home.

Yay! I can finally update my blog! (Thank you, Cheryl and the rest of the Tamarack Public Library.)

Wow...I've switched sides of the world since my last post. Last Thursday morning, I was at the PC office, checking my email for the last time before riding with one of the Peace Corps guards to the airport (he was off-duty and offered me a decent price to get me there, plus helped out with my luggage). I checked my flight info one last time...and found out that my New York-Chicago flight was canceled. Cue Moment of Panic.

So when I got to the airport, I went right over to the Delta window and asked them if they could do anything for me. I was supposed to fly out of New York around 7 pm EST, and they were able to rebook me for 7 am Friday morning. They also thought that once I got to New York, I could get a voucher for a hotel room.

The next obstacle arose when going through immigration services/passport control/whatever it's called. Because there was a mistake in my passport (the registration for my visa, although not my visa itself, had expired the day before), I was charged around $140 just to leave the country. Since I only had about $225 on me overall, this was sort of traumatic. Fortunately, another PCV who was on my flight gave me $30 to help me out.

The flight from Kyiv to New York was 11ish hours long and full of people speaking Russian. I helped the older lady sitting next to me with food requests, and the stewardess told me that I was very helpful. I would hope that after two years, I could translate, "Do you want tea or coffee?"

It was icy/snowy/messy in New York, so we didn't land until about an hour after the scheduled time. Once I collected my bags, I tried to find out about my hotel voucher. After talking to multiple people, I was told that they didn't give out vouchers for weather delays. So I was stuck in JFK Airport for 12 hours with two large bags, a backpack, and a computer bag. I rented a cart for $3 and traveled around the airport--from Terminal 3 down to Terminal 1 so I could get food, and then back. I called Mom and Jason and let them know what was going on, and I had Chinese food (of the food court quality) and Starbucks (Mom thought I needed coffee to keep me awake). I ended up with about 2 hours of dozing sleep on the floor of the Delta terminal, with my backpack for a pillow, my laptop bag under my arm, and my coat for a blanket.

Friday morning, sort of rested, I flew from New York to Chicago and was met by Jason, who pretty much hugged the living daylights out of me. Not that I minded at all. He'd spent the night in Chicago, so we went back to his hotel so I could have breakfast and get a shower, and then we hit the road a little before noon Chicago time and arrived back in Lakeview around 5 pm Michigan time. At long last, I was home in the US.

Since then, I've been slowly adjusting, both to the time change (I keep waking up around 5 am every day and getting really tired by mid-afternoon) and to life in general. I called the Yukhymetses on Sunday, and I see that Olha from church emailed me (but the library computers won't let me read Cyrillic font).

I'm sure I could think of a million things more to say, and I'll try and get back here in a few days to post some more. Blogger doesn't seem to work on my parents' computer, so I'm at the library now. (Does anyone know how I can find out if I actually have wireless on my laptop as opposed to wireless capability?)

saying goodbye

I don't live in Balaklia anymore.

Let me backtrack...the weekend was spent alternating between social functions (visiting a nearby town to meet pupils there, which grew out of the teachers' seminar a few weeks ago and Robert's birthday party), cleaning my apartment (self-explanatory), and saying goodbye (neighbor kids, Julia, church, and the Yukhymets family).

Sunday was a difficult day for me. It was my last church service in Balaklia, and we had Communion. At the end of the service, the pastor prayed for me and my travels. Afterwards, we all took pictures and everyone hugged me and wished me well. Yula and Serogia were visiting her parents, and I was glad to get to say goodbye to them as well.

I spent the afternoon at the Yukhymetses'. Nadia had asked me earlier what I wanted to eat, and she made borsch, chicken and mashed potatoes, sour cabbage, and a salad that I love (it includes chicken, pineapple, mushrooms, onions, boiled eggs, and mayonnaise, and it tastes much better than you might think from that description), plus there was cake for dessert. The older kids were all being unemotional, for the most part (not an overly sentimental bunch, but I know they'll miss me), Valera just sat quietly all day (note: this is highly unusual), and the little kids just didn't get it.

Ihor (age 6): When's Miss Sally coming back from America?
Nadia: She's going to live there.
Ihor: But how's she going to go to church with us then?

Alosha (age 3) only understood that something about me was going on, so he walked around saying, "I love Miss Sally!"

At the end of the afternoon, Nadia videotaped me playing the piano, first singing by myself, and then singing with the kids. We all did goodbye hugs, and Nadia and I both cried and cried. I'm going to miss her so much. Then Vitaly and Oleh walked me home and peppered me with questions about what it's like to fly on an airplane.

Yesterday, I spent the day mailing out the last of my books, dropping stuff off at school, and cleaning my apartment, which included scrubbing my kitchen floor on my hands and knees. Let no one say that the American girl leaves a dirty apartment!

Robert, my director, Nadia, and Nadia's brother Tolik helped me get my bags to the train station ( the Y's van is currently more or less non-operable, and we made it to and from church on Sunday simply by the grace of God). I rode with Nadia and Tolik, and Nadia was crying. Back in October, I'd signed her birthday card, "your American daughter, Sally", and she remembered that.

Nadia, Oksana Yaroslavivna, and I stood around and talked for a bit before I needed to get on the train. I found out that Dasha, one of my 4th form girls, is legally a social orphan now. Her parents are still alive, but they hadn't wanted her, so they gave custody of her to her grandmother. Her grandmother died over fall break, and now no one knows where Dasha's going to go...quite possibly to an orphanage. Please keep her in your prayers.

Robert and I went out to dinner in Kharkiv, and then he got me on the train. This morning, I got in around 7:30, took what seemed to be a horribly expensive taxi to the office (but was told later that it actually wasn't that bad), and am now checking my email and chatting with other PCVs.

