Just a quick update seeing how I'm failing at the whole blog posting this recently.

But... there is a camp is in the works for students (including my own) from all over my oblast, Poltava that will take place this summer. It hopes to facilitate leadership and help develop project design and implementation skills for future leaders of Ukraine (aka my students and others in da best oblast).

So... if this catches you eye and you got some bucks to spare (however big or small), feel free to pop on by to this link:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projdetail&projdesc=343-307

The directors of the camp are a pair of cool cats and some of my good peeps (sad attempt at an Easter pun) in country right now.

So please, any and all assistance that is possible would be awesome.

highly recommend not having the audio up too loud some "woo girl" decided to scream right by the mic

yes... ukraine does a "count up", and yes, we were just as befuddled.

i guess i shouldn't have assumed that everyone partakes in a count down but come on, who would have ever though, a count up? in retrospect, it does actually make more sense, with seconds adding up to the new year. oh ukraine, you always surprise me.

kiev had they're electric ish in order because it was a led central.

but honestly, in the words of the famous barney stinson new years in kiev was "legen...dary".

by the end of the evening, I ended up finding a few things...

i found my twin i found my sitemate i found my cluster i found a sparkler i found fireworks i found a mask the day after was also a site to see. i'm not quite sure if kids here actually believe in santa when you can find 20 of them roaming around khreschatik

best new years hands down

verdict Being just two hours away from Budapest, why the hell not pop in. We spent two and a half days there and I feel we could have done a lot more. Vienna is cool/hip/modern with interpreted old things. Example, every other street was a Canon or Nikon store and literally there would be a Rolex store and then an old Catholic church. But I guess if you count the museums, palaces, theme parks, and being served iPads for menus, I think we coved a lot of ground. It was a tad more expensive than it's Hungarian brethren but the Euro was a currency I was much more confortable converting and managing over the Hungarian forint (my meal was 2500HUF, wha?).

The city is remarkably clean and organized, so if you know anything about me, that makes me smile. Their biking system was ridiculous, with separate roads, lights, and sounds. Portion sizes were good and we managed not to get lost.

Our only regret was meeting an American on the train who suggested we visit the Secession Museum - that man owes me 8 Euro. You know I'm one for modern art but when it's just like sticks stuck in the white floor or large white boxes that flicker, I'm sorry, I don't get it.

Anyways, verdict = check it out!

venue View Larger Map

voyage

cultural update ukraine and russia's bedazzled santa clause (дід мороз - father frost) with his granddaughter (снігуронька - snow maiden) who takes style tips from queen amidala are the stars of the new years and christmas holiday season here in ukraine.

Myrhorod rang in his arrival with a free concert that i accidentally fell into - молодець мені

i will have these skillz mastered

with the american christmas season come and gone, ironically as I write this post which will have had its "post date" altered, ukraine feels more like our traditional christmas for many reasons. my project will all my

english clubs it finally started snowing ukrainian christmas falls on the seventh of january christmas trees (or new years trees) go up around the twenty eighth of december stores in town have lights and santa paraphernalia і тд. however, that doesn't mean I can't bring / force some "early" holiday cheer to the students in my school. a lot of our american traditions for christmas and new years are combined in ukraine, which makes distinguishing between the holidays much more difficult for myself during the holiday season.

that sadly took about 25 minutes to perfect

the 25th ended up being pretty low key. with just a small"ish" gathering of local friends over some chilled beverages, tunes of christmas carols, white elephant exchange, and intense discussions over the super powers. it was just enough america to get you back in the holiday spirit for the evening even though outside that apartment door the holiday spirit hadn't picked up yet.

the big finale before holiday break, schools put on a play of sorts where santa and his granddaughter are the main star. kids dress up in costumes (not quite sure why) and go hybrid carol / trick-or-treat for money or candy.

What some of you may not know about the country where I currently serve, but Ukraine has the fastest growing HIV rate and the largest population of reported HIV infected individuals in all of Europe. Sadly it's a very hushed/controversial subject (understandably) where even in schools the main aspects regarding HIV transmission is just overlooked and untaught. Furthermore, a large proportion of Ukraine's older generation is under the pretense that this issue isn't one of Ukraine's, but of that of other third world countries.

1.4% of Ukraine's population is reported HIV positive

1% is the minimum requirement to be considered an epidemic the tourism regions of the south are highly affected While working in Kozelets, the lesson I taught on HIV/AIDS had to be "edited" due to sensitivity issues. I was glad to hear that in my new school had an open policy and a faculty mentality that all the information should be available for it's students to hear.

anti AIDS posters students made at my school

The HIV/AIDS working group provided lots of material and ideas to jump start my lessons and trainings I have sense held on the topic. Using my school as a gauge, I have sense held Healthy Lifestyle training sessions on HIV/AIDS, stigma/discrimination, smoking, and alcoholism at what I think is up to six different schools in neighboring villages! While obviously I don't teach in perfect Ukrainian and I'm thankful for my Ukrainian partner to back me up, it's been a great way to meet and reach an audience of students outside my own school. Not to mention utilize some of my micro bio knowledge!

I did a showing of A Closer Walk which features Ukraine as one of the three countries it focuses on in regards to the AIDS crisis. If interested, I highly recommend you to watch it - my students found it very personal.

I don't think anyone should ever be too "old" or "cool" to make a turkey hand - so forcing my 8th through 11th formers was all but sickeningly justified. Though no frets, my younger kids also got in on the action.

apologies, the SLR unfortunately doesn't go everywhere I do, and the iPod doesn't take still shots well

While yes, my work did include holding turkey day presentations (which were awesome might I add), I got to also celebrate it in true Amurican fashion... with Western Murder Mysteries, Saunas, and a total of 3 turkeys of course.

The day of thanks was actually broken up into two separate weekends - chronological order went as followed...

Thanksgiving #1 My Poltavian family Thanksgiving + Kristen (an outsider) was held in Kotel'va, which boarders Sums'ka Oblast to the north.

View Larger Map As mentioned previously, festivities at this gathering included a murder mystery (an impromptu play) under the code name : Fort Griffin Clock Tower Celebration at Clyde's Bar and Saloon. General introductions were as follows.

Howdy All,

It's my much esteemed pleasure, as your recently appointed Sheriff, Slim Pickens, to cordially invite you this Friday, November 19, year of our lord 1875, to celebrate our newly constructed clock tower in the center of our fair town of Fort Griffin. Festivities gonna be held at the Clyde's Knothole Bar and Saloon, just a holler from the town center, startin bouts when the wolves howl, with a chili cook off, games, open bar, live music, n' dance shows. I'm purdy new here to your fine budding city, and I know a lot of us have howdied but ain't shook yet, so I'm lookin forward to acquaintin myself with all you fair, God fearing citizens. I'm certain ain't nothin' gonna go wrong on such a grand 'occasion! Below you'll find your entrance card. Make sure to read your specific directions. Finally, remember to dress and act your parts at this fine establishment, or you'll be 'bout as welcome as a skunk at a nuptial. I was deemed worthy to play Buck - Outlaw meaning...

You’ve been an outlaw since … ahh but it’s too painful to say (starting this vague story multiple times in the night would be ideal). You’re tough, you don’t have much of a rhyme or reason for acting so, but you are. You like it when bad things happen to people, you make up your own western themed curses minus the real swear words. You used to have a love affair with Candy the can-can dancer. You let your tough exterior guard down to let her in and she ripped your heart out. And it makes you mad! It especially makes you mad when someone disrespects or has something bad to say about her. The outburst or rage is occasionally followed by a sad streak that comes on real strong and may be accompanied with weeping. Any attempt at consoling (or mocking your weepin’) will be me with another streak of mean. You have noticed the occasional eye from that new can can dancer, what’s her name? Picker, Poker, Pepper…..? She is cute but there just isn’t room in your sore heart right now. You absolutely cannot stand Mr. Tinker the Piano Player, and you are not quite sure why.

