tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-155593562011-09-12T01:55:46.930+02:00Small Fish in the SeaThis my recount of Peace Corps from a small town in Western Ukraine.
The contents of this Web site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.comBlogger641100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-51547810787658049952008-02-12T16:50:00.001+01:002008-02-12T16:51:33.599+01:00Just updated my books read and a suggested partial packing list in my secondary page. Check them out, leave comments. Will try to get more up on the main blog soon.Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-44460159013742550602008-02-12T16:13:00.000+01:002008-02-12T16:14:38.847+01:0027.1.2008January is almost over and the start of February will be starting with a conference for my entire group to signal the beginning of the end. The conference is signaling the end of service, which will actually happen sometime in April or May. But that doesn’t mean this past month hasn’t been at all just looking toward the end. I haven’t truly been able to think too much about that as I Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-22782488527671603782007-12-06T15:47:00.001+01:002007-12-06T15:47:13.897+01:00MusingsI got to thinking about the Peace Corps motto the other day. “The hardest job you’ll ever love.” I guess it was because there have just been frustrations recently with how much good I can actually achieve here. I can’t compare to other countries, but there are many times it feels like the work I’m trying to do is not always appreciated or wanted, and have heard some of these feelings from other Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-51131522700264549922007-12-03T22:13:00.001+01:002007-12-03T22:13:22.202+01:00Winter has definitely come for those who have kept up looking at my photos over at Flickr. Although it is hard to tell exactly what kind of winter is coming. Today has seen a lot of weather that was not especially cold, but more along the lines of miserable with wind and rain most of the day. But there also was about a week where it snowed or there was at least snow on the ground and below Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-36353084156699787612007-11-15T00:11:00.000+01:002007-11-15T00:13:00.725+01:0013 November 2007So it has been months since I actually got down and put something into my computer to detail what has been going on here. It isn’t that I’m absolutely swamped, or that I’m just lazy and bored, but I have been busy and at least a little lazy at points in keeping this updated. But I did need to read what I had last read to catch up where I left off. Obviously I did short shrift to Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-14820867131965113632007-09-06T14:28:00.000+02:002007-09-06T14:34:57.368+02:0021/8/2008I left off at the part where we took the money and ran off to Poland. Yeah, sure this was the end of June when we did this and it is currently the end of August and I’m typing this on a place back to the U.S.A., but the story is good so read along, or just skip down a couple paragraphs. After having the travel agency make a royal screwup in the visa process, we changed plans and looked Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-35923651376340429042007-08-14T22:27:00.000+02:002007-08-14T22:33:09.004+02:00So wow, it’s August and it has been months since an entry showed up on these pages. Apologies to those who have wondered what happened to me, life has come at me pretty fast these past few months and it’s hard to believe it is almost time for school to start again already. For those of you who follow international news and saw there was a Phosphorous spill in the oblast I live in, don’t worry I Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-7653138077124936272007-05-14T22:00:00.000+02:002007-05-14T22:06:16.625+02:0014 May 2007It’s been a full month (wow) since I last posted, that isn’t saying I haven’t been up to stuff, it was more I was waiting until I had good news and then was swamped with other things and didn’t have a time to sit down and put something down as a post. So yeah, that good news, I am now declaring April over and am quite happy about it. As you can see directly below this post, it didn’t Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-12832410453669600912007-04-15T21:31:00.000+02:002007-04-15T21:33:16.466+02:00This may go down as one of the more eventful months in my Peace Corps service and I haven’t even had a major project yet to include in the reasoning. That is next Saturday. This isn’t even including the political on-goings in Kyiv either.On the 8th was Easter; most of you probably already knew that, may have even celebrated it yourself. Here in Ukraine, at least in western Ukraine, it is a big Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-41521236734308679122007-04-05T23:08:00.001+02:002007-04-05T23:08:38.263+02:00I have a big project coming up that I’ve probably talked to death, but it can take over my life at times and can be a rather good reflection of my service here.Last week there was a professor from the Lviv Technical Forestry University that came out to look at several of the sites we are wanting to plant trees. As seems to happen so often, things don’t go exactly as I would like, some of my Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1037292454308027502007-03-25T18:16:00.001+02:002007-03-25T18:16:48.856+02:00I had recently posted a notice here that I would be updating soon. Here it is, hope it isn’t too late.Over the past two weeks, I have had busy weekends and this one isn’t looking any quieter. A couple of weeks ago I needed to make a quick trip to Kyiv for the Environmental Group I am on. Quick means I slept on a train going to Kyiv Friday night, had meetings Saturday and Sunday and slept on the Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-37226287003814526142007-03-13T21:42:00.000+01:002007-03-13T21:44:01.204+01:00A quick, partial list of books I have read in Ukraine. Some of them make me look almost smart. Others are just fun super easy books to read. Enjoy it all in my supplemental materials. New Blog post should be up soon.Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-33842388695282230702007-03-08T15:18:00.000+01:002007-03-08T15:21:15.309+01:00My time in Ukraine has now surpassed one year and I guess I should give some reflections on what that time here has meant, because it has undoubtedly changed me in some ways and reinforced me in others. Obviously I won’t be able to consciously acknowledge all of them now, or maybe even never, but there are some changes that have been obvious and don’t know if I would even need to spell them out Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-17134619515161757792007-03-05T22:46:00.000+01:002007-03-05T22:52:06.728+01:00First of all, let me admit that I spy on you. All of you in a little way. My counter, which you can all see at the left hand side records where people come from, you can look at it yourself, on a nifty map. It is cool, because it shows people from all of the world have stumbled upon my humble site and maybe even read a little bit. But the other parts that you don't all see is I can see how you Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-85788987365222788212007-02-28T18:56:00.000+01:002007-02-28T18:57:43.808+01:00I started writing this a few days ago and didn’t get around to finishing it. Things have been busy, looking back over it, I don’t have any real odd or exciting stories to tell, more just some day-in-the-life stories that may be of interest to you. My big project I’m working on is coming along, preparing for a grant I’m hoping to get that will allow us to plant a lot of trees here in Dobrotvir. I Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-26553834239650965002007-02-08T14:51:00.000+01:002007-02-02T18:05:31.819+01:00First of all, I need to make a clarification on my last post. I am, in-fact, an adult and can fully decide whether I wear a hat and am able take care of myself adequately. I at least haven’t died after more than 26 years; I am in fact quite healthy. The last post was meant tongue-in-cheek and wasn’t meant to be taken too seriously. The last thing I want to do is make people worry about my Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-47453994445069254432007-01-31T15:39:00.001+01:002007-01-31T15:39:55.939+01:00Ice. One thing it does do is keep you honest. Don’t pay attention or respect it enough and you will fall. I fell.Winter as I heard it described has finally started to descend on Ukraine. After an unusually warm start here I didn’t even need my heavier coat, snow has started to fall. My feelings on the topic are mixed; on one hand the now whitewashes just about everything and gives it a clean lookEzrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-16661787419132534202007-01-17T15:06:00.000+01:002007-01-17T15:08:59.793+01:00I have been trying to get this typed up for weeks now and keep getting distracted, busy or a host of other rather lame excuses. But the basic idea is that Over about the past month I have been back in the states where I attended a wedding and visited home, came back to Ukraine and have had plenty of adventures along the way. What would have been digestible stories over time has basically merged Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-16371041569899213102006-12-23T05:20:00.000+01:002006-12-23T05:27:40.873+01:00I'm currently sitting in a hotel room in Chicago. But I am too worn out to fill in the blanks, so expect it in the future. Enjoy what is here. I'll get more down later.16 DecemberSo while that name day is over it is high time for the next holiday this month, on the 18th-19th. Basically the Ukrainian St. Nicholas Day for those of you who celebrate it in the states. Otherwise commonly known as Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-74283639336052882772006-12-13T17:12:00.001+01:002006-12-13T17:15:31.501+01:00(Note: I posted a partial packing list for potential Peace Corps Youth Development Volunteers in Ukraine in my supplemental materials section)A couple unrelated stories for you: I often say every day holds some new lesson for me in this country, whether it be cultural, professional or personal. Today one of those lessons was cultural, it is not entirely uncommon sight to see a funeral procession,Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-73734684548077630942006-12-08T12:03:00.000+01:002006-12-08T12:09:36.816+01:00In religion and teaching I have never been a fan of preaching, sitting in front of the class or congregation and talking or sitting I the class and congregation and just