The 3 month catch-up

Here is to a New Year (kind of crazy to think that 1 month has almost passed us by, already). I know it has been a little over 3 months since I have last updated my blog, but the way I look at it, it is because I am finally in the groove of things I don't think there is much to update.

That is false.

I am just lazy.  The past 3 months have been filled with crazy adventures, frustrating situations, AMERICA, many firsts, and a new year: 2012.

The only possible way I can even think about doing a catch up blog is by simply doing highlights of what has happened (granted the last week will be more emphasized hence it being so recent).

October Events
-Went to go visit the host family and had a blast!  ate some ice cream in cold weather and right after that I got a cough (it is the ice cream I am blaming....)
-I am pretty sure I updated about my birthday, but again, I had a wonderful birthday celebration

November Events

my first Thanksgiving plate of many

-For Thanksgiving, I went up to my friend Maria's site in the Rivnenska Oblast in a little town called dyadkavuchi and celebrated the holidays with some wonderful American friends along with a couple Ukrainians.  The cultural exchange that occurred was priceless and will definitely be one of the most memorable Thanksgivings.

December Events
-I went back home to the good ol' USofA and had a very wonderful Christmas holiday with my family.  Hawaii definitely was very much needed and all that ono' food that I ate was so tasty!  Seeing the Unkos Cuzzins and G-parents was a great treat!  I can't wait for the next family vacation!!

They like to wear matching luau shirts

-California was alright, too, minus all the Doctor appointments that I had to go to.


 **But I am very thankful my mother took initiative by dragging me by the ear to go see a doctor even though it really annoyed me at the time. Though I didn't get to eat all the food I wanted to eat while I was there, I still got my El Faro burrito, so it is all OK!
-New Years was exciting like all other New Years!  Stayed at home with my dear friend Caitlyn Arigo who put up with my sick grumpy self for a couple days, watched the countdown, said WHOOO, and then went to bed.  That was my last day in America and I was ready to head back to the good ol' country of Ukraine.
January Events
-I arrived back in Ukraine the evening of the 2nd and had another wonderful transportation adventure.  After a random mini bus, trolley but, marshutka, and train- I made it to my host family's house 4 hours after landing at the Borispol Airport (NOT BAD timing!!)
-I spent a good week at the host family's house celebrating Ukrainian Christmas and enjoying the company of the best Ukrainian sister ever!  I would just like to re-emphasize how blessed I am to have had such an amazing host family because going back there gives me the feeling of going "home".  They even put up with my sickness and laughed at my diet, but were totally supportive!

Nadia at the Sanatorium

* to give an update on my health issues, I still am in the process of getting everything taken care of, but I feel 5 times better than I did.  But I will keep everyone posted with what is up.  (not that it is that exciting). I did get to do a wonderful gluten free, dairy free, meat free, and tomato free diet.  Yes tomato free diet!   I have not had ketchup/ chili sauce in exactly 3 weeks and starting tomorrow I will make sure to have a meal with just that.  I am pretty sure that was the longest I have ever gone with out ketchup, so I am very proud of myself!

The kids singing me a song in their costumes

-After my host family visit, I arrived back at site with no running water which was just lovely!  Butttttt-  My leaky water is now fixed, finally!  After about 6 months something has changed!!  There was no school, so I had another week of break, so i went to the Sanatorium where several of the students were staying for the holidays and hung out with them, celebrated Nadia's birthday (the coolest girl ever), and had an all around good time!  One day I showed up and all the kids were lined up on the other side of the door dressed as doctors and sang me a song.  It was a Ukrainian holiday (I forget the name of it, but they dress up in costumes, go door to door, and sing carols for money/candy).
-We had our oblast collaborative meeting the weekend before school started so I got to visit Elyse at her site which was just lovely. That weekend is when it actually started to snow, and it has not stopped since. WHOO HOO!!
-Went sledding for the first time on Monday (I have been saucering before but, sledding was different!)  I also went down the hill on plastic bags which surprisingly went fast!

Language Refresher Events

Group 41 friends hanging out at the lake

*Last week was Language refresher, and I have absolutely no idea where it was.  Either in the Rivnenska Oblast or the Volynska Oblast.  Either way, the Sanatorium where we stayed was beautiful.  Winter wonder camp is how I can best explain it.  The more and more peace corps events that I attend, the more and more awesome people I meet.
-Monday had a good night out in Rivne with some awesome friends went to an irish pub and had a rice noodle avacado salad which was delicious!  Went out with the Ukrainian workers from that Irish Pub and had a great night
-Got to see an awesome clustermate Jesse and caught up with him throughout the week of L-ge refresher.
- Roomed with Megan and Kristen and reminisced on the good times of summer camp/ used the dance moves we learned from camp.

