Ukraine In The Membrane

Spring and Summer- The Most Heart-Warming of the Seasons

2011-09-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

I'm back internet, and since I haven't posted since March there's a lot to tell. I'll stick to the highlights.

In March a crew of fellow Peace Corps ladies and I traveled to the oh-so-luxurious resort town Truskavets for three full days of pampering at Villa Hyzhyna Spa. The room was awesome but the steam room was better! This place was seriously a hidden gem.

During April I travelled with my pals Niko and Emily for an epically weird weekend in Chernivtsi, a cool town near the Romanian boarder. The most interesting thing to see there is Chernivtsi University, which could be an understudy for Hogwarts. However, the most memorable moment of this trip was when our 50-something British hostel owner threw a major temper tantrum because we didn't get into the disco. He proceeded to spend the next hour or so telling us how we had "bastardized him." Goodness, some people's kids...

Our oblast day camp was also held in April. Around the World in a Day Camp invited about 60 students from the area to learn about world cultures. I talked about Nicaragua and handled a lot of the logistics. A good time was had by all : )

In May I turned 25, went to Turkey with Alei and Katelin , and finished my second school year in Ukraine. Not too shabby.

June and July were all about summer camps and hanging out with Anya and her grandsons. Then came August. I climbed in the Carpathian Mountains, camped on the beach in Crimea for an incredible week (dolphins swam up close to the shore almost every day!), and attended my COS (Close of Service) conference where I got to see all of my friends from training! Action packed to say the least.

And now it's September and the school year is in full swing. Only eight more weeks of teaching to go!

Fast Flying February

2011-03-08T00:09:00.000-08:00

February absolutely flew by! I traveled every weekend but the last, and got back into the groove of teaching. It's hard to even remember what I did all of February. The goal was really just to get through that oh so pleasant of winter months.

One weekend I helped out at a seminar for teachers that my friend Julia planned. The next my oblast (like a state) had a meeting to plan an event that I seriously can't wait for. We are having a day-long Around the World event for students. I am planning the opening activity and coordinating logistics. The third weekend I spent at my friend Little Ira's birthday party, and visiting with friends in a village called Shargarod.

March has officially started with a bang. I attended my first party for teachers. We were celebrating the 8th of March, International Women's Day (which happens to be today so Happy Women's Day to all you awesome ladies). There was a HUGE table overflowing with food and drink, and a dance floor full of teachers. I was at the party from 2:30pm until 9pm and there were no signs that it was stopping anytime soon. I feel much closer to the people I work with now. Getting to see each other cut loose a bit always helps.

Because of this holiday I'm on the fourth day of my weekend now. I spent Saturday at Simon's birthday party. I had never met him before, but us American's have to stick together over here. It was great to get to know some new people, and the sloppy joes were nothing to sneeze at.

The next day I met up with my traveling buddies (Alei, Katelin, Becky, and Kacey). Our mission- check two of The Seven Wonders of Ukraine off our lists! We went first to a little town called Hotine. We stayed with one of the older volunteers named Janet and her friend Meegan, then in the morning went over to see an AWESOME fortress. I was told that it was where French taunting scene in Monty Python was filmed, but that is in no way accurate I'm disappointed to say. It was so cold, but we were just about the only people there, and it was really easy to imagine life there back in the old days. They haven't made the fortress all touristy and I hope they don't start.

Next we went to Kaminets Podillsky to see their even larger fortress. It was great to walk around in, but the highlight for me was getting to shoot a cross-bow!!! Overall it was a great trip.

In a week and a half I have my spring break!! I am going with my traveling buddies to the Carpathian mountains. We will spend three nights at a spa for about $70 each. You can't beat that. Here's some info about the spa. We were sold when we saw the indoor pool and hot tub.

Back to Ukraine- Back to Business

2011-01-14T02:47:00.000-08:00

My trip to America seems like a blur now! Three food, friend and family filled weeks came to an end on January 5th. Here are the highlights...

My time started out with a hellatious two days of travel, but it was all forgotten when I got to hug my mama at the airport in Grand Rapids. I ate my first meal at TACO BELL!! The next morning I woke up at 6am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed... so not like me. My mom and I went to work at Sweetwater Market. It's always fun to see how her products are coming along. Everything looked so professional and she had a lot of repeat clients!! I'm so proud of her for perusing her business!

My sister got home a couple days later. Paul and I went to pick her up from the airport. From there we had a whirlwind three family Christmases. Every one was as special as the last : ) I don't think of myself as a very traditional person but I really enjoyed all the family pastimes this year; making cocoa on Christmas morning, having dinner with Paul and family on Christmas Eve, and conversating with the Snyder clan the day after Christmas. We also celebrated my grandparent's 60th Wedding Anniversary! I can't imagine 60 years period, let alone together with one person. It's a beautiful thing.

I got to see so many friends too!!! Shauna and Jenni were back from California for a while. I saw Matt almost everyday. Scotty Cornbread and Dan K. drove down from Traverse City to spend an afternoon in Grand Haven, and New Years Eve was a friend bonanza!! We had a bathrobe themed party in East Lansing. Sasha, Laura, Mal, Lindsay, Rambow, and so many other awesome people were there to ring in the new year. If it's true that you'll spend your year the way you celebrated NYE I know I'll have a fantastic 2011.

T-3 Days to the Airport

2010-12-13T00:34:00.000-08:00

Time is crawling by as I wait to leave for my three week vacation to America. Yesterday I went Christmas shopping in Xmelnytsky, so that helped pass the day. I got a lot of awesome little treats for my people back home. I still need to find a few other gifts, but I'll be doing that in Kyiv while I'm waiting to go to the airport. To kill the time I have been listening to a lot of music. Here is a link to a Rodrigo Y Gabriela video. They are two Mexican guitarists who play the most incredible music you've ever heard. That has been the happy soundtrack to the last seven days of my life. Now I'm off to teach the third graders : )

Wrote a Poem

2010-12-08T12:06:00.001-08:00

So I've been really into making up words lately. This is something that has come out of that phase.

Badldy Business

Tridldida and Trodldidu

hadldy badldy business to do.

They widldy didldy out to the street

and kabudldy Stadldy down to

his knees.

"I lidldy vidldy! Don't vodldy lu!

