When 162 children get together, it’s always an event. That many students have enough extra energy to power a small city for at least a day or two. The challenge is to try and funnel that energy into something productive. If these are kids in Ukraine, that energy will often be put into working in [...]
Please login first to post comments.
The first day of school this year, my students were already asking me about summer camp. It’s finally time again to start planning and thinking about camp again. Thankfully, I knew it was coming and was much more prepared. I have, hopefully, 20 volunteers coming to help me teach the 150 students we expect at [...]
For spring break, my friends and I decided to go to Moldova. I had never really heard much about Moldova, or its capitol Chisinau, but it’s right next to Ukraine, so I figured I might as well check it out. So, at seven in the morning, I got on a bus to Vinnytsia, another city [...]
On my first day of school, in December over a year ago, students pointed at me. Every student I passed whispered “Americanka” excitedly to their friends. I felt like a rare animal in the zoo, something that people had heard of, but never seen. I was something of a spectacle. Since then, the students have [...]
Birthdays are tricky things. It’s really hard to make sure that you have a good birthday. You have to rely on the people around you to remember and wish you a happy day. Last year, my birthday wasn’t a very big deal. One of my classes remembered, they may have been the only class I’d [...]
I gave my students an assignment to turn some news stories in our books into news stories for TV. I was so proud of how excited every group got for the project. This is one group who told the story about a father who fell off a cliff while searching for bird’s eggs. Unfortunately, my [...]
Late at night thirty Americans gathered around the edge of a small river somewhere in the woods outside of Rive. We were in the sanatorium Prolisok for the biannual language refresher, but we stood by the river to celebrate a Ukrainian holiday commemorating Christ’s baptism. Traditionally, Ukrainians havewater blessedand bring it to their home. They [...]
No matter what you’re doing or where you are those are always days that are simply good. Sometimes it’s because something great really happened, like when a kid finally understands the present perfect tense or when you make a new friend. Other times, days are just good for no apparent reason. Those are my favorite [...]
2011 didn’t really seem to start until around 10 o’clock this morning. That’s about when I got to school for the first time since last year. Sure, I rang in the new year with champagne and friends in D.C., which was amazing, but it didn’t seem real until I got back to my life again. [...]
Last year at this time, I didn’t really believe that winters in Ukraine would be that much worse than what I faced in Syracuse. I was used to walking to school in freezing temperatures with wind blowing snow into my face. I figured it couldn’t be much worse. Then the end of January came and [...]
Merry Christmas everyone! It’s only a little after seven in the morning out here in Minnesota, but I already know that it’s going to be a great Christmas without worrying about presents or Christmas dinner; I’m home. Peace Corps teaches you a lot of things. Things about yourself. Things about how the world really works, [...]
My life has become an episode of Scrubs. No, I haven’t switched to the local hospital, I just live half of my life inside my own head. A constant inner monologue, involving singing, imagining absurd situations and even results in some dancing, fills my head. I also talk to myself and my cat all the [...]
Shoes I love shoes. I’ve always loved shoes. I think it’s because of my mom. I remember going shoe shopping with her, something you had to do often if you want to find a good deal, when I was in high school. She told me that shoes would always fit, no matter what. Once your [...]
A year After a year in Ukraine, I’ve heard a couple times recently that I’ve become jaded. It’s not terribly surprising. I remember meeting volunteers while I was in training. They spoke of Ukraine: a country where officials stand in your way at every turn, where winter sets in before Thanksgiving and lingers well after [...]
Before my parents left the states, they asked if there was anything that I missed from home that they could bring. Before I knew it, I had written an e-mail detailing an entire jet full of things I wanted: Tabasco Sauce, Worchestshire Sauce, vanilla, tortilla chips, salsa, candies, mac-and-cheese, taco seasoning, Frank’s Hot Sauce. The [...]
It’s a PCV’s worst nightmare. We worry that our classes aren’t going to go well or we won’t make friends, but there is one possibility that absolutely sends shivers down our spines. I remember the medical sessions that we had during training. Minor problems will be treated by the Peace Corps doctors. Bigger problems earn [...]