The castle in Lutsk where the snow ball fight occurred

Firsts
-snow ball fight that was like a re-enactment of civil war
- rocked heels in the snow
- Farkled
- snowball fight IN A CASTLE
- a Ukrainian interaction **

Weekend in Kiev
*After language refresher, a group of us went to Kiev for the weekend.  I had some delicious food, got some fast wi-fi internet, and one hell of a night.

After deciding not to eat Chinese food for dinner, myself and several other Americans decided to meet up with some other friends at this cafe.  Turns out the guy who owns it is not even from Ukraine and has actually lived in Miami, California, New York, and maybe some other places. This dude HOOKED it up!    We had the entire cafe to ourselves.  I asked if he had Hip-Hop music and let me go behind the bad to make a playlist myself.  We had a dance party, delicious food, good company, and what not.  He let us stay there as long as we wanted.  Though he usually closes at 12, he said he would keep it opened for as long as we want.  Someone even brought some "hyphy" music into the mix and I got to go dumb and thizz (not literally... just the dance moves).  All I gotta say is California Volunteers definitely represent!


Overall, things are looking up.  I have decided that 1/2 of it is the way I look at it.  It can either be just wonderful or not.  Each experience comes with the good and bad, and right now at this moment, the good outweighs the bad.

So Until Next Time,
Yay for snow!!!

Mo Cho

OK, So I forgot a little bit of important facts from the past week or so.
Some more firsts:
- straddled a suitcase for about a 45 minute bus ride singing and dancing-- AMAZING!  **Once we left language refresher, there was a bus headed out to Rivne and a bus headed out to Lutsk.  We were supposed to meet out by the gate. Me and my 2 lovely roommates for the week definitely went to a different gate.  Thanks for the people looking out for me, they found me and got me on the bus before it left without me.  Anyways, there was no more seats so I just got to enjoy a wild ride on Ben Cox's suitcase!!
- We stayed at this new hostel in Kiev called "The Hub".  When we checked in, they were literally putting out bunk beds together.  First sign of something exciting to happen.   After a late night of dancing and hanging out with fellow Americans, we claimed our beds and 4 of us girls decided to have "girl talk".  Kristen and Becca were on Kristen's top bunk and Tondraya and I were on my top bunk.  All of a sudden we heard a snap and we all froze.  About 15 seconds later I see Becca and Kristen go down along with the top bunk. The top bunk completely snapped and went crashing down.  Thank goodness there was no one the bottom bunk.  I just remember laughing my head off and telling Ton to get off my bed right away.   It was by far one of the funniest things I have witnessed.  This also happened about 10 minutes after I was 1/2 joking about why the top bunk was better than the bottom bunk for that very reason.


Also, it was a great welcoming back to site because once I flagged down a taxi at the bus station, the man surely did know me.  He knew me from soccer (like everyone else in the town). I found out that he was not only a taxi driver but also a teacher at a school.  It now has me wanting to talk to all taxi drivers to ask them if they are more than just a taxi driver!

The simplicity of Knocking

So the last several days I have been refraining from updating a blog filled with complaining, and I have done a good job on doing so.  You have to understand- living with about 40 little brothers and sisters can be a bit mentally draining.  I got all kinds of "little" ones: the one who screams, the one who stinks, the one who does not understand personal space, the one who asks a million questions, the one who doesn't understand no means NO, and ALL who don't understand the edicts of knocking.

I was told in my cross cultural training that I may experience the "open doors without knocking" experience.  I have a very long list "knocking" experiences  since living in the dorms, and I would really like to decrease this number.  Thank You for the invention of Locks!!

I have created a list of Knocking Edicts that I am sure you would never think twice to learn back home.

1. If the door is shut- KNOCK

• Do not just try shaking the door handle-- I LOCK the door both when I am inside and outside my room.
• if it is cracked open this does not give you the privilege to just walk on in and explore 

2. when you knock, several sturdy knocks should suffice.

• When you give me sturdy knocks- I hear it and I will come to the door as soon as I can.
• when you tap- I think it is the woodpecker outside my window
• when you knock constantly- you automatically annoy me and I put my headphones on and pretend to not hear you
• knock more than 10 times and no answer means: I either am not home, I am busy, or I just don't want to answer the door

3. There are time edicts for door knocking as there is for phone calling. 

• After "bed time" and 15 minutes before breakfast time don't even think about it. 