When I checked my email, I found this from two of my 7th formers:

Greetings of Ms. Salli. We very much on you have become bored. Had not time to get used to Olga Ivanovne yet. And how are you doing, how have reached? Excuse that could not lead you on a train. We very much love you and we miss. All class sends the regards to you. Good-bye, yours faithfully Arevik and Laura.

I know it's time for COS, time to come back to my life in the US. But sometimes, especially last night and right now, it's hard to leave.

what the kids AREN'T giving me as a goodbye gift!

I'm home again from my travels, although it's starting to sink in that Balaklia's only going to be "home" for the next five and half weeks. So much to do before that point...

I had a nice visit with the Malkos, visiting with Mama Luda, wandering around Zgurivka by myself and my memories of two years ago, and watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in Russian with Sasha, which was entertaining not just for the movie, but for Sasha asking me at several points to explain what was going on. Neither of us had seen the movie before, and it had been several years since I'd read the book, so I got a kick out of him asking me to explain a movie that we were watching in my third language.

My arrival home got off on the wrong foot (literally), as yesterday at 3:45 am at the train station, the combination of a heavy bag, poor lighting, uneven cement, and the urge to get to a taxi quickly (and therefore home) resulted in me falling, scraping a knee and twisting my ankle. So yesterday was spent resting at home.

Today, I taught my 7A form, and then had the rest of the day free to work on a booklet for our (yes, it appears to now be a plural possessive rather than just Nelya's) seminar, as out of the two of us, I'm much more computer literate. So instead of trying to drill English into kids' heads, I get to be home, keep off my foot, and listen to country music while typing. Today was just creating the bibliography for the debate I wrote before fall break (if I'd been thinking, I should have made a link folder of everything I referenced, but going back through my computer's history accomplished the same thing, even if it took longer), but I think tomorrow is going to be typing the introductory pages...in Ukrainian. But I have my little cheat sheet that tells me the key equivalents, so while it'll be tedious (I'm not nearly as speedy in Ukrainian), it'll be doable.

The kids at school have been collecting money to get me a going-away present which will be presented to me by the school parliament. It's supposed to be a big secret that I don't know about, but Nelya's been keeping me in the loop, mostly so she can get my feedback on what I'd like. We've decided on something of the handicrafts variety, and it looks like she's going to secretly give me the money this week so that when I go up to Kharkiv to have a goodbye party with all the oblast PCVs (Group 29 people are already starting to leave next week), I can go to the art market and buy something that I'd like. Then I'll bring it back to her, she'll give it to Natasha, the school president, and Natasha will present me with it on behalf of the school. I will be suitably surprised and pleased, and we will all be happy. Wow, Nelya and I are sneaky!

Plus, this means that I can choose something that will fit in my suitcase, which judging by the pile collecting in my room, is filling up quickly. I'm trying to limit the majority of my "stuff" to mementos, souvenirs, and gifts, but somehow that's a large pile in itself.

"What did the children suggest getting me?" I asked Nelya. We're agreed that some type of traditional arts/crafts would be the most appropriate, but I was curious what the kids had wanted to do.

Nelya rolled her eyes. "A large stuffed animal, like the teddy bear you use in class, only bigger," she said, gesturing with her hands to show a two-and-a-half-foot-high stuffed animal. (Family--remember Kate's Mr. Turkey? He could have a Ukrainian twin!) Picking out my own present sounds better all the time... :)

The English Olympiad is scheduled for Saturday, November 24. I don't have to miss church!

cooking is fun

Discovered while reading over Sean's shoulder at the office: a blog devoted to Soviet propaganda posters!

Last night, the five of us in our apartment (me, Erin, Jessica, Robert, and Matt) went on a shopping trip to a HUGE western-style supermarket to buy fixings for dinner. It was quite the experience, whether running around looking for the best deals on Parmesan-esque cheese, trying to decide between chicken vs. shrimp, and the ongoing discussion about whether or not olive oil was worth the exorbitant price that was charged. (We decided against it, which made the cheapskate in me happy. And I still don't think our food was lacking in any way.)

So then we came home and cooked. We did a big pot of vermicelli, and I made sauce--sauteed onions and garlic in butter, then added tomato paste, a little water, and Italian herbs, and chopped tomatoes. At the very end, after that had all simmered, we added in a small container of shrimp (the amount of which were very "shrimpy" in comparison with our huge amounts of pasta and sauce). Also, we found garlic/dill bread, which was a nice side dish. Yay cooking!

Today, we slept in, made omlets for brunch, and now I'm at the office. I officially don't have TB, if any of you were in the least concerned. (I wasn't.) I'd hoped to get an apartment with people again tonight, but it didn't work out, so I'm at the Bratislava tonight. Oh, well. At least they have hot water.

Tif, Harry Potter 7 is out in Russian. :)

ta-da!

Announcing my new haircut, which shows off my new curly look...

In my apartment, taken by me.
In my neighbor's apartment, showing off my new scarf.

I wanted my hair trimmed, but I hadn't expected it to be quite this short. However, I've quickly grown quite fond of it.

In an unexpected happening last night, I got stuck in an elevator an hour and a half before I was supposed to catch the elektrichka to Kharkiv in order to come to Kyiv. Fun stuff. I called Katya, a sixth-form girl who is the only person in the building whose phone number I had. She didn't understand and asked if she could come over and play. I called Robert, who headed over. In the mean time, I kept yelling, "Help! I'm in the elevator and can't open the door!" over and over until I got someone's attention. The elevator people came and got me out, and I made it to the elektrichka in plenty of time. Still, an experience I don't want to repeat.

still no heat in my building...

