Листопад

So glad to be getting a post up. After many failed attempts this week, I am glad Blogspot decided to cooperate. Some websites load really fast, others do not at all. This one seems to be hit or miss.

Happy November to everyone! I'm not sure about you, but it sure did sneak up on me. Last week flew by, and even though we didn't have classes to teach, we had our days full. Kivshovata also saw it's first snowfall of the season! The funny part was that the night before at dinner, I had been talking with Lecia about weather (it's what we had been learning that day in class). I asked what it was going to be like tomorrow. "Сніг?" I asked. She laughed, and we kept eating. BUT sure enough, the next morning, there it was...beautifully falling from the sky. I literally danced around with Spook in the flakes after I let him out of the barn that morning, but Lecia told me I couldn't be outside dancing in the snow in my basketball shorts and outhouse sandals. Plus it was an early bus morning, so 6 a.m. in the snow, especially with shorts is never a good thing. Spook seemed to like the snow though, and although he does get spooked out by a lot of things (hence the name), he seemed to enjoy it. I'll be sure it include a post about Spook soon, explaining more of the story behind him. But, leave it to Ben to adopt a kitten in a foreign country living with a host family.

I enjoyed a nice Halloween celebration yesterday afternoon with friends from my cluster and link. We're a pretty tight group, so it's always good to hang out when we don't have "business" to attend to. Halloween isn't celebrated in the vast majority of Ukraine, and probably only the younger generation of teens/college-aged students would know what it is. Those that do know a little about the holiday don't quite understand why kids eat candy from strangers. There is some also confusion as to why we would carve faces into perfectly good pumpkins instead of eating them. Some things are just too much to explain. I would have to say Halloween is one of them. (And don't get them started on the Super Bowl. One word: Gluttony.) But I digress... We didn't dress up, but rather decided to cook a Mexican feast. Stuffed peppers, homemade flour tortillas, pico de gallo, Spanish Rice, Chai tea, lot's of chocolate, pastries, and a Corona for each of us. Someone found the Coronas in a Supermarket in Bila Tserkva, so they bought a bunch and we all pitched in for one. Good times had by all, and homemade food we recognized. Success.

This week is going to be another "routine" week, but Wednesday marks the halfway point for training which is so hard to believe. We really are starting to make some great relationships with members in the community, and people are beginning to remember us by name, not nationality. Kivshovata been an amazing training community so far, and I am excited to have a few more weeks here! Tomorrow I teach the 4th graders again. The topic for the lesson: Fruits, Vegetables, and Much/Many with a little bit of Passive Continuous thrown in. It's their first day back tomorrow, so hopefully they remember a few things from the last lesson a week and a half ago!