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October is nearing an end. The vivid yellows and golds that have decorated the city have become muddy brown underneath the daily foot traffic. Gloves and warmer coats have been unpacked as the chill in the air threatens winters imminent arrival only weeks away. People cram into marshutkas or buses rather then lose the battle to the persistent wind. The weather does not affect the attire of the natives, especially the women. Short skirts and high heel boots are still evident despite the elements. I shake my head in despair, knowing that I will never fully acclimate to the culture, for I have no plans to wear high heels on the ice nor wear a skirt while it's -2 degrees Celsius. Five weeks in Ukraine and the attire of the women still manages to shock me. I feel rather ridiculous in my heavy winter coat and long pants, gloves, ear muffs and flat winter boots. I have to remember to behave on the streets and blend in. Which means don't dance around while listening to my iPod, which is something I definitely would do in America.
For the most part, it is difficult to remember I am in Ukraine. Well...I am living in a city. Which is very different from my sheltered existence in the woods of Washington. But Chernihiv is a lovely city full of history and I have enjoyed exploring all it has to offer. For example, last Saturday my cluster (d) and our link cluster (c) along with our Peace Corps TCF & LCF's explored the cities catacombs from the 12 century. It was quite the adventure. The monks lived in the catacombs--their lives were spent silently and in prayer. We walked/crawled through the room where all the bodies were cremated and/or buried. I can't even begin to explain the rush this experience brought for me...nor how dirty I was when we finally surfaced.
It is hard to wrap my mind around a country with such history. This is my first time in Europe and the fact that I come from a country that is only a measly 200 years old is evident as I walk around a 1200 year old city such as Chernihiv. I have only seen a sliver of Ukraine, but so far I find it to be a beautiful and incredible country. I would definitely recommend people to see this amazing, gorgeous and developing country before the newness of their independence wears off and Ukraine becomes as popular as Western Europe. I have yet to visit the neighboring countries to the West, but I doubt that these places will hold the same charm for me as Ukraine most assuredly does.
I look forward to sharing more about this country as more events occur. I will do my best to blog often. However, training is keeping me busy and I hardly find a time to do anything but study Russian, write English lesson plans, plus the many other duties required during PST. One month down, just 2 more to go before swearing in! :-) I would like to thank Connie, Loren, Aaron and my Mom for the letters. I can't even begin to explain how happy each piece of mail I receive makes me. But I know the current and former PCV's understand. Thank you so much! I shall write soon, dear readers. Take care and Odachee! (Good luck)
More to follow...