listening. But at the same time in my work here I wonder if I am having any impact at all, or whether that impact is something I may just never be able to witness personally. In that same vein, is preaching more effective or justEzrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-86221890506726657382006-12-01T15:17:00.000+01:002006-12-03T11:22:26.822+01:00When I start getting comments that I haven’t updated in a while and it doesn’t feel like it was that long ago, I realize how time has flied, even if most of the time I don’t feel like I have accomplished all that much. A big part of the reason for my rather tardy update is I have been at least a little bit busy, traveling to Kyiv last weekend to work on the Ukrainian Peace Corps newsletter that Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-21246412535560229422006-11-11T12:21:00.000+01:002006-11-11T12:22:40.602+01:008 NovemberSince the last time I sat down, I have been through a Halloween party and visited a different country. Also stopped by an English class for Forest Institute grad students, met them at a party a week later, had no email (so sorry if I haven’t replied to any) and met a bunch of volunteers from my group. Put it that way and my time seems to be fairly busy. If I could only convince myself Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-74103554009396023712006-10-28T12:11:00.000+02:002006-10-28T12:12:32.874+02:0025 OctoberA second collection of thoughts rather than a cohesive train of thought.Centralized hearing, part II: So you all heard about my complaints about centralized heating once already (if you haven’t, just scroll down and come back), but wait, there’s more! I have never once really fully understood the rationale and thought put into how the water is run around here, but one of my favorite Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-58058475398178438452006-10-20T12:59:00.000+02:002006-10-20T13:00:32.041+02:0019.10No central theme here, just a couple casual observations:It is often the little things in life that can make one most happy, like heat. For example, life has been getting colder over the past couple days especially. There has been frost on the ground the past couple days, that means that winter is right around the corner and it is obviously getting colder outside (and inside). Yet in this Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-80498665425017994472006-10-17T16:58:00.001+02:002006-10-17T16:58:36.710+02:0016 OctoberSometimes the things I think should be the easiest end up being by far the hardest. Take for instance the task I had today, which was to find a deck of cards. First of all, to complicate the task somewhere along the history of this country a game called Durok (fool) became popular and the game didn’t require any of the cards below six. Maybe other games are played this way as well, but Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-68503010675689967362006-10-11T16:40:00.000+02:002006-10-11T16:44:20.473+02:008 OctoberI’ve been told that I write too much by one girl who reads my blog, I guess the best I can do is apologize and say I will try to do better, although that can be rather hard to do. What I will try to do is split it up into more bite-size pieces so that you read a little bit at a time. I need to back up quite a bit to talk about a couple of weekends ago that I haven’t had a chance to enterEzrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-46755086894354004802006-10-04T17:29:00.000+02:002006-10-04T17:30:32.837+02:00Ok, it's a little old, but I haven't had time to write a new one or post this earlier. Hopefully a new one will be out in a few days.28, SeptemberAs what seems like a usual occurrence, I am finding myself trying to catch up on my blog after an eventful week. Days can often feel as though they crawl by, but events seem to pile up. I guess I should start where I left off with a planned trip down Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-73422604159869157752006-09-21T14:38:00.000+02:002006-09-21T14:40:10.518+02:00Ok, It is Thursday, September 21, 2006; your mission should you choose to accept it is to send me as many slang words and idioms you can think of in the American Language. This message will self-destruct in 90 seconds.Seriously, I need help gathering up as many slang words and idioms you can think of from the American language as possible. I am being besieged on all sides by people asking me for Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-67790422258893727172006-09-18T11:52:00.000+02:002006-09-18T12:03:42.464+02:0017 SeptemberI’ve been meaning to sit down for several days now to add a new entry, but I finally have something to really write about and even brag about. I have hot water… and I don’t mean that I heat water up on the stove or something like that, it comes out of the tap. (well, ok, it did last night, not this morning) For those of you who live in the United States or elsewhere where hot water isEzrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-11095179652233921762006-09-13T11:56:00.000+02:002006-09-13T11:58:54.997+02:0012 SeptemberIt’s getting late here so I don’t want to sit here for too long, fighting a cold, it is better today, but I’m still not 100 percent. A few updates, my original fear of the student government thing blowing up in my face was averted