Week of deadlines

Hello again,

    I have a lot of work to do and I am sick as a (insert metaphor here cuz I am too busy to think of one) so I will have to keep this post brief :-(    But on the plus side, I have a PC issued med kit so I have been able to make it to most of my obligations.  Since I last posted, I have visited Kiev which was awesome.  Kiev is the largest city in Ukraine with around 5.6 million people.  Huge contrast to my quiet little village.  At 7:20 AM on a cloudy morning we took a bus from the village to Chernigiv then on to Kiev.  Including a coffee break, it took about 2:40 min.  First impressions:  Huge, neat, spread out, and very interesting.  We arrived in the outskirts of Kiev and took a metro the the city center.  The metro warrants a post of its own but unfortunately I don't have time.  Lets just say...you know the game they used to pay to see how many people can fit in a VW bug or a phone booth - well that sums up the Metro and the Mashootkas for that matter.  It is that game being played over and over again.  lol  I may or may not have accidentally gotten to third base with at least a dozen people.  This impression seems to be mine alone which may be a result of me being from Utah where nobody uses public transportation and the rest of my cluster being from big cities in the East.  Anywho, after the metro we went to the train station to familiarize ourselves with the whole train travel process.  Cool stuff.  To travel from eastern Ukraine to western Ukraine can take over 30 hours lol.  Mental note - get a sleeper car.  After the train station we walked to PC headquarters and talked with some of the staff.  I am constantly amazed at how friendly, energetic, and motivated the PC staff can be.  Makes me want to start building schools, hospitals, or anything Ukraine may need with my bare hands.  Good people.  We then went to a Ukrainian Restaurant and had a delicious meal before doing the whole touristy thing.  We saw most of the main sites - Churches, Independence Square, Monuments, Bell Tower, Gov buildings, etc.  The churches here are absolutely beautiful - I have seen churches all over Europe and can say that the churches here are unique.  We proceeded to walk around a bit, have some ice cream, take some cool photos, then make our way back to our village by a little after 8.  Long day - awesome.  My PC friends are awesome and definitely make the whole experience more enjoyable. 

    I thought it might be interesting to write a bit about the cost of things here in Ukraine.  1 buck = roughly 8 Ukrainian Hryvnia.  You can travel by bus around the city for around 1 - 2 UAH (Hryvnia).  The 2 hour trip to Kiev cost 30 UAH.  A beer at the local store cost 4 -6 UAH.  A modest meal at a decent restaurant in Kiev is around 40 - 50 UAH and in Chernigiv probably around 25 - 45.  Inflation is a cool 15%.  My walking around $ during training is around 700 UAH per month. Food can be expensive at Restaurants but if you buy food at the local stores it is very reasonable.  Restaurants are for the most part non-existent outside the cities - I spoke to one lady that was probably in her late 50s that said she had only eaten in a restaurant once in her entire life.  When I told my HM (host mom incase you forgot) that a fellow volunteer and I ate at a restaurant she proceeded to explain that all restaurants are bad and should be avoided.  That explains why restaurants and coffee shops are so rare - not to mention that they are considered expensive and most cannot afford them.  It is difficult for us volunteers because the Café in Chernigiv is one of the only places we can meet to do work and have access to internet but at the same time we would like to avoid these places.  I jokingly call it my office.  What's a volunteer to do?  We need a place where we can all meet.

    One of the many funny situations I have encountered here happened a few weeks ago but I feel it is worth mentioning.  So...my cluster consists of 2 guys(including me) and 3 girls.  We spend a lot of time together.  Walking around the village, studying Russian, and working on our respective projects.  So I have walked all the girls home at one point or another and we have all gone on numerous walks together.  I have also visited their houses and they have visited mine.  Well...in Ukraine, if you are seen alone with a member of the opposite sex too much word will spread fast and you will suddenly be "together" before you even realize it yourself.  For example, a couple weeks ago, my HM (host mom) informed me that I am "with" one of the other volunteers and was confused that I was spending time alone with another.  I attempted to explain that we are all just friends but she insisted that NO we are in fact an "item" if you will, and she crossed her fingers in gesture to show what she meant.  She then started to lecture me on not being with too many girls at the same time and basically accusing me of being a player.  lol  I immediately started laughing uncontrollably which definitely did not help the situation but I could not help myself.  I never though that I would ever be considered a player.  Those of you that know me, know that I am anything but - so I immediately got the urge to try and explain to her, "Don't hate the player,  hate the game!"  lol   I am sure that would have been lost in translation.   

    Well, I gotta go.  We are conducting a seminar at the local school on Friday and I just found out today that we could have around 80 people attending.  Need to prepare. 

Conor's Noteworthy Noteables:

1.  Kiev.  I love exploring new cities.

2.  Being harassed by a random guy on a bus for being American.  I need remind myself not to feel too comfortable and keep my wits about me.  

3.  Doing certain things easily that only a month ago I found to be challenging.  We really have come a long way with both the language and the culture.

4.  Climbed to the top of a really old bell tower overlooking downtown Kiev.  Very cool.

5.  Still having "wholly shit!  I am in Ukraine" moments.  With all the stuff going on, it can be easy to get absorbed in the moment and forget to see the big picture. 
6.  Lots of random power outages that last for decent chunks of time.  Always have a plan B

****Click on the photo to see the full version****

The Crew

Awesome church

View from Belltower

View from Bell Tower

Inside of St Andrew's

Independence Square