Just wanted to let everyone know that after 24 hours of travelling (from the time we left Philly to the time we got to our training site) consisting of 2 bus rides and 2 planes, I finally got to the training site 2 days ago. The people on the trip seem super cool for the most part. There are people from as far away as Alaska and Hawaii, although most of the people are from either the Mid-West or the DC area. What's with everyone I know originally being from DC?! Craziness. Anyways, for orientation we stayed in this old Communist spa that they called a sanatorium, where rich people would go back in the 80's to drink herbal teas and get remedies that would make them feel more relaxed. Of course, it hasn't been a really nice spa in over 20 years, so it was super run down and dingy, but that's okay. It was a good intro to the country and what to possibly expect. And yes, lots of soup and potatoes. And chicken. And, of course, cabbage. But really, it reminds me a lot of all the Jewish foods I grew up eating, except more bland. Which honestly, I kinda like.
Okay, so remember when I said that I don't know much about what's going on? I'm starting to find out more. So here's what I know. . . after a few months of trying to teach myself Ukrainian, I was informed yesterday that I will instead be learning Russian. Which means I'm going East in 3 months. Still don't know where, but it's a start. I just got to my host family's house, where, I have to say, I am totally hooked up! The house is on the outskirts of the Region Capital or Chirnigiv. My host mother took me on a walking tour of the area they live in, and it looks kinda like it's own little village. She speaks English, which is great for me (I totally lucked out), although in a way I'm a little disappointed because I would have loved to learn Russian super quick by not understanding my host family. They also have hosted 5 volunteers before me, so the excitement was less than I anticipated. Still, they're super nice and are treating me well, and my host mother promised to help me with my Russian, so I'm happy. The town itself is pretty nice! There's a river a few blocks away, and a market where you can get fresh produce. It's about an hour walk to the center of the city, which I will have to do every day in order to get to my language classes, which are at my teacher's house. But, for all the modern amenities (including wireless internet), I'm totally not complaining. It's interesting, because if you walk down the street they live on (which is a dirt road), you'd totally not think that when you walk inside there's this cute little world. It kind of reminds me of a larger sized Manhattan apartment with an upstairs, which I have entirely to myself. No joke. I told you I was hooked up! It's pretty sweet! Check it out (the bottom one is the view from my room)!
No comments:
Post a Comment