, I needed a way to get in contact at least w/ my parents and Aaron. (This was all successful. After many texts and email help from Bob, my fellow PCV, my parents and Aaron were able to call me and talk for about 20 mins. What a great boost!)
I plan on hanging out w/ Bob tomorrow to send a few emails, update my face book, and update my blog. We also have to work on our community mapping project. We have an assignment for Tuesday to draw a map of Fastiv complete with directions on how to get around, including how to get home.
As I said before, tonight was Anna’s birthday party. I took the bus home from Katya’s apartment…scary at first, but I think I’ll be ready to go on Monday!
We had lots of food for dinner and some wine. Everyone makes a toast to the birthday girl. I even gave a toast, but it was in English. My Russian is basically non-existent at this time since I’ve only been working on it for 3 days. (Today we got all of our language materials. That is such a relief! Now I’ll have to get crackin’ and hit the language books.)
After dinner I went with Anna’s friends down to the river to hang out. They took lots of pictures and when we got back to her house we had the birthday cake. Remember the one I made the night before? Yep, that’s the one they cut! It was delicious! It was made out of some kind of thin wafer cake, a cream filling with pecans sprinkled, and chocolate topping; layered cake.
I met Anna’s grandma, friends, boyfriend, etc. A couple of her friends spoke a little English so they were asking me about myself and America. I showed them pictures of my family and friends. (Yes Dad, they all said that you are a cowboy! …I told them yes. J )
Love!
Today was a good day. I got up about 9am…at my own waking! J It’s been a while since I’ve been able to sleep in! We had breakfast which consisted of mashed potatoes, fish, pork patties from the night before, some mix of peas, egg, ham, mayo…I don’t know what it was but it’s really good, and to top it off we had tea and chocolates. I’m not a very big breakfast eater so it was hard for me to get all of it down. But it was so good!
After breakfast I help set the table for Anna’s birthday party and she helped me with my Russian. I met with my cluster group for community mapping. Katya took us around Fastiv and showed us certain main points: the market, post office, police, administration building, train station, bus stops, how to get to and from her apt and our homes, etc. We all were able to exchange our dollars for UAH and make our first purchase (beverage) in one of the stores.
We also got to meet our TCF whom we will meet with for technical training. We all were also able to get cell phones. YES!!!!!!! Communication is the one thing I’ve been dying to have! Since I don’t have internet at my home, we can get it closer to in town, I needed a way to get in contact at least w/ my parents and Aaron. (This was all successful. After many texts and email help from Bob, my fellow PCV, my parents and Aaron were able to call me and talk for about 20 mins. What a great boost!)
I plan on hanging out w/ Bob tomorrow to send a few emails, update my face book, and update my blog. We also have to work on our community mapping project. We have an assignment for Tuesday to draw a map of Fastiv complete with directions on how to get around, including how to get home.
As I said before, tonight was Anna’s birthday party. I took the bus home from Katya’s apartment…scary at first, but I think I’ll be ready to go on Monday!
We had lots of food for dinner and some wine. Everyone makes a toast to the birthday girl. I even gave a toast, but it was in English. My Russian is basically non-existent at this time since I’ve only been working on it for 3 days. (Today we got all of our language materials. That is such a relief! Now I’ll have to get crackin’ and hit the language books.)
After dinner I went with Anna’s friends down to the river to hang out. They took lots of pictures and when we got back to her house we had the birthday cake. Remember the one I made the night before? Yep, that’s the one they cut! It was delicious! It was made out of some kind of thin wafer cake, a cream filling with pecans sprinkled, and chocolate topping; layered cake.
I met Anna’s grandma, friends, boyfriend, etc. A couple of her friends spoke a little English so they were asking me about myself and America. I showed them pictures of my family and friends. (Yes Dad, they all said that you are a cowboy! …I told them yes. J )
Love!
Days Three through Five:
I’ve been a major slacker. Really, just been major stuff on my mind and really freaked out. So we finally arrived in Kiev after a long plane ride from the US to Frankfurt to Kiev. We walked off the plan and across the plane field.