4. If you knock on the door and I answer and you just want to say hi, please don't knock on the door 2 minutes later to say hi again....  

So maybe this is a personalized list for my standards, but really.... 

Knocking and door positions is another special form of communication, and apparently it is not universal (just so you all are aware of that). 

The Story in my Host Sisters Eyes

My host sister wrote a story about my time living in her home while I was in training.  Because people always have different points of views to each story, I think you will enjoy what she wrote.  It is translated into English from her Ukrainian-- So I am sure you all can figure out the message.

 My host sister, Katya, and myself after making dinner for Mamma Inna

My American sister

By: Katya Yangol

My mom was first told about Americans from the "Peace Corps". At first, I did not care, but then I become more interested about it.
It is funny to remember those first moments when I saw Morgan. It was a rainy/snowy day and, frankly, I hardly remember how the first meeting went because I was very worried on what and how to speak with the American girl? All I remember is the moment when the car drove up to my house and it came out a short girl with dark beautiful hair. She smiled for all 32 teeth, but in the eyes I could read the excitement and fatigue. I gladly entered the threshold of the same broad smile, and when I was saying hello to the guest in her language, she was glad because I think she was afraid that she is in a foreign country with completely unknown people to her who even don’t speak English.
Within two weeks we became really close.
Every day, we did homework together, showed each other pictures of our friends, watching sitcoms, ate kilograms of cookies and candy. It was very cool! You could not tell that she is from another continent. 

We indeed have much in common. Most of what I liked in Morgan was her cheerfulness and optimism that have not left her, and eternal desire to help around the house and in the garden. By the way, she pulled all the weeds from the ground in the section I had to do, and for that I loved her even more.
I didn't feel any discomfort when she lived here. Even my mom and dad loved it like she was their daughter.
Sometimes I really want the days to return when Morgan lived in our house, because I at least had sister for a while to who I could tell everything to (besides near my family, and they do not understand what I mean). It was really cool!
While I didn't feel lonely, because not only did I have parents supporting me, but I had a new sister supporting me, too.
And I still regularly talk with her by phone and chatting on the Internet. In the summer I visited her in Kremenets, where she will live another year and a half.
The main thing I understood talking to an American, is that people are all really different, sometimes difficult to explain their behavior. But between us there is more in common than differences.
Here is an example: I did not feel that we were from different countries. Today I can say with confidence that people overseas are overall just like us.  There may be some different habits, languages, views on life but, when converge with a person for real, it seems that you have been together forever and have been going hand in hand all your life.

The Birthday Update

Thank You Ukraine for giving me a wonderful birthday celebration.  If one person finds out about your birthday--they all will know.  Today was just a wonderful day!

My new boots I bought to look more "professional"

Started my day off getting a phone call from my family which could not have started my day off any better.  Right after I got off the phone with them I put on my new heeled boots and went to the post office to get a wonderful birthday card from the parentals and then bought a doughnut for breakfast/  Right as I got back to my room the Director came and gave me chocolates and an espresso mug (had no idea how he knew about my birthday...).

I then went to the school stadium where I was greeted by all the trainers where they wished me a happy birthday.  This included all the old men giving me kisses wishing me good health.
**It is a Ukrainian tradition apparently, and I did not know about it until today.  I had received about 20 kisses from old men... I sure hope that it is only once a year that this happens.  I couldn't help but to laugh most of the time it was happening... Whoops!  There was one guy who had really REALLY bad breath that once I got home, I washed my face and brushed my teeth because the smell was "stuck" to me.  (sorry, that was kind of rude..)

All the birthday goodies I got today--can you say WOOOAH?

I then went to Pochaiv not really knowing why, but I went with the football trainer and when we got there I was informed that we were picking up 8 13/14 year old soccer boys to take them back to the stadium in Kremenets--- it was about a 20 minute "fast" drive.  Now a typical Ukrainian car is small.  So there were 7 boys piled in the back with the 8th boy sitting up in the front seat with me. Gosh, I love Ukraine sometimes...

After a whole bunch of soccer games, I then had my institute/college practice where all the girls gave me a ukrainian flower/ribbon headband and a soccer ball that they all signed.  Practice was then finished with some wonderful champagne.

Students ran all around school  to find me to give me a birthday "surprise"

Today was a great day.  I honestly felt so loved.  No one knew about my birthday until yesterday when Tanya randomly asked me when my birthday was...  and after telling her that it was "tomorrow" it obviously didn't take long for EVERYONE to find out.  I could not have asked for better day.  The weather was amazing with the sun was shining,  the temperature was decent, and the trees are just gorgeous with their fall colors.  Students brought me flowers, balloons, cards, and they all wished me a happy birthday in english.  The English teachers and Vasyl (the German language teacher) gave me a plant and a wonderful gift to remember Kremenets.

