Wednesday, December 9, 2009

PST Wrap-Up

Today marked the day of the first real snow fall during my stay in Ukraine. One of many days, I predict. I decided that because I went to college in Eastern Washington I could easily maneuver the city in tennis shoes. Uh… I believe I’ll wear my snow boots tomorrow. I made this decision the 7th time I slipped on the ice (no, I didn’t fall.) This morning when my host Toyta (aunt) announced from the kookneea (kitchen) “Jesseeka, snig cevonia,” (Jessica, snow today) I laughed, delighted at the news. The fresh blanket of snow made the city bright and beautiful today. I was in a wonderful mood as I slowly, cautiously walked the normally 12 minute walk to my Russian teacher’s apartment. (It took me 26 minutes to walk there today!) I do not believe the reason for my happiness can only be associated with the snow. Today was the final day of language class and tomorrow is my Language Proficiency Interview…or you could call it my Russian exam. I’m not sure where Pre-Service Training went, but it is quickly wrapping up. I leave Chernigiv on Dec. 14 for a conference in Kiev. The swearing-in ceremony is Dec. 17. I feel like the last year I have been stuck in a perpetual PST. I’m looking forward to being a PCV once again.

Unfortunately, I am not as close to this batch of PCV’s as I was with my batch in the Philippines. First of all, this batch has 113 people! My PCP group only had 69—and at mid-service their numbers now stand at 50! PCP Group #267 are all amazing people full of ideals and a general respect for humanity and peace. And I'm pleased that so are many people in PC Ukraine batch #37. Many of them genuinely care about their jobs as PCV’s and I know they will shine at their permanent sites. The announcement of our sites will happen on Dec. 14. I have already been told I will teach at the university level, although I do not know where yet. But as soon as I can, I’ll let my world know where in Ukraine I am located.

I apologize for the lack of blog entries during PST. I’m afraid it has been a rather hectic 11 weeks. Here is what you’ve missed:
• Due to a mutated version of the swine flu (known as the California flu/ American flu) that fiercely affected Ukraine, the schools were closed for 4 weeks. This, of course, meant absolutely no teaching during the quarantine. It was a strange time. People walked around the streets wearing face masks, grocery stores were running low on produce because everyone was panicking and buying food quickly. Also, some host families felt nervous about having an American living in their home, and asked Peace Corps to please find them a new home. First of all, this made us feel like lepers and also like puppies in need of good homes. While my host family did not have this reaction, I had different issues in that department…
• My 1st host family in Ukraine had a difficult time understanding that Peace Corps expected them to feed me at least twice a day with the 1200 G (grieves) they were paid monthly. The woman who had the tile of my host mom preferred to spend her money on vodka rather than food. It was a strange household and I was always sick due to the constant secondhand smoke I inhaled in the apartment. My bronchitis was out of control and I lost 15 lbs in 2 months. This freaked out the Peace Corps doctors (PCMO) so they requested I be moved. Unfortunately, Peace Corps make the mistake of telling the crazy woman I lived with the night before I was to leave. She threw a fit and kicked me out at 10 pm. I met my new host family at mid-night while wearing my pajamas. It was awkward, but thankfully, a blessing. My new host family is incredible. They have no objections to feeding me and try to do so often….LOL! My host Toyta just asked if I wanted to eat borscht right now. I told her I would later and I had to promise I would eat it all. My host mom, Tanya, is a librarian—she’s 50. Toyta Nina (Tanya’s mother) is 74. They are both dear women and I’m very happy to have lived with them for the past 5 weeks. I will miss them when I move out next week, but I plan to visit in the spring at Easter.

Those are the two most important events during my PST. I did get a chance to teach once after the quarantine. I didn’t realize I was being evaluated at the time, and apparently Peace Corps Ukraine officials were very impressed at my teaching abilities. *shrug* That is one of the reasons they have decided not to place me at the high school level, and chose to place me at the University. I’m looking forward to this new challenge, to all the adventures I’m sure to have while living here in Ukraine, to once again calling myself a Peace Corps Volunteer, and I most especially look forward to the next 2 years. Hope you’ll continue to follow my blog…the journey has just begun.

More to follow…