I have a zibzda to midldy ru!"

"We kudldy less you

fodlry ku!"

And they shmudldy Stadldy

three times in the shklu.

The hudlie ran red with his

ctadldymu as he tidldy,

"Fadldy tedldy, zimzamza bu!"

Fall turns to Winter

2010-12-07T00:51:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a long while, and a lot has happened. First of all, I will be traveling to Michigan for Christmas and New Years in nine days!!! I can't wait to get home, even for a little while.

October ended with a bang- Spalloween. My friend Becky hosted a girls weekend for Halloween. We ate delicious food, painted our nails, did face masks, and watched Hocus Pocus. It was a wonderful and relaxing few days.

November was LONG! The change of seasons dragged me down a little bit. It is now getting dark at around 5pm, and the streets are covered with ice. A visit from my friend Lauren helped to lift my spirits, however (pictured above in our awesome hats). Here are the hilights of her trip; hung out with Totya Anya at my house, went to the disco and met some fun Ukrainians we nicknamed Charlie Brown and Uncle Fester, stayed in Lviv for two days, drank beer at two underground pubs, spent the day in Kyiv, ate awesome food, said goodbye : ( It's funny how some friendships just pick up where they left off no matter how long it has been since you've seen each other. I have no doubt in my mind that Lauren will be one of my bestest best friends for ever and ever.

December brought Thanksgiving oddly enough. This past weekend my site mate Becky and I hosted ten volunteers for an all out feast! (If there is one thing I've mastered here it is the art of the feast.) We had American classics like cranberry sauce in a can, green bean casserole, stovetop stuffing, and pumpkin pie which were sent to us by our fabulous friends and families back home. The centerpiece to it all was a ducken. You heard right- ducken. We stuffed a duck with a chicken and it was delicious! We hadn't set out to do this, it just felt right in the moment.

That's about all for now. As the Ukrainians say, I'm sitting on my suitcase. Counting down the days to my visit home.

Halloween Party with the Kiddos

2010-11-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

On the docket-

-bobbing for apples

-mummy wrapping game

-singing songs and telling stories

-pumpkin carvings

A year over and over a year to go...

2010-10-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

This was written by my friend Emily (the blonde in the middle of the group shot of the people I trained with), but I couldn't agree with the sentiment more. I have officially been in Ukraine for over a year. In some ways it feels like the time has crawled, in others like it has gone by in a wink. Thank you to everyone back home and in Ukraine who has supported me through this. I couldn't do it without you!

One year of being away from home, one year without a washing machine, one year without a dishwasher, one year in a world where things move a little slower and everything is planned one day in advance, one year of being a complete fashion disaster, one year leaning a new language and new traditions, one year of learning my limits and just how far they can be stretched, one year of self exploration, one year of being thankful for what I have, one year in a land so far away, one year of dirty trains, B.O. and littering, one year of being totally out of shape, one year of receiving the most flowers I have ever received in my life, one year without driving a car, one year without a cell phone that has unlimited minutes, one year without Mexican food, one year without chocolate chips, one year of squatting over the toilette, one year of new bizarre foods, one year of being misunderstood, one year of being famous, one year of extreme weather, one year with a different economic condition, one year of high high’s and low low’s, one year with new friends and family, one year of extreme patience and flexibility, one year of trials and errors, one year of victories and defeats, one year of gains and losses, one year of laughs, one year of tears, one year of new life lessons, one year of sharing, one year of love, one year of vodka, one year for the books, one year to be proud of, one year to be thankful for and ONE YEAR I WILL NEVER FORGET!

dip dip dip

2010-09-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

My site mate Becky and I are constantly working on recipes that use only Ukrainian ingredients to make delightfully familiar food. This was today's masterpiece...

Eggplant "Parmesan" Dip

1 egg

3 small eggplants peeled

1/2 head of garlic chopped

2 small onions chopped

1/2 cup mayo (or until the consistency seems about the same as artichoke dip)

salt, pepper, and italian seasonings to taste

A bunch of cheese- parm and some other white cheese, mozzarella if you've got access, grated (half to mix in, half to put on top

oil to coat saute pan

Cut eggplant into long strips, coat saute pan with oil and saute eggplant until soft, mix with other ingredients in baking dish, cover mixture with generous layer of mozzerella, cook in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is beginning to brown. You could probably replace some of the mayo with something else like sour cream if you were worried about the fat.

This stuff turns out incredible. It's like eggplant parm that you can spread on a cracker or a pita chip!

A Ukrainian Wedding- feet washing and wheelbarrow rides!

2010-09-07T06:19:00.000-07:00

I have officially attended a Ukrainian wedding. Everyone should do this at least once in their lives. Here is a break down of the solid two day nuptial bonanza.

Day 1- The day kicks off when the groom comes to the family home of the bride and (symbolically) gives the father money and gifts in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage. Then we proceed to the government building where vows are exchanged and the marriage license is signed. This is the portion that most americans would recognize. Rings are exchanged, the traditional "here comes the bride" music is played, etc. Finally we end up at a restaurant where we sit at a HUGE table filled with food and booze (a bottle of wine and fifth of vodka for each six people that is constantly being refilled). Once you are so full that you can't imagine eating one more piece of sausage the dancing commences. Fun Fact- Ukrainians dance in one large circle around the dance floor all night long. See video for more info on that.

Day 2- The second day of any Ukrainian wedding is bound to start out a bit more tame (possibly due to the amount of booze the guests imbibed the previous day). You kick things off at the church ceremony. This particular wedding took place at the Ukrainian orthodox church. It was very beautiful inside, although I did not understand a word the priest said because they speak an old school mix of polish and russian (or something like that). Then you head back to the restaurant to continue the drink-eat-dance cycle three more times (three is a big number in Ukraine). Throughout both nights you see a smattering of different traditions. I'll tell you about two of the more delightful ones. First, the groom has to wash his new mother-in-law's feet and calves with beer, vodka, and mustard! After this has happened he has to try to get her to put on a pair of delightful rain boots. Her job is to make this as difficult as possible twice and then on the third attempt she succumbs, wears the boots, and they share a dance. On the lucky occasion that one of the newly weds is the last child in the family to get married the parents get loaded into a wheelbarrow and dumped unceremoniously into a puddle (or any available body of water from what I understand). They then have a hilarious dance together to celebrate their truly empty nest.

