I can't believe training is over. Today was the last technical session; it was an afternoon on web design which I really needed. Tomorrow is the last day of language training. We have spent the week reviewing and spent all day today going over verbs and how to conjugate them. Russian is a near-impossible language to master. Having taken many years of Spanish, there is no comparison; Spanish seems so simple nowadays. Tomorrow we are doing more reviewing and Thursday is the big final verbal test on the language (LPI). After that, it's to the beach for a beach party blow-out. Friday we will meet to exchange pictures and clean our teacher's apartment since she leaves when we leave. The plan for Friday is to watch the final 2 episodes of "Lost" and then go beer tent-hopping for our last night in Chernihiv. Saturday is hangover day and packing day...I have no idea how I am going to repack all my junk into those 2 suitcases again. We all leave early Sunday morning for "Prolisuck". We will spend 4 days there and then I will take the train to Kherson with my counterpart Marina.
Saturday was not a very good day to say the least. It's funny because I have been so on edge as to whether to continue on with this library deal or head back home. I asked the powers that be to send me signs as to what I should do and since then look what has happened: I suffer through listening to a girl getting raped which still rings in my ears constantly, I talk to Shawna and after hanging up realize how much I miss Montana and the grand finale...Saturday. I went to the market Saturday morning and when I came back home I stuck my key in the front door and broke the lock because there was a key in the other side. Apparently, Marina told me to always ring the bell first and up until the final week of 3 months here, I have never done this. I don't remember her telling me this, but apparently it was like week one when I understood maybe 3 words of Russian. At any rate, she is pissed off at me now. I thought about offering to pay, but then remembered how they never feed me and she always takes my stuff and eats my food. I learned the other day the they are redecorating the entire apartment when I leave. That answers the question as to where all that Peace Corps money has been going. They always complain that they are broke. Nikita eats candy for dinner half the time and she goes to the disco every night. Andrey just got back from Crimea (where he broke his arm playing soccer), and it turns out they will be the only host family not going to Kiev for my swearing-in ceremony. Come on, it costs only 30 Ukrainian dollars for 2 of them. It is a huge day for me and some volunteers' parents are even flying in for it. At this point I am almost glad they won't be there. So there's that...my host family is back to being upset at me.
Next, Saturday afternoon we go to the beach. We were having a blast. They had a huge waterslide set up and the weather was perfect. At the time, it seemed like a good idea when Jonathan, Jason and James wanted to swim across the huge river. What the hell? I am a string swimmer and I was dying of heat so off we went. With minimal struggle we made it there. The current was super strong in the middle, but we made it. I think we were exhausted by the time we got to the other end which was an island. We got out and started walking upstream so we wouldn't have to fight as much current when I stepped on a brick of glass slicing my foot wide open. My foot is covered in blood, I'm thinking I need stitches and the only thing I could do was swim back across. Keep in mind that this water is NASTY. Picture a sewage tunnel and blow it up. In fact, we aren't even allowed to eat river fish...but yet, we thought it was a good idea to swim in it. Chalk that up to the top 1 dumbest things I've ever done. So I jump in the water and pain shoots up my entire leg. The current seems 50 times stronger and I'm losing so much blood I am pale and light-headed. I make it about half way and feel like I'm going to faint. I turn over on my back and start to back stroke not realizing that I'm going so slow that the current is taking me to never never land. I barely make out the sound of Jason screaming my name from shore so I flip over and realize that I am really drifting away from everyone...and fast. I suck it up and get a rush of adreneline and turn into the high school swimmer superstar I once was and freestyle quickly back to shore. I plop down on my towel and wrap my sock around the wound turning it a crimson red. Sarah shows up with some bandaids and I patch it up and once the bleeding came close to a stop, I lay down and relax not realizing how sunburned I would end up. Now I am itching like crazy because I am about to peel everywhere. As for the foot, I cleaned it out and wrapped it. I called my doctor and he saud as long as I can still walk and there is no discharge or discolorization I should be okay. I am back to limping like George Jefferson and if I put any pressure on my big toe, it starts bleeding again. In reality, I really should have probably gotten stitches. I have only had stithces once in my life a few years ago in my thumb after a galss vase shattered in my hand and they freak me out. I guess I'm a sissy when it comes to sewing flesh together.
