This is an exceprt from a fellow volunteer's blog that he wrote the day he left. I thought it was so good that I would rip off the entire thing and post it on mine to share with you all.
Enjoy...
I'll leave you with two quotations about the Peace Corps. The first is from The Great Adventure: "David Crozier lost his life in an air accident while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Columbia. In a sadly prophetic letter to his parents, he said, 'should it come to it, I would rather give my life trying to help someone than to give my life looking down a gun barrel at him.'" My sentiments exactly. The second is from a current Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Ukraine: "The Peace Corps isn't for everyone…just the sexy people."
Good stuff.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
The Eagle Has Landed....again
My staging packet arrived in the mail yesterday and I do believe this is the last mailing I will receive before I leave (unless they mail me my plane ticket to Philadelphia). The package is a lot bigger than I expected and I haven't had a chance to sort through all of it; priorities...I'm watching The Two Towers in 65" surround sound glory. Inside this lovely staging kit is instructions for booking my flight, a handbook for the families of volunteers, another CD-ROM which I have no idea as to what's on it, a bunch of forms I need to fill out and bring with me to Philly, baggage and packing advisories, and information on a Correspondence Match Program where once I'm situated in Ukraine, I can correspond with a U.S. classroom and teach them about my exxxxcelllent adventure. Once I go through all of this, I will give more detail if I find anything exciting to share. The good thing is since I received all of this, my passport and Visa must be good to go and ready for me to pick up in Philly as well.
Like I said, I have been busy taking advantage of the big screen tv while my parents are in Chicago and catching up on some of my favorite movies so I haven't gotten to the internet posts. It looks like there is a lot of good advice and questions in them though and I plan on tackling them in the next few days. I did, however, spend the day at work learning my first batch of Ukrainian words. It's a good thing my job is so brainless that I can take advantage of the time and practice up. This is really going to help me find time to study. At any rate, these words and phrases are what I learned today (I plan on only learning the essentials before I leave)...
Yes/No
Please
Thank You
Thank You Very Much
Excuse Me
What Is Your Name?
My Name Is...
There/Here
Brother
Sister
Mother
Father
What Is This?
Bathroom (a definite essential!)
Water
Juice
Milk
Coffee
Not bad for a day's work. On top of that, I greeted my co-workers with a little "Good Night" in Ukrainian as I left work. I think they thought I was nuts, but they know I have been studying during work time and they are supportive.
Well, I gotta finish the Lord of the Rings trilogy tonight and order a pizza (lovin' the bachelor life right now!). Things are finally starting to come together and I am growing very anxious and excited!
Like I said, I have been busy taking advantage of the big screen tv while my parents are in Chicago and catching up on some of my favorite movies so I haven't gotten to the internet posts. It looks like there is a lot of good advice and questions in them though and I plan on tackling them in the next few days. I did, however, spend the day at work learning my first batch of Ukrainian words. It's a good thing my job is so brainless that I can take advantage of the time and practice up. This is really going to help me find time to study. At any rate, these words and phrases are what I learned today (I plan on only learning the essentials before I leave)...
Yes/No
Please
Thank You
Thank You Very Much
Excuse Me
What Is Your Name?
My Name Is...
There/Here
Brother
Sister
Mother
Father
What Is This?
Bathroom (a definite essential!)
Water
Juice
Milk
Coffee
Not bad for a day's work. On top of that, I greeted my co-workers with a little "Good Night" in Ukrainian as I left work. I think they thought I was nuts, but they know I have been studying during work time and they are supportive.
Well, I gotta finish the Lord of the Rings trilogy tonight and order a pizza (lovin' the bachelor life right now!). Things are finally starting to come together and I am growing very anxious and excited!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
One Month Mark
Well, I'm at the one month mark and I'm under 4 weeks until I leave. I sweet talked my way into 3 more weeks of work...my last day is going to be the 16th so I can have one week off to psych myself up. I have started researching the history of Ukraine and am learning a lot. That country has been through so much and so much blood was spilled over the capital city of Kiev. I am excited to actually go to Kiev after reading so much about it. I won't bore you guys with the details about it here, but if you get bored you should check out a Ukrainian history book from the library or read up on it via the internet because it really is interesting stuff. I am continuing my shopping spree. I recently bought some more clothes, I refilled some perscriptions as they recommend taking 2 refills with you, I'm still getting my laptop ready and I'm starting to view my favorite films for what seems like the last time. My parents are in the midwest visiting some people and that leaves me the house to myself. I am eternally grateful to them for letting me stay with them for these last few months, but being 32 and living at home is not the easiest thing in the world. With that said, in their absense, I have converted their living room into a space age bachelor pad complete with the ultimate home theater experience. I am currently watching all of the Lord of the Rings movies and have all the Star Wars movies in queue. I am planning on strategically choosing only 5 movies to take with me so my other favorites need to be watched one last time. I'm also enjoying being able to play my guitar loudly as if I'm rocking out one last encore. On a side note Martin Scorsese finally won an Oscar tonight!!! I was so happy to see The Departed dominate the Academy Awards.
