Apologies

A few blogs back I made reference to issues I had with some previous female bosses I have had. I generalized as I have had several and several have turned out to be "not so pleasant". Not EVERY one of them has been bad. I have had good luck with my supervisors in Billings (Sam and Gail are great people and managers). This blog was intended for a very small audience and realizing that so many people turned out reading it although was flattering, it is just one more reason why I need to stop. Things I say are intended for a select group and end up being taken the wrong way. I love you all.

Season Finale

For numerous reasons I am taking a blogging hiatus. I will be back for the occasional post (i.e. when I have some big news).
Last weekend I went to a town called Nova Kahovka. I met up with 3 volunteers from that area that are from goup 31 (the one before mine). We had lunch at a nice Italian restaurant which got invaded by stray cats. We went home and made S'mores. Amy got a package from home whicha included graham crackers and marshmallows neither of which can we find here. I never really ate smores, but they were amazing! We also bought a watermelon. Since I've heard watermelons are the best thing about Kherson I was curious. However, it wasn't all that great and I learned that they don't get really good until September. We had many beers and played some games. I went to this guy Cody's flat to sleep which was in a nearby village called Byroslav. The guy has an incedibale DVD collection (by volunteer standards) so I gave him some money to copy a bunch of stuff for me. He had an external DVD burner, but it took a lot of time, but I got all seasons of Futurama, 1 season of The Simpsons, Da Ali G Show, Wedding Crashers, Stranger Than Fiction, Pi, and a few others. He also burned a ton of great music for me as he is really into the indy rock scene and turned me onto some new bands. My only complaint about the guy is his hatred for Dave Matthews and Pearl Jam. Oh well, not everyone can have perfect taste in music ;) The next morning we woke up and watched "Borat" and I finally took the bus back to Kherson Sunday evening.
Things are still awkward at the library...in fact, they get worse everyday. My counterpart has said about 10 words total to me over the last week. I emailed my regonal manager yesterday to tell him to help me escape. They are also dragging their feet on finding a flat for me. I hear they may have something for me to look at today, but it is near my host mother Tanya 45 minutes from work. So there ya have it....the season cliff-hanger. Enjoy the rest of summer and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVE! (I miss the hell outta you, Bro!)

Bored Ramblings

I'm having an extremely boring week and have not much to report. I've just been studying and playing the guitar to the point where my fingers are developing new calluses and are throbbing in pain. I've already written some songs and learned a few new ones by going through my MP3's. Last night was Dave Matthews' "Lover Lay Down" and the night before was Belle and Sebastian.
So I'm almost done with The DaVinci Code and I can definitelty see how it could piss off the church. It does make you think and the last few days I've been researching the internet for more information; that's how bored I get at this place. Speaking of which, this library has the ultimate filter on their computers. I'm doing research for the library's website and I can't even search for words like "Charles Dickens" and/or "analysis". I'm sure you can figure out why that is. I need to do something about my host organization. There is just no way I can handle 2 years of this. The other volunteers are even making fun of me now telling me to put on puppet shows for them...which is actually pretty damn funny. They tell me to switch organizations or get the hell out because this is a waste of time and they just want me there as a "look at our American" circus side show. I couldn't agree more, and could have told you that from my site visit back in May...wait, I DID tell you. I am actually taking on little productive projects to kill the time, but those can only go so far. First on the list is to remodel their bathroom. No more crapping into a hole in the ground for this guy...no sir! I am going to apply for a grant to install a toilet, new sink, mirror and possibly (and hopefully) an air conditioner for the room I work in because everyday I am on the brink of passing out from heat exhaustion. I also emailed several organizations in the U.S. for book donations. An organization called Darian Book Aid has already shipped out some classic English novels per my request. I can't say enough good things about the people that work for Darian Book Aid! In addition, yesterday Marina turned into Super Moody Woman and it made for an extremely long, uncomfortable and irritating day. It is hard to escape it when there is only her and I in this tiny room for 8 hours daily. I'm not sexist in the least but have a very important question...Why is it that EVERY time in all my places of employment over the years that I have had a female boss, they are always moody and can't just chill out and stay consistant??? Is that really so difficult? Instead they feel the need to piss off the entire staff with their childish behavior and make their bad moods contagious. I don't know. Maybe it's just another one of the mysteries of the female species. I thought maybe it was just an American woman thing, but apparantly it is worldwide.

