Update

Time goes by more slowly here. My day is divided by teatimes – breakfast tea, mid-morning tea, tea after lunch, afternoon tea, before-dinner tea (I’ve cut this one out), and after-dinner tea. Semi-weak black tea is the national beverage. For all teatimes except breakfast, it is customary to eat ‘konfet’ (candy) with the tea. This is eaten in lieu of adding sugar to the tea. So that means I am eating WAY more chocolate candy than I should. As a result, I’ve doubled my toothbrushing and exercise activities. The challenge is that the chocolate from Russia is really, really good.


Recently I’ve realized that training (October – mid-December) was far more difficult and emotionally intense than I thought it was. November 2009 will go down as one of the most stressful months of my life. So stressful that I fainted on a public bus. I am incredibly happy that PST is over.

Stephanie visited me last weekend. She’s up in Balakan, about 2 hours north of me, right at the AZ/Georgia border. After I dropped her off at the bus station, I saw a ‘xanim’ (old woman) slip and fall on her butt. It happened right in front of me, as she was walking out of a pharmacy. I stopped to help her but I think I just embarrassed her. I couldn’t remember the ridiculously easy phrase “Are you OK?” (‘Yaxshisiz?’) Of course I remembered it 30 seconds later after I was already on the next street.

Have you heard the phrase ‘Posh Corps’? It’s used to describe Peace Corps volunteers who have easy living conditions. Romania and Bulgaria have reputations for being Posh Corps countries (as compared to sites like Nepal or Mali). I realize that I am living a Posh Corps life. I speak English at home, have easy access to the internet, have 6 American sitemates (six!!), a kind family who respect my privacy, and constant electricity and gas.

Also I live in a large town so it’s easy for me to travel which I will do soon. My calendar has suddenly become full and that helps my mood. I need travel and events to get me through the winter then the lovely spring and summer will take me through to autumn and, before I know it, I will have been here for a year!

Now that I am settling into Sheki I’ve been pondering what to do after PC. My shoulder muscles tighten when I imagine returning to a 40+ hour work week so instead I think about HOW I will return to the States. Stephanie talked about taking a train across Russia and into China. From there, I could grab a cargo ship and sail across the Pacific into Los Angeles. Or, and this is the idea I really like, I could fly to Odessa and take a cargo ship to New York. If I’m not mistaken, this is the route my maternal ancestors took to America. There’s something fitting about taking the same journey that my family members took and I will investigate this more.

I’ve been vaccinated for swine flu! My host mother was very concerned about the vaccination and kept urging me to refuse. I told her that Peace Corps would send me home if I refused (they’re serious about medical stuff) and she told me that Obama didn’t vaccinate his children. Argh. Always with the counter-argument!

*GLOW = Girls Leading Our World. It’s an annual summer camp run by PCVs. I want to help with one or two of them across AZ this summer. Stephanie’s correct that true change will come from PCV interaction with the young boys at ABLE (AZ Boys Leadership Experience) camps. Broadening the minds of the young boys is critical.