That's about it. I'm awaiting my travel itinerary to arrive in the mail and tomorrow I need to sign up for personal article insurance which will cover my laptop, ipod, etc. I also need to jump online and read through about 200 new posts on our group's message board. I'm sure I'll post again later this week.
That's about it. I'm awaiting my travel itinerary to arrive in the mail and tomorrow I need to sign up for personal article insurance which will cover my laptop, ipod, etc. I also need to jump online and read through about 200 new posts on our group's message board. I'm sure I'll post again later this week.
Monday, February 12, 2007
The Laptop Chronicles: Part 2
A few people have complained that I have not posted in a while. I apologize, but the truth is, there really has been no new developments. I am waiting for my staging package to arrive, I have been very very slowly studying Ukrainian history, the language, and reading the handbook.
I did receive the new laptop. My buddy TJ came into town last Tuesday and we met up for some beers and he hooked me up with the goods. I transferred all of my junk over to my new laptop and sold my PC to my friend Brian.
That's all I got at the moment. Until next time.
I did receive the new laptop. My buddy TJ came into town last Tuesday and we met up for some beers and he hooked me up with the goods. I transferred all of my junk over to my new laptop and sold my PC to my friend Brian.
That's all I got at the moment. Until next time.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
On the Subject of Packing
So worrying about what to bring and what to pack is already the highest contributor (besides girlfriend stuff) to my stress level right now. I've come to the conclusion that I will need to have my mom ship out a box of clothes/shoes for me. I have too much neccesities that have priority over clothes (what did I just say?). So I have a small stack of items sitting in my room which includes the books I mentioned in an earlier post, power converter, flashlight keychain, my new digital camera and my new backpack which I may need to exchange. Also, each volunteer is supposed to bring one DVD movie to contribute to the Kiev headquarters office. A list was made so no one duplicates. Everyone is bringing serious movies so to spice things up a bit, I decided to contribute the Austin Powers trilogy. I should be gettting my laptop on Monday and then need to buy a buncha crap for that too. It's looking like it will never end.
I discovered this guy's blog who is currently serving out in Ukraine. This guy is frickin' hilarious. His website is www.cliffgardner.blogspot.com and here is a sample post from him on the subject of packing (obviously before he left)...
The good news is that I’ve got pretty much everything I need for Ukraine. The bad news is that I’m not sure how I’m going to fit two years worth of heroin in my suitcase.
I should probably tell the people who google PEACE CORPS and UKRAINE that I was kidding just then, at least about the sweet lady H.
In the past few days I’ve purchased a lot of helpful crap. My favorite items include:
--Yaktrax! Now, when I’m running around in the inevitable blizzard, at least I won’t fall on my boney yet still somehow cute butt! Cobblestones hurt, so I’d say this is a good thing!
--Super hangers! Take THAT, slacks! I am your boss and you work for me. Don’t ever forget it.
--A personal breathalyzer! See, from everything I’ve read, alcohol use is much more widespread and socially acceptable in Ukraine than in America...try to get your mind around that one for a second...and since I don’t want to be rude to my hosts by turning down shot after shot of vodka, I thought I should at least give myself the capacity to know how drunk I’m getting with a cool little gadget from Sharper Image. Tucker Max-like exploits might very well ensue.
I discovered this guy's blog who is currently serving out in Ukraine. This guy is frickin' hilarious. His website is www.cliffgardner.blogspot.com and here is a sample post from him on the subject of packing (obviously before he left)...
The good news is that I’ve got pretty much everything I need for Ukraine. The bad news is that I’m not sure how I’m going to fit two years worth of heroin in my suitcase.