I'm so bummed I'm missing "Big Brother". I've never missed a season and I'm jonsin' for my annual dose of brainless television. I was very fortunate to complete the last season of "Lost". My sister emailed me the world's largest report on the current theory behind the show and now I'm completely confused....thanks, Julie.
I saw AFI released the updated top 100 films of all time, but I still don't see "The Big Lebowski" or "Boogie Nights" in the list so I will keep waiting until they get it right. Anyone besides Chuck see "The Transformers" movie yet? I'm trying to get my old host dad in Chernihiv to mail me a bootleg Russian copy of it, but perhaps I burned that bridge by giving them a bad write-up at the end of training and it got back to them. I don't know nor do I care. He was just my only hook-up for bootlegs out here.
I see Pearl Jam is headlining Lollapalooza in Chicago. It figures that would happen whenI'm not there. I'm counting on Mike and Heather to give me the full report on PJ's only show this year.
I think I'm going to take another road trip this weekend to visit volunteers in a nearby city about 2 hours away. I'll give my report next week.
Let's see, news from home, my cousin is going to prison for 10 years and my parents are coming out here to Romania next week and I'm not able to meet them which sucks. I would love to see Dracula's castle and spend time with them out here, but it's not in the cards this time around. They are taking a river cruise through Eastern Europe...I think to every country except Ukraine. I don't blame them. I love how everyone wanted to come out here to visit me, but after reading my blog it's more like, "Ummm, yeah, maybe I'll just catch ya when you get back" or like Chuck, for example, "Let's just meet in Rome next month". No worries, I'd say the same things. You are not missing much out here. At any rate HAVE A FUN VACATION MOM AND DAD! ...and Chuck too if I don't hear from you.
also...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!!

A HUGE thanks to all of you for sending packages to me. I think I have about 8 packages in the mail now and it really helps to stay in a good mood and be excited for something. In these packages I'm getting new CDs from Wilco, Velvet Revolver, Arcade Fire and Beastie Boys and new DVDs like "Black Snake Moan" and "Smokin Aces". The always illustrious Scotty Dangerous is shipping out hundreds of burned bootleg DVDs to me as well...heaven in Ukraine! Also tons of food and other goodies. I love you all for taking the time to do that for me.

My good friend in Chicago (who has been neglecting me out here, but for understandable reasons) is getting married this week and I was really torn as to whether to go home to be a part of it after he invited me to stand up in his wedding. We have been through some crazy journeys together that stem back to the days of us both rockin the mullets together. He lived with me in Montana and I lived with him in Chicago. I'm Dirk Diggler, he's Brock Landers. He's more like a brother than a friend and I hope he understands my reasons for not being there for him on his big day. I also hope since he was MY best man that me declining his offer and not being able to even attend the party of the century we have been waiting for for 15 years + did not permanently damage our friendship. I'm writing in the 3rd person because I don't even think he will ever read this, but in case he does...
CONGRATULATIONS MAR & CARRIE JIMENEZ!!! Here's to a lifetime of happiness together! Have a kick-ass wedding and god bless you both! I truly am sorry I could not be there to celebrate.

Have a good weekend, my peoples!