Many PC staff members were there to greet us. Going through customs was not as big of a deal as I thought it would be. They just checked the passport and visa…not really the baggage. We loaded buses and headed for our Arrival Retreat. I was so very nervous on the way to the retreat.
The ‘oh crap what have I dones’ had already set in the minute I set foot on the plane to Kiev. They intensified when we landed, and were still going strong on the bus. I had the chance to speak to another fellow PCT on the way so I was able to feel a little bit better.
I think some people are not really thinking that we are here to stay for a while. Welp…I guess I’m one of the lucky ones because I’m definitely feeling it!
Once we arrived at the retreat, Soviet Resort, we unloaded the buses and truck, put our checked baggage into the storage area and then headed to our rooms. The rooms were two people, twin beads, showers, and toilets included. That was a nice thing! Also it was really nice that we had very hot water for our showers. The resort that we stayed at is popular in the area, a lot of citizens come there just to get away from work and everyday life for a while. I brought a brochure home, so those of you reading this that I will see, well I’ll have to show it to you so you have a better idea of the place.
That first night we had a special dinner. Some of the PC staff members put on a traditional welcome for us as well. We did not have any activities scheduled for that night so we just headed back to the rooms and hung out with some people for a while.
I didn’t sleep well at all that first night. I kept thinking that I had just made a terrible mistake. My heart was racing and it was hard to breathe let alone sleep.
The next day, day four, we started out with a town hall meeting followed by our first language lesson. I’m learning Russian by the way. Surprise!!!!!! Haha! We had several other meetings that day, including intro to Youth Development projects, etc. Oh, we also got our shots! Later on that night we had some fun activities, several of us went to the ‘disco’ that was held in the dining hall. Well, turns out the night before there were a lot of the local people there, but not that second night. So it was just a few of us PCTs cutting loose.
I slept much better the second night. No interruptions. We had a couple additional meetings the next day and then we left at 2pm for our training sites. We are staying in Lastiv, in the Kiev Oblast. It’s seems to be a nice little town. Well, not too little. We are going to take a tour tomorrow.
I met my host family of course, and I am half way to moving in all of my stuff. I am living with a mom, dad, and sister. The sister, Ana, is 16 and we are celebrating her birthday tomorrow. I helped to make her birthday cake after dinner.
Well, we were told that we would have internet access in this town. I don’t have internet here at this house, which sucks, so hopefully I will be able to go into town. I have to figure out some way to get in touch with my family and friends. It has been almost a week since I’ve talked to anyone! I was starting to feel better and more confident about my PC service, but if I have no way of contacting and staying in touch with my loved ones, I don’t know if it’s really worth it for me.
For now I am sticking it out. Tomorrow I will talk with my LCF about communication with people back home. Our Country Director gave us the best advise I have heard for PC. She said, “give it ten days in a row. If ten days in a row are bad, then you should reconsider.”
I miss everyone so much!
Love
I’ve been a major slacker. Really, just been major stuff on my mind and really freaked out. So we finally arrived in Kiev after a long plane ride from the US to Frankfurt to Kiev. We walked off the plan and across the plane field.
Many PC staff members were there to greet us. Going through customs was not as big of a deal as I thought it would be. They just checked the passport and visa…not really the baggage. We loaded buses and headed for our Arrival Retreat. I was so very nervous on the way to the retreat.
The ‘oh crap what have I dones’ had already set in the minute I set foot on the plane to Kiev. They intensified when we landed, and were still going strong on the bus. I had the chance to speak to another fellow PCT on the way so I was able to feel a little bit better.
I think some people are not really thinking that we are here to stay for a while. Welp…I guess I’m one of the lucky ones because I’m definitely feeling it!
Once we arrived at the retreat, Soviet Resort, we unloaded the buses and truck, put our checked baggage into the storage area and then headed to our rooms. The rooms were two people, twin beads, showers, and toilets included. That was a nice thing! Also it was really nice that we had very hot water for our showers. The resort that we stayed at is popular in the area, a lot of citizens come there just to get away from work and everyday life for a while. I brought a brochure home, so those of you reading this that I will see, well I’ll have to show it to you so you have a better idea of the place.
