Frequently Asked Questions

A Second Conversation

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Any news yet?

No.

Any news yet?

No.

Any news yet?

No. Oh--wait! Yes!

And??

Ukraine!

Ukraine?

Ukraine!

Where is that again?

You can find a map here. Ukraine (which officially is just Ukraine and not The Ukraine) is on the Black Sea. It shares borders with Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

What's the language there?

There are two, Russian and Ukrainian. Ukrainian is the official language, but almost everyone speaks Russian. I don't know which language I'll learn; maybe both.

Hey...isn't it cold there?

It gets very, very cold in the winter, in most parts of the country. Apparently, if you're not careful your laundry (which you have to handwash) will freeze before it dries. But I like the cold, better than the heat anyway. I'll be fine.

Where in the Ukraine will you be?

I don't know.

Not that again....

I know. But I won't find out until I get there. The Peace Corps talks to all the new volunteers (we go in a group) and tries to match people to the available places. They try to send you someplace you want to go.

Where do you want to go?

I don't have any preference yet. I'm going to be reading lots and lots about the country in the coming months, and maybe I'll find someplace that interests me more than anywhere else. Then again, maybe not. It's probably better to keep an open mind. (I think I'd rather be someplace rural, though.)

When do you leave?

September 26th. I'll spend 3 days with all the other volunteers in "Staging" (or pre-departure orientation) before leaving the country. We fill out a lot of paperwork and talk about general things, like safety. Then on to Kiev, for 3 months more training. That's where the intensive language training is done, along with all the country- and culture-specific stuff.

Wow! September 26th is soon!

You bet. Three months! (As of the writing of this FAQ.) I have a lot of planning and packing to do. I'll be moving all my belongings into storage in Arizona (where my parents can watch over it). I also need to sell my car and make all the proper legal arrangements.

Legal arrangements?

Yeah. I will have to file tax returns while I'm gone, so I need to meet with an accountant. (Even though I won't be making a "salary," I'll be given a stipend and will be accumulating a readjustment allowance. That stuff is taxable, believe it or not.) I'll also have some expenses here in the States (like the rental for a storage place), so I need to arrange for that. Things like that.

Tell me again what you'll be doing there?

I'll be an TEFL teacher. (TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language.) However, volunteers generally participate in a lot of secondary projects as well, like running language clubs or summer camps. Some projects are pretty unrelated to the primary assignment. For example, Stefany--my good friend who is a Environmental volunteer in Malawi--has a library project. She's starting a library in her village.

I think you'll be good at that...

Thanks!

...but have you ever taught English before?

I've done some tutoring over the years, but haven't had much training. I'm taking a TEFL certification course online so I'll have a little more experience before I go, even if it's all theoretical. But, since I'm a technical writer by profession, I have a pretty good handle on grammar. Plus, I have a lot of language-learning experience, from all those years taking Spanish. That will help.

What will you do when you get back? Are you going to go back into technical writing?

I have no idea. I don't feel like I can realistically plan for that right now. I'll keep my options open, and see how I feel when the time comes.

How likely is any of this to change? The date, the country, all that...

Not very. It could, but it's highly unlikely.

Well, what do you think? How are you feeling?

Excited! Terrified! Exhilarated! Totally freaked out!

Really, this sounds like a great program. From what I've found and read online, the Peace Corps enjoys good Ukrainian governmental support (which is key) and has strong support from the community (even more key). There's an interesting article here, looking at the volunteer experience from a Ukrainian host's perspective.

Yeah, whatever. Stop sending me all those links; I can't keep up.

Fine! No more links! If you're interested, you can check out the various areas on my website.

Will I get to see you before you go?

Hopefully I'll get to see everyone before I leave. I'll be around the Bay Area until early September, and then will be visiting Arizona, Sacramento, and San Luis Obispo before I leave. Let me know, and we'll work something out.

Good luck! This is exciting!

Thanks! I'm very very excited. And if you have any more questions, let me know.