Моя любимая гитара!
Yesterday I grabbed the bull by the horns and marched out of work (an hour early) directly to the music store and purchased my security magnet. I found the perfect guitar for $100. It's made in Ukraine, but honestly it plays like a Les Paul. I figured for that price it would be junk, but it is by far the best guitar (as far as playing action, Jen) I have ever owned. My fingers are scabbed over right now from playing for 4 straight hours last night. It's funny how life comes full circle. Let me take you back to the 4th grade many moons ago. I was taking guitar lessons from this hippy called Ron. The first songs he taught me were "Money For Nothing", "Stairway to Heaven", "Crazy Train", "Greensleeves" and "Yesterday" by the Beatles. Now you already know from an earlier post that Ukrainians loooooove that song for some reason. It might as well be the national anthem here. As soon as I walk in the apartment yesterday Tanya said to to me. I need to hear you play "Yesterday"! At this moment in time I would like to say "Thank you, Ron, wherever you are". All I really remember about that guy was that he ran over his foot with a lawnmower while cutting his grass wearing sandals. Ever since the 4th grade I have been scared to mow the lawn thanks to that guy. Heed this story, Shawna. No more mowing your lawn in high heels.
At any rate, I have named my new girlfriend Old Chorny or Старый Чёрный (chorny means black in Russian because she is as black as JJ Walker at midnight).

Pictures from my amazing weekend in Ukraine...
Marina and Tanya teaching em how to make fresh raspberry vareniki in our kitchen.

Yelena and Ana picking fruit at the dacha.

This is Yula. She is the cutest 11 year-old I've ever seen. She loved talking to me as she is learning English in school.

Ana offering me the best plum on the tree.

Igor cooking up a mean BBQ!

Vodka and Kabobs.

Yelena and I stumbled upon this HUGE field of sunflowers (my foavrote flower). This was such an amazing sight. Too bad the picture turned out like crap.

Ana and Yelena stopping for a classic photo on our hike.

Yelena and the Dniper river...and the only cows I've seen in Ukraine.

Farewell to the Dacha and new friends.

This is Mike from Bilazerka and Ben from the West and Mike's huka pipe.

My turn to hit the huka.

Our view from the huka to the boxing fight from Mike's balcony. A love this picture witht the flags in the background and the Ukrainian/American fight in the foreground.

A Breath of Fresh Air

The results are in. I had the chance to weigh myself the other day and it looks as if either the scale was broken or I have lost 35 pounds.

I caught word today that Group 32 suffered its next victim as another person quit and went back to the states. I was wondering what was taking so long. At any rate, she was a cool person and I will miss her.