That first night we had a special dinner. Some of the PC staff members put on a traditional welcome for us as well. We did not have any activities scheduled for that night so we just headed back to the rooms and hung out with some people for a while.
I didn’t sleep well at all that first night. I kept thinking that I had just made a terrible mistake. My heart was racing and it was hard to breathe let alone sleep.
The next day, day four, we started out with a town hall meeting followed by our first language lesson. I’m learning Russian by the way. Surprise!!!!!! Haha! We had several other meetings that day, including intro to Youth Development projects, etc. Oh, we also got our shots! Later on that night we had some fun activities, several of us went to the ‘disco’ that was held in the dining hall. Well, turns out the night before there were a lot of the local people there, but not that second night. So it was just a few of us PCTs cutting loose.
I slept much better the second night. No interruptions. We had a couple additional meetings the next day and then we left at 2pm for our training sites. We are staying in Lastiv, in the Kiev Oblast. It’s seems to be a nice little town. Well, not too little. We are going to take a tour tomorrow.
I met my host family of course, and I am half way to moving in all of my stuff. I am living with a mom, dad, and sister. The sister, Ana, is 16 and we are celebrating her birthday tomorrow. I helped to make her birthday cake after dinner.
Well, we were told that we would have internet access in this town. I don’t have internet here at this house, which sucks, so hopefully I will be able to go into town. I have to figure out some way to get in touch with my family and friends. It has been almost a week since I’ve talked to anyone! I was starting to feel better and more confident about my PC service, but if I have no way of contacting and staying in touch with my loved ones, I don’t know if it’s really worth it for me.
For now I am sticking it out. Tomorrow I will talk with my LCF about communication with people back home. Our Country Director gave us the best advise I have heard for PC. She said, “give it ten days in a row. If ten days in a row are bad, then you should reconsider.”
I miss everyone so much!
Love
March 31, 2009
Day Two:
Woke up late. My room mate set two alarms but neither one went off. Fortunately we had a random alarm set for 6am. We had to be down in the lobby to leave for New York at 6:30. I was supposed to meet some girls for Starbucks at 6, but I totally missed that since I had to get ready and get everything together.
Down to the lobby. Paid for the bell hop and bus help. Gathered with our bus groups and tied purple string to our luggage; a Peace Corps tradition. We waited around for about 20 minutes and started to load the bus. My luggage is SOOOO heavy! I totally cannot wait until I am able to unpack. Took about a two hour bus ride to New York, JFK Airport. It was the first time I’ve seen the New York skyline…it was really cool. I definitely would like to visit NYC in the future.
We got to JFK pretty early. We had a two and a half hour wait until we could check in. In the meantime we got breakfast and hung out. During this time we had a bit of a freak-out with the luggage allowance situation. We were told by Peace Corps that we could have two checked pieces of luggage at 50 lbs each, and one carry on, no weight restrictions, and one personal item. Well, one of my fellow PCVs was speaking with an airline worker and was told that we were allowed the two checked bags at 50lbs exactly, we could not go over, and a checked bag of only 10lbs. So, everyone was frantically trying to get their carry on luggage weight down so that they wouldn’t have to check their bags. The charge for additional weight and/or checking a third bag is $200.00. Meanwhile one of the girls here called our country director from staging and asked if he could talk to the airline, since we’re PC and all. Turns out that he was able to smooth things out with the airline and no one was charged for anything. (I didn’t even have my checked bags weighed.)
We waited around for another hour and half before boarding, spending time eating lunch and hanging out some more. Then we loaded the plane for Frankfurt. I have an aisle seat. Thank goodness! The seats are kinda hard and there is a crying child next to me. Well sometimes he cries, but for the most part I guess he’s pretty quiet.
Dinner was served. Choice of chicken and mushrooms or pasta. I hate mushrooms! I had pasta with tomato sauce, Caesar Salad, bread, cheese, some dessert cheese cake thing, and a glass of red wine.
