Life in Ukraine, Part One

So here is my second entry, I figure that I will get a start on it today because I have so much to post and I know that I would run out of time if I tried to get it all in on Thursday. I am currently at my host family’s house- so no internet- but lots of fun stories that I will type now and post later. We are in a little village outside of Chernihv (or Chernigv if you follow the more Russian vocab. The “g” sound is *mostly* interchangeable for the “h” sound between the two) and out of the four of us here, only one of our host families has internet and sadly that is not me. Though, I have running water and indoor toilets so I can’t complain. (Another volunteer is at sponge baths and has an outhouse. My LCF is also blessed with an outhouse. And yes this means a squat toilet for me during the week while at class)
Random facts of my life that I want to share (aka FB status’s that I haven’t been able to post)

Одн (odyn, or one), Lady Gaga is great- especially when sung in Russian/Ukrainian- My little sister gets a kick out of my singing in English. She also is a new fan of Johnny Cash. (My work here is done? Lololol)
Два (dva, or two)- The houses are painted in kiwi greens, pinks, yellows, and blues with geese inlaid in tiles- on the OUTSIDE. I am pretty much in heaven and will of course be posting pics. Which there will be more of when it’s not so cold outside.
Три (try, three)- I am learning Ukrainian while staying with a family that speaks both- My dad teaches me both the Russian word and the Ukrainian word and my mom and sister speak the combo, and they don’t really differentiate or know when they switch from one to the other or which words are which. There is a word for this lingo but I am unsure of how to spell it, in either Ukrainian or English
Чотири (chotyree, four)- I know that my family speaks NO English so when my hand gestures fail I revert to Spanish. And I would probably make all of my Spanish teachers proud to hear that, but unfortunately that makes it even less comprehensible to my family. I finally found out how to tell them I also speak Spanish though, and now that they know that I think I have more credibility with them. Despite my language being… well what it is. And yet, because Ukrainian also has rolled Rs sometimes I am not sure whether I have an American accent or one butchered combo of English/Spanish.
And….

My day typically is as follows (probably something I should have started with, but you know me and my and my rambling style by now!)
6:30 Wake up- thank you roosters and sunshine
Breakfast- FULL breakfast, like think the biggest platter from IHOP and make it Ukrainian and that’s me! (Scrambled eggs, egg-battered fried chicken, bread, tea, and cookies was this morning’s meal)
8:00 Language lessons start. We meet at our LCF’s house, which for me is right next door. (Casey and X have a 10-15 min walk)
12:15- Lunch at the school’s canteen (macaroni and ham, and a bowl of borscht with tea) ((all for less than a dollar)
Then home- where I sit and do HW with my little sis (she loves doing dialogs with me!) and watch Ukrainian TV including Ukraine’s Got Talent, X Factor (dubbed) and Animal Planet/National Geographic in Russian. Or I will have a village field trip with my site mates for some good old speaking in English and walking off all our food! Though, mostly it’s walking to the market to get snacks or such. Hopefully it will soon include playing soccer down and our stadium.
20:00 Dinner- Last night was potato batter wrapped around cabbage and onions and fried- extra super delicious. With pickles and freezer dried ice cream with chai.
21:30 (? I am still getting used to 24 hour time) Tea with cookies, cakes, and snacks- Which I must eat, thanks to the insistence of the whole family. I am pretty sure if the cats could talk they also would be pressing food on me!
22:00 Bed time!
Tuesday’s I also have an hour and a half of tutoring after lunch. Thursdays are technical training so we take the mashrukta (sp?) into Chernihv and meet with our link (another group of PCT’s in the city) and visit local orgs to help us figure out what community development might mean. And of course start our networking (this is also my internet day). Saturdays are short days, only a couple of hours of language training and then free time- though our LCF wants to implement movie day, which we are not opposed to!

And this, more or less, is going to be my life until June 16th when I swear in! (Which will be a great event since we are swearing in on the year that marks the 50th Anniversary for the PC!)

(I have decided to not post pics, it is taking too long to upload them. They will come, I promise, but not today)