Speaks: a gruff voice which turns to high pitched whining when weeping Cliff notes version - Candy/Priest died, I cried, yelled, and got angry (a lot), investigation commenced, culprit was found, I shot her, and we all continued to hate Mr. Tinker.

we're all still in character Overall, impressively quirky and fun.

The next day was our actual feast. Which involved food prep, some good old "2 hand touch" football (lightly enforced), feasting, lounging, sleeping. A very successful Thanksgiving #1.

before during after молодець Thanksgiving #2 #2 wasn't as easy of a travel though I found a new cheap way to get to Kiev (for only 25 UAH - aka 3 USD)! Stopping in Kiev also meant I got to raid the Peace Corps office for stuff Volunteers who have completed their service left. It's like going into Target, sometimes you score, sometimes you don't.

View Larger Map Anyways, we (Kym was assimilated) made our way to Rivne via a 4 hour marshrutka from hell. Not in the sense that it was in any particular reason awful, it was just unbearably hot. To the point where I turned to Kym and said, "is it ok for my eyes to be burning?". We left hell and made it to Dyadkovichi (uncle town?) where Maria, my old clustermate, lives.

We ended up accomplishing much over the extended weekend.

Learned Ukrainians are far better volleyball players then most PCVs Held a seminar on Thanksgiving traditions countrywide Saunas are always epic - especially for Miss Booker's 24th birthday Explored Rivne much has changed since Rivne was the headquarters of the Nazi Regime in Ukraine Reunited with old friends over an Ukr Disco I cooked some delicious mac and cheese from scratch and of course checked another Oblast center off the list the noms да, это вилка, спасибо Лидия great hostess and her counter part While it's hard to beat bourbon whip cream, 65 degree weather, Wii, and a home cooked meal as 2010 Thanksgiving had to offer, this one packed enough Amurica.

time to go home

So the word's out in my celo that I know how to make mildly decent looking films, so now the petitions for help are rolling in. The first being at my the local kindergarden. I work there once a week teaching a painting or craft project / simple english lesson. I then proceed to get fed lunch, whether I'm hungry or not (I find for a man, saying no to food shouldn't be in my vocabulary).

here's project №1

So this video was shown at a later point at some kindergarden county gathering. I later received a jokingly sarcastic comment from a neighboring PCV regarding "what the hell I did". Now he must now make a video for his community kindergarden. I swear sometimes it'd be faster to send a letter by word of mouth then through the Ukrainian mailing system.

Currently listening to... Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know

So coming from the sheltered California "force field", "bubble", "electromagnetic field", we sometimes miss out on where stupidly common things actually comes from.

Take for instance this pictures - one may or may not question what the Dr. Seuss looking topiary is. Well, I "what the'd" the tree with balls. Since mid-fall to early winter, you couldn't not see these guys sprouting up everywhere. As a biologist, I assumed it was just some strange tree's economical technique of seed dispersal / genetic transmission.

Well it comes to find out... drum roll please... it's mistletoe. Which turns out is a parasitic plant that roots itself into a variety of tree species while it matures and steals water and nutrient resources.

Ironically with this stuff everywhere, there is no tradition here of couples kissing under mistletoe. Though I'm sure Ukrainians would love the concept, seeing how it could potentially lead to marriage.

My favorite response when I began to ask PCV's if they knew where mistletoe came from was from a fellow Poltavian PCV Alvi, where she responded with "Walgreens".

This be what hot beats I be listening to On'n'On - Justice

I'll be frank, if you don't know what movie this post is referencing, we probably shouldn't be friends / the film warrants a spot in your Netflicks queue or at least an illegal streaming.

So truthfully if you remove Fievel's jacket, cow boy hat, gun (because they're outlawed for the public to own), and add a mustache he could probably pass as a Ukrainian cossack. I'm now realizing I've put way too much thought into this - maybe I should go to bed?

Anyhoo...

So schools in Ukraine celebrate autumn by taking a week off, or in the case of my school, two weeks. So in light of a week with nothing planned, I decided to go visit my clustermate Mary-Kathryn at her site in Chernivets'ka Oblast and help her at her work for a couple days and then do some site seeing in the area.

Starting off at her site, the Jamaican sounding town of Kitsman, I managed to take only 1 photo (which MK was not too pleased about) however I feel it definitely encompasses all that is Kitsman. While in Kitsman, I/we managed to... cook mac and cheese for her work English club "correct" her apartment meet her sitemate be presumed as MK's Romanian "man" Like any good excursion, I had to check another Oblast center off the list. With my guilde book not prompting any real excitement for what could be found in Chernivtsi, and I quote, "with Chernivtsi such a jumble of sights, and perhaps only the university a crucial one...", MK showed me around. Chernivtsi isn't any major city in Ukraine but it was very pleasant. I always seem to time weather in the West because it was an awesome day. My one word description of the city would be pastely, and it has a crazy university. Examples can be found below:

View Larger Map From there, we moved on into the Ivano-Frankivs'ka Oblast. The place with the giant egg (an annotation I added to my guidebook), or to Kolomyia was our next stop. Kolomyia is actually home to our first of many LCFs, so we got an expedited locals tour because he had to be on our way to Ivano later that day. symmetry makes me smile Ivano is like a mini L'viv, with tourism slowly building. A stronger ability in the Ukrainian language is needed here over L'viv, with English rarely heard. Speaking Russian here would definitely grant you a few stink eyes - which I kind of enjoyed. I've observed that certain regions claim more pride to their Ukrainian heritage over others. Coming from a region where both Russian and Ukrainian is spoken interchangeably, communication is often more complicated. Anyways, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

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surprisingly good food a young Shevchenko safety first Good times followed on our train back to Kyiv, platskart (4th class) you never let me down.

Maybe it’s because I finally finished the last Harry Potter novel a few weeks ago but I find myself trying to find references to Mr. Potter in all aspects of my life, hence the name of this post.

So come Tuesday and Wednesday I found myself not in school but rather on the school marshrutka packed with students to a neighboring village, unaware and anxious for what the future had in store.

And when I say packed, I don’t think Americans can comprehend the Ukrainian version of packed. Not like every seat was filled, but like every seat was double filled with people also standing (safety always comes first, right)? But I really think this sort of forced interactions (both social and physical) between students of young and old really creates a more cohesive student body where they look out and care for one another. It’s been really interesting to be part of such a small school coming from an educational system where there was 3000 people in my high school.

Sorry, tangent...

Arriving revealed hundreds of kids and an amass of other school buses at a school. I procured later that 11 different schools within the rayon arrived to partake in an annual competition between schools (hence the triwizard reference). My self imposed role was photographer and moral booster (the masculine word for cheer leader). Let me tell you, this “ish” was pretty legit.

Once the singing and dancing ended, all the adidas wear was busted out - those symbolic 3 stripes were everything. It's crazy how much that company has such a hold on Ukraine. Competitions included, though not limited too (I couldn’t see everything) History of the region Traditional Ukrainian Dancing Singing Long / short distance running Jump roping Obstacle relay races everything thing from leap frog to hula hooping Long jump etc... The only way to describe it was an odd track and field / academic league competition. It was by far the best few days I’ve had at school, I feel I really meshed with my target audience. Harkushyntsi school ended up placing 4th which wasn't too shabby. наша команда

One may presume this acronym to be similar to YMCA however you'd sadly be mistaken. The PYLC or the Poltava Youth Leadership Convention is a four day leadership summer training that goes on in Poltava (the oblast center) where students are bused in from all over the oblast to improve leadership and project design and management skills / hopefully чуть-чуть fun. While I didn't attend the training over the summer, a refresher weekend training was held which I was able to participate.

