Ukraine:

Well, as I mentioned in my last post: "We were told that we are now a priority for the office. As a credit to the Peace Corps, many of my fellow group members have now been given new assignments." Less than an hour after that was posted I was called by Amanda at the Placement Office. I was told, and I am paraphrasing here: "We have a spot available in Ukraine. There is a possibility that you can go to Azerbaijan, but that would not be a definite." After weighing some options in my head (given that I only had about two minutes to make my final decision), I elected to take the placement in Ukraine. I am very excited about it as well. Much praise should be given to the Peace Corps for following through on a commitment they made. I was placed about 49 hours after finding out Turkmenistan did not want us.

Luckily, for me, I was too lazy to set up this blog in the time leading up to Turkmenistan. I will save you some of the asinine history of that country, and give a little about the Ukraine. Still staying in the former Soviet Union, the current CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), the history still has more than it's share of tragedy. My brief historical snap-shot will be largely (and by largely I mean completely) borrowed from Culture Smart! Ukraine: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture by Anna Schevchenko. This is also done completely without permission of the author, whammy!

The word ukraina means "borderland". Borderland, of course, implies that Ukraine is/was a frontier, of sorts. Ukrainians, at least ethnic Ukranians, are a Slavic people, and the region, which is now the country, was considered the frontier of the Kyivan Rus empire. . . and still, today it remains a sort of borderland. A country that separates the "Western world" from it's insolent step-brother, Russia.

Ukraine is the geographic center of Europe. It is was the "breadbasket of the Soviet Union," and is now the "breadbasket of Europe." It is home to a particular type of soil, called chornozem, which makes the country remarkably fertile. Such fertility is presumably why Ukraine (and, for the record it is proper to write, and say Ukraine, not "The Ukraine") was so victimized by foreign nations. It has been under Russian control most recently, and prior to Russian control various parts of the country were under the control of Lithuania, and Poland, as well as portions which were, even at that time controlled by Russia.

Ukranian independence was gained by the Cossacks, fierce, and brave warriors famous for their horsemanship, endurance, and drinking ability, not to mention their extraordinary tolerance for pain. It was under the Cossacks that Russia began annexing more and more of Ukraine, naming it Malorossiya, or "Little Russia. This was in the mid-17th century. The country was veritably under Russian hands until the collapse of the Soviet Union. And, while there are numerous tragedies, and important aspects that occurred while under Soviet control, in the interest of some sort of brevity, my focus will go to post-Soviet Ukraine.

Ukrainian nationalism, and desire for independence began in tragedy. Ukraine is home to Chornobyl, the greatest nuclear disaster in history. (I would prefer this not lead into an argument regarding Truman's use of the atomic bomb.) What this tragedy did for the Ukranians was expose the Soviets. The people saw the "blatant lies, and secretive behavior" of Soviet officials, and knew that this was bigger than said official were admitting to. While Independence was still five years away, it took until December of 1991, when the people of Ukraine voted overwhelmingly in favor of becoming their own country.

This brings us into the modern era, the post-Cold War world. The iron curtain, however, lifts slowly. And, even twenty years later the country is still working to establish itself as an independent democracy, with free, and fair elections. Ukrainians proved this to the world, during the "Orange Revolution" of 2004.

During the presidential election of 2004, thousands of protesters took the streets. The election, they claimed, had been rigged. This rigged election led to the defeat of the pro-Western candidate: Viktor Yushenko. The colorful revolution lasted ten days, after which the Supreme Court of Ukraine declared the results invalid, and order a new election. During this "re-do" Yushenko was elected, defeating a Russian-supported candidate, named Yanukovich, narrowly. This proved the country's commitment to the democratic principles we Westerners hold so dearly.

It is to this fledgling country I will be going. I am excited to go to Ukraine to teach English. In my egotism, I feel it an important service for Ukraine's international commercial development. This adventure is scheduled to commence around Tuesday, or Wednesday of next week.

The Build Up

I decided I would leave work on September 18. I spent the final days packing, getting the rest of my necessary provisions, and saying good-byes. Eating all my favorite foods, drinking as much beer as I could, and having three straight going away parties. It was a great week, and weekend.

I left Tuesday morning. I got to the Providence airport, and got right through security, and check in and prepared to take my flight to Philadephia. I arrived in the City of Brotherly Love and got a cab to the Holiday Inn in the Historic District. It was exciting to finally get staging taken care of, and get started on the two and a half year adventure.

So, after meeting some fantastic people, 47 to be exact, plus three members of the Peace Corps staff I was excited when the regional director of the Eastern Europe, Mediterranean, and Asia came in to speak to us. The news that came was absolutely shocking. Long story short is, that after signing us in as official Peace Corps Trainees we were put into a status of "Interrupted Service". This means:

A Volunteer may be separated with interrupted service status if the Country Director determines that circumstances beyond the control of the Volunteer make it necessary for the Volunteer to leave his or her present assignment.

The government of Turkmenistan, with no notice, or reason, had decided that they would not be accepting the volunteers of my group.

People in my group had sold homes, left good jobs, and put careers on hold. Not to mention the expense of application, and final preparations (this is in terms of medical tests, appointments, purchasing necessary provisions, and the like). People had broken up with boyfriends/girlfriends, given pets away, and said their tearful goodbyes. There were many emotions in the room: shock, anger, disbelief, and just absolute dejection.

So, as it stands, we wait for new assignments. We were told that we are now a priority for the office. As a credit to the Peace Corps, many of my fellow group memebers have now been given new assignments. As for me, I am sitting, waiting, wishing, and probably contacting the office way more than I should.

So It Begins . . .

I have decided to start a blog. Generally I hate bloggers, mostly because of the sense of self importance said bloggers feel their words have, just because they are written. Here is my attempt at a blog. I make no promises with how often it will be updated, but will attempt to update whenever possible.

Here is my Peace Corps Timeline:

My application, while done by May of 2008, was not ultimately submitted until mid-September of 2008.

From there my application was reviewed, and I was interviewed on Friday, November 21. I interviewed with January Zuk, a recruiter in the Boston office, and was confident that the interview went well.

From here, however, there was a long time before I was ultimately granted a nomination. My nomination, to a teaching program in Central Asia leaving in September 2009, was received on December 29, 2008.

From here it was time for my medical and legal clearance. After getting all my medical tests done, including an orthopedic exam of my shoulder, and a personal statement about ADD because I had been tested for that as I child I sat and waited as the medical review was done. The medical tests are long, annoying, and complex, and the review can take as many as four months (at least as of April of 2009). From the day my medical tests were sent in to the day I was granted my final clearance it was only 16 days. I was thrilled at the expedience with which this was handled, and hoped I was on my way for an invitation.

I was called on May 16 and told that I would, indeed, be a good fit for the program in Central Asia. However, the placement officer was not able to tell me over the phone the country in which I would be placed. I received the invitation in the mail on May 19. After getting the assignment, finding out that Turkmenistan was a real place, and checking out what I could, I ultimately accepted the invitation on May 21, my 23rd birthday.

The program was scheduled to have a Staging event in Philadelphia leaving on September 28, and arriving in Turkmenistan on October 1 . . . All was good in Meeganland.