I CAN HAZ INTERNET!!!

So, as you can see I finally have internet! Yay!!! I ended up having to buy a portable modem so I just stick that in my computer and pay by the month. Not too shabby! Now that I have internet access, you can all skype me or chat with me on aim/gchat. Just post if you want my info!

So we have been continuing with our Ukrainian lessons and they have been very intense. Our teacher and mentor Ira is very nice and a great teacher. It's just so exhausting to have so much information pounded into your brain for 4 hours at a time everyday and then to have to go home and do more homework! I'm even making flashcards of our vocabulary as we speak. Ironically enough, Cyrillic was the thing that most people feared about Ukrainian and has actually probably been the easiest thing to learn. The hardest part for me is pronunciation and grammar. I can't roll my "r's" so that has been a problem.  Also, there are just a crazy amount of consonants in Ukrainian words. For example, подороувати is podorojuvati or to travel. Also, the grammar is difficult because they have so many things you have to conjugate! You can't just conjugate verbs, you also have to have the correct pronoun and noun conjugation as well. For example, to say "I love," it's "Ya lublu," but if you want to say "I am 22," you have to say "Meni 22 roki." So much to learn in just three months! I really like learning languages so hopefully I'll have everything down by then.

Here's a breakdown of the typical day for me if you're interested:

7am: wake up and run to the outhouse
8am: breakfast/walk to Iras
8:30-10:30 : Ukrainian lessons with Ira
10:30-11:00: Tea time! Ukrainians are very big on tea and it is customary to bring cookies or biscuits for tea if you are going to somebody's house, even if you don't want to have tea!
11:00-1:00pm- More Ukrainian
1:00pm: Lunch!

Sometimes we'll also have technical sessions for a couple hours or we'll go to the school for class observations or one day we went to the bazaar to buy food, so there is always something going on.

Not only are we learning more Ukrainian everyday, we are finally starting to really get into our teaching training. We observed two English lessons today and on Monday we are already going to be teaching an English class! James, another PCT(Trainee) in our cluster will be teaching with me on Monday. We'll be teaching the 8th graders about books. Wish me luck!

So besides studying and more studying, I've been hanging out with my host family and cluster. We have made friends with the dog at Ira's house and he has subsequently been named "George Jefferies" by Paul.

My host family has also introduced me to Ukrainian vodka and moonshine. Who would have thought that I would leave Georgia to try moonshine in Ukraine??? Ukrainians are very fond of their vodka and it is appropriate to do multiple shots of vodka as long as you are eating after each one.

I'm not sure what to write about besides that and the fact that some angry geese chased me home today. Such is life in Ukraine!