This flight is totally full to the brim. A few seats are left open, but not many. My seat mate had to move due to lack of space…which of coarse created more space for me. Right now an in flight movie is going, “The Secret Life of Bees” I think is the title. I’m totally not interested. So I’ve been reading my Economist and visiting. I’m getting slightly sleepy, but not too much. At home it’s 7pm. In Frankfurt it’s 2am. This time change is realllllly gonna suck. We’ll have another 5 hr layover in Frankfurt before we head to Kiev. They will be serving us breakfast on the plane as well…wonder what that will be.
Love!
Day Two:
Woke up late. My room mate set two alarms but neither one went off. Fortunately we had a random alarm set for 6am. We had to be down in the lobby to leave for New York at 6:30. I was supposed to meet some girls for Starbucks at 6, but I totally missed that since I had to get ready and get everything together.
Down to the lobby. Paid for the bell hop and bus help. Gathered with our bus groups and tied purple string to our luggage; a Peace Corps tradition. We waited around for about 20 minutes and started to load the bus. My luggage is SOOOO heavy! I totally cannot wait until I am able to unpack. Took about a two hour bus ride to New York, JFK Airport. It was the first time I’ve seen the New York skyline…it was really cool. I definitely would like to visit NYC in the future.
We got to JFK pretty early. We had a two and a half hour wait until we could check in. In the meantime we got breakfast and hung out. During this time we had a bit of a freak-out with the luggage allowance situation. We were told by Peace Corps that we could have two checked pieces of luggage at 50 lbs each, and one carry on, no weight restrictions, and one personal item. Well, one of my fellow PCVs was speaking with an airline worker and was told that we were allowed the two checked bags at 50lbs exactly, we could not go over, and a checked bag of only 10lbs. So, everyone was frantically trying to get their carry on luggage weight down so that they wouldn’t have to check their bags. The charge for additional weight and/or checking a third bag is $200.00. Meanwhile one of the girls here called our country director from staging and asked if he could talk to the airline, since we’re PC and all. Turns out that he was able to smooth things out with the airline and no one was charged for anything. (I didn’t even have my checked bags weighed.)
We waited around for another hour and half before boarding, spending time eating lunch and hanging out some more. Then we loaded the plane for Frankfurt. I have an aisle seat. Thank goodness! The seats are kinda hard and there is a crying child next to me. Well sometimes he cries, but for the most part I guess he’s pretty quiet.
Dinner was served. Choice of chicken and mushrooms or pasta. I hate mushrooms! I had pasta with tomato sauce, Caesar Salad, bread, cheese, some dessert cheese cake thing, and a glass of red wine.
This flight is totally full to the brim. A few seats are left open, but not many. My seat mate had to move due to lack of space…which of coarse created more space for me. Right now an in flight movie is going, “The Secret Life of Bees” I think is the title. I’m totally not interested. So I’ve been reading my Economist and visiting. I’m getting slightly sleepy, but not too much. At home it’s 7pm. In Frankfurt it’s 2am. This time change is realllllly gonna suck. We’ll have another 5 hr layover in Frankfurt before we head to Kiev. They will be serving us breakfast on the plane as well…wonder what that will be.
Love!
Monday, March 30, 2009
March 30, 2009
Day One:
The craziest day of my life. Joining the Peace Corps.
Woke up at 4:30 am after a sleepless night. Got ready and gathered the remainder of my things. I know I left a lot of stuff behind…I already apologized to the Burchams for my left over mess.
We left the house at 5:30am, right on schedule. Stopped at McDonalds on the way out. I couldn’t eat but I had a Sprite, had to get some calories in my system. Way too nervous to eat.
Aaron went inside the airport with me to check my bags. We sat for a little bit just outside of the security checkpoint. I tried not to cry, failed. But at least it wasn’t as much as I thought. Is this a mistake? If I don’t like it, I can always come home early. I am a volunteer, a volunteer is not obligated.
I cleared security and headed for the gate. Grabbed a bottle of water. Went to sit down, I think the lady nearby is studying our Ukrainian language sheets.
Decided to get up and walk around for a bit; really, I was just trying to see if that lady really is studying Ukrainian…if so, she’s a fellow PCV. I walked down a few gates and looked around a shop. Stopped by the bathroom.
