here is my new and improved vow make updating this a regular event!
here here!
so since school has started i have actually been busy! go figure! the summer me would have never thought the day would come where i would actually have things to do!!
 |
| my school bus |
my school schedule is set and i am teaching 18 hours a week. it doesnt sound like a lot but when you add prep time it for sure adds up. and technically i am suppose to have 3 hours a club a week and i havent really started that yet. im hoping to at the beginning of nov ( after fall break). I have actually tried to start a teachers english club but no one comes :( its very sad. for the most part the kids are good. perhaps not totally motivated but overall pretty well behaved. i, of course, have had the occasional cussing, which i dont even think they really know what it means, but i am trying to nip that in the bud. the kids, i think, are warming up to me. they see me around school and they stop and say hi, or good morning, even if its 2 in the afternoon.
 |
| i told them to work in groups...hmm..... |
also last week i did my first project. oct 16 is world food day so with the help of my lovely vanessa i signed my school up for hike4hunger! (hike4hunger.org) pretty much you raise the awareness of world hunger through all different activities and of course, with a hike! We had a lesson all about the causes and effects of hunger, who and where are most affected, how everyone can make a difference! Ukraine actually has a history with famine so the kids know all about that. the hike organizers sent us a banner, these cool necklaces, and a disposable camera ( which i dont think my counterpart had even seen before!). after the lesson we had our hike which was to a park in a neighboring village. we even caught the eye of some locals who offered us money for our cause. i thought it was a nice gesture :) all and all i think it was a good first project, with this hike we are also in the running to win some money from the company who sponsors the event. that would be amazing and my school would definitely put that money to good use!
oh and ive also started a pen pal project with a friend/pcv in Peru! im really excited to have my kids make new friends in new places! i think it will be awesome :)
my weekends have been busy too.
i went to kyiv the last weekend in sept for a working group meeting. its like a focus group/club for volunteers that deal with important subjects in Ukraine and for our projects. since people come from all over the country and that can take hours and hours some volunteers rent apartments for the weekend. so i stayed in one with about 18 other volunteers. let me recap for you one of the most interesting events of the weekend:
3 am on sunday morning. the apartment is quiet, filled with sleeping volunteers. suddenly there are loud crashes and bangs. then silence. then what sounds like water.
" what are you doing?"
"dont worry about it go back to sleep"
"no what the fuck are you doing? you are peeing on the floor!"
" dont worry about it, its been decided. there is a meeting"
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? YOU JUST SHIT ON THE FLOOR!"
"its ok its ok go back to sleep"
so that happened. somehow it got cleaned up with minimal yelling. and you thought pc volunteers were classy?
the next weekend was jewish new year and some fellow volunteers planned an amazing event in Dnepropetrovsk. its a huge city about 12 hours from me so i hopped on the train fri night and woke up there. there was food, people and a nice walk to the river to boot! i was told that there was boba in this city, and i would be lying if that wasnt a main reason for me going, you know besides all the jewish stuff and whatnot. so we find the stand and just when we head over there they are out of the bubbles. it was rough. i was heartbroken. but really it was nothing a few shot of vodka couldnt fix. to top off the night we went bowling and im going to brag or anything but if anyone of you out there has seen me bowl than you know what i bring to the table and lets just say i brought it.
the next weekend a fellow volunteer in my oblast had arranged a 527 project. in ukraine the problem of human trafficking is pretty big. people get trafficked many different ways and many of them are preventable. there is a free number here (527) and people can call it when they are applying for jobs abroad, study abroad, or pretty much anything else that might take a person out of the country. they can check to make sure the company is legit and safe. so we had the seminar and then we hit the streets to educate the people!! after that was done i stayed in the city for the night with some friends and got the see the biggest fountain in europe! holla! it has lights and music and even a lazer or two. jealous?
last weekend i stayed home and did nothing. which was fabulous. i got to sleep and read and watch movies. its getting really cold ( in the 30's) so ive plugged in my heater and put on the layers.
next week is fall break and i have a week off! yay!!! myself and 3 other volunteers are heading to budapest! i am so excited! 1. i get to travel on trains with people! i have thus far only traveled solo. 2. i get to leave the country!! 3. i am staying in a hostel so i get to take actual showers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4. and you know i get to see budapest which im sure is lovely.
 |
| notice one of the main ingredients. appetizing no? |