I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.  Though I am half a world away from most of my friends and family, I think this year was one of the most memorable and special birthdays.  Thank you to all who helped make this day so special.

Until Next Time,
I am 22 and this upcoming year I have a feeling is going to be a BIG one.

Baseball, Fighting, and Confusion

3 weeks have passed since school has started, and though it seems like it has been longer, I can't believe it is almost October!

The first couple weeks have been filled with confusion, small talk trying to get to know the teachers and staff at the school, and  a miracle.  The Director put me in contact with the football trainer of Kremenets, and he agreed to help me start a girls' football team at my school.  Not only did he just do that, he has been picking me up 3 days a week to go play with the college/institute boys and girls at the stadium in the center.  It is awesome because it is has been a great/easy way to make friends and, there is nothing I like better than to go outside and play soccer.  (football is soccer here, if you have not caught on to that yet...)

Besides the soccer deal I got going on, everything else is pretty much at a standstill.  I am having a difficult time getting English Club launched simply because of schedule conflicts.Overall the "work" related aspect of my service has been an "odd" 3 weeks with confrontations, mis-communications, traveling, and figuring things out slowly but surely.  But I can reassure you that me hanging out with the kids, playing, etc.  is very successful (I guess that is kind of my job?)--I am not too sure...

Kremenets Internat Little League team 

Lucky for me, there is a little league baseball tournament this weekend.  Vasyl Tarasko is the Director of Little League baseball in Ukraine. He is from America but is Ukrainian and came here around 20 or so years ago.  It was awesome being a part of his "project" and I think it is awesome how he went back to his roots to help improve the lives of the younger generation.


Saturday the kids had a lottery raffle for baseball hats, shirts, balls, mits, etc.  Of course, there is always that one special kid you spot out right at the beginning and he becomes your "secret" favorite.   Well this boy, Tolik, proved his special place in my heart.  Each kid received a raffle ticket-- then, all those raffle tickets were used as the order of who got to pick an item.  Vasyl went through the numbers 2 rounds and was about to start going on the third.  I looked at Tolik and he had that "why wasn't my number called looked?" and I knew something was up.  Finally, I asked him how many times he got to pick an item and he told me 1.  He was just sitting there not saying anything, already grateful for what he got the first time.  I was on a mission to make sure he got to get at least a baseball hat. I told Vasyl and Samantha (another PCV) what was up, so when Samantha started calling out numbers, She just called out Tolik's so that he could get a baseball hat.  She then found Tolik's number on the table (it never made it back in the bag), so we put it back in the bag just in time for the "surprise presents" raffle. When Vasyl pulled out the ticket-- It was Tolik's!!!  He recieved a Poland/Ukraine EuroCup scarf, a Boston Red Sox hat, Yankees hat, 2 baseballs, batting gloves, and a new glove.  At first I thought he Vasyl rigged  it because he felt bad, but he really did pull out the missing number!

Tolik opening his surprise box

Anyways, he was the happiest kid ever!  And I was happy too!  He thought I was his fairy godmother for doing something!  I love when the appreciative, polite, and happy kids get things!!

Fiesty girls- they are great! 

So the baseball teams stayed in the dorms too, and was it exciting!!  There was so much going on this weekend for everyone--I loved it!    Yesterday the teams were all leaving but, the team from Luhansk, Lutuhyne wasn't leaving until 1am to catch a 3 am train so I got to hang out with all the internat kids, Tolik, and his teammates. I guess I have now faced reality with what really goes on in some of these kids lives.  There was so much fighting I didn't know what to do!  I physically had to break up 3 fights yesterday and finally had the most ridiculous conversation with about 15-20 kids telling them that it is SO not cool to fight-- but I had no idea how to say fight, so I just acted it out.... I am not too sure how affective that was- but at least I know I should practice some disciplinary Ukrainian.  I just threatened to take my soccer ball and not play with them anymore.  It seemed to work-- and at dinner the ones involved got in trouble by the teachers on duty so they were not allowed to go outside after dinner.  I thought--GOOD!  It was bad.  Anytime someone accidentally got hit with a ball or didn't get their way, they would start crying and act out in fighting.  So that is my next project-- teaching them how to handle their quick angered emotions and not retaliating with violence.