I had a killer weekend and I feel revived. Thursday after work I went with my host mother Tanya to meet her ex-husband's family and Ana from Israel. We walked down to the river and drank beers and then went to a fancy cafe and went all out. The down side of this fun night was a goal of mine was broken. At some point in my past when I was about 6 years old I made a pact with myself probably while playing with my G.I Joe action figures and watching Tom & Jerry cartoons that I will never EVER eat fish eggs (AKA caviar). I turned agains myself on Thusday when Tany's ex-husband Igor ordered me something he guaranteed I would love....red caviar stuffed in pancakes. I felt bad that he paid all that money for me so I had to suffer through not only one but 6 of these monsters each tiny little egg popping as I bit into them. Luckily there was a stray cat in the area and I kept throwing some of the eggs on the ground for it. Just another Peace Corps duty...feeding starving animals. During dinner Ana asked me if I wanted to go to her family's dacha ( a small house in the village where they garden and rest). I responded that I would love to, but had to work Friday. Tanya jumped in saying that she would call into work for me so I could go. I was reluctant at first because I barely knew these people, but thought, what the hell, it beats working in a hot boring library so I was all in.
Friday morning I woke up around 730am and I went to Igor's house where only his other daughter Yelena was at that time. We hung out and she tried to impress me with her collection of Scorpions MP3's. Finally the whole family showed up and we hit the road. We drove to the countryside and got to their dacha which also happened to be on the biggest river in Europe the Dniper. This dacha had an amazing selection of wild food. Nut trees and fruit trees (plums, apricots, cherries, apples, grapes, every kind of berry and I could go on) they also grew potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, carrots and several other vegeatables. It was like some sorta produce Mecca. After picking fruit with the family, Yelena and I walked down tot he river and hung out for about an hour talking. She is learning English in college right and I think she enjoyed chatting about life. We headed back to the dacha, unpacked all the food and set up for a huge picnic. Igor BBQ's some kabobs and we pigged out with a huge feast and, of course, vodka. After dinner Ana, Yelena and I went hiking through the countryside. This moment was one of the greatest moments of my life. It was just all so beautiful and for the first time since my arrival here I was able to say to myself, "Man, I am really living life right now!". I will never forget that day. This family is really something special and I have the upmost respect for all of them and I hope to stay in touch after Ana goes back to Israel.
Saturday I met up with Peter, Marcia, Leah and some volunteers outside of Kherson. This volunteer called Ben was also in town from someplace out West. He was backpacking through Ukraine and was in Kherson for a couple days. We walked around Kherson and stopped for lunch and some beers and then Leah and I went to a nearby village called Bilazerka where Mike and Renae live. The village life was different than I expected. It was more populated and aside from wild goats, chickens and geese everwhere, was pretty normal. There has always been friction between city volunteers and village volunteers (AKA the village people). I don't see what the big argument is about. So he has to bathe in a bucket and crap outside while I take warm showers and sit on an ivory thrown...what's the big deal ;) Anyway, we took the bus there and relaxed before making, sit down for this...tacos!!! Renae's family mailed her taco seasoning and we had an amazing Mexican feast. It was everything I ever dreamed of. After dinner and drinks I went with Ben to Mike's apartment. Mike is the American who got married last month to a local Ukrainian. She was gone for the night so we spent the night at Mike's place and partied late into the night. Mike had a huka pipe and we enjoyed that with some beers and we watched the live boxing fight that I'm sure a lot of you in the states watched too. The only difference was it started at midnight here. At any rate to fill you in for those who don't care for the sport. Long past are the days of Holyfield and Tyson. Nowadays the heavyweight champion of the world is this gigantic white boy from Ukraine....Ukraine's saving grace. This boy is unstoppable and he pounding on Don King's boy from America who gave up in the 9th round. It was so cool to watchit from Ukraine's point of view. Sunday we woke up around noon and ate stuffed eggplants for breakfast which totally rocked. Mike's wife made them for us. We then hiked to the lake in Bilazerka and hung out before I caught the bus home. I stopped at a store on the way and found the perfect guitar for $120. I am spending this morning debating whether I should buy it today or not. After spending time talking to Mike and Ben who have been here for 2 years and are getting ready to head home, I was newly inspired from their stories. Last year they backpacked through Europe for super cheap and now that I'm reading The DaVinci Code, I really want to get to Paris. My struggle now is to spend money on this guitar or keep saving for travel. I guess there could be worse problems to have. When I got home I called my parents, my brother, Shawna and some volunteers in the area. I miss ALL of you!!!
Farewell from a great 3-day weekend!

Kherson Website

I've been getting requests from people who want to know more about my city of Kherson and see some pictures. I posted some back in May when I visted here. Also, here is a link to the city website which also contains pictures and information about my "hood":

http://www.kherson.com/

Happy 4th of July!!!

Today I have been up for only 2 hours so far and already I'm mad homesick due to the holiday. I love the 4th of July and all it has to offer. I had a great holiday last year with Jessica in Chicago and today find myself missing her company. Chicago is ultimately the place to be on this day. Taste of Chicago, Schaumburg Fest and other township festivals, Milwaukee Summer Fest, amazing fireworks shows, BBQ's, bean bags...AHHHHHHHHHH!!!
What am I doing today?? Working. Ukraine's Independence Day is August 24th and I'm sure I'll have the whole week off, but things such as camping and BBQ's don't exist here. I think at that time I will visit Geoffrey in Crimea and parasail over the Black Sea or visit Hung-Chee out West and take a few days into Poland with him. At any rate, I'm thinking of you, my American friends and family, on this beautiful day!
I haven't been doing too much. My new ATM card does not work and that is the only way I can get my money from Peace Corps. I need to go to the bank on lunch and try to talk to someone with my lame-ass Russian skills. My favorite is how they all look at me like I have gerbils crawling out of my mouth when I talk. I have also been looking around for guitars. I may have to break down and make the big purchase this week. Other than that, just been reading, watched "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and remembered how much I love that film and also watched "From Dusk Til Dawn" and "The 40 Year-Old Virgin", a film I hated when I first saw it but for one reason or another I keep rewatching it and it gets funnier every time. I've also been hanging out with Tanya's daughter Ana from Israel and this girl called Olga who works here at the library a lot this week.
That's it.
Happy 4th of July, y'all!

