Finally

in Ukraine! With all 106 volunteers in a dorm-like setup surprisingly with wifi! I'm in a town called Chernihiv, which is 2 hours from the capital Kyiv (pronounced Keev), for the 2 day Peace Corps Arrival Retreat, pretty fancy. I've officially started PST, lingo for Pre-Service Training, with more immunization shots, welcome seminars, and Russian language lessons. We were welcomed with smiles, traditional Ukrainian garb, and plenty of (interesting) food; think meat, potatoes, sweet bread, and a beets and mayonnaise salad. Having wifi here isn't too shabby either. Doug Teschner, Ukraine's Peace Corps Country Director, encouraged us to "be a sponge" during PST and even quoted my fav poet Henry David Thoreau:

St. Catherine Cathedral in Chernihiv

"I went to the [Peace Corps] because I wanted to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach [...] I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life [...]"

 I really love this quote. Although my first concern is helping others, it perfectly describes what I want to get out of this experience. I mean, you have one life to live, so why not live deeply?

I met my cluster mates! Sam, Brandon, Peter, and Colin are all really nice, which is great since I'll be spending a lot of time with them the next 3 months. Tomorrow I'll meet my host family and find out where I'll be living, exciting! Dosvedonya (goodbye in Russian)