I have also appreciated this time on my own - especially to have the chance to reflect and find a more balanced perspective on life. There are many lessons and ideas I will bring back to the United States with me, and some things that I will be thankful to leave behind. Here is a list of some of those things that have made a strong impression on me:
Keepers from Ukraine (in no particular order):
- Relationships with other Peace Corps volunteers
- Pausing for an impromtu tea break with others
- Interesting chats with taxi drivers, especially Vacya
- Empathy and compassion for language learners in a foreign country
- Playing silly games with my students
- Language skills in Surgic (Ukrainian and Russian languages mixed together)
- Love for tomatoes (yum!)
- Vkontakte (Russian version of Facebook)
- Exceptional hospitality
- Borshch (soup) with pampushkee (delicious garlic rolls)
- Emphasis on personal relationships in the workplace
- Patience while traveling
- Dancing the night away at a disco club
- Greetings from babushkas along my walking routes
- Carrying a book wherever I go
- My adult volleyball league
- Comfort with and preference for public transportation
- Love of slippers!
- Travel opportunities throughout Europe and Africa
- Love of European football (soccer)
- Better understanding of technology (using a digital camera, blogging, Internet on my phone, Skyping, etc.)
- Free vegetables each week from neighbors
- Free facewash and floss
- New outlook: a 15 hour drive (one way) to a friend's house is easy as pie to accomplish in a weekend
I'll be happy to leave behind:
- Turkish-style toilets + paying to use them
- Being stared at when I'm sitting on the floor or a cold bench
- All of the sofa-sleepers for beds
- Hot, stuffy, marshrutkas - where we're forbidden to roll down any windows
- Square shaped pillows
- The belief that a crossbreeze negatively impacts health
- My students' worry about me not being married/having a boyfriend at age 25
- Walking through streets without smiling
- Schedule changes being the norm
- Paying for the Internet by the megabyte
- Not knowing the most efficient ways to travel
Living in a different culture requires so much more thinking! I'm never able to function in auto-pilot mode...but it's so rewarding at the same time. We'll see what this next year brings...
Peace,
Natalie
2 comments:
Dear Natalie,
I would like to add YOU to my "keepers" list. Whadda ya say?
∆ Yes
∆ No
Thanks for sharing...it's a lovely reality-check for the hard times to remember all the good! And there really is so much good. :)
Those "international" toilets are a sham... I saw one in Indonesia that proudly stated "American Standard" across the back of it, to which I boldly proclaimed "No it isn't!"
Those garlic things sound good tho... if you learn how to make them I'd love to try one!
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