It’s cold in Ukraine. It is cold enough that many of the village and primary schools are cancelling classes because it is too cold for students to walk to school. It is cold enough that many of the parents of my friends’ students (they have an English language school) called on Saturday morning to say [...]
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I am now sitting in my room in Kirovograd – how quickly we go, in our day and age, from one time zone and type of climate to another one. My flight left at 6 a.m. Bangkok time. Well, that is when it was scheduled to leave, anyway. After getting up at 2 a.m. (not [...]
Yesterday and today I did a couple of typical “tourist” activities in Chiang Mai – yesterday it was a day-long tour to Chiang Rai, the Golden Triangle, and to visit a Karen hill tribe. What it meant was a lot of time in the vehicle, and not as much time as I would have liked [...]
How can a person top spending a day with the elephants? A person cannot, so I decided to spend today exploring Chiang Mai a bit. Something about Chiang Mai – it is a jumping-off point for many different activities – from elephant days to jungle treks, cooking and massage schools, and many others. Chiang Mai [...]
Today was the day I had been looking forward to since I knew I was coming to Thailand – a day with elephants! Upon the recommendation of a Peace Corps Thailand Volunteer, I decided to go with a program at Woody Elephant Training rather than some of the others that are available (and there are [...]
While I was in Bangkok and deciding how to come to Chiang Mai, I took the shortest route – by air. The fare I got was not much more than the train would have been (or the same as a first-class compartment would have cost) but I decided to save myself the equivalent of a [...]
As of today, I have been in Bangkok for 35 days. The original idea is that I would come here and be in Bangkok for up to a week, then go to Chiang Mai for a week, then back to Ukraine. Funny how things never happen quite the way we think or plan that they [...]
As of today, I have been in Bangkok a month. I know this for a fact because I am currently sitting in the hospital, waiting for my appointment in which the hospital will assist me in renewing my visa. I got an e-mail yesterday from my counterpart, asking why I have been keeping silent. Well, [...]
A couple of posts ago, I mentioned another Volunteer who is also in Bangkok for a similar reason as I am. He has been doing well but spends most of his time in his room, reading, watching movies or TV shows he downloads, etc. – mostly because his mobility is somewhat compromised. Well, compromised or [...]
Being away from family and friends during the holiday season is nothing new to me – as a matter of fact, I have been away from them a number of times over the course of my adult life. Nevertheless, this time I am in a tropical climate, in a country where most people do not [...]
In case anyone who reads my blog is wondering, yes I am still in Bangkok but I have not posted anything in a few days because I have been laying low. After my eight-hour walk, I had seen most everything I was interested in seeing here, and the more I go out and do things, [...]
This was written on the evening of December 19th… Last night I decided that I was going to at last visit The Grand Palace today. All materials suggest that a person arrive early in order to avoid the crowds – one book said “if you arrive at 8:30 a.m. when the gates first open, you [...]
This was written on the evening of December 17 - One of the things I wanted to do while visiting Bangkok was to visit a floating market. However, I wanted to avoid one of the canned tours to a market that is more about catering to tourists than to Thais. So I considered myself lucky [...]
This was written last night… As today is my seventh day in Bangkok, I decided it was time to take a day trip to a nearby area, which a couple of PCVs had recommended I visit, especially when they heard of my interest/hobby, photography. So yesterday I got instructions on how to find a minivan [...]
So what exciting things have I been up to in the past couple of days? Not a whole lot! Yesterday I had some “business” to do in the first part of the day, then decided to head toward the Grand Palace. Well, I learned that taking a bus in certain parts of this city is [...]
There are two main reasons for people to come to Bangkok – medical tourism and shopping (I am ignoring the small number of people who come for sex tourism). In the past four days, I have learned more about the shopping reason. This city is a consumer’s heaven. Everywhere I go, there is either a [...]
At the moment it is 4:15 p.m. Bangkok time on December 10th. I wrote this last night but was unable to post it until now: I am loving Bangkok. So far, the city has provided me with diversity in my transportation (skyline/ell, metro underground, bus, tuk tuk, water taxi); language (I lost count of how [...]
