PLEASE LEAVE THIS PAPER WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

to facilitate mail and packages delivery to you in a timely and secure manner.

MAILING GUIDELINES

This is the office address of the Peace Corps/ Ukraine, which is used for everyone ONLY during their training period (until mid-June 2007). Once the training period is completed, it is recommended that Volunteers establish a post office box at their permanent site.

U.S. Peace Corps/Ukraine 
PCT Katherine Backus
48-A, Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street
01030
Kyiv, Ukraine
OR

Packages sent to the Peace Corps office during the pre-service training period should be SMALL (remember I need to carry whatever you send to my final site). Following Volunteers’ swearing-in, it will be easier for them if packages are sent directly to their permanent site address, which they will provide to you later. Ask family and friends to send personal mail directly to PCV mailing address (not the Peace Corps Office in Kyiv) as soon as possible after his/her arriving to the site. There is little room to store packages mailed to Volunteers to the Peace Corps office address. Such packages are held in Kyiv until the Volunteer can pick it up.  

If you have any questions regarding the mailing procedures, please contact Peace Corps Office in Kyiv (Ukraine) by phone: 011-380-44-247-6840 (from U.S.) or by e-mail: GSO (mailing issues): vvashchenko@ua.peacecorps.gov

Tips For Mail

Parcels valued less then $100.00 are delivered without a customs declaration. This price includes parcel value only. Ask family to estimate the parcel value less then $100.00 it will greatly simplify the pick-up process.

Be informed, Ukrainian Customs Law does not allow foodstuff, medicines, money, jewelry, etc. to be sent across the border. Parcels containing these items CANNOT be cleared through Ukrainian customs and will be sent back or will be seized. Sending of such items is counted as smuggling: money, travel cheques, jewelry will be confiscated. For full list of prohibited items, please contact Peace Corps General Service Officer.

You should avoid sending valuable or culturally sensitive items (video cameras, laptops, DVD-players, etc.) through the regular postal service. Parcels containing valuables can’t be picked up without additional official permissions. In case you do that, please inform the Trainee about shipment of valuable items (more than 100$) in advance (to allow PC office time to prepare and translate all the required documents).

All incoming mail goes through custom/security check; any parcel without documents (packing list or invoice) might be opened for inspection by local authority. Proper documentation (parcel content list) is strongly advised. Due to the PC Volunteer’s official status all private parcels/packages go through Ukrainian Customs without official customs fees. Please note that phrases like "THIS SHIPMENT CONTAINS PRIVATE GOODS. IT HAS NO COMMERCIAL VALUE AND IS FOR PRIVATE USE ONLY" will simplify the pick-up.

It is recommended to send padded envelopes instead of boxes, as boxes more often opened and checked. Even big padded envelopes come through unopened.

Keep the measurement of the package as small as possible.

Check out the option of using a mailing service such as those listed below. (“Meest” is recommended for large size parcels)

* - List of all Agents could be taken from MEEST web site www.meest.net

Summery of a Conversation Justin and I had yesterday:

Of the top 10 articles that come up when googled 6 (SIX!!!) are about animal attacks.

-One of the drunks, 22, decided to show his strength and jumped over the gate and pretended to be a trainer. In response, the bear weighing 270 kilograms struck the man. The drunk, however, started to kick the bear but the animal hit the man again and again”

-A Bengal Tiger living in a Ukrainian zoo tore the ear off of an intoxicated photographer falling into the animal's enclosure by accident, Sehodnia newspaper reported Monday. The incident took the city zoo of the Black Sea port Mykolaev after the victim, identified in the report only by his first name Oleg, climbed to the top of the tiger enclosure's six-metre wall in an attempt to take close up snap shots

-A lion killed a man who climbed into its enclosure in the Ukrainian capital's zoo, police said Monday

I couldn’t stop so I googled “Ukrainian zoo attacks". And these came up.

-Ukrainian emergency workers saved a drunken swimmer in the Black Sea from an attack by a pod of killer dolphins who were trying to drown him. The man was reportedly "heavily under the influence of alcohol" at the time. He had braved the near-freezing dolphin-infested waters in the belief they would be good for his health. That's his story and he's sticking to it

-A young woman suffered serious injuries when she was attacked by a hippopotamus in a zoo in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The zoo manager, Yelena Tkatchenko, said the accident happened after the 18-year-old woman jumped the fence into the enclosure of a female hippo and her cub and waded into their pool to amuse other visitors.