My favorite part of my family’s visit was when we went back to my site. I wanted to show them my apartment, my school, my bazaar and all the shops that I go in every week. Since I was in a place I knew, all the stress of travel and figuring out a new city [...]
While we traveled to L’viv I wondered a couple times if it was really worth dragging my poor, jet-lagged family half way across the country to a city that I had never seen before. L’viv answered my doubts the first second I saw the city. We came from Kiev, a city that was severely damaged [...]
Finally the day arrived. My family’s flight was expected to arrive at 9:10 on Saturday morning. I got on a mashrutka to Kiev at 4:45 and prepared to meet them. I should have done my research a little better. I thought about googling the best ways to get the Borispil Airport. I also had bags [...]
This is a little old, but I’ve been far away from the internet for a bit. In less than a week, my family is coming to visit. Today, I went and bought our train tickets out to L’viv. I hopped the mashrutka to the train station, the only place you can buy train tickets here, [...]
One of my favorite days of camp was day one. I spent the day teaching children music and helping my friends get to know my school. They taught team building, which didn’t really go that well. It helped them to get to know the kids though. At the end of the day, we had our [...]
Summer vacation in Ukraine begins before the first day of June. Also by that first (or maybe the second) day of June summer camps begin. These camps give the students a chance to spend another week playing with their friends and learning a little more. Peace Corps volunteers often run or work at these camps [...]
Every day, I have some interaction with someone who is labeled a “babusia” here. They are the older members of society—the people who lived for years under the Soviet Union, worked hard to support their families and have witnessed more than one revolution in their society. Now, these women have traded their fashionable clothes for [...]
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
“I always keep a spare pair of underwear in my bag, even If I’m just planning to spend a day somewhere,” another Peace Corps volunteer told me after it appeared evident that our friend would be trapped in my city for the night. “You never know what is going to happen.”
In that case, the volunteer [...]
My first Ukrainian Easter began around 3:30 in the morning. That is when Rob decided we would need to get up in order to get to the church around 4. The last time I can remember getting up that early on Easter Sunday was when I still believed in the Easter Bunny and I was [...]
I was told when we first arrived in Ukraine that the children here know about and play jokes on the first of April. As soon as I heard this I knew that if I didn’t strike first I would leave myself open to become a fool myself.
I came up with a simple plan. I would [...]
March 1st marked the first day of spring in Ukraine. At least, that is what I was told by my colleagues and students. The first came and went and it was still snowing. It got above freezing a couple times, but every time a little snow melted, another few inches fell to replace it.
I expected [...]
Even after three weeks teaching about 25 lessons to over 150 pupils, it’s still hard for me to believe sometimes that I’m really a teacher. Sure, I get up in front of classes and explain things to them. I have them do exercises and play games. When things click for them, I want to jump [...]
I get up at 6 am almost every morning. Some days (Tuesdays to be exact) I don’t have to go to school until 10:45, but it seems as though there is always something that I need to get done that morning. Maybe it’s because I want to do some dishes while I have water [...]
Shoupies
Sometimes homesickness really sneaks up on you. I’ll be walking down the street in my city and I’ll pass the restaurant that has a cardboard cutout of an Italian chef. Almost every time I see it I wish I could get some decent Italian food. Sometimes it’s when I’m in an awkward situation and [...]
For Christmas Day I was invited to another teacher’s house to celebrate her husband’s birthday and the holiday. I knew from American Christmas that her husband really enjoyed apple pie, so I planned to bake him a pie for his birthday.
It turns out that lard doesn’t last as long as I would have thought [...]
On Ukrainian Christmas Eve, I went to my counterpart’s house for dinner. Her mother’s birthday is actually on Christmas Day, so I decided that I would bake her an American birthday cake. I worked all day shaking heavy, sweet cream in a jar to make whipped cream, and after hours, butter cream to frost the [...]
