Little Dragons

Go 'head and dust yo' shoulders off, Group 44!

We've officially been sworn in as United States Peace Corps Volunteers. My Ukrainian is at the intermediate mid-level. I've eaten calo. I've been in Ukraine for almost 90 days. It's wild, man.

I've been having quite the time. I'm constantly learning from the amazing people who've taken time out of their day to help me. Leaving my host family was difficult for that reason, because they were so incredibly attentive to me. But we're already keeping in touch. And now, I live in an apartment next door to my counterpart, and her family has taken me under their wing. Just now, I'm using two items that would've otherwise been useless to me without her husband's handy work. I have a lamp, I have a desk, I have a space-heather. Life is good.

My apartment is cool as can be, and I mean that in both the slang and actual meaning. It's cold. But again, space-heater! I'm super warm so long as I'm keeping it on.

I'm also going to miss my cluster mates. They were the best people I could've been placed with, and I'm happy to say that they're not terribly far away. I'll be seeing them soon, possibly for Christmas.

Here's a picture of us at Swearing In, making the Crazy-Nick face

Speaking of Christmas, I need to buy a tree. And maybe a guitar. I don't know, I saw one at the bazaar today, and I'm thinking it could be really fun to use a guitar in my lessons with the younger kids. Plus it'd be nice to hone that skill a bit more... We'll see, I was too scared to ask how much it was, and I'm not made of hryven after all!

Also, I have my own internet now. That means I should be able to keep up with this blog a bit more. Hopefully! I haven't met with the teachers at school, but just by talking with my counterpart, I know I'm going to be involved in a lot of real cool projects. I absolutely cannot wait!

Happy winter, all!

Super Good, Yes!

That's about all I know how to say in Ukrainian so far... This language is hard! But then again, all languages are hard for me. Slowly but surely, I'm picking it up.

My family is great! I play UNO with my host cestra Ina and her boyfriend Max every weekend. He tries to get me to say swear words in Ukrainian, but no way! You'll have to wake up pretty early to trick me into that! Haha, I did ask him the other day, "Max, what's your name?" My host family got a kick out of that.

Blogging is hard to keep up with, considering the amount of people I need to email. I'm going to try and do it every month! At least. Hopefully.

Loving life in Borova. This village is so welcoming.

Live long and prosper! Gosh, everything I'm writing is so spastic. It's okay. It's just the dubstep music of the Internet Cafe causing my adrenaline to rise.

The Jam Here is Incredible

Alright!

So, I made it to Ukraine. It's insanely awesome here. My host family is great, and my cluster is excellent. I'm having to fight off some fruit flies, but they're the most of my worries. Learning the language is going well. I have limited internet access, so this has to be a bit short. I want to update my friends all the time, but I feel like this is still a huge transition, and I want to hear about their lives but it's hard to have a full convo when they're asleep and you're awake.

The landscape here is actually JUST like Chicago. Flatlands, lots of planes. I'm literally next door to my teacher's home. We're in kind of like a dual house thing? Like two houses put together. I forget the word. And the other 4 volunteers in my cluster are right next door, we're all neighors, so I'm very close. The town bazzar is a 15 minute walk, so everything is nearby, and I'm never by myself. Again, this family is fantastic! So helpful and patient. I took my first shower today, and it was warm! Victory! My family has a dog named Charlie, and he's adorable. They also have a cat, but I forget its name. My host family makes everything from scratch, the food is fabulous. Their jam and juice is insanely good. I'm learning Ukrainian slowly... Very slowly... Baby steps.

I miss home, my family, my friends, Maddie... but I'm incredibly honored to be here. Being with such a loving and vibrant family helps.

Love from Borova!

My Aspiration Statement to Ukraine

ASPIRATION STATEMENT

Patricia N. Dalinis

Ukraine

September 17, 2012

A: The professional attributes that you plan to use, and what aspirations you hope to accomplish during your Peace Corps service:

I intend to approach my Peace Corps service with flexibility, excitement, creativity, and the understanding that I most likely have no idea what I’m getting myself into – and I mean that in the best way possible. My most essential professional attribute is the ability to learn as I go, to discover new methods of understanding by actively and consciously engaging myself. I do so openly and without judgment. To apply this to my service in Ukraine, I must listen to my students. I must work with them, allowing them to teach me as I in turn teach them. My time in Ukraine will be molded by the opportunities I’ve had here in Chicago. Through tutoring high school level ESL students, I’ve learned patience. I’ve learned to acknowledge what the student truly needs to learn without solely inflicting a pre-determined lesson plan on them. My interpersonal communication skills will be necessary in that respect. What’s great is that I was able to tutor the students on a wide variety of subjects, from History to English to Consumer education and more. This not only allowed the students to practice their English, but furthered their study in other subjects as well. As a teacher’s assistant, I’ve become familiar with both following lesson plans and creating them. Within these lessons, there has to be breathing room. Through flexible and creative lessons, the students will become active learners while I continue to maintain and enforce curriculum. I hope to communicate with other teachers, garnering knowledge from them while sharing my skills and findings. If I am able to accomplish the aforementioned goals, I will be successful in part of my aspirations for Peace Corps Service. I also want to work with the community to foster projects and developments that they need. There are about a hundred projects currently coming to mind that I would love to work on with my community, but I cannot know that they would actually be needed or appropriate. I’ll only know once I’m living and acclimating within the community. It’s important to me to help in a way that is genuinely needed, not only in the way I think is needed.

