the last few days

Oh, a lot's been going on.

Thursday through Saturday, our group went on a trip to Transcarpathia, which is in southwestern Ukraine. It was part of Hungary and Czecheslovakia at various points, and has a slightly different feel to it than other regions of Ukraine. We stayed in dorms at a camp belonging to IFNU (the university here), which was in the foothills of the Carpathian mountains. I loved driving through the mountains...they're absolutely beautiful, and although Balaklia is home for me here in Ukraine, I felt a slight twinge of regret that Peace Corps hadn't placed me there. We visited the cities of Mukachevo and Uzhgorod, complete with a castle and quaint little downtowns. At some point I'll try and post pictures.

Last night, after we got home, John (the other student who's staying with my host family, an ethnomusicologist in his 50s) and I were chatting with Olgert, our host dad, about L'viv history and all the interesting things that have happened on our street. Then, around 10:30 pm, Olgert said, "Let's go over to the President's house. I know the housekeepers there, and they're over there now getting ready for someone to come tomorrow." So John, Olgert, and I walked across the street to the presidential residence, and since the gate was locked, Olgert (who is probably close to 60) climbed over the fence and knocked on the door. The housekeepers, who were getting ready for the head of the safety department for Ukraine to come this morning, were happy to see us, and we had ice cream and tea in the living room (out of cups that I realized were probably used by the president!). John played his guitar, we sang in English and Ukrainian, and Olgert yodeled. (He likes to. Don't ask.) I love my quirky life.

Today Vanessa and I went to L'viv Central Baptist Church, and the pastor mentioned that this afternoon, there would be English conversation. Looking for ways to get to know people (and a bit convicted by the sermon, which talked about different ways to reach out to others), I introduced myself after church and said that I'd love to come. After today's meeting, I am now helping out with a weekly conversation group, am hanging out tomorrow (which is a holiday here, Constitution Day) with a woman I met from the church, and had several people tell me that they were looking forward to trying to speak English with me on Thursday. All of which makes me very happy.