So at the time I was writing my first post this morning, I was supposed to be calling the Peace Corps doctors here, and I am blaming jet lag and three bad hours of sleep I had for the fact that I did not…but yikes. I got an e-mail, attempts to reach me on my [...]
After a 9-1/2 hour flight, I arrived at 4:30 a.m. local time in Bangkok. As usual with any sort of transportation, getting here was certainly interesting (though perhaps it should not have been). I had thought, “I am sure we won’t have a full flight – after all, just how many people fly from Bangkok [...]
Another year has passed and it was time to celebrate another birthday. Although this was not a milestone birthday (unlike last year), I celebrated it in style this time (though not without a mishap). On Friday night I was eagerly awaiting my friend’s arrival. She was schlepping all the way across the oblast to spend [...]
It has been a busy week. For me, that means it has been a good week. The week started out normally, with me at the library, but as I knew what was coming, I tried to prepare (as much as a procrastinator can). Tuesday I started with two hours of Russian tutoring, then I had [...]
Last week when I was at the Technical College, the teacher with whom I work brought in someone from a local “psychology center”. She was there to conduct a session on visualization. I sat there while she explained to the students what they should do – use the magazines they were provided with to find [...]
Lately it has seemed like I have had a whole slew of learning experiences, and it has kind of felt like even though I have lived here for 21 months, I know nothing about this culture in which I live. Example one – a year and a half ago, when I arrived in Kirovograd, I [...]
I arrived in Kiev on Tuesday evening, with a two-fold purpose – to conduct training on Westlaw at the Rada, and to visit Peace Corps for a flu shot. Though to be honest, the flu shot was a by-the-way – my real purpose was to conduct the training and, I thought, touch base with some [...]
The other day, an English teacher from the Pedagogical University asked me why in English we say “the Ukraine” instead of simply “Ukraine”. I told her that I honestly did not know, as in my view, Ukraine is the name of the country, and calling it “the Ukraine” would be akin to saying “the France” [...]
Today was one of those days that was unusual, interesting, a little bit exhausting…which means it is one of those days that I felt was a good one. It started with tea at Sasha and Alyona’s, before we headed out to the opening of two more Bibliomist centers; one in a Rayon center called Oleksandriya [...]
As most people who know me know, I listen to podcasts, one of which is “On Being” from National Public Radio. The host, Krista Tippett, is fabulous – I envy her for her job because she gets to talk to some really interesting people, and I can only imagine the personal development and satisfaction she [...]
It has been a rough time lately. Without going into great detail, I will just say I have been a bit down. Luckily, I recently have become friends with a couple who have brought some light back into my life. Even though I have been down and I am not the most outgoing person, they [...]
I realized this morning that it has been a week since I last wrote in my blog. This is usually indicative of my being out of town (I wish) or of the fact that I have not really had much to write about. Not that nothing has happened. Life has continued its daily routine, but [...]
Always expect the unexpected as a Peace Corps Volunteer. As evidenced by my recent outings and inclusion in openings of new Bibliomist centers, you never know when the next (photo or other) opportunity will be to mix and mingle with your community or with people in another community. On Monday afternoon when we were having [...]
One thing that Peace Corps Volunteers in Ukraine realize is that we make for good publicity. At least that is how it is for me here in Kirovograd. Not that I mind, because I usually get fed (this is important – PCVs rarely, if ever, turn down a free meal) and people are generally really [...]
When I awoke this morning and parted my drapes, I noticed something I don’t often see here in Ukraine – fog. Now, this fog is not something so thick as to discourage driving. I was able to see across the courtyard, though not across the street to the next building. But it seemed an appropriate [...]
There have been many times where I realize that G-d does indeed have a sense of humor. When you are a Peace Corps Volunteer, it seems you run into many examples of this – sometimes life seems fairly normal, even good; other times, your life borders on the absurd, or the punches start coming – [...]
Today was a good day. I like being able to write that. I like it when the good days come – somehow it mutes the effects of the bad or so-so ones. My morning entailed me waking up without an alarm and laying in bed, watching “House” dubbed in Ukrainian. Then it was up to [...]