B: Your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs:

Working effectively with host country partners will be integral to my Peace Corps service. By working closely together, we will foster a bond of cross-cultural understanding and respect. There are a few ways I intend to go about doing this. First, I will listen carefully to my partners when they tell me what the community needs. I will ask pertinent questions to better comprehend the issues at hand. I will be mindful of local norms, taking the time to adopt them as my own. I will present myself in the best way possible, always taking great care to portray a positive image of my home. I will also ask that people remain patient with me while I learn about the community, while I begin projects and while I further my language skills. I will welcome suggestions and seek out advice. By being personable, friendly, open and optimistic I will try hard to develop the type of communication that fosters good work between colleagues.

C: Your strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to our your own cultural background:

The best way to adapt to a new culture is to immerse oneself in that culture. I look forward to discovering first hand all of the things that make Ukraine such a fascinating place. By being curious and flexible, I hope for Ukraine to become a part of my cultural background. Of course, I still intend to maintain who I am by keeping up with activities I enjoy, such as writing, drawing, and reading. Luckily for me, those activities are pretty portable. I hope to share those interests with the people around me as we all learn more about each other. It’s all about an exchange in cultural understanding. I know there may be some aspects of culture that might be uncomfortable for me at first, but it comes down to adjustment and compromise. By remaining open and respectful I will overcome those obstacles to the best of my ability. I’m also pretty excited to experience the religious holidays of the area, as I am of the same religion. Being Orthodox, I look forward to seeing how religion factors into the lives of Ukrainian people. While I’m not very religious myself, it is nonetheless fascinating to look into a culture that I may otherwise have no ties to, but still find that we share something so familiar.

D: The skills and knowledge you hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve your future community project: 

I’m looking forward to the information and many skills I will develop through pre-service training. In order to be proactive, I’ve thoroughly read through the handbooks on safety, Ukraine, and being a volunteer in general, as well as worked on the language preparation activities available online. But the hands on training I’ll be receiving the first three months in-country will set the tone for my two years of service. I hope to tackle the language most importantly, whether it is Ukrainian or Russian. It’s vital for me to be able to properly communicate with the people around me as best as I can. I also want to learn about how to keep safe as a volunteer. There are many steps I can take myself to ensure my own safety, and I want to make sure to take responsibility for that with the help of the safety training I’ll receive. I am also very excited to learn about the culture and history of Ukraine, specifically whatever village or town I’ll be assigned to. I want to come into my assignment with a basic understanding of the area and the people, so that I can better observe and assess the needs of the community.

E: How you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends: 

The Peace Corps will be the defining experience of my life. It is impossible for it not to be. My views and goals will undoubtedly change drastically. I could guess at what they’ll be when I finish my two year service, but I cannot know for sure what they’ll look like. I imagine they’ll consist of a strong passion for teaching, for learning, for working with youth. I would love to work on developing literacy and creative writing programs to foster a love of literature in youth culture. I hope to have a chance to do so in Ukraine. But I may also find myself working on HIV seminars or summer camps or something unexpected but equally wonderful. These experiences may shift my outlook on what I want to accomplish when I come back to Chicago in 2014. Still, no matter what direction I take, my time with the Peace Corps will help me become a more socially conscious, thoughtful, independent and motivated human being.

Land on the Edge

That's the literal translation of the word "Ukraine." And that's literally where I'm headed. To the edge!

That's right!!! My invitation was patiently waiting on my doorstep when I arrived home from work this afternoon. Rejoice! Ukraine, baby! I'm going to learn to say "Ukraine, baby" in Ukrainian, and that's all anyone's going to hear from me for the next three months. Україна, дитинко! It's going to get so annoying for everyone, they'll be begging me to leave.

Speaking of which, lots to do! Lots of forms to fill out, lots of things to buy, lots of research to search. I can't believe I know where I'm headed. It's the best feeling. A lot of the application process can feel directionless. For a long time, you're working towards some abstract, untouchable speck on the horizon. You know the idea of it. The prospect of what it all could be. But you don't really know. You never know! And then suddenly you do and you can point it out on a map! It's like putting a face to a name. It's like putting a feeling to a place.

