Yesterday I got onVkontakte.com (now Vk.com)and looked at all my students pictures. It was a little sad. Soon everyone in Ukraine will forget us over here and not remember who we are. I want to go back sometimes. I will try to make Conor and I go back.

В течение одной недели, я закончила! ДА ДА ДА! Я получаю две недели отпуска, то я начинаю снова. Я так рада! Но, прямо сейчас, у меня есть ооочень много сделать. Я не могу поверить, что у меня было достаточно времени сегодня, чтобы смотреть шоу с Конором! Что я должна делать сейчас пишет один из моих 15 страниц документов, которые на следующей неделе. Я думаю, что все будет хорошо, хотя. Конором уходит в эти выходные в штате Юта с некоторыми друзьями и я получаю квартиру себе. Я так рада! Я получаю (надеюсь) получить кучу моих бумагах сделано, а затем просто быть сделано на следующей неделе. мы будем видеть.

Вчера я получила на Vkontakte.com (ныне Vk.com) и смотрел на все мои ученики фотографии. Это было немного грустно. Скоро все в Украине будет забывай нас сюда, и не помню, кто мы. Я хочу вернуться иногда. Я постараюсь сделать Конором, и я возвращаюсь.

Я все еще в университете, но у меня только еще 4 недели, пока эти классы не закончены. Есть 5 “четверти”, и в каждом «четверт» есть 3 классов. Каждый четверт составляет 10 недель. Я в моем первом четверте и после того как я закончу свою 5-й четверт, я начинаю работать. Ahhhhh!

Конор и я, наконец, получили стол. Это забавно, леди, которая продала его нам выиграли его на телешоу игре (помню игру Jeopardy в классе?).

Что еще … Мы почти пошели в магазин и купил щенка … почти. Но потом мы решили, что мы должны ждать, пока Конор не устраивается на работу. Я хочу щенка!

Я встречалас с боссом корпорации Boeing. Boeing является компанией, которая делает крупнейших самолетов в мире для аэропортов и для военных. Компания зарабатывает $ 81 миллиардов долларов в год! Это был сумасшедший, чтобы встретиться с ним. Он пришел в мою школу говорить о Китае. На следующей неделе посол в Кении придет в мою школу поговорить об экономике. Я люблю свою школу!

НОВОСТИ: Лидия Чернова (преподаватель английского языка) получила награду на прошлой неделе за то, что одна из Cорока до Cорока победителей! Она получила сертификат и красивые цветы, и она сказала спасибо Корпуса мира! Смотреть ее по телевизору! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOnHHUahUws

Это заставило меня подумать … женщины становятся все более равными в Украине? Его странные, большинство людей, которых я говорила в Украине считает, что отношение к женщинам в равных с мужчинами. Однако, когда я начала говорить с людьми, почему они думали, что, многие передумали и решили, что они думали, женщины не были равны. Например, если вы мать-одиночка в Украине, вы, вероятно, никогда не будет иметь шанс иметь дома свой ​​собственный. Но если у вас есть муж, то, возможно, в один прекрасный день вы сможете купить дом. Почему? Потому что женщины зарабатывают меньше, и, следовательно, должны полагаться на женятся, чтобы иметь возможность когда-либо иметь дом (который является большой мечтой для многих женщин).

Я много раз слышала от женщин, что они “являются счастливыми, но жаль, что они не женились так молода”. Другие сказали мне, что они думают, что их партнер не может быть “один” для них, как и в не свою родственную душу. В некоторых печальных случаев, женщины были недовольны в их браки и даже застрять в оскорбительного отношения. Я НИКОГДА не встречала каждого, кто был разведен (который является чем-то страны всегда отмечают, что в этом плохого американцев), но я видела много мужчины и женщины, которые изменяли своим мужьям и женам. Значит ли это сделать развод “плохой” или “аморальным”, если оставаться вместе приводит к обмана и лжи на вашего мужа или жены?

Так, что еще хуже: ложь и обман или разрушение брака. Кто принимает решения?
Что вы думаете? Вы согласны или не согласны. (Сходить с ума!)

Извините … У меня нет ничего, чтобы написать о другом, чем это. ха-ха! Мысли?

Ах да, я забыла, вот фотографии с Rave Беги! Я побежал в 5 км за 25 минут!

It snowed yesterday and its cold. That is the answer to all my Ukrainian friends who always asked me if it was hot in America. As I have answered many times, it depends on the state. In Florida right now, it is hot and people are already walking around in their bathing suits. Here in Colorado though, everything is covered in snow, especially in the mountains where there is more than 50 centimeters of snow. Eeeek!

I am still in school but I only have 4 more weeks until these classes are done. There are 5 “quarters” and in each “quarter” there is 3 classes. Each quarter is 10 weeks long. I am in my first quarter and after I finish my 5th quarter, I start working. Ahhhhh!

Conor and I finally got a table. It is funny, the lady who sold it to us won it on a television game show (Remember playing Jeopardy in class?).

What else…We almost went to a store and bought a puppy…ALMOST. But then we decided we need to wait until Conor gets a job. I want a puppy so bad!!!