I should probably tell the people who google PEACE CORPS and UKRAINE that I was kidding just then, at least about the sweet lady H.
In the past few days I’ve purchased a lot of helpful crap. My favorite items include:
--Yaktrax! Now, when I’m running around in the inevitable blizzard, at least I won’t fall on my boney yet still somehow cute butt! Cobblestones hurt, so I’d say this is a good thing!
--Super hangers! Take THAT, slacks! I am your boss and you work for me. Don’t ever forget it.
--A personal breathalyzer! See, from everything I’ve read, alcohol use is much more widespread and socially acceptable in Ukraine than in America...try to get your mind around that one for a second...and since I don’t want to be rude to my hosts by turning down shot after shot of vodka, I thought I should at least give myself the capacity to know how drunk I’m getting with a cool little gadget from Sharper Image. Tucker Max-like exploits might very well ensue.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Changes Already
So I keep hearing about this theme that things are never set in stone in the Peace Corps. Even if they say your job will be this, when you get out to your country they can very well end up putting you in a completely different job. This is what I have heard, but didn't put much weight on it.
Today I got an email from the Ukrainian office and the subject line read "Staging Location Change". Anger stepped in immediately. I was really looking forward to seeing Washington DC. That anger quickly turned into excitement. I was hoping if it got changed it could at least change to Chicago so I can see some people and take care of something I need to do for someone out there that I really care about.
So where are they sending me? Philadelphia. Yeah. Hopefully they change their minds again soon.
Today I got an email from the Ukrainian office and the subject line read "Staging Location Change". Anger stepped in immediately. I was really looking forward to seeing Washington DC. That anger quickly turned into excitement. I was hoping if it got changed it could at least change to Chicago so I can see some people and take care of something I need to do for someone out there that I really care about.
So where are they sending me? Philadelphia. Yeah. Hopefully they change their minds again soon.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
The Laptop Chronicles
This post was supposed to read "I Am Officially 100% Out Of Debt", but things changed and the money went elsewhere....
It was Thursday late evening and I woke up remembering my old buddy TJ who I used to work with here in Billings; he now lives in Laramie, Wyoming. TJ is the techiest (if that's a word) guy I know. He works in the IT world and rebuilds computers. I must have been having a nightmare about laptops or something. I called him Friday morning and asked if he would be able to hook me up with a laptop for a good price. The conversation resulted in him getting me a brand new slimline Dell for $625...fully loaded. He is coming to Billings on business February 5th and he is dropping it off to me then. So now I feel better that I won't be the oddball out there without a laptop.
Today I rented the movie "Everything Is Iluminated" and I'm about to watch it. A lot of people in our group recommended it. It stars that hobbit Elija Wood and it's set in Ukraine. I guess it paints a pretty good picture of what to expect. At least they didn't tell me to watch the movie "Hostel" saying the same thing. From what I remember that was in Ukraine as well.
In other news...
I've been seeing a girl out here and we just had the big discussion about what is going to become of the relationship since I'm leaving in 2 months for 27 months. It's pretty obvious how that discussion ended up seeing how I am on the internet on a Saturday night. There are so many loose ends to tie up in the next 2 months, this is just the beginning.
It was Thursday late evening and I woke up remembering my old buddy TJ who I used to work with here in Billings; he now lives in Laramie, Wyoming. TJ is the techiest (if that's a word) guy I know. He works in the IT world and rebuilds computers. I must have been having a nightmare about laptops or something. I called him Friday morning and asked if he would be able to hook me up with a laptop for a good price. The conversation resulted in him getting me a brand new slimline Dell for $625...fully loaded. He is coming to Billings on business February 5th and he is dropping it off to me then. So now I feel better that I won't be the oddball out there without a laptop.
Today I rented the movie "Everything Is Iluminated" and I'm about to watch it. A lot of people in our group recommended it. It stars that hobbit Elija Wood and it's set in Ukraine. I guess it paints a pretty good picture of what to expect. At least they didn't tell me to watch the movie "Hostel" saying the same thing. From what I remember that was in Ukraine as well.
In other news...
I've been seeing a girl out here and we just had the big discussion about what is going to become of the relationship since I'm leaving in 2 months for 27 months. It's pretty obvious how that discussion ended up seeing how I am on the internet on a Saturday night. There are so many loose ends to tie up in the next 2 months, this is just the beginning.
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