Bits and pieces from my life, with a heavy focus on the Yukhymets kids (as usual):

~Vitaly (age 17) has taken to asking my opinion on various topics, generally religion-related, and sharing his thoughts with me as well. He's doing a lot of deep thinking for a high-schooler--highlights have included, "How would we have become Christians if God hadn't sent the Holy Spirit?", "Do you think it's wise that all children have a computer accessible at home?" (he's not convinced, due to many parents not providing supervision), "Do you think that money is evil?", and "Did you ever hear that some people believe we come from monkeys?" All of which have led into fascinating conversations.

~Vlada (age 14) really made my day last week. We were studying holidays in 8th form, and everyone had to say what their favorite holiday was and why. Vlada said, "My favorite holiday is Christmas because Jesus was born." That's the first time in two years of teaching that any of my Christian kids have made that bold a statement about their faith, and it made me so happy to hear.

~Oleh (age 13) is going to be one of our school's competitors for the 8th form level of the rayon-wide English Olympiad! I'm excited about this for several reasons. One, it's vindication to me that I've taught someone something over the last two years. Two, even though the olympiad material is going to be more advanced than Oleh's used to, it'll do him good to try and shoot high. Three, Nelya decided on her own without any imput from me to enter him as a participant...after she'd been considering more "academic" students. We've all come a long way in the last two years.

~On Saturday, I went to Barabashova, the largest bazaar in Ukraine (and one of the largest in Europe) to buy Kate's Christmas present. I found what I wanted at the price I wanted, and I didn't get lost. Go me!

~I didn't teach today, but instead spent the day at home typing up a lesson plan. Nelya and I are hosting a district seminar on the topic of debate at the end of November (the debate topic is the dangers of television), and we're also going to submit our lesson plan to an English-language newspaper for Ukrainian teachers. So I spent the day typing up affirmative and negative arguments about TV. Once I accept that it's simply not like it would be in the US, I feel better about it all, and I was able to work in information about AIDS and domestic violence, two huge problems in Ukraine. According to Amnesty International, 50-70% of Ukrainian women have suffered from domestic violence. Wow. I try and think about that, and my brain just refuses to comprehend, especially when I realize that means that 50-70% of women I know have dealt with abuse of some sort.

~Tomorrow I take the overnight train to Kyiv. From there, I'm going to be a mentor for a group of new trainees, do my COS medical, have a day or two unplanned, and then (hopefully) go to Zgurivka one last time to see the Malkos. So I won't be home for the next week and a half, but I'll still have Internet access at the office, so I'll try and post.

wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles

GRE scores:

740 Verbal
710 Quantative (Math) !!!!!
Analytical writing: still unknown for the next few weeks

Many thanks to everyone who prayed for me and was supportive. I'm really excited about my results, and I'm thankful to God for enabling me to do this well.

LPI (Language Proficiency Interview) results:

Advanced Mid in Ukrainian, which basically means that I can carry on conversations with people who aren't used to talking to non-native speakers but that I'm not quite to the level of being able to rant for ages about theoretical topics. Also cool.

I spent the afternoon visiting Rita, a PCV friend of mine who lives about an hour and a half away from Kyiv. In her town, there's a really nice outdoor museum that includes a building about Sholem Alecheim, who wrote a collection of stories entitled Tevye's Daughters, which was later made into the musical Fiddler on the Roof. This is what prompted me to go, even before I knew that Rita lived there, but actually the rest of the museum was more interesting. We saw 500-year-old stone crosses, climbed a rickety wooden ladder to ring a bell, and chatted in Ukrainian with some old ladies who worked there and convinced them to sing a folk song for us.

And now I'm headed home again!

massive update

Um. Yeah. I haven't posted in almost two weeks.

Would it help if I told you that I was at COS Conference and didn't have computer access, and then when I got back to Balaklia, I was trying to get ready for school and Brandi's visit, and now school's started and Brandi's actually here?

Yeah, I didn't think so. You're a tough audience, you guys.

[This blog post was interrupted by a conversation between Brandi and I about who would play me in a movie in which, similar to Joan of Arc, I heard crackers and peanut butter calling my name, led France (or maybe Ukraine) into battle, was burned at the stake, and was eventually canonized as a saint. My options were Angelina Jolie and Drew Barrymore. I voted for the latter. I'm sure it'll be a box office hit.]

So anyhow...when I last posted, I was in the charming city of Uzhgorod, on the Ukrainian/Hungarian/Slovakian border. While there, I went to an evening worship session of a conference about Messianic Judaism, complete with lots of dancing and songs in Hebrew. The next morning, I went to the Methodist church. I met an American missionary (from Traverse City...small world!), who told me that the church has two services--the morning service, which I attended, was geared more towards "recovering Orthodox", with an accapella choir, while the evening service had a lot of young people and was more charismatic in nature, which I hadn't expected from a Methodist church.

COS Conference...wow. I don't even know where to begin. Out of the 116 people who left Chicago to come to Ukraine (115 made it, we left one in Frankfurt when she lost her passport), 74 are still here. I saw people I hadn't seen since our swearing-in ceremony. We sat through all sorts of sessions on finishing up our service here and looking ahead to post-PC life (does it exist?), hung out past midnight talking, and tried to realize that our time here is coming to a close.

One of my favorite experiences from COS Conference was riding a chair lift up a mountain and back, 40 minutes each way. At the top, we got off and walked around, enjoying the view of more mountains with little villages tucked into the valleys. However, it started off less than wonderfully--Mona, the girl I was in the chair with, and I couldn't get our lap bar down for almost five minutes, so we were each trying to pull it down with one hand while holding on tight with the other. Fortunately, we finally got it down and then were able to properly appreciate the mountain beneath us without worrying that we'd fall out and make its personal (painful) acquaintance.