In closing- Ukrainian weddings are awesome.

Rollin through the Jasmine in my Miiiiiiind

2010-08-20T03:55:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, summer is coming to an end here in Ukraine. Last night I went outside to our outside kitchen in the middle of the night and it was COLD! Boo. It's still nice during the day though, so I'm holding on to the sun while it's still around. Those four-o-clock sunsets are just around the corner.

Although the season is fading to fall my mood is not. Why, you ask. Because my fall is stacked with awesomeness! Let me give you the breakdown. (Be warned- it's epic.)

Next Week- My friend Therese, who is currently a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, will arrive in Ukraine for a two week extravaganza! On the docket- Independence Day in Kyiv, Buddha Bar, Lviv, and undoubtedly much more.

End of August- My counterpart, Victoria, is getting married! I will get to see a Ukrainian wedding up close and personal. From what I hear there is a lot of food, a lot of drink, and a lot of crazy wedding games and dancing.

Beginning of September- School starts. The "first bell" ceremony will be on September 1st. Everyone dresses up, gets assigned to classes, and the students give their teachers flowers. They wear the big white poof-balls in their hair, which is awesome.

Late September- Matt comes to visit!!!! He will be here for about three weeks, and I am ecstatic.

October- Getting back into the groove of school. I'm actually looking forward to getting back to work and a schedule. Plus there's always some sort of Peace Corps get together for Halloween.

November- Lauren comes to visit!!!! She'll be here for Thanksgiving, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate my favorite holiday in Ukraine.

December- I get to go home for Christmas!!! I'll be home for about three weeks. Perfect timing- I'll be there for Christmas and New Years, Sasha will be in America too, and it's just after my 1 year service mark.

So basically I love my life these days, and I can't wait to share Ukraine with some of my favorite people in the world! 2010 is shaping up to be one of the best years ever.

Two Awesome Pictures

2010-08-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

1. Babusyas on the Train

I couldn't resist snapping this photo. So many head scarfs on one of the hottest days of the summer...

2. The Best Graffiti Wall I've Ever Seen

I made a visit to my friend's site to work with some kids with special needs at their amazing rehabilitation center. On our way there we stumbled upon this little joy. The juxtaposition between "Save Cats" and "Pozers Must Death" is frankly breathtaking.

The Daily Puppy

2010-07-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

Now on Ukraine in the Membrane you can not only get a dose of what's up in Ukraine, but also see an adorable puppy. Check out the right side of the page. A special treat for all of my faithful readers.

How I Fill A Day

2010-07-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

1. Taught myself how to cross-stitch with youtube videos. I'm making a mouse jumping rope. Don't know what the hell I'm going to do with it when I'm done, but it's pretty adorable. I always wanted to knit, but could never get past the scarf-turned-pot holder (because I get bored with it too quickly) level. Maybe this is more my crafting speed. It's easy and you get instant gratification, at least with a small project like this.

2. Harvesting and eating sweet peas!! My pea plants are finally producing. Everyday I go out and grab a couple hand fulls of delectible stuff. I give them to my dog as a treat from time to time. As it turns out dogs like vegetables and fruit... who knew?

3. Watching Big Love and True Blood. Neither of these is my favorite show ever, but they're entertaining.

4. Meeting with Ukrainians who want to practice their English. I still have to do something productive. For a while I was giving my colleague's grandson private lessons. I need to start doing that again. He's a smart little guy. Half the time I'll plan a lesson, get there and find out that he already knows everything I was going to teach him.

5. Planning my summer trip! My friend Therese is coming to visit me at the end of August! I can't wait to see her. Trying to figure out some cool but inexpensive things to do around here. We'll definitely see Kyiv and either the Black Sea or the Carpathian Mountains. Maybe we'll even make it to Lviv! I still haven't been there and everyone says great things.

July July Julyyyyy

2010-07-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

As predicted, July has been a much more productive month so far.

1. On the 4th of July Becky (my new site mate, ie other Peace Corps Volunteer who lives in my town) and I had a picnic bash down by the river. We came prepared with such American classics as potato salad, pasta salad, cheeseburger bites (adapted from Ukrainian food), ice cream, the Declaration of Independence, and our bathin suits. About six Ukrainians came to partake of our delights. A good and patriotic time was had by all.

2. I went to Ukrainian camp. Twice a year the Peace Corps puts on a camp for volunteers to brush up their language skills. Heading into the week I was pretty intimidated (not gonna lie), but as it turns out there were more camp games and activities than hard-corps (hehe) language lessons. My camp team was called the Zli Bilochki (that's angry squirrels for those of you who can't read poorly transliterated Ukrainian). There was singing of songs, playing of cards, and eating of exorbitant amounts of free food. The holiday of Ivana Kupala fell during camp. This is one of the most fabulous holidays the world around. You sing a bunch, wear flower wreaths on your head, and hold hands with your beloved while jumping over a fire. The superstition goes that if your grip breaks your love was not meant to be. Sadly, I was not jumping over any fires this time around.

3. Baseball camp! Why Ashley, you may be thinking, I thought you were bad at sports and generally uncoordinated. Yes ma'am or sir you would be correct. Luckily, my job at baseball camp was to walk around being an American, something I am extremely good at (not to toot my own horn). Everyday for a week we played two games. I only struck out once! I was on the green team, aptly named the Mojitos. We ended up tying for 5th place out of 6 teams, but we had a good time doing it. One day we all decided to paint Mexican flags on our arms (do mojitos even come from Mexico?). Flag tattoo plus blazing sun equaled a lovely and quite pronounced white rectangle on all of our arms the next day. It's the price you pay for team spirit I suppose.

Internet Explosion

2010-06-25T02:37:00.000-07:00

This week I have had Way Too Much Free Time!! I've filled it with a lot of reading, a bit of traveling, and a lot of web exploration. I have officially started using twitter. (My Profile.) I never thought I was the tweeting type, but it's something to pass a little bit of time . I still don't exactly know what the point is, but maybe I'll figure it out over the next 18 months. Two other websites have been taking up my time, B Kontakti (the Ukrainian facebook) and stumbleupon.com.

