Finding my niche

The last two weeks have been relatively normal or as close to normal as they can get for an American living in Ukraine.  I have been trying to study Russian as much as possible but have been losing motivation – the learning curve has been more or less flat at this point.  I will continue to memorize new words and try to speak as much as possible but it is definitely slow going.  I thought I would be more or less fluent by now but turns out Russian is F*&%ing difficult!  lol  I will obviously keep at it though and have recently downloaded some "learn Russian" audio tracks to listen to while I work.  It is kind of  funny because I was listening to the audio tracks and repeating them out loud in my office when someone came into the office.  I did not notice the person at first and continued to say completely random Russian sentences.  After what I hope was only a minute or two, I looked up and I could not help but laugh when I saw a Ukrainian standing there with a confused and slightly nervous look oh her face.  lol  I tried to explain in a hurried and slightly embarrassed string of Russian words but I think she thought I was crazy anyway.  lol  It was totally worth the embarrassment though because I got a much needed laugh out of it which was great because I was feeling frustrated with my Russian Skillz. 

The Volunteer Center trainings have been going well.  The Mayor came to our 2nd training which really helped give our Volunteer Center some prestige and reinforced the importance of volunteering.  The kids seem very receptive to our trainings but the older generations still seem very skeptical.  I think I mentioned this in a previous post but volunteerism in the USSR was very different and was seen a way to force the people to work for free.  I can see why they are skeptical if they experienced "forced volunteerism"  but hopefully the volunteer center will change some of the negative misconceptions.  More importantly, the Volunteer Center will show the youth that they can make a difference in the community and will hopefully empower them.  I was also interviewed by the local newspapers again and had my picture in Thursday's paper.  Word as officially been spread.  We have had a really good turnout at the last two trainings.  We had around 40 people at the last two trainings which is great especially since we originally estimated only 25 (ages 16-30) .  The trainings have been for 3 hours every Saturday and I have been providing a 30 min fun English activity/lesson to help mix things up a bit and keep everyone evolved.  It has been a lot of fun and I think the Kids really enjoy it. 

Last Thursday one of my Ukrainian friends (Helen) invited me to the University of Economics and Management in Donetsk to talk to a group of graduate and PHD students.  It was an open talk to give everyone an opportunity to ask questions about the USA, practice their English, and learn a little bit about the American culture.  I really enjoy these experiences because everyone is so interested in the USA and they have tons of questions.  I talked about American politics, markets, education systems, and a lot about myself & the Peace Corps.  We also talked about Ukraine and some of the current issues Ukraine faces.  I cannot comment on Ukrainian politics because I work for the Peace Corps but it is very interesting to hear what Ukrainians have to say.  The old saying,  "it's not what you know but who you know"  seems especially appropriate in Ukraine.  At the end of the talk, the presented me with a new cutting board and a small painting.  It was very nice of them and I thought it was funny that Helen told them that I needed a cutting board.  lol  Helen was one of the people that came over to my apartment when I made soft shell tacos and she saw me using a cutting board the size of a small dinner plate so she must have told everyone about that.  lol  Thank you Aunt Kelly for providing all the delicious spices required for probably the first taco night my town has ever seen.  lol  Everyone loved the tacos!  It was great.  After the University, I was asked to visit another high school in my town and talk about the US currency and financial markets.  This was a very interesting talk because the situation in Ukraine is so different than in the US.  Inflation in Ukraine is around 15-16% and the Ukrainian stock market more or less closed off from the rest of the world.  I remember reading the statistic that rated the ease of doing business in around 148 different countries – Ukraine came in 143.  The article stated that difficult laws, confusing taxes, and corruption were the main factors. 

Last Saturday I met with the leader of the Business Union in my town to discuss possible projects.  He owns the only Asian restaurant in town so naturally we met in a private room in his restaurant and all ate sushi and drank vodka from 7:00 pm tell 2:00 am.  It was a nice evening.  We never got around to discussing projects but I think everyone had a good time.  That is just the culture here, social interactions always seem to come first before business and it would have been taboo for me to bring it up.  It was interesting to hear a businessman speak about doing business in Ukraine and I hope we can work together on a project.

 

Well, not much else going on at the moment.  I am just trying to help as much as I can.  I think I will visit the local Museum to help translate everything into English for them.  That would help me learn Russian and would help the Museum because everyone wants to prepare for the Euro 2012 football championships that will be hosted in Ukraine and that means making things foreigner friendly. :-)

Take care all.

Conor's Noteworthy Noteables:

1.  Amy is returning to Ukraine next Tuesday! 

2.  The Mayer visited the Volunteer Center. 

3.  I went to another comedy club competition at the Palace of Culture (where my office is located). 

4.  Visited a Kazak festival and observed some old traditions and some Karate demonstrations from my old friends at the Karate club.

