The first semester

Time is starting to move quickly, it's hard to believe that I have been in Ukraine for almost six months. The combination of work and travel are keeping me busy. I spend most of the week teaching classes and tutoring students. On the weekend I often travel to see friends or they come to see me. I also fit in there working on side projects like the grant I'm writing, helping teachers and students with proofreading or other things, writing exams, and teaching extra classes. When I have a weekend to myself I usually spend it catching up on work, but today I am spending it updating my blog.

Last weekend was Easter in Ukriane and one of the things I enjoy most about living here is enjoying the Ukrainian traditions. I did this on Easter by getting up at 2 AM so I could go to the church to have eggs and bread blessed along with all the other Ukrainians in the village. At first it was a little strange since there are no street lights, but when I got to the church all the people were gathered around and waiting with their painted eggs and bread. The church is very beautiful too! After this I went home to sleep until 8 AM when I got up to "breakfast" with some Ukrainian friends. Breakfast is in quotes because in Ukraine the foods that you eat for breakfast are not necessarily different from those that you eat at lunch or dinner. But the food for Easter was really spectacular! It is a tradition that for holidays like Easter families cook as many different types of dishes that they can. The table was completely full with all different types of food. In fact, it was more than full. The table wasn't big enough and plates had to be stacked on plates, with more plates waiting with deserts for later! Of course your host wants you to try everything, but this means you can't take more than two bites of any one dish because otherwise you will not have room for the others! The greatest compliment you can give to your host in Ukraine is if you say you think the table might collapse. I didn't really understand until I saw it for myself and truthfully, I was a bit concerned that this could really happen.

After breakfast, we went to another friend's house who had a birthday on the same day. Of course, they had just as many dishes on their table and we were expected to start eating all over again! I had some because it was just too delicious, but I had to bow out early and went to play soccer with the kids. This was a good idea, not just because I was completely stuffed, but because the vodka had been flowing this entire time too - since 9 o'clock in the morning! I can't drink like a Ukrainian man, it just isn't possible. When I'm offered one shot too many I usually just smile say no, "ya ne ookraiyeenetz." This means "I am not a Ukrainian man" and it usually draws a laugh and they let me off the hook. If not, I turn my glass upside down, bring it to the kitchen, or fill it with water. Sometimes several, or all of these methods are necessary.

Easter was a lot of fun, but one of the best trips I took was to visit my host family in Chernihiv last month. I was really looking forward to it, but I didn't realize the impact the trip would have on me. When I was in training, Chernihiv was really the only city I spent any time in. As far as I was concerned, that was Ukraine. Everything I understood about Ukraine was from what I had learned in Chernihiv. Going back was different though. Now I had lived in another city and done a lot of travelling to other cities too. When I saw Chernihiv again it was in a completely different light because I had other things to compare it to. I had so many memories of being in training with 20 or 30 other volunteers there as well as the Peace Corps staff. Now it was just me, alone, with my earliest memories in Ukraine. I remembered how difficult it was to find my way from one place to another, all the times I got lost, the first time I bought food from a Ukrainian at the bazaar, when my host mom took me to school on my first day and on and on. These things are easy for me now and I do them every day, but it was an adjustment that took months and is really still happening. It was great seeing my host family again too, all of their friends came over and we had a big party. I will have to go back and visit them again soon.

These are just some of the highlights of the last few months, I have so much more to write and so little time. I will try to update again soon, but if you want to say hi or hear more about things you can always send me an e-mail. Talk to you soon!

Many of you are probably wondering what happened to me. I know it has been over a month since the last post. I'm doing just fine and am living at my new site which is only about an hour and a half from Kiev. It's nice to be so close, I've already visited a few times and I think I will know the city very well by the time I return to the states. My city is fairly small, about 30,000 people, but I like it very much. It is a historical cities with many museums.

I am working at a pedagogical university training future English teachers. The students are having their winter break right now, but there is still lots for me to do. Right now I am working on preparing lessons for the next semester, editing a textbook on American Studies, and trying to put a grant together so that we can get the money to have this textbook published.

I miss my host family quite a bit and may go back to visit them next month. Some of the things I miss most are my host mom's cooking, having people to speak Ukrainian with, and their very nice apartment.

Cooking for yourself in Ukraine is hard. When I explain to my friends here that I've hardly ever cooked before they are confused and wonder how that could even be possible. Food in Ukraine is very different than in America. It doesn't usually come in boxes, frozen and pre-made, or in just-add-water form. I go to the bazaar and I buy vegetables, flour, spices, etc. and I need to figure out what to do with these things. That isn't so bad by itself, but it takes TIME. Time to try out new recipes, cut and peel vegetables, develop new routines, etc. Even though I spend far more time cooking than I ever did back home I'm looking forward to developing the skill and have already come a long way. I remember when I first got here and how when I peeled vegetables as much of the skin would end up on the floor as in the trash can. Small steps!

You would think it would be easy for me to practice my Ukrainian since I am living in Ukraine. The difficulty is that I work with English teachers who are training future English teachers. Most of the people I talk with speak far better English than I speak Ukrainian and they want to practice their English with me since I am a native speaker and an English teacher. This is great, but it means that about the only time I speak Ukrainian is when I go to the bazaar or the store to buy things. I have a Ukrainian tutor that I spend an hour with every week, but that isn't much time. I think my Ukrainian may be worse now than a month ago when I arrived at site. But that's okay, I'll do my best with it and try to keep in mind that the reason I came here wasn't to learn Ukrainian. My time is focused on teaching, editing books, and writing grants, as it should be.

