Friday, February 16, 2007

Cabbage blog

I just saw this on myspace (yes I'm reposting, oh well) and thought it was funny because there was a reference to cabbage, which is extremely popular in Ukraine. So read and enjoy.

http://www.o-sf.com/ppc/diet/diet_menus.php?ppc=google+o-sf.com&cpn=cabbage+diet+blog

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Partial Packing List

I know there are plenty of lists for those of you who are getting ready to come to Ukraine and this is a list I should have put up for group 31, but will be better for the Youth Development volunteers anyway. You will hear a lot about how Ukraine is more professional than what you may be used to in the States, that may or may not be true, I see younger teachers with nice jeans at my school, but know that would never happen at other schools. My typical outfit consists of cargo pants of either tan, blue or grey and a button up shirt. Although I know other volunteers who go to school in full suits. The other thing you need to remember is it is perfectly acceptable to wear they same items of clothing for several days at a time. In fact, wearing too much variety can make you stand out more than you do already.
Also remember you are dealing with a four season country and while you can buy clothes here sizes and styles can be a challenge for American tastes. Bring a small amount of clothing suited for all different weather conditions and functions. Know you will probably wear these clothes out and they will not see America again. But it might well be better than the alternative of buying a lot of clothing here. I have bought some but it is hard to find what you want and can be expensive depending on where you go and what you like. Women’s clothing my seem revealing while I have a hard time finding much of any men’s clothing I like. For YD people remember you will be involved in camps during the summer so possibly bring some things for that as well. I will make a category for that. But overall, remember that part of being in Peace Corps is learning to live with less and you find you can live with very little. Consider what is most essential to your survival, bring that and you will find out if you really need it or not.

PC Camping suggestions to bring:
- Leatherman, they are so multifunctional I wired a building for Internet with hardly more than a pair.
- I also have a second swiss army knife. Having the cork screw and bottle opener are important so many times over.
- Camping dishwear, spoon, fork, bowl, I’m sure outdoor stores would have some really light ones. I have some lexan stuff that is really tough, I use it for everyday use as well. It is common for a camp to expect you to bring your own. Be forewarned, I didn’t know this.
- Sandals, flipflops can be bought easily enough here, but bring tough ones, like Chacos or Teva.
- sleeping bag, I have a small synthetic one, but I have seen downright tiny down bags and have not seen the need yet for a synthetic over down bag, since synthetic works better in wet conditions. Look at getting one of the really tiny ones, they pack better for visiting volunteers.
- flashlight, a little twin AA maglight works great, I like my headlamp, but you will get funny looks, be forewarned.
- pack towel, or just a small regular towel that will dry quickly


Recommended things to bring:
- Bring casual clothes, shorts
- Music, better electronic
- A laptop is a great thing to have during the long winters for everything from work to watching movies, decide if you want to invest in one, bring an older one or forego it completely. Just be know PC gives you a lot of material on CD.
- External hard drive. More and more information is digital now, you'll fill up a hard drive real quickly with music, photos and movies, make it big. Some people have 500g ones. My 40g is almost always full.
- iPod is a nice addition too, or another music playing device, an iPod is not a status device here, rather just another MP3 player and most people haven’t seen one because they cost the same here as in the states, and people make $100-$200 a month.
- Forget cotton socks and especially white ones, go for synthetic or blend socks in darker colors.
- I think the PC recommendations included slippers, you can buy them here for cheap, save your space for all the other stuff you’ll bring over and then wonder why.
- Leave the light colored khakis home, better to go with darker colors unless you want to scrub the dirt out by hand, it’s hard.
- I love my wrinkle-free stain resistant shirts
- Some really nice stuff you’re willing to part with at the end of service, you’ll appreciate it for the formal events and will never want to see it again at the end of service anyway.
- Backpack, I have two, a larger backpacking one and a smaller one I use for most of my trips, I can get almost a weeks worth of stuff in mine now when I don’t take my sleeping bag. Mostly because I don’t back a different outfit for everyday. But you will see people carrying less stuff with them, Make due with less.

