The End of 2010...

So this is the end of 2010. I am in Ukraine as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Who would have thought! Finishing my first 8 months in country. Wow. Time flies! It seemed like such a long road when I first arrived and now it is almost 2011. So many things have happened. So many experiences have been had.

I am leaving for a trip to Egypt in 2 days with my cluster mates from training. Amy spent the weekend with me. She came in and we got our hair done and pedicures. We got all ready for a week at the beach! It was nice to do a day at the salon in Ukraine. I haven't done that yet. It isn't much different from salons in the states. But I am pretty sure we spent a few more hours in this one then we would at home. Ukrainians like to take their time with things. They are not in any rush! We ended our weekend with a nice night at the sauna. This was my first polar bear club experience. We actually went outside and rubbed snow on us inbetween sauna visits. It was fantastic. It was the first time I was naked outside in Ukraine...in the cold!

I have been rather busy this week with wrapping things up before the holidays. I have finished a lot of preliminary work for our career development program and I have support from my social center to help me with the blind organization. We won't actually be working again until January 22nd with all the holidays in January but at least we have a plan!

Last night was St. Nicholas Day. In Ukraine that is a holiday and it is when children find presents underneathe their pillows. There is a big gift giving celebration on New Years but on this day they can receive gifts under their pillows. Funny story...my friend Alla was away this weekend and her daughter still believes (she thinks so anyway) that St. Nicholas actually brings her the gifts that she finds under her pillow. So Alla gave her house key to her neighbor and asked her to slip the gift under her daughters pillow. Well her daughter was home alone and the neighbor thought it would be a good idea to try and sneak in the house in the middle of the night. Well her daughter was still awake watching television and heard a key in the door and someone come in and turn the ligth on. She was wondering, as she threw herself under the blanket and pretended to be asleep, if she would have time to run to the kitchen and grab a knife. Well the neighbor left the gift under the pillow and snuck back out of the house without being killed. And her daughter might actually still believe in St. Nicholas!

They aren't turning the lights on the Christmas Tree in the center until December 24th but there is a tree in the center of my town. Christman and New Year's are actually really big holidays in Ukraine as well. Which is nice. They are my favorite holidays, well Christmas anyway, and I didn't want to be in Ukraine and not have any Christmas traditions. Well there are many! Maybe even more here then in the states. They celebrate most of their holidays after us though. Their Christmas is actually the 7th of January. The 6th is kind of like their version of Christmas Eve. They cook 12 dishes on Christmas and eat and eat and eat. I will be back in Ukraine for these meals. I have already been invited to a few celebrations! I can't wait.

Well I am off! I will post in the New Year with pictures of Egypt and New Year's Eve in Lviv!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!