And quite a glorious place, at that! 


I'm excited. I shouldn't get too ahead of myself with my annoyingly unflinching optimism. I know Ukraine will certainly have its pros and cons. But it's all about brightsiding, am I right?!

I'm right.

If You're Down

There is a place so lovely, and so full of life. Some lucky few are born into this place living and breathing. See, they could have been born into a rock. Or a tree. Or they could have been one of the tiny floating specks in a river full of specks. But no, not these lucky few. They were given life. Sometimes, it got messy and dangerous and scary. There were times when those lucky few didn’t feel so very lucky at all. But they were living and breathing and thinking and even sometimes smiled and laughed and felt wonderful. Sometimes these lucky few cried and thought how nice it would be to just be a rock or a tree or a speck. But someone came along and reminded them that they were lucky. They were special. They had been given rare gifts like hands and eyes and mouths and feet and thoughts and the great and terrifying gift of a heart. And with those hands, they poked at their surroundings, touching everything around them, though sometimes they didn’t believe so. And with those eyes they saw sunlight and art and read words off of pages filled with stories just as sad and wonderful as theirs. And with those mouths they spoke words that no one else had uttered ever before, because they were theirs. With feet, they traveled. With thoughts, they dreamed. And with their hearts, they loved. These lucky few were free to love deeper and with more power than any other thing in this rare place. Sometimes, they forgot how use their hearts, or they broke. But other times, these lucky few got to hold love in their beating, living hearts. And it was in those moments that they truly appreciated how lucky and few they actually were.

There is a place like this, with these lucky few.

If you look hard enough, I think you’ll see it's right where you are.

Lovely Endings

So, first things first. I graduated!

Second things second, my tutoring at Leyden came to a close a couple days ago. It was actually quite sad saying goodbye to the youngsters. But they sent me off well! I've never seen so many bags of chips in my life. And those chips were GONE in 20 minutes. They wiped them out. It was rather impressive, actually.

They also bound the short stories and poems we worked on together a couple months back. I almost lost it, it was so beautiful. One of the girls drew a marvelous picture for the cover. It was unbelievably thoughtful. I should have pictures from the festivities soon. Can't wait to post those up!

I owe that entire experience to the wonderful teachers at Leyden. They made everything possible. They opened up their doors to me, sharing not only their time but their knowledge in teaching. Without them, I wouldn't have been nominated for Peace Corps. I wouldn't have had one of the most incredible times of my life.

My last semester of college was certainly a memorable one. I've learned so much from all the different places I've went and all the different people I've met. Each one with a purpose in guiding my life. I can only hope I've led others even a tiny bit like they have led me.

Happy Summer, all!

Yikes! And also, ouch.

That's pretty accurate to how I feel right now.

Last week, I finally sent in all the medical paperwork that I'd been working on for the past couple months. It's taken me forever for a variety of reasons... I'd been sick, my doctor had been away, I've been fighting to keep up with my last semester of college. But, much in the fashion of Mortal Kombat, I FINISHED IT!

The rumors were true. This portion of the application was not fun. It was nerve-wracking. It was expensive. It was detailed. Very, very detailed. It hurt (lots of needles). And it was filled with some twists I kind of kicked myself for not seeing. But it was a serious investment in my future life, and I'm very happy that I've been able to check it off the list of PC things to do.

Now, I wait. Whether the waiting will be easier or harder than the last couple months remains to be seen, but waiting is progress in regards to the PC application. From what I've read, it's a huge part of it, actually. It's important to get good and comfortable with waiting...

Next step: Graduation!

The Unsettled Breeze

Cool breezes make me romantic. They curl around my arms like ribbons. They make me sleepy. They make me still. Passing from all parts, the wind that touched my thighs might have touched the hands of a boy in Oceania, and I can feel his wandering fingers. Sighing into the wind, it sighs back at me.

Lightly it tugs strands of my hair up and away from my face. How it plays around my face! And is the wind alone? Or are winds many? And do they stay connected by a common string, and is it strong when they flail about, furrowing and twisting in millions of different directions? And this soft breeze now... is its tail pulled by a tornado?

Soft, cool breeze. How you rush and flutter in rivets, in torrents, in storms. You are but a push of air in empty pockets of weather. But you enter in through my open window - and I opened it for you, welcoming, as I pulled back the shade - carrying with you the touch of hundreds of hands. You brush against my nose, my knees, my wrists, and I let you.

I let you in. You make me feel.

The Essential Goodness of Mankind: On New Orleans

In the midst of all my daily schtick, I had the happy treat of visiting New Orleans for the International English Honors Society Conference. How taken I was with that glorious place!

