And so it begins............

Setting: It is 32 degrees, raining, and I’m waiting at a stop light to cross the street. There is a middle aged woman and an older woman waiting with me. The middle aged woman crosses the street before the light has changed.

Old Woman: Blah blah blah blah blah? Blah blah blah blah blah blah? (My interpretation: Did you see that woman cross the street? Why didn‘t she wait for the light to change?)
Me: Huh? (Blank stare)
Old Woman: Blah blah blah blah blah? (Look on her face: are you stupid?)
Me: (Nervous laugh and a dopey grin that say “yes, I am stupid”)
Old Woman: Blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah? (My interpretation: you don’t speak Ukrainian, do you?)
Me: No (Nervous laugh as the light changes as I quickly cross the street).

So where did this scene take place? Ukrainian Village in Chicago, of course. Today I took a little field trip (I know, I picked the most disgusting day weather wise I possibly could). Due to weather conditions, I didn’t do as much exploring as I would have liked, but I did make it to the National Ukrainian Museum (www.ukrainiannationalmuseum.org), and spent a few hours looking around the exhibits. I would highly recommend it to anyone who lives in Chicago. They have several cultural exhibits displaying clothes, jewelry, and art work, as well as exhibits about political events that have occurred in the country. Plus, because I think I was the only visitor, I got a private tour of the museum. Not too shabby for the $5 suggested donation. Everyone I met who works there speaks English and all the written material in both Ukrainian and English. Seriously, check it out!

After the museum, I wanted to walk around a bit, and I stumbled into a Ukrainian grocery store (by stumbled in, I mean I followed my nose to the bakery in the back). I figured perhaps I would try something. I saw some powdered borscht that I thought of purchasing for this cold day, but decided instant soup was pretty lame, so I made my way to the back where the deli/prepared foods were. I was kind of just browsing, but not surprisingly since most people don’t just browse in the deli department, the women behind the counter gave me a look to hurry up and make my choice.

I’ll leave you with one more script.

Me: What is this? (pointing to a plastic container containing the colors white, pink, and yellow)
Deli Lady: (looking alarmed that I had spoken to her in English) Um, uh…It is one part onion, one part potato, one part fish, and one part uhh…. (yells at another girl across the store to get the word for something….the response is beet)
Me: (In my head: Beets are gross but I guess I’ll have to get used to them eventually). Okay, I’ll take it.
Deli Lady: Good. You like pork?
Me: (giving her my skeptical eyes) Yes.
Deli Lady: Good you take pork too. (She puts a deep-fried pork something in a Styrofoam container).

I didn’t really want pork, but hey, it was already in the Styrofoam and everything…I proceed to the checkout, pay $6.09 for my two items, and walk away from my first taste Ukraine.

Speaking of a taste of Ukraine, after returning home, I had to taste my items. So far I’ve only been able to get myself to have one bite of each. Unidentified-deep-fried-pork-ball actually isn’t that bad, but it kind of tastes like fish. I’m worried about a pork product that tastes like a crab cake, but we‘ll see. Plastic-container-filled-with-various-products is a different story. After further investigation, it kind of looks like that seven layer Mexican bean dip you buy at the grocery store. Here are the layers: VERY salty fish, grated potatoes, onions, beets, a very thick layer of sour cream, and what looks like crumbled hard boiled egg yolk. I’m going to try to work up the courage to take a second bite of this one, but I don’t know that it’s going to happen.

So there you have it. My first taste of Ukraine. During my two years of service if you ever find yourself pining away for me, just hop on down to Ukrainian Village and take solace in the fact that we are enjoying the same food, language, and culture.

That’s all for now. I hope you’re all doing well. Hope to see many of you before I leave.

New Continent, New Job, New Experience

Yes, that's right. I'm moving to Ukraine. Much to the dismay of my parents, after the evacuation from Mauritania, I decided re-enroll for another two years of service. I have just received my placement as a youth development volunteer in Ukraine, leaving at the end of March. So now for some frequently asked questions (okay, they actually haven't been asked that frequently since I just got my placement yesterday, but I know how your minds work. I know these questions are on the way).

You were evacuated in August. What have you been doing since then?

Well, I’ve been doing some baby sitting and will be doing some dog sitting soon. If anybody has any odd jobs that need to be done before then end of March, I’m your girl. I went on a month long road trip with one of my best friends from college through California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Besides that, I’ve been doing a lot of something I NEVER did when I was in college before I left for Peace Corps: hanging out and relaxing. I know, six months is a long time to “hang out”, and I agree, but right now is not a great time to find a job, and at least I know I have a job at the end of March.

