04 October 2013

04 October 2013

Today, I got up, had a breakfast of kasha, and walked to class. There, we had about half an hour of Russian before Obukhiv 2 came over for the medical day. So, we had more than an hour of joint language. We had some time with the Ukrainian LCF, and they had some time with the Russian LCF. I learned how to say some simple phrases in Ukrainian, and they learned some basic phrases in Russian.

After that, we had a pretty large break before the doctor came for our medical day. We had some time to chat with the group and have coffee or tea. I was able to make the day of another PCT (who doesn’t have internet or an indoor toilet) by having a container of (instant) coffee. He hasn’t had any coffee since we left Chernigov, and he loves it. I introduced another PCT to a very good chocolate wafer bar, she asked what I was eating, as she had an allergy to the nuts in the chocolate. Our “personal health day” was a meeting, where one of the Peace Corp Medical Officers (PCMO) talked to us about important medical things – how the PC medical services work and how to use them, how the Office of Medical Services (OMS) is involved, and the procedures for medications and treatments in or out of country. We had a break for lunch, and then had the second half of our medical day.

The second half was the PCMO going over the contents of our medical kit and what they are for. We talked about some common conditions, and what to do if you think you might have something. There are two medical line phones, and there are some things that require immediate contact with the PCMO. All of the policies and procedures are outlined in detail in our medical book. It was very informative.

After we were done, Obukhiv 2 had to leave to catch the bus back to Petrovski, and we cooked borshch. I peeled onions and a potato. First time peeling a vegetable without peeler. We played music on various devices, and eventually settled on Imagine Dragons’ Night Visions, as everyone loved the album, as we cooked. We also decided on the movie we wanted to eat after dinner.

We invited our TCF to dinner (she’s living across the hall from V. for the training). We crowed 7 people around a table that would be a bit cramped with 4. The borshch was very good, and it was incredibly simple to make, inexpensive, and it made a lot. It will be a perfect dish to put into rotation once I’m at site.

After dinner, we cleaned up and washed the dishes, and then started our movie. We chose Casino Royale, as everyone was excited to see that one of us had it. A member of the group hadn’t seen it, and I don’t think that V. has either. We only got about halfway through (Bond and Vesper are in the car on the way to Casino Royale), before we decided that it was too late to keep watching – it was about 730, and there was more than an hour left.

As it’s a Ukrainian tradition, the three girls in the group were walked back by the two guys – in Ukraine, women aren’t supposed to be walking alone at night. My host-Mom’s apartment had hot water, so I got a shower, which was very nice. I think that the heat has been turned on, as host-Mom pointed out that the radiator in my room was warm. I think it must have been below a certain temperature for a set number of days, as that’s what our TCF and the next-door neighbor said about the heating. They both said that the heat comes on on 15 October, or earlier, if the temperature is below a certain temp (they didn’t know what temp, but I think it’s 5°C) for a set number of days (5, I think). There was a light frost recently, and I was told to wear my warmer coat -  it’s a bit overkill, but my lighter jacket is not warm enough. I was also clearly told that I’m not supposed to wear my clogs – it’s too cold. This only cements that I need to buy a pair of work shoes that are also warm.