So you be the judge. Everyday ther is at least one thing telling me to get the hell outta Ukraine and still I push on. I can't wait to see what tonight and tomorrow will have in store for me; a guy can only handle so much of this crap, ya know?
Sunday we had the thank you picnic with the host families. We went to the forest and set up a huge area with tons of amazing food. As soon as we set up the grub, it started thundering and raining. Andrey came back Sunday morning and learned that Marina had called in sick all week. What he doesn't know is that she was not sick, just too busy disco-hopping. He was concerned about her "health" when it started raining and they took off right away. Typical.
In my free time, I have been reading that wrestling book that JJ sent me and should finish it tonight. I watched "Austin Powers" and "Men In Black II" (the latter was against my will, for the record) and I've been studying for the LPI. Yesterday Megan and I put together a 10 minute slide show of awesome pictures of our training group in Chernihiv and we will show it at the end of the talent show in Prolisok. We put it to music and it is turning out pretty sweet. We set it to Interpol's "Next Exit", The Kingsmen "Louie Louie", Todd Rungren's "Bang On the Drum All Day" and All-American Reject's "The Last Song" which is a great song and really hit the final spot on it. I'm sure all 35 people will love the final product when it is revealed next week.
Today I got a package from my parents. It is a miracle that I received everything in there. A reminder to not write "CD's" or "DVD's" on the shipping label as they are not allowed to be mailed into country. Luckily, I received about 6 DVD's from them which include "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", "Three Amigos", "Pleasantville", "House Party", "Mystic River" and one other which I can't remember. I also got some more issues of Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly. Thanks, Mom and Dad!!! For those plannign on sending some packages, please help me out if you can. My library wants to build up their DVD collection. They need any DVD movies that are rated PG or PG-13. Go to pawn shops, garage sales or wherever you can and throw some in there, but please include the cases with them. Again, I am unable to have anything donated out of country and this may be my only option. You will be doing a good deed and might be able to deduct it from your taxes. Also remember that I need movies and some good books as well...and some good ranch dressing which does not exist here :)
I should have a permanent address within 2 weeks and will let everyone know when that time comes. Thanks for your continued emails, letters, and packages. You guys have no idea how much they all mean to me!
I'm not sure if I will be able to post until I get to Kherson so wish me luck and I'll be back.
Happy Birthday, Ryan!!!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Thursday, June 7, 2007
The Week In Pictures
The soccer game last weekend.
Richard, my roommate in Philadelphia, and me after the soccer game.
Me and Marina, my host mommy.
Me and the 2 of the 3 Olgas in my life right now.
2 pictures from Megan's picnic. 
The festival we never made it to. Tuborg is a huge beer out here.
The moment of truth...before our presentation. This was a great group to work with!
This was our audience. I think there was 1 male there.
Doing a mock interview with Greg.
The after-presentation party!
We are frickin' cool. Lovin' the pictures of Castro all over the walls.A Messed-Up Situation and Weekly Update
What is the foremost thing on my mind these days? Funny you should ask. Pretend Satan has taken over your body and you're close. Up until this week I thought Ukraine, or at least Chernihiv, was a safe place and all the crap Peace Corps told us about safety was a waste of time. Here's the thing. Tuesday night about 2:45am, I was woke up to the sound of a girl screaming. Not just screaming, but the last 20 minutes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre screaming. I shot out of bed and looked out my window. I saw nothing and my mind was still half asleep. This went on for about 10 minutes. Should I go out there in the pitch black with no flashlight and try to console a girl in Russian? Is she just really drunk? About every other night there is screaming out there, but nothing like this. My fiorst thought was that maybe a love one died and she was just freaking out. Suddenly I heard a lady's voice in Russian asking her "what is happening?". Things quieted down and I went back to bed. It wasn't until Wednesday night that my heart sunk and I felt like a complete helpless coward. Marina, who did not hear a thing that night, was told from a babooska in the building that this girl was brutally raped right under my window. Apparently she is okay now, but I have spent the last 2 days feeling like complete s**t. I could have done more than just sit there. This is just an indescribable feeling and it sucks. Now I am haunted by this girl's screaming in my head about every 20 minutes.