From the conference, I spent an afternoon in L'viv (as beautiful as ever), took a 22-hour train ride back to Kharkiv, and arrived home in Balaklia on Friday evening, just in time to go to the First Bell ceremony the next day celebrating the beginning of school. At First Bell, the students always give the teachers flowers, and at the end of the day, I had 28 roses and 7 chrysanthemums. Seriously. I doubt I'll ever get 28 roses on one day again!

School has been a bit topsy-turvey this week. Our zavuch, or assistant principal, decided to step down from her role that she's had for the last umpteen years and go back to only being a physics teacher. (She's seemed happier this week than I've ever seen her...just smiling and smiling...) The administration's known this all summer, but they hadn't found anyone to take over her responsibilities...such as making the class schedule for the school. So on Monday morning, we didn't have a schedule past that day nor anyone in charge of making it. However, by the end of the school day, Olha Ivanivna, who is the other English teacher and also the zavuch in charge of organizing parties and concerts, decided to take on the task for One Year Only, and one of the Ukrainian language/lit teachers took over her position. So we've had a day-by-day schedule for this week only as Olha Ivanivna is learning her new position and trying to do the permanent schedule, which is not computerized, but instead has to be all worked out on paper. And we all keep popping in her office to see what classes we're supposed to be teaching and when. Poor woman. She said today that she hasn't really been sleeping and she sees numbers in front of her eyes all the time.

Brandi arrived at 3:45 on Tuesday morning after traveling 48 hours by bus and train from Germany through Poland to Kyiv and then to Balaklia. We've had a good time catching up on each other's lives and discussing the pros and cons of our respective apartments--she has hot water, but I have high speed Internet; I have a lot more space, but she has hot water, etc. She's come to school with me and gotten acquainted with my kids. I have my 11A form 5 times a week (in hopes of getting them ready for exams), so today and yesterday I sent them out in the hall in small groups of 2-3 students to practice talking with a native speaker. I was a little worried, but apparently they spoke English (even the ones I didn't think knew how!) and were polite. Yay!

a lovely little place

Yesterday was Ukrainian Independence Day, and Uzhgorod was apparently the place to be. Wandering around for a while, I found an outdoor concert of traditional Ukrainian music and dancing, with performances from groups from all over Zakarpattia. I watched for a while, eating shashlik and cotton candy. Western Ukraine definitely does the traditional stuff well.

Slept in a wonderfully comfortable bed last night, the best I've had in quite some time (and the bathroom here is in the top five I've seen in Ukraine). Breakfast comes with the price of the room, so this morning I had homemade blinchiki (thin pancakes) with domashnii syr (sort of like cottage cheese), sour cream, and fruit preserves. It's a great place, but it's a little odd for me, after having host families, to have Ella ask, "So what time is best for you for breakfast in the morning?" I'm used to Mama Luda or Marina saying, "Breakfast is at ______," and then I make sure I'm up on time. :)

Today, I met up with Oksana, the secretary at Wesley Bible College, and she showed me around. It's quite small...they were originally in Kyiv but moved to Uzhgorod a year ago due to a fire in Kyiv, and last year they only had 5 students. But the facilities are nice, and Oksana and I hit it off well (she's a couple of years older than I am). We had tea and cookies and got to know each other a bit. She lives with her parents part-time but tends to have a lot of several-month-long house-sitting jobs, which I could relate to. The church she goes to (not the Methodist one here, but another evangelical church in town) is hosting a seminar on Israel this weekend, and she invited me to come tonight--apparently there's going to be music, perhaps dancing, and preaching. Should be interesting.

Then I came back to the center and wandered around. I sat on a bench and listened to an old street musician play his violin, bought myself a new black skirt for winter (on sale), and went to "Tortilla" for a late lunch. "Tortilla," despite its name, isn't really Mexican at all. I had the Hutsul-style pork (the Hutsuls are an ethnic group from this area) with homestyle fried potatoes. It ended up being a pork steak stuffed with hard salami, mushrooms, and what was either some sort of cheese or boiled egg white, all under a white sauce. It tasted very good, but it's so hot out and the food was heavier than I'm used to, being more Central European in style, and I couldn't manage to finish it. But it was good!

Polish numbering, Carpathian mountains, and a Ukrainian Greenfield Village

The most pleasant train ride yet of my journey was the Odesa-L'viv journey of 12 hours last night. I shared a compartment with a young woman who'd been volunteering at a children's camp in Turkey and spoke English, and a mother and son (college age). The three of us young people spent much of the evening chatting, teaching each other card games, and playing Battleship on grid paper.

Funny story about the train. I was in Car 17, but the train only went up to 14. Asking a nearby conductor at the Odesa station, she told me, "It's the last car down there, past Car 1." Bemused, I went down there, trying to find Seat 96 when the seats only went to 36. Since my conductor had told me I was in the last compartment, I figured it out. Later on, someone else in my compartment asked the conductor why the numbering was strange. "It's the Polish way of numbering," the conductor answered, to which the questioner replied, "They count differently there?" Jason, feel free to chuckle. I thought of you.

I'd been a bit concerned, because the woman at the train station in Kharkiv where I'd bought my tickets had told me that I'd have to change trains in L'viv, and I knew I only had 20 minutes. As it turned out, I didn't have to change trains. The train changed numbers (from 108 to 107--more Polish numbering?), and I had to change compartments, as I had a second-class ticket for the first part and third-class for the second. I don't know why the woman couldn't have told me earlier that I'd be on the same train...I understand that apparently there weren't spots for one class or the other that were free the entire trip when I bought my tickets.

