ek because as Lyuda and I were translating this it seemed almost impossible a task. How am "I" going to do instruct a class in Russian with my limited language ability. I thought by doing this my language would improve but it probably works better if I know more language first. Well things don't always happen in the order you would like it to in the Peace Corps. 
I honestly, do not know how people have done anything over the years. I mean nowadays we have google translate, which is horrible but we have it, to help us with translating documents. Not to mention the amount of English speaking Ukrainians running around. There are more than you would think! I mean thank goodness for them but just imagine being a volunteer, a community development volunteer mind you, say about 19 years ago or even 10 or maybe even 5 years ago! I mean how did anything get done??
Well we did it! It was a good class and all the participants liked it. Thank you to all my helpers you know who you are and you rock it! The activities were really cool and the participants especially like the one where we split the groups into teams and one team explains the specifics of a drawing and the other team has to draw what they say. That was a lot of fun. We did it in our English club the night before to practice and it was great. It is a really fun activity and you learn a little bit about team building at the same time.
The volunteers of Konotop have nominated Lyuda to be like Ukrainian counterpart of the year (I just made that up) for the 50th anniversary celebrations coming up in June and she more than deserves this! That poor woman is doing everything for me. She translates documents, translates what I say to people and what other people say to me, helps lead and translate my career development classes and is interpreting my conversations with my counterpart while we write a project for my hosting organization. I mean she is super woman in my eyes and I wouldn't be able to exist as a volunteer without her. Words can not describe how thankful I am to her for what she has allowed me to accomplish here. I can only be grateful that she is learning some things from me. For example she told me today that one of the things she has learned from me is confidence. Anyone who knows me knows that is so true! I know you are all shaking your heads right now while reading this. You know when I really want to do something I do it and I don't usually care who is in my way. Care is a strong word but I think you know what I mean! She talks to people she would never have come in contact with before, she knows so much about the Peace Corps and some of our processes, she should be able to write a grant with her eyes closed when we are done and as far as knowing how to find a good job and having the skills to get one, namely in the US, she will be an expert at the end of my 10 week program!! Now I sound like an infomertial!
The best part about the last two days and the previous week while working so hard on our projects Lyuda and I have had some great laughs. We literally break out laughing at some of the dumbest things and it is great because it means that we don't take things so seriously and I know I have a tendancy to forget that! Today before we went into our lesson we were doing tongue twisters. She asked me about Peter Piper so I looked them up online and we were practicing tongue twisters and it was hilarious. It was a good way to break the nervousness! It is the little things. She is like an American disguised as a Ukrainian. She has hung out with us so much you honestly wouldn't know the difference. Sometimes when we meet new people in town they assume at first that she is another volunteer. Her English is so good and she always speaks English to us when she is with us. I only hear Russian and Ukrainian because she is translating for me.
In other news an actual American (not PCV) came to visit my friend Rose this week. It was awesome and so was she. Us Americans got together on Saturday night for a house warming party. One of my fellow PCVs moved into a new apartment a few weeks ago and some of us hadn't seen it yet. Konotop really is the party spot. There is always someone passing through town. This weekend is the second camp excite for the year and most of the volunteers in the oblast will come here this weekend. Too bad I will be in the Carpathians skiing!
Next week on Friday (March 3) I get to have a dinner party with my tutor who speaks English, her husband and her cousin (aka anchor man). He is a friend of mine and he worked for the Konotop local channel as a news anchor. They want to come over and have an "American" meal. The pressure is on! As long as they bring lots o wino! I am thinking about making chilli and brownies for desert! Yum!!
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