I am alive and well
Hello!
Ok, so I posted a huge entry yesterday and it didn't go through - giant giant annoyance. I am writing this entry to you in the Ostroh academy student laboratory. Photos will come as soon as I am able to upload them - this is just text, so for those impatient readers....sorry. But I promise you
PICTURES WILL COME!!
The last few days have been absolutely hectic and it's rare to have enough time to relax. Well, where do I start?
The trip down was absurdly long - 31 hours in total. We stopped over in Vienna Austria before flying to Kiev (those Austrians sure know how to make the most butt-numbing seats ever). As we began our descent into Kiev I couldn't help but wonder whether the wailing baby was an onimous sign of things to come (actually this is a lie, I was thinking about the washroom). Once we landed in Kiev we were greeted by our Ukrainian supervisor and herded onto an old and very very uncomfortable bus for a 5 hour ride to a health retreat close by (the Ukrainian translation is sanatorium which I took for a place for the mentally ill, but this one is actually for people with heart conditions). As we blearingly stumbled out of the bus we were greeted by our Ukrainian counterparts (CPs) in an explosion of traditional song. I can say that any worries I had about our CPs quickly melted away. Us Canadians put our luggage in our rooms (Jeff was my lucky room-mate but not bedmate this time), and we had our first Ukrainian meal. Afterwards we quickly lapsed into a semi-comatose state until we were gently led back to our rooms where we then lapsed into a fully comatose state.
We spent the next 3 days at the sanatorium getting to know each other. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first about all these team building exercises, but I can definitely say that they are so good at breaking the ice and getting everyone laughing and friendly. That night most of us went out to the sanatorium bar (yes even the health retreats have a bar) for some Ukrainian beer. The bar had only 4 tables, was very small, and had a Russian movie about the second world war playing on the counter. One thing that's different over in Ukraine is that everyone munches on dried fish as they drink. Actually it's not bad (open mind open mind open mind)! Beer is only 3 hrivnyas (1 American dollar equals 5 hrivnyas). After a while, the sanatorium waitresses arrived to get a toot on after work, and the Ukrainian music began blaring. Not long after, some of us Canadians (yours truly included) were dancing with the waitresses (my interpretation generally consisted of an aimless waving of my hands). We were then plied with vodka shots interspaced with bouts of bread, fish, fish paste on bread, and juice. All was good, until the I noticed our Ukrainian counterparts getting uncomfortable. I guess the women had a little too much to drink and had begun to openly talk about wanting some ahem Canadian booty. So, a few of the Canadians and Ukrainians went to Lusa's and Olya's room for some more vodka shots, this time interspaced with bread and sausage and ham (honestly I have no idea where the meat came from). So needless to say, we are all getting along great.
OK! So, maybe you are wondering who my counterpart is? His name is Misha, and I am so happy to have him as a counterpart. He is really nice and considerate and a cool guy to boot. His English skills are not as good as some as the other counterparts, but with patience we are managing to communicate. But, I am sure it won't take very long at all for his English proficiency to increase dramatically. He is very eager to learn and so am I (about Ukraine).
Host family: My host family is a couple (Mikhola and Valentina) with two children (Roman an 11 year old boy and Katia a 4 year old girl). At first the children were shy, but in no time Roman was teaching me Ukrainian and asking about English words and Katia had latched onto my leg (literally, I couldn't detach her). I quickly asked Misha how to say be gentle in Ukrainian. So far I think having children in the house is great because they are proving to be a great avenue for me to connect to their parents. My accomodations are quite comfortable. I have hot water (YES!!) and a modern bathroom. The kitchen is very very small, but Valentina is a fabulous cook.
Which brings me to my next thought: Ukrainian food. I am liking Ukrainian food very much. It is very heavy and fatty, consisting of cabbage, beets, sausage, potatoes, and bread bread bread. Actually, Ukrainians have a great love for mayonnaise and it's in almost every dish. Basically Ukrainian food has the same ingredients we do, but just in different proportions (I can honestly say since I've arrived I've more beets in 5 days then I have in 19 years in Canada).
In general I am liking Ukraine very much. From what I noticed everything we enjoy in Canada can be found in Ukraine. From what I can tell there has been no infrastructure to keep these as maintained as were are used to in Canada. As a result, the roads are very bad, you see a lot of crumbling buildings, and there are dogs everywhere. At night I am in perpetual fear of tripping while walking on their wacky sidewalks and falling flat on my face. I can tell that my stay here will be a challenge, but I have an extremely positive outlook so far and can only anticipate the great experience I am sure I will enjoy. I hope to update again soon with photos, and tell you more about the academy, my work placement, Ostroh, and the trips I am I will take. Much love!