I met the CEO of Boeing coorporation. Boeing is a company that makes the world’s biggest airplanes for airports and for the military. The company earns $81 BILLION EACH YEAR! It was crazy to meet him. He came to my school to talk about China. Next week the ambassador to Kenya will come to my school to talk about the economy. I love my school!

NEWS: Lydia Chernova (Fellow English Teacher) got an award last week for being one of Forty Under Forty winners! She got a beautiful certificate and flowers and she said thank you to Peace Corps! Watch her on television (in Ukrainian): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOnHHUahUws

This made me think…are women becoming more equal in Ukraine? Its weird, the majority of people I talked to in Ukraine thought that women were treated equal to men. However, when I started talking to people about WHY they thought that, many changed their minds and decided they thought women weren’t equal. For example, if you are a single mom in Ukraine, you probably will never have the chance to own a home of your own. But if you have a husband, then maybe one day you’ll be able to buy a house. Why? Because women make less and therefore have to rely on getting married to have the option of ever having a house (which is a big dream for many women).

I have heard on numerous occasions by women that they “are happy but wish they hadn’t gotten married so young”. Others told me they think their partner may not be “THE ONE” for them, as in not their soul mate. In some sad cases, women were unhappy in their marriages and even stuck in abusive relationships. I never met any one who had been divorced (which is something countries always point out that is bad about Americans) but I saw many men and women who cheated on their husbands and wives. So does that make divorce “bad” or “immoral” if staying together results in cheating and lying on your spouse?

Which is worse: Lying and Cheating or breaking up a “religious” union. Who decides?

Just a thought. Sorry…I don’t have anything else to write about other than that. haha! Thoughts?

Oh yah, I almost forgot! Here are pictures of the Rave Run. I ran 5km in 25 minutes!

Sorry it has taken so long to write again. I started studying again in university so I have been so busy! I have to read almost 500 pages A WEEK!!! ITs crazy.

I don’t really have a lot of news this time but soon there will be.

Conor is in Asia right now, Japan, South Korea, and China. So I am all alone until the 17th. But its ok….he distracts me and I have too much to do!!!

So I made a video for you guys to see what everything here really looks like. Unfortunately though, I don’t have an awesome camera like Mary and Alina.

I think I might have saved enough money to send you guys a package soon…However, is is going to cost me about 500 UAH to only send it, and then more to buy things. This means that I will only send you something if you read my blog AND you were and active member of my English Club, (Active = you came to my English club many times, not just once). Sorry to the others, I’m a poor student without a job.

If you have something special you want, let me know. Otherwise, I will surprise you.

When we run in 2 weeks I will take many pictures and tell you about it, I promise. But for now, goodbye and I will wait for your names. (FIRST AND LAST!)

Привет, ребята!

К сожалению, у меня было не так много времени, чтобы написать новый пост. Я снова начала заниматься в университете, так что я была сильно занята. Мне пришлось прочитать 500 страниц за НЕДЕЛЮ. Это безумие.

Сейчас у меня не очень много новостей, но скоро они появятся.

Конор сейчас в Азии, он будет в Японии, Южной Корее и Китае. Так что я в полном одиночестве до 17-го числа. Но ничего страшного…Он отвлекает меня, а у меня сейчас очень много дел!

Так что я сделала для вас видео, ребята, чтобы вы увидели то, как все здесь выглядит. Хоть у меня и нет такой классной камеры, как у Мэри или Алины.

Я думаю, я могла бы сэкономить достаточно денег, чтобы скоро отправить вам посылку, ребят. Впрочем, это будет стоить мне около 500 грн, и это только отправить, а еще больше – чтобы что-то купить. Это значит, что я смогу  вам отправить что-то, только если вы активный член English Club и читаете мой блог. (Активный – значит вы много раз приходили в мой английский клуб). Если что, извините остальные, я просто бедный безработный студент.

Если вы хотите что-то особенное, дайте мне знать, иначе я могу удивить вас.

На пробежке через 2 недели я буду делать много фотографий, и я обещаю рассказать вам обо всем. Но сейчас, до свидания, и я буду ждать ваши имена. (ИМЯ И ФАМИЛИЮ!)

Сейчас я просматриваю самый симпатичный малыш! Она почти никогда не плачет, и она все время улыбается. Это то, что я сейчас делаю до школа начинается. Тогда я буду все профессиональная и важная снова (haha!: P).

Так, что новость то? На прошлой неделе, Конор, и я пошли в горы, чтобы увидеть некоторые немецкие друзья, которые в США сейчас. Мы провели все время в горячих источниках и джакузи! (Это жизнь!) Но, по пути домой, мы попали в очень плохой снежной бури, и мы почти не получали дома. Ето страшно вождения, когда у вас нет очень мощный автомобиль, ваш скольжение, и снег так сильно, вы даже не можете видеть. Но мы сделали это домаНо мы вернулись домой!!

Прошлых выходных мы поехали в дома друга Конора , Джош. Джош и его брат Дерек самом деле приехали на Украину, чтобы посетить в феврале прошлого года. Кто-нибудь помнит их? Дома у Джоша, мы сделали пиво! Один из них был сильный темного пива, а другой был красным пивом. И будет готова через 6 недель. Это большое хобби, сделать пиво в Колорадо.