as the director wanted to hear a little bit more. This has given me time to lay out my positions a little more firmly and lay out some better guidelines of Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-9074710080659816052006-09-11T14:53:00.000+02:002006-09-11T15:02:00.195+02:009 SeptemberWell, it is a late Saturday night and I got back a little while ago from a day in Lviv, but I wanted to get some thoughts down for myself and to share before they slip out the back of my head. I was in Lviv because a couple of volunteers had birthdays this weekend or technically Monday for Edwin, but what's the fun of celebrating on a Monday. Other guy was Larry; you can read of his Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-73829835393191436392006-09-05T11:31:00.001+02:002006-09-05T11:31:44.580+02:00Photos of my new flat are now posted in supplemental materialsEzrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-71603452483820114612006-09-04T13:22:00.000+02:002006-09-04T13:32:12.076+02:003 SeptemberIt’s been an eventful few days here and I can only hope to try and get some of it down now for all of you to read. Firstly is the first of September, which ushers in the first of fall, first day of school and so on. The first day of school is in itself quite a celebration. They have all the students dressed up in their best at the school, parents attend and it made for quite a crowd. Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-14163101684444903652006-08-31T12:38:00.000+02:002006-08-31T12:44:21.742+02:0030 August 2006I am almost at a loss of where to start here, things have been moving at a quick clip here and a whole host of things has happened. So I will just try to go through my memory and write as it comes, no guarantees to anything extremely organized or chronological. My only worry is it will turn into a mini book, so I’ll try to break it up so you don’t have to read it all at once Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1155983798746335512006-08-19T12:34:00.000+02:002006-08-19T12:36:38.760+02:00It’s been a little while since I was able to sit in front of the computer here and pound out a little of what has been going on around here. A big part of the delay has been because I’ve been doing a little bit of running around, getting sick and even a little freaking out, but I’m all better now, except that I won’t be settling down much quite yet. A couple of things I want to touch on below. Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1155223646014339812006-08-10T17:26:00.000+02:002006-08-10T17:27:26.013+02:00Quick note to inform my SMS craziness has been updatedEzrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1155223111980668022006-08-10T16:56:00.000+02:002006-08-10T17:18:32.103+02:00Had my first meeting of an English Club today, part of me feels like I should have tried to do it earlier, but wanted to be fully available before I started anything that would have serial meetings. And that couldn’t happen until August, since I had been coming and going almost the entire month of July and June I was still adjusting to the site. Working with my coordinator, we decided to focus onEzrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1155033559311202452006-08-08T12:34:00.000+02:002006-08-08T12:39:19.320+02:00After being asked the question I knew I should have answered in a previous blog, I meant to talk about the European Swallow, I do live in Europe. My apologies, if you want to know just how fast they fly, go herehttp://www.style.org/unladenswallow/Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1155032220401471292006-08-08T12:13:00.000+02:002006-08-08T12:17:00.416+02:00For some odd reason I have the old dating show theme song running through my head right now, which doesn’t make any sense, since I’m thinking about cooking. But there just aren’t any good cooking show theme songs I can think about right now. What I have come to realize in this country is that a man who isn’t completely incompetent in the kitchen in this country is something of an oddity. This Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1154437391855171112006-08-01T14:50:00.000+02:002006-08-01T15:03:11.870+02:00Well I had to review my last post quickly to know where I left off, things can move at a snail’s pace or swallow’s (look it up, they move really fast). Last week a couple of good things happened, the one that might have the longest lasting impact will be that myself and another local guy ran wire in the library in preparation for connecting a computer network and starting to offer computer and Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1154436592771685852006-08-01T14:39:00.000+02:002006-08-04T14:58:54.686+02:00I have a new sworn enemy in this land, which I have not been able to defeat or even feel as if I have made progress against. Mosquitoes, or as they are called here Comar, Comariv (plural).I had always known that we never got along, but until I got here I didn’t realize the quality of screens we have in the states. An example of last night I was me swatting at them all evening, inside. I sleep Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1153735078160051522006-07-24T11:56:00.000+02:002006-08-01T15:21:23.273+02:00Read my SMS craziness here Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1153734579016363042006-07-24T11:47:00.000+02:002006-07-24T11:49:39.036+02:00I