Another week down

So, yet another update from Rokytne, and no matter how many times i try, i can not figure out how to get the keyboard into Russian to type something interesting, or photos to up-load. Oh well. So, has one of my good peace corps friends happened to tell me on Sunday, I have been in the Peace Corps for a month now,and will have been in Ukraine for a month on Thursday! It is very crazy to think both that a month has gone by, and that I have only been here a month. SO much has happened, and my host family and friends have made me feel so welcome that i definitely feel like it has been a lot longer. There are definitely days when I get frustrated with the language (or my inability to use the language correctly) but i have not had one minute that I wished i was back in the states. This week is vacation for our students, so we are doing mostly language and techinical sessions (how to become a teacher). I also have been able to get to Kyiv 3 times in the last week and a half, so i definitely feel comfortable going there and seeing the sites. As my dad and others can attest to, it is really a beautiful city. It definitely has a Soviet feel to it, but with a charm all its own. Whether it be the beautiful monastary with about 15 churches inside it that feels like you are in Turkey, or the 4,000 ton Rodina Mat (huge tin statue of Mother Ukraine , defender of the country overlooking east Kyiv) the city has a lot to offer. As I was walking down the main street (which was closed for cars for some reason) Sunday afteroon, with Russian/Ukranian anthems being blasted from street-side speakers, I definitely felt that I was in another country... It was very Klasna (cool!) I should probably get going for now, but i really appreciate all the e-mails and posts i am getting. Also, a friend of one of my college roomates who works for the Duluth News Tribune decided to do a short article on me in last Sundays paper, so here is the link to it. You may have to register your e-mail address, but after that it is free. http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=53127
miss you all,
Love,
Seth

Small town boy goes to the big city

well, i am not exactly living in the country, but Rokytne is tiny compared to Kyiv, where I traveled Sunday. Actually, my weekend began with a wonderful host family dinner (actually, host mother dinner, the fathers are not really into that kind of thing) where we were able to meet the host mothers of the other volunteers. As our language coordinator as translater, we discussed differences between America and Ukraine, expectations of the next 3 months, and were just able to get to know each other better. When one of the mothers asked whether we would be willing to stay in Rokytne for the whole 2 years, my friend Zahar answered, "if i meet a Ukranian girl and get married, haha, just kidding" and his host mother, in English, responded "you know Zahar, there is truth to every joke." it was pretty hilereous, because now all the host mothers are introducing him to their young daughters.
On Saturday my group ventured to Bela Certka (beautiful church), which is about 40 minutes east of Rokytna by electric train. We spent the day touring the city museum, and learning a lot aobut Ukranian history, Soviet occupation, and the famine of 1932 were hundreds of thousands of Ukranians starved to death. we also took a stroll through Alexandria park, the 2nd largest park in Ukraine. It was great.
On Sunday i woke up at 7 and was at the bus station by 8:00 to catch a 2 hour bus ride to Kyiv. I didn't really know where to get off, so when we go to Kyiv i just got off at a random street,found a metro, took the metro 2 stops, got off, and spent 10 minutes deciding if i was going north or south. So after staring at the map and having no idea, (yes, i actually did this) I whipped out my compass and found that i actually was going north. It was pretty hilereous. Ran to the train station where i met up with another group of peace corps volunteers and spent 6 hours touring around the city. Kyiv (as my dad can tell you) is gorgeous, with tons of beautiful chruches and nice parks. I really had a great time. At about 3:30, i realized that i needed to be at the train station by 4, so i hopped on the metro, transfered and got there by 3:50, and called another peace corps volunteer who i was supposedly going to join on a bus back to Roytna. Well, they were about 45. minutes away from the station, so i spent 8 crazy minutes attempting to find the electrichka (electric train) ticket office, was told in russian where to go, sort of understood, found it, realized my train was leaving in 2 minutes so i thought i would buy my ticket on the train. well, i attempted to run through the then open ticket barriers (the kind that are usually closed and only open when you put a ticket or coin into them) well, as i was running pretty much full tilt through it, it closed, and i proceeded to whack my shin full force on it. it felt great. A guy laughed and pointed to a ticket window. bouhgt a ticket, hopped on the train, it left a minute later and i was back in Rokytne 3hours later. it was great!
Again, pictures are difficult to download, but i will keep trying.
Take care,
Seth