Two more years? Really? That sure seems like a long time.

It does SEEM like a long time, but it’s actually not that long. My first year of service flew by. Peace Corps did give all the evacuees the option to take a one year posting in another African country. However, I decided that I either wanted to do two years or nothing. The way I see it, I spent my first year of service trying to get a handle on language, the community, and my job. I was so excited to start my second year and really be able to get something done. So basically, if I took a one year posting, I never would have gotten to that second year. I will have to do that first year over again in Ukraine, but I will also get to make it to that second year, and that will make the two year commitment completely worth it.

What made you pick the Ukraine?

Well, first of all, I didn’t pick it. Peace Corps did. I did, however, request to be in Eastern Europe. There are two main reasons for this. The first is about trying to move on from Mauritania. I really did love it there, and it was devastating to have to leave my host family. It would be very difficult to take a post so close geographically to Mauritania but to also know that I couldn’t go back there. The second reason is just about my own personal experience. I spent a semester studying in South Africa and was able to travel quite a bit around the region. Now I have also spent a year in West Africa. Peace Corps is able to provide me with a great opportunity to live a place I never would have considered before.

At the end of the day, I see it like this: Mauritania was a huge surprise. It was not at all what I pictured when I heard I was going to Africa. I didn’t know anything about it and really hadn’t heard of it at all. But I loved it. So I can’t imagine there is any other country that I will not find a way to love. I’m sure the Ukraine will be no exception.

What will your job be?

My job description sounds pretty similar to my job in the RIM. I’m working with at risk youth. As in Mauritania I’ll be working with extra curricular programs, except unlike the RIM, I won’t be working exclusively with girls.


So that’s about all. Nothing else that interesting going on. Feel free to e-mail if you want to meet up before I leave (but you have over three months!)

Have a happy holiday!

It's Official...Evacuation

All of us boarded buses heading out of Camp Peace Corps. We arrive at a very nice hotel in Dakar with a pool and air conditioning. We are told we have an hour or so to settle in, go for a swim, and then head into a meeting with our country director. We walk into what we think is going to be a meeting just with Mauritanian Peace Corps staff, and end up being introduced to "the security team". As soon as I heard the word "team", I knew all hope was lost. One member of the team is actually the head of the national Peace Corps program. Though she had the unfortunate job of breaking the news to us, I think many of us appreciated that she is spending with us about half of her last ten days in office before Obama's new pick takes over.

As you've noticed, there has been a lot of instability in Mauritania since the beginning of my service last year. As I suspected, they have decided we will not be allowed to return to Mauritania. Today was obviously a very sad day for all of us, but I'm trying to remember that this also opens up a whole world of possibilities for the future. I will be back in America (again) probably within the next week. I've got a lot of ideas about what comes next, but I'm pretty sure it involves more Peace Corps service. I'm not going to write all the details here, because I don't know them all, but I'll be sure to keep you all updated.

Welcome to Camp Peace Corps...anyone up for a game of limbo?

Hi everyone. I wanted to give you all a quick update, because a lot has happened in the last week, and a lot will continue to happen in the weeks to come. Since coming back from America, I’ve been at “Camp Peace Corps”. It is actually the training center for the Senegalese volunteers, but they have kindly offered to let us use it while the Washington security team checks on the safety of Mauritania. It really does feel a lot like camp. There are group volley ball games, cabins, and a mess hall. We even went on a little excursion this weekend, and we all rented a house on the beach. So yeah, it’s been pretty awesome…that is except for the dark cloud over all of our heads.

There is a very real possibility that my two years in the Peace Corps will be cut short. In addition to the events I described in my previous entry, last night, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb in the capitol, killing himself and wounding a few others. We still have not heard final word about our future in the Peace Corps, and though I am trying to hold out hope, I also know that the Peace Corps will always hold our safety as a top priority.

This has been a somber day for Peace Corp Mauritanian volunteers. Not just because it puts our future in jeopardy, but also because a country that we have grown to call home will now be thought of by the world as a dangerous and unstable place. We are always reminded that terrorists are extremists and do not represent the mainstream thinking. It will be very difficult for me to leave all those people who have done nothing wrong, although those that I have spoken to do understand.

Anyway, I wanted to let you all know what was happening here, safe and sound, in Senegal. I will post again as soon as we’re out of limbo. Thanks again for the great trip home!