5.  I have been trying to eat better but I hate cooking.  It is a difficult combination. 

6.  The sun is finally staying up past 5:00!  Earlier this winter it was setting at 3:30 pm.  I am tired of Gray – Come on Summer!

7.  I have been getting to know my Ukrainian friends better.  Very good people. 

8.  I have been looking to start another project but I am not sure what to start yet.  I will keep you posted. 

9.  I have been thinking about taking a trip to Turkey.  I was there once with my uncle but I want to see more of it. 

Volunteer Center

Blast from the past - Costa Rica 2006

Livin and Workin

Hello,

    It has been a long time since my last post.  Since my last post, we have had our first Volunteer Center meeting.  We used the grant money to buy a computer, projector, and some supplies for the organization.  Things have been moving along just fine.  We had a few glitches at the beginning but I guess that is to be expected with all new projects and organizations.  All in all I think it went pretty well though definitely not how I originally expected it to go.  My counterparts seem to be pretty happy with how it went and the youth that came to the trainings seemed to enjoy it as well.  Things just work differently in this culture.  When I think of training a group of young people on various topics of volunteerism - I think organized PowerPoint presentations, clearly defined goals & objectives,  planning, preparation, and meetings before the training actually starts.  That is simply not how things work here.  My counterpart told me a week before the training that everything was ready and that I should stop worrying about it so I thought – who am I to tell them how to do things in their culture?   It ended up that the first training was delayed a week, nobody brought the presentations, we did not meet before hand, and there was mass confusion.  I had to run to the nearest internet access point to download the presentations only to find that nobody bothered to download the software required to use our presentations.  lol  Once again, things do tend to work out here.  Someone found another laptop to use that had the software installed though we then found out that we did not have an extension cord for the projector so I had to run to the nearest store and buy one.  Needless to say, we had a few hiccups with our first meeting but people enjoyed it and even learned a thing or two.  We all agreed that we need to be better organized for the next meeting but today is Thursday and the meeting is on Saturday and we still have not met.  lol   This will still be a beneficial project even if it is not how I would have imagined it.  The more I learn about the culture, the more I think that an "American" style presentation probably would not be well received here.  I need to have faith and trust the people I work with because after all, they know how things work in Ukraine far better than I.  I just wish I could contribute more to the project but my Russian is simply not good enough. 

Other than that, I have continued to facilitated some English clubs in my community and find them to be some of the highlights of my week.  The kids are great and really enjoy learning English.  I try to make the club as fun and educational as possible which is easy to do because the kids are so nice.  Things have been a bit difficult lately so having such an awesome club is great.  It has been soooooo cold here it is ridiculous.  It is so cold that my nose runs and then freezes on my mustache.  lol  TMI?  Amy was sent back to DC for medical reasons though she will be medically cleared soon so hopefully she will be back with in week or so.  I have been frustrated because I want to help my organization more but am limited because of my Russian.  I have also been missing family and friends back home.  It is times like these that I have to concentrate on why I decided to join the Peace Corps in the first place.  In training, the Peace Corps showed us a graph showing the emotional roller coaster that is Peace Corps service.  It is filled with huge ups and sometimes huge downs.  Part of this might be because all volunteers want to accomplish a lot in their respective communities and it can be difficult when you realize that due to cultural differences, the ever-present language barrier, or whatever the reasons might be – you might not accomplish what you originally thought.  That is not to say that the volunteers accomplish any less than they originally thought – simply that the accomplishments end up being completely different than expected.  Different cultures have different priorities and goals – often what volunteers see as a problem is not viewed as such in the local community.  For example, many people in my community think that AIDS does not exist or is only limited to drug users when in fact, 2% of the population has HIV/AIDS.  Also, many accomplishments are not measurable – how do you measure cultural exchange, showing people that their negative stereotypes of Americans or certain groups of people is not accurate, or the relationships that are made throughout Peace Corps service? 

Anywho, not much else is going on.  I keep busy.  I will be heading to Kharkov in March and might be doing another 10 day camping trip in the Spring.  I hope all is well back in the US.  Take care everyone.

   

Conor's Noteworthy Noteables:

1.  I received a package from my Aunt.  Awesome!  Thanks Kelly!  Cheese dip, spices, recipes, chips, and tortillas!  I made some soft shell tacos for some of my friends.  It was deeeeeelishous.  Oh how I miss spicy food. 

2.  I took another Language Proficiency Exam and scored significantly higher than I did after PST (pre-service training)

3.  I am looking to start a Debate club.  Should be fun and will be 100% in Russian. 

4.  I met with a couple new organizations in my town.  Always interesting.

5.  In the next few months I will try and start studying for the GMAT.  I am not sure what I will do after PC but I want to have options.
6.  Went to a concert in my city with some friends.  Very cool.  It was nice to see a more liberal croud.

Church in Kiev

Friends at Language Refresher (Chernigiv)

Volunteer Center

Interesting Building in Kiev

Amy and I