Наша квартира по-прежнему очень пусто и не много мебели, но некоторые люди попросили меня поставить фотографий. Я знаю, что в Украине, обычно, вы получите мебель с квартирами, если снять квартиру, да? Ну в Америке, очень необычно. Как правило, вы получите только мебель, если вы живете в специальных квартирах, как правило, для студентов. Таким образом, Конор и у меня есть квартира с только кровать, диван и журнальный столик, вот и все. Тем не менее, все квартиры включают шкаф, холодильник и плита.

Я выбрала мои уроки в университете. Все они, вероятно, очень трудно и очень скучно для многих людей, если они не меня, но так или иначе я люблю узнать о том, как реагировать на гуманитарные кризисы и как планировать проекты Глобального здравоохранения.

Таким образом, я не знаю, если любой из вас смотреть американские новости, но интересную историю на новости: большое круизное судно начался пожар и сделал все остановки корабля работают. Корабль не горел слишком много, но все ванные комнаты и вода перестала работать. 4,200 пассажиров оказались в ловушке на лодке в течение 5 дней, пока они были в состоянии осуществить это в штате Алабама. Люди мочиться в залах и на кровати и прочее. Ewww!

20 апреля, Конор и я собираюсь делать ночью 5 километре перспективе. Путь светится разноцветными огоньками, и все Wheres одежды и ювелирных изделий, который светится! Это будет так весело. Затем, в июле, мы собираемся сделать еще один 5K для зомби! Половина людей одеваться как зомби и другой перспективе половины от зомби. Конор будет зомби, я буду баллотироваться. Я знаю, что вы думаете: “Американцы с ума!” Но по крайней мере у нас весело!

Хорошо, наслаждайтесь фотографиями. Я напишу позже. Как всегда, я люблю комментарии!

Hello!

Right now I am currently watching the cutest baby ever! She almost never cries and she smiles all the time. This is what I am currently doing until school starts. Then I will be all professional and important again, (right!? ).

So, what’s news then? Last week, Conor and I went to the mountains to see some German friends who were in the USA. We spent the whole time in hot springs and Jacuzzis! (This is the life!) But, on the way home, we got  caught in a really bad snow storm and we almost didn’t get home. Its scary driving when you don’t have a very powerful car, your slipping, and its snowing so hard you can’t even see. But we made it home!

Last weekend we went to Conor’s friend’s house, Josh. Josh and his brother Derek actually came to Ukraine to visit in February last year. Anyone remember them? At Josh’s house, we made beer! One was a strong dark beer and the other one was a red beer. Both will be ready in 6 weeks! It is a big hobby to make Beer in Colorado.

Our apartment is still very empty and without a lot of furniture but some people asked me to put up pictures. I know that in Ukraine, normally you get furniture with an apartment if you rent, yes? Well in America that is very unusual. Normally you only get furniture if you live in special apartments, usually for students. So Conor and I have an apartment with only a bed, a couch, and a coffee table, that’s it. However, all apartments for rent include a closet, a refrigerator, and a stove.

Я выбрала мои уроки в университете. Все они, вероятно, очень трудно и очень скучно для многих людей, если они не меня, но так или иначе я люблю узнать о том, как реагировать на гуманитарные кризисы и как планировать проекты Глобального здравоохранения.

So, I don’t know if any of you watch American news, but interesting story on the news: a large cruise ship started on fire and made the whole ship stop working. The ship didn’t burn too much but all the bathrooms and water stopped working. 4,200 passengers were trapped on the boat for 5 days until they were able to pull it to the state of Alabama. People were peeing in the halls and on beds and stuff. EWWW!

On April 20th, Conor and I are going to do a night 5K run. The path is lit up with colorful lights and everyone wheres clothes and jewelry that glows! It is going to be so much fun. Then, in July, we are going to do another 5K for ZOMBIES! Half the people dress up like Zombies and the other half run from the Zombies. Conor will be a zombie; I will run. I know what you are thinking: “Americans are crazy!” But at least we have fun!

Ok, enjoy the pictures. I will write again soon. As always, I love comments!

Back in Denver! YAY! So glad. Me and Conor bought a coffee maker, a couch, and some other things. Also, we bought tons of food. Its funny, in America, they have this store called COSTCO. In the store, they sell things for REALLY CHEAP but you have to buy a lot of it at one time. So maybe I want one bottle of milk, but you can’t buy anything small there. In the long time, its cheaper, but in one moment, it is SO MUCH MONEY!!! See picture: 

I am thinking about what classes to take now and where I will work. I think I might work with young girls and self-esteem again. I loved doing those camps in Ukraine so it might be nice to do it again. I will never forget my students picking up Alyona and carrying her over the spiderweb rather than going through it.

Skittles loves it here. She is running around all the time and sleeping on Conor’s new chair. Conor sits and reads while Skittles plays with his feet. Its funny to watch. She also loves to go onto our balcony.

I bought a bike. Conor already bought a car but I think I am going to wait a while. They also have really good bus schedules in Denver, which is not typical of the USA. Its funny though because there are so many more laws here in the USA. For example, I can get a ticket here if I am not wearing a helmet or if I don’t have a bike light when I am riding at night.