While this camp was mainly designed by PCVs, what separates it from other camps I've been involved in was that the activities were held in Ukrainian (or Russian). While I would like to say my Ukrainian is that supurb that I could teach a solid lesson on budgeting, sadly I cannot. Fortunately staffing the event were also Ukrainian trainers, who were awesome. In my village I seldom get to engage with Ukrainian twenty somethings so it was a welcomed change.

From my perspective the event was basically

lesson facilitating eating watermelon forced embarrassment painting making monies Now I feel I need to clarity

a watermelon eating competition was held to show students possible fundraising options. I happened to have eaten a massive lunch before hand, hence I lost embarrassment will be left unclarified painting refers to posters creation making monies refers to soliciting nationals to partake in a photo shoot to raise money for a kindergarden

In the words of Borat Sagdiyev

what I'm currently listening to

30 September dancing, singing, festivities, от і все

aftermath

what I'm currently listening to

With every first of the month comes a few things... new monies put into my account (all ~ $300.00!) cell phone bills monthly scheduling etc so basically I needed time to catch up on my life and sleep. And after taking a gander at what my gCal says my life will be like for October - not to mention it's supposed to start to snow this month, it's been awesome to have this weekend free.

I'll proudly admit I've basically been in my pj's for 92% of the weekend - only getting "put together" for my outing to town for the bazaar, supermarket, and ATM. I finished the book I've been reading (now in dire need of a new one) and caught up on TV shows, friends, news, emails, music (like I said, all things revolving around life).

Speaking of friends, check out this sexy Skype session with MP... granted it was 3AM in Santa Cruz.

It reminded me of said YouTube video.

Anyways, life is good, belly is full need...to...buy...a...warm...jacket Thanks for tuning in

If you feel so inclined, you can get your ukr dance party going while you read.

So as most of you know, my birthday has come and gone and Ukrainians spared no expense in "expressing their wishes of wealth, happiness, and that all my plans find their way to success". I tried to make it clear that I'm not one to enjoy celebrating my own birthday... however I guess either they didn't understand my Ukranglish / didn't listen.

The day consisted of a few things repeated over and over...

flowers - enough to where I presume a small garden was decimated (a moment of silence please) the happy birthday song sung in with an Eastern European accent home made cards A few highlights of the day included a massive torso sized cake that the faculty refused to eat, a jar of Nutella gifted by the 5th form, and Robin Hood. An interesting thing about Ukraine is that each city has it's own "day", for instance Myrhorod Day (which I think pertains to the day the Nazis left said town/city). Anyways, Myrhorod day ended up being celebrated my birthday weekend. So, once my school day ended, I made my way to Myrhorod where I spent the rest of the day with my sitemate Robin. The 8:45 morning train was actually on time and wasn't late arriving to Kyiv - in essence my true birthday present from Ukraine. I was able to grab my Mickey D's and shawarma fix and hung out with friends for the rest of the weekend. This weekend may or may not have included ending up in a 80's grunge hangout (denim jackets included) where presumable self titled DJ Mr. Coco spoke some broken English words of wisdom... "my name is Mr. Coco" "make some loud" "it makes me feel like oh my god" "why is it so dark in heaven?" "ladies get your booties moving" All and all, a successful birthday number 1.

(We also may have taught hipster Ukrainians how to electric slide - great success)

Disclaimer - this is the forth blog post of "catch up day". I most likely will not be proof-reading it for spelling or grammatical errors.

My last week in Aug was spent making my way between the two huge industrial cities of Kryvyi Rih - Кривий Ріг and Dnipropetrovs'k - Дніпропетровськ in the Dnipropetrovs'ka Oblast. The 8.5 hour Myrhorod - Kryvyi Rih bus ride (from hell) was not the ideal way to get pumped up for camp but thankfully I had a fellow Poltavian Megan and curb side / swiss army knifed cheese, tomato, bell pepper, cucumber sandwiches to ease the awfulness. Literally a fellow passenger almost died on the bus. View Larger Map I was in Kryvyi Rih for yet another Summer camp - Camp LEAD; which was a English immersion leadership camp for 16-21 year old students that myself and maybe 15 other PCV's were a part of. We all were housed in this old soviet hotel that made The Shinning + Hostel seem like a mashup potentially possibility - creepy hallways, abandoned basements, flickering lights, eerily quiet and deserted hallways at night. However I will say that's what made it really fun to explore.

We each were responsible for a group of 10-15 students. "The 7G's" aka my group was of course the найкраща група. We placed first in the best skit award for our awesome rendition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone as a soup opera.

They also gave me some sweet new Russian and Ukrainian bands and movies that I need to get on downloading. Anyways, highlights of the week in the form of words and photos. campers getting highly into watching The Mighty Ducks to the point where they were cheering when goals were scored teaching the kids dodgeball Ukrainian independence day park festivities characatchers of some of the PCVs

It was actually really sad when the week ended, good thing these kids took no time in friending my on Vkontakte (the Russian equivalent of Facebook).

The weekend in Dnipro was pretty relaxing as well - seeing how we stayed at a fellow 41er Kathryn's sweet pad. Got to see some sites, cook some good food, and just chill before school starts. I got home on the 28th with just enough time to relax for a day before that which is school began.

So my counterpart asked me to put together a short video of my time in Ukraine to be shown at this educational department rayon conference - I then realized it's been five freaking months?! I dunno, it seems like time has flown by.

Enjoy!

Music: Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema Club, Furr - Blitzen Trapper

Good news amigos who may visit me next year in August - another must see event right next to where I live! From Aug 16-21 there is one of the largest (it's massive) and most well known festival that takes place in Ukraine and is conveniently only about 30 minutes away form where I live. Let's just say I started getting couch surfing requests from Ukrainians.

View Larger Map

Anyways, it's ridiculous. It's like a music festival / carnival / dance party / Wal-mart / bazaar. You can do / buy just about anything there. For expamle, you can...

go zorbing go zip-lining / rock climbing buy cars, winter coats, massage chairs ride rollar coasters listen to live traditional Ukrainian music buy traditional garb eat / drink at much shawarma, shasleek, kvas, pivo, etc...

With a weekend free and need to be in Kyiv on Tuesday for a week long convention, I took up the opportunity to visit my PST community / family / pets / cluster mates in good old Koz town.

While it took a little longer then expected to get from Myrhorod to Kyiv (typical Ukraine), a good slice or I guess burger & fries of American fast food made everything ok. Though I can't believe they upped the Express Kyiv-Kozelets marshrutka by 2 UAH! Of course when I finally got home to Kozelets there was a massive amount of food ready to go - I should have known not to have eaten, however I ate again (and probably enough for two people). It was fun to be able to communicate and understand more - the dictionary was not actually at the table.

