I’m living in a town of 13 thousand people, but our tallest building is four stories so it’s not a city, but it’s certainly not a village. It’s funny because I left Virginia thinking that I wasn’t going to see another suburb for two years and I’m living in what could only be described as the Ukrainian suburbs. My town’s name is Haivoron and it’s the westernmost town in the Kirovohradska oblast, it’s between Odessa and Kiev and slightly west of both those cities. I’m closer to Moldova than I am to a major city in Ukraine.
I’m working in a gymnasium; it’s a specialized secondary education institution where I’m teaching English to students from the 4th to 9th grade. The school has about 500 students, a stadium, an indoor gym, and internet. It looks like a great fit for me. They’re all about sports here which is fantastic since I love sports; I think I’m going to be able to play in a basketball league here! That was some very welcome news because I’ve really been feeling the basketball Jones.
I found out that in the summer Haivoron hosts the largest PCV summer camp in Ukraine! So I’ll be a camp counselor at least two more times. I loved being a camp counselor, so this is fantastic; I’m going to have to bring some Audrey Moore fun to Ukraine. As I reread that sentence I realize how that doesn’t sound like fun at all, but really, I can at least teach Ukrainian kids how to play Escape and that should be good start. I met the lady who runs the camp last night and she seems really great, I feel very fortunate to have such a perfect site.
Tomorrow I’m going to the massive bazaar to buy some jeans because the pair I brought doesn’t fit me anymore. I’m also going to buy them to help me look more like a Ukrainian man, so of course I’m also going to buy a Ukrainian jacket. I found out in order to look Ukrainian there are only three rules you have to follow as a guy: It has to be black, shiny, and the more zippers, the better. Of course to look really Ukrainian I’ll have to get a hair cut, but I’m hesitant to do that because I love having long hair.
I also need to buy some rooibos tea I found in one of the shops, because living out here by myself, one of the most important things you can do to combat loneliness is find the little things that make you less lonely, remind you of home. I’ve been working on my harmonica skills and now I can play, “You are my Sunshine”, “Home on the Range” and the national anthem. So far my media life savers have been Futurama, Modest Mouse, Hemmingway and of course hearing from my friends and family at home. The people here in Ukraine, both in Seminivka and Haivoron have been so wonderful, I feel like a prom queen with all the invitations to parties and get-togethers. Everything has been so wonderful, I feel so fortunate to be here.
I live with a Babushka at the moment, while my counterpart is trying to find another apartment for me live in later. Her apartment is three rooms, two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen. I have my own room and we heat the flat with coal and wood, it’s how we heat the water as well. My rooms a little smaller than the dormitories at UMW I’ve got a desk, a cabinet and a wardrobe and portable heater because it’s difficult to keep the heater stoked, so we just make due and wear extra sweaters. Oh and my room has two beds, which is twice as many beds as I was expecting to have. We also have a balcony, which makes me really happy. I’m not sure why, but it’s easier to find solutions on a balcony. Maybe it’s because of the perspective it gives you. I’ve realized that other people have churches but I have balconies.
The teachers at my school are really great. On Christmas that bought me a copy of “On the Breaking of Fall and Winter.” At least I think that’s the translation. It was written by a poet who’s from my town Haivoron and they got it for me cause they know I don’t speak Russian, only Ukrainian. My babushka is also letting me read her only Ukrainian book called Bread and Salt. She’s a professor of literature at the Lyceum, a pedagogical institution here in Haivoron, so she gives lectures on Hemmingway and Dreiser, she’s pretty awesome. I can’t wait for the day when we have real discussions about literature.
My fellow teachers are so funny; they meet up in the teacher’s lounge of my school and just joke around with each other while they’re at meetings. One guy offered to take me ice fishing and I told him that’s the best kind of fishing. Also, my counterpart told me that when one of the female teachers heard they were getting a young, male PCV she said “Oh why did I have to get married last year!” I laughed so hard when he told me about it. We’ve got four great English teachers at my school and one of them invited me to come celebrate New Years with her family, so I’m going to head out there later tonight.
My counterpart is great too, his names Victor and he’s without a doubt the most huggable man I’ve ever met. He has the most majestic mustache I’ve ever seen and he’s probably one of the kindest individuals I’ve ever met. I checked out his classroom in our school and found about 5 plaques heralding his achievements as an English teacher. He told me about how he’s teaching his daughter English at home and how he uses candy as an incentive for her to use her English with him.
Yesterday we were picking which students we’d send to the Olympiads for English, it’s an educational contest to find the best students in Ukraine. I spent all of yesterday morning grading essays, checking answers, and proctoring a listening exam. I got to read out loud an excerpt from “To Shoot an Elephant”, one of my favorite stories of all time. I don’t know if I’ll be a teacher after Ukraine, but I certainly enjoy being one right now.
I have some more rediculous stories, but I can not post them here.
P.S. Congratulations Dan and Mary!
