Starting to be comfortable

Добре день! 

Я отлична! Как дела? 

Hello all!

    All is still well here in Ukraine.  I feel like I have adjusted to all the big stuff though I still have a lot to learn about the culture and the way things work here.  I think that by the end of my PC service (27 months) I will never feel uncomfortable in any situation ever again.  Every day, we are forced to leave our comfort zones far behind and do something we have never done before.  For example, interacting with the community without being able to speak.  Brutal but fun and exciting at the same time - we won't get better if we don't try.  Or talking to important government officials with the communication skills of a 2nd grader.  Or having to explain to shocked Ukrainians that no, not all Americans are this tall and that I really don't know Brad Pitt or any other celebrities.  The list goes on and on though I can already feel things getting easier as I learn the language, culture, and way of life. 

    This week, in addition to the massive amounts of language training, we had to assess the needs of our little village.  Since internet is not common in our community, we decided to send out a survey via the kids at the local school.  This turned out to be quite the ordeal.  First, we had to come up with 4 possible projects that would benefit the community (we already had some in mind). Second, write up the survey in Russian.  This was my task which thanks to Google Translator - was relatively easy if not a little time consuming.  We had someone proofread it a few times.  Then we went to the neighboring city to print off some copies because our town does not have a printer or a copier.  This is where we had some difficulties, we had to go to 3 different internet houses to find a place with both a printer and a copier.  This might not sound that difficult but keep in my that we had to do this in Russian and using a USB drive that has all the folders in English.  Luckily, I saw someone I knew that spoke both English and Russian so we were able to get the job done in about an hour.  lol  Anywho, that is done now and we should get the results back on Monday.  That story probably is not as cool to you readers as it is to me  lol   my bad. 

    Moving on....I have not had time to be homesick yet because there is too much going on to think about home but I have had some crazy dreams of home.  For example, I had a dream last night that lasted hours where I was at work and trying to figure out a crazy trade with a client (thanks for your help Joel.  lol).  This was a long, vivid, and very involved dream where I may or may not have sleepwalked.  lol  That would be tough to explain with my limited Russian.  Luckily, I don't think anyone saw me.  That dream got me thinkin about work and all my former coworkers.   We had some good times.  Dan with his mastery of the passive aggressive phone call - lol.  The Andrei and Todd show was always hilarious (don't shoot yourself in the face Andrei).  Jeff with his clapping and random funny stories. Making fun of Lee with John.  Tatton's conservative arguments.  Ken when he gets a "live one".  Instant messaging with the Wood-man.  And the many fun times at the Skybox.  Stef, Trev, Tanner, Jason, Hatch, Luke, and everyone else - I could go on but I think I will spare the 2 other people that actually read this blog.  lol   I definitely miss the Fam too - especially the L-man.  Joining the PC is not without it's costs.  You exchange memories with friends and Family, a stable job/income/life, and everything comfortable/familiar for adventure, self knowledge, the chance to do something for someone else/give back/make a difference, and the opportunity to learn more about the world/life in general.  For me, I felt like I needed to do something like this.  I would not be happy going down the route I was on for the rest of my life - at least not at this point.  That was a bit of a ramble.

    Anywho,  back to life in Ukraine.  I can now speak in both future and past tense. You can't imagine how awesome this is unless you have lived in an environment without any English.  I can finally say where I have been and what I am going to do.  Language breakthrough.  Right now I am at a café in Chernigiv havin a beer and attempting to skype with my parents - no mic - extremely frustrating - should have a  mic soon.    Sooooo, I will leave you with...

Conor's Noteworthy Noteables:

1.  Just got back from a 3 hour walk out to the boonies.  Scenic landscapes.   Awesome

2.  Video skype with the fam

3.  Playing cards with my cluster mates and trying out the local brews

4.  Typing up a survey in Russian and distributing it to an entire village via school kids. 

5.  A Маняак was loose in Chernigiv (Maniac escaped from a insane asylum and beheaded 3 people) - they caught him.  I am fine.  Though my quiet little village made the perfect backdrop to a horror movie.  lol

6.  I now know the public transportation to some degree. 

7.  The crazy dogs charged my friend - he made out ok but it is still an issue. 

8.  The extreme hilarity that results from learning the Russian language with a group of good friends that are going through the same challenges that you are.  (it is hard to believe we have only known eachother for 3 weeks) 
That is all for now. If I think of more noteables, I will post them.
Everyone keep on keeping on.

 Walking in the forest a few min from our houses.  (click on the photo to see large version)

Meeting with the Chernigiv library

Relaxing after a long day