Notes from Ukraine

Well, i am trying to keep the blog as up to date as possible, but in all reality, there is not a whole lot to report since last time. No lions, or floods, or rebels... Sorry. Actually, live in Ukraine thus far has been slightly mundane. (not to say that i am not loving it here), but as one of my friends who is also a peace corps volunteer here in Ukraine, so far its been like going to University and living at your Grandparents. (which of course has its perks) I am constantly being fed, and if i allowed myself, I would gain about 100 pounds when I am here. It definitely shows the true spirit of Ukranians.
While they most likely will not smile at you on the streets as you run by, as soon as you are in their homes they will do whatever they can to make you comfortable. Besides the language, it is very simiar to the rest of Europe. Speaking of the langauge. I speak russian (chu-chut- a little, i tried to figure out how to get the keyboard into Cyrillic, but it continues to evade me) and every chance i get i use what little words i know. my big accomplishment of last night was to tell my host mother that I wouldn't be home till 6:40 tonight, and i even used the future tense! This weekend looks to be exciting, as i will be going to a large city called Bela Sertka on Saturday to go to a museum and learn more about Ukranian culture, and on Sunday will be heading to Kyiv to hang out with friends and see what it has to offer. Hope everything is great back home, and it's always nice to hear from all of you!

Hey all,
A quick message from Ukraine. I I am in a town 2 hours south of Kiev, and am loving it so far. there are frustrating occurances of course, but i am learning russian a lot about teaching. Not a whole lot new has happened since the last update to my blog. Ukraine is an interesting place, there are so many things here that are similar to America (roads, cars, internet, coca-cola, etc.) yet it has a Russian twist more than i even expected (the schools are built in a russian style, all the cars are 30 years old, etc.) Today i saw the left overs of a car accident (the drivers arent always very attentive) and a car had hit another car and driven into the side of a wall about 2 inches from a house... very interesting. My dad is currently in Kiev, and will be making the journey to Rokytna (my town) tomorrow morrning. I am very excited to see him and to have someone see the life i am living. It is much different than what i expected, and different than friends of mine in Gambia, Uganda, and the DOminican Republic, but i am loving it, and wouldnt change anything so far. Would love to hear from all of you!
-Love,
Seth

Update from Ukraine!

well, here i finally am. I am living in a small city called Rokytna, about 2 hours south of Kiev. It is wonderful, crazy, frustrating... I am currently attempting to learn Russian in a town were 75% of the population speaks Ukranian, and while many say that they are very similar, I really dont think they are, maybe like Dutch and German. But life is wonderful. It is amazing at how many things in Ukraine are similar to the U.S. (the towns look very familiar, old cars, but streets are generally in good repair) yet other things are so strange. The architecture is truley amazing here, deffinitely still got a lot of the communist feel to it. Also, they use Turkish toilets here (squatting) and everyone seems to have a large garden out back. I live in a fairly up to date house, with a computer, tv, electricty. Not quite what you would think of in the Peace Corps, but trying to understand what the heck is going on at dinner when my host family speaks Ukranian to each other, very interesting...
I have a host mother who is a lawyer (tanya) and a host father who works for a milk manufacturer (Konstantine) and two host brothers, Sasha (7) and Aleksyi (12). Sahsa constantly blabbers on in Ukranian, and while i dont understand a single word he says, it is very interesting.
I will be teaching english to 3 different classes for the next 2 months during training, so I will be learning a ton! while still attempting to learn to speak Russian. I think that is it for now, but I will try to be a little more up to date from now on, hope all is well!! with love,
Seth