T-12 Days Until Departure

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.

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

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?

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!

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 : )