The Longest Weekend of My Life

I can't believe it's July already. Today is my first official pay day!!!
Okay so Peace Corps often warned us how bored we would become once we got to our permanent sites and I was able to witness this first hand this last weekend. I had 4 days off of work due to the holiday and since I don't know too many people here and my host mom and counterpart don't like to go out, it made for a long and boring weekend. Luckily I had enough mind-numbing things to do around the house.
First off...Thursday. By far the weirdest thing that has happened to me since my arrival in this country. Remember I thought I was going to be on the Tonight Show? Well, it was quite different than I thought. I met the host around 2pm and we headed to the station. I said, "So I suppose I will talk about the Peace Corps and why I'm here for about 10 minutes and head home". He respnded, "Actually, the show is 3 hours and you will be on for 2 of them. It's a live call-in talk show that airs in 7 regions of Ukraine." I get there and there are 2 hosts. One to ask me Russian questions and the other to translate for me. The show is Ukrainian MTV so it is a laid back atmosphere where we talk live on tv and then watch some music videos and this goes on for 3 hours. So wew start and right away they start pounding me with questions. "What would you change about your consititution?", "What is different about the youth in our country?", "What is the Peace Corps?" "How old are you and why aren't I married?" and my favorite..."If you are a business development volunteer, then why are you working in a childrens' library?" I responed, "Dude, that is the question that lingers in my head all day long with no answer in sight." As for phone calls, one viewer asked me to tell an American joke and another asked me if I was a spy like 007? This led to several questions about James Bond and his films. They made me introduce some wacked-out music videos in English and Russian "This is So and So with their song So and So comin' atcha!". All in all it was a fun time and my few hours of celebrity fame. Afterwards they invited me to Kiev for a festival, but I couldn't go due to PC rules within the first month. Instead they invited me to the premier nite club in Kherson with VIP tickets for later in the week. The club is simply called Chocolat.
Friday I didn't leave the house.
Saturday I met up with Leah, Peter and Marcia (volunteers from my group in Kherson) we walked around, ate lunch and drank beers. Afterwards we met this guy called Patrick who is from Florida and has been living here for several years. This guy was a trip. I still don't quite know why he is living here. He had a coupon business in Florida and sold it. His friend has a mail order bride business here that he helps with. Whatever the case is, this guy is my new idol. He flew his Mercedes here complete with Florida plates. He completely gutted out the entire soviet block trashy apartment and made the most amazing bachelor pad imaginable with a home theater that would knock your socks off. He also had a fresh stock of American food complete with popcorn, Golden Grahams, A1 steak sauce, Tobasco, etc. I hope this guy throws a party at some point in the near future. His flat is right in the center of town too.
Sunday we didn't do anything exciting.
So in all the hours of boringness this weekend, I read half of the DaVinci Code (which although I'm 2 years behind the times, I am really enjoying how brilliant the book is and want someone to mail me his other books :), I played a PC game called The Movies which may be the most addicting game ever made, I studied my butt off learning new Russian vocab words and I even started reading the bible on a daily basis....yes, it's come to that. While out here I plan to do many things I didnt have the time for back home. One of which is to actually read the good book so I can be more educated about my place in this multi-religious world. I am also getting notes together to start my next screenplay. So I guess free time isn't all that bad. There is a lot I have sitting on the back burner.
As my life grows less exciting, my posts will be few and far between. If you really get an itch to hear what I'm doing, shoot me an email otherwise I'll be back when I have something worthwhile to say.

