Hi guys! Hello from Khmelnytskyi’s Gymnasium No. 2!
I recently finished Pre-Service Training, took an oath to swear in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and hopped on a train to meet my new host family here in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine.
I’m still getting settled in, but one of the first things my new counterpart, Oksana Ivanivna, did was introduce me to my new place of work: Gymnasium No. 2!
So, turns out Ukraine (or… my school, at least) does this really cool kind of reverse-graduation ceremony.
Secondary schools in Ukraine (or… my school, at least) contain grades 5 through 11. Fifth grade Ukrainian classes are welcomed to the school with a large assembly in the form of a giant dance recital!
It happened! I turned 30.
I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I’m closer to 40 than 20 (what), but my 20s are officially over.
You know what? They were pretty great.
So, it’s official. I’m a United States Peace Corps Volunteer!
OK, so you’re probably over here rolling your eyes like, Randi. Bish. WE KNOW YOU’RE IN THE PEACE CORPS. You’ve been posting about Ukraine CONSTANTLY.
OK, OK, OK. BUT — I threw the word “official” in there, did you notice?
Hey, here’s an easy-enough post!
From the second my flight touched down in Ukraine, I’ve basically been throwing alphabet soup in the form of blog posts at you.
“Yeah, my LCF and TCF said I should get at least an int-low on my LPI, which is what most PCTs aim to get before they end PST and head to site.”
Yes, I’m pretty sure I said this exact sentence at some point during my time in Ukraine.
So, I wanted to take a second to make a handy-dandy reference guide you can use when I start talking in government-induced jargon.
So, Zhytomyr, Ukraine! An interesting city name with a lot of consonants squashed together, right?
I’ve mentioned it before, but I spent my pre-service training (PST) living and studying in the city of Zhytomyr, with my incredible host family. I talked a little bit about what PST was like, but I wanted to tell you a little more about Zhytomyr itself.
Hi guys.
So, uh. Yes. I am alive.
It’s been a hot second!
To be honest, Peace Corps Pre-Service Training was very, very draining and time-consuming in a way my four-jobs-and-an-80-hour-work-week self wasn’t expecting.
So, I kind of dropped off the face of the earth over here.
The general exhaustion — coupled with writer’s block, poor WiFi and a slew of work/life responsibilities here — kind of got to me.
But, we’re here now!
So, where did I last leave off?
Mmmmm, Pre-Service Training. Oh yes.
Привіт друзі! Сьогодні, Я буду говорити про вивчення української мови.
(Hello friends! Today, I will talk about learning the Ukrainian language.)
One of the biggest parts of being a Peace Corps Volunteer is learning a new language.
Or two. Or two and a few dialects.
One of the things I’m asked the most from friends back home is this:
What’s been the biggest culture shock in moving from the United States to Ukraine?
A few days ago, I got to take my first trip to Kyiv, Ukraine!
I think most people know this, but Peace Corps Volunteers don’t serve in capital cities, or even big cities for the most part. Our offices are in usually in the capitals, but volunteers serve in smaller, often remote towns and villages so as to meet the need of the country’s general population.
I’d never been to Kyiv before, but it was always on my list! All of the volunteers flew into Kyiv together, but Peace Corps quickly whisked us away to Irpin on a bus for a week-long welcome conference before sending us to our first host families in the Zhytomyr area.
However, as adamant as Peace Corps seemed to be at keeping us away from Kyiv, all the volunteers had to make a day trip in order to get their immigration documents figured out.
Oh, PS? It’s spelled KYIV, not KIEV. Kyiv is the Ukrainian-to-English spelling, and Kiev is the Russian-to-English spelling. Because the word Kyiv in Ukrainian («Київ») uses letters unique to the Ukrainian alphabet, like «Ї,» it translates differently. I realize a lot of people are stuck on the “it sounds the same in English” thought, but considering everything Ukraine has been through in gaining its independence from Russia, I think we should let Ukraine decide how the spelling of its capital city translates into Latin. Добре? Добре.
