Month at Site!

Greetings from Ukraine,

Well, I have been at site for over a month now and have been in Ukraine for just about 4 months.  These months have been some of the craziest months of my life.  Three months of extensive language training.  Then moving to a new city, without any friends, zero English speakers, and having to figure out how to live and work in a new community is insane.  New jobs are stressful even when you know the language and the culture but when you don't know, it is a recipe for some crazy times.  Even after one month I can tell that I have not even scratched the surface.  I still have a long ways to go before I am a productive member of society and before I can really build an effective network of friends and possible business partners.  Sometimes I need to step back for a min to realize just how far I have come with regards to learning the language, culture, and job because it can be overwhelming if you only think about how far you still have to go.  

Over the last week I have been exploring my city a bit and have been looking for gyms and recreational facilities.  I found the addresses for two gyms - one boxing gym and one general workout facility but even with the addresses, it has been hard to find these places.  For whatever reason, many Ukrainian businesses do not have signs on the outside of their buildings.  So I probably walked by these places many times but because there are no signs outside, I have not been able to find them.  lol  I have also been learning to work with my new org and counterpart.  We have a lot to figure out.  That's all I can say on that matter.  I am also trying to meet with other organizations that I might be able to work with or that can help my org with some of our projects.  I have a meeting tomorrow in Donetsk to meet with a much larger NGO and hopefully we will be able to devise a project that we can work together on.  One can hope.

I just want to start have a positive impact ASAP because it seems like time is flying without much getting done.  This might be because of the lack of some of the conveniences that I have grown accustomed to back in the US.  For example, a WASHING MACHINE!!  I spend many hours each week doing laundry by hand and I never know if my cloths are clean or not - not to mention the fact that it is tiresome work bent over a bucket of water scrubbing your cloths.  Also, when you do not have a dryer you have to iron everything.  Kinda crazy but I have hardly ever ironed anything in my life.  lol  I took stuff to the dry cleaner and only bought wrinkle free clothing.  :-)  Cooking is the other huge time consumer.  In the US, I basically lived off quick meals like COSTCO frozen veggies, lasagna, pasta, stir fry, sandwiches, or would simply grab a burrito or burger at the local fast food joint.  Here I have to walk to the bazaar or local store and purchase some veggies, meat fresh off the cow/pig/chicken/etc, fruit, and bread.  The food here has zero preservatives which at first i thought that was great/healthy/neato - but soon realized that when milk expires in 3 days, bread in 4, and the veggies last less than a week that you find yourself walking to the store around 5 times a week.  The food does taste fresh especially the milk but there are no quick easy meals :-(   It takes me around 2 hours to cut up all the food, cook it, eat it, and clean up.  Not to mention that this process depends greatly on when the water comes back on (running water only 6 hours per day 3 morning & 3 evening).  Add an average of an hour a night for laundry and there goes 3 prime "Conor time" hours.  Then it is off to studying Russian before alas falling asleep in my midget sized bed  (I put a chair next to the footboard so that I can stretch out from time to time lol).  I don't want to sound like I am complaining because truth be told, I kinda enjoy doing all these things.  I find it peaceful and when everything else is unknown and crazy, you need to enjoy any peace you can find.

Anywho, the last weekend was spend walking around my town, studying Russian, and relaxing while trying to just take it all in.  Tonight (Monday) I purchased a train ticket to Lugansk (7/24 - 8/01).  I will be helping a fellow volunteer run a camp in the forest.  Whoohoo!  That will be awesome.  Amy will be there too!   Can't wait.  Things have been stressful at my site so it will be nice to get away for a week, be surrounded by nature, meet new people, and help however I can.  Should be interesting - Platzcart both ways (3rd class train car, refer to previous post for details, all 2nd class tickets were taken)   After that I am back at site for  2 weeks then I am off to Kiev for a couple days for some Volunteerism training then I go from Kiev to Keevoy Rogg for almost a week to help someone else with a different camp. I love it.  I think back to my days sitting at my desk all day dreaming about the adventure Peace Corps was sure to give me and it really puts everything into perspective.  Life is an adventure - if you disagree with that statement you might want to do some thinking.  Anywho, my counterpart should be coming over any min now to have a beer and talk about some work stuff so I need to go.  I hope all is well in the US

Conor's Noteworthy Noteables:

1.  Exploring my City.  Always fun

2.  Learning how to cook, clean, and live in my new surroundings.  It's a process

3.  Having my first weekend all to myself in a long time.  Very relaxing but a bit weird after being surrounded by people every weekend and having tons of stuff to do for the last 4 months. 

4.  More learning pains while I figure out how to work with my counterpart / Org.

5.  Figured out the train system finally.  It is in desperate need of an update.  It is written in a mix of Russian and Ukrainian & the postings on the walls of train stations can be outdated so you never know if you have reliable info. 