Pauly's Big Rebuttal

I feel as though I need to clear some air here after I caught wind that some people think my life here is nothing but one big party. I could see how one might draw that conclusion based on the pictures I post, but let's be honest, do you really want to see pictures of me studying or sitting on the toilet for hours on end? I didn't think so. Let me paint a picture of why life here is far from a party...
1. Everything and everything I love is on the other side of the planet. Most people are unable to call me here for one reason or another and I can make a phone call to my loved ones, but it usually cuts off after 5 minutes and it costs half of my salary to do so.
2. Everywhere I go, nobody understands me and I only understand about 1/3 of what is said to me. This makes doing the simplest tasks nearly impossible.
3. I never eat and whe I do it usually makes my stomach turn for about a week and I end up puking or doing the toilet thing. This is caused by the low grade stuff they call meat and very unpleasant foods I have to pretent I enjoy eating.
4. There is a constant smell of sewage everywhere I go. That lingers in my nose all day while the sound of a woman getting raped lingers in my ears.
5. I spend 5 hours everyday being force-fed Russian and then go home and study every night for a couple hours. Now that school is out I am working for an organization that does not even remotely resemble an organization I signed up for and was trained on.
6. Yes, the girls here are beautiful, but when they talk to you they are are usually all single moms looking for a ticket to America and 80% are crawling with HIV so it takes the fun out of flirtation.
7. The water here is brown and there is no water after 10pm. Some days there is no hot water at all. Washing machines are a luxuary item as well and are pretty much nonexistant.
8. I am constantly getting stared at and I feel like a celebrity sometimes which is really annoying and makes me feel unsafe 24/7.
9. I made some great friends here, but they are all gone now for 2 years. Now my only contact is my host mom who makes me feel guilty if I am not studying Russian all night.
10. I take a 45 minute bus ride at least twice every day stuffed (and I mean STUFFED) with sweaty, stinky people who are buzzing words I can't make out.
* : I hear nothing but bad pop music all day and have zero culture at hand. The cities here make the Cabrini Green projects of Chicago look like paradise.
**: I walk about 6 miles a day to get around and have only been in a car MAYBE 3 times since I have arrived. Those times we ended up driving on sidewalks and on the wrong side of the road.
***: Air conditioning does not exist out here and I live in the hottest, most humid city in the country. I walk around all day soaked in sweat and am lucky if I can sleep for more than 3 full hours.

So being told my life is one big party is immensely hurtful, demeaning and ultimately ridiculous. Excuse me if I want to have some beers with my friends one night a week to escape from the madness I am sinking deeper into on a daily basis. I am trying to make the best of what is around.

So now that that has been said, tomorrow is, once again, another holiday...Ukrainian constitution day and I have a 4 day weekend. I am tolda that I need to go to my director's dasha, or summer house. To clarify, summer houses here have no bathrooms or running water.
Laswt night Tanya's daughter, niece, sister and friends all came over for a big dinner. It was fun, but very smoky and tiring. I think they felt sorry for me because I wanted to jump into the conversation, but didn't know how.
Yesterday afternoon was a trip. I was working in the library when these 2 people come in and ask if I am Paul. They then introduce themselves to me. Apparently they are th stars of some Ukrainian live talk show and I am to be the special guest on tomorrow's show. They took me on a tour of the studio and I am being picked up tomorrow at 2:30pm to be on the Ukraianian version of "The Tonight Show". I wish they had VCRs here. More good news is that one of the stars speaks almost perfect English because he lived in Texas for a year. I hired him to be my translator out here and I also hired a tutor who is a local English teacher.
Last night I had a crazy dream that I won't get into , but it is freaking me out and is haunting me all day....AHHH! Let's just say it was about someone I care about deeply about, it was very realistic and had a David Gray soundtrack...honest to God.
I am hooked on 2 songs lately. The first is Audioslave "Wide Awake" which is just an amazing, powerful rock anthem that makes up for the fact that Audioslave has put out 3 crappy albums and are now broken up. The second is Dinosaur Jr. "Almost Ready" which is bringing back the grunge sound and is damn catchy. Download both of these if you get the chance. I also hear the Beastie Boys, Wilco, Arcade Fire, Interpol and Velvet Revolver all have new albums out. I picked a helluva time to leave the country.
Everything else is a blur. I am just adjusting to having my training wheel ripped off and starting all over again with knowing only 2 people who don't even like to leave their house. I also have learned that Kherson is the second worst city in the country in a number of categories including least developed. This is going to be a long 2 years.

