Spring- Awakes!

Last week Ukraine threw out a teaser- all the snow melted. Rejoice! Rejoice! I was so happy and excited for 4 days! The temperature was in the 40s, the birds were singing, the children were riding bikes- and it seemed like spring might have come out of it's coma early.

Then I awoke Friday morning- and it had snowed in the night. Oh boo.

One of the few lessons of living in a foreign country- learning how to be patient. I want spring to come. So badly. Winter means less fresh food and no sun, cold. It means spending more time in my house- under unnatural light, and having to heat my house with my tiny heater. It means that it is harder to travel- more so just because walking or standing at the train/bus station is miserable when it is freezing outside. But with all these things- you learn to live through. Learn to hunker down and that you can survive anything. Find hobbies, read more books. And then- when spring comes- you appreciate it so much more. Just seeing the old women selling the little white flowers- the national ukrainian flower that is the first sign that spring is coming. Your heart lifts- and you know that you have survived another Ukrainian winter.

The beauty is so much more beautiful after the winter freeze. It is important to have the downs to appreciate the ups. If life was perfect- we would not appreciate anything.

So these are my short musings- trying to keep up a blog is more difficult than I thought- I really wish at this point that I had been more vigilant with it. I am inspired by the more mature volunteers who have AMAZING blogs, and update them all the time.

In the last few months- I went home to America for the holiday season- it was really nice to be home- but I definatly felt a little bit of the readjustment pressure. Everything was so big, and fast and shiny. We have so many things in America- it is incredible. Walking into a grocery store- or Costco!- it is mind blowing how many options we have for everything. I was talking to someone yesterday who said that people are less happy in countries where there are more options. It is kind of nice to go to the store and only have a few products to choose from. If I need something (like lasagna noodles! to make lasagna with my students) i have the option to go to the big city an hour away and find them at the big store. But my every day life is simple. Slow. And during the summer I have tons of options of fresh fruits and veggies to choose from.
But seeing my family and friends did remind me of all the things that I left behind. I just know that going back to America is going to be hard. Wonderful, but hard.

I got back to Ukraine the second week of January- and went back to school. It was nice to see my students again- reminded me why I came back to this incredibly cold place! Then at the end of January I went to Budapest with two friends. We drove over the border to Hungary and then took a train to the city. It was a great trip. I love finding cities with free walking tours- and I love Budapest because I really think that it is a place that Ukraine could be in a few years. While maintaining history- there is also a place for hip, young, new culture. It is a great mix of old and new, and I really think that if Ukraine continues on this path of development- it could eventually be a lot like Hungary.

February was a cold month. I felt like every weekend I was traveling somewhere for some meeting or work or something. At the end of the month I had my Closure of Service conference in the West of the country, at a really nice ski resort- well- nice for my expectations. The roup that I came to Ukraine with all gathered back together and PC had sessions on after PC life- health care, readjustment, employment. And it was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with some group members that I have not seen in, well, about 2 years. Also got to see some of my best friends. My 25th birthday was the last day of the conference- I wore a Ukrainian sequined dress and we all sang kareoki. After this conference I went to Krakow, Poland with my friend Margaret. I had been for a very short time, however I felt the need to visit Auschwitz. So we stayed in a hostel, did city tours, went to the Jewish district, and took a day tour to Auschwitz. It was a very emotional trip- but I am very glad that I did it.

I have been back fro about two weeks- and planning to stick around for a while. I also have decided to extend my time in Ukraine for a month- so I will be leaving in JUly(18th) instead of June. When it was time to decide the date that I wanted to leave- I realized that I would never see some of these kids again, and I really wanted to give my kids a few last projects before I left. The special needs children that I work with here are definately the reason life brought me to this point- and I want to have one last day camp for them this summer. They have changed my life and I want to give them everything that I have.

I can not believe that I am almost done with Peace Corps. I can not believe that 2 years could fly by so quickly without me noticing. All of the struggles and triumphs, experiences that i have had- I can not imagine this time in my life without it. I do not think that I would be this person right now without everything that Ukraine has given me. And although I know that I will be happy to be in America- i know that I will also be a little heartbroken to say goodbye to Ukraine. Somehow, someway- it has become my home, a little piece of my heart