The strangest thing about spending Christmas in Ukraine was that it seemed like it never ended. Since the New Year’s traditions in this country resemble our Christmas traditions, all the stores were decorated with tinsel and sparkling lights. Everywhere you went in my town, you could buy fir trees, decorations or stockings to hang by [...]
I can only speak from my limited experience, but being a Peace Corps Volunteer around the holidays seems a bit harder than the rest of the year. We were dropped off at our permanent sites only a week before American Christmas. The worst part is that no one knew that it was an important day [...]
“We’re home,” my counterpart said to me as we pulled into a large, dark apartment building late in the evening. “This is where you’re going to live.”
We had actually gotten to my building a lot quicker than I had expected. The shiny, black car that picked us up had heated seats, even in the back, [...]
On Monday I leave for the swearing in ceremony. I’ll know that evening exactly where I’ll be living. There are still a few things that I don’t know. Odds are, I will not be able to go online for a while and will be, once again, out of touch.
I’ll still have my cell phone, if [...]
After months of goodbyes in the states, I feel like I should be an expert at parting ways. Yet, as I find myself packing my two small, orange duffel bags another time, I can’t help feeling that I’m saying goodbye to my family and friends again.
Last Friday was our first real parting of ways. [...]
Making Thanksgiving in Ukraine was no small task. It took weeks for Meg to line up our turkey. We had to substitute red currents for cranberries and translate countless spices into Ukrainian. Some things we had to do without. Our families here were absolutely baffled by the idea of orange potatoes. Still, despite everything, our [...]
I never realized how many things I truly took for granted back in the states. Our showers can be as long and as hot as we like. Our are paved and well lit at night. We can buy just about anything we like at the local Walmart and people eat turkey.
It isnt that the people [...]
In the past month in Ukraine, I have met some truly amazing cooks. These women whip up a chicken dinner, an entrée of fish or a pot of borsch in an hour and it always comes out of the oven tasting perfect.
One particular feat of cooking expertise sticks out in my mind. It was a [...]
My first ever lesson as an English teacher in Ukraine was last Thursday. I felt pretty confident walking in the classroom. I had my lesson plan prepared. I had written out my materials. I even studied some key Ukrainian classroom phrases so I could tell my pupils to read, listen and write. Besides, I had [...]
On our first day of class, Valodja told us that we had to approach strangers and ask them how to get home. The last thing I wanted at that point was to talk to a random Ukrainian on the street and ask them, in horribly mispronounced words, where my street was. Yet, when we asked, [...]
While we weren’t able to figure out a way online, most of the people in our group resorted to writing letters. Since we walk by the post office whenever we walk to the school in town, we assumed it would be simple to stop one day and mail a letter. The post office’s strange hours [...]
Does it have a store? What is the town like? Are there restaurants? Will we be able to go online? Is there a store where we can buy cell phones?
We asked our LCF all of these questions before we even got on the bus to head to our new home for the next three months. [...]
Every morning I wake up a little before seven and ask myself the same question. In fact, I’ve been asking myself the same question every morning for years now. Can I sleep for ten more minutes? Usually the answer is yes because I am, after all, a Peace Corps Trainee and even when I do [...]
This is my first blog post as an official Peace Corps Trainee. I arrived in Philadelphia around 11 this morning and, after convincing my parents that no, I did not need help carrying my 100 pounds of luggage into the hotel, I successfully managed to almost check into my room. Unfortunately, our rooms were not [...]
I just got back from a fantastic weekend in D.C., and I must say, I am starting to get very excited about leaving. I stayed in Minnesota for the entire summer and getting out of the house and traveling to D.C. for the weekend reminded me how much I love to travel, meet new people [...]
Today was my last day of work at La Quinta where I’ve been working as a server for weddings and other events. It’s odd because I’ve only known the people here for a few short months. Yet, especially since I am so new in town, I don’t want to say goodbye. They truly are great [...]
How many entries are we showing above?
For now, we are showing up to 50 entries on each page. Entries that
are too short are filtered out. For more entries, please use
archives.
|
Connect to Peace Corps Journals
About the Journal
Contact Us
Disclaimer:
| |
| Copyright (c) 2010 |