So my real mom and Ukrainian mom have this Facebook / google translate friendship going. So one of the conversations around the table was how my real mom informed Natasha that she wanted to see pictures of where I lived during PST (because the few that I took of my room and backyard didn't suffice). My rebuttal was how I thought it'd be awkward to just walk around the house taking pictures while Natasha or Zhenya would be sitting watching TV or something. In the semi quoted / translated words of Natasha, "You should have taken pictures, I will clean the entire house today, and then we will take pictures". I gave Natasha the reigns of my camera after showing her how to use it and here are the results. Unfortunately the kitchen was neglected to be paparazzied, maybe next time.

my personal favorite The seller where all the food is kept for winter Now that everyone should be happy, we can continue. The first night in Koz happened to be yet another disco park event. For some reason I got contracted into being the photographer for the event - but I did get free admission to the disco! It was fun to hang with the Koz group and host brothers, sisters, friends, etc... I managed to make my rounds to both Mary-Kathryn's and Kym's host families and of course got some good food out of it before they had to leave on Sunday. The Kozelets vs Oster game unfortunately was won by Oster. It was an all around good trip and I can't wait to come visit again.

Words literally can't describe how freaking sweet this city is. Lets just say a couple things... overly complicated train tickets if you come to visit me from the states - we're going here (no choice) if my PC salary / workload could afford both the 250 UAH and the 14 hour travel time - I'd be there on the reg put on your walking shoes - because why bus when there is so much to see around every corner (and I know a quaint 6km walking tour) So some few weeks back and through the magic of social networking sites, I mentioned the idea of traveling somewhere / anywhere because I had a light work week before the craziness of August would commence. The idea of L'viv was thrown out there. At frist it was retracted by yours truly because it was a hop, skip, and a half country away. I'll admit L'viv was one of the main cities I was dying to visit, however I was a tad scared of traveling by train solo for such a long distance. However after a little fuss I gave in and purchasing the basically non-refundable tickets (they lose like half their value if you return them) and thus locked me into that which became Львів 2011.

Let us begin with a weekend recap video to get y'all pumped to visit - courtesy of iMovie, DSLR, iPod Touch, and one sleepless night

music: Young the Giant - My Body

So as you might have figured out, L'viv is like stepping out of Ukraine and into a real European city - ironically where the people actually speak pure Ukrainian. People seemed really receptive/excited to hear foreigners give a go at their language.

So the excursion began at midnight in Myrhorod where the Kharkiv - L'viv train picked me up. While their was initial hostel / apt renting complications over the meaning of "booked", it all worked out for the best. Much thanks to Miss Robin Belinsky for letting me crash at her apartment in town while I waited around. Anyways, I don't know why I was nervous at all - trains are freaking awesome! I met a lot of really interesting people, a lot of which knew about the Peace Corps program / had a volunteer in their town.

So one may ask what an overnight train ride is like in "economy" third class? It's much like the black friday videos of people trying to get into WalMart - but it's totally the way to go. There are no little rooms like the Hogwarts Express however the stewart does come around with a cart of goodies you can purchase (sadly, no chocolate frogs). It's like this, four bunks to a given space, with two other side berths facing perpendicular to the other four bunks (I'm sure there must be a more logical way to describe this). I guess the sardine aspect is a bit of an over exaggeration but it's definitely a forced meet and greet situation - and their is apparently Ukr train etiquette. If you have the lower (нижнє) seat, people can sit on your bed without asking However once you put the sheets on your bed, an invitation is required Sharing food and drinks is highly recommended Sharing your life story is also highly recommended So I arrived around 2:30PM the next day and met up with Kym waiting at the train station and we made our way / out of our way (undesired directional detour) to our castle / hostel we were staying in. In total eight group 41 PCV's from all over descended on L'viv.

Top Sitesclimbing the tower in Ploshcha Rynok square tall castle (високий замок) lookout Криївка bar/restaurant Hostel Roxelana which was located in a castle churches from a variety of religious affiliations view from the Citadel-Inn L'viv Handmade Chocolate factory L'viv Brewery wheeling and dealing at the craft bazaar Top Highlightsarchitecture bomb homemade dinners / breakfasts daily taking way to many pictures getting free apples from the bazaar women losing at chess with a local photo session with a group of Baba's moon-walking on the Taras Shevchenko statue never ended walking tour (due to frequent cafe, bazaar, beer, girl clothes / jewelry breaks) meeting creepy Russians guy in the hostel who had an "issue" All and all, awesome trip, awesome people, would do it all again.

Figured I'd share the winners of the first person or persons to send me something - unsurprisingly, it was my parents (friends, you're laggin')!

In Kozelets when you received packages you had to go to the post office to pick it up yourself however my packages here in the village get delivered straight to the front door - however there was no service with a smile, the man was complete brick face.

Anyways, here's the goods that landed.

The snack food, updated guide book, and camera lens couldn't have come at a greater time! I leave today (at midnight) on a 14.5 hour overnight train to L'viv for a "excursion" with a few other PCVs. Maybe I'll share the oreos with some random Ukr's on the train however the Kit-Kats are all mine (and I'm not afraid to use my Ukr or Rus safety phrases to keep it that way).

Thanks again familia.

thanks Skype for making this all possible - батьки - parents [San Diego, CA] друзі - Erin & Conner (not pictured: Kevin) [Sacramento, CA]

be sure to remind me to snap a pic when we Skype so I can add ya!

When it comes to small towns in Ukraine where volunteers live - Harkushyntsi may not be the smallest (go go Kym in her 287 person village right outside of Sad, Ukraine... no joke), but I would assume I'm pretty up there. My quaint little village houses 1,200 people, three stores, one actual bus stop, one discotek, a library, a park, a school, of course a golden statue of Lenin, and I think that's about it. But I kind of like it...

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my community map I had to turn into Peace Corps

Now I know of volunteers that live in huge Oblast centers with populations in the hundreds of thousands and I think that's great (because I'll come visit them and stay there for free), however I'm excited that I will basically get to know and recognize everyone in my village by the end of two years (in theory).

The mentality of the village I feel is also very different - and that's really why a lot of volunteers, including myself, joined the Peace Corps was to live and experience a new culture and way of life and to hopefully learn from it.

So I'm sure y'all are wondering what a little Ukrainian countryside home is like - well you're in luck, today I awkwardly stood outside and videoed my home, both inside and out (I had some neighbors stare at me... you're welcome).

unfortunately this is the still YouTube pics for the video... не красивий.

The house is actually really nice. While the TV only gets I think five channels (that repeat over twenty channels), I now rely heavily on podcasts to get my US, and world news (in English). My new "host" father basically has renovated everything over the years with his son. I will say most Ukrainian countryside homes aren't this nice. They've been really great with trying to incorporate me into meals and family/neighborhood events - which was the main reason I wanted to live with a home stay. And it's not like you're locked into the housing by any means, volunteers are welcome to move if they so choose. So who knows, maybe a year from now I'll move into an apartment by myself. However as of now, I'm happy where I'm at.

I managed to install internet in my home as well! And when I say I, I mean my host father. He told me the options available and called who needed to be called. I had to purchase a pretty expensive modem however it was the main thing I really wanted so I'm glad my host family let the internet guy drill a hole in their wall for the ethernet cord.

The school I work at is a place I also think I'll enjoy. It's a specialized English school meaning the students receive I believe five english lessons a week over the normal two. I even get my own office that overlooks the countryside. The five English teaches (one is my Counterpart) and students I've met so far seem really excited to have me. the first few days I received way too many flowers I've only taken a few shots of the village so far. Obviously there isn't a lot but I managed to encounter a very large sunflower field which I was pretty stoked about. I decided to, and realize after the fact, make a really awkward video of the fields

cool video of Ukrainian sunflower fields - apologies for the awkward middle school music

mood music link

First off, mini cultural moment, Ukrainians love the term excursion (екскурсія). In English it's a world seldom used and is usually saved for a more extreme/grant activity, however in Ukraine well... here's some наприклади (examples).

you could...

explore a new city - екскурсія go for a hike - екскурсія be going down the street to pick up some groceries - екскурсія go visit a friend in the next town - екскурсія go visit a friend in your town - екскурсія go visit a friend two houses down - екскурсія so I think you get it, enough with the tangent, this post is dedicated to Poltava, my oblast center.