The ride from L'viv to Uzhgorod was beautiful. We went through the Carpathian mountains, which were full of hamlets composed of cottages, haystacks, and little Orthodox churches. I made the mistake of starting on a practice GRE before we really got to the mountains, with the result that neither got the attention it deserved. But I loved the mountains. The train went through several, via tunnels!

Uzhgorod is actually on the other side of the Carpathians, as best as I can tell. It's a charming small city that reminds me of when my missions trip to Cologne two summers ago (is that all?) took a day trip to a German town. The streets are hilly and cobblestoned, and the buildings are beautiful, with several old churches. This afternoon, after a lovely shower at the place I'm staying, I went up to an old castle, which now houses a historical museum of the Transcarpathian Oblast. After that, I went to an outdoor museum composed of various houses and other buildings from various cultures that have lived here--very much a Greenfield Village sort of place, except that the people didn't wear costumes.

Tomorrow, I'm meeting the secretary from Wesley Bible College, and on Sunday, I'm leaving late enough (there was only one train available, so it wasn't like there was a choice, unless I left at 4 am) that I can attend the Methodist church here.

final day in Skadovsk

My back itches from sunburn. Very annoying.

Daisy, a new PCV in the oblast, just called me to ask about the logistics of sending candy to the US (Tif, do you have any tips? I never tried it.). The following conversation ensued:

Daisy: So what are you doing right now?
Me: I'm at the Black Sea eating soft-serve ice cream.
Daisy: You punk!

*giggle*

The Yukhemetses left yesterday morning, planning to stop in Dnipropretrovsk to visit family on the way home. They left a day earlier than originally planned, but I think Nadia considered the vacation a success overall...at least, she kept saying that she thinks they'll try it again some time. Brave woman.

I went to church yesterday morning, which was nice. Also nice was having a seat by the window, as it got quite warm. Also nice was that they had the hymn lyrics projected on transparencies, because in Ukrainian churches, you bring your own hymnal, and since at least a third of the congregation was from out-of-town (at best guess), it was a nice touch.

After church, I met a couple who are Presbyterian missionaries in Kherson. He's originally from Holland, MI, and she's from Russia. During the service, I guessed that he was American, because he had a goatee and a wedding ring on his left hand (Ukrainians do the right hand). So I went up and introduced myself, and yes, indeed, they were from the US.

This afternoon, I take the marshrutka back to Kherson, and from there I go by overnight train to Odesa. I found out this morning that I could have taken a bus straight to Odesa, but I had no way of knowing that beforehand. Yesterday, I called some American missionaries who teach at the seminary there, and they gave me directions and offered to show me around the seminary when I get out there (it's about an hour from the city center--45 minutes by bus, plus a 15-minute walk). My Uzhgorod plans are also coming together, although I haven't heard from the Bible college out there yet. I realized yesterday that Friday is Ukrainian Independence Day, so there may not be anyone around at the college, but we'll see how it goes.

Itch, itch, itch...I'm putting some cream on my back when I get back to the house!

accomplishments

Things I've accomplished today:

~bought my ticket from Kharkiv to Kherson
~got ahold of a PCV in Skadovsk who knew how to get from Kherson to Skadovsk
~filled out my Peace Corps Activity Report for the January-August period
~booked hostels in Odesa and Uzhgorod (there's your links, Mom)
~bought a navy blue tank top for 5 hryvnia at a second-hand store in town, originally thinking it was black (due to poor lighting in the shop) but being pleased to discover its actual color
~made homemade granola
~hung out with Andrey for English conversation
~registered for the GRE

I'm tired. And SO thankful that I have Internet in my apartment! I can't imagine trying to do all of this at the post office!

Black Sea, here I come!

Most fascinating way I've found to waste time today (no, really): watching YouTube clips from/homemade music videos of "Ne Rodis' Krasivoy." Which are in Russian, of course, but randomly are mostly labeled in Spanish.

However, I don't have time to waste time, because...I AM GOING TO THE BLACK SEA TOMORROW!!!! (Sense some excitement?) I'd really been regretting that I'd never made it to the sea while I was here, but I didn't want to go by myself...not nearly as much fun. But the Yukhemetses and Nadia's brother and his family are going this week, and I'm going to sorta-kinda be part of their group. (They're driving, I'm taking the train--which I think is a better plan because I would be Person 16 in the van for at least 12 hours.) We're renting apartments down in Skadovsk, a town in Khersonska Oblast on the Black Sea (not quite Crimea, but cheaper). They don't have room for me in their apartment (once again, I'd be Person 16), but Nadia made a few calls and I'm going to be sharing an apartment with some cousins of hers. And really, we're planning to spend all our time on the beach anyway. :)

I'll be down there until Monday-ish, and then have a few days free until Sunday the 26th, when I need to be in L'vivska Oblast for COS Conference. There's no point in coming back to Balaklia when I'm already partway in the direction I need to be, and besides, I have a lot of vacation days I've never used. So I came up with the crazy idea of travelling in the direction of L'viv through the south-western side of Ukraine, stopping in cities with Bible colleges/seminaries, and visiting them. I really liked my time in Donetsk, and it made me curious what other Bible colleges in Ukraine are like. Besides, I don't plan to spend all my time visiting the colleges...there's also just a lot to see. The current thought is to go to Odesa (Odessa Theological Seminary) and Uzhgorod (Wesley Bible College), although I may go straight to L'viv from Odesa. Don't know yet...still putting it all together!

(And, by the way, both "Odesa" and "Odessa" are correct spellings. A single s is the Ukrainian version, and a double ss is the Russian version.)