The end of Justin and my conversation:

40 year old Virgin 
Along Came Polly 
American Pie 
Animal House 
Bad Boys II 
Boondock Saints
The Departed 
Dirty Dancing
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood 
Elizabethtown 
Failure to Launch 
Finding Nemo 
Forrest Gump 
Grey's Anatomy: Season one and two 
Hitch
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days 
Just like Heaven 
League of their Own 
Little Black Book 
Mean Girls
Meet the Fockers 
Mona Lisa Smile 
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
My Girl 
Now and Then 
Old School 
Patch Adams 
Pretty woman 
Prime 
Princess Bride 
Raising Helen
Remember the Titans
Rent
Rumor Has it. . . 
Runaway Bride 
Saving Private Ryan 
Sex and the City Essentials: Mr. Big 
Sex and the City Essentials: Romance 
Sex and the City: Season one, two and three 
Shrek 
Sum of All Fears
S.W.A.T
Sweet Home Alabama
The Sweetest Thing 
The Terminal 
Top Gun 
Training Day
Walk the Line 
Walk to Remember 
Wedding Crashers 
What Women Want 
Wimbledon
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton  

I looked up some Ukrainian customs and traditions. I’m not sure which ones are out of date but better safe than sorry. Most are good manners but some are completely off the wall. Take a look on what I’ll be dealing with:

• Never drink your host under the table [shouldn’t be a problem, cough I’m a lightweight cough]


• Always give an odd number of flowers (even numbers are considered unlucky) [ok, not too hard]


• When passing through the aisles of a theatre, always face the people sitting down


• Always greet and say good-bye when visiting [something everyone should do]


• Women often greet each other with a kiss or a hug


• Always say please (bud’ laska), thank you (dyakuyu), and you're welcome (proshu) [again, something everyone should do]


• When you are invited to a Ukrainian family, it would be courteous to bring a small gift or flowers. [but not an even number of flowers]


• When you enter a Ukrainian home, it would be better to take the shoes off. You will be offered special slippers for guests. [Will they have penguins? I want slippers with penguins]


• Ukrainians don’t place empty bottles on the table. When a drink is over, the bottle should be placed under the table. Otherwise, it will be bad luck for money. [might be hard to remember]


• In Ukraine, women don't sit at the corner of a table. That's considered to be bad luck for marriage. [I’m not sure if avoiding corner seats are really going to help marriage]


• Don't shake hands across the threshold (door entrance)


• If there is a child in the house, it is appropriate to provide him/her with a small gift as well


• Do not whistle; some believe it will "blow your money away." [well, I can’t whistle, at all]


• On public transportation, give up your seat to mothers with children, the elderly, or the infirm.


• At the entrance of upscale restaurants and theaters, expect that your coat, briefcase, or baggage will be checked.


• If it is possible, have business cards printed in Ukrainian on one side and English on the other.[nice tip]


• When eating dinner at someone's home, casual dress is accepted unless otherwise specified.


• Be ready to give toasts at dinner, for guests are often asked to do so.


• Offer to share your snacks and cigarettes with those around you.


• Be prepared to accept all food and drink offered when visiting friends. Turning down food may be considered rude. (If you find you cannot eat it all, keep something on your plate to avoid having it replenished!) [gosh, I’m going to get fat]


• For business, dress should be conservative. Men should not take off their jackets unless asked.


• In Orthodox churches, women should wear scarves or hats, and men should take off their hats. [but I’m catholic]


• Be careful when complimenting a host's belongings, he or she may offer them to you.


• Don't put your thumb between your first two fingers; this is a very rude gesture [YES! I now know how to give the finger]


• Restaurant bills normally include a 5 percent service charge. You will often find, however, that a few extra hryvnias can make your dining experience a lot more pleasurable [good to know]

Countdown to the birthday- 1 Hand and 1 finger.

For all you none crazy people out there that’s 6 DAYS and I’ll be 22. The birthday and Christmas are almost bittersweet. I’m so excited (as I always am) about them but it’s an indescribable feeling knowing I won’t be around from them next year. I’m just trying to take in the complete Christmas spirit (without killing people at the mall) It’s hard that Justin’s gone for it too. Last year was so much fun. Besides the birthday dinner, I was great to have someone help me walk after the bar (turning 21 is rough on your liver). I really wasn’t in the yay!, Christmas spirit last year until he dragged to get stuff for a tree and we put it up together. That almost makes this year that much harder but I’m enjoying being home while I am.

