Two things, or more...

Two things.

First: The L'viv Lopper is more than likely just a rumor. Sorry to strike up any worry.

Second: Ukraine has yet to give me a good haircut. My hair was not that long (My last cutting was in October… and it was severe.) but the lack of consistent water made it a real hassle to maintain. I washed it, but not always in the mornings, which means that more often than not, I was the American teacher with the crazy, untamed hair. My students found it entertaining, but I know that my director and fellow teachers were not as amused. The average length of a man's hair in Ukraine is about two centimeters and, at 3 inches, I was really pushing the envelope.

Despite the obvious need for a haircut, and my acknowledgement of said need, I was afraid: The October haircut had left me looking like Joey from the New Kids on the Block. The woman who gave me the haircut used an electric razor on the sides and back and then hacked up the top of my head. My former host brother Svetoslav told me that I looked like Popeye. He laughed openly at me. For the record, I had more hair than Popeye.

So when I entered the hair salon yesterday, I was very clear that I wanted a trim. I told her not to use the electric razor, and asked her to just use scissors. She did. She told me that my director had talked to her and told her to expect me. I didn't tell anyone I was getting a haircut… This means one of two things: either the director can read minds, or she really wanted me to get a haircut (why didn't she just tell me to cut my hair? I would have.)

Anyway, she used scissors. She cut the sides and back down to about two centimeters in length. She "trimmed" the top of my head. My face looks like it's a foot long. My hair is kind of like Kramer's. Sometimes it looks like I have a flat-top. I was so upset when I walked out the door. The only way to undo the bad haircut is to buzz it all. And although I'm very tempted, I can't quite muster up the nerve. It's now such an uneven length that I'm going to have to cut it again soon. I'll probably cave and get the buzz. Grr.

Yes, my problems are very trivial.



I think they've found an apartment for me. I say I think, because although I've been told they found one, I have yet to see it. MY coordinator said that they are going to whitewash the walls first, since it has been some time before anyone has lived there. It's a teacher's apartment, but she lives in a nearby village with her husband. I'm going to try and see it today or tomorrow.



There's still no sign of spring here. It's below zero today and it snowed a lot yesterday morning. I think maybe by May?



Lent is in full swing in Ukraine, which means that music and dancing are outlawed. This means that the discos are out of commission for 40 days and 40 nights. This means that the students of School number 2 have absolutely nothing to do with their endless free time on the weekends. Homework? Gasp! Read for fun? No way! Be outside with friends? Maybe if they're walking to someone's house. Which makes the students even harder to teach. They're bouncing off the walls during their breaks and only a bit more restrained during lessons. It's really fun. Really.



Another two things. I've joined the Peace Corps working group called Gender and Development. What is a working group? It's a group that works on secondary projects on a nationwide scale. My group's theme, as the name would suggest, is gender and development. Our mission statement: "To facilitate PCVs and Counterparts in their communities to encourage implementation of grassroots efforts that promote sustainable gender equality in Ukraine, and To work directly with Ukrainian youth to equip them with the capacity to reevaluate gender roles and reduce gender based discrimination." It's a worthy cause, as stereotypes run rampant in Ukraine: (just one example) while teaching a food unit to my 10th grade, one boy said that he didn't need to know how to cook, that it was a woman's job. I tried to sieze upon the opportunity to strike a debate, but the girls didn't want to disagree. Anyway, I'm glad to be a part.

GAD (yet another PC acronym) does summer camps for boys and girls. One of each, actually, one for boys and one for girls. I'll be helping out at the camp for boys, natch. At the camps, we'll do the usual summer camp stuff, and we also focus on our second goal. Last summer, the girls' camp climbed a Ukrainian mountain.

So here's a pitch: GAD could use donations to make the summer camps run. 5 to 20 dollars would be great. Or more. 20 USD is 100 Ukrainian Hryvnia and can go pretty far. If you'd be willing to donate, please reply to me with your address. I'll pass the address along to GAD and we'll contact you with information. It would mean a lot.



Thing two: another working group, the HIV/AIDS group… well, a member of the group, is running across Ukraine this summer. He's going from the east to the west, crossing 8 oblasts(states). He's rounding up other volunteers to help him and join in the run. I, being the kind of fool that will do a triathlon with no training, or run 10 miles on a whim, am going to help. Jon (his name) is a long-distance runner and is going to be doing the bulk of the running, but he wants fools like me to run 5Ks or 10Ks so that he can have a bit of a rest. I'm in. My buddy Travis is in. Probably a bunch more PCVs are in.

I'll give you more info as I get it. Just wanted to let you know that I'll eventually be able to say that I helped run across Ukraine. Ha!






That's all for now, Happy St. Patrick's Day!