I have been home for almost 2 months and I didn’t see snow until yesterday!!!! Its so pretty and it makes me think of Ukraine. Sometimes I wonder if I will accidentally meet someone from Ukraine. Every time Conor and I see Russian letters of hear Russian, we stop, and smile at each other. Sometimes we try to read or listen.

Anyways, Another blog post soon. If you like these blog posts in Russian and English, let me know so I know I am not just writing to myself. See more pictures below. (Of hanging out!)

Вернулась в Денвер! Ура! Так рада. Я и Конор купили кофеварку, диван и кое-что еще. Кроме того, мы купили много еды. Забавно, в Америке, есть магазин под названием Costco. В магазине продаются ДЕЙСТВИТЕЛЬНО ДЕШЕВЫЕ вещи, но вы сразу должны купить много. Поэтому, возможно, если я захочу одну бутылку молока, я не смогу купить ее, потому что этого мало. В течении долгого времени – это дешевле, но единовременно это не выгодно, потому что нужно потратить так много денег! См. фото:

Я думала о том, какие классы взять сейчас и где я буду работать. Думаю, я снова смогу работать с девушками и темами о самооценке. Я любила устраивать такие лагеря в Украине, было бы неплохо сделать это снова. Я никогда не забуду моих студентов, например, как мы протаскивали Алену под веревками, вместо того, чтобы она пролезала сквозь них.

Скиттлс здесь нравится. Она все время бегает и спит на новом кресле Коннора. Коннор сидит и читает, в то время как Скиттлс играет с его ногами. Это очень смешно. Еще ей нравится на балконе.

Я купила велосипед. Коннор уже купил машину, но я пока не спешу с этим. У них, также, действительно хорошее расписание в Денвере, что необычно для США. Это смешно, потому что здесь есть так много разных законов, в США. Например, я могу получить штраф, если я не ношу шлем или если у меня не работает отражатель, когда я еду ночью.

Я была дома почти 2 месяца, а снег увидела только вчера!! Это так красиво, что заставляет меня вспоминать об Украине. Иногда мне кажется, что я могу случайно встретить кого-то из Украины. Каждый раз, когда я и Коннор видим русские слова или слышим русский, мы останавливаемся и улыбаемся друг другу. Иногда мы пытаемся прочитать или послушать что-то из того, что нам попадается.

В любом случае, скоро будет новый блог. Если вам нравятся посты на русском или английском, дайте мне знать, мне хотелось бы понимать, что они интересны кому-то и я не пищу их только для себя. Смотрите другие фотографии ниже!

Сейчас я нахожусь во Флориде, но во вторник я вернусь в штат Колорадо. Я очень рада! Вы все знаете, как я люблю свою кошку, и как я скучала по ней! Я не буду работать и ходить в школу до марта. Это значит, что у меня много свободного времени. Сейчас я делаю классный проект: это флаг Украины и трезубец. Я сфотографирую его, когда закончу!

Итак, я в Америке уже 1 месяц и 20 дней. Такое чувство, словно целую вечность. Я скучаю по Украине. Хотя, больше всего, я вспоминаю лето. (Я уверена, вы все согласны!) Здесь очень жарко каждый день. Поэтому я в футболке каждый день. Мой дедушка позволяет мне водить свою машину каждый день. Я очень скучала по вождению. В основном, я здесь много читала, смотрела телевизор, гуляла, а также навестила семью. (Скучно!) Но скоро я вернусь к Коннору, и мы начнем украшать нашу новую квартиру. Я также сфотографирую её.

Наша квартира такого же размера, как моя вторая квартира в Украине, (75 квадратных метров). Там большая спальня с огромными окнами, гостиной с большими зеркалами на одной стене, небольшая кухня и балкон. Скиттлс любит ее. Мы живем на третьем этаже. На первом этаже находится внутренний бассейн, открытый плавательный бассейн, джакузи, сауна, теннисные корты и тренажерный зал. Похоже, мы богаты, но все американские апартаменты имеют лишние вещи на первом этаже. Приезжайте и вы можете попробовать все это!

Итак, теперь я просто жду, когда начнется школу. Новостей немного. Я скучаю по вам (Английский клуб и студенты). Конечно же, добро пожаловать ко мне, в гости, когда-нибудь в будущем, если вы приедете в США! :-)

(См. фотографии внизу! Картины отовсюду, где я побывала в этом месяце!)

Hello English club and anyone else who reads this!

Now I am in Florida but Tuesday I go back west to Colorado. I am excited! You all know how much I love my cat and I have really missed her! I don’t start working or going to school until March. This means that I have a lot of free time. Now I am making a really cool project that has the flag of Ukraine and the trident. I will take pictures of it when it is done!

So, I have been in America for 1 month and 20 days. It feels like forever. I miss Ukraine. Mostly I miss summer though. (I am sure you all agree!) It is so hot here; Everyday I am wearing a t-shirt. My grandpa allows me to drive his car everyday. I really missed driving. Mostly I read a lot here, watch TV, go for a lot of walks, and visit family. (Kind of boring!) But soon I will be back to Conor and we will start decorating our NEW apartment. I will also take pictures of it.