Friday, December 08, 2006

"A little christmas tree and ornaments" included in a gift package
"Hope your t-day is better than mine. Put 10 hrs at school today: rayon olympiad. Oh yeah, and EARTHQUAKE in my rayon! School evacuated, but nothign stops the freaking olympiad!"
"STAGES OF DRUNKENESS: 1. buzzed 2. happy 3. tipsy 4. drunk 5 wasted (belligerent) 6. trashed (smashed) 7. passed out"
"just got told to come back to my bank after two, but it's two now..."
"I've been thinking about doing that for a while. next time I get on a mar(shrutka) i'm going to pay with a dog"
"zing. good point. maybe I can buy my way on with beer of vodka?"
"What up superstar? When are we hanging otu for the break? I've got some new stories to tell, man I need to stop drinking vodka."
"Just had a tutoring session focused on changing adjectives and nouns depending on the case. my brain is cooked."
"Just finished 1984. deep. wow. f*cked up."
"F*ck. when did it get to be december?"

Friday, December 01, 2006

More SMS madness

“I can’t believe I just taught kids the word mullet…”
(Response) “Never mind the word. Try telling them what year it’s from so they don’t wear their hair like that anymore.”
“A girl asked when she was thinking of hair styles she would want on a guy. That’s what scares me…”
“Sitting in a dark bathroom in the office. There’s no electricity in Kyiv right now, must have gotten lots of snow last night.”
“Rumsfield resigned! Woooo hoooo!”
“Sometimes I wonder what the f*ck I’m doing here. But when I think like that I realize I’m just too hung over, like today.”
“Hey you know how I love chicken boobs!”
"I can't sleep, wanna do me a favor and count some sheep for me
"Hmm... maybe something less noisy. Damn those sheep and all that baaa-ing"

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

SMS More

"I just had turkeys chase me. Turkeys! that would never happen in the states!"
"Got a F*ing axe and saw and rake. yeah!"
"Oh we got them in arkansas too, no problems here. if a wolf wants to eat me, he's going to have a fight."
"I just cut down two trees!"
"On the train to Kyiv. the sun is setting as we're going through the mountains. Standing here drinking a beer at the open window with the fresh air and sunset. Awesome!"
"Well, one got the other one by the tails with his beak and they ran in circles like that for a while. then they saw me and started chasing me."

Monday, September 11, 2006

SMS Randomness

One thing that I have picked up here is the ability to SMS rather quickly and do it much more often than actually calling someone in country. But it has also led to a collection of rather odd and often very funny text messages I have received and/or sent. Since I need to wipe my phone of messages every so often and don’t want to lose them all entirely, I will put some of my favorites up on here whenever I need to delete them. No names will be attached, but enjoy, cause most of them have sure made me laugh:

“Do you know what hand women wear their wedding ring on?”
“They can’t get my last name right to save their lives.”
“We’re hazing kids right now cuz they won’t go to sleep.”
“Yeah, what can I say, I’m a player.”
“Are you keeping an eye on our son? He sent me a text saying he wasn’t behaving himself at prolisoc:) I hope you are enjoying prolisoc! Have some fun too pops!”
"We've had guest that won't leave since 4. They keep making me drink even though I just want to sleep. I'm gong on 90 minutes of sleep last night. If I get drunk (which I'm not) I'm going to put my face in the pashtet."
"Platscart 16 hours. *&^* Yeah, let's do this, It's hot as HELL in here."
"Someone has told them that when Americans drink alcohol we become instant drunks. Hey I'm in Lviv now, come down to the station, you have 4 mins, go."
"Ok, cool. btw, i have your shampoo! We'll have to trade dishes for shampoo."
"Mel gibson is in rehab after a drunk driving accident!"
"I'm going to blow my town up"
"When are you going to do this? wait, am i just going to be like the prof. and get shot?"
"If a girl asked me what my favorite boy and girl ukr names are, should I consider that a pick-up line?"
"You ever see a cate eat a beetle? it's quite entertaining"
"I'm visiting my training hf, last night we polished off 2 litres. Me my host dad and his neighbor. 2nd litre was samahon. Then we went to the bar where I almost fought a Russian about foreign policy. Today is my host baba's birthday, been drinking samahon for 2 hours but not drunk."
"Well, the pump isn't far from the place so it should be ok. yeah, it's ghetto. I can't wait to live there"
"I'm watching annie lorak sing live! So kickass!!"
"X flipped out last night, we don't know where he is."
"Drinking...lots of drinking."
"There you go. Tell her you'll teach her some slang, tonight, alone, with some drinks , in your room..."
"I can't wait to get back to america and try to give candy for change at a store."
"I just got toilet paper for change, which I need anyway for my apartment"
"Alright, finally into my own place. But still eating dinner at my host fams:) I have 0 food in my place. Need to fix that tomorrow. Have a good night."
"We've got a new teacher and she's smoking hot. can't wait until I get to know her"
"You can swear at me all you want if you next message is about that hot girl!"
"Suicide? Hardly, you'd take from Jeremy the award for MBP - Most Ballenest Playa. To quote Nelly."
"I think I'm gonna turn into Twig soon. I'm in the Romanian consulate and I'm waiting for 3 hours now for them to finally give me back my passport and visa. I'm so mad!"
"Someone came and took the water pump from my apartment building!"
"Found water. had to cross an obstacle course tog et it, but it's there."

