Merry Christmas!

I apologize for the delay in updating...I've been busy with my family! Yea! They arrived a week ago today, and we've been scampering all over Poltava for the past week. If you're friends with Amiee on Facebook, she's put up about a zillion pictures, documenting the week.

I would like to say thank you to several people for the wonderful Christmas gifts and cards:
the Rufes
the Benefields
the James
the Romines
the Rufe Sunday school class
the Peddycoarts

There are many more who have been so incredibly supportive and generous- I'm so sorry for not naming you by name...my brain is filling up with Ukrainian information, and sometimes other information just doesn't stick.

I hope that everyone had a WONDERFUL Christmas!

A Christmas Thank-You

Yesterday, at the Transport College, while talking about Thanksgiving, I had the class play "I am thankful for..." It was quite humbling, because one of the students very seriously said, "I am sankful for Ehreen because she helps uz vis our Eengleesh." It was very encouraging.

So, in the held-over spirit of thankfulness, I'd like to send out a thank-you.

Earlier this month, I got up very early on a Saturday morning: 4:30 am, Ukrainian time. Why? In order to talk to my parents' Sunday school class via Skype. I found out that the class didn't just show up to talk to me, they sat in an unheated room at the church...in 25 degree weather...for hours...in order to talk to me.

This group of people is so special to me for many reasons. After the tornado destroyed my dorm room, they helped me pull my life back together. As I prepared to come to Ukraine, they supported me and promised to pray for me. During these first few months of transition, they have been consistent in contacting me, encouraging me, and helping make my holidays homey.

Thank you, Brassart Sunday School Class. You are all so special to me. Merry Christmas!

Down the drain...

Today has been interesting. Most days are, of course. However, today has held lots of "unexpecteds."

I woke up this morning feeling awful. Knees hurt, back hurt, stomach upset. I had absolutely no motivation to move. I even thought about calling the Transport College to let the professor know that I couldn't come today: "Sorry, I'm dying a little today, so I won't be there. Thanks!" I got up anyway.

My family is arriving here on Saturday (yay!), so I've been in the process of cleaning. I realized this morning that the shower mat thing in the shower needs to go. It's been there since I moved it, but I finally woke up and realized that it's gross. I removed it to store it elsewhere with a stash of the landlord's possessions. That's when I got really grossed out...the under-mat area was N.A.S.T.Y. Well, I HAD to clean that before I got into the shower, right? I pulled out this cleaning stuff that Mrs. Linda had helped me buy back in the jet lagged days, and I doused the shower.

Such a bad idea.

Seeing as how I don't read Russian, I was not aware that you are supposed to dilute it first. I've been airing out the apartment since. And let me tell you, it's somewhere around 14 degrees Farenheit here, so that's no small task. I think I've been a little heady all day because of it. Good news: my shower is very clean.

I did go to the school, which was a blessing. The professor wasn't there, so it was all me. Fun! We talked about American holidays, excluding Christmas, which my family will teach next Thursday, on Christmas day. Side note: Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on January 7, in keeping with the Orthodox calendar. It was great fun! We played the "I am thankful for..." game when we discussed Thanksgiving.

I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful season of celebrating Jesus' birth. What a privilege!
Merry Christmas!

Ukrainians: Hospitality is their middle name

I never cease to be amazed by the hospitality in Ukraine. It's so great! And, it takes several forms:

1. You never make a visit to someone's home without taking a gift. Usually, this gift is a gift of food or candy. It doesn't have to be fancy or anything...just an offering of thanks. One example: one of my friends, Maya, is one of my pro bono language tutors (yes, one of them. I'm remedial...). Today, she came to my apartment to spend several hours listening to be labor through reading and interpreting, butchering Russian grammar, and continually stressing the wrong syllables. She was providing a service to me, and what happens? She arrives with a gift of apples for me. Isn't that sweet?

2. There is a kind of "reciprocal hospitality." Once you are friends with Ukrainians, they feel comfortable dropping by to visit. One example: Friday night, I was planning to spend the entire evening writing lesson plans for the bi-weekly lessons that I'll begin teaching in January. My apartment was really cluttered with books, papers, and worksheets. Dishes were piling up in the kitchen, I hadn't cleaned the bathroom in a week, etc. I got a phone call from one of the guys from church, and he says, "Iricka Amerikankah (that's me...my Ukrainian name plus the adjective "American"), Vaht are you do-eeng? Vee vill be zere in fifteen meenits. Bye." I had no idea how many people were coming or how long they were going to stay. I turned into a cleaning machine, scrounged up some tea and cookies (you must provide these to visitors), and answered the door to find 6 people ready to hang out. I knew 3 of them. Ha! They stayed for 3 hours. Isn't that joyful?

3. My Ukrainian friends never let me go places alone, if they can help it. One example: Tonight, I was at a small group Bible study across town and needed to get home. I knew which bus to take home and everything. When Tanya realized I was leaving, she became very upset; I then realized that she was asking if anyone was going my direction. Kostia won the toss (metaphorically), seeing as how he's from my part of the city. We spoke Eng-Ruski as we walked to the bus stop, on the 35 minute bus ride, and from my bus stop to my building. As we got to my building, I practiced my Russian and asked him where he was going afterwards. To my surprise, he told me he was going back to the bus stop: he was going back across town to visit his grandmother and had only come my direction in order to make sure I got home safely. Isn't that touching?

I love Ukrainians.