The narrow streets wind, each curve bringing vibrantly colored buildings, each with balconies lavishly decorated with leftover Mardi Gras beads. The silvery purples, vibrant greens, burning golds blending together to create a color that can only be known as New Orleans Fire. Each open door invites you in with a mingling of jazz, blues, rock n' roll. Wafting scents of sweet pralines tickle all the right taste buds. The seafood? Unreal. The po'boys? A standard. The beignets?! FORGET IT, you'll never taste anything like 'em. But it's the people, with their fantastic southern drawl and unabashed friendliness, that make New Orleans glow. Their pride and reverence for their city is truly addictive. Much like the streets, it winds, and suddenly it's in you and it's yours.

It's not a perfect city. And it's seen its share of pain and devastation. But my gosh, if I could admire it for nothing more than the strength of it's healing, that would be enough to make me love it forever. But it's also just so gosh-darn alive! The kind of alive that catches in the pit of your stomach as you chug down a trolley line to who knows what, the kind that races through you when you're standing on a tree stump at the edge of a swampy pond and the man a couple benches away starts playing a harmonica in the most beautifully unexpected way, the kind that manifests itself in the peaceful hum of a jazz tune playing as you peruse the bookshelves of a second-hand bookshop while the sun streams through the cracked second-story window. The kind of alive that makes you realize - suddenly and with great urgency - that you yourself are alive.

Two months left until a graduate. An estimated six months until I leave for Peace Corps. Lots to look forward to, but even more to enjoy in the present - and isn't that just a marvelous thing?!

On a marker near this spot:
"This place of beauty and serenity is dedicated to my family
and to the principle of the essential goodness of mankind." - Roger Houston Ogden

Happy Living, all!

Well, that was rough...

Goodness, these past couple weeks were quite up there on the "Feeling-Less-Than-Awesome" scale! After getting my wisdom teeth out and dealing with that pain, I got really quite sick from some sort of flu. And on my birthday weekend, too! Outrage.

I think it was my body telling me to take it easy. There had been a lot of things getting to me... Things with school, things with my future, things with myself. There were some serious thought spirals happening in a bad way. With all my bad-sickness-feelings, I was having trouble looking positively at anything. But like they ("they") say, time heals all. So, I took some time. I got better. I did A LOT of sleeping. It was almost like I recharged.

The worst part about being sick was missing class at Leyden. My supervisors were incredibly understanding and made me feel a ton better about my absences, but I'm still sad I missed. The students did the presentations I helped them with, and I really would have LOVED seeing them present. I'm planning a writing exercise with them... I'm actually too excited about it. The fact that Mrs. B is letting me try my hand at lesson planning is an absolute privilege. I kid you not, she is the best. I'm really lucky to be able to help her in her classes.

All my medical appointments are scheduled! Gotta start sending all that stuff in. They aren't kidding about the medical packet being intimidating, but I'll do me and be as overly-thorough as possible. Next step: exploring a wider range of volunteering opportunities - probably though Chicago Cares - and finding affordable teacher training/seminars to attend.

Everyone, stay well! Take vitamins! And for goodness sake, get some rest.

Happy February!

How Light My Boots Are Right Now

Okay. Okay okay. I've been wanting to update for a while about my last visit with Govinda and the family. I wanted to update about my new volunteering gig at my old high school. I wanted to let everyone know how the TEFL course was going - good, by the way - but I haven't. I don't know if I was waiting for this, but maybe somehow I was.

It's taken longer for me than other applicants. But isn't that just the Peace Corps for ya? Everyone's journey is different.

Anyway, I woke up this morning with a very exciting update in my Peace Corps Toolkit. It's official:

I'VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR SERVICE!!!!

Okay, freaking out. I got my wisdom teeth out a couple days ago - another step in the right PC direction - and it hurts when I smile but gosh darn it, I just can't stop smiling.

I know the pre-journey isn't over yet. There will be a lot more waiting and trials when the medical and dental packets come. But this was a big hurtle for me. I worked hard to prove myself a worthy nominee. And I'm excited for the steps to come.

Not so excited to tell my parents... But that's just another challenge I'll soon face. And in time, I hope they can be happy for me, and supportive, and understanding. Ahhh, but enough of that! This is a happy post filled with happy forth-comings.

I have so many thoughts rushing through my head... So many things that need to get done. But right now, I think I'll simply lay down, ice my jaw, and try not to smile too much. This is my path. And it's winding and wacky and wonderful and I'm so grateful to walk it.

Happy Nomination Day!

P.S. "How Light My Boots Are Right Now" comes from the novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close which I am re-reading for the English Honors Society conference panel that we're leading at the end of February. NOLA, here we come!