Happy 101st Post

Happy one year anniversary to my village and me! This has felt like the longest and shortest year of my life.

I've been thinking about my PC service in the same way I thought of the half-marathon I ran: just make it to the halfway point, and once you hit that, you'll be on the down swing of things. The problem with that logic is that when you get to the midway point, your brain goes, "Yay!" and then it realizes, "Oh hey, I have to do all that I just did, again." And at this point, you're getting a little tired.

Overall, it's a good feeling though. I've already started comparing how things are now versus last winter when I first came to Mezhyrich. I remember driving down the main street, trying to remember where the shops and school were as we passed and there was already a few inches of snow and ice on the ground. Now I know where to go to buy what things and how late the shops are open, and there's only been one day where we had flurries but no actual snow yet. It's bound to be an interesting year, for sure.

And to celebrate my 101st post, enjoy these pictures of Levitzka!

Looking adorable

Rolling around/sleeping in a pile of origami cranes

When Words Fail

Usually when I'm stressed, I spill my guts into my journal and then my brain and heart feel much better. Unfortunately, I had so many complaints flying around in my head about the impending seminar at my school that every time I tried to sit down and write, I ended up too agitated to get it out.

So instead I drew this lovely bubble brainstorm-y thing. And I have to say, I felt a lot better after and actually got work done. 

And it's pretty and colorful!

Nerding Out

I have no concept of how much this is being covered in the US, but there's been a lot of voting drama next door in Russia. I've been spending the day reading some articles from The Economist.

This is my favorite: The Long Life of Homo Sovieticus
There's a nice chart and this quote, "The statistics are staggering: one in six businessmen in Russia has been prosecuted for an alleged economic crime over the past decade. Most of the cases have no plaintiff and the number of acquittals is close to zero, according to studies by Russia's Centre of Legal and Economic Research. This means that the vast number of Russian businessmen in jail are victims of corrupt prosecutors, police and courts, which can expropriate a business with impunity."

This is a good one: Russia's Election: Losing Their Grip

And this too: The Cracks Appear

About the North Caucasus region: The Land that Russia Would Like to Forget

2 Weeks and Change

I just want the next two and a half weeks to be done. At that point, my dreaded school seminar will be over, first semester will have finished, I'll have a full year of teaching under my belt, this school year will be half over, I'll be in America, I'll have hit the one year mark of living in my village (which feels more significant than the one year mark of being in-country), and I'll be over halfway done with my service.

This has nothing to do with anything. In case you're curious about what Levitzka the kitten (little lioness in Ukrainian) looks like these days, she basically looks like this but smaller and fluffier.

HIV/AIDS

This is a good article from The Economist about the current HIV/AIDS struggle in Ukraine.

"There's a line in the national AIDS programme budget for prevention," says Andriy Klepikov, head of AIDS Alliance Ukraine, "but its value is set at zero."

Spider Webs and Sketching

I'm really tempted to start writing down people's names and filling in the lines with how they're related or connected to others in my community. I've been here long enough now that sometimes when I figure it out, I go, "Ohhhhh, that makes so much sense now."

I'm also really tempted to start doing a rough sketch of the lay out of my village. It will probably be difficult because my village is so spread out but that will also be part of the fun.

Logic

Does anyone remember if during their time in high school, it was common for students to have extra lessons or one-on-one tutoring with special math, science, language, etc. teachers after their normal school days? Extra paid lessons, that is. I can't really remember that being a popular or common thing.

It seems like a good number of students in my school have these types of lessons on top of regular lessons. I can't help but think that 1) if class time was used more efficiently and effectively, there wouldn't be the need for those lessons and everyone would have more time, and 2) that widens the divide between the kids/families who can afford to do that and those who can't, perpetuating the cycle of poverty.