Snow/ Sneg

It snowed today. Unfortunately, the ground was too wet for the snow to accumulate. I think the weather is trying to break me in slowly. I learned the word for snow; it sounds like "sneg." I think that's funny.

Well, the outing with the students last week was great. They took me to a mall on the edge of town, and we had cake and tea and talked for 3 hours. It was great. There are plans in the works to visit again this week.

In my effort to learn the language, I have made Russian signs for all furniture and appliances in my apartment. So, when I brush my teeth, I'm staring at the words for sink, shower, and towel. When I'm washing dishes- cabinet, freezer, refrigerator, etc. I also starting posting charts of verb conjugations to study. I feel so studious. :)

I hope that everyone is having a great week!

And so it begins

Ladies and Gentlemen:
I got a phone call from one of the girls I wrote about yesterday. We are planning to hang out tomorrow afternoon at 4 pm my time (8 am Central). Thank you for your prayers! Please continue with them.

Today, I spent the morning at college #2. This group is so fun because they are at a fairly beginner level. They are my Thursday morning group each week. The class is chock full of guys! There is only one sweet girl in there; she generally looks a little overwhelmed. I can't blame her...those guys are intense.

This particular morning, however, two other people joined our class: the vice president of the school and the dean of students. Apparently, they want to improve their English and are planning on attending my class every Thursday. What?? No pressure. I spend most of my classes there part-teaching English and part-fielding questions about American pop culture. Now, I'm going to have to tweak my lessons to be adaptable to both students and faculty. Should be interesting. I'll keep everybody posted.

Thanks for all of the picture suggestions...I'm going to try some of them out and see what I can get to work.

Blessing

I spent this morning at University #1. I was able to be in class with my very favorite professor there (and I've met a lot of them). She's such a character and is always thrilled to see me. In the language departments of schools here, I'm an instant hit- just because my first language is English. Amazing.

Anyway, I have a blessing to write about and a request to add. Two weeks ago, I was at the school during the English language festival week. All week (actually, it was more like a week and a half), students gave presentations and heard guest lecturers. I was asked to serve as a judge for two different forums. The second forum was almost over my head; all the senior International Business and Economics majors were presenting their research papers...

The first forum was more up my alley: students were presenting on their time spent studying abroad (Molly, I totally thought of you!). All of the presentations were interesting, but one in particular stayed with me. One of the first year students presented on her year as a foreign exchange student in the States. She was in a town in the Midwest and absolutely loved her experience. She spoke about how her host family (an elderly couple) became like second parents to her and provided her with so many opportunities. As she neared the end of her presentation, she made a list of pros and cons. One of her cons was that her host family required her to go to church each Sunday. I silently thanked the Lord for families like that and made a mental note to find this girl later and talk to her.

I couldn't find her that day or the next few times I was there. I continued to pray that I would run into her again. For the time being, we'll call her Anna*.

Today, it happened. I walked into the classroom this morning, and there she was. I didn't even have to go looking for her. The class wanted to ask me questions, and Anna was the most active questioner. At the end of class, the professor asked if any of them would like to offer to be tour guides around Poltava for me. Anna whipped out her cell phone and asked me for my number so she could call and plan a time to hang out.

My request: please keep Anna in your prayers. I am convinced that she is back in my path for a reason. It's obvious that God has begun a work in her life, and I'm praying for opportunities to continue sharing. Another girl in the class (we'll call her Tori*) also asked for my number. I'm praying that they contact me soon.

Thanks for your help!
(I'm still working on the picture situation...I changed layouts to see if that would work, but so far, no dice. Any suggestions?)

I hate hats...and other life-adjustments in Ukraine

I hate wearing hats. I don't look good in them, and I definitely don't look good after taking them off!

Unfortunately, wearing hats is a reality on a daily basis now. I'm not sure how to explain the weather here. Even if the temperature doesn't look like it should be very cold, that does not mean that it's not cold. A few factors: wind, lack of heated vehicles, and MUCH more walking in the elements. Thus, I now wear hats.

Here is a list- for your reading entertainment- of adjustments I'm making these days:
1. Walking. A lot. In the cold with the wind trying to cut right through me.

2. Taking my own grocery bag to the store.

3. Only being able to buy what I can carry in the store. In the States, you can groceries for the week or even for the month. Generally, there is a car waiting in the parking lot, and you can simply pile it all into the car. This allows the buyer to get whatever he or she wants/requires in one fail swoop. Here, once you leave the store, you have to hoof it home- through mud and puddles, dodging traffic and stray dogs, up flights of stairs into your apartment. This phenomenon means that you end up at a store just about every other day.

4. Customer service does not exist. The employees are not there to serve you; you, the customer, are just so lucky that they deign to accept your money.

5. Personal space does not exist- on public transportation or in interpersonal interaction. Everything is very up close and personal.

6. Washing clothes translates into only being able to wash one pair of pants, one shirt, a pair of socks, and 2 pairs of underwear. If you're lucky. The washing machines are small.

7. Nutella. It's a wonderful creation.

8. European pizza. It's so great.

9. People don't really call me Erin here. It's kind of a difficult name for Russian/Ukrainian speakers to pronounce. There is a Russian name that is similar to mine: Irina. The short, more common form is Ira. So, most people call me "Ira" or "Irichka." The -ichka ending is a term of endearment. Some people who can say "Erin" call me "Erinichka" anyway. It's fun.

I'm still unable to upload pictures right now. I've tried changing the size and everything, but I'm unable to even pull pictures up to load. I might change the template for my blog and try again. I hope you have a wonderful day!