Я Живу!!!

    So...I have been here for a while now.  I suppose I should do a recap.  I have learned a ton since we originally arrived though I feel like there is definitely a ton more to go.   I think my host mom is used to having me around because we joke around with each other a lot more now than we did when I first got there.  I now am familiar with my little village and have walked just about everywhere. The neighboring city also feels familiar.  I feel like I have seen all the major sights that Chernigiv has to offer.  I can't wait to explore more of Ukraine.  I should have some time on Wednesday to visit Kiev so that should be awesome.  Kiev is a major city complete with some western amenities - should be nice.  I will probably explore the city, visit a museum, and try to take it all in.  Hopefully I will have a few good photos to post. 

    Language skillz are coming along just fine though never fast enough.  Sometimes I feel like I am starting to get a feel for it and others I questions what the hell I have been doing with my time.  Previous volunteers have told me that this is normal and that it will come with time.  In the meantime, I have to communicate with members of the community enough to pull off a successful project so....what's a guy to do?   I will heed the current volunteers advice and try not to fret the language too much and just enjoy getting to know the culture and get used to a different way of life.  The rest will come after countless hours of trial and error language learning.  As long as you have a good attitude about it and can laugh at yourself - it will work out. 

    I had a picnic the other day with my cluster mates and a school teacher from the local school and her boyfriend.  Good time.  We setup next to a river and cooked Шашлик (shish kabobs) marinated with mayo and had a well deserved beer & some homemade wine.   Delicious.  It was nice to relax and enjoy the scenery.  We have all be extremely stressed out lately because we have so many deadlines coming up and little time to work on our projects.  Training is definitely a stressful time.  We need to learn enough to function on some sort of a proficient level in a business environment.  This not only means learning the language but also to have an understanding of the culture so that you know how to operate effectively  (i.e.. the proper way to schedule meetings, how networking works in Ukraine, the hierarchy system that they use, and acceptable ways to communicate with different groups of people).  This is all very different to how things are done is the US and will take time to adjust but we only have 3 months of training (11 weeks) so we are busy sun up to sundown all week.  It is hard to believe that we are over half way through training.  Wow!  Time flies.  Over the next couple weeks, we will complete our project, go through numerous language tests / placement interviews, and find out where we will be living/doing for the next 2 years.  Yeah - bit stressful.  They call it Peace Corps boot camp for a reason.  Well, I need to get back to working on stuff.  Let me know if there is anything particular you would like to see in this blog. 

Conor's Noteworthy Noteables:

1.  The town water dries up from time to time in the summer so I have had to get used to now running water and to using an outhouse.  I have never seen so many spiders in one place in all my life.  I have had some interesting late night trips to the outhouse - lol.  Lesson learned:  Appreciate your running water. 

2.  Did some laundry and hung it up on the line.  Always an interesting experience - I think I may have a decent strategy down now. 

3.  Don't shake someone's hand with a glove on or you will insult every fiber of his being and probably get punched in the face. 

4.  Don't whistle inside or you will piss off all the spirits.  (Opening an umbrella inside is fine)

5.  Don't sit on a cold surface if you are a girl because you will freeze you ovaries/eggs and not be able to have kids.   A babushka scolded my friend when she sat on a cold surface.  lol

6.  http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com/ - Great site to view PC blogs around the world. 

7.  Attended my first Ukrainian birthday party.  Good times.  Amy I were thrown into the middle of a circle so that everyone can watch us dance.  lol  I busted out the "running man" and "the shuffle"  Funny night. 

8.  We had our first English club on Friday - good time.  We had over 20 kids show up so we split-up into groups and played Uno to get to know the kids and find out what topics they would like to cover. Ages 10-16.  They all spoke some English.

9.  I found a restaurant that makes burritos!  It was not your typical burrito but it was fantastic. 

10.  As a side project, I have decided to learn to read and write in Russian Cursive.  Crazy.  But after a long day of studying, it is nice to plug in the ole iPod and write the same letters over and over again. 

Comrad Con

Our Cluster + Link

BBQ Ukraine Style

1200 AD Church

We finally had a night out with some neighboring clusters.  Awesome time - awesome people.  Much needed.  Thank you all!