Stumbleupon.com is incredible, and the worst thing to happen to productivity since facebook. It is a website that you sign up for, tell them what topics you're interested in, and it takes you to websites you might be interested in. You click a thumbs up if you like it and a thumbs down if you don't. The site uses your preferences to narrow the criteria for sites you will like. So far I've seen some awesome photography, read an article about a guy who got mugged then took his attacker out to dinner, and watched a few mediocre but interesting videos. Basically the internet is the best time killer ever invented! Thanks Al Gore.

For those of you who don't know, my mom, sister, and I love the Bachelor/Bachelorette! My mom and sister always watch, and I catch episodes as often as I can. My guilty pleasure is absolutely reality tv, and this show has a special place in my heart. I have been following this season (also courtesy of the internet) and things are just starting to heat up. For those of you in the know- Go Chris L! Poor Frank got screwed having the first one-on-one and got all jealous and crazy with it. He's my gut reaction favorite, but seems a bit unstable at the moment. Haha I feel like I know these dudes and my opinion changes every week.

July should be a much more productive month.

Strawberry Fields Forever... or at least the next month.

2010-06-22T02:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went with my counterpart to gather wild strawberries. We walked to an old orchard that was communal during the soviet era to hunt and peck for the tiniest strawberries you can imagine. They are considered a delicacy here, and people say that if you eat them for for the time that they are in season you won't get sick for the rest of the year. I felt like a cave woman out foraging for my cave family. My take was not great. For every one I put into the bag I ate at least one, but it was fun to be out in the sun doing something so simple. (Rhyme much?) Later in the evening Anya made my baby strawberries, some normal sized berries, and cherries from our tree into fresh compote. America I have a question for you... Why the hell don't we drink compote!? It's the greatest stuff on earth!

Aside from that I have been living a way-too-low-key existence. However, I just got a GRE prep book from a friend and plan to start studying soon. (Stupid GRE!) I haven't done much math since my sophomore year of college so I am NOT looking forward to this. But, since I have all this time I should use it to TCOB. Wish me luck.

Patriotism...

2010-06-17T02:05:00.000-07:00

For most of my life I have not been a very patriotic person. I mean, I say the pledge of allegiance and sing the national anthem, but if asked "Hey, are you patriotic?" I probably would have laughed and gave an exceedingly witty retort that dodged the question.

My opinion has changed in my eight months abroad. It has become exceedingly clear to me that America is an amazing place. We have managed a lot in our short history, some of it exceptional, other parts not so good. When I was younger I would hear stories on the news about something happening in my country that I didn't like and think, I would love to live in another country...disassociate myself with this maddness.

The point is that this is simply not possible. No matter where you go in this world you will always be "the American" or at the very least an American. The deeds of your homeland will always reflect back on you in subtle ways. That in mind, I've changed my tune. I have to love America because I am America. Without love for your country there is no reason to try to make it the place you would like reflected back on you.

There is nothing better than summer.

2010-06-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

My first official summer weekend kicked off with an overnight train ride to Kyiv. I didn't get much sleep, but that didn't stop me from enjoying my morning at the Peace Corps office. On the fourth floor of the office is the volunteer lounge. There are comfy couches, a computer lab, and a lot of books for volunteers to trade. It's a great place to relax and meet new people. After a few hours my friends Thomas and Emily got to town.

We headed over to the Pinchuk Art Centre to see the exhibit Sexual Transcendence. It was really interesting. There were a lot of different types of art there, sculpture, performance, video, collage, painting. One video was pretty disturbing actually, but the rest was excellently laid out and thought provoking. Here is a short article about the exhibit if you're interested...Sexual Transcendence.

Next we headed to Maidan (Independence) Square, one of the most famous sights in Ukraine. There we met my friend Alie's mother and grandmothers who were visiting from Chicago. It's always fun to see the parents of your friends, it's a whole new insight into them.

That evening we went to Morozivka, my training site, and spent some time with our host families. My host sisters and I had a little feast, drank a bit, and headed across town to the local bar only to find that it had just closed. Oh well, better luck next time.

Sunday was lake day! It was so hot here this weekend that we could no longer avoid the urge to go swimming. My host family lives on a small lake, so we started off the day there roasting fish and sausages over the fire. As far as I know Tanya and Gallina have lived in the same house all their lives and I found out that they had never swam in the lake! We decided to go for it and I quickly found out why it's not the hottest swimming destination. The muck at the bottom went literally up to my knees... gross. Still fun though. Later we went to another, nicer lake and swam some more. I love going back to visit my host family. They really are my Ukrainian family.

What's Goin' On

2010-06-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

On the joyous occasion of my internet acquisition I think I'll do a full update. It's been a while. First of all, I'm sure you're all wondering what this glorious photo looming above the text is. Ponder no more... yesterday, after getting some counsel from my dad, I decided that my sweet peas needed something to do. So I built them a playground... or really some sticks and string to climb up. Garden projects are always so satisfying. Especially ones which involve instant gratification. Speaking of the garden, strawberries are going nuts. Here there are two varieties of fabulous strawberries, clubnike, your average berrie, and sunitsu, a tiny wild strawberry that tastes more like artificial, starburst flavor. Needless to say they taste like heaven. The cherrie tree is also coming into season.

Freddy is growing up into a fine young dog. He bites a lot less now, probably because he's too hot to do that much activity. We go swimming in the river from time to time, and the kids from school love to play with him. The two most adorable kittens in the world are also getting bigger. They lived in the house for about a week, but are banished out of doors again. Our ducklings have transformed into ducks. In no time flat we'll be eating duck al' orange (I probably spelled that wrong, eh). An endless stream of chicks continues to flow through the farm. Now we have two mamma hens sitting on eggs (as opposed to the others that we got at the bazaar). Gotta love fuzzy babies running around.

School is done for the year. (Technically we're feeding the students breakfast on Monday, but basically it's over). To celebrate, I'm taking the overnight train to Kyiv tonight to meet up with the four people that I trained with. Emily, Thomas, and I are going to an exhibit called Miniature Kyiv and then something called Transcendent Sexuality (I think it's an art instillation). Considering the source (Ukraine) this should be interesting. During the soviet years a very popular phrase was "there's no sex in the USSR." Basically it was taboo, probably even dangerous to acknowledge that sex even existed during that time period. Needless to say there are some subsequent sexual hang-ups.