Every P.O. box in Kheson is taken so I have to use my library's address for my mailing address. If you would like it so you can send me fan mail or love packages, shoot me an email. I can't post it on my blog or Pauly get spanking.

Happy Constitution Day! ;)

Moment of Reflection

Today I realized Ukraine is like America in the 50's, but with cell phones. Tanya won't let me iron or wash dishes because she claims it is womens' work. She even folded my underwear yesterday while I was at work. Things are out of control. She made some awesome mushroom soup last night though.
I am freaking out about working at this library. I am suddenly on a career path I never intended to be on. At any rate I am going to give it my best shot.
So I read that Chris Benoit killed his wife and 7 year-old son and then killed himself earlier this week. I tell ya, I don't miss American news one bit. We live in a depressing society according to the media and it annoys me.
That's all for today.

Pictures

The day Zach and I discovered Batman (or Nichtman) ice cream bars.

Brian and me before our seminar.

Rocking out for my cluster on our last day of class.

Best picture of 2007.

Pole-dancing with my host mom.

The first stop on the Great Chernihiv Beer Tent Crawl.

The second stop on the tent crawl

On the bus after saying goodbye to our Chernihiv host families. in front of me is Jonathan's host mom Tanya who gets the award for greatest host mom of 2007!

Some dodgeball pictures. That's me on the sidelines after getting pegged.

Me in action. That ball is heading directly you know where.

Jonathan and I after a little nightswimming. I believe this is the moment our really annoying song we made up was born. This Simon and Garfunkel tune was sang non-stop until we were on the bus to our sites and I will never listen to "Sound of Silence" the same again.

Party in Prolisok room.

Jason, Jonathan and me. These are pictures from the post swearing-in party...sorry they are reversed on here.

Brian, Geoffrey and me. I swear I'm not as drunk as I look here, but it does make for a dman funny photo.

Dance Party Ukraine.

Andrey, my tech teacher and translator, giving me a ride.

My Russian teacher Olga getting down. her contract was up and she was finally legally able to drink again with us.

Our first toast as Peace Corps volunteers. That's my scrawy arm in front holding the cup of champagne.

Our country director giving a speech at the swearing-in ceremony.

A really bad picture of the U.S. ambassador and his translator.

My Chernihiv host parents and my counterpart.

The last known picture of my cluster. I love this pic and I will miss them and the good times we shared.

Doin a little dance on stage for Ukraine Group 32.

A serious one.

My cluster minus Megan and Suzi.

clockwise from left: Greg, Sarah, Hung-Chee, Me, Stephen and Jason

The Ukrainian orchestra that played during the ceremony.

My counterpart Marina and Me.

