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!