I'm very happy to report that I am 24 now and still tickin. Anya (the lady that I live with) threw me an awesome birthday party, and four of my friends, and my Ukrainian family came over for a huge Ukrainian feast. I learned to make cabbage rolls, we drank moonshine (typical), and danced at the outdoor disco until the wee hours of the morning. It was a fabulous way to get older.

That's life... I'm a happy girl. The sun is shining (I can prove it with my first, and hopefully last, wicked sunburn of the season), the strawberries are tasty, and I'm having an adventure.

Who Can Take a Rainbow Sprinkle it with Dew? The Internet Man... That's Who!

2010-06-11T03:33:00.001-07:00

I am officially connected to the world wide web!!! The man came to my house today and in 35 minutes I was surfing the net! It's a beautiful thing. I will write a longer post after my LAST teacher's meeting of the school year!

You look like a monkey...and you smell like one too!

2010-05-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

Today is both my birthday (the big two four)and the last day of school for the semester. Life is sweet.

Rainy Daze

2010-05-24T03:10:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
I had an interesting weekend.

The original plan: Shashlik at Adrien's. Meet Niko, in Khmelnetsky, take the marshrutka (bus) there together.

What Actually Happened: I got on the marshrutka to Khmelnetsky (about an hour long ride)at 12:20. At 12:50 Niko called me and said the shashlik was cancelled. Boo. I got to Khmelnetsky and found out that it was my friend Ruslan's birthday and we were going to celebrate with (you guessed it) shashlik. It was like a roller-coaster ride of emotions. We had a lovely picnic by a little lake. I learned a new frisbee game (apparantly I've gotten a little rusty when it comes to disk tossing) that is basically like tag and keep-away. One person is "the dog" and they have to tag the person with the frisbee before they throw it to another person.
The next day we went to yet another shashlik at Niko's host family's summer house. It was tasty and the family was really nice. I drank a little too much red wine, but all things considered it was a great night.
Today it's raining and I'm waiting for my 5-o-clock train home. Hopefully it's raining in the town where I live too. My Sugar Peas need it to grow up strong and delicious.

May!

2010-05-21T04:52:00.001-07:00

Spring time in Ukraine is beautiful (probably expecially beautiful when compared to the starkness of the winter). My yard is abloom with tulips, lilacs, and about a billion other flowers. Our chicks have transformed into chickens, and the garden (which is really like a small farm!) is well underway. My officiall veggie contribution has been sweet peas!! I can't wait for all of this fresh produce to flood into my potato and mayonaise filled life!!!

I officially have three teaching days before summer vacation! I'm sure I'll find myself wishing school was back in session when I'm totally bored, but at this point I am wickedly excited for a little break. I'm hoping to do some travelling around Ukraine, and I am definitely signed up to work at a baseball camp (of all things). I assured the camp director that I am not in fact good at sports, but he said my English prowess outweighs my lack of coordination.

News Flash! I went running yesterday. I think that having a dog to take care of is one of the best things I could do for my health. I can't stand to see him just sit around all day. I've also developed the very Ukrainian habbit of doing morning exersizes. It's amazing what a ton of down time will motivate you to do. I'm toying with the idea of becoming a vegetarian for the summer...they eat a pretty meat-heavy diet here and it would be hard to explain to people why I just suddenly stopped eating meat (vegetarianism is not popular in Ukraine, neither is refusing to eat what is offered to you), so we'll see about that.

I hope you are all having an excellent spring!

Shashlik and THE Disco

2010-03-29T03:07:00.001-07:00

I spent a lovely weekend in Morozivka with my host family. Going there is like going back home from college. I eat a ton and get to relax for a couple days.

There were two big hilights from this trip. On Saturday night I went to THE disco with my friend Alie and her host sister. This is a village disco, meaning that it is the equivalent of a townie bar but with blasting techno music, ballin lazer lights and an overactive smoke machine. Needless to say it's a bit hard to describe. When we lived in Morozivka we went to this bar relatively often and people got used to seeing "The Americans" there. At this point we have been gone for about three months and we are super novel again. This time as we were walking in a guy asked if we were from America or Africa (I mean Alie's tall but I don't know where he got Africa from). We ended up talking and dancing with him and his friends for most of the evening. It's a lot more comfortable to be a spectacle when you understand enough of the language to know that people aren't talking trash about you... for the most part. This disco remains my favorite bar in all of Ukraine.

On Sunday my host sisters, Tanya and Galya, Galya's boyfriend and I went to a field and made Shashlik, the best food in all of the world. (We stopped to see the ostrich farm first, a major must see in the region.) Shashlik is pork that has been marinating in spices and onion overnight then put onto skewers and fried over an open fire. It is incredibly tasty and an awesome way to spend the afternoon with friends or family (plus you feel like a cave man when you eat fried meat off a stick around a fire). This is one culinary tradition I am definitely bringing back to America with me. I've said it before and I'll say it again... everything cooked over a fire in Ukraine is delicious.

An Update

2010-03-26T00:26:00.000-07:00

A life goal has been achieved. I HAVE A PUPPY!!!! His name is Freddy. Initially it was Franky but Anya (the lady I live with who technically owns the dog) kept calling him Freddy so it stuck. He is pretty much the cutest puppy ever. When I get the internet at my house (which is supposedly happening soon) I will be posting many many pictures... 6 months worth really. So now I officially live with an adorable lady, a kitten, chickens, rabbits, and a puppy. Gotta love that.

This weekend it is finally getting warm! Along with the snow and ice people's dispositions are melting. I have gotten a lot more preevets (hellos) on the street since the shift in the weather.

Today I'm in Kyiv, then on my way to Morozivka for Saturday and Sunday. Next week is my spring break and I think I'm heading to Odessa. I'm hoping to see the Black Sea, but it'll be way to cold to play outside too much. I also want to go to an art museum... we'll see about that.