So after that pleasant story, onto brighter things...
Sunday we never made it to the concert. Apparently it cost more money than we planned, it was raining and cold and it started at 5pm which means we would have no way home. The trip to Kiev was a total waste of time and money.
Monday and Tuesday were spent in a stressful panic as the 5 of us scrambled to get everything together for our presentation. Between meetings, buying material, doing run-throughs and everything else, I think we were all exhausted come the big day. How did it go? I think really well..better than I expected. We all made a smooth transition, had no technical difficulties with the exception of the copier breaking at the last minute, and the feedback from PC was constrructive yet they had good things to say. We had an audience of about 35 people. It is all over now and afterwards we all celebrated with beers at a new bar in town that had a Cuban theme. A huge weight is off our shoulders at this point and the only thing left to stress about is our final Language Proficiency Interview next Wednesday. This is where they evaluate us and our language skills through a 20 minute conversation in Russian.
Tuesday we had an HIV/AIDS class in the afternoon where we met 2 Ukrainians infected with HIV. It was a depressing afternoon to say the least. I can't believe this disease and how crazy it is in this country.
Today's tech session was on teaching English and conducting English clubs which I found very valuable since my library wants me to teach English 4 times every Sunday. I got a lot of good advice. We also learned about proper ways to work with interpreters.
My home life still sucks now and, if it's possible, even got worse. Since Andrey has been out of town, Marina is going wild with parties every day. She called in sick the rest of the week and expects me to lie to Andrey's parents tonight so they will babysit Nikita while she goes to the disco with her friends. Man, I can't wait to evaluate this host family next week. Andrey, meanwhile, broke his arm playing soccer in Crimea. He comes back Sunday just in time for the end of training host family picnic.
That's about it for now. I'd like to thank everyone for sending another round of packages, but starting today, please hold off until I get my own apartment in about 4-5 weeks.
Has Big Brother started in the states? If it has, someone tape all epsiodes for me. They have a rip-off show here called Dome 2, but it is super lame. Big Brother rocks and it wouldn't be summer without it!
So after that pleasant story, onto brighter things...
Sunday we never made it to the concert. Apparently it cost more money than we planned, it was raining and cold and it started at 5pm which means we would have no way home. The trip to Kiev was a total waste of time and money.
Monday and Tuesday were spent in a stressful panic as the 5 of us scrambled to get everything together for our presentation. Between meetings, buying material, doing run-throughs and everything else, I think we were all exhausted come the big day. How did it go? I think really well..better than I expected. We all made a smooth transition, had no technical difficulties with the exception of the copier breaking at the last minute, and the feedback from PC was constrructive yet they had good things to say. We had an audience of about 35 people. It is all over now and afterwards we all celebrated with beers at a new bar in town that had a Cuban theme. A huge weight is off our shoulders at this point and the only thing left to stress about is our final Language Proficiency Interview next Wednesday. This is where they evaluate us and our language skills through a 20 minute conversation in Russian.
Tuesday we had an HIV/AIDS class in the afternoon where we met 2 Ukrainians infected with HIV. It was a depressing afternoon to say the least. I can't believe this disease and how crazy it is in this country.
Today's tech session was on teaching English and conducting English clubs which I found very valuable since my library wants me to teach English 4 times every Sunday. I got a lot of good advice. We also learned about proper ways to work with interpreters.
My home life still sucks now and, if it's possible, even got worse. Since Andrey has been out of town, Marina is going wild with parties every day. She called in sick the rest of the week and expects me to lie to Andrey's parents tonight so they will babysit Nikita while she goes to the disco with her friends. Man, I can't wait to evaluate this host family next week. Andrey, meanwhile, broke his arm playing soccer in Crimea. He comes back Sunday just in time for the end of training host family picnic.
That's about it for now. I'd like to thank everyone for sending another round of packages, but starting today, please hold off until I get my own apartment in about 4-5 weeks.
Has Big Brother started in the states? If it has, someone tape all epsiodes for me. They have a rip-off show here called Dome 2, but it is super lame. Big Brother rocks and it wouldn't be summer without it!