Our apartment is the size of my second apartment in Ukraine, (75 square meters). It has a big bedroom with huge windows, a living room with big mirrors on one wall, a small kitchen, and a balcony. Skittles loves it. It is on the third floor and on the first floor, there is a inside swimming pool, an outside swimming pool, a hot-tub  a sauna, tennis courts, and a gym. It sounds like we are rich, but all (most) American apartments have the extra stuff on the first floor. Come visit and you can use all of it!

So now I am just waiting for school to start. Not a lot of news. I miss you guys (English club and students). As you know, you are welcome to visit me ever in the future if you come to the USA!

(See pictures on the bottom! The pictures are of the places I have visited this month!)

Family:

Now I am just wrapping up my service and preparing to say goodbye ot everyone. However, I decided to have one last event. During Fall break, I had a camp for boys and girls on the topic of Leadership. Janine and Charlie came to help out and it was great! We had 14 girls and one boy. He was very brave. The camp had topics such as public speaking, sexual health, volunteerism, LGBT awareness, and abortion. The lessons on LGBT awareness and abortion were particularly effective. Many of the girls [and boy] had some misconceptions about the LGBT community. As for the topic of abortion, they were all surprised about the statistics related to abortions in Ukraine-the average # of abortions during the Soviet Union was 12 per woman; 78% of abortions are done by women who reject all unnatural methods of birth control; 24% are done by woman who use contraception  including condoms and “The Pill”; more women die every year from complications during birth than those who die from abortions; about 45% of women in Ukraine have had at least one abortion, which is one of the highest abortion rates in the world. So as you can see, there was a lot to learn. The last day, we had a relay race, played some games, and congratulated Janine on her birthday. [I feel like I am writing like how a Ukrainian would write in English....]

My birthday was two weeks ago! I love birthdays, except in Ukraine. In America, if it’s your birthday, you can do what you want; stay in bed, read a book, watch a movie, or throw a party. But it is never so much work that you’re stressing yourself out and not enjoying your birthday; I don’t think I’ve ever had to prepare so much for my birthday that I hated it. In Ukraine on the other hand, you have to prepare a full meal for your friends, sit for 4+ hours and talk and drink, and you have to pay for it all yourself. A birthday in Ukraine is about your friends. Sometimes they give you money, but in my two years experience, it doesn’t cover everything. Also, this is REQUIRED. It’s not a choice.

Last year’s birthday party!

This birthday, I was in the kitchen for hours; I made apple pie, deviled eggs, stuffed potatoes, bruschetta, white bean dip, dark chocolate orange fudge cake, and Sangria. I was really excited about it, even though I had to prepare everything a day in advance, (I love sharing American culture).Then, I brought it all to school and sat through four hours of my teachers ignoring me and making no effort to include me in the conversation, which was in Russian, even though the party was with English teachers.

It wasn’t all bad though. The next day I invited a bunch of Americans over and we went to the Sauna for four hours, ( a sauna is a steamed room where you sit and sweat out all your toxins). I thoroughly enjoy this tradition. It was an awesome night and a great way to make up for the day before. I also got rid of a bunch of stuff and now I am closer to having my apartment packed.

After that, I went to Janine’s town where I helped her with a camp similar to the one I had. Her students were upper and university students though. The camp was three days long and ended with an awesome Halloween party.

I got the calendars! 160 of them. After heading home from Janine’s, I went to Donetsk and picked them up. It was SO HEAVY! I had to go on a bus and stand for a hour until I got to my town where the box broke in the middle of the road! It was terrible! Luckily I was close enough to home that I could leave half the calendars and come back to get them.

It looks something like this:

To say goodbye to my English club, I had a party. The theme was MUSTACHES. Girls and boys were required to come with a mustache. It was super silly. We danced, ate, played games and I made a goodbye video for my students. So sad….They are my favorite part of Ukraine.

I did a conference in Donetsk for 100 English teachers. Wasn’t too exciting, but its nice to work until the very end…makes me feel accomplished! I taught the teachers how to use games in the classroom. They loved Jeopardy!

I also went to Dnipropetrovsk to say my last goodbye to my group. I took my Ukrainian friend with me. She said it was super interesting to be surrounded by Americans and to try American food! Albeit, very overwhelming.

So, almost home….I find myself often looking around me and trying to take permanent mental pictures of everything around me. But I’ll be back…I’m sure of it.

I went to COS (Close of Service) conference at the end of September. I’m not really a big fan of big groups of people so I felt super awkward. The information was really useful though and it was nice to see the group I trained with. After the conference though, I started to feel super anxious and overwhelmed like I don’t have enough time to do all the things I need to do….we’ll see.

[photo 1:I'm on the right sitting down!]

[photo 2: Training group]

 [Photo 3: Typical Donbass strict face photo]

Skittles (my lovely cat) had surgery 3 weeks ago. No more baby making parts. It was terrible. I thought it would be but I think its worse in Ukraine. Then after the surgery she was wobbling all over my apartment with blue antibiotic spray all over her fur (and now all over my apartment). Twice a day I had to give her antibiotic shots. It was terrible. She would scream and bite and scratch. I have marks left all over my body. By the 3^rd day, she knew that that needle meant and she ran whenever she saw it. However, now she is back to her normal health and is as annoying as ever. Up until yesterday I thought for sure I would be taking her home but now I am not so sure due to recent developments. I hope so though…

On September 15^th I had a very important HIV/AIDS training in my school. We invited a HIV/AIDS trainer from the Peace Corps office who conducted a seven hour traing for 4 students and 21 administration and teachers. At the beginning of the training I was nervous because everyone was complaining about having to spend seven hours in school on a Saturday to learn about somehting they “already knew about”. By the end of the training though, everyone was glowing and saying thank you and expressing how surprised they were about the content of the training. Even though the training ran a little over time, every teacher stayed to take a picture with their certificates. Woop woop! SUCCESS!