Last weekend was one of the other volunteers' birthday's so we went out to a club called shtorm (NOT storm!). It was a hilarious club with a fake tornado in the middle of the dance floor and booths with huge leather couches. We were dancing and celebrating and all of a sudden there were two people dancing on stage... a man wearing a metalic colored vest and suspenders and a girl who had cut the butt pockets out of her jeans so it appeared that she was wearing funky chapps. They were certainly paid to be up there and their moves were hilarious. Vesty's move (singular) was to wiggle around and point at different points in the room. Great stuff. After the club we taxied it back to my friend Niko's apartment and absolutely devoured all of his expensive food. A lovely night was had by all.

Livin For the Citaaay

2010-02-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

Hello,
This weekend I am in Xmelnetsky with two of my friends (Alei and Emily from training). Yesterday was quite a big day. I caught the 10:00 elecktrechka (commuter train). I knew I was headed to the First School, but I had never been there before and neglected to write down the directions. I got into the city and took a marshrutka (small bus type deal) to the center. One thing about Ukraine is that people LOVE to give directions and are really helpful if you stop them to ask a question. One of their national sayings is "your tongue will lead you to Kyiv" (ie if you ask people for directions you will get where you need to go). I asked the marshrutka driver if he would pass the first school and this started a riotous conversation among the whole bus about how to get me to where I needed to go. Needless to say I got there. At the school we had our "Meet Your Neighbors" meeting. Eleven volunteers and our regional manager got together to chat about life in our oblast. It was your typical meeting, ice breakers, new and old business.

After we ended up going out to lunch at a pizza place. One of us accidentally ordered a pizza with tuna on it which is pretty popular here. A few of the other volunteers had planned a taco night (Mexican/spicy food is pretty much non-exictent here). After a lot of himming and hawing Emily and I decided to go along instead of heading to her apartment as we had planned. In fact, everyone had the same idea. 9 people ended up going. We started off cooking the tacos together and talking. 9 Americans in a small apartment makes for a loud environment. It was great to get to know everyone a little better. After some DELICIOUS and very spicy tacos we decided to go to the disco. There was much dancing and more talking and lots of laughing. After the first disco four of us decided to head out to another club. This one had an excellent ambience and a light up dance floor. We finally made it back home pretty late and made ourselves cozy little beds on the floor. By which I mean I slept on the floor using my coat as a blanket. Haha good ol' Peace Corps. Anyway. Now I have 7 new friends.

If you're reading this you're awesome.

2010-02-12T02:17:00.000-08:00

Hi gang. It has been a Ukraine minute since I posted last. My life is starting to normalize here (which is pretty bizzare in itself). I teach 3rd through 11th graders at the school where I work. I love my students and the other English teachers I work with. I started three English clubs 2nd-5th grade, 6th-8th, and 9th-11th. The most successful one is for the little ones. I had 42 show up to my first meeting last week and 51 this week (ballin'). We sang songs, talked about animals, and watched a bit of the Jungle Book. Let me tell you 2nd graders get rather squirrley during a movie in English when they don't understand a word. It was fun though, before the meeting started a bunch of my little guys came and colored with me. Many of them made adorable valentines for me. In my 6th-8th grade club we were writing childrens books and one of my favs from 7th grade drew the most hilarious picture I've seen in a while (I wish I could scan it in and show you). It's based on Little Red Ridding Hood (Red Head to him). It's a girl with buck teeth and red hair wearing a red army helmet standing over a dead wolf with two guns in her hands and money sticking out of her pockets in front of a flag that says Bart Simpson Forever! Maybe a bit innapropriate, but I didn't care because I was too busy laughing. It's after school anyway.

What else... I'm in Kyiv at the moment, hangin' at the Peace Corps volunteer lounge. I hit the jackpot on books today (there's a volunteer swap library with a lot of sort of trashy novels but sometimes a hidden gem). I found The Clan of the Cave Bear (the book that my friend Ayla is named after I do believe), and a Jodi Piccoult book. Those will hold my attention for a while. I also found a beginner pilates dvd and season one of Firefly. I am currently livin large. There are a bunch of other volunteers in here, so I'm picking up a lot of gossip while writing this.

In other news I should be getting the internet at my site (ie in my house) within the next month. So look for a lot more blogging and skyping and everything internet communication.

Love you guys! Happy Valentines Day!

One Christmas In the Bag

2009-12-26T06:47:00.000-08:00

I have officially survived my first Christmas away from home. It wasn't easy,but I soldiered on. The worst part was waking up knowing it was Christmas morning (normally a magical time). But as the day went on the people here really showed me that they care about me and knew that I was missing home. At school I was given a stocking full of chocholates and a candy bar. The students were going to sing me Jingle Bells, but it didn't work out exactly (the thought was there though). After school I went with my counterpart to the police station to give my contact info and introduce myself. Then we had tea and hung out for a while. It was nice to be out and about. In the evening I had a lovely dinner with my new roommate Aunt Anya. I got to talk to my family and I watched Elf. All in all it wasn't too sad (except for missing the people I love of course). Soon I'll get to see a whole new set of holiday traditions, so there's definitely something to be said for that. Oooh I officially have a mailing address, however I can't post it on the blog (safety policy and whatnot). I'll get it to those of you who want it through facebook, just let me know. Have a safe new year!

Three Days Into Two Years-It's Official

2009-12-23T07:58:00.000-08:00

I'm a terrible blogger. It's been a good long while since I last posted so if you're still reading this thanks for your patients. I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer (not to be confused with a PC Trainee). I took part in a rather fancy-shmancy ceremony with the US Ambassador and a few members of the Ukrainian government. I raised my right hand and everything. Not I'm at my permanant site where I will live and work for two years. The second night I was here there was a rather adorable parade of Santas (Papa Moroz for those in the know), a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, and a smll concert. It was a great start to my time here. Other than that I live with one woman in a very nice house with a very cute kitten. I have many more stories to tell, but they'll have to wait for another day. In good news I shoould be getting internet soon (soon being a relative term here) so I'll be in better contact with everyone!
I love you all. Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T05:13:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!
I finally have some more internet time and I wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a great holiday. I didn't have your traditional celebration. Instead one of the other Peace Corps Volunteers, my host sisters, one of their boyfriends and I spend all day yesterday baking and then had an epic feast for dinner. Everything we made burned terribly in the oven, but we managed to still have a good time. After our feast we were treated to an accordian recital by my host sister and then looked at photos for a long while. It was a great day! We were joking that it was very similar to the first Thanksgiving in that we were strangers trying to figure out how to live in a new place and the "natives" helped us find our way. I must say that it was a really good thanksgiving eventhough I did miss Pumpkin pie (my favorite kind of pie I'll have you know).