There are many ways that my host family's apartment is nicer than the one I live in now, but the number one thing I miss is the hot water. I knew when I joined Peace Corps that it would be possible that I would be taking bucket baths, but I pictured myself doing this somewhere in Africa or South America. Taking a bucket bath in Ukraine is a whole different thing! The first time it was pretty scary, but it's something you adjust to and I've done that pretty well. In fact, I've even come up with some ways that it is superior to taking a regular bath or shower. Here's one example:

If your phone rings or someone knocks on your door you can just take a break in the middle and finish later! Since you're in Ukraine and it's cold you only keep the part of your body bear that you're currently washing. That means all you have to do is rinse off, put your shirt the rest of the way on and off you go!

There are others too, but I won't bore you with those here. You can ask me later if you feel like listening to me go on for an hour about all the advantages to a bucket bath.

The other thing I've been busy with is celebrating the many Ukrainian holidays that happen this time of year. Christmas is the big holiday in the states, but here it is the New Year. I celebrated in a Ukrainian home where I learned a tradition they have of writing a wish down on a piece of paper, lighting it on fire, throwing it in your champagne glass, and then drinking it down. Sounds like fun, right? It probably is if you haven't already had a few drinks, hold onto your wish for too long after you light it on fire, burn yourself, and then spill your champagne in your lap. Oops!

In Ukraine they celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January and then just yesterday we celebrated Old New Year. That's all I have time for right now, but I'll try to make the next update quicker than the last one.

Where to next?

Two days until my new site is revealed. I've been thinking about where I might like to go. It doesn't take as much thought as you might think. Even though I've been living here for two months, I know virtually nothing about the rest of the country. So it's really a choice between one city I've never heard of and another that I've also never heard of. I'm sure it makes a difference even if I don't know what it is, but I think to a large degree your site is what you make it. I think I'll do just fine wherever I end up.

The one thing I do hope is that I'm placed near PCVs I like and respect. I'm sure I will make Ukrainian friends, but it's nice to have American friends too. Things may be different at site because I will be working with English teachers (and presumably they speak English pretty well), but up to this point the conversations I can have in Ukrainian are still pretty superficial. It's nice to be able to communicate at all, but I really need more than that. I'm hoping for the best, but my friends are only a phone call away. I'm sure we'll visit each other during service too. It's just a little intimidating going somewhere alone for two years.

The nice thing about being around other PCVs is that they understand what you're going through. Family, friends, and Ukrainians can be very sympathetic, but they don't really understand what doing Peace Corps is like. That's something you can only get from other PCVs and it's kind of nice to have. On the other hand, I hope that being off on my own will make me more independent and better adjusted to life in Ukraine. That doesn't happen by itself, it happens when you're challenged and you're forced to make it on your own. Much of it I know I'll enjoy and I just hope that the parts I don't will be good for me!

A New End and a New Beginning

Training is coming to an end. I taught my last classes this past week and said goodbye to the teachers and students I have been working with. This next week we have our exams - Language, Safety, Medical, and Policies and Procedures. After that I will be saying goodbye to my host family and friends and packing for my trip. I still don't know where I'm going to, but I will find out soon.

In a lot of ways what I'm going through right now is similar to what I was going through just before coming to Ukraine with the Peace Corps. I had to say my goodbyes, pack for a trip without knowing the destination, and prepare for a completely different life. All of that is just as true now as it was two months ago. My work, living conditions, and town will all probably be very different. The students at the University where I've been teaching speak English very well and even though they make mistakes they can communicate what they want to say and understand me very well. At some technical colleges where I may be teaching next the students may never have taken an English course before. That is a bit intimidating, but I'm sure I'll manage somehow.

Throughout training I have been very spoiled while living with my wonderful host family. Since coming here they have helped me with everything, from getting a haircut to showing me how to go places, to cooking for me etc. Their home is also very nice - computer, internet, hot water, etc. Very modern! My future living conditions will probably not be as nice. Odds are I will be living in the dorms with students. Internet and hot water in my room would both be luxuries. It won't be too bad, but definitely a change from my current situation.

Also, my next city will probably not be as big as the one I'm living in now. Chernigev is a city of about 350,000 people and is one of the larger ones in Ukraine. Most of the volunteers in the University teaching program will be in larger towns than volunteers in other programs, but we may still be in towns as small as 20,000 people. There are advantages to being in a smaller town, but it won't have all the things I've become accustomed to here. But these are things you adjust to.

There are many good things about leaving for my site though. I'm really looking forward to meeting new friends that I will have for the next two years. Besides that, I will finally get to start working in a community. I have been teaching and doing other things in Chernigev for the last two months, but mostly I have been the one learning how to teach, learning the language, learning how to live in Ukraine, etc. At site I will really be able to contribute which is the reason I joined Peace Corps in the first place.

It can be frusting to know that you've been in Ukraine with the Peace Corps for two months and really haven't done much yet. Really we've done a lot, we hardly even get any time to ourselves, but none of us came to Ukraine for the training. We are here for what comes next. It seems like training has been going on forever and we all thought it would never end, but now it is only a week away. Very exciting! I really can't wait to get to my new home. I'll post once more before I leave Chernigev, but after that the next time you will hear from me I will be at my new site!

PS

I have skype working now on my computer so if you'd like to chat with me send me an e-mail and we can set up a time. You can download skype for free at www.skype.com, all you need is a microphone and a webcam is a plus too.