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I haven’t wrote for my blog for some time now, but I felt tonight would be a good chance to catch up. Tonight is my first night in my apartment in Pryvillya. This is the apartment that I will live in for the next 22 months. Living at camp was great, was able to make some really good friends and meet a lot of the kids in my town as well as the surrounding area. Since the last time I wrote quite a bit has happened. Liz came and visited which was amazing. We went to L’viv in the East of Ukraine which was so beautiful, so far my favorite city in Ukraine. The next weekend we were in Kiev, the capital. It was great just hanging out and exploring. During the week we stayed with my host family in Fastiv, which is near Kiev. I got to take Liz to the sauna, to the forest and spend time with my amazing Ukrainian family. Was hard to say goodbye to her again, but now she is living and working near Paris, so it is great to have her closer, as well as only one time zone away opposed to the 8 hour difference we were dealing with.

              Last week I was in Kiev again for a volunteer conference in Kiev. I attended the conference with my counterpart, Marinna. She is the English teacher at school 7 where I will be working. She has been nothing but amazing! We plan on starting a city newspaper through the school. Our goal is to have it be completely run by volunteers in the school as well as the community. With the revenue from the paper and its ads we will donate the money to community projects. Right now Pryvillya does not have a paper, and there is a void for it. So that will be my big project over the next years. Tomorrow I will meet with the school directors to figure out what else I will be doing. I really want to have a chess club, English club, and a sports club. Not sure if it is possible to do all of these but that’s what I am going for. I also would love to teach a few lessons during the week either on environmental issues or healthy lifestyles, the rest of the time I will be hanging out with Marinna during her English lessons.  

             Besides that I have slowly been trying to piece together my apartment, slowly is key to that sentence. The workers remolded the whole place which was great, now I must buy all those random things that bring the apartment together. I live in a 6 unit building just off the main street of my town. I just went outside and it was crazy to see the surrounding area at night, so cool to see the age of the buildings, the street and the area near my apartment!  

 

               Also I must mention that my sister was married a few weeks ago, I can’t believe I was unable to attend. While in Kiev I was finally able to see pictures from the wedding, she looked absolutely beautiful! Pretty crazy I have a brother-in-law now, which I am super excited about, as well as a c ute little niece. 

  So yea during the next week I will get my apartment all set up, meet with the school directors to figure out what my work will be, and then in a week school will start. Kind of nervous to meet all the students at school, but at the same time super excited to do so. It should be interesting to say the least. Russian is coming along, try to stay focused on it but its hard sometimes not to get burnt out on it.  

 

         

I will end here, love to hear from any of you! Take care. Side note, love to get some mail my address is

ВУЛ. ПАВЛИКА МОРОЗОВА 9 КВ 2
ПРИВiЛЛЯ, ЛИСИЧАНСЬКИЙ РН.
ЛУГАНСЬКА ОБЛ.
  Ukraine 93191
(Ukraine in English will get it to the country, the Ukrainian address will get it to my apartment here)
The street I live on is named after a young boy who during the creation of the Soviet Union ratted out his dad for hiding land and money from the Soviet government. The boy was a popular figure during the cold war, communism before family.  

all is well here still, get to see Liz today!!!! We will be hanging out at my host familys place for the week since its the only place I am allowed to travel to away from my actual site.  

All is well at my site, i am still living and kinda working at the summer camp.  The second group of kids (160) have been there the last few weeks and when I return there will be the third and final group.  I get a lot of time to talk with kids, read, and study.  Its been a great place to hang out at, I would be super bored if I was living in my apartment.  Speaking of which my apartment has a ton of work to be done in it so it is probably best I am not living there.

 Looking forward to September when I actually start working.  I plan on having a sports club/fitness club/healthy lifestyles club, an english club, and a chess club.  Not exactually sure what I will be doing during the school day itself but I will find that out soon.  People here continue to be great and helpful!

 Miss my second wedding last weekend, my cousin got married.  Can't wait to miss my sisters and another cousins as well.  Def is hard being away from home and missing these big family get togethers.  Attached is my favorite three pictures from my summer camp.  A lot of people say that Eastern Ukraine is not beautiful but I have enjoyed it.

Hello Everyone, 

Sure maybe a few of you are wondering where I have been.  I have moved (kinda) to my perminent site and today is the first time I have been able to get internet.  I will be living in the East of Ukraine, a 15 hour train ride from Kiev in a city called Pryvilla.  Well a small village would be more accurate, a town of 9,000 people.  People knock the East for being the industrial part of the country and not as beautiful but I love my area, there is a river at the edge of town and trees as far as you can see in every direction.  If you look for it on a map it is on the southern border of Harkiev and Lugansk Oblasts.  I am in the Eastern most oblast, I can see Russia from my house.  (stole that joke from an 80 year old lady, but I find it funny).  I mentioned kinda above because until August 25th I will be living in a summer camp on the outside of my town.  Its been a town of fun so far! I basically just hang out all day and do whatever I want.  I get to eat with the kids at the camp and have my own big room.  The camp is huge, right now there are 160 kids, and they stay for 3 weeks.  They will be followed by 2 more groups for 3 weeks each.  Most of my stuff is in an apartment in Pryvilla so its been kinda frustrating trying to get back and forth when I need stuff, but considering that I get to practice Russian with people a lot, don't have to cook, don't really have to do anything but play all day- I will take it.