[Pictures of participants, training, my secret twin, and the organizers, Lydia, Radislav and me!]

So now are making a calendar to lead up to World AIDS Day, December 1^st. It looks awesome and we had 16 students participate in a HIV/AIDS art contest to be featured in the calendar. The outside of the calendar is a collage of all the pictures we took at the training. Its going to look awesome. As I mentioned before, the calendars are for sale for about $3-4 and shipping is about $3-4. If you want one, please let me know and I will send it as soon as they are ready.

[Some of the awesome submissions]

And the front of the calendar:

This past weekend I took one of my best Ukrainian friends, Lena, to Dnepropetrovsk to celebrate Jewish Rosh Hashanah with 25+ Peace Corps Volunteers. She was one of 4 Ukrianians to be present amongst the large group of Americans. She said it was one of the most unique (and tiring) experiences of her life. Aside from the overwhelming amount of English being spoken, we also took her to TGI Friday’s where she exclaimed, “All they have on this menu is snacks and finger-food! Where are the actual meals?!”

So now I am preparing to go home. I have to write a [long] description of my service, continue grad school applications, and pack up two years of my life. I took the GRE and I did good. Not excellent, but good enough for the schools I am applying for, which means I don’t have to take it again!!! YAY! Next week is the start of fall break. Funny story: Fall break will be two weeks this year while Winter break will only be one week. Why? Because my town is broke so they don’t want to turn the town’s heating system on. Extending Fall break means they don’t have to turn on the heating until the kids come back to school. It also means that I won’t have heating in my house until November.

During Fall break I’m going to have one last project. Like the Girl’s camp I did during spring break, we are going to have an HIV/AIDS camp during Fall break. For three days with the help of two volunteers we are going to have a camp for 15 girls and boys. Pictures to be posted.

I’m going to PARIS before I go home! I AM SO STOKED! I recently heard that one of my best friends is moving there to study french. She is from Mexico. We met while studying abroad together in Uruguay three years ago and we have kept in contact since. So, I bought a ticket already and I might be as excited about it as I am about going home.

More news to be posted soon, probably a few days before I leave or when I get back. I will be super busy though since I have tons of paperwork to do, a home to pack and several travel plans. I plan on visiting at least five states when I get home so I may not have a second to sit down and write! But to all who have been reading, thank you so much for showing interest in what I have been doing in my service the last two years. I sincerely appreciate it.

Summer is coming to an end. School starts next week. Projects are to be started. And soon I will go to COS (Close of Service) conference and learn how to close my [long] service here in Ukraine.

It’s a little nerve-wracking to know that I will soon I will be lost in the flurry of preparations to go home and then before I know it, I’ll be home. I was talking to Conor one day and he said thinking of his 27 months in Ukraine was like thinking of a dream he once had. He simply woke up and he was back in the USA. This scares me. I have made so many friends here, had so many unique experiences here, and I have such wonderful students, that I don’t want to look at Ukraine as merely a “long dream”…

Today I returned from a village about an hour from where I live. My good friend Lena’s family lives there and they invited us to come visit. The head of the family, a young babushka, lived in a very simple house. No hot water, no running water, a toilet on the street, a well, a make-shift shower (which needed to be filled after each shower), and a beautifully huge garden where all our food came from (and where also stood a pig, several chickens, 2 cows, ducks, and 8 cats). For the first time in my life I saw a cow get milked. I should have milked it myself… I didn’t. Oh, and I got told by a 3-year old that, “If you can’t speak Russian so that everyone can understand you [referring to my accent], then you shouldn’t speak Russian at all.” Thanks kid. Like I don’t already know I have an accent.

August 24th is Ukraine’s independence day so this day we went into the nearest town, walked around their park, drank champagne, and generally enjoyed the atmosphere. The next two days consisted mostly of eating, drinking, and relaxing on the beach at a nearby pond. It’s literally my dream life.

Since coming back to my little town, I have had 3 exciting meetings with my English Club. The first night was Mexican food and “Parent Trap” night, the movie. We made everything from scratch, including corn tortillas, re-fried beans, salsa, and Mexican rice. The kids loved it! Some even tried Texas Pete sauce, which is a miracle in Ukraine, as Ukrainians generally don’t eat spicy food.

The second meeting with English club was a trip to a little place called Avdeevka. There is located a beautiful and clean swimming hole (a quarry I think?). Although it took us 4 hours on two different elektrichkas (suburb trains?), we spent all day there and had a blast. Except then we missed our train back home and had to catch another, which was rather complicated and time-consuming.