Other than that I have about two more weeks of training so everything is pretty hectic right now. There is lesson planning to be done and language testing and teaching demonstrations, oh my. I am really going to miss the place that I live now when I have to move. I really love the people that I've met and would love to stay here for the rest of the two years. Sadly that won't be happening. On to new adventures. I still have two weeks to enjoy though. I'll make them good : )

Kyiv-a-go-go

2009-11-07T05:19:00.000-08:00

Hi From Ukraine.
I've officially passed the mid way point of my Pre-Service Training. Woohoo! Life is still good here and getting better. For one, I finally got to Kyiv! On Friday my training group got up bright and early to catch the Marshrutka (a little bus)for our one hour tour. Once in the city we navigated the metro, figured out the train schedules (in Ukrainian I might add), and made our way to a main city square for lunch at the poyata xata (big belly house if you didn't know : )to eat a lovely Ukrainian lunch. From there we saw independence square, and two very large, very beautiful, very old cathedrals, St. Sophia and St. Michael's (google them, it's worth it). They stand opposite eachother on a short but histrorical stretch of Kyiv. It was totally breath taking to stand looking up at gold onion domes against the backdrop of a beautiful city only to turn around to see more of the same. Before I came here the onion domes were one of the only sites I could really picture and was totally looking forward to. It was everything I was hoping for and more. I can officially check that off the life goals list.

A gal in my group, Emily, generated one of the funnier moments that has happened since we've been here. In Kyiv we stopped to make a pit stop near a rather luxurious underground mall (literally underground, not like cool and funky). Emily is a lady who likes to shop and was looking longingly into all the clothing shops. She walked up to "Thomas" (the one and only male in our group), hooked her arm in his and looking doey eyed into the mall cooed "Oh Thomas, isn't this a tease?" He didn't respond right away. "Well, isn't it?" She looked up only to realize that this was a complete stranger. Haha, The look on both of their faces was priceless.

In other news (which I heard actually has made the news in the States) the swine flu has hit Ukraine in a big way. All of the schools in the entire country are closed for three weeks, and people are wearing masks in the streets. People are in a general panic. They are calling it the California Flu, which makes me a bit ill at ease. At least it's not the "American Flu."

In very sad news I found out this week that my Aunt Vickie passed away after a long battle with cancer. She was a beautiful, giving, kind woman and I will miss her a lot. When she got to telling a story she absolutely lit up the room. The memorial is today so which ever spiritual path you've chosen please send some positive energy toward my family.
Stay well and cherish the ones you love.
I love you all.

2009-10-24T06:16:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I only have time for a short post today but I wanted to say hi!!I was asked by a Ukrainian man yesterday to say hi to America.. so here goes... hey there America... he also sent a kiss. Consider yourself kissed This experience continues to be good. Today I went to the Shevchenko museum and learned about him. They had one of four exicting death masks of him, so that was interesting to see. I didn't know much about him and he's a pretty big deal here (very famous writer for those of you who are as ignorant as I was before today : ) The internet is being really testy right now, so I'd better be going. For those of you interested in calling I found an awesome website howtocallabroad.com check it out. It should make the process a little bit easier. Love you all! Until Next Time!

This is the (Ukrainian) Life!

2009-10-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!! I'm back in the internet cafe/dungeon. I can't possibly type fast enough to share all of the info that I would like to. First of all, I love and miss all of you very much. Honestly, I have a whole new perspective after only 1 month about how important all of you are to me. I can't wait to reunite, but I also know that you are the people that got me to this point. So... what is this point. I have been studying Ukrainian for about a month now and I'm definitely making progress. I'm nowhere near where I will need to be when I live on my own, but I can get by with a combo of English, Ukrainian, Russian, and good ol' sign language (mostly sign language at this point). I can successfully ride the train, hail a taxi, and ride a marshutka (like a bus/group taxi thing). I know where to go to get food, internet, and all the basic necessities, and I've taught three lessons in the local school (one to seventh graders and the others to eighth). I'll be teaching the 8th graders again tomorrow. There are very few resources available for Ukrainian teachers. No copy machine, really substandard books, even the most basic supplies like paper are bought out of the teacher's pocket. A lot of this goes on in the States, but definitely not to this extent. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of English that some of the students have achieved. They can communicate pretty well, but I definitely feel for the ones that struggle (I'm currently walking about 1000 miles in their shoes). As for fun there has been a good amount. My host sister is a 26 year old English teacher and we get along very well. We have gone to the disco (lazer lights and techno galore... Titzie I see why you gave Eastern Europe such high marks), had a picnic in the woods where we roasted chicken, ate so much food (a lot of fish, wow do they love fish of all varieties here...salted, dried, the list goes on and on) and drank choot-choot (a little) Vodka, and gone mushroom hunting in the woods. Outings here almost always include a huge spread of food and drink, lots of toasts, and debauchery. They love the outdoors, and I'm definitely glad to be getting outside as much as possible before the winter kicks into full swing. Yesterday was my host papa's birthday. We had a big dinner together and watched some tv as a family. He has made my adjustment here a lot easier so I was really glad to be able to celebrate with him. He always helps me with my Ukrainian homework and speaks very slowly so that I'll understand him. We also watch a lot of Ukrainian tv together. Yesterday we were watching a ninja movie from japan dubbed into Russian with Ukrainian subtitles. My head almost exploded. Well that's about all for now. Oooh for those of you that wanted my address my mom and dad have it, I'll be sending out a facebook message soon also. I don't know if I'm allowed to get packages yet, and keep in mind that my mail will be opened before it gets to me so for those of you thinking of sending diamonds I would wait and give them to me in person. Love you all!

2009-10-16T05:31:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Thank you for all of your comments. It is awesome to know that people are reading. This week was more of the same. Everything is pretty overwhelming, mostly because everything is in Ukrainian. Speaking of which I'll be back with more soon. Love you all!

I'm here, Safe and Sound!