Ok, so I posted a huge entry yesterday and it didn't go through - giant giant annoyance. I am writing this entry to you in the Ostroh academy student laboratory. Photos will come as soon as I am able to upload them - this is just text, so for those impatient readers....sorry. But I promise you
PICTURES WILL COME!!
The last few days have been absolutely hectic and it's rare to have enough time to relax. Well, where do I start?
The trip down was absurdly long - 31 hours in total. We stopped over in Vienna Austria before flying to Kiev (those Austrians sure know how to make the most butt-numbing seats ever). As we began our descent into Kiev I couldn't help but wonder whether the wailing baby was an onimous sign of things to come (actually this is a lie, I was thinking about the washroom). Once we landed in Kiev we were greeted by our Ukrainian supervisor and herded onto an old and very very uncomfortable bus for a 5 hour ride to a health retreat close by (the Ukrainian translation is sanatorium which I took for a place for the mentally ill, but this one is actually for people with heart conditions). As we blearingly stumbled out of the bus we were greeted by our Ukrainian counterparts (CPs) in an explosion of traditional song. I can say that any worries I had about our CPs quickly melted away. Us Canadians put our luggage in our rooms (Jeff was my lucky room-mate but not bedmate this time), and we had our first Ukrainian meal. Afterwards we quickly lapsed into a semi-comatose state until we were gently led back to our rooms where we then lapsed into a fully comatose state.
We spent the next 3 days at the sanatorium getting to know each other. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first about all these team building exercises, but I can definitely say that they are so good at breaking the ice and getting everyone laughing and friendly. That night most of us went out to the sanatorium bar (yes even the health retreats have a bar) for some Ukrainian beer. The bar had only 4 tables, was very small, and had a Russian movie about the second world war playing on the counter. One thing that's different over in Ukraine is that everyone munches on dried fish as they drink. Actually it's not bad (open mind open mind open mind)! Beer is only 3 hrivnyas (1 American dollar equals 5 hrivnyas). After a while, the sanatorium waitresses arrived to get a toot on after work, and the Ukrainian music began blaring. Not long after, some of us Canadians (yours truly included) were dancing with the waitresses (my interpretation generally consisted of an aimless waving of my hands). We were then plied with vodka shots interspaced with bouts of bread, fish, fish paste on bread, and juice. All was good, until the I noticed our Ukrainian counterparts getting uncomfortable. I guess the women had a little too much to drink and had begun to openly talk about wanting some ahem Canadian booty. So, a few of the Canadians and Ukrainians went to Lusa's and Olya's room for some more vodka shots, this time interspaced with bread and sausage and ham (honestly I have no idea where the meat came from). So needless to say, we are all getting along great.
OK! So, maybe you are wondering who my counterpart is? His name is Misha, and I am so happy to have him as a counterpart. He is really nice and considerate and a cool guy to boot. His English skills are not as good as some as the other counterparts, but with patience we are managing to communicate. But, I am sure it won't take very long at all for his English proficiency to increase dramatically. He is very eager to learn and so am I (about Ukraine).
Host family: My host family is a couple (Mikhola and Valentina) with two children (Roman an 11 year old boy and Katia a 4 year old girl). At first the children were shy, but in no time Roman was teaching me Ukrainian and asking about English words and Katia had latched onto my leg (literally, I couldn't detach her). I quickly asked Misha how to say be gentle in Ukrainian. So far I think having children in the house is great because they are proving to be a great avenue for me to connect to their parents. My accomodations are quite comfortable. I have hot water (YES!!) and a modern bathroom. The kitchen is very very small, but Valentina is a fabulous cook.
Which brings me to my next thought: Ukrainian food. I am liking Ukrainian food very much. It is very heavy and fatty, consisting of cabbage, beets, sausage, potatoes, and bread bread bread. Actually, Ukrainians have a great love for mayonnaise and it's in almost every dish. Basically Ukrainian food has the same ingredients we do, but just in different proportions (I can honestly say since I've arrived I've more beets in 5 days then I have in 19 years in Canada).
In general I am liking Ukraine very much. From what I noticed everything we enjoy in Canada can be found in Ukraine. From what I can tell there has been no infrastructure to keep these as maintained as were are used to in Canada. As a result, the roads are very bad, you see a lot of crumbling buildings, and there are dogs everywhere. At night I am in perpetual fear of tripping while walking on their wacky sidewalks and falling flat on my face. I can tell that my stay here will be a challenge, but I have an extremely positive outlook so far and can only anticipate the great experience I am sure I will enjoy. I hope to update again soon with photos, and tell you more about the academy, my work placement, Ostroh, and the trips I am I will take. Much love!