Let the countdown begin...

Really, the countdown has already begun. Last week (I think) Cassi made a paper chain out of some of our old posters for class...one for each of the days until we leave Oster. I keep meaning to take a picture of it, but also keep forgetting and it is definitely getting shorter as Monday approaches!

This morning I had to be up at 6 am (don't worry, the sun rises at 4:30 or something like that here in Ukraine during the summer...so I was already semi-awake) to get ready to go say thank you to the city administration in Kozelets. Our bus left at 7:30 am which made us arrive in Kozelets a good 30 minutes early. After many formal thank you's (in Russian and Ukrainian...the Kozelets group is learning Ukrainian...which makes communicating with each other in our new languages INCREDIBLY difficult), we had our FINAL technical session debriefing with Lyuda (tech. teacher). Sad day! But also exciting because it means we're that much closer.

We have our FINAL RUSSIAN LESSON today! If I could make that font any bigger I most definitely would because there have definitely been times in the past 3 months when I thought that day would never come. Half of today's class is going to be spent presenting our SDL's (self-directed learning projects) that we were supposed to have been working on the entire time of pre-service training. Most of us (or maybe all of us?) may or may not have done over half of the work last night or the past few days. Don't worry, our teacher is fully aware of this :) I worked on my SDL every week for the first month...but then we became busy teaching and planning lessons and community projects...and it was basically put on hold for 2 months. However, I am quite excited to show you my SDL...which is a video slideshow with Russian explanations of each picture...with some amazing Russian/Ukrainian (not really sure) pop music. My host sister helped me with the final Russian grammatical errors that I needed correcting last night...and she definitely like it. I will hopefully be able to post it tomorrow.

TOMORROW...is our LPI (Language Profficiency Interview!). In case you haven't figured it out, PC has a bajillion abbreviations that for the first few weeks of being a PCT (peace corps trainee ha) made me want to pull out my hair. However, you get used to them and I find us using them in our everyday life. If my memory serves me right, there was even a packet given to us at one point early on that had all of the abbreviations we would need. It's ridiculously long, take my word for it. Our LPI is from 10-noon tomorrow morning. EEK. For 20-25 minutes, each of us will be tested on our language skills, all verbal. The person giving the test will ask open ended questions that I have to be able to think quickly of an answer in Russian and be able to talk about. I will basically be talking the entire time...which is quite overwhelming to think about. There are different levels that we will be ranked, but the one that they tell us to shoot for is intermediate-mid. We'll see once we get to Kiev what profficiency I am! Wish me luck!

On Friday, our cluster is headed to Chernihiv to hopefully be able to do a few of the touristy things there. There is an old, old church that we want to visit, and equally old caves underneath the church. (Trivia time. What movie is the following quote from? "Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first!?") Not sure what else will be on the agenda for Friday, but it will definitely be a day of celebrating and spending time together!

Saturday is our host family goodbye picnic. We are going to the Desna and maybe cooking out/having a potluck. Details are still being decided. You can bet that that post will come with pictures :)

Sunday is our last day here in Oster. There are a lot of things that I've meant to take pictures of the whole time I've been here, but I also try not to be the American tourist. For instance, every Saturday and Sunday morning, people line up outside the milk factory that is just up the road from my house. It is fascinating to see how many people will wait there...easily 20-30 each time. Is the milk/butter/whatever else they sell really that good? I also wonder why they get there so early...in my (American) head, if it's a dairy factory, they're not going to run out of products. Maybe when my Russian matures I will be able to ask my host family about this when I come back and visit.

Besides the LPI, the other thing on my mind right now is PACKING. AGAIN. I don't have Mitchell here to help me this time...however, Jamie and I did go buy big babushka bags (McFarlin people think Mexico mesh-y bags that you buy in Nuevo Progresso) at the bazaar on Sunday. We have about 15 pounds of Russian & Ukrainian books that we have to find room for, in addition to a medical kit. I also don't plan on using all of my space saving bags quite to the extreme like I did on the way over here. AND, once we leave Kiev on next Thursday, we will also be given a fire extinguisher, carbon dioxide and smoke detector, and a space heater that will load the bus or train with us when we depart for site! Luckily, our counterpart (the person who will be our contact at site) will be assisting us with all of our luggage. Mine will probably faint when they see how much I have :)

Okay...need to go to my LAST RUSSIAN CLASS!!!! YIPPEEEEEE :) Happy Wednesday!