So as some of you know I went to Utah for training last weekend. The drive was long (the roads were terrible), the training was somewhat boring and I have to be honest, I had no idea what I was getting into. I'm really excited but I'm really scared. Don't worry, I'm not going to back out. I can't. But I just hope I can do this.
The first day of training started at 8:30. We all gathered at our tables according to what country we were going to. At first it was awkward but we soon started asking questions and getting to know each other and that was fun. In little Innisfail there aren't any LDS girls that I'm best friends with and so I was excited to meet people with those same values as me and that were as excited to work with children as I was. Over the course of the day we were learning about how to teach these, kids who can't barely understand you, English. The instructor had us role play what a typical lesson would be like. I had to think like a five year old. Seriously. We all felt pretty stupid acting like we didn't know what a marker was. "This is a marker. This is MY marker." Haha. Anyways, I won't go into detail. It's not that exciting, trust me.
The next day of training we went into it hoping/knowing that it was going to be more fun than the day before. At this training there were five girls going to Ukraine including me. Two of the girls are going for the summer, I think for a month and a half. That leaves three of us going in the fall. There are more but we don't know who they are. We were put into groups and had a past volunteer assigned to talk about her experience and what she learned, loved or hated about her time in Ukraine and Russia. It was nice to hear her perspective. I was trying to pay attention so I could get as much out of what she was saying as possible. We had lunch and then the program director talked to us for at least 4 hours about anything and everything. He was funny. We needed to laugh after sitting for that long.
Long story short, this is what I learned:
- Ukrainian's are VERY superstitious
- The men have an alcohol problem, which makes them want American women (EEEKK!) Lots of girls have been sent home because they developed romantic relationships with them. The director told us they are extremely persistent
- The food is bland but you are forced to eat lots of it
- No one smiles, ever
- The language is difficult and language classes won't help
- Your babushka will be your best friend
- It's cold
- The four H's of culture shock (Honeymoon, Horror, Humour, Home)
- The water is not safe
Ok, well I've got that to look forward too. Although the life that I'm going to live in Ukraine doesn't sound glamorous, I am so ready to challenge myself. I want to learn and grow. I know that I will laugh, cry, yell and probably bleed but nothing that's easy is worth doing. I'm so lucky that I get to have this experience. Not many people will get to say that they lived in a foreign country for five months. I'm just now realizing this is a long post and people (including me) hate long boring blog's. I'll end by saying that I appreciate everyone's support, especially my families. It'll be awesome to come home right before Christmas and get to hug everybody.
Ps. I think I'm going to miss my dog the most! lol
That is a pretty bad attitude about the language. :) I bet the person who told you that isn't as smart as you. You could get some language cds from the library....just hearing what the language sounds like a lot will help quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to reading your blog, and I'm glad you are doing it.
Thanks Heather. One of the Head directors said that he took 4 years of Russian and when he actually had to use it in real life, he was speechless. I'm definitley going to learn the alphabet though.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an exciting adventure, one that you'll be happy you did when you get to be old like me.
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