Flyin Solo

Howdy,

    Training is more or less over now.  I have learned a ton but still have a lot to go.  Training has been absolutely great - we were busy all the time but we were doing stuff we enjoy, which made the experience extremely enjoyable and fulfilling i.e... learning Russian, helping the community,  working on our project, and basically integrating in the community.  From this point on I will be doing it solo.  No English speaking friends nearby, no caring locals (not yet anywho), no structure, and basically nothing familiar.  With time I will meet people at site and will develop a network of friends and coworkers but in the meantime it will just be me and Ukraine.  To be honest, it is a bit freaky but also exciting at the same time.  I debated omitting that last sentence but then I would not be painting a realistic picture.  Up to this point, I have been safely nuzzled in the bosom that is 3 months of Peace Corps Training (which has had it's own set of challenges).  We have had a support network from the beginning of training - complete with cluster mates, language facilitators, host families, cultural facilitators, fellow volunteers, and of course the PC staff.  Now it will just be me and my counterpart in whatever city/town/village they decide to put me.    I will find out more details on the 14th so until then, I will continue to cross my fingers and study the language. 

    Other than training coming to an end, we have our LPI (Language Proficiency Interview) on Wednesday which will give us an idea of where we stand as far as Russian goes.  We have to get to at least intermediate low/mid which means we can communicate on most topics with some errors and a basic vocabulary.  I fell comfortable that I will get at least intermediate mid.  Apparently the older groups have a much harder time with the language.  Among the Community Development volunteers, I am one of the youngest - my cluster (the 5 volunteers in my training group/community) consists of 3 of us being 26 years old.  Some of the older clusters (60+ years old) have tons of work experience and are extremely knowledgeable - one of the volunteers being the former CFO of a fortune 500 company.  It is interesting to see the many different approaches to CD.  I look forward to collaborating and working with some of the older volunteers if possible.  Hopefully I can find a side project that I can work on with fellow volunteers - I feel like I can learn a lot from some of my fellow volunteers.  There are also a large # of YD (Youth Development) and TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) volunteers in Ukraine.  YD and TEFL are usually the youngest volunteers.  Regardless of background, age, experience, etc..  everyone will have to make a major adjustment.  Me for example, will have to work on being more social and will have to concentrate on networking as much as possible especially during the first couple months at site.  Everyone is different, some are going to have a hard time adjusting to life without the comforts that they are used to having (running water is a biggie), some will have a hard time living alone in an unfamiliar village/town/city,  some will struggle with working without any structure, the list goes on and on. To me, benefits far outweigh the costs.  Two words - "fulfilling work"  - it is hard to find something like this; something you believe in. 

    Other than all that stressful stuff, we have had some visitors to our quiet little village.  The volunteers that trained in our village 6 months ago have decided to visit their former host families.  It is interesting to see another person interact with my HF.  Very funny and cool at the same time.  These volunteers are TEFL volunteers so they don't do the stuff that we will be doing but it is interesting to hear their experiences and stories.  The former volunteer that stayed with my host family will be staying here tell Monday.  It is awesome to hear her interact with my HF and to see everything from another perspective.  It has been a good weekend.  The previous volunteers arrived Friday night and we all got together Sat for a long game of football followed by a trip to Chernigiv for a night out.  Like always, it was nice to have an English speaking evening with some interesting and genuinely good people.  Sunday we got together at one of the Babushka's house and had snacks and chatted.  We then went to the Sauna for the evening.  It was awesome.  Sauna's are extremely popular in Ukraine and considered very good for your health.  I rented a private room for the evening just for us volunteers.  Sorry I was too busy to update the blog at my regular time.  I try to update at the same time each week.  Well, it is now Monday morning and I really need to start studying Russian to make up for lost study time from this weekend.  Not to mention that this is the third time I have written this post which for whatever reason kept being deleted.  Arggg

Conor's Noteworthy Noteables:

1.  Finished up my side project of learning Russian cursive. 

2.  Had some long conversations with my HM.  (I have come a long way with the language but still have a long way to go)

3.  Chatting with the previous volunteer that stayed with my HF.  Very cool.

4.  Found a decent wine called "Bastardo" - not bad.  All the other Ukrainian wines are extremely sweet. 

5.  There is a group of Geese that live near one of my cluster mates.  Apparently, they really don't like my cluster mate and will chase her as soon as they see her even if she is a block away they will start charging her.  I feel bad but this is one of the funniest things in the world to me.  lol  Even typing about it is making me laugh : )

6.  Going to the Sauna with some fellow volunteers for a relaxing evening. 

7.  Went out for another English speaking night out in Chernigiv with some fellow volunteers.  Always interesting and fun - PCVs are interesting and genuinely good people. 

8.  I have been working on a photo project where I have taken the same photo of a certain babushka's garden every day for the last couple weeks and before I leave my village I will put the photos together into a movie to show how fast things grow here.  I will try to post the video if I can.   

The Crew with Mama Lidia

Another Awesome soccer day

Photo from our project

BBQ day