Aspiration and Motivation

I must have been kidding myself big time when I thought the work was over once I got the information packet in! Right now I am working on getting a few things into the Peace Corps country desk (Ukraine, obviously). They want an aspiration statement that outlines your motivation as well as how you are going to deal with challenges once you arrive in country. This will be sent straight out to the Ukranian government for them to review to place me in a location that they feel will be appropriate. I am supposed to send this in very soon, I just want to make sure the grammar, spelling and ideas are put forth in the manner that I see appropriate.

Outside of this I need to get passport pictures taken. Ok, I do admit that I could easily get my butt over to kinkos and get the pictures taken for 8 bucks, but being the thrifty lady that I am I know I could make my own prints and just cut them out and pay 30 cents for two. So, I have spent the past 2 weeks hanging out trying to find a good background and someone to take my picture...hehe, I think this is called procrastination! However, they say that the longest it takes to process is 6 weeks, and I don't need it until staging, so I am not worried about that getting in absolutely immediately. I have also been recieving e-mails and letters about Ukraine from various people at the Peace Corps. I now know that I am a part of group 30 into Ukraine and that we should be aware that people there can be extremely ad openly racist and that you should be aware of that. Well, considering that when I lived in Chile if you look Chinese they basically call you "Chinaman" etc, etc. This is true, but really, is mentioned for its humorus value...if you are allowed to find such things humorus.

So, outside of that I have been doing a lot of reading about Ukraine and it's values and history, etc. I feel as if I have learned a lot about Ukraine so far. I now know a lot more about the history, and how the Protestant Reformation never reached Ukraine and they therefore have more of a collectivist attitude towards life than other European countries. This is an idea I hadn't thought much about before, but it all makes sense. I also learned that the weather will be so slippery in the winter that I'll need clamp-ons for my shoes! Clamp-ons! All I can picture in my head is my dad when he used to go on these little ice climbing expeditions...however, I will just be walking on my way to work. I also learned that the Ukranian people are overall educated but VERY supersticious. They have the equivilant of the boogeyman, but it attacks you when you are outside. They say that he comes witht he wind and makes you freeze on the inside. I thought this was hilarious (eventhough this might not be funny when I am sitting on a hot bus and wishing someone would open up a damn window but nobody will because they fear the boogeyman breeze). I just thought that was an interesting tidbit to know, and it only happens to Ukrainian people! Turns out they bundle their babies too much and they do not learn how to control their body temperature, and when a cool breeze rushes into them their muscles can cramp up and temporarily give them so much pain that they are unable to move. How crazy is that? I am glad we don't have that kind of boogeyman, I prefer the one I can confirm it's absence with a quick look under the bed!

More updates to come as they come