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Pyramids?

I don't typically put news items up, but this one caught my eye on BBC that ancient pyramids may have been found in Eastern Ukraine.
Go here to read the story on BBC.

Ukraine may be thousands of miles away from Egypt, but archaeologists there say they have found pyramids...

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Pics of my new pad





I had promised to get photos of my new flat up, so here you go. Enjoy the luxury I live in now...
So you can get a view of my glamorous kitchen,balcony and two rooms. Obviously I live more in one than the second. Sorry they were taken at night, but I've been running around my fair share. Enjoy

Thursday, August 31, 2006

My Independence Day Speech

I wrote about this, so I wanted you to be able to read what I said, in English, because I doubt many of you can read the Ukrainian, but, why not, I'll put that there too.
Thank you for allowing me to speak today on your Independence Day. I have only been in Dobrotvir for two months, but plan to be here for two years. I will not speak for long since I do not want to take all of your time.

Today we celebrate 15 years as a free country. It is something to be proud of. First let me apologize for my Ukrainian, I need to speak better but have only been studying for five months. But during these five months I have made progress from knowing nothing at all to where I am now, and hope to speak better in the future. In the same way Ukraine has made remarkable progress over the 15 years of freedom. Everything is not perfect, but I hope most of you can say things are better today and will get better in the future. But, in order for things to get better, it is up to us. We cannot expect Kyiv, or even local politicians to do it all for us. In America, we have this term, self-determination, which means we decide what happens to us, not just waiting for it to happen. Ukraine knows this too, looking at the Orange Revolution, but it cannot be a one-time event, you need to approach every day thinking you can change your life for the better.

Look around you to see how much you have already done yourselves, new sidewalks, a freshly painted school, and this palace of culture, to name a few. This is your country and together we can make it great.

Thank you. Long live Ukraine!

Дякую вам за можливість звернутися до вас сьогодні на ваш День Незалежності. Я прожив у Добротвірі два місяці, але я планую бути тут два роки. Я буду говорити недовго тому що ваш час дорогий.

Cьогодні ми святкуємо 15 років незалежсності країни. Вам треба гордитися. Перш за все, Я хочу вибачатися за Мою Українську, Мені потрібно розмовляти краще але я тільки вчусь 5 місяців. Але коли я Приїхав я не знав української мови а зараз я можу трохи говорити. Україна щойно прогресує 15 років. Я знаю все не досконале але я сподіваюся що все зміниться на краще в майбутньому. Змінити ситуацію на краще залежить від вас. Ми не можемо покладатися тільки на Київ або міцевих політиків.

В Америці Ми говоримо: Self Determination, що означає не чекай допомоги – зроби це сам. Україна знає це також, наприклад події Оранжевоі Революції, але не можна зробити щось за один раз. Ви повинні намагатися змінити життя на краще кожен день.

Подивіться навкруги! Скільки ви вже зробили, нові тротуари, ремонт школи і будинків. Це Ваша країна і разом ми повинні зробити її процвітаючою.

