Happy Easter and a Few Thank Yous.

My Dear Friends, and Confidants:

First, a word regarding my April Fool’s joke . . . WHAMMY! I am aware there was concern for my mental health, and safety, and I do appreciate your concern. However, with something as serious and personal as a mental breakdown I would not publish it in such a nonchalant fashion, especially on Facebook. This would be a little too gauche, even for me. Secondly, for all those who realized it was, indeed, an April Fool’s joke, my thanks for not blowing the whistle, though I did have delete a number of comments. I will end this portion by stating that as a Meegan, I am unable to do things half-way, I am as stubborn as my father. For that reason, I will not be leaving before my time is up. So, November 2011 – here I come!

I would next like to send some thanks. I have sent a few letters, but seeing the current state of Rhode Island, I would imagine they are probably floating somewhere around the food court of the Warwick Mall. I should, of course, have sent emails primarily. The first group I would have to thank is the Family Services department at Tuition Management Systems. At the beginning of March I received a package from my colleagues. Its contents were month-changing. It was full of Haribo gummy bears (the absolute best gummy bears on earth), honey mustard, both from Wendy’s and from Stop & Shop. Two jars of Folgers instant coffee – better than Jacobs (pronounced yakobs here, because we don’t have a ‘j’ in our alphatbet). And, of course, the venerated University of Rhode Island Rams “Let’s Go Rhody!” athletic towel. And, to rub salt in the wound, Pedro informed me it was from the game in which the Rams beat my Friars this season. . . Needless to say, based on the other contents I have forgiven Pedro. But, I do truly give my thanks to my co-workers. It was very kind of you, and I truly appreciate it.

Secondly, my thanks go to Mr. Frazier. I hope by now the letter I sent would have arrived, but our postal system is not as expedient as one would like it to be. From Mr. Frazier I received a bobble-head doll of Marvin “Bad News” Barnes. Coincidentally this arrived on a Wednesday. The weekend before I received the bobble-head, I had been talking college basketball with a fellow volunteer, and Marvin Barnes was one of our central topics of discussion. My volunteer-friend is an old fan of the ABA and the team from Louisville, so was familiar with Marvin Barnes, as well as Ernie D. But, the funnier aspect of my receipt of the bobble-head was the response of the family I live with. They looked at it, and said (in Ukrainian): “very nice . . . is that Obama?” I had a hard time stifling my laugh at that statement. The bobble-head, for the record, is wearing a basketball uniform, and not a presidential-looking suit.

Thirdly, and finally, I must send my thanks to Diane Schaefer. I, this week, received a parcel which included a very nice collared-shirt, an Easter-appropriate light bluish-green, and the book Invictus. The book is what inspired the movie that has recently come out. I have seen the movie, but the book has the benefit of being able to clearly illustrate the back-story that set’s the stage for the Springboks improbable run to the Rugby World Cup title. I am hoping to finish the book by the end of the weekend, or if not, by the end of the week.

Stories like this, are very thought-provoking for me. I remember in college, even as sports fan, thinking how silly it was that people would make a living as a sport’s commentator. I remember thinking “can’t these people do something productive with their lives?” Stories like this, Invictus, and the movie Invincible – the movie about the local boy that starts playing for the Eagles – can show the power of sport on a community, or a country, in the Invictus case. As I have learned here, people need diversion, and they need entertainment. Thankfully sport is available for that. It can help us forget about slugging through the day-to-day and that is a valuable thing. There is not much that can cross ethnic, language, political, and religious barriers as much sport. So, as adidas says: “Long live sport.”

The other side of the coin that a book like Invictus illuminates is in regards to, at least in my case, my own personal convictions. Sitting and reading the book while it discusses the people that look like me is an interesting practice. The author asks “whether the average citizen of the United States, Canada, or Australia, had he or she been born in apartheid South Africa, would they have behaved much differently?” It is an interesting thought. It is very easy to have our convictions based on our history, but would I be bold enough to stand for my convictions in this case? Would I have the strength of character to stop talking about it, and start acting? To be honest, I do not know whether or not I would have the scruples to take the stand. I hope I would, but hoping and doing are much different things, as I have learned here in Ukraine.

My most common complaint is that people here talk about things getting better without acting on the fact. A friend from high school has a tattoo “Acta non Verba” on his arm – Actions not words. I am trying to make this a foundation of my own worldview. Perhaps that is what Peace Corps is for me . . . but I suppose, like my father, what I do may never be enough to satisfy the demon I call Catholic guilt. Easter, of course, is an appropriate time to think about these issues.

So, my apologies for taking this opportunity to wax philosophic . . . In other news, last night I went to the “Polish Catholic” (read Roman Catholic) church for Easter mass. The mass here is a practice in concentration and a test of my mental strength. I had to stand the entire two and a half hours, except for the times when I was able to kneel on the cold, hard, uneven, wet floor. At one point while we were kneeling I think the priests sung the name of every saint ever canonized. Also, because there was so much I could not understand, and the traditions within the mass are a bit different from our own, I was not aware I had to push and shove to gain position (like everywhere else in Ukraine) for communion. Unfortunately, last night I did not received the Eucharist, so I won’t even have the check mark next to my name up in heaven . . . I hope St. Pete will let me in.

Of course, I am interesting in celebrating the resurrection, so tonight with some friends in town we will go to a nightclub in Vinnitsia. I have not yet been to a nightclub in Ukraine, so it should be interesting. But, today is a joyful day, so we might as well end it with a party. I’ll update the blog regarding that, as long as it is appropriate. That’s about all I have for now. I will admit my displeasure in seeing Duke in the Final Four championship game, however, and here’s hoping for the Butler Bulldogs.

Thanks for reading, enjoy time with your families today, whether you celebrate Easter, or not. Just enjoy your time.

Go Friars, and Христос Воскрес (Christ has Risen),

Pete