post november 3

So, this time you saw pictures well in advance of full explanation. Hopefully you've been able to develop your own entertaining stories behind each picture. :) I'm writing on the first of November here, so remember it's National Novel Writing Month use your creativity as you see fit!

To begin with last weekend, we met with Molly, a current volunteer who works at a university in Ivano-Frankivsk [spellings will vary, clearly, in transliteration!], to the west. She regaled us with stories of her situation, including life in a university-owned dorm, without a kitchen, but with her very own hot plate. At one point, missing the ability to bake cookies, she tried to make some in a frying pan! She was very positive and engaging, and made us all hope that well have it so together, too, in a year's time.

After the session, I took the long walk back home, both to see if I could and to enjoy the free time. I passed by Saint Katherines, then headed to the Vol, a park overlooking much of Chernihiv and protected by twelve cannons. Just like in Gettysburg, these cannons currently exist for memorial value and for people to take pictures with. It's a lovely walk, and one of the stops on the we-just-got-married-lets-take-pictures! tour. That day, I saw one bride with a white tutu-like skirt, short and flared and layered, and her bridesmaid with a matching skirt in bright red. The styles vary widely and wildly, well say, but most of these fall brides have cute little white jackets that look furry and warm.

Also, about the cannons-- apparently this is a popular strolling area for couples, but if a guy asks a girl to meet him there and she doesn't really want to join him, she'll tell him to meet her by the thirteenth cannon. Haha. In response to this joke, a cafe called The Thirteenth Cannon opened up. :)

Plus, in this park, I passed the big man-on-bench statue of Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet and national hero. Random dogs, which run about at will throughout the area, tour groups, and two American runners [Laura Ruth and Karen] were all part of the show at the Vol. On the way back, I traveled on Vulitzia Shevshenka [Shavshenko Street] to continue the appreciation.

On Sunday, my family took me to see a nearby monastery. Tamara, Ira, Vika, Igor, and I took the trolley to find a service in progress, and climbed up the bell tower for a view of all of Chernihiv. It was a clear day, and the view was beautiful. The service that was going on turned out to be a celebration of the canonization of a new saint from this area. The attendees surrounded the church, filling the front courtyard and crowding around a set of side doors. The music from inside was amplified outside, and was lovely, if completely incomprehensible. Much of what I was told about this place, in fact, was fairly hard to follow, but it was easily appreciated visually, too.

After the monastery, we walked through a nearby park and ended up at the caves. I'm not sure if these are part of the same monastery, but they are definitely monastic caves. Parts of the interior were high-ceilinged with chandeliers, but many parts were fairly dark, narrow hallways, with varying types of flooring. Some of the signs had English segments, but we did not take an official tour [which probably wouldn't have helped me much, either!], and so I was left with the general impression that this was a very holy and a little bit scary place. One room even featured a glass-windowed stone compartment containing many human bones.

Next was the World War Two monument, with an eternal flame and obelisk on the top of a hill, giant stairs down, and then a series of flat... reliefs? Not really sure what to call them, but they were panels with statues coming out of them. Sorry that sounds so awkward, but thats why I'm including pictures. Finally, at the bottom of the hill, a series of giants pose in statue form, looking both threatening and protective. Two running-by Americans, continuing the weekend trend, stopped to chat with my family. Mattison and Pat are both PCTs in the advanced Russian group, although not quite as advanced as the group I was with. :)

Continuing the same long but good day, I helped Vika and Igor to make pizza. Yes, pizza is popular here in Ukraine, as evidenced by earlier pictures Ive posted and lots of pizza places throughout downtown. Hooray! Ours had no tomato sauce, but the veggies made up for it.

And then the work week began! Phew! Highlights included Monday's trip for Teacher-Trainer Trainees [haha] to the Teacher Recertification Institute. There we observed a workshop conducted by a guest lecturer [Zolya, seen with the long, curly dark gray hair in the left of the picture] and discussed the work of such institutes as well as Teacher Trainers. According to PC staffer Valentina [standing in the at-tea picture, with the short hair], the week of a Teacher Trainer includes about 41 hours of week, including all kinds of different activities. It seems like one or more of us will be at a Recertification Institute, while the rest will be at Pedagogical Universities, teaching both English and methodology. We will probably travel and give workshops, as well, although our specific activities will definitely depend on where were placed. Also, no, we still don't know where well be placed, and we won't know until the very last minute or so.

This week also brought us a new language teacher. LCFs rotate for three weeks in the middle of PST, so we now have Anton instead of Oksana. Our first day together started with individual interviews so that he could see where we are. Basically, I have a name, a job, an age, families, and I like to do certain things and eat certain foods. Maybe not the most fascinating conversation, but he was complimentary and I was appreciative. It's interesting to have a new teacher, with a different style, and Im hopeful that my skills will multiply exponentially because of the opportunity. Clearly, Im able to hope. :) Also, we'll each be developing personal Self-Directed Learning projects, and Anton suggested that keeping a journal--even a brief daily entry-- in Ukrainian would be a great way to utilize writing to practice. Plus, he suggested that I work on compiling some of the mnemonic devices I've come up with, in order to help other students, too. We'll probably do this as a group project, but I've started on the list and hope people will be able to see the benefits beyond the ridiculous nature of many of the suggestions. :)

I ate lots of good food this week, too, including a tasty shredded apple/ shredded carrot salad, oatmeal, apple pancakes, and more. Ira just went mushroom picking yesterday [Saturday, 31 Oct], so looks like well be having some of those. For breakfast today, one of the dishes I had was a baked casserole sort of deal with eggplant on the bottom, rice in the middle, and peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and cheese on top. There's usually more food than I can imagine eating, but I do my best.

I missed the lesson with Lucas on Monday due to the field trip to the Recertification Institute, but I did teach with Laura on Friday. Our cooperating teacher asked us to come up with a lesson involving Halloween, and so we did. The students almost all dressed up, and they even brought cake and a drink to celebrate. Needless to say, it was not the most serious lesson ever, but it was fun and we had a chance to chat at the end, too. We suggested that they ask us questions about Halloween, but their questions ended up including whether we'd like to eat pizza with them, how we like the weather and transportation in Ukraine, and what our thoughts on "Twilight" are. My camera was out of battery, but Laura will share her pictures with me, and I'll share them with you at the earliest convenience.

Also, on Friday night, we each got calls from Peace Corps Ukraine putting us on alert because of the concerns about flu in the west. The Prime Minister announced the closure of schools for three weeks in an attempt to keep flu from spreading. This means, too, that we [PC] are not allowed to travel or to gather in groups larger than our cluster, and we are encouraged to avoid public transportation. So, on Saturday, Laura and I walked the hour and a half to our LCFs apartment, and later, I walked back, too. Then I took a nap! Some people are wearing masks, and theres information on the news, especially about the stricter quarantine in the west. So, were washing hands, avoiding groups, staying home, and being healthy. Im confident that well all be okay, and also that the Peace Corps is monitoring everything very closely.

Man- I really wrote a lot! I didnt even tell you that I washed my clothes again! Or that I had a sparkling grape drink that came with extract of Melissa! Or that Laura and I saw a hot air balloon on Saturday morning! Really, though, I could go on and on, but Id also like to answer questions that you have. Send them to me, and I'll do my best!