Sunday, April 20, 2008

Back on the Upswing

So I know that my last post was probably a bit of a downer but it was how I was feeling at the time and I wanted to be honest with all of you. The large majority of you who are reading this blog are my closest friends and family and I feel an obligation to you to be open, honest and straight forward in these posts. As I have previously written, my 27 month journey here will be filled with plenty of highs and lows and i am prepared for that ride (at least to the best of my ability) and i hope that you all are as well. So with that said...things are looking up once again. I knew they would, I really only had one and a half bad days but they really sucked and I needed for something good to happen..and it did! Really it was something i did for myself. i decided I needed to change how I viewed my language training, change up the way i study and have a talk with my language teacher--all 3 decisions have proven to be fruitful and I am feeling much better about Russian than I did earlier in the week. Don't get me wrong...it's still unbelievably difficult for me, but I am here and not going anywhere soon so I figure a positive approach probably will work out better for me. so far so good.

Also had a great visit to Kiev (Kyiv) yesterday. We spent about 9 hours walking around the city, people watching, visiting the Peace corps offices and generally not using our brains...felt great. It may sound strange, but being in Kiev made me feel much farther away from home than being in my small town does. Just an observation...nothing bad...thankfully i really haven't had a bout of homesickness yet and hope that i dont for sometime. 3 or 4 volunteers have already headed back to the states so I know not everyone has been able to remain free from those feelings. Thankfully i am surrounded by good people here so I am confident the next 2 months should remain fairly pain free (with the exception of russian class of course).

Alright...as usual i am running short on time and need to get going but I miss you all (in a good way) and look forward to getting a chance to respond to some of the emails I have been getting. Again...please be patient...I beg of you. Oh, one question...is Kwame still in office? I cannot imagine that's even possible but knowing Detroit I am fairly confident I know the answer. Das vidanya...

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

I joined the Peace Corps to become a better person than I am and yet today I feel lesser than I was. In all honesty I knew that the honeymoon period would not last forever so in many respects I am prepared for how I am feeling today, and yet it is still tough. Don't you worry people...there is ZERO chance that I will not be seeing this through, but I would be lying to you all if I did not share my honest feelings. My brain freaking hurts! I don't mean that as a matter of speaking, it seriously hurts. Bits and pieces of my language training are sinking in but I feel so overwhelmed by the volume of information being thrown at me that sometimes my mind just stops working. I think (hope) this is normal for a new Peace Corps volunteer to be having these feelings but I cannot wallow in them...it will only bring me down (farther down than I am feeling today).

Please don't read this and worry...please consider the gravity of the changes I have endured over the past month and i think you will agree it is pretty normal to have a bad day or two. Whatever that doesn't kill me will only make me stronger...as cliche as that saying is there really are few truer words. Speaking of almost dying...I taught my first class yesterday and if it wasn't for my brilliant partner Lauren (3+ years of Russian Langauge classes under her belt) I dount I would have survived the experience. The lesson (about the dangers of smoking) actually went over pretty well in our minds but that was not the feedback we were given by our teaching adivsor. It's kind of disheartening to finally get your first lesson over with and then be made to feel like you performed poorly...maybe I'm just being over-sensitive, who knows. 16 hour days (study time included) tend to do that to you...no joke...

Anyway...I still am extremely happy with my host family and consider two of my host cousins to be friends. I went over to one of their homes on Sunday night for his 18th Birthday party and had the best night of my Ukrainian stay. I was made to feel as though I was a part of their family which did wonders to cure my case of the blahs. I also discovered I enjoy shots of Cognak...good to know. Too bad Monday had to come and ruin everything! All and all I really still do feel positive about my being here. I know there will be lows far lower than what I am feeling today and am hopeful that the highs (like Sunday) will make the struggles all worth while. You all have given me such great feedback which really serves as motivation for me...keep the emails coming...you have no idea how I look forward to reading them. And please do not be offended if I do not respond to each of you in short time. I get on the computer once or twice a week and for no more than 45 miuntes or an hour each time so be patient...Miss you all!!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Russian is HARD...not that I didn't think it would be, but seriously...its hard. Not like the 4th hole at Lincoln Hills hard, but like playing Augusta National from the tips and trying to break par. The good news is that I know it will click eventually and I just to need to get busy memorizing all of the five hundred million grammar rules that this beautiful language has. Everyone here is in the same situation that I am though so we will all suffer and persevere together.

Suprising as it may sound I really don't have all that much new to report. My days all blend into one another and I have nearly zero down time. I am either eating, being taught Russian, studying Russian, attempting to speak Russian and getting blank stares in return or playing Uno...and eating. I really cannot say that I have one favorite dish but the national food, Vareniki (spelling is wayyy off) is excellent. They are pretty much meat filled dumplings and are topped of with lots of Mayo (something I love but I apologize to certain others who may have just lost it all over their keyboard...you know who you are). I am fortunate to have a great cook in my host grandmother and so everything I am served tastes delicious. Lots of meats and carbs.

As for the toilet paper, it is pretty much rough brown paper towel but you get used to it after a while. There is no way that Cottonelle would flush down the toilets here so sending me some would be kind but moot. I have more anecdotes but my internet time is about to cut out so I will leave you with my new cell number:

011-38-063-140-9289

I get free incoming calls so dont be shy. Again, remember the 7 hour time difference. Look forward to hearing some familiar voices soon. Miss you....

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Quick hello (part II)

Unfortunately I am rushed for time again but I figured some news is better than no news at all...So life is honestly pretty good here. That isn't to say that I haven't had to make some major adjustments in order to be comfortable but the transition has been no where near as difficult as I would have thought. (I don't believe in jinxes fyi...yet) My host family has cable TV (complete with a Russian version of Married with Children...every detail indentical...just in Russian), hot water, fantastic food and thanks to me a serious Uno addiction. There are obviously things that I miss about home--friends, family, my teams and Buddy's Pizza--but each day here brings with it new experiences that I would never have a chance to know back in the States.

I think I mentioned this in a prior post, but I am learning Russian and am totally enthused about it. With all of the new developments taking place in Russia and all of the former Soviet Republics, Ukraine included, I cannot imagine a more important language to have under my belt moving forward. The langauge training is tough, however. I would guess that the first 5 days of classes covered well over a half of semsester's worth of college language course work. The fact that there are only 5 of us guarantees a ton of individual attention and that makes a lot of difference. Plus living among and with Russian speakers (my host family speaks zero english) makes it easier to practice what I have learned. I know the next 10 weeks or so of training is only going to get tougher but I think I am up to the challenge...

I bought a cell phone yesterday but the store did not have the Sim card I needed so I will have to wait until tomorrow to be able to send an receive calls. I promise to post the number here as soon as I get it. All of my incoming calls are free so call all you want (within reason). Keep in mind that it is 7 hours later here...EST. I am really not suppossed to be getting mail during the first 3 months so I will refrain from posting my address here...if anything changes I will be sure to post that as well.

It's getting late and I have to do some studying before bed...if anyone has any questions you can post them on here and I will do my best to answer them. Hope everyone is happy, healthy and not flipping out over the Tigers 0-3 start. I will try and post in the next few days...miss you all.