View Larger Map

My counterpart and I went yesterday on a bus tour which turned out pretty sweet. I won't bore you too much with words because the pictures can speak for themselves. I guess I'll split it up into sections.

Cathedrals / Churches / Monasteries

Featuring (in order of appearance) Sampsonyyvska church Khrestovozdvizhensky monastery Dormition Cathedral

Museums / Statues / Monuments

Featuring (in order of appearance) Memorial Rotunda Russian warriors Bed of Honor Monument to defenders of Poltava Museum of local lore Monument to T. G. Shevchenko The Museum of Poltava Battle history The Museum - Place of I. P. Kotyarevsky White Rotunda

Pictures of me

my counterpart forced me to do this - however I won't lie, it's pretty funny

I think that about raps up this екскурсія

So one may ponder what do volunteers do for the three months during summer? The answer my friends are SUMMER CAMPS and/or TRAVELING!!

Given my noobie status, and a lack of knowledge of well... everything, I was fortunate enough to be recruited to such an opportunity along with the other two new volunteers in my region to partake in a week long summer camp (July 1st - 8th) in oblast just north of me, Sums'ka, in the town of Okhtyrka. The theme of the camp was primarily on prevention and awareness of HIV/AIDS as well as volunteerism, teamwork, and active citizenry. Let's just say I ended up having a blast!

View Larger MapBecause PCV's are awesome, most apply and receive grant money to support these camps - in the case of Camp HEAL, food and lodging was completely free! This camp was located on this resort compound which had this weird "world" themed. And when I say "world" themed, I mean each room was named after a city around the globe (except for Mexico, which was just Mexico... always screwed over).

The camp was an English immersion camp run by volunteers and a couple nationals so all the lessons were done completely in English. The students ranged from 9th to 11th formers as well as university students from all over Ukraine. It was amazing to see some of their levels of English. I ended up being more of a logistical aid to the directors of the camp as well as photographer and help facilitate a few lessons. It was great meeting other volunteers both new and far my site, as well as veteran and noobie. Hearing about their experiences in service was a great way to better grasp what my experience could be like - and now I'm super excited!

Here are some highlights from Camp HEAL. yay for grant money! had to go big for July forth Ivan Kupala - July sixth and seventh

aka best Ukr holiday councilors group pic

CLICK HERE - now was that so hard? the black and white makes him look so serious So we all know how Walt Disney has Disneyland as his claim to fame - well Mr. Gogol has my town, Mirgorod / Myrhorod (Миргород).

While you and I both know I actually live in Harkushyntsi, I find myself in Mirgorod probably four times a week so I've since adopted it as my own (a subsequent post will be provided on Harkushyntsi in the near future).

View Larger Map Located in north central Poltavs'ka Oblast, Mirgorod is centralized to a lot of other major Ukrainian Cities (which I'm pleasantly happy about). Being located in central Ukraine I think will make traveling to other major cities on either ends of the country much more feasible.

1.5 hrs to Poltava 3 hrs to Kyiv 4 hrs to Kozelets 4 hrs to Kharkiv 4 hrs to Sumy 4 hrs to Dnepropetrovsk 10 hrs to Odesa 11 hrs to Sevastopol 12 hrs to L'viv 12 hrs to Mount Hoverla (Carpathian Mountains) My town is actually named after the title of a compilation of short stories written by Nikolai Gogo way back in 1835. While I would like to eventually get my hands on a copy for sentimental value, Ukrainians and Russians love this guy and have probably snatched up most of the copies.

The town has around 40,000 people and is a very common resort city for Ukraine as well as Russia. And apparently Canada too (ran into four Canadians in the past 2 days). We have beaches, boat rentals, super markets, fountains, concerts, swans, hotels, etc... and because it's such a major tourest attraction, a lot of buses and trains that normally wouldn't run though this size city do pass through my town! I'm also happy to say I'm not alone here - two other Youth Development volunteers from my group are within 10 to 20 minutes from me.

Poltava region in general is very flat and has a large farming community so I want to buy a bike asap. A few weekends ago I went on a 45km bike ride to the surrounding villages and it wasn't too exhausting - I excited for what else I can find here.

Things I've already found via велосипед (bicycle):

a lake herds of animals gigantic sunflower / wheat fields possible camp sites

Today I went on a photo tour of the city with a buddy and here are some of the results.

In the brilliantly crafted / now altered words of Veruca Salt - I'm ready to receive some lovin.

So I have a new address! And yes it's a tad bit complicated and may contain some cyrillic letters. However, please don't fear.

Метью БредіУкраїнаПолтавська ОбластьМиргородський районс. Гаркушинцівул. Молодіжна, 237670--------------------------------Matthew BradyMolodizhna St #2HarkushyntsiPoltava Obl. 37670Ukraine

So you do need to provide both the English and Ukrainian versions on the package however feel free to copy, paste, and print or try writing it if you've simply taken interest in learning a new alphabet.

If you do plan on sending me something, please let me know so I'll actively look for the slip in the mail.

I'm in no particular need of anything specific however I'm open to any and all things. Kym, my cluster mate, has already received three 20lbs boxes from home during Pre-Service Training so y'all have a bit to catch up to.

*cough* Kit Kats, N-64, Target tee's / merchandise...

How could his not have magical powers?most likely fire spec'd

Honestly, what could be better?

So the Summer Camp & Community Project we've been planning for quite some time now is now finished (at least at my school), and I have to say I'm happy with how it turned out.

Day 1 (5/30)Sports Day

Anne began the day with a lesson on sportsmanship regarding the qualities of a good athlete / teammate. The class really seemed to enjoy applying what they've learned on a simple maze teams had to maneuver. Certain members of each team were blind, couldn't use their feet, speak, touch. Kym took a pretty funny video that hopefully I'll get to put up eventually.

The second part of the lesson Anne and myself taught. We taught the kids how to play Human Knot and Capture the Flag. It was fun to get the class outside to do some activities on such a nice day.

Human Knot went over fine and making it a competition between genders fueled their desire to win. Capture the Flag was apparently a new game to them - which was a fun surprise. While we thought we explained the rules well enough, we found out they weren't in depth enough... ha. The students began to throw the flag from teammate to teammate. While i thought it was rather clever - It took a few rounds to find out what else we needed to explain. some played with backpacks on... I don't know why Day 2 (5/31)Health Day

The second day of camp was dedicated to a topic we had to cover - health. As well as having a photo-shoot apparently as well. oh Lyuda... so mysterious we were very prepared I go to solo teach for the first time on Nutrition (Claire I know you're so proud). It actually ended up probably being my favorite lesson. I explained the effects of healthy and unhealthy eating had the kids create diets and posters regarding situations and why it's important to eat healthy. The second part of the day was on Positive decision making that Anne and Maria taught. The lesson was set up well in it's ability to push the students English ability. Some of the answers were rather sophisticated - which was funny / surprising from a class that chose to avoid speaking English for the most part during the 8 Weeks we taught there. final photo with the 8th formers Day 3 (6/2)Volunteerism Seminar

The final day of camp was the implementation of our community project - which was on volunteerism and civil duty.

While the room we had to teach in that day was like being inside a microwave - the powerpoint Kym made was spot on.