Went back to my gate waiting area. I guessed that I should just get used to introducing myself to random strangers. The lady is studying Ukrainian. I sat down and introduce myself after explaining that I noticed what she was studying. We talked. Talked about the language learning, our assignments (she community development and me youth development), our hopes, fears, leaving behind loved ones and friends, how this is so surreal.
The lady next to us overhears our conversation and tells us one of her friends just left for Jamaica, with the Peace Corps. She said that she had similar conversation with him before he left; was he making a mistake, if he doesn’t like it after 6 months he’ll just come home. She said that he’s been there a week and once he was able to get there, get settled, meet people, he felt much better.
My fellow PCV is also a redhead, I think that’s awesome…what are the odds. We’re even sitting next to one another on the flight, probably planned out by the SATO booking agents, but it’s a nice coincidence.
Day One…Evening.
Arriving here at staging was pretty hectic. We arrived at the airport and had to wait like 15 minutes to get my valet bags. Ellen was a sweet heart to wait for me. Then down to the baggage claim to pick up the luggage. Funny…there was a PC ad that said “Never have to start a sentence with ‘I should’ve…” hmm….good job PC marketing. Haha…I did take a pic for the begin of my photos.
Then we called the shuttle and he came…loaded up all our bags and drove to the hotel. Checked in and brought my stuff up to the room. No room mate yet so I got ready and headed down to registration. In the registration line I met some people…really helped to ease the nerves.
We had training for 4.5 hours. We went through EVERYTHING. Although when I say that it doesn’t mean that all of our questions were answered. A lot of things we have to wait until we actually reach post.
After the meetings, a bunch of us went out for din and drinks…that was way better than any ice breaker. Although I guess if it weren’t for the ice breakers we wouldn’t have known each other in the first place to even plan din.
Anyways, I got my student loan deferments sent out…hopefully that goes through. Tomorrow we leave at 6:30 am to take a bus to NYC and load the plane at JFK to leave at 3pm and fly to Frankfurt. We arrive in Frankfurt at 5:30 am and then our flight leaves for Ukraine at 10am.
Oh my! Tomorrow is going to be crazy!
Day One:
The craziest day of my life. Joining the Peace Corps.
Woke up at 4:30 am after a sleepless night. Got ready and gathered the remainder of my things. I know I left a lot of stuff behind…I already apologized to the Burchams for my left over mess.
We left the house at 5:30am, right on schedule. Stopped at McDonalds on the way out. I couldn’t eat but I had a Sprite, had to get some calories in my system. Way too nervous to eat.
Aaron went inside the airport with me to check my bags. We sat for a little bit just outside of the security checkpoint. I tried not to cry, failed. But at least it wasn’t as much as I thought. Is this a mistake? If I don’t like it, I can always come home early. I am a volunteer, a volunteer is not obligated.
I cleared security and headed for the gate. Grabbed a bottle of water. Went to sit down, I think the lady nearby is studying our Ukrainian language sheets.
Decided to get up and walk around for a bit; really, I was just trying to see if that lady really is studying Ukrainian…if so, she’s a fellow PCV. I walked down a few gates and looked around a shop. Stopped by the bathroom.
Went back to my gate waiting area. I guessed that I should just get used to introducing myself to random strangers. The lady is studying Ukrainian. I sat down and introduce myself after explaining that I noticed what she was studying. We talked. Talked about the language learning, our assignments (she community development and me youth development), our hopes, fears, leaving behind loved ones and friends, how this is so surreal.
The lady next to us overhears our conversation and tells us one of her friends just left for Jamaica, with the Peace Corps. She said that she had similar conversation with him before he left; was he making a mistake, if he doesn’t like it after 6 months he’ll just come home. She said that he’s been there a week and once he was able to get there, get settled, meet people, he felt much better.
My fellow PCV is also a redhead, I think that’s awesome…what are the odds. We’re even sitting next to one another on the flight, probably planned out by the SATO booking agents, but it’s a nice coincidence.
Day One…Evening.
Arriving here at staging was pretty hectic. We arrived at the airport and had to wait like 15 minutes to get my valet bags. Ellen was a sweet heart to wait for me. Then down to the baggage claim to pick up the luggage. Funny…there was a PC ad that said “Never have to start a sentence with ‘I should’ve…” hmm….good job PC marketing. Haha…I did take a pic for the begin of my photos.
