Fun fact: which country was the first in the [modern] world to attempt a total prohibition on alcohol sales? Answer next entry, whenever that may be...
This week has been a series of endings, goodbyes, and last whatevers. Monday was our last Russian language lesson. Tuesday had our language proficiency interviews, to ensure we know enough Russian to, at the very least, survive on our own. On Wednesday we visited the town administration again to thank them for allowing us to work in the schools in Vasilkov, and we also had a thank-you dinner for our host mothers. On Thursday, we had a last meeting and dinner with the 2 teachers we've worked closely with, Ludmillia Nikolaivna and Irina Ivanonva. Yesterday, I went to Kiev for part of the day, and I'm back there right now, at a McDonald's with my laptop. Gotta love free wi-fi. There's a basketball game on the TV nearby. It looks like some kind of European professional league, so it's probably 2nd rate college players from the US who didn't want to find a real job. There's too many black players for it to be a Russian league, but the game's definitely in Ukraine.
On Monday, I'll be going to Kiev again for the entire week--leaving Vasilkov for good. I'll also finally find out where I'm going for the next 2 years, 3-4 days before I leave for there.
My experience in Vasylkov has been almost entirely positive. My host family was great. The people I worked with every day, Americans and Ukrainians, were great. The town itself was great. Everyone I met was friendly, polite, and interested in me--why on earth would an American want to work in Ukraine? I'm really thankful for everything so far--Спасибо за всё!
It's hard for me to comprehend how quickly time has moved. Less than three months ago, I was packing to leave for 2 years or more, with almost everything I own crammed into 2 rooms in my parents' house in Atlanta. Six months ago, I was in staff training at Camp Chief Ouray in the Rockies in Colorado for my job as Daily Program Director. Twelve months ago, I was finishing my history thesis on Anglo-German relations before World War I and preparing for my last semester in college. Now, I'm preparing for 2 years or more of teaching English in some Russian-speaking part of Ukraine after an intensive 2.5 month training where I went from having no real idea how to teach and knowing 3 words of Russian (да, нет, и водка) to feeling comfortable planning lessons and teaching on my own to feeling comfortable enough to live on my own in a town where no one speaks English, только Русский, иногда Украиский. I think we've had the equivalent to 4-5 semesters of university-level Russian in 70 days or so. It's surprising how much of a language you can learn with 4 hours a day of lessons and a home that only speaks that language. I can understand most of what Russian leaders Vladimir Putin or Dmitri Medvedev say when they're shown on TV here.
I'm actually enjoying winter so far here. It first snowed the last weekend of November, and December began with daily highs below 20 Farenheit, but it warmed up this week and everything melted, which was actually worse than the frigid weather. It's below freezing again now and snows lightly off and on. I actually kind of like it, as long as the wind isn't too bad.
I suppose I'm ready for what the next months bring, then. I hope to be able to post some pictures here soon. Talk to you all soon!
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