In putting together my guest lecture on Public Speaking, pretty much all of the materials I found said that it is important that you smile. According to one source, “smiling is an expression that indicates happiness, friendliness, warmth, and liking. So, if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm, and [...]
One thing most all of the Peace Corps Volunteers I know in Ukraine notice is how often things happen here at the last minute. For some Americans, it is fine, we roll with the punches (some people must learn to do so). For others, it is enough to drive them crazy – these are the [...]
On Friday morning, Ruslan told me that he would be able to come visit me in Kirovograd for the weekend. This was good news for a couple of reasons, one of which is as much as I enjoy Kiev, it is hard to go there often, both cost-wise and time-wise. Therefore, when he was willing [...]
A few months ago, I, along with three other Americans and about thirty Ukrainians, went on a photo excursion to Haivoron/Gaivoron, Ukraine. Though it was a bit chilly, it was a great week, and we had some crazy, fun, silly, wonderful times there. After the excursion, we were told to select a certain number of [...]
This weekend the city of Kirovograd celebrated its 257th birthday. Though the city is older than the United States, relatively speaking, for Ukraine, it is a pretty young city. I mean, I visited Lutsk last year on its 925th birthday celebration. That kind of thing, a city or country being that age, is usually incomprehensible [...]
It is no secret to anyone who knows me or reads my blog that I have had a couple of “down” weeks. It is amazing, though, how quickly things can seem to improve, usually right after I feel at my lowest. It began yesterday, with a visit to the Technical College. The teacher with whom [...]
Last week I was in Kiev, working with someone who has been kind enough to provide me with an opportunity to assist her project. I also had some follow-up medical stuff to do (seems never ending…). I was also fortunate enough to be able to eat pizza twice, Korean food once and I even got [...]
Today is the International Day of Democracy. We hear this term used a great deal, especially when foreign countries go through an upheaval in their leadership. We banter it about in the United States, oftentimes without really knowing what we are talking about. Democracy is, of course, in many ways an individual concept. So…what does [...]
Ten years ago today, I woke up for what I thought would be what was, at the time, a normal day for me – classes (I was in law school) and some time at the internship I was doing. Little did I know at the time, but the world as we Americans know it was [...]
With the beginning of the school year, fall has officially arrived in Ukraine. In theory, my work schedule should not depend on the school year but because I do guest lectures at a university (soon to be two) and a local college, I find that my work schedule was much lighter during the summer (hence [...]
During every Peace Corps Volunteer’s service (assuming the PCV puts in the full two years), every PCV has to fulfill certain requirements. Reporting requirements, work requirements, and what has to be the least favorite, the mid-service medical exam. During this time, we undergo a thorough exam, including a dental exam and cleaning, to ensure that [...]
On my way to work this morning, I noticed something – all of the people selling kvass are gone. Previously they were sitting, usually in a shady spot, and also usually close to a store (or stores), bazaar, and bus stop, selling their product. Now, I am not the biggest fan of kvass so to [...]
Late this spring, when I realized that summer was coming, and remembered what summer was like last year, I tried to make sure I scheduled enough activities so that I would not be bored. And I was not. In June I worked in Kiev for a week and went to Khmelnytsky/Kamyanets-Podylsky/the Carpathians for a week. [...]
It is strange how after two weeks at this camp, I have become comfortable with many aspects of it. The routine they set up, though I do not always like being told when and what to eat, the activities, working with the kids (actually, they are teens). Yesterday we got to change up our routine [...]
Not long ago, a friend of mine who is very knowledgeable about Astrology, told me to be aware that Mercury was going into retrograde. After experiencing multiple challenges in the past few weeks, I am wondering when Mercury will be OUT of retrograde and things will get back to normal, as I am getting to [...]
Something I have noticed about Sudak – there is always some sort of noise. During the day, it is noise from people walking around and talking, noise from restaurants and attractions, and noise from the kids at the camp. Usually there is not much noise from the sea, but today the waves are huge, so [...]
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