All is well!

Hello everyone!

First of all - I now that I am a PC trainee - I need to make sure all my blog material is culturally sensitive and appropriate for all audiences. That said, I will try to accurately describe some of the awesome experiences I have been having so that you guys have an idea about what's going on in my life. And thank you everyone for your nice comments on my previous blog

This is the first time I have had access to internet in Ukraine and my battery is dying lol So I have to make this quick. I live in a tiny little village outside of Chernihiv, Ukraine - I cannot give the name of the exact village for security purposes. Everything is going great - I have been speaking Russian / pointing and gesturing every day. Everything is new and exciting. We arrived in Ukraine 9 days ago and stayed at a old Soviet Era retreat / resort. Ever since we arrived, it has been nonstop Russian, Cultural, and tech training. We stayed at the resort for 2 nights while we went over some of the basics of PC life and met each other. The PC staff is great. They are extremely supportive and helpful - I feel lucky to be part of this program. The resort itself was very interesting with only about half the rooms remodeled and the other half still vacant (the entire resort was left abandoned for a # of years after the collapse of the USSR).

After the resort it was time to move into our home stays (HS). This was pretty stressful with all the unknowns and limited vocabulary. I now live in a small village in North East Ukraine with chickens / cows / goats / farms the works. Very cool and peaceful - perfect community to learn Russian and try out some community development strategies. I live with a Babushka in a quiet little house with a large garden in the back that provides an estimated 95% of what we eat. Her son comes to visit from time to time and is quite the character (in a good way). We all get along great though communication is definitely a challenge. The son mentioned that was in the army and served in Iraq for 8 months in the beginning of the war - I would have liked to discuss this with him in detail but PCVs are not allowed to discuss politics in any capacity (understandable).

The first weekend we were with our HS was Easter weekend which is a huge deal in Ukraine. I woke up at 2 am Sunday morning to walk to church with my host mom where I would spend the next 3 hours. I assumed my cluster (the 4 other trainees in the same community) would also be there but I ended up being the only one. This was one hell of a cultural experience for my 4th day in Country. The entire village was there and I was the first and only American most of these people have ever met and nobody spoke a single word of English. It was awesome! I did not know half of what was going on so I tried to "blend in" as much as possible lol or I should say - I tried not to make an ass of myself because everyone was watching "the huge American". After an hour or two of listening to the priest (the only other bearded person in the church) the packed church went outside and circled the church with candles. The Priest then walked through the crowd with incense and a brush like instrument to fling holy water on the people of the community (probably a better way to phrase that-:-)) It was a very interesting experience and I tried my best to thank the community and my HM though I am not sure if the message was clear or not. Definitely need more Russian skillz. My HM definitely appreciated me going and I earned some brownie points with the community (integration points if you will). I was at the church from 2 am tell around 6 am then walked home and went to sleep tell around 9:30. My HB (host bro) came over this point and drove me around Chirnihiv which was very cool of him. We then proceeded to chop firewood for a good ole fashioned BBQ, Ukrainian style. My HM, HB, and neighbors seemed to get a kick out of "the American" chopping firewood but so did I so it was all good. It is important to me that they see me making an honest effort to help and to get to know everyone. Lots of laughter and little understanding of what was going on but I am sure that will come with time. Some of the misunderstandings we have had so far have been downright hilarious for all parties involved. We finished up the BBQ by having a shot of Vodka in Ukrainian tradition.

The week following the BBQ was full of extensive language class and technical training. The PC definitely does not mess around - we have been extremely busy from sun up to sun down. With the help of a translator, we have already started the community mapping process where we assess the needs, resources, and general information about the community (this town has been around since at least the stone age complete with stone age artifacts). We have even had a meeting with the town administration and the Principal / teachers of the local school. We have quite a few possible community development projects in mind and will probably meet with the town leader next week to hammer down the specifics.

Well, I have been going on and on for a while now and I feel like I have not even scratched the surface on what is going on but alas I have work to do. So I bid you ado and leave you with my latest installment of Conor's Noteworthly Noteables:

1 - One word "Salo" (uncooked pork fat) I ate a pound of is the first night I was here. That night I could hear my heart beat (keep tickin little feller)

2 - Vodka with my HB next to a really old painting of Stalin. (Only had 1 shot)

3 - Rode a Mashootka (public transportation) during rush hour and now know what a sardine feels like

4 - Walking around the Soviet Resort one crisp Ukrainian morning and just taking it all in - lots of history.

5 - Trying all the fresh, homegrown, and delicious Ukrainian food.

6 - Getting tons of caring emails and messages from my peeps back home.

7 - Being constantly amazed at how awesome it is to be a PCT (Peace Corps trainee)

8 - Having to walk everywhere and loving every minute of it

9 - Sending a text to my bro, uncle, and sister from a farm in the middle of nowhere (I think only Fer got the message)

10 - Watching a Steven Segal movie with my HM in Russian - awesome! (It was probably better if I don't know what they are saying)
11- A mouse got to my only American chocolate that I was saving for a rainy day.  : (   Oh well, Ukraine has some pretty awesome chocolate.
12- I walked a fellow PCT home and after she went inside, the puppy that was following us got mauled by two large dogs.  The Pup lost a lot of blood and I thought for sure it was not going to make it.  I called a fellow PCT for help figuring out the word for "Vet" but after a few min a babushka came by and picked up the dog.  I tried to explain what happened with hand gestures and my limited vocab - I think she understood.  I was happy to see the pup the next day still alive and well if not a little shaken.  The dogs here can be a bit brutal.

PS My clustermate John also has a blog if you want to see a different perspective. THATVG.COM
Also, I had to change the comment settings on my blog so that if you leave a comment I first need to approve it before it will be published on the blog. This is to prevent any inappropriate material from finding its way to my blog.

My Cell Phone # +38 0636926021 (Skype is the most popular way to get a hold of me and is free for me: -))

PHOTO 2 - My Cluster (Me, Amy, Kim, Cassie, John)