As usual, I’m making a million Christmas cookies (yes more than I’ve already made this year). So far the list of cookies to be made is:
Peanut butter blossoms (my favorite)
Sugar cookies with stained glass windows (I watch way too much food network)
Triple-Chocolate mini cups
White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbread
Peppermint Snowball Cookies
Snow-Capped Tree Cookies
Chocolate-Mint Thumbprints
Gingerbread people (a classic)
And also the ever famous, peanut butter squares and rice crispy treats (but those can’t be mailed). Oh and I’m making chocolates just because :-p So if you don’t think you’re on the to-mail list and you want cookies- let me know ASAP and you will be added.

Well, for those who I haven’t told. Come December 31st I will not have a job anymore since the site is closing. I need the money for all the trips I want to take (see previous blog) but it will be nice to have almost 3 months off to relax. I haven’t started the to-pack list yet but we all know that will happen soon after the 1st of the year.

So the Russian/Ukrainian is slowly coming along. So far I know a few useful Ukrainian words (yes a very few). Most recently - Добрий Вечip. Pronounced “Dough/bree Veh/cheer” meaning good evening. The Russian is coming along a little better. Although I really can’t accurately say too much, I can understand a lot of words, including numbers and telling time. Now the time was a hard one since I’m used to a digital watch so remember how to tell a normal clock in English was a task in itself. I’m going to keep working on it.

Well that’s about everything going on in my life. I’ll post more soon. :o)

Well this is my first post in my blog. And I think I'll start with some of the basics:

1. Why did I start a blog?
   
   As everyone (most everyone) should know I'm leave for 27month as of March 25th, 2007. I am traveling/moving to Ukraine for that time to become a Peace Corps Volunteer. I'm hoping this will help me keep in contact with everyone: Friends, Family, High school classmates, College classmates, other PCV, . . ect.
   Also I'm lazy and I know I'll end up telling having to tell the same story over and over again for facebook, myspace, emails blah blah so if its posted here I only need to write it once and everyone can access it. I'm a smart kid aren't I?
   


2. Why join the Peace Corps?
   
   This is a question I seemed to be asked every time I tell someone I did. (Well except Mom who kind just flipped out when I told her. ) And its a question I ponder everyday with the ups and downs of committing to 27months away. Basically, college was great. I made life long friends, better than I could have even hoped for. I learned everything and more about science, forensic science, life, myself, other people, the list goes on and on. But I still couldn't figure out what exactly I wanted to do with my life, I don't know where I want to live (sorry Berlin you're just not cutting it right now), and I'm not exactly sure what I want to do. Or if I'm qualified to do anything in Forensic Science. That's where the Peace Corps comes in. Over 2 years away from home, will not only prove to myself I can be on my own successfully, but also help me answer all those questions (well at least I'm hoping)
   Along with that, I want to travel. I want to see everything. Europe, Asia, Africa South American, the rest of North America. And the PC (Peace Corps) is a start. I'll get to live somewhere that not many other Americans get to live. I get to experience a culture completely foreign to my own. And well you might think that makes me crazy but I think its exciting. Hopefully, that answered the question on why.
   


3. 
   
   Details on my departure.
   
   a) I will be leaving for DC (I think) on Sunday March 25th 2007. Three days later on March 28th, I will be leaving the country for Ukraine. Exact time to come later.
   
   b) I will be living in Kiev, Ukraine for the first 3 months I believe. I do have my address already but send me an email if you would like it. (one stalker in my life time was quite enough for me thanks)
   
   c) I will have a cell phone while I'm in Ukraine. I do not have the number now since I haven't bought the phone yet. But I found a website that has a prepaid phone with free incoming calls to me not matter where in the world they originate from. In other words,, people its time to buy some phone cards and you get to call me! I will keep you posted on this one but I think I won't be getting the phone until my arrival.
   
   d) I really need to stop being so anal and organizing everything in little groups and tabs. And for all you asking NO I have not started a spreed sheet on what I'm packing yet and YES I am planning on doing it soon.
   


4. Seeing Everyone
   
   I want to see EVEYONE before I leave since I might not see people until I return home June 2009. Right now I'm working Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00ish. Other than that most weekends I am free so hit up the cell, aim, email, facebook, myspace whatever info you have and plan some visits. The long process of goodbyes have already started with saying goodbye to Justin last weekend (to be discussed in a later post I think). So make sure you get your making Katie cry time in!
   
   
   Ok I think thats it for now, I'll try to keep everyone up to date on whats going on in my life.

Katie