The third meeting was a Lasagna night. They loved the food, but this meeting turned out to be extremely disappointing as several students complained about everything; from the meat I chose, to the fact that I was eating meat at all, and then of course, the movie I chose. When they left this meeting, I was angry and disappointed in them and sent out a very stern email to show it. Sucks that in Ukraine, no one knows how to handle direct confrontation, so no one knew what to do with it. I managed to get apologies from the kids who didn’t offend me…

My good PCV friend, Janine, and I went camping last weekend. It was just us, two girls. Janine said I proved my “badassness” during this trip, (I made the fire, collected wood, put up the tent, and did most of the cooking). Yah, thats right, I am a badass. hehehe. Unfortunately though, this badass got robbed that weekend.  You can literally see our tent from the water and there was no one else camping near us so we thought it would be safe to swim. But then we came back and my wallet was missing. In there, was an 8GB flashdrive, my MP3 player, ~20USD, my Accreditation card, my Ukrainian bank card, and what else I cannot remember. Everything but the Flashdrive and MP3 Player will be replaced. Sad day.

So now school is starting…on Saturday actually…Apparently September 1st is a magical day, whether it is on a Weekend or not. On September 15th, a trainer will come from Kiev and teach 5 students and 20 teachers and admin about HIV/AIDS. Then we will have a photo contest and make our calendars.

Note: The HIV/AIDS themed calendars with photos from my students will be up for sale for about $6-8 and shipping (about 3-4$) Please let me know if you would like me to send you one and I will know actual prices in October when I order them! I cannot bring them home with me as I have limited space and weight and I need to bring 2-years worth of life home. Sorry…

One more time, in case no one saw, I made an awesome video to advertise for the HIV/AIDS working group. Please watch if you want to know what we do! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLggT7Yuh9k. Also, I have managed, perfected and translated the HIV/AIDS working group website, so please take a look! There’s tons of materials and lesson plans there if you ever get a chance to teach about HIV/AIDS.  http://hivaidsukraine.wikispaces.com/

So yah, that will be my last project in Ukraine. I am super stoked! I head out on the 3rd. Still haven’t found a home for my cat, so it looks like I will be taking her home. Eeeek!

Comments as usual please!

Germany was a blast! No problems with the plane and none of the 11 Vodka/Cognac bottles I brought to my sister were broken. (Yes, 11; since she is getting married soon, I thought i’d spoil her). However, when we finally got all our stuff and walked out to the waiting zone, my sister did not even see me. She only saw Conor and then loudly exclaimed, “Holy SH*T! You’re tall!” and then carried on staring at him with huge eyes. I was like, “Hello! Sister! Over here, haven’t seen you in over a year, Helllllllloooooooo!” <3 you sister. hehe.

The first few days of the trip were with my sister. She showed us around a bit, ate some great food, went to some bars, drank ACTUAL coffee, and mostly lazed around and watched Narutu. Like a lot of Narutu. Possibly a good 60 plus episodes.

Then we met the adorable German, Johanna. This was probably the most interesting, and the most planned, part of the trip. Johanna spoiled us. We went to see a famous castle built by [whats his name???] who was a famous Bavarian king who ran out of money building too many castles and then got declared mentally ill because his advisers didnt want him ruling anymore. Then he and his doctor were found mysteriously drowned in a lake…cool castle he had, and nicely placed in the middle of an island. (Also, check out the size of that slug!)

The next day we went to Salzburg, the Mozart and ‘Sound of Music’ town. We went to a castle overlooking the town and the view was beautiful. Unfortunately though, we were in a hurry and had to leave after only a few hours. Cool though, to say I was in Salzburg. And I loved the movie. Mozarts cool too.

After that, we went back to Johanna’s [AWESOME] house and celebrated her birthday with a Pancake cake. It was delicious. However, I had been in the emergency room while with Corita due to a severe neck ache and I was unable to eat anything, for fear of not keeping it down. I ended up just stopping the meds because I wasnt able to enjoy any of the famous Gemany beer and delicious food. (Not to worry though, back on meds in Ukraine, ones that are allowing me to eat too!) Happy birthday Johanna! Gettting old! :D:D:D I love my adorable German Friend….I will never forget you.

Next stop was a wedding in the south of Munich of my two German friends. (I studied with the groom, Nic, in Finland in 2007). Besides Conor and I, Nic and Johanna (Another Johanna) are probably the most fantastic couple I have ever met. After being together for 6 years, they finally got married and they seem just as much in love as when I met them 3 years ago!

The wedding was really interesting and the food (and alcohol!) was AWESOME! The had some really cool, unique ideas to spice up their wedding. One idea was a photo booth where a camera was set up and all you had to do was push a button and pose. Of course there are going to be some crazy pictures from that!

Another idea they had was have pre-stamped postcards addressed to Nic and Johanna. Each guest was to write a wish or promise or something on the postcard and then tie it to a Balloon and let it go into the air. When they are found, the finder is supposed to put it into the post. Cute, eh? They also rented a Sauna and hot tub the night before and provided free booze. Hmm, what other ideas? Oh yah, they has a magazine they were selling with funny stories of them together, pictures of the guests, and jokes about Bananas (since the bride hates bananas). It was really clever.

After all the fun and cultural experiences and friends, Conor and I were more than ready to head to Prague and just relax and do what we wanted without a schedule. (Though we love you all dearly!)

