Thanksgiving: Kiev, Konotop, & Lugansk

Hello again,

Once again I have gone too long without posting on the ole Blog.  I have been traveling quite a bit and have not had access to internet long enough to post.  I am back and a lot has happened since my last post.  Since my last post, I have had numerous sessions with my Russian tutor, Amy came to visit, I have visited numerous English classes as a guest speaker, I visited a University in a neighboring town to speak to the students about the cultural differences between the US and Ukraine, I attended a "Warden" training in Kiev, visited my friend Kim in Konotop, and had Thanksgiving in Lugansk.  So you see, not much time to blog. 

I have been trying to devote more time and energy on studying Russian but with the traveling and constant things that seem to come out of nowhere – it has been difficult.  I am not sure if my Russian is getting better or worse.  My Russian tutors have been great though.  They are very nice people and genuinely care about their crazy American.  One of them has been teaching me how to prepare various Ukrainian/Russian meals while we converse in Russian.  I have made Verinnakey, Permini, and have made dough by hand.  Fun stuff.  She an awesome person and is constantly surprised how little I know about cooking which usually makes us laugh.  My problem is not that I can't figure out how to cook, it is simply that I do not think cooking a meal for 3 hours is worth the 5 min it takes to eat the meal.  Not to mention the cleanup time.  Who knows, maybe I will change and embrace my inner culinary self.  I am sick of eating eggs, cereal, and sandwiches every day.  I will add some photos of me cooking just in case you can't picture it mentally  lol  

My week of traveling was awesome.  I started with an overnight train to Kiev.  I am more cautious with my stuff now because my friend had his pants stolen while he was sleeping.  That would make for an awkward morning  lol.  I attended a "warden" training because I am now the security contact in my region in case of a disaster where all volunteers need to be evacuated from the country.  It was interesting – they had someone that worked for the Israel Special Forces for 15 years come speak to us about conflict avoidance/warning signs.  After the training, I went out with a couple volunteers and had a fun evening in Kiev then stayed at a hostel downtown.  It rained the entire time I was in Kiev but I still had a good time.  I enjoy staying at hostels -   15 beds in one big room is not all that comfortable but you meet many cool and interesting travelers so it is worth it.  Not to mention the fact that the bed costs only $16 and the hostel is located downtown next to many cool places.  The next day I went to get on the train to Konotop but alas the ticket I bought the day before was for a train that did not exist.  lol  Nobody knew what the hell kind of ticket I had.  Oh Ukraine.  So I had to buy another ticket and wait around for 3 hours.  When I arrived in Konotop, I waited around in a café for my cluster mate Kim.  Konotop is a nice city – bigger than my site and pretty clean.  We walked around the city and met up with a few other volunteers to attend Kim's English club where they had a surprise Thanksgiving dinner waiting for us.  It was very nice.  We had a good meal, met some good people, then made our way to the train station heading to Lugansk.  It was another overnight train but there were 4 of us so we crowded around a table and chatted the night away over wine and snacks.  Train travel is a lot of fun with good friends.  When we arrived in Lugansk, we were met by two of the volunteers that live in the city.  They walked us back to one of their apartments until our hotel room was ready.  Thanksgiving was a blast.  There was a total of 14 people there with varied backgrounds and ages (22 – 70 years old).  It was awesome – we hung out all day and night Friday and Saturday then I took a train home Sunday evening.  One of the older volunteers orchestrated the whole meal and managed to find a huge Turkey, bake pies, find good wine, and provide a great atmosphere for everyone to be together.  I tried to pitch in with a salad but I accidentally bought cabbage instead of lettuce.  lol  She saved the day by making a coleslaw with the ingredients I purchased.  It was great to have the whole cluster back together and see the other volunteers that I had not seen for a long time.  It was rainy in Lugansk too but it was still fun.  Peace Corps Volunteers know what's important and can always have a good time. 