Then we called the shuttle and he came…loaded up all our bags and drove to the hotel. Checked in and brought my stuff up to the room. No room mate yet so I got ready and headed down to registration. In the registration line I met some people…really helped to ease the nerves.
We had training for 4.5 hours. We went through EVERYTHING. Although when I say that it doesn’t mean that all of our questions were answered. A lot of things we have to wait until we actually reach post.
After the meetings, a bunch of us went out for din and drinks…that was way better than any ice breaker. Although I guess if it weren’t for the ice breakers we wouldn’t have known each other in the first place to even plan din.
Anyways, I got my student loan deferments sent out…hopefully that goes through. Tomorrow we leave at 6:30 am to take a bus to NYC and load the plane at JFK to leave at 3pm and fly to Frankfurt. We arrive in Frankfurt at 5:30 am and then our flight leaves for Ukraine at 10am.
Oh my! Tomorrow is going to be crazy!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Last Weekend
The day after tomorrow I will be on a plane headed for Philly...then on to Ukraine!
Today is my going away party and I'm super stoked! Except...IT'S GOING TO SNOW ALL NIGHT! What are the chances of that? Originally I wanted to have a beautiful and sunny weekend so that we could BBQ or something. But...no worries! I guess we'll just have to drink peppermint patties! :)
Yesterday was my last day at Allsup. Sad! It's kinda weird...in my routine mind it still seems like I'll just be back in the office on Monday.
I've got everything packed...FINALLY! I swear, i packed and unpacked at least 5 or 6 times. But I think that I finally have everything that I want to take (that I can justify having). I am sad that I cannot take some of my fav shoes (leopard pumps, orange felt pumps w/ the cute bow, gold pumps...) all in the name of both saving room and not looking like a selfish and stuck up American. Ukrainian culture is so much less that American; as far as having 'stuff'. Actually, it would be best to say that Americans have way too much stuff! This culture change is good for me, I've got a lot of just random stuff and I never had a good reason to get rid of it...now I do! I could use a little lesson in the whole "less is more".
Love
Today is my going away party and I'm super stoked! Except...IT'S GOING TO SNOW ALL NIGHT! What are the chances of that? Originally I wanted to have a beautiful and sunny weekend so that we could BBQ or something. But...no worries! I guess we'll just have to drink peppermint patties! :)
Yesterday was my last day at Allsup. Sad! It's kinda weird...in my routine mind it still seems like I'll just be back in the office on Monday.
I've got everything packed...FINALLY! I swear, i packed and unpacked at least 5 or 6 times. But I think that I finally have everything that I want to take (that I can justify having). I am sad that I cannot take some of my fav shoes (leopard pumps, orange felt pumps w/ the cute bow, gold pumps...) all in the name of both saving room and not looking like a selfish and stuck up American. Ukrainian culture is so much less that American; as far as having 'stuff'. Actually, it would be best to say that Americans have way too much stuff! This culture change is good for me, I've got a lot of just random stuff and I never had a good reason to get rid of it...now I do! I could use a little lesson in the whole "less is more".
Love
Saturday, March 14, 2009
2 more weeks!
Only two more weeks!!!! At the beginning of this past week I was really nervous and anxious about leaving. I was def like 'what the hell am I doing?!' After talking w/ some friends and family and self reflection I am more excited than anything. I hope I meet some cool people and make some good friends. (i really hope that i get to be with a lot of people my age - i think i will since most yds seem to be)
I should have easy access to Internet and stuff while I'm over there...so staying in touch won't be a huge problem. I'm not sure what PCVs did (or anyone else) before Internet. Staying in touch is most def a lot easier these days!
To do list:
Plan going away party
Cancel gym membership
Think about packing
Have a garage sale
Finish filling my ipod w/ music
Figure out which books to take
Pack up my room
Things left to purchase:
Brown pumps
Swimsuit
Good news of the week - I will be able to pay off my other credit card before I leave!!!! GOOD RIDDANCE!!!
16 days left...