  Russian language is coming along, I tested at an intermidate high level when I was in Fastiv 2 weeks ago, which was really excited about.  However that apparently doesn't mean much because I feel like I don't understand anything now.  I keep studying everyday, but its hard battling with accents, fast talkers, unfamiliar topics, and the stress of wanting to understand.  The people at the camp have been great but I really wish I could be more of a help, its amazing how big of a language plays in culture.

  Pryvilla seems pretty nice so far, only having been here a little bit. I got to spend time with the mayor which was fun, and my co workers and director at my school all seem wonderful.  

  Liz is coming to visit in 3 weeks which I am beyond excited about.  We will head back to Kiev and to Fastiv for a few days to spend time with my host family there.  I am slowly making a list of things that will be requested from America, top of my list is 2 baseball gloves and a baseballs.  If there is anything else that you want me to have please contact Liz ha.

  I got a second phone with a new number if you need to get a hold of me +380 99 2618604.

Well I think thats all I got now, its been pretty interesting being unconnected from the internet for several weeks.  I never understood how people could go with out the news everyday but once you go cold turkey you quickly realize how none of it really matters.  Well I miss you all, hope all is well.

Peace

Bob

One more quick message before I leave for Kiev for the week.  Just want to let everyone know how great the experience has been so far.  Thanks for everyones wishes!  Plus I must also plug peace corps or any experience abroad.  We must interact with the world and let them know about what type of people they are, and learn about their people. I was so  lucky to live with the best family in Ukraine but they probably got the best American so it was a win win situation.  Thank you so much to them for having me! Hope all is well

Baby Chloe

Just wanted to let everyone know that Danielle gave birth to her and Andrew's kid, Chloe! She is 9lbs 2oz and 22in.  Sounds big to me! Much love and congrats to them.  Next week I will begin talking to baby chloe on Skype twice a week teaching her Russian.  I can't wait

My Political Side

My favorite quote from the past few months
"...The dangerous dogma of free market fundamentalism turns our attention away from schools to prisons, from workers conditions to profit margins, from health clinics to high tech facial surgeries, from civic associations to pornographic Internet sites, and from childrens care to strip clubs. The fundamentalism of the market put a premium on the activites of buying and selling, cosuming and taking, prmoting and advertising, and devalues community, compassionate charity, and imporvement of the gerneral quality of life,. How ironic that in America we've moved so quickly from Martin Luther King Jr's "Let Freedom Ring!" to "Bling! Bling!" as if freedom were reducible to simply having material toys as dictated by free market fundamentalism"
-Cornell West

My mom is traveling in Africa right now, super jealous. Feel so lucky to be here in Ukraine, to know that I have a cousin living Africa and a cousin living in Asia. Its so cool to see the we are all able to travel to so many different places in the world. Turns out that citizens in all these places find ways to be happy with out large amounts of money. My mom told me that she met a family that had 14 people living in a two bedroom house and they are still happy. So basically my point is that we can share some of our wealth to help the poorest in the world get basic shelther, food and health. Maybe a little more than the 0.2% of our GDP that goes to non military international aid (33% goes to Israel) than we give now. Despite what society and large corportations tell us we can still be happy without all the money that we think need, plus we can help others live with much better conditions.

I swan across a river in Ukraine yesterday. It was awesome. Then I made Palmeni.

Last week

My last week in Fastiv started today, freaking out a little bit about going to my new site.  Next monday we go to Kiev for 3 days of meetings and then swearing in, then I will be assigned my 2 year site!  Just me, no other Americans in the city.  Lots of random emotions going through me, but overall its going to happen next week and I have accepted that.  Last week here in Fastiv is going to fly by.  Pretty easy week, language lessons, training wrap up, and then our language interviews on Friday.  

Last week was great, after teaching at School 4 in Fastiv for 3 days we took all of our kids to Club Nadia (Club Hope).  An organization that holds events for local kids with disablities. So 20 kids from School 4, 10 kids from the other School in Fastiv where the other PC group works, and about 20 kids from Club Nadia.   The kids painted together, planted flowers, had their faces painted and presented the countries that they had made over the week at school.  Ton of fun seeing it all come together.  

As for me I am still doing good.  Been great to continue to read and have conversations with people about social and economic issues here and in America.  Also studying the recent economic crisis has been fascinating.  My impressions of America have changed a little, its been nice moving away and taking a whole new prespective on it all.  Super frustrating to see how spoiled we are in America, tons of money and oppurtunity, and see how we waste our great resources.  Still trying to figure out where it all went wrong socially and economically, oh and if anyone could explain why anyone is a Republican that would be great as well.  (If Glenn Beck or Rush are reading love to hear directly from you, David Brooks as well)

As for everything else, its pretty awesome.  Russian is coming along okay, kinda nervous to rely on just myself but I am at a point now that I can learn a lot studying on my own.  Plus I made Borsch yesterday so I think I am good to go.

Hope everyone is doing well!