ten.ten.ten.

My favorite marsuka stop on the route toward Lviv. Spudnik inspired.(sorry pops it isn't level, took it quickly from a moving marsuka)

First and foremost, I wish Juanita R. Stone a very happy birthday. Grandma, I hope I’m as cool and interesting as you at 85 years young. No average old lady here, just one hell of a grandma. Be ready to go get tattoo when I’m home for Christmas.

Currently, I’m exhausted. My friends were here early in the week and I feel like I have been going nonstop since last Wednesday. This week school has been busy and also a little stressful. Yesterday, morning I got up to go into the nearby city to catch a two hour bus to another volunteer’s site. There were around 12 volunteers at a meeting to exchange ideas for teaching and English clubs; called a collaborative.

After another 2 hour bus ride north back home, I had dinner at TamTam (equivalent to Wal-Mart) with Terry, Melissa, and Jon. Later, Melissa and I headed back to her flat to hangout, eat some popcorn and watch a movie before falling asleep. This morning we lounged and watched ‘Into the Wild’ while waiting for Film Club at 2pm. At the library near the center of Lutsk, we viewed and discussed ‘Endless Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.’ It was a little confusing for the Ukrainians who attended but I think overall they enjoyed the film. I returned home a little after 6 o’clock.


Me being a cheeseball in front of the biggest church in Radehiv.

Right now I’m just trying to get stuff ready for another busy week. Tomorrow I’ll go into my lessons completely blind because one of the teachers wasn’t around to get instructions and the other teacher couldn’t located the book I was suppose to use. Mondays are also English club in my town and Ukrainian tutor session. Here's to a 'Manic Monday.' Oh how I'm going to 'wish it were a Sunday.'

Incoming mail is at an all-time low. Me sending it out isn’t at much faster pace. Right now I’m trying to save pennies where I can so I can have some money to do a little Christmas shopping before getting on the plane to the Land of Lincoln. As porky the pig would say ‘that’s all folks.’

Kate

Scariest Prediction of the Week: This winter is suppose to be the coldest Ukrainian winter in the last ‘1000 years’ (that’s how it was actually reported on the news).


Last letter of ABCs of Happiness; sign from Ashley's school (where the collaborative was).

'People universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your innate contentment. It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments.' - unknown