So today is my day to get all my ducks in a row--figure out housing, plan where and when I'm going, pack, write a resume for a workshop at COS Conference, register for the GRE, make homemade granola for the trip, hang out with Andrey tonight (his English conversation partner--me--just keeps going out of town!), and fill out my Peace Corps Activity Report. Tomorrow I do whatever I didn't get done today, and head for Kharkiv. I leave from Kharkiv tomorrow night, get into Kherson on Wednesday afternoon, and from there take a bus down to Skadovsk. It's an adventure!

Well, then...time's a-wasting! I'd better keep going...

a week of math. what fun!

Tif told me to update, so here I am.

It's not been a very exciting week...lots of GRE prep and looking up various MATESOL programs online. MSU's still the one I like the best (I'm familiar with the area, I really like the English Resource Center where I would hopefully be a TA, and their website's easy to navigate...a big plus after reading 20-some sites!), but a few other places have caught my eye (if they offer Ukrainain classes, should this be a factor?).

I dunno. It all seems very complicated, and there's the question of whether or not it's a good idea to only apply to one grad school, in case I don't get in or the financial aid isn't as much as I'd like.

(And then there's the random programs unconnected to TESOL that catch my eye, such as Kansas University's MA in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies, which really has no practical application for me, but just looks really cool.)

The GRE prep is paying off...I took another practice test yesterday, and in a week of studying math, both the math and the verbal went up 70 points each. It's interesting...as I look up GRE stuff online, apparently it's more common to have a higher math than verbal, and I'm the other way around. Huh.

Last Saturday, I went back to the village where I'd been on Sunday, this time to celebrate my friend Andrey's 28th birthday. Once again, we went swimming in the river and ate shashlik. Before that, Andrey and his friend Alosha fixed the light bulb in my bedroom, which had been burnt out for quite some time. When I'd tried to change it, I'd found that the metal part of the bulb had corroded and was therefore extraordinarily difficult to remove, and in trying to do so, I'd made it harder. Andrey's comment (with a smile) was, "Next time, don't try and fix things yourself. Ask someone who knows what they're doing." Point taken.

That whole "I'm not going anywhere until COS Conference" idea seems to be out the window, but I'm waiting until I know for sure (tomorrow?) to post details. :)

I found a baguette (spelling?) at the store yesterday, so I made French bread pizza. It was good. I also made applesauce tonight to use up some apples Nadia gave me.

the beginnings of the GRE saga, plus a lot of other stuff

Happiness is seven new CDs of music--one of a Ukrainian rock group "Jeremiah's Tears" that I bought in L'viv, three country/oldies mixes from Tif, and three of Ukrainian/Russian Christian music that I got from my neighbors in the dorm at DCU. I'm still uploading the latter group into iTunes, mostly because it takes a while to get the Russian and Ukrainian song info typed up correctly (yes, I am a stickler for properness and like it to be in the correct alphabet; yes, I have a little cheat sheet for what the computer keys become when I put the Ukrainian settings on; no, I can't type as fast in Ukrainian as I can in English...not yet, anyway, but I've gotten much better at it). Currently I'm listening to a choir from Kyiv singing hymns in Russian (the current one is "We praise Thee, O God"); I'm excited because I've known pretty much every song they've sung so far, but a teensy bit sad that they're in Russian and not Ukrainian and I know the Ukrainian versions better. Guess I'll have to break out my Russian hymnal and practice.

Please keep the Yukhemets family in your prayers--I called Nadia this afternoon to see if I could go over and do laundry and she told me that Viktor is taking Valera to Kyiv for a couple weeks for treatment on his eyes (he doesn't see well but neither does he like to wear his glasses). So both prayers for them traveling and for Nadia with the other nine kids at home. And Nadia suggested that another day--any other day--might be better for me to come over. :)

~*~

Update on where I'm at these days, life-wise:

Basically, I'll be around Balaklia (as far I know) until the last week of August, when I head out west for COS (Close of Service) Conference for PC, where I'll get to see everyone who's left from Group 29 and get info about finishing up my time here.

I start teaching at the beginning of September, which is also going to be a busy month, company-wise, as Brandi's coming to visit me for a week or so, plus another friend from college might be visiting (more on that later if it actually works out).

My official COS date is December 13, and I assume I'll be coming home around that time, give or take a few days either way for the best deal on plane tickets (PC offers either a ticket to your home airport--Grand Rapids, not Lakeview!--or money for you to get your own ticket; it's usually more cost-effective to take the latter) and if Jason and I can time it so I could fly into Chicago when he's on his way back to Michigan from grad school in Wisconsin and drive back together (tickets are much cheaper into O'Hare than into any Michigan airports).

Then, I have Christmas and adjusting-back-into-US-life time, which will probably involve trying to spend time with lots of people and finding a car and learning how to drive in Michigan winters all over again. My current plan is to live with my parents for a few months and substitute teach (one could say I'll be joining the family business, almost). After that, I'm looking into going to grad school for my Master's in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), most likely back at MSU.

So where does that leave me right now? Studying for the GRE, which I'm hoping to take in Kyiv in September. I took a practice test yesterday before I started reviewing, just to give me a sense of where I am, and, to no one's surprise (I expect), my verbal score was pretty high and my math score was not bad, but fairly mediocre, because I haven't even though about most math beyond the absolute basics since senior year of high school, and definitely not since statistics class in my first semester of college. So that's August's major plan: study for the GRE (in between neighbor kids coming over to play cards, which keeps happening).

my writing style suffers when I'm sick...I apologize in advance

Ugh. I'm sick.

I'd had a sore throat/runny nose/lots of coughing the first week Tif was here, and while it got somewhat better last week, it never really went away. Add to that the 46 hours or so I spent on public transportation (electrichkas, passenger trains, buses) last week, and I have pretty much no immune system left. Today it all hit, with exhaustion, chills, over-heatedness, and a fever. I ran a few errands before it all struck, but when I came home, I went to bed and stayed there for about 4 hours. I want to get healthy enough that my first few days in Donetsk aren't spent in bed recovering, so today and tomorrow I guess I'm taking it a bit easier than I had originally planned.