I should have easy access to Internet and stuff while I'm over there...so staying in touch won't be a huge problem. I'm not sure what PCVs did (or anyone else) before Internet. Staying in touch is most def a lot easier these days!
To do list:
Plan going away party
Cancel gym membership
Think about packing
Have a garage sale
Finish filling my ipod w/ music
Figure out which books to take
Pack up my room
Things left to purchase:
Brown pumps
Swimsuit
Good news of the week - I will be able to pay off my other credit card before I leave!!!! GOOD RIDDANCE!!!
16 days left...
Friday, March 6, 2009
You lost my what???!!!
This is a bit dated, but that's fine because if I would have written this last week there may have been copious amounts of cursing.
So...I got a call and an email about the PC having my passport but not my VISA. Well I sent in both documents in OCTOBER, October! and they just now, last week, thought it would be cool to call and tell me that they don't have my VISA. They effing lost it!
So...I got a call and an email about the PC having my passport but not my VISA. Well I sent in both documents in OCTOBER, October! and they just now, last week, thought it would be cool to call and tell me that they don't have my VISA. They effing lost it!
Welp, I guess this is just the first SNAFU in my PC experience; and it wasn't too bad...just mostly annoying.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Getting Closer
Leaving next month is now feeling more real. Last Friday I received my staging packet, via email which was not expected. I fly out of Lambert on 3-30 at 8:15 am and arrive in Philly at 11:35am. I then check into my hotel and register. From 3 - 7 we have our staging meetings; that's it, just one night, 4 hours. I expected that we would use both complete days for the staging process. So anyways, Tues 3-31 we leave at 7am for JFK and then fly the 7 1/2 hrs to Frankfurt, Germany and from there switch planes and fly the remaining 2 1/2 hrs to Kiev!
From there I'm not sure what happens.
I sold my car to Aubree, sister, this weekend. So no more personal transportation. I feel like I've lost a little bit of freedom. But I got a good amount for it and can now take care of some bills! Hooray! :)
The bigger thing - I resigned from my job yesterday. That feels the most awkward. I was scared to tell my boss...kinda like I was just abandoning; especially since I haven't even been there for a year. Oh well. On to bigger and better things! No way I can stand to spend large amounts of time speaking on the phone with people...it just gets way to boring.
Peace!
From there I'm not sure what happens.
I sold my car to Aubree, sister, this weekend. So no more personal transportation. I feel like I've lost a little bit of freedom. But I got a good amount for it and can now take care of some bills! Hooray! :)
The bigger thing - I resigned from my job yesterday. That feels the most awkward. I was scared to tell my boss...kinda like I was just abandoning; especially since I haven't even been there for a year. Oh well. On to bigger and better things! No way I can stand to spend large amounts of time speaking on the phone with people...it just gets way to boring.
Peace!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Losing my stuff
So it has come to my attention, through correspondance with fellow PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) and others, that there is a possiblility my luggage will not arrive in Ukraine with me. hmmm...makes me a little nervous since I will be packing 2 years of stuff into 100 lbs of luggage. I guess this will make a great future entry.
Feel free to place bets on whether or not my luggage will arrive...I know I will be. :)
Feel free to place bets on whether or not my luggage will arrive...I know I will be. :)
Sunday, January 25, 2009
In Limbo
So right now I am just waiting. Waiting and learning the language. I will receive my staging packet at the beginning of March but until then I don't have anything to do towards my preparation for the PC. I figured that it would be a good time to look into the whole blogging thing that way once I get over there I will be familiar with it and know what to do.
I totally can't promise that blogging on here will be a weekly thing but I'll do my best. I'm not really comfortable with writing my personal stuff for others to see; but I wanted to keep everyone posted on how things are going in UA (Ukraine). I imagine that I'll mainly post pics and give a little taste of how things are going. After all, it's difficult to describe an experience to a person who is not there.
I totally can't promise that blogging on here will be a weekly thing but I'll do my best. I'm not really comfortable with writing my personal stuff for others to see; but I wanted to keep everyone posted on how things are going in UA (Ukraine). I imagine that I'll mainly post pics and give a little taste of how things are going. After all, it's difficult to describe an experience to a person who is not there.
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