Sleeping On Trains

finally became a reality! The journey from Kyiv (Ukraine's capital) to my new home in Atr(roll)atsit consisted of a 20 hour train ride! Ok sorry, got excited, let's start from the beginning.

Swearing-In Ceremony

The Swearing-In Conference was very fun and very sad. Every night after our meetings, all the volunteers explored Kyiv's night life and compared to my small little training town, it was the most fun I've had in months. My Swearing-In Ceremony, which also celebrated Peace Corps' 50th anniversary, was held at Kyiv's Teacher's House and included musical guests, speeches, and taking an oath. While the U.S. Ambassador in Ukraine read the Peace Corps Oath, I (along with the other 102 Volunteers) was asked to stand up, raise my right hand, and repeat each line. Afterwards, we were led to two giant rooms filled with finger foods, cake, and final goodbyes. However, this was one of the few times in life chocolate could not help. Saying goodbye right after the ceremony was very overwhelming. This would be the last time I'd be around so many friends (and English-speakers) until two years from now at our Closing of Service Ceremony. Feeling rushed and overcome with sadness, I left with my bags packed just an hour after the ceremony to a place I couldn't even pronounce yet.

When I boarded my train, it seemed like I was on the same train from The Darjeeling Limited! Crazy right?! My counterpart, Lyena, and I finally had all the time in the world to get to know each other on our day long train trip. I really lucked out, she's such a sweetheart and knows English fairly well (she's an English teacher). Of course, misunderstandings are abundant and cultural differences still catch me off guard but my Russian is improving like crazy and I'm learning to count the smiles, not the tears. Looking out the train windows, I breathed relief as I saw how green and beautiful my new home is. With around 78,000 people, Antratsit has plenty of parks, a huge bazaar (street market), and a friendly vibe. I've even made some Ukrainian friends already! Some bad news I could not escape was the apartment I was supposed to live in fell through but Lyena graciously offered me to stay with her until we find another apartment. Her apartment is very, very nice! I'm sleeping in her daughter Ler(roll)a's room while Lera sleeps on the fold-out couch in the living room, which I feel a bit guilty for (just another example of how hospitable and generous Ukrainians are with friends). Lera is seventeen and applying to law schools in Ukraine right now. I also live with Lyena's husband Igor, who is very kind, and their cat Per(roll)say. Lyena says Persay doesn't like anyone besides her, Lera, and Igor, but oddly enough liked me instantly and lets me pet him. Lyena, like any Ukrainian, takes this as a sign that I must have a good soul. I tell her Persay probably smells my cats from America on my clothes haha.

Lyena and me

I arrived Friday and was told on Saturday I'd be running an English Summer Camp at the school I will be working at... starting Monday, for 2 weeks... ahh! During training, we held a 3 day summer camp and had a month to prepare three 45 minute lessons, so I was a bit overwhelmed by this job. I had 20 kids, ranging from 8th-11th grade, who all wanted to learn English, which made things a lot easier! My first two weeks were very busy. Everyday I taught lessons for 2 hours (about American history, music, culture), ate lunch with my kids, and came back to Lyena's apartment to plan the next day's lessons. Lesson planning takes me hours and hours and oh man I ate a lot of Nutella (my comfort food. Lyena knows my weakness! haha) but all my hard work payed off. The camp was a major success; I bonded with some of my future pupils, I'm more comfortable with my new school, and my camp even had a segment on the local television news! The real challenge is surviving the actual school year where I teach 9 classes twice a week!

Youth Day Concert in Antratsit

If I've learned one thing in Ukraine, it's to go with the flow. There's a Russian word similar to the English phrase "no worries" and it's my new favorite thing to say, "nor(roll)-mile-na" haha. Now that camp is over, I finally get to explore my new home, draw a map with my favorite places, and update my blog. I'm thinking about joining a camp held in Odessa as an English Camp Counselor in July for 2 weeks since the apartment hunt is taking longer than I thought and I'm sure Lera would like her room back, keep you updated!