Last week I visited a few English classes in my community.  I enjoy doing that and meeting the kids (10 – 20 years old).  Some of them speak English very well.  I am always s a bit of a spectacle when I visit these classes because most of the students have never spoken to a native English speaker or met an American.  It is kind of a confidence booster when people are so amazed when I speak my native language lol    The questions about America and the American culture are also quite entertaining.  Without fail, I am always asked if I have a wife and when I say that I don't have a wife and that I am not sure if I want to get married – it never ceased to blow a few minds.  I just see "cannot compute" on everyone's foreheads.  I explain that I don't really want kids, the world is overpopulated/polluted/finite resources etc..., and that I enjoy traveling.  Many of the questions I receive from the students are with regards to what kind of food Americans eat.  I try to explain that every state is different and that my family usually prefers Mexican food though it varies.  Obviously, the American culture is just a melting pot of many different cultures so it is almost impossible to answer some of their questions.  However, when I explain that individuality is very highly valued in American culture, (it is considered negative in Ukraine) that seems to get the students to start thinking about their own culture and we end up having a good discussion.  Many students are very shy and reserved – I think that being the first American they have ever met, being very tall, and the only person in my city of 65,000 people that has a beard can be intimidating for them at first but they come around eventually. 

Yesterday, I went to a neighboring city to talk with some University students about the American education system and culture.  I though it would be a very casual conversation with a few students that would probably last 15-30 min.  I should have know better – nothing ever goes down how you think it would in Ukraine.  I woke up early that day to get ready and catch the bus a little after 8:00.  I arrive at the University an hour later and the director gave me a tour of all of their classrooms which was interesting.  We then go into a huge auditorium with over 100 teachers and students and one of the teachers tells me, "ok, go ahead a start.  You will be speaking to them for 1 hour."  I just think.  ok.  I should have seen this coming.  The Conor 8 months ago would be pretty nervous at this point but I am pretty used to this kind of craziness now.  I said what I could in Russian but soon had to switch to English.  They provided me with a translator though she did not translate everything I said and would not translate what the students said – very frustrating.  It was not the smoothest or most comfortable presentation I have ever made but I think everyone enjoyed it.  After the presentation, I met with the director for some champagne, meat, cheese, and bread.  It was nice and everyone was every friendly.  Overall I had a good time.  I also me a director from a youth organization in the neighboring city which I might be able to work with in the future. 

Conor's Noteworthy Noteables:

1.  I ate 5 raw quail eggs at my Russian tutor's house.  Pretty good, kinda sweet, but I had some crazy dreams that night.  Not sure if I will be eating those again. 

2.  My Kindle arrived!  Awesome.  Now I have an endless supply of books to read which is important since the sun sets around 3:30 now.  Yikes.

3.  Egypt – 3 weeks and counting. 

4.  Bathroom flooded.  Lucky for me, the person that lives below me was very nice and there was little to no damage.  Apparently this is a common in old Soviet housing. 

5.  Read "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" on the train.  Very good book.  The new Kindle is awesome. 

6.  A package arrived from the states.  Thanks parents!  Kinda weird that 2 packages were sent at the exact same time from the same location but they arrived over a week apart.  The post office has the 2nd package but I have not been able to pick it up yet.  Thank again!  If anyone wants to send me some love, shoot me an email and I will send my address.  ;–)

7.  Cooked a couple different Ukrainian dishes with my new friend/tutor.  Always fun. 

8.  I have been starting conversations with random Ukrainians on the street.  Sometimes they have patience with my Russian and sometimes they don't.  It is interesting either way. 

9.  The new Peace Corps Trainees will be sworn in soon which means I will have a site mate within the next month!  I hope he or she is cool. 

*Click on the photo to see the large version*

Cooking Varinikee

Good ole fashoned meat grinding

Me & my friends

Chef Con

Amy and I

Preparing T-Giving

The T-Giving Gang

MMMMMmmm Turkey!

Dinner is served!

Cafe in Lugansk

Well, I am going to bed.  I hope all is well back home.  Peace