We had the kids make maracas out of recycled bottles that we painted white. We had the kids fill them with rice and paint on them. These will later be donated to the toddlers at the social service center to play with along with school supplies and resources we fundraised. before <<Need to steal photos from Kym>>

WIth only a week left in Kozelets, I can't believe it's almost over - it's this mixed feeling of sadness and excitement for what is next to come.

But I will say our garden is growing - which is really what is important!!

Stay tuned for my permanent site placement and Swearing in Ceremony in Kyiv - 4 Day Вечірка!

and when I say you I mean myself... be jealous.

Swearing in is literally one week away!! Craziness

Figured I'd show you what some of the monopoly money looks like here - I think it's pretty interesting.

So in Kyiv there is this free art exhibit that rotates every two weeks and the one currently on display when we went was freaking awesome. Let's just say I now know what being in a rainbow is like.

For more info on the exhibit and the museum: http://pinchukartcentre.org/en/exhibitions/current/15307

So as you can tell from the lack of recent posts (besides ones I myself did not write), I've been very busy. On top of our language lessons and teachings, we've had our summer camp / community project implementation to plan, scratch, re-plan, correct, and plan again. It happens to be next Monday, Tuesday, Thursday - so there is obviously a lot to do and a little stress in the air. Not to mention it's hard to focus when you want to change out of your sweaty nice school attire into your Adidas shorts, GREY tank top, Chaco's, and Ninja'd glasses. But in the mitts of craziness and in true Peace Corps style, we've managed to have some fun along the way. The weekend of May 14th and 15th was pretty jam packed. The 14th was my host mother Natasha's birthday! I will not disclose her age because I know she'd kill me if I did (some cultural norms do translate). The previous volunteer, Adam, who lived with Natasha came to visit that weekend as well so it was fun to listen to each others experiences / his saxophone. We had Ukrainian BBQ for dinner which I've grown quite fond of, many traditional Ukrainian beverages (use your imagination), and sang Happy Birthday in English while Adam played it on the sax. I have two major loves in life - California Burritos and Volleyball. And on the 15th, both were satisfied. The Community Development PCV's in Chernihiv put on a large community picnic that we as a cluster + LCF attended. We decided it would be ideal to go grocery shopping when we arrived and might I say, It was like we struck gold. They had everything from Tortillas to Oreos. I dropped a fair bit of my monopoly money and ate way too much. I then proceeded to play volleyball - which was glorious, I need to buy one at some point. When I got home from Chernihiv I made my host family traditional CA Burritos - and by traditional, I mean with what ingredients I could find, however it definitely hit the spot. Last week we had Youth Development's PST University on Wednesday and Thursday in Chernihiv. While is was informative - it truthfully was just a excuse to hang out with all the other YD volunteers and catch up on the internetz.

It's crazy to think 11 weeks is almost up! But lets not talk about it, I wouldn't want to tear up (and we all know how much I love cryers).We had to send in a family photo for the Swearing in Ceremony in June. Figured I'd share both the one that made it as well as the process.

First let me say that I am probably not Matt's favorite clustermate, but I am contending for that position. In the almost seven weeks/seven months Peace Corps time I have learned lots about Matthew:

He really hates it when we call him girl's names...sometimes I try not to, but that frustrated grunt he does is just too fun some days! He really likes us, eventhough he says he wishes he had a cluster with another boy or two or three....and I do believe that some days he would truly trade us for men...but most days, he'd keep us. If you do not feed Matt every 3-4 hours he gets sassy, if he goes longer than that he gets REALLY sassy!! (Today he told me "They're Banana Republic Pants, NOT sassy pants") Matt is the best arts and crafts-er I know. Matt enjoys jumping off things, especially monuments. When you come to visit Matt, we will go to a big city and visit some lovely historical places and you can see this first hand. Don't tell him I told you, but he is a gentleman...possibly a bit forced living with all girls...but he makes sure we're safe! Matta has these one liners that can make a bad day better or a good day great!!Don't worry Phyllis, I worry enough to give myself heartburn about my cluster every day, but Matthew is a smart boy and has good senses. And he does usually walk us home, except Kym, but that's really because she lives about 50 minutes in the wrong direction.

I believe Kym said this already, but I'll risk repetition because its true: Matt is a great teacher and an asset to our cluster and the Peace Corps!!!

If you haven't already figured it out, Spring is upon us (I guess that's not entirely true for the small percentage of Australians that apparently came across this blog). Anyways... now I realize for most of my friends and family in California this word doesn't really mean must seeing how everything weather related is pretty much constant however but people here take Spring very seriously and it's filled with many Ukrainian holidays.

While I've already explained Easter, one of the other main holidays is Святом Перемоги (Victory Day) which happens to be today, May 9th! It's basically equivalent to the US's Independence Day.

This morning there was a large parade where we got to watch loads of soldiers, tanks, traditional Ukrainian garb'd children (which ironically looks like little Aladdins running around) and folk dancing.

We ran across a fair amount of our students we teach so it was fun to see them in a different setting then the classroom. There was a concert held after the parade where veterans still alive were congratulated and some sort of speech was given in their honor that I was unfortunately unable to understand.

(ADDING PHOTOS SOON)

And to top it off, later tonight there is supposed to be fireworks! After seeing Disneyland's firework show relatively recently I hope I haven't ruined my ability to appreciate such events - however I guess we'll find out tonight!

2 quick things,1. I found wifi in Kozelets!

2. I found a hedgehog

Dear Friends and Family of Matthew T. Brady,

My name is Kym Starno and I'm Matt's favorite cluster-mate! I'd like to share with you my perspective on Matt's new life in Ukraine. When I first met Matt, I kept confusing him with another person Peace Corps Volunteer who looks just like him, however he has quickly become one of my favorite people in Ukraine. I wanted to let you all know that even though he's the only man in a cluster filled with very loud, unbelievably crazy women, he helps maintain our sanity and he has a great sense of humor.

Our days are long and we have a very short period of time to study, integrate into the community and plan lessons, but Matt seems to handle the everyday stresses with ease. I've already taught 1 lesson with him and he's a fantastic teacher. The students love him and I know for a fact that he loves them as well. In language classes he excels and he's great to work with. However, his faults are the following: he tries to make laugh when I'm drinking, he never walks me home with I'm in grave danger, and he teases me on my perfect Ukrainian speech.

When Matt isn't making fun of everyone in our cluster, he's jumping off random objects all over Ukraine, complaining that he doesn't have any internet and uses me to get my wireless internet at my sweet host mother's house, speaking with Kozelets community members and telling secrets he shouldn't be telling!

Anyways, I hope I'll be able to write to you all again very soon! Unfortunately, I had a much longer post, but I'm unprepared at the moment. Matt at this current time is telling me to rush through my post and is making fun of me because I've been on his computer for a pretty long time and I've only written this much. Just for your information, Matt is doing incredibly well and I'm most likely certain that I would have never been able to do Peace Corps at his age. I know you all must be so worried and concerned, but have no worries because you should all be proud of your son/friend/cousin/nephew/grandson. He has 4 women looking after him in case he needs to be hit over the head.

I wish everyone well and Matt will call you soon : )

Kym

As you can tell from the title of this post, I may have caught the travel bug just a bit - but it's not my fault (or so I tell myself). Kozelets is perfectly located an hour and a half in either direction from two big cities - Chernihiv and the capitol Kyiv.On the 17th, four of the five of my cluster mates made the trek by Mashuka (mini-bus) to Chernihiv in the wee hours of the morning.