6.  Skyped with numerous people.  Skype is awesome

7.  Starting a website for my org.  Should be fun.  

Amy and I

Donetsk

Afgan War Vets

Seein Ukraine

Hello my friends,

I have now been at site for over 3 weeks.  If you read my previous posts, you would know that it has definitely had it's ups and downs.  This was expected but still crazy.  I have spent that last week researching possible projects, figuring out how I can help, and traveling to visit Amy in Balakleya.  As expected, I will definitely have my hands full as far as work is concerned though it is kinda funny because the majority of my time is spent figuring out how to do the work that needs to be done with little time actually doing the work.  For example,  I will be starting a website to promote tourism and community awareness for the 2012 football games that will be hosted in Donetsk (hundreds of thousands of people are projected to attend).  In America, you would simply pick a free service provider and go.  Here I need to find a free service provider that allows me to use both English and Russian, uses software that I am familiar with, and I need to check with various people to make sure I don't step on any  toes by starting this website.  Should be interesting. Every possible project has issues similar to these that seem to slow things down a bit.  I understand now why so many current volunteers, previous volunteers, and PC staff have warned us that you might not get a lot done during your first year at site.   I am going to take it a day at a time and try not to get frustrated.  It will work out as long as I don't act like an American and want results immediately.  Be there at 8:00 means 9 or 10:00,  now means tomorrow, and the word urgent does not seem to exist.  Why is this difficult?  It seems laid back. What gives?

Other than work, I am starting to feel more comfortable in my city.  I have learned how to get around, how to shop, figured out a few good meals that I can actually cook, and have been working on "being here now" and just taking it all in.  Anywho, visiting Amy was just what I needed.  I left late Thursday night by bus to Markeevka by bus and was dropped off way on the outskirts of the city.  Every time I go to Markevka I take the same bus but am dropped off at a different location.  Oh Ukraine...way to keep me on my toes  :-)  .  I did not know how to get to the center and must have looked a bit lost because before I had time to ask random people how to get to the center - someone came up to me and spoke in English with a thick Ukrainian accent, "I will help you".  I was surprised to say the least because I have not met anyone in my city that speaks English that well.  He rushes me into a small van that we manage to catch while it was rolling.  We each pay the driver 2 Greven ($0.25), we sit down, and we start chatting.  Very interesting guy.  He is a 24 year old surgeon in Donetsk and has traveled to the US (Nebraska for 2 weeks) for some sort of exchange program.  He was very interested to see an American this far east.  That seems to be the reaction from most people - "your American?  what are you way out here?"  followed by either a confused look or a fit of laughter.  lol  I enjoy these conversations.  He asked me a million questions about what I though of Ukraine and I explained in a haphazard mix of Russian and English that I am a volunteer working in the area of Community Development in a city outside Donetsk. When we got out of the van, he pointed me in the direction of the bus station.  I had a couple hours to kill before I needed to take a bus to the train station then get on my 10:30 pm train so I offered to buy him a beer at a nearby bar.  We went inside the bar and ordered a couple beers then he proceeded to explain to me that when he got back from American he was motivated to change Ukraine and develop it's infrastructure but that within a year he realized that that is impossible.  Not the most encouraging thing for a community development volunteer to hear but he had some interesting points.   We discussed some of the possible projects that I have been working on to develop my community and he agreed that change is possible but it will take a long time.  I realize this and don't expect to change the world overnight.  I just want to have some sort of positive impact on my community.  We say our goodbyes and eventually make my way to the train station and get on the correct train car - no problem.  On the way out to Balakleya I was in Koopay (2nd class) which means 4 beds to a compartment (2 bunk beds) and a small window.  When I arrived at my compartment, people were already sleeping so I attempted to be quiet and make my bed (top bunk), and go to sleep.  This is where things got out of control - lol.  It was dark and I managed to bump something with my backpack that made a crashing sound, a little girl that was sleeping with her mom in one of the bottom bunks started to cry, I then bumped into someone else when I turned around to say excuse me,  the train attendant knocked on the door but I was unfamiliar with the locking mechanism so I was unable to open the door so they continued to knock over and over again, the list goes on and on - it was a circus.  And when I finally got into the top bunk, I managed to knock down some clothing hangers that fell on the person below me.  Complete and utter chaos but that was nothing compared to the ride back from Amy's place in Platzcart (3rd class - all the 2nd class bunks were taken).  Platzcart:  Aka a dim and stuffy train car filled with as many bunk beds as possible - no compartments, no doors, and no privacy.  On that particular train from midnight to 6:00 am - almost no sleep.  Hands constantly checking pockets and backpack.  Thin mattress that is 1.5 feet wide by 5 feet long - only 2 feet from the ceiling of the train car.  Awesome experience.  Not sure why....?