Time to Catch Up

Where to begin?
Our beer tent crawl in Chernihiv last week was fun, but uneventful. We made it to 2 of them, but the rest were too crowded to find seats for all of us. It was nice to say goodbye to our beloved tents of ale and spend one last night together any way we could...which meant sitting in the park drinking beer and eating chips.
Saturday I spent the day packing and getting ready. I also experienced my first Ukrainian haircut which was quite an experience to say the least. Let's just say things are very different in hair salons here than they are in the states. It turned out good though so I'm happy. We had one last meal as a family that night and called it a day. There has been awkward tension in this family for a couple weeks now.
Sunday morning I got my stuff together and we called a taxi and my host family went with me to the meeting point which was a post office. We all unloaded there and waited for the bus. The bus came and we got on and said goodbye to our families. All in all it was very sad to see not only my family waving goodbye, but all of the other families and volunteers crying. We finally hit the road and got to Prolisok around noon. The afternoon was spent attending seminars on finding apartments and wrapping up loose ends of training. We also had to take tests on safety, medical and general PC policies and procedures. That night after dinner we went for a swim in the river (no, I didn't learn my lesson) and then it was born....DODGEBALL UKRAINE!!! Jonathan and I had the idea to get 2 teams together for a game of dodgeball with soccer balls. We thought it was a joke of an idea, but half of Prolisok joined in when all was said and done. I had the greatest time playing this amazing sport. I just wish we thought of it the other times we were in Prolisok. After dodgeball, the plan was to watch "Pirates of the Carribean 3" or "Shrek 3" (this time in English), but we opted to have drinks and spend time as a group. I made the right decision.
Monday was more seminars. All 75 people presented their projects to each other and our project was voted second place and we had to present it to the entire group. Truth be told, I think the contset was rigged because for one reason or another people like to watch me talk in front of large groups of people. At any rate, I am proud to be in the top 3! Our project rocked!!
Monday night we had our talent show where we debuted our Chernihiv slideshow to an emotional group and we also watched volunteers sing and dance amongst other things.
Tuesday our counterparts arrived and we attneded sessions on what we need to do when we get to our sites. We ate dinner and played more dodgeball. I went to bed early out of exhaustion.
Wednesday was the big day. After breakfast we got on the bus and headed to Kiev. To my surprise, my host family showed up and I got a little teary-eyed when I saw them. Sometimes I wanna take back all the bad things I have said about them. The ceremony was nice. The media was there (in fact when I arrived in Kherson, my host mom said she saw us on TV). We listened to speeches frmo PC staff, Ukrainian big whigs, 3 volunteers and the U.S. ambassador. We then stood up got sworn in by the ambassador and then we watched a slide show and they announced us and where were we from as we stood up again. It was all over within an hour or so.
Wednesday night we had a huge Ukrainian BBQ and my counterpart (Marina) and I chowed down. Marina went to bed and the volunteers (not trainees) had a huge blow-out in the round hall complete with champage, dancing and "other things". It was a great last night together!
Tueday was a long emotional day. We picked up our money and signed the oath. I didn't leave until 5:30 so I had to watch several groups head out every hour on the hour about 5 people headed out to their sites. There were a lot of tears and hugs as we won't see each other for 2 years...some maybe sooner. We finally headed out at 5:30 to the train station and our train left at 10pm. Marina and I shared a room with all 5 of my suitcases (I have since added 2. One is full of PC books and the other is a space heater, fire extinguisher and smoke alarm they gave all of us.) After a somewhat awkward trainride, we got into Kherson about 10:30am the next day. The driver, Sasha, drove us to the library where we debriefed. My host mom (Tanya) met us and we went to my new home of 1 month. I was greeted by her larger than life dog and she cooked up a mean meal for me. I forgot how good of a cook she was. I then spent the weekend unpacking, relaxing and watching "Twin Peaks". After 2 more episodes, I will be done and can start reading the DaVinci Code finally. I didn't leave the apartment except for an occasional walk of the beast. I made some phone calls to family and friends and spent way too much money doing so.
Today is my first official day at the library. I was taught how to check out books and you should have seen my expression while learning such a task. Tonight Tanya's daughter comes in from Israel so I will get to meet her. I also plan on opening up my PO box at the post office so you guys can send more packages my way!!! :)

I'm sure I left out a bunch, but it's been a long, crazy week.

Quick Notes

I just totally bombed my LPI. You know what I say to that? "Screw It!". What are they gonna do, fire me? The truth is that I froz up in the middle and couldn't remember half the words I wanted to use. In my opinion, it's not a very fair assessment because I can easily carry on a 20 minute Russian conversation, but not under these very awkward circumstances. The second half of the test was "pretend your parents are coming to town and you need to reserve a hotel room and other things...go" lame. On a bright note....TRAINING IS OVER!!!! Tonight the rivers flow with vodka.
I stopped in to check emails. I am on my way to eat Micky D's one last time and buy another suitcase. We are then going to watch "Lost" and right now I feel like a kid at Christmas.

In case I don't get on before I head out....

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO THE GREATEST FATHER IN THE WORLD!
(thanks, Shawna, for reminding me)

The Week In Pictures

One more picture of me doing my portion of the presentation last week.

3/4 of the picnic on Sunday with our host families.

Andrey, Marina and Me.

Marina wanted a picture with all the American men. This is the end result...minus the strange Ukrainian who snuck in on the left side. Who is that guy??

Me, my host family and my Russian teacher Olga.