One may ask why the fifth was not in attendance? The lone ranger was actually under the impression she was going to milk a cow that day - which she's been wanting to do for some time now. Unfortunately... said activity never happened (which was quite hilarious) and this presumed cow wasn't even mentioned at all throughout the day, haha. Anyways, Chernihiv was a blast. The weather wasn't pristine however it was perfect for a day of walking around. We met up with a few groups who are doing PST in Chernihiv so we got a mini / fast paced tour of the city. We had an awesome time with only a little blip in figuring out how to get home to Kozelets - however it all worked out.

On the contrary, the 22nd turned out to be a scorcher in Kyiv - however the Ukrainian people still managed to be in their winter coats while I was sweating my life away. We were advised to not keep anything of importance in our pant pockets due to the prevalence of pick-pocketing so it was all zipped away in the million compartments of my North Face. However that meant I had to basically keep my jacket on the whole time! If I lost that - my life would have been over. The field trip to Kyiv was actually part of our PST curriculum so our LCF Natasha came along and had a scavenger hunt planned for us. Kyiv is really pretty with all the conveniences of what I think of as a city - McDonalds, Subway Station, and even an underground mall! We had to ask for a lot of directions to locals in Ukrainian and most people were very willing to help out - so it was much appreciated. The main point of the visit was to get a tour of the Peace Corps Ukraine headquarters. There was actually a fair amount of current volunteers visiting the office as well so it was fun to ask questions and get perspectives of people who've been there for quite some time. They had internet stations and showers for volunteers to get cleaned and caught up on life which was pretty neat.

With all the new sights I've managed to overlook one of Ukraine's favorite things - EASTER - which happens to be in two days! I'm not actually sure what's going to happen but I do know that there is an eight hour church service that spans though the night and into the next morning, delicious delicious comidas, and hopefully wifi, haha. My host mother Natasha has been in the kitchen the entire day cooking / baking and our house smells bomb so I can only assume good things are in the near future. I looked in my fridge last night and there was probably 75 eggs - so maybe I'll go hide a few to share the easter egg hunt tradition.

I've actually felt a bit under the weather the past couple days so I plan on sleeping all day tomorrow to hopefully knock out the bug that's got me down.

biker gang of Kozelets While I apologize with my lack of conversing with friends and family on the other side of the world, it's really hard to put into words all the experiences and differences life here in Ukraine is. But for starters, here's a list of things I've accomplished so far...helped save a cat from an attic of a babusya neighbor set a few outside fires as a means of agriculture seen horse drawn carriages on the regular taught my first healthy lifestyles class to 10 - 11 yr olds on conflicts seen the inside of the cathedral in town was finally able to buy sausage from the market without the use of presumably awkward hand gestures resisted the urge to dance on local buses with cluster mates as pop / techno music blares from the bus stereo yet to be pick pocketed or lose anything eaten probably a good 30 different types of candy / cookies (including cell phone cookies) learned how to make borsch found a store that sells Ukrainian Harry Potter (pic at bottom of post) finished the first season of Fringe ran a mile / 1.5 miles consistently 4 to 5 times a week I've found yet another more awesome magazine (produce store) my room tank near Mary's house Life in Kozelets is slowly becoming a routine. And by routine, I mean long school days where I probably only understand 60% of what's truly going on - but I'm ok with it. With spring just around the corner, it's interesting to see the changes in the city. I've deduced that during winter, people basically give up on city and home external upkeep - which I guess makes sense when it's -17 F with light out for only 5 hours. Every day, something different seems to be getting a fresh set of paint. I'm probably most excited for all the new produce spring time has to offer. While potatoes will always have a special place in my heart, it's cool to see slowly new fruits and vegetables makes it way into stores. I've also heard day light can last until 11PM!

Language lessons is of course still going on in the background of everything. I've come to grips that learning Ukrainian will prove to be more challenging then I anticipated - not to mention that my town mostly speaks Russian / Sourgic (a Russian/Ukrainian mix). Past volunteers have said that people who study Ukrainian usually pick up conversational Russian as well due to the wide population of Russian speakers whereas volunteers that learn Russian usually don't pick up much Ukrainian. But it's slowly coming along, with each day learning a few new words while simultaneously saying some bad ones on accident (which I admit is the most fun part). My TCF described to us today that Ukrainian only has three main tenses whereas English apparently has 16 - which made me feel a lot better.

As of April 16 (today), we are allowed to travel to other towns without a Peace Corps staff member present. In honor we've decided to bus it to Chernihiv for a day trip tomorrow. Both my cluster and link are planing to attend. Chernihiv is the biggest city in the Chernihiv Oblast (duh) so there should hopefully be lots to see - and more importantly photo! I've also been informed that beer / wifi cafes are abundant so I'm excited to take part in such a heavenly hybrid. Four Community Development clusters are stationed there for PST so we'll hopefully get to hang out with them as well.

Along the same lines as travel, we get to go to Kyiv next Friday! I plan to do reconnoissance on where the Apple Store is and apparently we have to complete this scavenger hunt. While next week will be crazy busy, Having this trip to look forward to is a great "light at the end of the tunnel".

I've also come up with a new plan to remedy the communication / free time that I don't want to spend studying issue. While I'm not the biggest fan of Mail App for Mac's, it'll allow me to save my gmail emails on my computer. Therefore, I should be able to reply and have them queued up to send the next time I get internet. Hopefully this'll make my four hyriv (50 cent) hour spent at the internet cafe much more productive. This method has yet to be tested so I'll be sure to let you know the outcome. important find

Back at the internet club... one week later.

Week three is about it pick up in busyness a few folds. Besdies the four hours of language we have daily, I have to teach a healthy lifestyles lesson on Thursday on Conflicts and Their Affect to 6th formers (10-11 year olds). The best part, most of it should be taught in Ukrainian! Very much scary, but I'll deal.

I am excited for Monday - which is cooking day! Our new LCF Natasha is going to teach us how to make borch and we're going to teach her how to make stir fry.

Still in the process of mastering brick face. Had the option to eat fish heads to finner today but opted for the body of the fish - wasn't ready to take that leap.

Other then that, life is the usual, hit up the Bazar today with the cluster mates - could have bought a pig in a sack or a rooster - can't say I wasn't tempted. Also the owner of the house we do language lessons had a communication misunderstanding with me - led to awkwardness.

Well, I should get a start on some of this stuff I have to prep for the week.

I know... I know... it's been a while.

With moving, school, host familyish, and having little to no language ability, it's made finding internet a bit hard. By this time tomorrow, I will have spent my first week in Kozelets!

Can I first say how awful / liberating it is to be disconnected to facebook and email for 5 days - literally 60 emails and a good 30 facebook notifications (granted there were a fair bit of pointless Cal Poly asking for stuff emails). So thanks friends and family for the love / tags I would have untagged 5 days ago if I could.

I guess I wasn't really completly disconnected - I did pick up a duel sim cell phone on Life:) My number is +380 63 656 7576

Anyways, yes I am alive and indeed full of potatoes, borcht, and tea. Life in Kozelets for PST is going well. The town is pretty quaint and the cathedral looks awesome on a nice sunny day like today. I'm currently living with just my host mom Natasha. She has one son Shenya (age: 20) who goes to university about an hour away in Chernihiv who visits every weekend. My room is actually pretty big (I'm pretty sure it's Shenya's room) with lots of closet space, a desk, and a tv to watch Ukraine's Got Talent. Oh, and I do have hot water! I'm actually the 5th volunteer Natasha has had so she's kind of got this down to a science. She's awesome and helps me with language every night. We also go running at the sadium every evening. We have a dog Jake and a cat (which I can't remember her name). Both aren't allowed inside though. Natasha is very popular socialite of Kozelets haha - her 3 cell phones is always ringing.