I think my body's been trying to tell me to slow down for the last month or so, and I haven't really been listening. Oops.

Anyway, I loved L'viv. It was small enough that we could walk everywhere easily (although we did take the 50-kopek tram from the train station to the center once, which ended up giving us a nice little tour of the outskirts). The architecture was beautiful--it really hit me that when you build something, you have a choice. It can either be simply utilitarian, like much Soviet architecture (or large and grandiose), or it can be pretty. For example, a concrete balcony versus a wrought-iron one. I'll try and work on posting pictures if my Internet connection is happy with me in the next day or so.

I also liked staying at the hostel. First off, of course, there was a hot shower and a bathtub with even better water pressure than the shower. :) But really, one of the neatest parts of the experience was meeting people from all over who were also staying there. While we were there, there were people there from Great Britain, the US (other PCVs!), Finland, Switzerland, Spain, Canada, and Australia. Most of them knew little/no Ukrainian or Russian, so I helped some people out with understanding their train tickets. It was interesting to hear some of their stories--the guy from Switzerland, who was probably my age or a little younger, had spent the last six months in India and China, just backpacking around. He had then gone to Kazahkstan and flown to Ukraine (to avoid having to get a Russian visa), and was now going to travel around Eastern/Central Europe a bit, although he said he was a bit tired of travelling by now.

[Side note: Tif didn't end up shooting an AK-47 after all, as it was more expensive than she'd hoped for. You can all breath a sigh of relief/regret (take your pick) now.]

Tif and I also had a good day in Kyiv, although Andriivski Uziz, a street that usually is packed with souvenir stands and art booths, was pretty much deserted, and we couldn't figure out why. We met up with my friend Tanya and went out for milkshakes, which were very good. The only bad part of the day was that we had been planning to get a hotel room at the train station, but there weren't any available. The receptionist, who spoke English, wasn't very polite about it all. It was raining, and we didn't know where we'd end up. I was on the phone with Tanya, who was looking up Kyiv hotels online and sending me the info. Kyiv is notorious for being expensive, and we were trying to keep costs down, which added to the frustration. We ended up renting an apartment for a night (a common practice in Ukrainian cities, as apartments are generally nicer than most hotel rooms...PCVs often chip in together as a way to cut costs), which ended up costing us the same as if we'd stayed at the train station, plus the landlady was very friendly and impressed that as young American women, we could speak the language and were capable of taking care of ourselves in a strange country. :)

Friday morning, I said goodbye to Tif, who took the bus to the airport to begin her long journey home, and after lunch, I headed out to Zgurivka to see the Malkos. Sasha had left for L'viv the day before (trains passing in the night?), but I had a good visit with Mama Luda and Tato Kolya. Saturday, I took the train home from Kyiv, and I got back to Balaklia around 3:45 am Sunday morning. No, I didn't try and go to church later on...I was asleep!

The one thing I'm sorry that I didn't get to do on my vacation was go to "Festival of Hope", the Franklin Graham crusade in Kyiv last weekend. I wanted to, and I considered taking a later train Saturday night that went to Kharkiv and then taking the elektrichka home Sunday morning, but I decided that really, I was tired and needed to get home. Based on how lousy I feel today, that was a smart choice, but I still wish I could have gone.

This week has included being interviewed by a 14-year-old for the local newspaper, dealing with a burned-out lightbulb that appears to be corroded and impossible to remove from the light fixture, trying to get money off my US debit card, and hanging out with my neighbors last night. Today was mostly spent in bed. Hopefully I'll feel a bit better tomorrow and can get a few last-minute things done, and then tomorrow around midnight I get on a train to Donetsk for the English-language program down there.

I think I'm going back to bed now!

L'viv, Day 2

Today we got our train tickets to Kyiv (only upper bunks, and a bit more than we'd hoped for, but still okay), and then went back to the center and wandered around. We bought more of the linens we'd liked (off-white with crocheted borders and ribbon embroidery)--I now have a dresser scarf, two smaller doilies, and a case for a throw pillow. I think I'm on my way to having a pretty guest room at some point.

The lady at the linens stall at the art market remembered us and said that we'd brought her good luck yesterday. Somehow we got to chatting and I mentioned that I lived out east, near Kharkiv, and then she completely switched over to Russian, and how old was I, and wasn't I just a clever little thing for being only 24 and having moved over here and having learned two languages.... She still wouldn't give us a discount on the linens, because we were buying the smaller pieces (she was willing to haggle for the larger ones, but we couldn't afford them), but she was nice anyway.

We also saw the Church of the Transfiguration and the Armenian Church. I was fond of the sign tacked to the door of the latter, which asked us to please keep the door closed to preserve the warmth between God and humans. :)

Then we ate lunch and walked home, stopping at a clothing store where I found a good deal on certain items of female apparel that I've been needing to replenish. Mom would be proud.

So now we're just hanging out at the hostel, enjoying the amenities. It's been a really great place to stay, and the people are interesting as well. The owner is Norwegian, married to a Ukrainian, and there have been people here from the US (all PCVs!), England, Switzerland (a guy who had spent the last 6 months backpacking around India and China!), Japan, Austraila...

I haven't changed countries? Really?

We survived the train ride, which actually wasn't that bad, although a little hot during the night, because we couldn't open our window because it was an emergency exit. Yeah, that made sense to us, too...

Our hostel is wonderful...the shower is heavenly, we can do laundry, the people are nice...and reading the hilarious phrases that the Lonely Planet phrasebook provides for those people wanting to know Czech made for 10 minutes of entertainment. And did you know that the Czech equivalent of "up a creek without a paddle" is "not even holy water will help him"?

