21 September 2013

21 September 2013

Today, I got up and had a very quiet breakfast, as host-Mom doesn’t speak much English. But, I enjoyed my oatmeal, and host-Mom and I communicated with gestures and occasional words in either English or Russian. I also had coffee. After breakfast, host-Mom walked me over to my LCF’s apartment, where we had our first X/C (Cross-Cultural) session. The 5 of us talked about the differences between our lives in the US and our new lives in Ukraine. Some members of my cluser have a very large family, some have a very small family. Everyone enjoyed their first days in the home-stay, enjoyed trying new food (borsch for me, yesterday), and are looking forwards to more learning. We also learned some new words, went over our first Russian words, and practiced more Russian.

V gave us some language manuals, to help us learn Russian. It’s going to be somewhat self-directed, as it is very hard to become proficient in any language with just immersion and 11 weeks of intensive study. We have a conjugation dictionary for common verbs, a glossary of more than 2000 words, a glossary of English/Russian cognates, basic Russian grammar rules, intro to pronunciation, scripts for audio sessions, as well as 3 textbook-like manuals that have vocab, practice, and exercises. I haven’t seen language manuals like that since I took the 2000-level French classes! Love language manuals, though, love them. The cluster went over our manuals, and learned what we needed for Monday. We also learned our broad calendar for the next 11 weeks, which V will give us on a flash drive soon. After we had our language and X/C session, we set our schedule for the week (Wow! Am I busy, and this isn’t the busiest week by a long stretch), and went to buy mobile phones.

At the phone store, we met Obukhiv 2, who were also there to buy mobiles. The other 9 PCTs bought the same inexpensive, dual-SIM Nokia, because the PC uses Life :) and non-urban Ukraine does not. As we have a chance of being placed in non-urban Ukraine, most PCTs buy a dual-SIM phone and a Life :) SIM-card to start, and then buy the SIM-card of whichever mobile provider is the best on site. I brought an unlocked GSM phone, which I hoped meant that I could just buy a SIM card, and use my phone. I showed the dealer my phone and asked if I could buy a SIM card. He asked Obukhiv 2’s LCF R*, who asked me about the phone. “Unlocked” translated, because the dealer nodded and said he could do it. He went to get the phones and SIM cards for all of us (9 Nokias and 10 Crazy Day Life :) SIM-Cards), and told us that it would be a bit of a wait, but that we could buy the phones and SIM-cards together. Most of both clusters followed V to the supermarket, and bought some things, both for us and for our host-family.

This store looked like a small Walmart. It was two levels, with food on the top level, and not-food on the bottom level. Most of us bought toiletries that we knew we would need to buy here. Next, the group went upstairs, where we bought lunch for Monday (my cluster has “supply your own” lunch as V’s apt), checked out, and went back to wait for our phones.

Buying the SIM card was insanely easy. Even without much language, the dealer, his assistant, and I were able to explain that I needed just the SIM card, and how to connect it. V helped translate. The SIM card came pre-loaded with 40 UAH on it, which is the Crazy Day Life :) plan’s tariff. I’ll have to put more UAH on it when I finish or when the month is up. Activating the SIM card was as easy as calling a number, pressing “2” for English, and staying on the line for 15 seconds. No fuss, no mess.

I got the numbers of two members of Obukhiv 2 before they had to catch the bus back, and they got my number. V also got the numbers of her cluster. After my cluster all bought their phones, we went back to V’s apt, where we collected our manuals and went back to our host-families, knowing that we would have a free day on Sunday (tomorrow). I walked back to the supermarket, where I was met by my host-Mom’s granddaughter, and her friend. We walked back to the apartment together.

There, host-Mom gave us tea/late lunch/early dinner of mashed potatoes and a very garlic-y meat patty of sorts. It was very good. I was given a small bowl of what appeared to be the Ukrainian variant of Pasta fasul: a clear broth, with potatoes, carrots, shell macaroni, and lots of dill. The granddaughter, her friend, and I chatted a bit, all of us learning new words, while we had tea/coffee and cookies.

After that, I repaired a torn sweater, and studied my Russian. The granddaughter used the computer in my room for her homework (a Ukrainian-to-Italian translation), while I studied more Russian, updated my blog, checked email, etc. While we were working, host-Mom gave us both an apple, thinking we hadn’t had enough dinner. It was a very good apple. The granddaughter took a study break, and I was able to video-chat my parents, which was awesome! We talked about my week, and how that has been. After I finished that, the granddaughter finished her study break and the her translation. It’s very late here, even with nothing on for tomorrow. It’s a +7 hour time change, and I’m still a bit jet-lagged: 10am feels like the crack of dawn for me. Hope that changes soon!

*Name redacted.