should consider renaming this blog my recounts of chance encounters of random similarities with people I have never met before. I was on the train back from some training in Kyiv, and I just happened to share a coupe with a guy who has a sister who lives and is a student (I think) in Eugene, Oregon. This is the first time I have found someone who had a strong idea where Oregon really is who isnEzrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1152857567532072642006-07-14T07:49:00.000+02:002006-07-14T08:12:47.566+02:00Just a quick post during this time I am in Kyiv. I had to come in today for training and will be here for the next week or so, which takes me away from all my easy access to the internet during this time. But just two quick anecdotes, as Ukrainians love to tell. The first was this rather odd flash of home yesterday. I had heard stories of this pharmacy that was real cool and had good products. I Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1152531563129085662006-07-10T13:38:00.000+02:002006-07-10T13:39:23.156+02:00I’m well into my month of travel now in July and the first trip I successfully completely without major catastrophes. I was able to visit a camp that another volunteer set up and help out at it. It was also one of my larger trips on my own where I got to do it on my own and required more than just jumping on one train or one marshrutka. But a little about travel in Ukraine, it might be hard to Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1151662763867833242006-06-30T12:16:00.000+02:002006-06-30T12:19:23.880+02:00June 29, 2006The week has been fairly eventful here with some items that had been on my to do list for too long finally finishing and other meetings going well. The first and what I see as my biggest success was finally putting out a student newspaper that had been about 2 weeks delayed past the date I wanted to have it published. A little lesson on how deadlines and other things can come up a Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1151141240361461052006-06-24T10:36:00.000+02:002006-06-24T11:27:20.390+02:00Well, now that the history has been updated a little bit about what has been going on in my past I want to put a little more recent news up. I arrived at my permanent site at the end of last month and you may have been following some of the goings on through pictures, but that can't exactly tell the whole story. It is impossible to entirely wrap up what has happened here in the past three weeks, Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1151138071828582992006-06-24T10:32:00.000+02:002006-06-24T10:34:31.830+02:00After a first full day at what looks like will be my new site, I am enjoying it. In a change of pace, which I will only describe as different, I am now with a family that speaks only a little English. This is good for my learning of the Ukrainian language, my first family was helpful with the ability to speak either language, a big help since I was coming in with zero language and appreciated Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1151137927994355622006-06-24T10:25:00.000+02:002006-06-24T10:32:07.996+02:006 April, 2006When I started this blog, I definitely envisioned being able to post a little more often, here it is the beginning of April and I am writing my first entry without an idea of when IÂll actually be able to publish it. I was on a computer with Internet last week for the first time since I arrived in country. Not real conducive to my writing. Maybe this will be the only way to do it isEzrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1151137349412182412006-06-24T10:21:00.000+02:002006-06-24T10:22:29.423+02:00After finally having some time to sort out the bureaucracies of Peace Corps policies and am now able to start putting up some more interesting parts of life so you can have a more intimate look at what life is like here. But to start it off with, I will include two older blogs I typed out on my computer, but didn't post. They are from relatively early, so enjoy a little blast from the past.Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1150467574917284552006-06-16T16:13:00.000+02:002006-06-24T10:24:32.886+02:00I yet again have pictures posted from my recent trip to the Carpathians.Hope you enjoy them. Same weblink, I also have my mailing address now if you have anythign you want to send me.If you are interested in it, please send me an email.Also remember that it is a good idea when sending any items to use a cushioned envelope rather than a box and for customs write personal items on it and it will Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1149599438387632122006-06-06T15:05:00.000+02:002006-06-06T15:10:38.400+02:00There are new photos up at flickr. Enjoy, I'm hoping to get more in-depth information out soon on here, just need to sort out some logistical things, such as Peace Corps wanting to read everything I write before I post. That just doesn't seem real practical, but oh well. But here is the link to those photos:http://www.flickr.com/photos/casteel/Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1147620872235147052006-05-14T17:33:00.000+02:002006-05-14T17:34:32.246+02:00quick note, I have new photos up on flickr....http://www.flickr.com/photos/casteelI will get more on later.Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1141231603978248542006-03-01T17:31:00.000+01:002006-03-01T17:46:43.993+01:00Training is basically over and the group is getting ready to take off this evening out of Dulles on the flight to Frankfurt and on to Kiev. This group of about 67 people is coming from a wide range of backgrounds so I'm looking forward to what impacts we may be able to change. At the moment, the full impact of what I'm facing hasn't fully sunk in yet. The job description of what I'll be doing is Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1140629368238636752006-02-22T18:07:00.000+01:002006-02-22T18:29:28.250+01:00I feel bad that I haven't updated this sooner. My full intention was to updated after I quit work. That was on the third of this month. It's now the 22, so I am a little tardy. In my defense, I came down with a nasty bout of the flu on my last day of work, completely ruining plans for celebrating the occasion and ended up putting me basically flat on my back until about five days later. From Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1137653830804729512006-01-19T07:58:00.000+01:002006-01-19T07:57:10.816+01:00I have a little more information as it trickles in. For one, I have an address mail can be sent to during my three month training period in Kyiv.Ezra Casteel, PCT c/o Peace Corps/Ukraine PO Box 298 01030 Kyiv, Ukraine Mail is not exceptionally fast, according to the information, so please allow plenty of time for me to receive letters and more time still to reply to them. I have little idea what Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1137141434343772452006-01-13T09:37:00.000+01:002006-01-13T09:37:14.356+01:00So here's the official information as I have been informed. After originally finding out that there should be something in the mail, I received an email today from a placement assistant that while the invitation had been dated in this last week, but it would be mailed out today. Thankfully he did include some information about where and what I will be doing. The location will be somewhere in Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1136265900948077182006-01-03T06:22:00.000+01:002006-01-03T06:25:00.960+01:00Newsflash!There has been another flurry of activity around my application status. After receiving a phone call from my placement officer, who asked me a several followup questions on Dec. 30, I was set on a buzz when he mentioned I should be hearing something within the next week to 10 days regarding my potential placement. That got me excited, but he refused to elaborate too much about specificsEzrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1133851358684167602005-12-06T06:46:00.000+01:002005-12-06T07:42:38.693+01:00This whole process is starting to get expensive and at sometimes it seems almost ridiculous. Today I had a tooth filled. The odd thing about it is my dentist did not want to do it and the tooth was perfectly healthy. I had originally had some x-rays taken of my entire mouth, those were shipped back to Washington D.C. where somebody looked at them and decided I needed two fillings. When this Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1131686949926185282005-11-11T06:28:00.000+01:002005-11-11T06:29:09.936+01:00The good news is that all my medical information I sent to Peace Corps seems to have checked out. Recently I received an email notifying me my status in the application process has changed and my medical information has been accepted. The dental information is still up in the air. From what I understand the letter from Peace Corps is saying I need some minor work done, but my dentist when he Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1127793663544109002005-09-27T05:29:00.000+02:002005-09-27T06:01:03.553+02:00It has been a little while since I last posted here. My life has changed somewhat dramatically, but there is not much new to report in my application process. I had my dental checkup and need to go back to pick up X-rays and not sure what else to finish that exam. At the same time I'll be picking up my first pair of glasses since second grade. My eyesight isn't what it used to be so the glasses Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1126494593548534902005-09-12T05:08:00.000+02:002005-09-12T05:09:53.560+02:00On a day when the nation is thinking about the events from Sept. 11, 2001 and the recent disaster from the hurricane Katrina, the most frequent question/joke I get when I tell people I am joining the Peace Corps is that I will likely be sent there to help with the clean up. While it is definitely something I would like to do, my anticipated leave date is not until February and I doubt the place Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15559356.post-1125121182564774942005-08-27T07:01:00.000+02:002005-08-27T07:39:42.570+02:00Well,Welcome to my blog, this is the first post in what I hope will help keep people updated on my happenings and also be a resource for those looking at joining the Peace Corps. I'll warn you now I am going to make an effort to do a little editing as possible on posts so you can have a direct view into what I'm thinking at the moment, including spelling. So don't complain if I spell a word Ezrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318622986149511533noreply@blogger.com0