Wow,  kinda went off on a tangent.  Back to the visit with Amy.  I arrived at 3:30 in the morning on Friday and met Amy at the train station.  We walked the 30 min back to her apartment.  It was already getting light out - sun is up from a little before 4:00 am to around 9:30.  She has a nice little apartment that is comparable to mine (soviet block housing).  We had an awesome time:  walked around the city, tried out the Uzbekistan restaurant,  cooked many awesome meals (mostly Amy tho I did try to help), and swam at the beach (sandy area on the river - lol).  B-town is smaller than my town and has some nice countryside only 10 min from Amy's place.  It is a pleasant little town and it was a nice relaxing weekend.  Now back to work.  

Conor's Noteworthy Noteables:

1.  Visited Amy in Balakleya.  Night trains, buses, and taxis - I am exhausted but it was an awesome visit.

2.  Got my first package in the mail.  Made my day.  Thank you sooooo much.  I finally have spices!

3.  Platzcart.  

4.  Exploring Balakleya with Amy.   

5.  First sunburn in Ukraine.  Check

6.  Probably heading to Kiev for a training mid august then off to Krivoy Rog for a week so that I can help a fellow volunteer run a camp.  

7.  Did I mention I recieved my first package!  Hint hint

Stay classy America!

 *Click on the photos to see the large version*

Beach in Balakleya

 Area around Balakleya

 

Uzbekistan restaurant 

My Train Tickets

Two Weeks at Site

It feels like I have been on a roller coaster for the last 2 weeks.  Lots of dramatic ups and downs and unseen twists and turns.  Wow,  I can't wait for things to flatten out.  The biggest issues are still expectations - both my expectations and the expectations of my counterpart.  I don't yet know what we will be doing and how I will help other than the fact that they want me to start a business center.  I am looking into it and have been working on some possible business trainings that I can give or possibly writing a grant to setup a computer lab though these are my ideas and I am not sure if they will fly or not.  It is difficult to get any details from my coworker and since I don't know the community I am forced to assume a lot.  That can be dangerous so I am going to observe for a while until I figure stuff out. 

Other than the stressful work situation, I  had a good weekend with Amy and a nice weekend in Dobropillya with some fellow volunteers to celebrate July 4th.  I took a taxi at 4 in the morning to a neighboring city (Markeevka) to pick her up at the train station.  Everything went smoothly though the taxi driver thought I said bus station so I almost got off at the wrong place.  lol  Things went smoothly from there.  We ate Pizza for breakfast (only place open at that time) then made our way back to my city.  We had a great weekend hanging out, cooking delicious meals, and watched a movie (Hot Tub Time Machine) lol understood only 20 percent but it was fun.  We also took a trip to Donetsk to explore the Oblast capital.  It is a nice city.  We went to their amusement park and rode the Farris wheel which was interesting because when we were at the top I realized that there is a TON of rust all over this thing.  I was happy we managed to get off without incident.  We then went to a Mexican food restaurant "Taquila Boom" - it was good though not your typical Mexican food.  I showed Amy the office and we had a BBQ with my counterpart and his wife.  It was a very nice weekend and it was awesome to have another American's prospective on my situation.  I dropped Amy off at the train station and made it back to my site via taxi.  This taxi driver ripped me off a little because I am American and do not know the language very well.  This was discouraging but lesson learned - reaffirm the price over and over again.  He wanted an extra 15 Grev - I argued with him a bit but I was not going to get into a fight over roughly $2.00 USD.  Still, that's messed up. 

This last weekend I woke up early and took the hour long bus ride to Donetsk where I met up with a volunteer and had breakfast.  We then made our way to a bus station on the other side of the city where we took another bus to Doborpillia (1:30).  We had our own little 4th of July party complete with BBQ, fireworks, and we even found some Miller Light.  lol  It was a good time.  8 American's showed up - 7 volunteers and 1 Fulbright scholar.  It was nice to be able to understand an entire conversation and just relax.  I think the Ukrainians were a bit confused about the fireworks though we did explain it was our independence day.  It was good to meet some of the other volunteers in our region.  They were all YD (youth development) and TEFL (English Teachers) so they had very different situations (they have some structure)  than I do.  Good people - good times. 

Conor's Noteworthy Noteables: 

1.  Amy visited.  Good times.  Very nice. 

2.  Numerous intense discussions via google translator with my Counterpart.

3.  First overnight solo travel.  Always an adventure

4.  Sleeping on the floor at a fellow volunteers Apt for the 4th of July.  I woke up with 30 bug bites.  yikes

5.  Slowly figuring out different meal options and how to properly handwash my clothing.  I would kill for something as easy as a hotpocket right now. 

6.  Talked via skype with my sister in an Internet club.  Headphones did not work so I had to use the speakers.  People were very intrigued with our English conversation.   

7.  Mexican food in Ukraine.  Different but a nice change of pace. 

8.  Explaining to Ukrainians why I am here.  Some of them find it hilarious that an American is way out here in Eastern Ukraine.  Usually a pretty funny conversation. 

9.  Tomatos.  Deeeeelish.  taste like home grown tomatos. 

My Office Building

Park in Donetsk