Stray dogs here are everywhere! Picture squirrels, but substitude dogs - it's actually kind of sad, I want to own all of them.

My school scheduling is pretty flexible - I started at 9AM this week and it usually went to like 3PM. Classes are held at my LCF (language and culture facillitators) home and am greated every morning by their awesome puppy Rex (literally cutest dog ever - I will be posting pictures eventually)! Aside from language, I'll also be working with a public school thoughout training. Thereofre, we just have to fit four hours of Ukrainian lessons at some point in the day.

My cluster is pretty funny / hillarious - and I'm the only boy - so all of their host mothers want to marry me off... it can be a bit awkward.

Alright, I only have 4 more minutes left on this hour of internet so I better rap it up. Again, I'm alive and my belly is full (isn't that all that really matters?).

Also, spell check is in Ukrainian so... ha.

Cheers!

Found this list on a website, nothing seems too out of the ordinary. If invited into a family home, it is traditional to bring a gift. A bottle of wine, a cake, chocolates or a bouquet of flowers is customary. If there is a child in the house, it is appropriate to provide him/her with a small gift as well. (Kit Kats and a shot glass) Do not shake hands across the threshold of a door. It is considered bad luck. (I wonder how they feel about mistletoe) When shaking hands, take off your gloves. (normal) In Ukraine it is not a custom to shake hands with a woman. Kissing her hand will make you very gallant. (I don’t think I’ve ever kissed a girl on the hand… like seriously) Be prepared to remove your shoes upon entering a home. To keep apartments clean, most hosts will provide you with a pair of slippers.(sweet, do I get a snuggie as well?) On public transportation, give up your seat to mothers with children, the elderly, or the infirm. (duh) At the entrance of upscale restaurants, expect that your coat, briefcase or baggage will be checked. (so keep important things in your pockets) Be sure to have business cards printed in Ukrainian on one side and English on the other. (smart idea) When eating dinner at someone’s home, casual dress is accepted. (got to love jeans) If you bring flowers, make sure it is an uneven number (even are for funerals) of flowers. (interesting, my OCD will be unhappy) Be ready to give toasts at dinner, for guests are often asked to do so.(can they be in English?) Offer to share your snacks and cigarettes with those around you. (I expect the same in return) Be prepared to accept all food and drink offered you when visiting friends. (I’m scared of the sheer amount of vodka they drink) Ukrainians are known for their generosity when it comes to feeding others. Turning down food may be considered rude. (I’m going to get fat :/ ) For business, dress should be conservative. Men should not take off their jackets unless asked to do so. (I’m going to sweat) In Orthodox churches women wear scarves or hats, and men take off their hats. (standard) Don’t put your thumb between your first two fingers - this is a very rude gesture. (similar to flipping the bird?)

This seems fairly appropriate.The women @ 3:35 will be my new мати

So Peace Corps asked me to fill out this questionnaire that will be sent to the Ukrainian individuals I eventually will be working with and figured I'd share.

A: The professional attributes that you plan to use, and what aspirations you hope to fulfill, during your Peace Corps Service.Looking back on the nine month process of getting accepted into the Peace Corps and rereading my initial application essay brought some clarity to all I hope to achieve in Ukraine. I was, and still am, extremely passionate about making a real difference in the lives of others, and I’m excited to be part of something radically different than what I might previously have believed to be a normal path.During my high school and university careers, much of my volunteer work involved working with fellow students and faculty in order to educate, inform, and teach leadership and healthy living choices. I believe my background in this area will translate well to youth development in Ukraine. I am a very organized, reliable, and professional person who tends to intersperse work with moments of laughter. From my experience as both a teacher and student, I believe youths do not want to be lectured at, and that keeping the environment light-hearted from time to time seems to work best in information retention. The most valuable technique I learned while working on my university’s orientation program was collaborative problem solving. Our greatest ideas always seem to come from a combination of diverse ideas and backgrounds, and I am excited to see the positive impact my Peace Corps group can have by brainstorming with people from all over the world. And unlike my extracurricular work, my academic work in the Sciences was focused on efficiency, precision, and multi-tasking, rather than collaborative work. But I think this unique combination of experiences has taught me to be a very versatile and adaptive individual who will happily thrive as a Youth Development volunteer. B: Your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs.The Peace Corps hosted a video and Q&A seminar in my hometown last year, and as an attendee I received the book “Tales of Peace Corps Service”. After reading through it, I realized a few things: change does not happen overnight, and the American idea of quick transactions and a hyper-paced lifestyle is not something shared by the rest of the world. Going into the service knowing this, I hope to count small changes as large achievements. I also believe gaining community respect is key to understanding expressed needs and initiating small steps towards change. As a Youth Development volunteer, enacting small changes in the youth can have significant effects in future generations, and I think that’s really exciting! Learning the local language of either Ukrainian or Russian will be the first step in initiating community respect and acceptance. By getting to know the Ukrainian people and culture, I feel I will be more apt to understand and empathize with the needs of the community. C: Your strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background.I still have two months before I leave and am currently contemplating on what I can do to make my transition into a new society the smoothest it can be. I want to stay grounded in my values and experiences that I bring from the United States while at the same time be open to the new ideas and incite my service will bring.I consider myself a pretty adaptive person by nature, and am more so when comfortable in a group setting. Having a base of local friends to learn and confide in is how I personally adapt to a new environment. I hope my pre-service family and other Peace Corps volunteers I work with are people I feel comfortable with who work similarly, in order to allow my transition to occur most effectively. D: The skills and knowledge you hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve your future community and project.While pre-service training is essential for learning the history and language of Ukraine, I am most excited to learn and share cultural aspects with the host family I will be staying with. Adapting to my new environment is key to staying safe and learning as much as possible. I really hope to gain a sense of home living with this family, because without it, I think the hardship of being so far from friends and family will be much harder to bare (especially being a Californian facing winter for the first time). Learning what my host family’s and community’s children are interested in and seeing what aspects of my own American culture they enjoy hearing about will be of a great benefit to projects and activities that I could create as a Youth Development volunteer. Furthermore, I hope pre-service training teaches me to be a less reserved individual. Peace Corps is about meeting new people and making a network of communication to foster positive growth in the communities we work with and I hope to grow as a person to get the most out of my first twelve weeks in Ukraine. E: How do you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends. I really cannot even imagine how my life and outlook on life will change after my service in the Peace Corps. What I hope my service does is open up my perspective of the world as well as narrow my focus on what I hope to actually do in my life. With the professional fellows programs offered to RPCV (returned Peace Corps volunteers), I hope to use that narrowed focus to further my education in that field.

So I guess it's about time I created on of these memoirs for my upcoming adventure. I've seen PCV's (Peace Corps volunteers) with them since their application was submitted, which puts me back say nine months from posts I guess I should have been making - so sue me.

Anyways, so it comes to find out I'll be moving to Ukraine (not "the" Ukraine) and being a Youth Development volunteer in the not so far future. I'm currently in the process of going over my packing list and realizing my Californian wardrobe needs a big update for me to survive in the Ukrainian winters to come... but I'm totally excited anyways!

My actual departure date is March 21st. I will most likely be flying to Washington, DC and partake in an orientation event with the other 110 Group 41 Ukraine PCV's. After that, all 110 of us will hop on a plane and lose 10 hours of our lives (time difference) and land in Kiev (capital of Ukraine) and start my Pre-Service Training!