Sunday, June 3, 2007
The Weekend
It's been a busy few days. Friday our language class played Russian Taboo. We had to choose Russian words and then choose 3 other Russian words that you can't use to describe it. Your team then has 1 minute to guess the word; it was fun and a great exercise. We also had a debriefing with our training manager and had to watch an hour long movie on AIDS. Ukraine is the fastest-spreading country in the world of AIDS...a fun fact I thought I would share with you. The film was narrated by will Smith. One had not lived until they listen to the Fresh Prince preach about HIV. After class, I went home and dropped my stuff off, threw on my Ukrainian soccer jersey and we headed to the stadium. We got our tickets, went to the beer tent for some pre-party cold ones and then went in. The game was fun although we sat in a section run by neo nazi skinheads. They were fighting with the militia, doing the Hitler salute and were pretty damn crazy. After the game (which ended in a flippin' tie), we went to the beer tent and hung out until about 10pm. I walked home and my host dad and I ran to the market for more alcohol. He left for Crimea for 10 days Saturday morning and he wanted to drink vodka wiht me before he left. We drank and watched Pirates of the Carribean 3 with really bad English subtitles and I finally got to bed around 3am. Saturday my head was hurting as I now realize just how much I don't really care for vodka straight up. Give me a foo foo screwdriver or white russian. I slept in and then blew off Olga who I was supposed to go to the beach with. Instead I went to the bazaar and bought a new shirt. I then met people and we went to Megan's house for a picnic in her family's amazing backyard. Jonathan discovered a guitar store that just opened up and he bought one for $100. I think tomorrow I may break down and buy one as well. It will suck to take it with all my other luggage, but it will suck more to not be able to play for 2 years. Anyway, Brian had his guitar too and there was a little jam session as we chowed down some Ukrainian BBQ which included pork kabobs and stuffed tomatoes with cheese and garlic (possibly the best food I've eaten here). I got home around 9pm and walked in on a party. Marina decided to invite all her girlfriends over since Andrey was gone and by the time I got there they were all drunk and obnoxious. They finally all left for the disco around 10:30 and I fell asleep watching Conan O'Brien.
I woke up today at 5:15am and am now in Kiev at headquarters. We just got back from McDonalds where we ran into 2 girls from Atlanta. Why is it we always see Americans at McDonalds...are we really that shallow? I am catching up on some emails, talking to other volunteers who are in town and we are about to head out to this music festival. Placebo is headlining today. Side note: the Stones are playing here in July!!!
I have a lot of studying to do when I get home and our project is Wednesday. Next time I am at the internet cafe, I will post pictures from the weekend.
I woke up today at 5:15am and am now in Kiev at headquarters. We just got back from McDonalds where we ran into 2 girls from Atlanta. Why is it we always see Americans at McDonalds...are we really that shallow? I am catching up on some emails, talking to other volunteers who are in town and we are about to head out to this music festival. Placebo is headlining today. Side note: the Stones are playing here in July!!!
I have a lot of studying to do when I get home and our project is Wednesday. Next time I am at the internet cafe, I will post pictures from the weekend.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Random Thoughts and Ramblings
I have a new-found love and its name is "Twin Peaks". Either this show is that good or I am just desparate for some boob tube. Sure this show was back in the early 90's, but come on, it's David Lynch...the man...the genious. My language teacher had the only 2 seasons on her computer and I copied them over to mine and now I'm hooked. I think my host family is worried about me because I won't play cards with them or watch corny Russian music videos with them anymore; instead I just watch this show on my laptop locked away in my room. I also watched "Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny" and "Napoleon Dynamite" this week...both are hilarious in my own diluted world. My host mom asked if I was suffereing from depression yesterday. It's funny because the Peace Corps tells them that we will go through days of depression and that is always the first thing they think of. The truth is, I just need time alone from screaming kids and people eating the food I buy. They are great people, but I am soooo ready to move out in a couple of weeks and am counting the minutes.
Due to some inspiring events, I am plaaning on starting my next screenplay in the very near future. I wanted to do a lot of writing out here in my spare time and now that training is winding up, I am starting my treatment. Ideally, I'd also like to tackle the novel after that is done. I also got some leads on some very interesting jobs for returned Peace Corps volunteers. Things are looking up and I am starting to look at things (i.e. my future) in a very different light.