So to wrap it up-- Everything is going well!  I know that with time, I will find my place here and will feel the comfort of "being home".  And I have decided that I hope to have a soccer girl and a baseball boy someday.  God willing.  :)

Until Next Time,


Play Ball!

Unrelated

So I go in Pinterest a lot during my free time, and I just saw a quote saying " Eat to live but, don't live to eat" and when I read this I said to myself, and to Caitlyn "I DISAGREE"!!!  Some of my best memories in life come from food.  There are some foods I will NEVER want to try, and some that I a DYING to try.  Food is delicious, and I think that it is totally fine to want to live so that you can eat more.  Yes, I probably have a food problem, but who doesn't!?  I love to eat, and I know for a fact that if I knew I was going to die in a week it will be spent with everyone I love eating delicious food all day long. 

So take this Pinterest and all you thin-spiration quotes!

I will post a real post about the updates/ events going on in my life when I have "time"

Until Next Time,
Chow down on some delicious grub!

First Bell

"The essence of Frazer's achievements was that he saw the need to stand outside his own culture to understand other cultures."

Sir James George Frazer (social anthropologist)

Before I came to Ukraine, I made a photo calendar on Shutterfly filled with pictures of friends and family back home.  Because I could only do it for 18 months, I decided to start September 2011 (today)!!!  Each month I included photos that reminded me of that month along with one of my favorite quotes from the book Simply Living.  It so happens that the quote above was this months selected favorite.  

Today was the First Bell.   In Ukraine, school is started off every year with a First Bell.   Today at 9am, children, parents, and faculty members all gathered in front of school ready to welcome the first day  along with welcoming the first time school children.  Here you could see all the children in their fine attire along with a bunch of beautiful and colorful flowers in their hands waiting to give to their teachers.  At this ceremony/parade (whatever you want to call it), a first form girl sits on the shoulders of an 11th form boy and rings the symbolic First Bell signifying the start of the school year.  Along with this, there were a lot of other festivities pertaining to the First form (grade), and the 11th form. This year is a very special year for my school, not only because I am here (joke), but because this year is the 50th anniversary of the school. We have completed the new "Performing Arts Center", and boy does it look beautiful!!!  We are also trying to hurry up to finish the museum of the school's history before October 15th (the anniversary date).   I will post pictures of these rooms as soon as I take the photos of them! 

Honestly, today was overall a good day, but it was probably one of the most awkward days of my entire life.  Now I have always been in awkward moments and it is no big deal to me, but today was awkward and frustrating. There is something about being the new kid on the block but being the new kid on the block that doesn't speak the native language is something entirely different.  Now I put on that smile and say "добрий день"  to all those people I pass, but Ukrainians are so hard to read by their facial expressions... I mean come on-- slap a smile on for me or something!!    So after not knowing what was going on the entire day and just being stared at with that straight face of theirs for about 4 hours, it got a tad bit frustrating.  BUT--- Kids always save the day.  I went back to my room once a teacher told me I could, and once I got there,  I did not like the way the day ended... I thought to myself "what the He!! just happened?"  So I decided to go for round 2.  I grabbed my bag and my camera and walked outside and walked up to a group of students and they all started shouting "Hello" "What is your name"  "how age you" etc. (pauses were filled with laughter) and I responded in Ukrainian which they absolutely got a kick out of... and then we became friends-- Just like that!  Viola!  Easy! Done!  Kids rock!  I wish everyone had that care free and friendly mentality that children have... at what age do we start losing that attitude, anyways??

Now, everyday I may need to remind myself whenever I feel any kind of frustration or negativity as to why I am here.  But that is OK because I have come up with a system to counteract those feeling.  That system is: every time I start to feel that frustration or negativity, I need to look at the bigger picture, I need to come up with at least 2 positives about that situation, and I need to think again what my intentions are on being here and think of things I can do better to turn those intentions into actions and behaviors.

This month's quote from my 18 month photo calendar ties in well for today's feelings.   I joined the Peace Corps to step outside my own culture and comfort zone to experience and understand another culture.  I knew coming here that it would probably be more culturally challenging, for me personally, than to go back to Africa.  But, today is a little reminder that I have so much more to learn here. I have not fully gotten an understanding of the culture hence my frustration and stress on not knowing what is going on.  So, here it is.   Cheers to the start of a wonderful new school year.  May this year be filled with children learning more than just the basic curriculum, and may it be filled with me learning more about Ukrainian culture, myself, and us as a people and a global community.  May it be filled with new friendships and wonderful memories!  

Until Next Time,

Bonne Chance,  бажаю успіху, and good luck!