I am home now (obviously), and have been for quite awhile.. darn, 4 months, it's been. I have been busy readjusting, which was a whole lot harder than I thought it would be! But I did assemble this video, a little recap of some of my favorite moments. I plan on updating with most of my journal entries, so stay tuned. And who knows what adventures I'll find next.. !! [View Full Entry]

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Well I haven't done so well with this blog. But rest assured- I have many pictures to post, and I have written in my journal every single day. I will transcribe the entries onto here once I am back in the States. Yesterday was the final day of teaching, we had a party and said goodbye to the few kids that showed. I have so many thoughts and feelings right now, I might explode. I feel ecstatic that it's done, sad that it's over, not wanting to leave but so excited to see my hometown, friends and family again. I don't [View Full Entry]

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No excursions planned for today.. so I slept in :) After a shower, I began my mission- to send my postcards, and pick up a couple souvenirs I had seen the day before. I got the postcards sent for 6.7uah (roughly $1.15.. and just so you know, they still haven't arrived, 6 months later..) and the souvenirs for 40uah ($8). A plate featuring the Swallow's Nest, and a neat little tapestry to hang from my rearview mirror. Bear accompanied me, and the weather was perfect! We came back and made out way down to the beach, so I could play with [View Full Entry]

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So I am officially past the halfway mark. Next Monday is 3 months! My routine was smashed into oblivion, as I moved in with a new host family. They have 3 boys, and I am sharing a room (and bed) with one of the other English teachers. The family is very nice, and well to do. So I have internet access! I do have to say I miss all of my alone time.. but I like the fact that I've had both experiences now- living pretty much on my own, and with a family. I really enjoy trying Liliya's cooking :) [View Full Entry]

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Next week is when ILP's directors are coming for the mid-semester visit.. I can barely believe it. Time passes so fast. I hardly know what to write when I have the time to. So this will be very random and out of order, but will hopefully make sense anyway. Maybe I'll start with my routine, what a normal day is like for me (in depth, I am happy to say). I wake up around 9 am, my roommates gone to work already. I peer out the window to ascertain the weather, and sleepily shuffle into the kitchen to turn on the [View Full Entry]

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Alright so I am way behind, and apologize. Busy is an understatement! Things have been crazy still, but mellowed out now that I don't have to worry so much about where exactly I am at. I think I will start with talking a little bit about teaching. We only have to teach 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. Planning takes a bit more time, but not too much. The kids are cute, though I think my home group is a bit of a menacing thought sometimes. It consists of 6 kids: Daniel, Masha, Anthony, Katya, Evan, Bogdan and Sasha. [View Full Entry]

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So I am here! The past few days have been so crazy I can't even begin to write it all.. I will post it all when I have my journal with me. I have had some adventures already, and am finding adjusting a little bit harder than I expected. Ukraine is more than I thought- more noisy, smoky, dirty and everything else I had imagined it as. I have already gotten lost for several hours, but was assured that it happens to everyone once at the beginning of the semester. So hopefully it won't happen again. I miss ice cubes terribly.. [View Full Entry]

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So this is a little late, but I have made it t an internet cafe, and will transcribe this from my journal entry. When I can find a USB port, pictures will follow :) I have finally made it to Kiev! It took a very long time- but I am here. My flight left NOLA at 12:36 pm (I was lucky- some teachers left their houses at 3 am!) I ran into Ryan once I got into DC, and then found the rest of the group taking up most of the gate's seating area. I think there are about 25 of [View Full Entry]

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So here I am, nine days to go! I have almost all loose ends wrapped up into semi-tidy little bundles, that I can hopefully forget while I am away. The majority of my belongings are packed into boxes to safely await my return.. the remainder waits to go into my suitcases, which I can't bring myself to accomplish quite yet. I am heading out to the beach one last time on Saturday, to enjoy the 65 degree weather, and following that, will work my last 5 days at the library. A weekend to ensure all is packed, say all my goodbyes, [View Full Entry]

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First off, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! It is definitely happy for me- I am about 6 weeks away from starting my adventure. I found out yesterday that I am leaving Monday the 14th of January. My flight goes from New Orleans to Washington DC, from DC to Vienna, (arriving next morning), and finally from Vienna to Kiev, arriving more than 24 hours after my departure. It's too bad I won't have a longer layover in Vienna, I would love to get out of the airport and take a quick look around. I will have to find a big window, in any [View Full Entry]

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