We tentatively set a date for the Egypt trip. I am trying to arrange it around my birthday in October so I can ring in the big double 3's on top of a pyramid in the middle of African nowhere.
We are still planning a fun weekend coming up in a couple days. This Friday we are going to a huge soccer game at the stadium and Sunday we are going to that music festival in Kyiv. I'm sure there will be pictures coming.
We are learning the topic of shopping right now in language class which includes things in department stores and hundreds of clothing items and how to talk to sales clerks. Seeing how I have dropped 3 sizes and my pants sag down on my knees like Lil Bow Wow, this topic may come in handy faster than expected. I can now get some tight European pants and start living the dream officially now. Tomorrow we have the second session of Ukrainian entrepreneurship and economy class. Our project is also rolling along. I finished my portion of the manual and passed it to Greg to get translated. Brian and I handed out invitations today and now we just need to practice our portions. The big day is one week from today....crazy!
I've gotten a ton of support and advice from all of my friends and family and through it all, I keep referring to that one scrawny guy whose name I will never remember's advice: "The Peace Corps...it's not for everyone, just the sexy people" ;)
Thanks for being so good to me, Shawna!
and
Happy 47th Anniversary Mom & Dad!!! The big 5-0 is just around the corner!
Due to some inspiring events, I am plaaning on starting my next screenplay in the very near future. I wanted to do a lot of writing out here in my spare time and now that training is winding up, I am starting my treatment. Ideally, I'd also like to tackle the novel after that is done. I also got some leads on some very interesting jobs for returned Peace Corps volunteers. Things are looking up and I am starting to look at things (i.e. my future) in a very different light.
We tentatively set a date for the Egypt trip. I am trying to arrange it around my birthday in October so I can ring in the big double 3's on top of a pyramid in the middle of African nowhere.
We are still planning a fun weekend coming up in a couple days. This Friday we are going to a huge soccer game at the stadium and Sunday we are going to that music festival in Kyiv. I'm sure there will be pictures coming.
We are learning the topic of shopping right now in language class which includes things in department stores and hundreds of clothing items and how to talk to sales clerks. Seeing how I have dropped 3 sizes and my pants sag down on my knees like Lil Bow Wow, this topic may come in handy faster than expected. I can now get some tight European pants and start living the dream officially now. Tomorrow we have the second session of Ukrainian entrepreneurship and economy class. Our project is also rolling along. I finished my portion of the manual and passed it to Greg to get translated. Brian and I handed out invitations today and now we just need to practice our portions. The big day is one week from today....crazy!
I've gotten a ton of support and advice from all of my friends and family and through it all, I keep referring to that one scrawny guy whose name I will never remember's advice: "The Peace Corps...it's not for everyone, just the sexy people" ;)
Thanks for being so good to me, Shawna!
and
Happy 47th Anniversary Mom & Dad!!! The big 5-0 is just around the corner!
Monday, May 28, 2007
2 Months Down...25 To Go
2 months here seems like it has been 6 months at least. When we look back to staging and Philadelphia it seems like years ago now. I think because we are being brainwashed with so much stuff and have experienced so much in just 2 months. It's actually quite amazing.
I forgot to mention that I received more shots in my left shoulder last week for Hepatitus and influenza. I think the total is up to 47 needles to this point. I also forgot to mention that on Friday we had emotional health day. It was 4 hours of first aid and stress-coping mechanisms. The one good thing that came out of it was I won some mouthwash playing health jeopardy.
Saturday night I watched the top 100 best songs of the 80's on VH-1 and educated Marina about classic songs from the 80's. I'm not sure I agree that Bon Jovi "Livin on a Prayer" should be #1 though I was happy to see Duran Duran in the top 5. That was a blast even though I pissed little Nikita off because I prevented him from watching his cartoons. I watch maybe a total of 1 hor of television a month here and this was my time dammit!
Yesterday rocked! I went to Jonathan's apartment with James and out tech teacher Andrey and we watched over 5 hours of "Lost". I can't believe how much better the season got since I left. I didn't even miss it until now. I only need to watch the final 2 episodes of the season now. The only problem is, we don't know if Jonathan will receive another shipment before we leave Chernihiv. I HAVE TO SEE THE FINALE!!! I will go on record once again by saying that this is the best show to have ever graced a television set..."Six Feet Under" is not far behind.
