it's actually winter

It’s a typical Saturday night in Ukraine. Reading another book from the library. As another volunteer said, you could get your master’s in classical literature if you stayed in Ukraine long enough, what he meant basically, as a volunteer you have A LOT of free time. While I teach 18 hours a week, and English clubs and planning, there is still a lot of time to read Newsweek (which is sent to me every two weeks) and a bunch of novels.
Speaking of Newsweek, I recently got a package from the Peace Corps and got the last 5 copies, and spent a day just getting my news up to date. It is really exciting (and a little surreal) to see how big of a deal Barak Obama is making. Well I was really excited that Hilary Clinton was running 3 years ago, its amazing to think what would change in America if an African-American former Muslim was elected President. (well, maybe not Muslim, but he has lived all around the world, and that is just cool!)

But it’s really interesting to be over here and hear what people are saying about our elections. I had one slightly unnerving conversation with a very educated young Ukrainian woman on Thursday about the upcoming elections. We were talking about Clinton and Obama and she basically said that the Republicans were for sure going to win because she didn’t think women made good leaders (even though I tried to point out that a fair number of countries have female leaders and are doing pretty good) and that she would NEVER vote for an African-American, because as she said “you can see it in their eyes that they are just ready to do something bad…” My mouth almost dropped open when she said that. I knew many Ukrainians were racist, but jeez… so that will be one of my goals over here, to make Ukrainians a little more aware…
But anyways, today I had a conversation with my counterpart about the elections and she said she had never heard about Obama but that she thought Clinton would be very good because she was so powerful. So its interesting to be over here in preparation for November. Also, I started talking about Vladimir Putin (current President of Russia, and supposedly going to step down in March when his term runs out, but who knows?) and my counterpart went on to say what a great leader he was, and how he was much better than Bush, (she likes J.F. Kennedy though) and how everything he does is good for his people. So it’s a little different from what I would experience back in Minnesota…

But now I will try to run you through a typical Saturday for one Peace Corps Volunteer in Lugansk, Ukraine.
Wake up at 7:00 to my alarm, turn it off, go back to sleep, till 9:30. Read a little, listen to music, at 10:30 take a marshutka downtown for my 3rd viewing of the circus. I get off at the central bazaar, and decided to walk a little before I head to the circus. I walk slowly, looking around me, stop and briefly look at the booth for the Communist party of Ukraine, with many newspapers, pictures of Lenin, and the Hammer and Sickle proudly displayed in front. Walk a bit more, see the Adidas and Nike stores, the American music blasting from speakers, and head to the circus to meet my counterpart and her daughter.
So, the circus, as I said before this is now the 3rd time I have gone, but luckily each time has been a new show. Anyways, today there were a lot of young kids, and the typical toys, balloons and snack food you find at any American circus. And yes, Ukrainian circus’s have some gymnastics, people doing things with and to their bodies that should be not normally possible, but beyond that, this is definitely a different kind of show. It starts off with 10 women in very skimpy clothing coming out and doing a kind of cabaret sort of dance (I think for the older crowd, but never can be sure, and they do this about 5 times throughout the circus) and then the very Ukrainian looking juggelers, dog-trainers, and clowns come on. You know it’s a real Ukrainian/Russian circus when the brown bear in a skirt comes out and precedes to skip rope, sit and read the newspaper, and catch rings with his legs… then the chimpanzee in a suit comes out, etc… It was quite a show. Went to a very glitzy café already decorated for Valentines Day next week to have ice cream, then home to make some early dinner.
Tried to do some lesson planning but mostly read. Good day.
Will try to write again soon.


ALso, snowed quite a bit last night, we are having at ypical Minnesota spring. its nwos at night, gets really warm during the day, then cold again at night. Not a whole lot has happened since last week. Hope everything is good where you all are!
With love,
Seth