2009-10-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

I can honestly say that I have about 10 "this is my life" moments daily.The first thing that really struck me about Ukraine is that it looks A LOT like MI, environment and climate wise.I have started learning Ukrainian (which is a very difficult language might I say). We spend about four hours a day on that. During the rest of our time we do homework, learn about teaching English, walk around our tiny village, and hang out with our host families. There are about 3000 people where I live with my host family. We are about an hour from Kyiv, and it's a very nice place. A lot of people grow a lot of their own food. There's not a whole lot in the town. We have about five little shops where you can get mostly food and household products, a cafe/bar, a school, stadium, and small doctor's office. My host family is awesome! There is are six people living in our house (not including me). All adults, Babysya and Tato (gma & gpa), their two daughters, and then one of their daughters. Two men, four women. They don't have indoor plumbing, we get our water from a well and use a squat toilet in an outhouse. At first I was worried about that, but now it's old hat (I'm sure that will change when it's below 0 and I'm freezing). We bathe in a little building outside too. They have a really big garden, a cow, chickens and lots of puppies and kittens. I have definitely made freinds with the animals. Most of my day at home is spent trying to communicate in a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian (called surgic). There is a lot of gesturing and laughing. One thing about Ukraine is that they feed you a lot! Our host families are paid to feed us twice a day and I can't believe how seriously they take this responsibility. Lots of meat and potatoes. The food is actually pretty good. Oh and they LOVE candy, desserts, and chocholate with every meal. My training group consists of five people (including myself). One guy and three other gals. Poor Thomas is stuck with all women all the time. Ooh, my host sister is an english/history teacher at the local school, 26 years old, and a bad ass. We get along great and have a lot in common. She is pretty much fluent in English so that makes things a lot easier. I also have a friend named Dima. We help eachother with our homework (my Ukrainian and his English). It's a very symbiotic relationship. Also, it's nice to know someone local who speaks both languages, he has definitely done some translating for me, and helped me figure out my phone and computer. He's turning 18 soon so we'll have to throw him a b-day party. Basically I'm very safe and happy here. Of course I'm home sick and missing everyone a lot! No joke A LOT, but I definitely feel good about what I'm doing and how much I am already growing from this experience. It really doesn't hit you what you've gotten yourself into until you get here. I definitely cried quite a bit the first night at my host family's house. But then I got it together and started to really enjoy myself and the people around me. I love you all and truely miss you more than I can say already. Stay safe and stay in touch. Your comments will really help a lot.

T-12 Days Until Departure

2009-09-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

The sad sad process of saying goodbye to family and friends is officially in full effect. This Saturday my mom and I went to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins in Kalamazoo. It was great to see everyone, but really strange to say goodbye knowing that I won't see them for a long time. It was also bittersweet to be spending one of my last weekends with my mom before I leave. I know I'm going to miss her most of all. Luckily most of my friends don't live in Spring Lake so I'm already used to being separated from them, but it will be hard not to be able to pick up the phone and call whenever I need to hear their voices. Being away from everyone is definitely going to be the hardest part of this whole experience. I already miss my sister and Matt tons.

At the same time I am making contact with people from my training group. I finally found the Facebook group that was made by one of the gals I'll be going to Ukraine with. Our group is HUGE (over 100 people). I have been facebook stalking a few of them, but it's hard to know much about anyone from a few pictures and the groups they are in. I'm sure out of that many people I'm bound to get along with enough of them to keep me happy (knock on wood).

Saying goodbye is the worst, but saying hello for the first time can be the most exciting.

On an unrelated note here is something AWESOME that I'm looking forward to... Twelve-dish Christmas Eve Supper

My new hobby.

2009-09-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

Hey all.

So one of the things about Peace Corps that I keep hearing is that you end up with a ton of free time on your hands. People have suggested that I take up a hobby. Here is a sample of what I've been up to : ) I felt like both songs were fitting. Enjoy!

The Next Stage

2009-08-31T10:52:00.000-07:00

So the next step in this process (which happens in T- 25 days!) is called Staging. It's where my training group meets up at a central location to get a "brief but intense" introduction to the Peace Corps. I have just found out that mine will be held in Philadelphia, PA. I'm sure I won't be doing a lot of sight seeing.

During this time we get all of our necessary shots for travel, meet each other, and get our first taste of the Peace Corps up close and personal. I'm sure we'll also be signing paperwork assuring the government that we aren't up to no good. It's like the first day of school all over again. I'll have to pick out a cool outfit : )

What Am I Getting Myself Into?

2009-08-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I have been getting a borage of information about Ukraine in the past few weeks and I thought I would share some of it with you. First of all, I am a lot less stressed out about the winter. It has been said that it is not any worse than a Northern Michigan winter (which is cold, but I can handle that). I was pretty relieved to hear that since I have been picturing trudging three miles uphill both ways to school through the arctic tundra.

One of the most helpful documents that I have received is a list of advice on packing and adjusting to Ukraine from current volunteers. They have said that for men, you can dress however you want and look just fine, jeans, track suits, turtle necks, all good. For women it is a different story. Every volunteer who offered advice mentioned how scandalous the women dress. Apparently the women ALWAYS wear makeup, tight or short clothes, and see-through blouses (the see-through blouses were brought up quite a bit). One person said that if they could sum up Ukrainian women's style in one word it would be tight. That sounds like me right? Haha I'm going to look like a nun for the next two years. That's probably for the best though.

They did soften the blow by saying that it is futile to try to look or act Ukrainian. They will peg you as a foreigner pretty quickly just by sight, and once you open your mouth all bets are off. I guess I am going to see new things. It sounds like I'll be seeing a lot of these people : )

Pack Your Bags for the Ride of Your Life!

2009-08-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

It took from February 16th until August 6th, countless visits to medical professionals, and a lot of patience and flexibility to get to this point. In the end it worth the wait. I have been invited to become a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine!!! My journey begins on September 25th and my commitment lasts twenty-seven months. A few quick tidbits about Ukraine (I knew very little to nothing about this country until I was invited to go there).......

Language-Ukranian (Russian near the Russian Boarder)

President- Viktor A. YUSHCHENKO (I'm still trying to figure out when and why they capitalize all of the letters in certain words.)

Literacy Rate- 99.4%

Currency- Hryvnia

I'll be posting pictures and stories here throughout my travels. Please leave me comments! It will be nice to get messages in English : )