I have also been reading Mick Foley's new book that J.J. sent me. It's actually quite an interesting read going behind the scenes of professional wrestling (Yeah, I'm a nerd like that). It's also been really great reading those magazines everyone has mailed out. I also talked to my brother and his family last night which was great.
Here's a funny story. I was walking back from Jonathan's place last night and a huge storm came from nowhere. I took cover under this huge tree because I had my laptop with me and no umbrella. As I'm standing there I notice 2 younger guys speaking English next to me. I ask them where they were from and they freaked out at the sound of an English voice. It turns out they were Mormon missionaries traveling Ukraine and one of them was from Billings, MT. You don't see that every day here. They were nice guys and didn't try to push the church on me so I applaud them.
We just finished language class and I am about to head home to finish up the manual I have been working on. My host family is home today as is the rest of the country because low and behold yesterday was another holiday here....the holy trinity. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, everyone gets Monday off work. That sucks for us because our project group had planned on visiting some organizations and hand-delivering invitations to our event.
That's all I got.
Hi Cassandra!!!
Happy Birthday, Mar!!! (if you ever read this)
I forgot to mention that I received more shots in my left shoulder last week for Hepatitus and influenza. I think the total is up to 47 needles to this point. I also forgot to mention that on Friday we had emotional health day. It was 4 hours of first aid and stress-coping mechanisms. The one good thing that came out of it was I won some mouthwash playing health jeopardy.
Saturday night I watched the top 100 best songs of the 80's on VH-1 and educated Marina about classic songs from the 80's. I'm not sure I agree that Bon Jovi "Livin on a Prayer" should be #1 though I was happy to see Duran Duran in the top 5. That was a blast even though I pissed little Nikita off because I prevented him from watching his cartoons. I watch maybe a total of 1 hor of television a month here and this was my time dammit!
Yesterday rocked! I went to Jonathan's apartment with James and out tech teacher Andrey and we watched over 5 hours of "Lost". I can't believe how much better the season got since I left. I didn't even miss it until now. I only need to watch the final 2 episodes of the season now. The only problem is, we don't know if Jonathan will receive another shipment before we leave Chernihiv. I HAVE TO SEE THE FINALE!!! I will go on record once again by saying that this is the best show to have ever graced a television set..."Six Feet Under" is not far behind.
I have also been reading Mick Foley's new book that J.J. sent me. It's actually quite an interesting read going behind the scenes of professional wrestling (Yeah, I'm a nerd like that). It's also been really great reading those magazines everyone has mailed out. I also talked to my brother and his family last night which was great.
Here's a funny story. I was walking back from Jonathan's place last night and a huge storm came from nowhere. I took cover under this huge tree because I had my laptop with me and no umbrella. As I'm standing there I notice 2 younger guys speaking English next to me. I ask them where they were from and they freaked out at the sound of an English voice. It turns out they were Mormon missionaries traveling Ukraine and one of them was from Billings, MT. You don't see that every day here. They were nice guys and didn't try to push the church on me so I applaud them.
We just finished language class and I am about to head home to finish up the manual I have been working on. My host family is home today as is the rest of the country because low and behold yesterday was another holiday here....the holy trinity. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, everyone gets Monday off work. That sucks for us because our project group had planned on visiting some organizations and hand-delivering invitations to our event.
That's all I got.
Hi Cassandra!!!
Happy Birthday, Mar!!! (if you ever read this)
Saturday, May 26, 2007
This Week's Pictures
This was the monestary we hiked to on Tuesday. You enter the back of it and there is a huge maze under it. 
Brian and Geoffrey descending into the unknown.
These are human remains from monks who lived underground. Good stuff, huh?
Exiting the caves...that whole expeience obviously freaked me out a little.
I thought this was a really cool monument. I wasn't a huge fan of climbing 800 steps in the unbearable heat with a 100 lb backpack on, but perhaps it was all worth it.
We stumbled upon a great cafe where we enjoyed an ice-cold beer.
and finally....my treasures from my parents, JJ and Shawna. Thanks and I love you all!!!
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