Prague was amazing! The city is so beautiful and there is so much history. The main square was my favorite, but it was wayyy too crowded. They had a really cool clock with the zodiac signs on it, and a church with a dead hand of a burglar hanging from the room and a super awesome cathedral. I could go on and on and on.

I think though, that one of my favorite times in the trip was drinking a beer and Becherovka (A Czech cinnamon alcohol drink) in an underground medieval bar lit by candles. I had a similar experience in Estonia 6 years ago and these types of experiences have always been the coolest.

Funny enough, the worst part of the trip was when Conor and I got the brilliant idea to take a boat ride down canal. Of the 2 hour ride, 50 minutes was spent waiting in line to be transported to the upper level of the river (I forget what its called). We then spent 20 minutes going one direction, 20 minutes waiting for another boat to get out of our way, and then 20 minutes back. We didn’t see much.

Coming back to Ukraine was as sad as I thought it would be. A few tears maybe. It was weird seeing so many things and wanting to just turn to my side and giggle about it with Conor. But I will live. 4 months more and I am home!

I planned to go straight to camp to keep myself busy. The camp was in the mountains in the west of Ukraine. There were about 20 staff, 4 from the US, one from Azerbaijan, and one from Poland. All around, the camp was the most organized Ukr camp I have ever been to (since time and a plan man almost nothing here), but the Ukr staff were a little hard to get on with. It wasnt that they were bad or anything (except one which I will tell about), its just that no one introduced themselves, or took an effort initially to welcome or talk to the foreigners. They were great with the kids though, so I have respect, but there was just such a huge gap between the locals and the foreigners, which I personally didn’t like.

The biggest problem at the camp though was the director of the English teachers. Argh…just a rant, I apologize! She was TERRIBLE! She had absolutely no idea how to work with foreigners and no effort to even TRY! The lady was constantly belittling us and telling us off in front of the entire staff for stupid reasons is an accusing manner which just vexed the BEEEP out of everyone. Example:

Every Sunday we have a movie day. We have about 3 1/2 hours for the movie and discussion. We chose “The City of Ember” (great movie). The movie ran for 1hr 45 minutes, which meant we had approximately the same amount of time to discuss the movie as we had to actually watch the movie. For a woman who has taught English for so long, I can’t believe she planned it that way. Getting kids to talk for that long is like pulling teeth. The first 10 minutes are pretty easy; the next 10 minutes are bearable; any more discussion and the kids want to pass out. Its impossible. No one wants to discuss a movie for that long in a second language.

So, this Sunday, after pulling teeth for 30 minutes, we still had an hour left before the lesson was done and we were out of ideas to get the kids to talk about the movie. We decided to watch an episode of Simpsons. Now, I know that sounds bad, but it wasn’t. We watched a very harmless episode about aliens…and the camp was Outer Space themed. The episode contained no bad language, no racism, no sexism, no drugs/alcohol/sex, etc. It was innocent. It perfectly ended with 15 minutes or so to go. We talked about it and then let the kids go 10 minutes early since lunch was next anyways.

Oh boy did we get chewed out. The next morning in the staff meeting, the lesson director said accusingly to all the American staff, “Excuse me, what makes you think you can let the kids go early??? That is not ok. Jamal and Ewalina were able to keep the kids entertained up until the very end but for some reason you guys are incapable!!! And who gave you permission to watch Simpsons???”

I’m strong-willed hate being accused of things that I don’t deserve, so I responded for all of us. Oh boy did I respond…I argued the same thing I wrote before, about how it was bad planning, not thought out, (oh, and this same director slept through the last movie rather than assisting in our discussion so she had no idea.) Not only that, but I arrived at the camp and was given no instructions except that I would be teaching Astronomy, which I know NOTHING about. NO lesson plans, no guidance. It was the same for this damn film…no guidance. Nothing. As for her argument about the other 2 teachers keeping the kids busy until the end, they had little kids, and they made crafts after the film. But last time I tried doing any sort of games when I had extra time after the lesson, she yelled at me about that too. Why would I think it is appropriate this time????

This lady just wanted to fight, to argue, and she was picking on us about things just because. Even though we had valid points and she has been totally unhelpful in every aspect, she still continued to yell at us until finally we all just walked out fuming. On more than one occasion, we overheard her talking bad about all of us and laughing at us.

At the end of camp, we told the main director about how this lady had treated us. Every single one of us said we won’t be coming back and that we wouldn’t recommend this camp in the future if the terrible lady still worked there. Sad day, because I liked the camp overall.

Did I mention that I have a new apartment? Just moved the week before I left for Germany and now I am setting it up. Pictures…eventually…It has one large room for a bedroom, one medium sized living room, a larger-than-before kitchen, and the bathroom and toilet room are separate now. The place is more modern…nothing is falling apart…no more leeks…and soooo many windows!!! I love it!!!

I signed up for the GRE (General Entrance Exam) for Grad school! I am soo stoked! I never thought I would go on to get a graduate degree…My family never really talked about it, so I had no idea why I would get one! (ha!) But now, I am studying my arse off and soon to take the exam…Wish me luck…Im on my way to being edumacated. (That was on purpose)

I think that’s all folks. See ya next time!

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