L'viv itself is beautiful with a shabby Central European charm...old architecture, little cafes, cobblestone streets, and even a few street musicians. Today we visited several churches, the pharmacy museum, the art market, the used book market, and mostly just wandered the streets. Tomorrow we'll plan out what we haven't seen yet, and then we're off to Kyiv on the overnight train.

Pictures will come once I'm home again in Balaklia.

ps Mom, I got the email. That sounds good...sorry, I didn't have enough time on the computer to email you seperately.

and we're off! (but we've always been a little off...)

Well, we packed our bags, took out the trash, washed the dishes, and we're off to L'viv tomorrow!

We've found what appears to be a really nice hostel to stay at, complete with satellite TV, a hot tub, free Internet, free laundry, and the chance to learn how to shoot an AK47 (Tif's hoping to, I'm not). We've joked that we just might stay at the hostel the two days we'll be in L'viv rather than go explore the city...but we're mostly kidding.

(There is a story told of a group of Ukraine PCVs who went on vacation to Germany and spent all their time at their hotel. When I first heard it, I was shocked, but I definitely understand now.)

However, the bad part of the trip is that I haven't been feeling very well the last few days...I seem to have picked up a possible head cold/sinus infection/whatever makes you have a sore throat and a runny nose. But I'm packing medicine and plan to rest on the 20 hour trip from Kharkiv to L'viv. Please keep us in your prayers.

~*~

For anyone who wants to write me while I'll be in Donetsk (hint, hint), here's my address. Letters generally take from 8 to 14 days to get here, and I'll be there from July 12-28, so plan accordingly.

Sally Behrenwald
Donetsk Christian University
Prospect Ilicha 106A
Donetsk, 83059
Ukraine

big update!

Yeah, I'm still alive. My apologies to all of my faithful readers who keep checking back and wondering why I haven't posted recently...it's a combination of general busyness, Tif's visit, and three days when the Internet didn't work. However, my Internet guy has put my connection on a different channel (I don't know exactly what this means in English, but it seems good) and now my connection is a lot faster...and I can upload photos! (See previous post.)

Let's see...going back about two weeks now, before Tif came. My friend Andrey's church did a series of evangelistic tent meetings for four nights in an area of town where a lot of my kids live. Each night, they would have a general meeting explaining the basics of Christianity with music and a sermon, which was then followed by a meeting that was more youth-oriented on topics like AIDS, alcoholism, and drugs. At least 25 of the kids from my school were there (we only have about 280!), whether sitting and listening or occasionally drifting over from the cafe/bar across the road. I don't believe that anyone got saved during the meetings, but hearing the Gospel is a rare occurence over here, and I simply pray that seeds were planted that will come to fruition later. I know that the mom of one of my seventh form boys really enjoyed the meetings and wants to start attending church regularly. I myself really felt convicted to pray for my kids...the barriers of language, culture, and my role as a PCV limit my ability to witness to them in words, but going to the meetings regularly and praying fervently for each child by name were things that I could do in spite of those barriers. It was a boost for my own faith.

Tif arrived last Friday, and we've had a grand time! She knows the language and the area, so a few days she was off visiting people she knew from before and finding souvenirs, but we've been together a lot, especially in the evenings...cooking, listening to the music she brought, and having random conversations on any and all topics. Oh, and finding out that the cafe on the corner has a lot of good food at cheap prices! I enjoy eating out once in a while, but I would feel odd doing it by myself here in town.

Sunday was Yula and Serhii's wedding...I had wanted to do a huge post about that event alone, but I think I'll just leave it with all the comments I wrote about the pictures in my last post. If you have questions, let me know.

Monday we bummed around town, took pictures by the statues of Lenin and Taras Shevchenko (Ukraine's greatest poet), and stopped by to visit Robert, the new PCV in my town. He works at a non-profit organization that helps invalids, large families, and families with invalid children. The organization had gotten a LARGE donation of used clothes from Canada, and the director had invited me over to look through and see if there was anything I would want. Most of it wasn't anything I would/could wear, but I ended up with two sweaters.

Last night was the school-leaving ceremony for the 11th form (US graduation). It involved lots of music and dance numbers, including small children dancing (very cute), a harem dance (weirdly fascinating and not what I would consider appropriate for the occasion...Tif caught some of it on video), and me singing "Fly Me to the Moon" in English. It was a very nice ceremony, and the kids were all dressed up--the boys in suits, the girls in prom-type dresses. After the ceremony, there was an all-night dance for the kids...last year I stayed, but we were planning to go to Kharkiv today and so we left after the ceremony.

Woke up this morning at 7 am to a severe thunderstorm and me having a sore throat and feeling exhausted, so we stayed home and are planning to go to Kharkiv tomorrow, as we thought it better that I rest today rather than keep pushing and get very sick when we go to L'viv next week. So I went back to bed and slept until after 11. Then we had pork stroganoff on toast for lunch (don't ask, we invented the combination earlier this week and it's really good), and Tif went off to go exchange money and look for Harry Potter books in Russian to complete her set, while I attempt to catch up on blogging.

Next Monday, we head for L'viv in western Ukraine, which is supposed to be a beautiful old city reminiscent of Prague or Krakow. It'll be about a 24 hour trip from Balaklia to L'viv, but we're up for the adventure. Then we get back to Kyiv on Thursday and Tif flies out on Friday morning. We're planning to go out to McDonald's that morning for her birthday, but we'll see how that goes. I think I'm going to visit the Malkos in Zgurivka next weekend, then come home for a few days, and then I'm off to Donetsk again.

Tif's back, so I'll close for now. :)