Дякую! Хай живе Україна!

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Read PCV blogs from all over!

This is just to tell you that the webpage I was building of online PCVs Journals is now up and running. You are welcome to view them at:
http://www.PeaceCorpsJournals.com/

Features:
1. The most comprehensive list on the internet of active websites for PCV Journals and blogs.
2. Each country has its own detailed site that can be directly linked to.
3. Detailed map for every country that becomes interactive, via Google, once clicked on.
4. Detailed information for each country is available through following one of four links at the bottom of each map.
5. The sponsor is someone who cares about volunteer's health.
6. The main page is simple to use. There are regional-specific pull-down menus to select your country of choice.
7. Clicking on the actual word of the region brings to an encyclopedia article on that region.
8. The logo for "Peace Corps Journals" leads to Peace Corps Headquarters Homepage.
9. A list of the entire staff of Peace Corps worldwide, with contact info.
10. There is an e-mail link on every page. If you want to add a Journal, spotted a dead link, or have a comment.

Enjoy!


-Mike Sheppard
RPCV / The Gambia

http://www.journeyacrossafrica.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Links of other PCVs in Ukraine

I recieved this random comment by a returned PCV Mike Sheppard who has compiled a lot of blogs from Ukraine PCVs. Just simply amazing. I can't thank him enough. Here for your reading pleasure:

Here are some Peace Corps / Ukraine blogs that I have found. If you know of any others that I have missed please let me know. Thanks!

-Mike Sheppard
RPCV / The Gambia
www.journeyacrossafrica.blogspot.com

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http://absa.livejournal.com/
http://adri-nwnderland.livejournal.com/
http://andreapeacecorps.blogspot.com/
http://andypeacecorps.blogdrive.com/
http://annapcukraine.blogspot.com/
http://backafterlunch.blogspot.com/
http://beninukraine.blogspot.com/
http://books.dreambook.com/sarahperez/dae.html
http://cammarj.tripod.com/
http://www.deever.com/index2.html
http://durukraine.blogspot.com/
http://fashodacrisis.blogspot.com/
http://www.freewebs.com/absnyder/index.htm
http://www.freewebs.com/amandalazur/
http://www.freewebs.com/andreapc/
http://www.freewebs.com/mlmckenna/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pcua/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peacecorpsukraine/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ukraine29/
http://gwilkins.blogspot.com/
http://hyltonpcv.blogspot.com/
http://jacobspeacecorps.blogspot.com/
http://jjspc.blogspot.com/
http://kalisjourney.blogspot.com/
http://kelseybird.blogspot.com/
http://klukraine.blogspot.com/
http://lerri.livejournal.com/
http://www.myspace.com/cameronhighsmithcool
http://naterutledge.blogspot.com/
http://pages.prodigy.net/l.hodges/peacorps.htm
http://www.pcukraine.org/
http://peacecorps.mtu.edu/filius.htm
http://pedroinukraine.blogsource.com/
http://www.pulverpages.com/
http://raejean.blogspot.com/
http://raypcv.blogspot.com/
http://robin.soundchasers.com/articles.php?um=index
http://rossocity.livejournal.com/
http://salinukraine.blogspot.com/
http://seanmonkey.blogspot.com/
http://www.shelleyswendiman.blogspot.com/
http://www.smallfishbigsea.blogspot.com/
http://www.soundchasers.com/robin/
http://teachertraveler.blogspot.com/
http://www.teachertraveler.com/
http://thepeascorps.blogspot.com/
http://www.thewildwildjes.blogspot.com/
http://www.travelpod.com/cgi-bin/guest_login.pl?tweb_UID=goska1&tweb_tripID=ukraine
http://www.travelpod.com/cgi-bin/guest_login.pl?tweb_UID=regkennedy&tweb_tripID=pc_ukraine
http://www.travelpod.com/members/jessteichuz
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/peacecorpsliz/ukraine-2004/tpod.html
http://ukrainechicks.blogspot.com/
http://www.ukrainejoc.blogspot.com/
http://ukrainepeacecorps.blogspot.com/
http://www.wendylu.com/
http://www.xanga.com/londongal03/
==